Big Easy Escapade (12 page)

“We just went to Louie’s Flowers. Didn’t
learn jack other than Harry paid in cash and extra for the guy to
deliver at exactly 10:30. Now we’re trying to figure out what to do
next. You have anything else?”

“I spoke to Antonio about 30 minutes ago.
Based on the crime scene recreation, they’ve determined that the
kidnappers are both about 6 feet tall, around 220 pounds, possibly
Hispanic. They’ve pretty much dismissed the two young guys we saw
on the video who were trying to get in. They still want to find
them and talk to them, though.”

“How are they going to find them?”

“I don’t know, but they got Harry’s cell
number off the flower receipt. They’ve tried to locate him with
that, but so far they haven’t gotten any pings. But they got a
warrant and are going through his life, including his
financials.”

“And?”

“And guess who withdrew $20,000 two weeks
ago?”

Vivian stopped rocking. “No way. Really?”

“Yep.”

“That’s a chunk o’ change.”

“Yes it is. Antonio hasn’t figured out what
he bought with it, so it definitely falls into the suspicious
category.”

“Hell yeah, it does.”

“Other than that, the guy is pretty much a
loner. Never married. No kids. He’s a facilities manager with an
oil company and he evidently missed a meeting today for some big
deal they’re putting together. I’m not sure who wants to find him
more, his boss or the police.”

“Sounds like a super freak to me. Where’s he
staying?”

“Hmmmm, Antonio will kill me. Besides, the
cops are all over that place.”

“
Oh, come
on. We won’t interfere.”
Too much.

Adrienne hesitated, then said, “It’s the
Roosevelt Hotel, but you didn’t hear that from me!”

“We’ll be good, I promise.”

They both laughed at that.

“This is really great info, Adrienne. Thank
you.”

“If you see that hairy beast, call the cops.
Don’t approach him. I don’t want to fish you out of the
Mississippi.”

V
ivian
went inside the Maple Street Book Shop and found Lucy at the
cookbooks and Wendy in history. “Where’s Kate?”

“I think she’s in children’s,” Wendy
said.

“Lead the way, I’ve got news.”

She followed Wendy through the old house, the
wooden floors creaking with every step. A thin man with gray hair
and black-rimmed glasses rounded a bookshelf and asked if they
needed help with anything.

Wendy
held out
Fabulous New Orleans
. “I think we’re good, but I’ll be gettin’ this in
a few minutes.”

He took the book from her. “It’ll be at the
front when you’re ready.”

They walked to the back of the house and
found Kate bawling.

“Oh my gosh, what’s wrong?” Wendy asked,
pulling a small tissue packet from her purse and handing it
over.

Kate took the pack, then held up a book
entitled “Love You Forever.” On the cover, a gleeful toddler
proudly held a piece of toilet paper over his head. “This book is
so poignant. The little boy grows up and the mom… the mom…” She
burst into tears.

“Boy, you are trying to have a baby, aren’t
you?” Vivian gently took the book from Kate and placed it on the
shelf. “It’s a wonderful story, one of my kids’ favorites, and they
make me read it way too often, but there’s no need to get
upset.”

Lucy, Miss Say No To Having Kids, which
sometimes equated to no sympathy, took control. “We need to focus
here. Vivian got some info from Adrienne. What is it?”

Vivian patted Kate’s arm, then told them
about the phone call. The connection with the murder case, the big
cash withdrawal and where Harry was staying.

Lucy, phone always in hand, looked up the
Roosevelt Hotel. “We need a cab.”

“I’ll go buy my book,” Wendy said. Kate tried
to give her the tissue pack back, but Wendy waved her off. “Keep
it, I’ve got another.”

As they left the room filled with hundreds of
children’s books, Kate glanced back, teary-eyed, at the little boy
on the cover.

“No more double espressos for you.” Vivian
gave Kate a little squeeze.

***

The well-dressed stranger sat on the chair
and calmly looked at Daisy.

“Who are you?” she yelled.

He threaded his fingers together and said
with a Middle-Eastern accent, “There is no need to yell, Daisy. I
will not harm you.”

“How do you know my name?”

“You were quite impressive last night. I
think you could have won that competition.”

