Casting the Dice Read online

  He turned around and stiffened. “Here comes our waiter.”

  The server placed Annie’s eggs Benedict in front of her and was about to put a large salad in front of Mattie’s chair when Hal explained their companions had had to leave. “I’ll take care of their bill.”

  “There’s no charge.” The waiter cleared the utensils from Mattie’s and Wilson’s places and left with the salad.

  “That’s interesting. I wonder if Mattie’s a regular customer.” Annie inhaled the warm aroma of the hollandaise sauce and found her fork. “I’m surprised she insisted on an in-person meeting when she could have told you what little she knew over the phone.”

  “I guess she wanted lunch.” Hal leaned back for the waiter to serve his shrimp creole. “I still want to check out that address you discovered. I need to pay my way by contributing to the business.”

  “By arresting a fugitive. That gets dangerous, doesn’t it?”

  “Always.”

  Because of what happened to her father, she’d never considered the job from the bounty hunter’s perspective. And Randy sounded vicious. But so were his friends, Red Cap and Mirror Man.

  Hal sipped his water. “Do I get to see the photographs you showed Aunt Edi?”

  “My ex-boyfriend is photo-bombing a lot of them.”

  “I’ll put my thumb over his mug if that will make you feel better.” He gave her a heart-stopping smile that put his darling dimple on display.

  Right. He didn’t care about her ex because their making love had been a one-time deal that didn’t involve any messy emotions. “Let me eat first.”

  Annie took a bite of asparagus. “The reason I showed your aunt is because she wants me to talk to her adventure club. She and her friends modeled their club on the famous Explorers Club in New York City. Imagine that.”

  “Don’t be fooled.” He ripped a piece from his roll. “The club is a bunch of old ladies who want some vicarious excitement.”

  “I think it’s great your aunt is interested at her age. I hope if I’m looking for ‘vicarious excitement’ in my old age, some whipper-snapper won’t say how appalled he is.” She hooked her fingers for quotation marks.

  “I didn’t say anything about being appalled.”

  She laughed. “You looked like you wanted to.”

  “I’m sure you’ll have fun.” He popped the bread into his mouth. “About time.”

  Annie took in the crowded restaurant, searching faces reflected in the mirrored walls. Mr. Persistent and Red Cap must eat somewhere else. They weren’t here now, and she relaxed.

  Eventually, their waiter removed their plates and handed them dessert menus. They both ordered the crème brûlée, and he whisked back to the kitchen past a wall of autographed photographs. These probably featured famous patrons instead of notable police officers like in the station.

  Interesting that Hal’s father was one of those honored at the precinct. He obviously didn’t like talking about his parents’ deaths but opening up about grief could be cleansing. “You seemed upset to see your dad’s photograph so I’m guessing you were just a teen when he passed.”

  Hal went rigid before relaxing. “I’d forgotten his photo was there. I was shocked, is all.”

  Their desserts arrived, and Annie dug into the caramelized custard.

  “They were killed together in an auto accident,” he volunteered. “My brothers and I didn’t have enough money for two funerals, and none of us wanted to take money from our uncle.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

  “I know a fishing expedition when I hear one.”

  She crossed her arms. “There are a lot of things you haven’t explained, but I haven’t asked about most of them.”

  “You’re better off not knowing about any of them, believe me.” He ate some custard.

  Okay. But if he wanted to keep his feelings locked in Antarctica, he could simply say so and not patronize her. Filtering what he told her had been Darryl’s worst trait, and she no longer wanted to be around people who pretended she wouldn’t understand. “Why not be honest with me?”

  “You want honesty?” His fingers clenched on the spoon. “You’ll be going home soon. Our relationship is temporary.”

  “I know.” He didn’t need to remind her. “But you don’t have to be patronizing.”

  Shock skated across Hal’s handsome features, but she’d stated her feelings and that was all she was going to say on the subject. She savored another spoonful of custard. “This is really good.”

