Sweet Mystery (22 page)

“Forget that. I can take care of myself.” He
put an arm around the back of her chair. “Don’t let Toya tell you
different.”

“How did you know?”

“This is Belle Rose, remember? Miss Essie was
downtown to see Doctor Picard. She saw you talking and could tell
you weren’t having a friendly chat. She told Mrs. Broussard who has
coffee with the second cousin of my grandmother’s best friend, who
told–”

“I get the picture.” Rae grinned at him.
Still she wondered if their affair had moved too fast. She grew
serious again. “Maybe we should take things slower.”

Simon studied her for a few seconds. “Are you
having doubts because of family conflicts or because you’re not
sure your feelings for me are real?”

Rae touched his face. “My feelings for you
are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Then you doubt me?” Simon took her face in
his hands and kissed her.

“Reputation is important to your family.”

“I don’t care if your grandfather had a
harem, fifty kids and made his living swindling half the country. I
love you.”

Rae looked into his deep brown eyes. All her
misgivings were gone in an instant. “Be careful, Simon St. Cyr.
With sweet talk like that you just might have me on your hands for
a long time.”

“That’s the idea.” Simon kissed her again.
“Now give me the grand tour.”

They walked through the dance hall, looking
at all the renovations. As an added attraction, Rae had had a porch
built along one side, facing the bayou where several tables would
be set out. Old-fashioned rocking chairs were placed at one end, so
patrons could relax outside with their drinks. They were standing
there when Marcelle and her husband arrived.

“Hey, cher. You got this place lookin’ good.”
Freddie kissed Rae and shook hands with Simon.

“Gee, Freddie, haven’t seen much of you.
You’re always at work,” Rae said. She gave his beefy arm a playful
swat. “Marcelle’s got you trained right.”

“Humph, keepin’ all them mouths fed is a job,
but they worth it.” Freddie stuck his chest out with pride.

“Besides, I’m going to work part-time for Mr.
Thibaut, bookkeeping,” Marcelle added. “Between the two of us,
we’ll feed, clothe and educate those little darlins.” She hugged
her husband’s arm.

“And you’re going to help me, too.
Bookkeeping is not one of my skills.” Rae shook her head.

“You’ve got so many other assets, no one will
notice.” Simon seemed to forget they were not alone.

Marcelle nudged Freddie. “Child, you two make
a nice couple. Don’t they, Freddie?”

“Got this town buzzin’. They say… Ow! What’d
you do that for?” Freddie rubbed his side where his wife’s nudge
had turned into a jab.

“Just hush,” Marcelle shot back.

“Quit beating up on your husband, Marcelle.
We know we’re a favorite topic of conversation around town these
days.” Rae chuckled.

“And we don’t care,” Simon said, with a
pointed look at Rae. “What ‘they’ say is not important.”

Marcelle gave a curt nod. “You right about
that. A bunch of gossipin’ people with nothin’ better to do.”

Freddie wore a look of injured pride. “What I
was gonna say before Marcelle punched me was that lots of folks are
downright thrilled Rockin’ Good Times is about to open.”

Rae was surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah, they’re sayin’ this is sure to help
black folks around here. Mr. Hilton is going to open up a snowball
and po-boy stand on his property. Things are happenin’ in this
town.” Freddie shrugged. “A couple of guys I work with are thinkin’
of some part-time businesses they can run for the tourists.”

Simon put an arm around Rae’s shoulders.
“See. What happened years ago will be quickly forgotten.”

“Oh yeah,” Freddie agreed. “When money flows,
a lot can be forgiven.”

“Freddie!” Marcelle tried to look stern at
his candid assessment.

Rae grinned at them. “Freddie is right.
Pawpaw Vince might have a statue in the middle of town if the money
is right.” Rae laughed out loud and the others soon joined in.

For the next few days, the pace of work
became frantic as opening day approached. Rae grew more anxious as
each passing hour brought her closer to what she came to consider
as the ‘big showdown.’ She sat up late into the night, trying to
think of all the things that could go wrong, and she made a list of
contingency plans.

The dance hall would open Friday evening.
Dinner would be served in one section and the lounge would be open.
On the Thursday night, Rae walked through the dance hall for the
fifth time to make sure everything was the way she wanted it to
be.