Her stomach clenched. “I still plan to win
it.”

He said nothing.

What’s up with this high-rolling
asshole?
“You still haven’t
answered me.” Daisy gave him her toughest look, the one that makes
most men behave.

Someone knocked on the door and a familiar
face looked in. “Time to leave.”

Where have I seen him?

The man in the chair stood and walked to the
end of the bed. “I am Sonu and you are going to be very happy with
me. You will see.” With that, he left.

She jumped out of bed and ran to the door but
it was locked. She banged on it but no one answered.

***

The girls rocked on the porch at Maple Street
Book Shop for a few minutes until a cab pulled up to the curb. They
hopped in and Lucy told the driver where to go. The drive to the
central business district didn’t take long, and soon they were
walking up to the hotel’s entrance.

“What are we going to do in here?” Wendy
asked. “We don’t know what room he’s in.”

“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Vivian
said.

Lucy walked toward a sitting area in the
lobby. “Let’s just hang here and see what happens.”

“Or we can ask around,” Kate said, looking
into the lounge. “Maybe the bartender knows something. Or the door
guy.”

They sat for a while, people watching. Vivian
watched a family with a stroller fumble to get a kid strapped down.
She laughed. Apparently that toddler didn’t want to be in there.
Several businessmen came and went, then she noticed a young,
sandy-blond bellman looking at her. The stern look on his face made
her feel uncomfortable. She switched seats so that her back was to
him. “I wonder if he’s an undercover cop,” she said, tilting her
head back.

“Who?” Lucy said, much too loudly and looking
in his direction.

“Shhhhhhhh!” Vivian said, waving to quiet
her.

“Who are you talking about?”

Vivian looked up at the ceiling. “The bellman
behind me who looks a little too clean-cut.”

Lucy looked at him. “Oh, he’s cute.” She sat
up straight, sticking her chest out. “He can frisk me any
time.”

Kate ran her fingers through her hair and
casually used her pointer. “And what about that guy busing tables
in the bar? That’s totally a cop.”

The girls casually looked that way and all
agreed. He had that look. Cop.

Wendy looked toward the front door. “Uh
oh.”

Vivian glanced up and locked eyes with
Detective Leffall, who made a beeline for them. He had on a navy
blazer, navy slacks and a bad tie.

“Girls,” he said, hands on hips. “You
shouldn’t be here.”

“We’re just relaxing. You know, enjoying the
A/C,” Vivian said, smiling sweetly. “Nice tie.”

He ran his hand down the tie. “My kids gave
me this.” He gave her a stern look. “You don’t understand, this guy
could be dangerous. You need to leave.”

The girls accepted their fate and stood
up.

“We’re just trying to help,” Kate said.

“I know, but we’ve got it under control.”

The girls shuffled out the front. “Now what?”
Wendy asked.

Vivian looked at the time on her phone. “It’s
beer thirty.”

Lucy snapped her fingers. “I concur. Let’s go
find a three-for-one.”

Wendy held up her 300-page book. “I’d like to
drop this monster off at the hotel.”

The girls swung by the Hotel De Lis,
freshened up and were walking down Canal Street toward Bourbon
Street when Kate pointed. “Look! Gray Mustang!”

The car, full of squealing teenage girls and
blaring hip-hop, turned right in front of them. The rear window had
big white lettering that said, “Spring Break NOLA here we
come!”

“I somehow don’t think they abducted anyone,”
Vivian said, dancing to their music a little. “I remember my spring
break days, headin’ to the beach on South Padre Island.”

After they thought about how long it had been
since any of them had had a spring break, everyone decided
hurricanes from Pat O’Brien’s were in order.

They walked in the main entrance off St.
Peter and passed the main bar and the piano bar on their way to the
courtyard. The centerpiece was a large fountain shooting blood-red
flames, making the water look like their hurricanes.

They took a seat and ordered a round from a
girl with hair almost as red as Daisy’s.

Drinks arrived and they cheersed to Daisy’s
safe return.

The waitress delivered a tray of food to the
table next to them.

“They serve food here?” Lucy asked.

Wendy finished a sip. “I’ve been here a
million times and I never knew.”