  “Annie.”

  She glanced across the table, but his expression left her clueless. “What?”

  He moved his dish and clasped his hands on the tablecloth. “There’s no reason you need to know.”

  “You don’t want to tell me.”

  “That’s right. I don’t want to tell you. Can’t you accept that?”

  “Yes, but I want to point out I was only stating my opinion that you don’t discuss a lot of what’s on your mind. You don’t have to misinterpret that to mean I wanted to know.”

  “You do want to know.”

  O-kay. His rebuff slashed her like the sharp edges of palmetto fronds, but she would respect his privacy. He might never share his feelings, and she really had no claim on them. “Listen…”

  She paused, waiting for him to look at her.

  “I’m listening.” Hal handed the waiter a credit card.

  “I can’t tell. You’re not looking at me. I know you don’t have to watch me to understand, but I can’t know for sure.”

  “Let’s vacate the table first.” The waiter returned with his pay slip. He scribbled his signature and pocketed his card and receipt. “We can talk in the foyer.”

  “Thanks for remembering I have a hard time hearing on the street.”

  “I do, too.” He followed her into the small vestibule where a staircase led to the second floor. His gaze locked with hers. “What’s on your mind?”

  She rubbed her fingers over the smooth wood of the newel post. “We’re only a few blocks away from Fredo’s shop. We should walk over and check that his wound didn’t get infected.”

  “I’ll call.” Hal nudged her into a corner before taking out his cell.

  Men in seersucker jackets and ladies-who-lunch flowed in and out of the restaurant. He murmured into his cell a few minutes then disconnected. His brown eyes found hers, but she couldn’t read his gaze. “Well?”

  “He says to come on by.” Hal stowed his cell.

  “Don’t keep me in suspense. What did he say about his wound?”

  “He didn’t, but he sounded healthy enough to put in an order for take-out.”

  17

  “I didn’t realize this place would be so busy.” Annie turned from watching the shuckers fill aluminum platters with oysters on the half-shell to take in the jammed seating area of LeRoy’s oyster bar. Hal had already checked his watch four times. “Will we still have time to drive by those addresses I found?”

  “As long we don’t dawdle at Magick Charms.” Hal tugged her out of a waiter’s path.

  She scrunched against the counter. “What if he needs to go to the hospital?”

  “He’ll be good.” Hal crossed his fingers. “I don’t want to go through that hospital nonsense again.”

  A breaking-news banner flashed on the television over the bar. A reporter stood outside the police station and then the screen filled with closeups of the sketches of Mr. Persistent and Red Cap. Annie rubbed her arms. “I hope someone out there recognizes them.”

  “Me, too, but we did what we could.”

  The cashier called Hal’s name, and they collected the po-boy sandwiches. Once past the waiting customers outside, they race-walked to Magick Charms.

  Fredo sat in a lawn chair in front of the crystals display, his leg propped on a footstool. His pressed, faded jeans hid his wound from scrutiny. A young woman with purple streaks in her dark hair walked through the curtains in the rear corner. Shala fl
oated into the shop behind her on wings of scarves—blue today.

  Annie set the bag of po-boys near the register and waited for the customer to leave. “I guess you were doing the tarot cards for her?”

  “Reading them, yeah.” Shala lifted out a po-boy and handed her father the bag. “I’d love to do one for y’all.”

  “Thanks, but we don’t have time today.” Annie stalled, unsure if she wanted to know what Shala might say, especially if the Death card came into play.

  Hal’s phone chimed, and he turned away to answer.

  “How are you doing?” Annie handed Fredo some napkins. “I hope your wound’s better.”

  “It’s healing.” He grinned. “I treated it, ’member?”

  With herbs, not modern medicine. He seemed confident, but still… She chewed her lip. “It must hurt.”

  “Of course, it hurts, but the yarrow’s working.” Fredo gave her a once-over and frowned. “I thought you’d be all nervous.”

