7. Jayne

I woke up in the RV, lying on the bed. I blinked at the ceiling. Sin was in the other room, on the phone. As the words filtered in, it sounded like he was talking to Matt.

"I agree," Sin said. "It's unbelievable. She didn't seem like the type to us either … Very sad. Jayne is upset, as am I … I'm sure they'll want to interview you … I don't know."

Sadness struck me as I remembered what had happened. My stomach hurt, and I felt like crying. Instead, I rolled to my side and pushed myself up. Spider lay at the end of the bed.

I patted the spot next to me. "Come here, baby."

He got up and came to me. "Something bad happened, Mama."

"I know." I hugged him. Poor Charlie. I couldn't believe she was dead. Just like I couldn't believe she'd taken her own life. I realized I hadn't known her long, but it made no sense. Nothing about her demeanor had indicated she was even thinking about such a thing.

The only thing that did make sense was that it wasn't suicide. But who would want to hurt a nice cat sitter? My mind was already racing with possibilities. It was just so awful. I kissed Spider's head, held him close, and let out an unhappy sigh.

"Mama sad?"

"Yes, Mama is sad. Someone very nice got hurt and she died." Life was not fair. Charlie had obviously had a kind heart and a great love for animals. People like that didn't deserve that kind of end. The world needed more like her, not less.

Sin came in, Sugar trotting along with him. She jumped up on the bed, walked over to my side, and rubbed against Spider.

Spider put his paw on her side. "Not now, Sugar. Mama sad."

Sin's brows lifted. "How are you feeling? It was awful news, I know. I can't believe it."

"Neither can I. Awful doesn't begin to describe it. I don't believe she would have taken her own life, but if she didn't, then someone else did. And who would want to hurt Charlie? I can't…"

"Me either."

"Did she live around here? That guy at the bookshop said there were burglaries going on in this area. Maybe she surprised an intruder." I could not accept that she'd ended her own life.

"I don't know. It's possible. But would a burglar go to the trouble of making it look like a suicide?"

"No, probably not."

"Hopefully, the police can figure that out." He sat on his side of the bed. "Matt is really upset, as I'm sure you can imagine. The police want him to come in as soon as he gets back."

"Is that just because he texted her?"

"Because he knew her and probably because his was the last text she got. I'm sure they just need to cover all their bases, you know? His text to her, the one about not worrying about taking care of Slim, came in while the police were on the scene."

I exhaled. "Did you tell him we'd look after Slim?"

"I did. He's trying to get an earlier flight out but probably still won't be back until eleven or so tonight."

"I wish the police had told us more."

"Matt said they told him a neighbor found her. The woman who lives next door. She and Charlie had coffee together sometimes, and they had keys to each other's places. She heard Charlie's alarm going off, and that's why she went in."

"That poor woman."

Sin ran his hand down Sugar's back, which made her arch up. "We should do something to get our minds off of things."

"Like what?" Odd as it might seem, my appetite had, at least temporarily, disappeared. "I don't think I'm up for a cinnamon roll right now."

"Yeah, I can understand that. We could … go to the aquarium. Might be a good way to distract ourselves. Or the war museum. Although that might be a little heavy, all things considered."

"The aquarium would be all right. Better than sitting here, thinking about what happened to poor Charlie all day." I sighed. "I feel so bad for her family."

"Yeah," Sin said. "Me, too." He touched my hand. "Let's get ready."

The aquarium proved to be a good distraction. It was calm and peaceful and filled with lots of incredible creatures that reminded us of the beauty of life, despite how fragile it was. There were a lot of kids running around, which meant boisterous energy and amusing comments, like the little girl who asked her teacher what flavor the jellyfish were.

We took our time, letting the kids get ahead of us as much as possible. Sin held my hand, and we did our best to enjoy ourselves. Charlie was never far from my thoughts. Probably for Sin, too.

After about four hours at the aquarium, part of which was spent having a bowl of gumbo in the upstairs dining area, we walked out to a sunny day. As the aquarium's interior was on the darker side, we blinked in the light.

"Hungry?" Sin asked.

"Not really, but I should probably eat something. For Jack Jr.'s sake."

He nodded. "What do you feel like?"

I looked around. We were near the river. The area was a lot less populated than the French Quarter. I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we could just walk toward the French Quarter? See what looks good?"

"Okay." He took my hand.