Vivian laughed. “You’ve always been too
focused on these.” She held up her drink and they clinked
glasses.

They sat for a while, watching the fountain
erupt and people get stupider and stupider.

After the last, long sweet sip, Vivian said,
“I’ve gotta get some souvenirs for the kidlets.”

“It’s not like there’s a shortage of shops,”
Wendy said.

Lucy set down her big hurricane glass. “Yeah,
there’s a place a couple of doors down.”

“First, I think we should go to where we had
our psychic reading and see if maybe that gypsy lady is there,”
Kate said. “If she’s not, I think we hit the voodoo shop.”

Vivian didn’t like the sound of that. “Why do
you think the gypsy can help?”

“Some of them have a gift,” Kate said, then
she looked at Vivian. “You, of all people, should be more open to
this. She was spot-on about Rick, even though you didn’t want to
hear it at the time.”

“It scared the hell out of me — she was able
to see it so easily. So as long as you keep her and the voodoo
people away from me, I’ll go.”

They finished their drinks, then headed
toward the gypsy lady’s spot. She wasn’t there, so Lucy walked up
to the door guy at a nearby club and asked about her.

“She’s just here once in a while,” he
answered. “The cops run her off.”

Disappointed, the girls walked up Bourbon to
Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo.

Vivian’s stomach flipped at the idea of
walking in the door. “Y’all go ahead. I’m going to stay right
here.”

Lucy decided to hang with her, so Kate and
Wendy went to see what they could find out.

The smell of incense hit Wendy and made her
cough. Skeleton masks glared from the walls, and voodoo dolls hung
on chains from the ceiling. A bookcase lined one entire wall.

A tall, black woman wearing a silk purple
muumuu laced with gold thread and a matching head scarf came out
from behind a black velvet curtain. Her bracelets jangled as she
walked, and the red gem in the eye sockets on her skull ring
reflected off the light. The woman’s right eye stared right at
Wendy, while her left eye wandered off to the side.

The sight
of the googly eye unnerved Wendy.
This lady has a gift, all right. The gift
of freaking people out!

Kate took a step back as the woman said to
Wendy, “I see you are in turmoil. Come, I will help you.” Then she
walked back behind the curtain.

Wendy gave Kate a look and they both
followed.

“I’m not in turmoil,” Wendy said. “It’s a
friend of ours. She’s in trouble and we need to find her.”

“Your friend is at peace,” Googly-eye
said.

Kate drew in a quick breath. “Are you sure?
The friend we’re looking for is Daisy.”

The woman sat for a moment nodding and
clicking her fingernails on the table. “Daisy, yes. The flower.
Hmmmm.” She waved her hands over the crystal ball sitting in front
of her. “Yes, I see her, she’s in trouble. She needs help.”

Wendy looked at Kate out of the corner of her
eye. Kate’s eyes were narrowed and her chin was down.

I’m going to call her bluff
, Wendy thought. “Is she still in
Mexico?”

The lady gracefully moved her hands around
the ball, then in a circular pattern in front of her. “Yes, I see
sombreros and maracas. She is definitely on a sandy beach. She’s
sick, though, holding her stomach.”

Wendy, ready to walk out, said, “Oh no,
Montezuma’s revenge.”

The woman held her arms out wide in a V above
her head. “Yes! That’s it! Revenge!”

Kate and Wendy stood simultaneously. Kate
threw down a five. “Not a lot we can do about that. Thanks for
helping us with our turmoil.”

Googly-eye called after them as Wendy pushed
through the curtain. “But wait, let me do individual readings. Only
$25!”

“We’ll pass,” Wendy said over her shoulder as
they ran past the skeletons and out of the store.

D
aisy
searched for a phone but found only an empty wall jack. She tried
the two windows in the room but they were sealed shut. There was no
balcony, and the street was at least 12 stories below. Her fight or
flight instinct kicked in. Pulling out every drawer, she went
through the bathroom, but couldn’t find any sharp instruments to
pick the lock. She kicked at the door but it didn’t budge. The desk
and nightstand were clear of pen and paper. No writing a note and
sticking it in the window. She grabbed the desk lamp. It wasn’t
very heavy, but it could be used as a weapon in some
capacity.
What else?