  “Why?” Annie fiddled with a piece of yarn unraveling from her purse strap. Did he know something she didn’t?

  “I got the impression somebody’s after you.” He took another bite of his po-boy.

  “Someone’s already tried.” Hal stowed his cell and gave a summary of the hotel attack. “We helped the police artist create sketches, but it would help them if we had a name.”

  “Don’t have one, sorry.” Fredo wiped his hands. “Shala, gimme me some money.”

  “No.” Annie shook her head. “The food’s on me.”

  “We have to run.” Hal gestured to her. “Take care of yourselves. No more shooting.”

  “Shala’s locked my pistol away in a secret place, dang her.”

  “Funny how when you claim to be paying for the food, it winds up being my money.”

  “I’m putting it on my tab, Hal.” Annie fanned her face with the postcard from the oyster bar.

  “That tab’s getting sky high.” He pulled on his sunglasses.

  “It’s going to be a lot less than what I owe Frank Prejean.” Or the rest of the world.

  She still didn’t know where that money would come from if she had to pay off his lien first.

  A little red and cream streetcar passed, and they crossed the street. The Blazer had been sitting in a stifling garage, and Hal started the engine immediately to get the air conditioning going. “That was my brother, Mitch, on the phone. He’s going to meet us at Lakefront Airport where we can find out about the Heritage Foods plane.”

  “And find out if Randy left on it.”

  “We need to eliminate that possibility.” He stopped at the pay booth on the first floor. “We’ll take the scenic route so you make new memories”

  “I left New Orleans as a kid, but I do remember things. Some, anyway.” She crossed her arms. “You need to focus on meeting your bond deadline. Take the fastest route.”

  “I’m not taking the interstate if that’s what you mean.” Hal leaned forward to check traffic before pulling into the street. “Not until the police make their arrests. Both ways take about the same time.”

  “Scenic route it is then.”

  They drove toward Lake Pontchartrain and soon the retired red and white Coast Guard station loomed at the end of Lakeshore Drive. They turned left, passed a squadron of brown pelicans flying a dinner mission, then the Mardi Gras fountain. Once across a hump-backed bridge, Hal turned into an oval drive for the art deco airport terminal where tall palms lent a tropical touch.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this place.” Annie craned her neck, surprised she still had discoveries to make about her birthplace. “Where’s the runway?”

  “Built out into the lake behind the building. My brother’s waiting inside.”

  She mounted the steps beside him. “Have I met this one?”

  “No,” Hal signed and pulled the entrance open. “But he won’t bite. His new wife has tamed him some.”

  They stepped inside onto a terrazzo floor with an inlaid compass design. She took in the beautiful 1930s lobby and had to hurry to catch up to Hal charging toward the café. He opened the door, and the smell of grilling hamburgers met them as soon as they entered. A tall, built guy with close-cropped hair rose from one of the ten tables.

  “Annie Swanson, meet my brother, Mitch.”

  Mitch shook her hand and indicated his half-eaten burger. “You guys want something to eat?”

  “I’m good. You want anything, Annie?”

  She smiled but shook her head. All Hal’s brothers were bounty hunters, and she couldn’t get over how polite they were—completely destroying her stereotype.

  Hal braced both hands on an empty chair. “Why don’t you finish while I find out where Heritage Foods parks their aircraft?”

  “They’re over at the new hanger.” Mitch sat and returned to his meal.

  They chatted about what Mitch and his wife were doing, and once he finished, she and Hal followed him in the car, passing a small prop plane preparing for take-off.

  Side-by-side offices faced them from the front of the hangar. One for a maintenance services company and one for a charter air operation. They entered the door of the service company and asked the middle-aged guy behind the counter about Randy and Mattie’s company plane.

  “The Lemoyne family?” The manager scrutinized a computer monitor. He paged through a clipboard, then set his readers on top of his bald head. “Their plane isn’t here at the moment. You police?”

