Page 57 of The Lady on Esplanade
I thought for a moment, trying to recall the many—too many—appearances of the doll.“Not that I can tell.It seems like it just wants me to see it.And Beau, too.We seem to be only a few of a handful of people lucky enough to be graced by its presence.”
“Interesting.”He programmed his GPS app so that it displayed directions to the airport on the screen in front of me.“You ready?”
I nodded.Then, after checking all my mirrors twice, I pulled out onto the road and headed toward the interstate.
CHAPTER 17
Thready late-morning traffic accompanied us as we headed up the entrance ramp to the highway.We’d barely reached the top when a song started blasting from the car speakers.It took me a moment of listening to the opening lines to recognize the Adele song “Water Under the Bridge.”
Cooper leaned forward and hit a button on the steering wheel, turning off the sound.“I’d recommend that you don’t listen to any music while you drive, so you can concentrate.Give it a few weeks of driving by yourself before you introduce music.Adele’s perfect for starters.Or ABBA.Then you can ease into the heavier stuff, like Foo Fighters or Ozzy.”
“Except I didn’t turn it on.And I definitely don’t have that song on my playlist.Maybe it’s on yours?”
“Adele?Um, no.Not that there’s anything wrong with her music; just not something I listen to.”
“So what do you listen to?”
He settled back in his seat, which in turn made me relax and loosen my hold on the steering wheel.“Oh, lots of stuff.I like jazzand the blues—it’s one of the reasons why moving to New Orleans was so appealing.And bagpipes.”
I almost swerved out of my lane.“Bagpipes?As in Scottish Highlanders in kilts?”
“Is there any other kind?”He didn’t wait for my answer.“They’re kind of soothing, actually.Once I move into my temporary apartment, we’ll have a quiet evening at home and I’ll play some of my favorite bagpipe music.”
“Sounds exciting,” I said, and I meant it, but not because of the bagpipes.“I didn’t know you’d found an apartment.Wasn’t Jolene supposed to be helping you find something?She didn’t mention it.”
“That’s because I haven’t told her yet.A coworker of mine is moving to Mandeville but he’s locked into a year-long lease on a two-bedroom apartment.So I offered to accept a sublease from him.I haven’t seen it in person, but he sent me pictures.It’s new construction, so it’s not really our taste, but it’s got modern plumbing and a microwave, which is about all I really need right now.It’s right on the parade route, so, come Mardi Gras, we’ll have a perfect vantage point.”
“Sounds great.”I tried not to read anything into the mention of the words “our” and “we.”I wanted to sneak a look at him to gauge his expression, but I didn’t want to risk it.
I followed the GPS toward the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.It was pretty much a straight shot on I-10, but I didn’t want to leave anything to chance.I was a nervous driver, and taking a wrong turn would mess with my equilibrium and fragile confidence.I managed to keep my calm despite a tailgating pickup and a tractor trailer hugging the line next to me.When the large truck finally pulled ahead and the pickup sped away, I surreptitiously wiped my palms, one at a time, on my jeans.
“I’ve been thinking about the entities in my house,” Cooper said.
“ ‘Myhouse’?”
“Yeah, well, I just need to meet with Beau and get the paperwork started so I can make it official, but for now I’m calling it mine.Which means that whatever is still in there has become my problem.If I were in Charleston and getting ready to buy a haunted house, I’d call Melanie.But here, I only know of one person like that who might be able to help me.”
“Beau.”
“Yeah.I don’t want to waste my time Googling psychics when I’ve seen him work and know he’s legit.I’m just not sure how to approach him.”
“He can be a bit prickly about his abilities.Hopefully, now that we’re close to putting his mother to rest, he can come to terms with his gift.Kicking and screaming, sure, but he will.If Melanie, who has spent most of her life singing ABBA out loud to block out the voices, can do it, anyone can.I’ll be happy to talk with him on your behalf if you like.”
“No.But if you could go with me when I approach him, I’d appreciate it.”
“Done and done.But let’s wait until after Adele’s funeral.I don’t want to throw anything else at him right now.”
“Of course.Any idea of when that will be?”
“No, but Christopher said that with all the publicity, they’ll want to close the case as soon as possible.I hope that means the coroner’s office is working overtime, because the entire Ryan family has been waiting for two decades for closure.”
“That’s assuming there won’t be a criminal investigation, right?If an expensive diamond is missing, and she was found where nobody expected to find her, they will probably want to investigate.”
I flipped on my blinker to change lanes at the first sign indicating the airport.“Yeah, probably.But after all this time, I’m doubtful any clues as to what happened to her will remain.”
“Unless Mimi sees something when she holds the rings.”
“Right,” I said.“We can only hope.”
