18. Sinclair

I called Matt as soon as we had a table at Café Du Monde and had placed our order for beignets, a coffee for me, and a hot chocolate for Jayne, although the server also brought waters for both of us when she came to the table.

Matt picked up right away. "Hey. Any news?"

"Not really. Well, nothing major. Molly was helpful but didn't know a whole lot. I have a question for you, though. Does your company have any password-cracking software? Something that might be better than what the police have?"

Matt grunted softly. "Um, can I ask why?"

"The police haven't been able to get into Charlie's computer yet."

" Oh . My company deals more in encrypting than unencrypting, but one of my top-level security guys used to be a white-hat hacker. He's pretty good. But how is that going to help if the police have her computer? You think they're going to let us take a crack at it?"

"Yes, actually. First of all, Jayne thinks she might know Charlie's password. Secondly, our friend Birdie has some very high-up friends that include the New Orleans police commissioner, and she's working behind the scenes to get us access."

"Seriously? Who are you people? Mr. and Mrs. James Bond?"

I laughed. "I promise we're not spies, just well-connected."

"I'd say. Look, I'll reach out to Dexter and see what he says. He lives in Bywater, so if we need him, he's not far."

"That would be great, thanks."

"Enjoy your day. What do you think about getting some takeout and watching a movie tonight?"

"I'll ask Jayne but sounds good to me. Talk to you later." I hung up. "One of Matt's security guys used to be a white-hat hacker. Matt's going to see how he feels about his chances of breaking into a laptop. Also, he wants to hang out tonight, order some takeout and watch a movie."

"I'm cool with that." Jayne shook her head. "But we won't need the hacker. I've got this. I know I do."

"I appreciate your confidence but?—"

"Trust me."

I did trust her, but I also thought having Matt's guy as backup wasn't a bad idea. Our beignets and my coffee arrived.

Jayne gaped at them the way most women ogled big diamonds or fancy designer purses. "Son of a nutcracker. Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?"

As I was looking at her, I could answer honestly. "Yes, I have."

She looked up, realized I meant her, and grinned. "You're silly, but I love you."

"I love you more. Go on, don't wait for me. I know you want to?—"

She already had one in her hands. A little breeze sent a dusting of white across her skin. She took a bite, eyes closing, a sound of pure enjoyment coming out of her.

I sipped my coffee, then took a beignet. They really were something special. So simple and yet so good. Maybe it was the simplicity that made them so good. That and they were clearly being made by people who knew what they were doing.

While she ate, I talked. "I keep thinking about that last unidentified set of prints from Charlie's apartment. Could be the killer."

Jayne nodded and chewed. "Same," she said, exhaling a little powdered sugar. She sipped her water.

I picked up a beignet, tapped off some of the sugar, and had a bite. "We'll get Birdie's pralines after this. Aunt Sally's is just down the street a bit, if I'm not mistaken."

"Okay. What about this Theresa? The one the police haven't spoken to yet. We should look her up on Facebook."

This time I had to swallow before I could answer. "I did. Her account is private. We'll have to go by the profile picture because it's the only one visible. Or get Molly to point her out at the funeral."

"Do you think Matt's going to let Isla come along with us?"

"I doubt it. I don't think he wants to give her false hope, you know?"

Jayne nodded. "He'd be smart not to. She looks like she's hiding a lot of crazy."

I laughed. "Why do you say that?"

"I'm telling you, that whole thing with her just happening to be at the restaurant? She had to know he was going to be there. She was dressed to impress. Come on. No one puts on a slinky black dress and stiletto heels to pick up a to-go order."

"Maybe she was coming from another function."

Jayne reached for the last beignet, which I was happy to let her have. "What does Isla do for a living?"

"I know Matt told me…" I had to think hard. "I believe he said she's a rep for a company that sells industrial cleaning supplies. Like the stuff restaurants use."

Jayne scrunched up her nose. "That sounds boring, but I guess it helps to sell boring products if you have a hot girl pitching them."

"Sometimes I think we could use some industrial cleaning supplies for that litter box."

She laughed. "Yeah, Sugar is cute, but she sure is stinky."

"I was talking about Spider," I said with a grin.

"They're both smelly beasts." She leaned back. Her belly had caught most of the powdered sugar fallout. "Oh, man." She brushed at it, which only succeeded in streaking her T-shirt with white.

She frowned.

"It's all right. No one gets out of this place without powdered sugar on them somewhere."

"Maybe not, but this was my last clean T-shirt. Do you think Matt would let us do some laundry at his place tonight?"

"I don't even have to ask. I know he will."

"Good." She adjusted her purse strap across her body. "Let's go get Birdie's pralines, then head back."

"You got it."

Getting pralines for Birdie also resulted in getting pralines for Jayne, but I hadn't expected anything less. Especially when she found out they came in original flavor and chocolate.

We sent some to my parents, too. We'd have sent them to her parents, but the North Pole was sugar central already. Sending them pralines would be like sending flowers to a florist.

On our walk back to the SUV, we also picked up a souvenir coffee cup. I put the packages in the backseat, and we returned to Matt's. Once in the RV, I texted him that we were looking forward to hanging out with him.