  “No, but we have an arrest warrant for Randolph Lemoyne.” Hal displayed his paperwork. The manager looked from Hal to her and Mitch. He looked as though he might question that, but Hal jumped in first. “Do you know where the plane headed?”

  “Their flight plan says Grand Cayman. They left yesterday.”

  Hal leaned on the counter. “Was Randolph Lemoyne a passenger?”

  “No idea. I wasn’t here.” The man reached for his ringing phone.

  “Thanks.” Hal lifted a hand and walked outside with her and his brother. “That’s probably all we’re going to get from this guy.”

  “You said your skip has a marina house.” Mitch pulled his truck key from a pocket. “We can check that out while we’re on the lakefront.”

  “Good thinking. What’s the address, Annie?” Hal leaned against wind coming off the lake.

  Her cell vibrated in her bag right then. She handed over the notebook and found her phone. Finally. “It’s the contractor.”

  She held wind-blown hair off her face and pressed the instrument as close as possible to her working aid. “Hello. Is this Frank Prejean?”

  A gruff, male voice made an affirmative sound.

  Another small prop plane rumbled past, its propeller thumping rhythmically, and she ducked inside the hangar office. “I don’t hear well and am using a cellphone. Would you repeat what you said?”

  “Get a hearing aid.”

  Her aunt’s contractor would naturally have to be a know-it-all. “I’ve already got one, thanks, Mr. Prejean. I’m in a quieter place now.”

  The manager looked over his counter, and she waved to him before turning to the window. “Would you please repeat what you said?”

  “I ain’t got time to chat.”

  “I understand.” Annie tightened her fingers, pressing the hard case of her hearing aid into her skull. She had to convince Prejean to remove his lien, but first she had to make nice.

  “When am I…paid?”

  “Get paid?” She explained how she’d inherited the bookshop and had not known about her aunt’s hiring him to renovate.

  “If you’d kept in touch, you’d know about me.” He huffed, sounding like the big bad wolf trying to blow down the little pigs’ house.

  Her stomach dropped. “That’s true.”

  She and her mom had called regularly, but her aunt hadn’t always been forthcoming. “I only recently found out about her death.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss, but it’s been months. My operating funds are tied up. You plan
ning to pay me?”

  “Of course.” Static and some weird noise came over the connection. Annie adjusted the angle of the phone. “But I can’t right this second.”

  “Then why’re you calling me?”

  “Because I want to pay you.” She tightened her fingers on the phone. The attorney could have warned her how obstinate this man was. “Can we meet to work out an arrangement that satisfies you, Mr. Prejean?”

  Silence. She looked up and out the window. Hal was watching her.

  “Please?” she pleaded. “I’d really appreciate if we could talk in person.”

  “You got to come out to my house,” Prejean said. “That’s the only way I’ll talk to you.”

  “I can do that.” She pressed a fist to her lip, concentrating. “And again, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to meet you earlier.”

  “You didn’t even bother to warn me you weren’t coming. I wasted an hour waiting. I’m not doing that again.”

  “I understand.” She kept her reply simple. Prejean would hear any explanation as an excuse. “Something happened, and I couldn’t contact you.”

  He seemed to need to complain, though, and she listened, humming in agreement at pauses until he calmed down. “Could you at least remove the padlock on the bookshop in the meantime?”

  “It’s there because I mean business. You need to pay up.” His voice rose.

  “Yes, of course.” She wanted to mention his actions might be illegal, but that would be pointless at the moment. “I’ve been staying there since I got to town. I need to get in and retrieve my suitcase and clothes.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes, it’s true. I’m—” Staying with a friend right now. Prejean wouldn’t care, and he might even use that as a reason to delay. Her throat tightened, and she took a deep breath. “When can I come by to talk to you?”

  “Tomorrow’s my Carnival krewe meeting. I got bowling the next night.”

  “What about tonight?” She crossed her fingers.

  “You want to meet tonight?”

  “If that’s good for you.” She had to show the contractor she could be flexible.