It felt like he was holding on to me a little tighter than usual. The thought of Charlie's death weighed on us. We strolled, hand in hand, for a few blocks without saying anything. Ships, barges mostly, slid by on the water. A few seabirds circled overhead.

It wasn't hard to tell when we'd reached the French Quarter. There were more people, the wafting scents of food, and the sound of music, which drifted over from the bandstand area across from Jackson Square. We walked to it and took a seat. A three-man brass band was playing jazzy music. We smiled and bobbed our heads.

Sin went up and dropped some money in their hat. When he came back, he put his arm around me. "This has really upset you, hasn't it?"

I nodded. "I don't know why. I barely knew her. I guess it's just the shock of it. The injustice of a life cut short before its time."

"You want to figure it out, don't you?"

I looked at him. "Don't you?"

He stared at the band. "I do. But also, more than anything, I want to be sure Matt doesn't get caught up in this."

"You don't think he had anything to do with it, do you?"

"No." Sin made eye contact with me again. "I don't. Not a thing. He had no reason to hurt Charlie."

That we knew of, but I kept that to myself. I didn't think Matt was involved, either— he was a wonderful guy—but I'd seen stranger things come true. Not that I wanted him to be involved. I didn't. For his sake and for Sin's.

Sin went on. "He's already stressed with work."

I exhaled, my stomach rumbling with hunger I didn't really feel. "I could call Birdie. See what she can find out. You know she has her ways." I'd been thinking about doing that the whole time we'd been in the aquarium, but I was sure Sin would tell me to let the police handle it.

His smile was quick, but at least it was there. "She does. You should reach out to her."

"Okay, I'll text her. Actually, I should call her, but that might take a while. You know she'll want to talk."

He nodded. "Maybe we could do that over a big plate of red beans and rice?"

I smiled. "You mean each, right? Because Jack Jr. and I aren't into sharing."

That got a little laugh out of him. "Yes, each. I love you. Just promise me that whatever information Birdie gives you, you'll make smart decisions. I need you and Jack Jr. safe."

"We will be. I'm not about to put myself in the path of a burglar or whoever's behind this." I tilted my head. "Should we have some kind of security system on the RV? I mean for when we're in there." We had an alarm for when we weren't on board.

"Probably not a bad idea. I can talk to Matt about it tomorrow." He stood up and offered me his hand. "Let's see if we can find a quiet spot to get a late lunch. You can call Birdie when we get to the table."

Didn't take long to find a restaurant. This was New Orleans, after all. Eating was a pretty popular thing to do. We found a surprisingly empty spot a few streets away from Jackson Square in a small café called Lola's.

The lack of clientele probably had more to do with the odd hour that we were eating as opposed to the quality of the food. The place smelled great and had that sort of Old World ambience that a lot of the restaurants in the French Quarter did. Deep red walls, battered wood tables, framed maps, and a black-and-white checkerboard floor. The addition of a few swords, a treasure chest, and a real live macaw in a big, gilded cage by the hostess stand completed the piratey vibe.

We got a table in the back, away from the two other occupied tables. We immediately ordered our drinks, water for me and a root beer for Sin, then perused the menus. After Sin's talk of red beans and rice, it was all I could think about.

Thankfully, they had it. The dish came with sausage or chicken thighs. I went with sausage after the server assured me it wasn't too spicy. Sin got the same thing. As she took our menus, she told us to save room for dessert, since the banana bread pudding was their special and sure to sell out.

"Save us one," Sin said. "Even if we're too full to eat it, we'll take it home."

"You got it." She headed for the kitchen.

I got my phone out and dialed Birdie's cell phone as opposed to the nonemergency number for the Nocturne Falls Sheriff's Department, where she was the receptionist. I knew there was a chance she wouldn't have her phone nearby, but if I had to leave a voicemail?—

"Princess! How nice to hear from you! How are you? How's Sinclair? Where are you?"

I could only wait until she stopped to catch her breath. "Hi, Birdie. I'm good, and so is Sin. We're in New Orleans, visiting a friend of his. How are you?"

"I'm great. It's so nice to hear from you. What's going on? Don't tell me someone's been kidnapped. Is Spider all right? And Sugar? And my godchild?"

I looked at Sin as I spoke. "Spider is fine, as are Sugar and Jack Jr." Sin shook his head in amusement. "No one's been kidnapped, either." I took a breath. "But someone has died, and we could use a little help. If you have a minute. If now isn't good, I can call back."

"Now is just fine. Tell me everything."

