Page 48 of The Lady on Esplanade
She was beautiful, of course, as only brides on their wedding day can be.But looking into the young, open face of the woman beneath the lace veil revealed something almost ethereal about her.If it were possible to accept that there was such a thing as a love that never dies, her face alone would make you a believer.
“Here.”Christopher handed me a large brass-and-wood-handled magnifying glass.
I sent him a grateful look before using the magnifying glass to examine the left hand on each of the brides.They were both wearing rings, but it was apparent that even with a lot of magnification the rings wouldn’t be identifiable.One was almost completely hidden by the flowers in the bride’s bouquet, and the other by the bride’s veil.
“We do have this.”Christopher placed a multipage tri-foldeddocument with a Lloyd’s of London logo stamp on the desk in front of me.“We have the original in a safe off-site because of fire concerns, but this policy describes the rings and includes photos, so there shouldn’t be any confusion.”
“Lloyd’s of London?Are they really that valuable?”
“Well, the bands are platinum, so they’re worth a bit.But it was the diamond that made the engagement ring exceptionally valuable.”
“The stone that’s missing,” I said.
He nodded.“It once belonged to an Indian maharaja before being purchased by the future Edward VIII when he was still quite young—prior to his association with Wallis Simpson, and long before his famous bow to the other king here in New Orleans in 1950, the king of Mardi Gras.The provenance is documented, which adds to the value, but basically, while still Prince of Wales, Edward lost the diamond in a poker game in Paris, to a businessman from New Orleans who subsequently lost it, in a horse race, to Beau’s great-grandfather.His fiancée told him she’d only accept it on the grounds that he never bet again.As far as I know, he didn’t.From every source, theirs was a great love story.”
“ ‘Our love is eternal as time,’ ” I quoted from memory.“And now the diamond is missing.”
“It would seem so.And I doubt water, regardless of how strong the current, could have removed it from its setting.”
“Presumably postmortem, right?”
He didn’t respond right away.“Presumably.”
I swallowed, letting that sink in.“Someone will need to call the coroner, or whoever is in charge, and let them know that we believe the remains are Adele’s.Mimi will want to be there.Whether or not the police will admit into evidence her reaction upon touching the rings, she’ll want to hold them.To be sure.”
“Of course.But someone needs to tell her.And Beau.They should be together.”
“Tell me what?”Mimi’s voice came from the doorway, where shestood in her sensible shoes and a silk dress over which she wore a purple apron with the wordsRoux Guruprinted on it.Her smile faded when she spotted the newspaper.“What’s this all about?”
“Mimi, should I go ahead and boil the…” Camille came up behind Mimi, then stopped, her gaze moving from face to face.“Is everything all right?”
Mimi had picked up the newspaper, her eyes drawn to the photographs of the building and the rings.Her hands shook and a mewling sound, like that of a wounded kitten, came from deep in her chest; it was a sound I’d never heard before and didn’t want to hear ever again.Her knees wobbled, but Christopher held her steady while I set a chair behind her.She sat down and, the paper held tightly against her chest, began to rock back and forth, keening softly.I wanted to tell her that she could scream.That for this it was more than okay to scream until there was nothing left.
“I’ll get her some water,” I said, turning to go.
Camille held me back, her expression one of alarm.“What’s happened?”
“I think they’ve found Adele.The remains are skeletonized, but they’re wearing Adele’s wedding rings.”
She jerked back as if I’d slapped her.“But it might not be her, right?I mean, they’ll need to check the dental records to be sure, won’t they?”
Camille’s face had gone red, and tears began to pool in her eyes and spill down her cheeks.I touched her arm for reassurance.“Of course.There’s still a chance it’s not her.”
She nodded, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe her eyes.“I think I’ve begun to accept that she’s no longer alive.But to have proof…” She shook her head, then moved to kneel next to Mimi and put her arms around her.
Feeling redundant, I turned to Christopher.“I’ll call Beau and tell him to get here as soon as he can.”Then I headed toward the kitchen to get a glass of water, pausing in the hallway to pull out my phone.I hit Beau’s number and let it ring eight times before dialing again, telling myself that he and Sam were busy eating grillades and grits and not doing anything else that would prevent him from picking up his phone.
Giving up after the second try, I sent him a text, using all caps like Melanie, but I was doing it on purpose.
URGENT.MIMI NEEDS YOU.
I stared at my screen for a full minute, waiting to see the dots in a bubble indicating that Beau was texting me back.When the screen remained blank, I shoved my phone back in my pocket, then pushed open the kitchen door.
A large covered pot on the stove frothed under its lid and bubbled over.I reduced the flame, then reached toward the cabinet where I knew the glasses were kept.A muffled sob from behind me spun me around.Trevor stood by the refrigerator, his arms hugging his middle as he struggled to hold back tears.
I went to him and put my hands on his shoulders.“Trevor?What’s wrong?”
“Beau’s mama.She’s dead, ain’t she?”