“We all set up, cher,” Garrett said, leaning
against the bar. “Plenty to drink, kitchen is perfect, and Sarah
and Jack will be here at two o’clock sharp to start gettin’ ready
for dinner.”

Jackson Leblanc and his wife would work in
the restaurant with two part-time wait staff. Rae had been able to
hire two local kids who were seniors in high school. Both came from
poor families and needed the extra money to further their
educations.

“Sounds good,” Rae called back from the other
side of the lounge. She checked the tables to make sure each one
was neat.

“Rae, it’s going to be fine,” Garrett
replied. The older man had a calm manner that made him seem like a
kindly uncle.

Rae smiled at him. “Garrett, you and Jackson
have been great these last few weeks. You saved me from making some
big mistakes.”

“Shoot, that ain’t nothin’,” Garrett said in
his easy drawl. “Glad to do it. We’re gonna have this place on
every tourist guide before next summer. Watch what I’m sayin’.” He
winked at her, before walking off.

“I hope you’re right.”

Rae looked at her watch: eight-thirty. She
wondered if she should call the band, LazyDaze, to confirm they
would be there on Saturday night for her first big dance. Her
stomach fluttered at the thought. This is it, girlfriend. Make or
break time.

Rae had placed ads in the student newspapers
at Southern and Southwestern Universities, and LSU. She figured
that college students could make up a big part of her weekend
business if she offered the right entertainment. With large
multi-national companies having offices located along the
petrochemical corridor, she hoped the restaurant would get a
booming lunch trade eventually. The next few weeks would tell the
tale. But this weekend would be a critical first step.

“Maybe we should go over the lighting once
more.” Rae, who was full of nervous energy, headed toward the
raised stage area where the performers would be positioned.

Garrett had started back through the double
door leading to the restaurant. He turned around. “Rae, it’s all
perfect. I gotta go. Cheré is keepin’ supper warm.”

“You go on. I can do it.” Rae’s attention was
on the microphones.

“You oughta go home. Don’t stay out here by
yourself. It’s dark and you’re over a mile from the gas station, or
Mr. Norvelle’s house on the other side.”

“I’ll be fine once I lock the door. The
floodlights are on. Now go on before Cheré calls here, fussing.”
Rae crossed the room. She followed him to make sure all of the
outer doors were locked.

Garrett paused at the front door. “Maybe I
should stay.” He frowned into the growing darkness that crowded
just beyond the light from the powerful lamps outside. “Cheré won’t
mind if I call and let her know.”

Rae pushed him out the door. “Will you go
home? I promise to leave within the next thirty minutes. Look, my
car is right near the door. Okay?” She pointed to her Honda
Civic.

“I’m gonna call back here, too.” Garrett
shook a finger in her face.

“Wonderful. Now goodnight.” Rae waved him on
his way. She watched his red pick-up pull off, its taillights
fading down the highway.

Rae sighed with relief. The truth was she
wanted to be alone in the dance hall. As she walked around it, the
enormity of what she’d accomplished hit her. For weeks she had put
one foot in front of the other, not stopping to think about the
difficulty of her task. Rae had been afraid that facing it all
would have paralyzed her into a despair that she could not do it.
Instead, she’d taken this journey one step at a time.

She touched the smooth wood of the chairs.
The whole place smelled new, of polish and lemons. Rae had even
managed to salvage a few of the items that had been in the attic at
home, such as some old kerosene lamps and colorful tins from Monmon
Marie’s grandmother. Lucien had used a few to decorate the dance
hall years before.

“We did it, Daddy,” she said aloud. She
turned in a circle. “I hope this is just the beginning.”

A peaceful feeling came over her… Was that a
soft chuckle? Rae stood listening. She could have sworn it sounded
like... No, she was just tired. “Now I know it’s time to go home.”
She rubbed her eyes.

Rae turned off the lights in the dining room,
headed into the lounge and collected her keys from the small
office. A whispering sound made her pause as she neared the front
door. The thought that she should not leave just yet popped into
her head for some strange reason.