"The deceased is a young woman named Charlotte Frett. Sin's friend that we're visiting is Matthew Galloway. He lives on Seventh Street in the Garden District. Matt employed Charlotte, generally known as Charlie, as a cat sitter for when he travels. As it happens, he was called out of town on a quick trip yesterday, so he's in Chicago at the moment." I could hear Birdie typing. She wasted no time.

"Charlotte Frett, got it. Two T 's?"

"Yes." I'd seen her business card for Frett's Pets in the drawer that held Slim's inhaler. "We met her last night when she came to take care of Matt's cat, Slim. She didn't show this morning, so Sin and I took care of Slim. As we were leaving Matt's house, a police officer showed up and started to question us. And that's how we found out that Charlie's neighbor had discovered her dead. The police are working under the assumption it's a suicide."

"I see that. I have the report pulled up, and I'm skimming it now."

Like I said, she wasted no time. "One more bit of information that might be significant is that there has been a rash of burglaries in the area. My thought is she could have startled an intruder and paid the price. But I don't think a burglar would go to the effort of making it seem like a suicide."

"Seems unlikely, but who knows." Birdie went silent a moment. "There's no coroner's report yet, but I'll watch for it. Hang on a second."

"Okay."

The clacking of keys followed.

When the clacking stopped, she spoke. "There have been five break-ins in the Garden District. From what I can see, they've been pretty standard. Back doors jimmied open, obvious valuables taken. Watches, jewelry, small objects. A couple of laptops. Nothing too big or too obvious."

I felt like I should understand what that meant. "Why not?"

"Probably, and I'm just speculating, because whoever's doing this is on foot. No getaway car, which would be picked up on security cameras. Hang on." She muttered softly under her breath. Nothing I could make out. "Just as I thought. No vehicles have been linked to the burglaries so far, but in three of the five there is security camera footage of a masked figure with a backpack. My guess is he's the guy. If something was too big for the backpack, it didn't get taken. I'll send these reports, if you want them."

"I do. I can't imagine that someone would break into Charlie's place thinking they were going to score. Not if they knew who she was and what she did for a living. Pet sitting isn't exactly a get-rich-quick scheme."

"You said Matt lives on Seventh Street?"

"That's right." The server brought us a basket with slices of French baguette along with a pot of butter that had flecks of something in it. I tucked the phone between my ear and shoulder and snagged a piece. My appetite was coming back.

Sin took the bread out of my hand and started buttering it for me. Snowballs, I loved that man.

"From what I'm seeing," Birdie said, "Charlie didn't live far from there, according to the address on the report. Looks like she lived in a house that had been converted into apartments. Hers was one of four. I'll email you the report so you can see for yourself."

"Thank you." Sin handed me the bread back. I took a bite and nearly groaned into Birdie's ear. The butter had orange and honey in it. On the warm baguette, it was incredible. Actually, it probably would have been incredible eaten off a spoon. "You're the best, Birdie. Sin and I really appreciate this."

"You bet. I'll send the PM as soon as I can get my hands on it."

I'd seen enough crime dramas to know she meant the postmortem report. "You're the best. I owe you."

"You just take care of yourself and that little one."

"I am, I swear." Our food arrived. "Give my love to your Jack." Jack Van Zant, that was. Birdie's boyfriend.

"I will. Same to Sin. Better go. Hank's headed in, and he looks grumpy. By which I mean he looks the same as he always does." Laughing at her own joke, Birdie managed a, "Bye!" and hung up.

I put my phone down and unfurled my napkin over my belly. Saucy red beans covered a big pile of snowy white rice. On top of the beans sat a hefty piece of kielbasa, and all of it had been sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley. The green against the red made it look downright Christmasy. "This looks great."

"It does, but what did Birdie have to say?"

"She's emailing me the police reports and will send the coroner's report on when it comes in. Also, the break-ins appear to have been done by a guy with a backpack. No vehicle involved. Also all in this area."

"Is she sending that information, too?"

I shoveled up a big forkful of rice and red beans. The smell was making my mouth water. "Yep." Then I put that fork in my mouth. It was so good. Smoky and creamy and savory in a way that erased any lack of appetite I'd been feeling.

Didn't mean I was done feeling bad about Charlie's death. That funk was going to stick around for a while. But with Birdie's help, maybe Sin and I could get her some justice. Not that the police wouldn't, but Sin and I could give Charlie our full attention.

In my opinion, her death wasn't a suicide but a murder, and the sooner her killer was caught, the better.