He texted back with the places he most liked to order food from, which I passed on to Jayne. While she looked them up, I got on my computer, went on Facebook, and looked up Theresa Uba again.

I sent her a friend request. Worth a shot , I thought. Surprisingly, not fifteen minutes later, she accepted.

I immediately dug into her profile. Theresa worked as a nurse at an assisted-living facility. She was Nigerian, and based on the photos on her Facebook profile, she came from a large family. Her sweet smile and kind eyes made me like her right away.

"I sent Theresa a friend request, and she accepted." I gave Jayne the details I'd just learned.

She nodded. "I want to talk to her tomorrow. I hope she's there. She might be the one who knows Tony's last name."

"Could be. If she's there, we'll make sure we get a few minutes with her."

Jayne went back to eating pralines and deciding what she wanted for dinner. I looked through Theresa's friend list, hoping to spot a man named Tony.

Before that happened, Jayne's phone buzzed. "Birdie," she said, looking at the screen. She grinned. "We have an appointment at the police station tomorrow at 2 p.m. with Darryl Tyson, police commissioner."

"That Birdie," I said. "She is some kind of magic."

Jayne nodded. "I'm glad we got her the big gift box."

"So am I." I was glad we'd gotten the same box for Jayne. She was going through them.

She put her phone down and looked at me but said nothing.

I knew my wife well enough to know there was something on her mind. "What is it?"

She sighed, then smiled at me. "I know you don't want me to, but I really want to go back to Charlie's and have another look around."

"I know you do, but how about this instead—tomorrow, when we're at the police station, why don't you talk to the commissioner about taking samples of the protein powder and almond milk? See if he can get it done through official channels."

She pursed her lips. "And if he thinks it's a dumb idea or doesn't want to?"

"Then we'll do it ourselves."

She blinked. "You mean that?"

"I do. I want to find out what happened to Charlie as much as you. But getting those items tested officially would be the best route."

She picked up a chocolate praline. "It would be."

"What do you think you missed at her apartment?"

"I don't know. That's just it. That's why I want to have another look around."

"Well, you might still get your chance."

She changed the subject. "Are you sure Matt's cool with us doing laundry at his place?"

"Yes."

She got up. "I'm going to get it gathered up. When are we going over there?"

I looked at the time. "In a couple of hours. Did you decide what you want to eat?"

"Indian. I need some naan bread and butter chicken."

Spider's head suddenly popped up next to Jayne. He peeked over the tabletop. I hadn't realized he'd been sitting next to Jayne. "Spider loves Chicken Party."

I laughed. "We weren't talking about Chicken Party. We were talking about butter chicken."

He sat up taller. "Butter chicken?"

"Yes. It's what your mom wants for dinner."

"Spider likes butter chicken?"

"Butter chicken isn't for spiders—I mean cats. It's people food."

"Spider is people."

This wasn't going the way I'd thought it would. Although, in a way, it was going exactly the way I should have expected. "It's for two-legged, non-furry people without tails."

Spider's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Butter chicken is dumb."

I just nodded. "Yes, it is."

Jayne snorted.

He lay back down, and I went back to Facebook and my search for Tony, doing my best not to laugh.

That urge left pretty quickly, as Tony was nowhere to be found. Just to be sure, I went back to Charlie and Molly's profiles and searched their lists again. I even looked through the comments on their posts, hoping someone named Tony might have said something.

But I found nothing.

Whoever Tony was, he didn't seem to be on Facebook. What about Instagram, though? It was worth a shot.

I went to Charlie's account and quickly discovered she followed and was followed by Theresa and Molly. I jotted down their Instagram handles, then started the search for Tony all over again.

Instagram was harder, but I persevered. Mostly what I discovered was that I really did not enjoy social media.

Jayne came out of the bedroom with two full laundry bags. I stared at them. "Is that really all of our laundry?"

"No. There's a third, smaller bag, but I can't carry it all."

I pushed my laptop aside and jumped up. "You don't have to carry any of it. Give that to me."

I took the bags and set them near the door. Yes, Jayne was winter-elf strong, but she still shouldn't be lugging all of that around while pregnant. "I'll text Matt and see if we can come over a little sooner to get started on all of this."

"Okay. He doesn't need to entertain us. He can work until he's ready to come down. Make sure he knows that. I don't want to be a bother. Besides, Slim is good company, too."

"Who's Slim?" Spider asked.

That cat had big ears. So did Sugar, but she was still sleeping on the couch. I got my phone and sent Matt the text about coming over early.

Jayne answered him. "Slim is the kitty cat that lives in the big house with Dadman's friend, Matt."

"Slim likes Chicken Party?"

"I have no idea," Jayne said. "Why? Do you want to send a can of your food over to him?"

Spider's eyes widened. "Spider loves Chicken Party."

Jayne shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe Slim does, too."

Spider hopped down and rubbed forcefully against Jayne's leg. She picked him up to cuddle him, and he pushed his face against her chin. "Spider loves Mama."

She laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not giving your food away to anyone. But sharing is a good thing."

Spider leaned back in her arms. "Spider share with Sugar."

"Yes, you do." She kissed his head.

Matt answered me. I read the text and looked at Jayne. "All right, let's get this laundry party started."