A loud thud to her right made her heart
pound. Someone is outside. Rae heard footsteps treading softly on
the wooden porch, clearly in an effort to be quiet. Suddenly, she
could distinguish an occasional creaking sound separate from the
other night noises.

Rae eased over to the nearest window and
looked out. Nothing. She could hear scratching sounds, like clawing
on the outside walls. She jumped back, hoping that whoever it was
had not seen her. If they broke the glass and crawled inside, could
she make it to the phone across the room in time? The scratching
sounds grew louder.

Terror made her freeze with indecision for an
instant. Then fear gave way to fury. How dare they! Rae looked
around for something to use as a weapon. She ran to the bar and
pulled out an ice pick. A knock on the front door boomed through
the building. She crouched down.

“Rae, open up. It’s me,” Simon called
out.

Rae crossed the floor on shaky legs. “Oh,
Simon.” She flung the door ajar and hugged his neck.

“Hmm-umm.” Simon buried his face in her hair.
“I missed you, too. Hey, you’re shaking like a leaf. What
happened?” His grip tightened.

Rae recovered and gave his arm a swat. “You
scared the life out of me, walking around like that on the porch.
You almost got this up your nose, buddy.” She showed him the ice
pick.

Simon went rigid. “I wasn’t on the porch.
Stay here.” He pushed her inside.

“No! Simon don’t–”

“It’s okay. I’ll be right back.” He pulled
the door closed between them.

Rae yanked it open again. “Simon, come back,”
she whispered and then stamped a foot in frustration. He was
gone.

She strained to hear any sound through the
chirping of crickets and cicadas. Minutes dragged by like hours. A
long shadow was thrown onto the cypress wood to her right. Rae
began to back up, holding the sharp tool high above her head. When
Simon appeared, she took a deep breath.

He put both hands on his hips. “Didn’t I tell
you to get inside?”

“And leave you out here with some crook? No
way! I was going to jab anybody that laid a hand on you.”

Simon took the ice pick from her. “Thanks,
Wonder Woman. Next time, be sensible and call the sheriff,” he
teased.

“You could’ve been in big trouble while I was
doing that. Not to mention it would take them at least twenty
minutes to get here.” Rae brushed dust from her hands.

Simon tried to reassure her. “It was probably
some teenage burglar, who got scared off when he realized you were
inside. I’ll call Sheriff Thibodeaux to take a look around.”

Rae put a hand on his arm. “Why call him if
it’s nothing?”

“He could have a deputy patrol this way if he
knows you’re having prowlers all ready.” Simon wasn’t looking at
her.

Rae’s fear spiked up again. “Tell me what you
saw.”

“There are footprints in the fresh dirt
around the flower beds and... someone spray-painted a curse word on
one wall.” Simon struck the bar with his fist. “I just wish I could
have gotten my hands on the punk.”

“I’m glad he was gone.” Rae wrapped both arms
around him.

Simon called the sheriff’s office. As Rae
predicted, it took over twenty minutes for a deputy to arrive.
After looking around, Deputy Wilson came back inside and accepted a
cold soft drink.

“Tell ya what, ain’t much we can do except
keep an eye on the place. Nothin’ been stolen. Just be careful out
here alone at night, ma’am.” Deputy Wilson swabbed at his smooth,
dark brown face with a large handkerchief.

“I’ve all ready told her she shouldn’t work
late by herself,” Simon said.

Both men looked at Rae with stern
disapproval.

“I get the message,” Rae grumbled. She did
not like being treated like a naughty girl. I oughta be able work
late in my own business.” Still, she knew they were right.

“Goodnight y’all. I’ll make sure to put this
place on our stops for this part of the parish. Best I can do. Of
course, we do monitor security systems at the station for a
fee.”

“An alarm system hooked to the station?
Sounds like a great idea. We’ll do it.” Simon shook his hand.

“Simon, we have to talk.” Rae was getting
irritated with him for being so high-handed. Besides, she was on a
tight budget.

“I know a guy that has a security company.
I’ll call him in the morning,” Simon said to Deputy Wilson.

“Good deal. Now, since y’all sure the place
is locked tight, why don’t you follow me out?”

Deputy Wilson waited patiently for them. He
gave Simon a final wave as he passed them on the highway to
continue his night patrol.