Page 105 of Buried Too Deep

“He doesn’t travel,” Cora murmured. “Always been a homebody. Stays in New Orleans or visits his sister in Shreveport. I don’t think he’s ever left the United States. Maybe not even Louisiana.”

Molly squeezed Cora’s forearm. “We will figure this out.”

Cora nodded. “I know. I’ve been thinking about this, and there seem to be a few avenues to explore. First, uncovering the records on the partitioned part of my father’s hard drive. Hopefully they’ll list specific clients. Second, the Swiss bank account he opened. As his only heir, I should be able to get access to the account and we can find out where his deposits were coming from. And third, making this Vincent Ray person tell us who he was working for. Other than that, we’re just sitting here, waiting for them to strike again, and that’s not okay with me.”

Burke’s lips twitched. “I think we should be paying you, Cora. That’s a good assessment. There is one more avenue we should add to your list, though—the Terrebonne Parish sheriff’s department’s investigation. Let’s find out what they know. They might have evidence that they don’t think is important, but given all we’ve learned, it might be exactly what we need.”

“Specifically what?” Phin asked.

“Well, what you said yesterday,” Burke said. “Who knew that the foundation was being poured in the Damper Building that day? Who had access to the property? Did anyone do a last-minute check on the pilings, or did they just start pouring? The thing about foundations for buildings the size of the Damper is that they can’t dig that deep due to the water table.”

Phin nodded. “Usually they pile rocks up to the top of the water table and compact them, then pour the concrete on top of that. The rocks anchor the foundation.” He pictured the job and how Jack’s killer would have hidden the body. “How was Jack’s body found? Was it hidden in plastic of some kind?” He grimaced at Cora. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t think to ask these questions. We can call Detective Goddard.”

Phin glanced at Burke. “I’d like to see the building itself, if we can.”

“And I’d like to see Goddard in person,” Burke said. “We’ll go this afternoon. This morning, I’d like to take Cora to the bank her father used. Like you said, as his heir, you can get access.”

“I got a death certificate from the ME in Terrebonne Parish after they identified my father’s body. That, along with my birth certificate, should be sufficient. I’d say that we should take my attorney with us just in case they give us guff, but…” Cora sighed. “But he’s a suspect, too.”

Burke folded his hands on his stomach, leaning back in his chair. “Maybe we don’t take Harry to the bank, but we should call him. I want him to visit so that we can see him when we question him. For today, I’ll go with you to the bank.”

Cora met Phin’s gaze. “You too?”

“Yes, of course.” Phin wasn’t even going to ask Burke if it was okay. It would have to be.

Once again Burke’s lips twitched. “Yes, of course,” he echoed. “Val, you’re with us, too. You keep watch outside the bank. I want to know if any cars drive by too slowly. I want to know if anyone sneezes. Antoine, what needs to happen to get into that hard drive?”

“I’ve had software running since yesterday, trying to unravel the encryption. These things take time.” Antoine held up one hand like a traffic cop. “Don’t ask me how long. It takes as long as it takes.”

Cora snapped her mouth closed, undoubtedly having been about to ask that very thing.

“I might not ever be able to break it,” he added reluctantly. “I figured he’d have a simple encryption, being so long ago, but it’s pretty advanced.”

“And us?” Delores asked. “What do we do?”

“We can keep searching the attic,” Stone offered. “Or I can dig some more into Vincent Ray.”

“I call dibs on the attic!” Delores said, clasping her hands together in delight. “There might be a secret passageway. These old houses always had them.”

Cora chuckled. “This one does. I’ll show you before we leave. It doesn’t go anywhere, though. My great-grandfather had it bricked over decades ago. One of my great-uncles was using it to hide because he didn’t want to do chores, or so the story went. He tripped on a loose board on the stairs and cracked his skull. Went undiscovered for more than a day and nearly died. So they bricked it over.”

“Wait,” Phin said, he and everyone else staring at Cora. “There’s a real, honest-to-God secret passageway? Could something be hidden on the unbricked end?”

“No. It’s bricked over on both ends. But I’ll show you and you can see for yourselves.”

“That would have been so cool,” Delores grumbled.

Cora patted her hand. “There are other nooks and crannies here, too. I’ve searched them all at one point. Found some old letters from World War I in one of them and a few old cookbooks in another. You can take a look at them. One of the cookbooks is from before the house was even built.”

Delores brightened and made grabby hands. “Gimme.”

“Now that Delores is sorted,” Burke said with a smile, “we’ll move on. Yes, Stone, please dig into Vincent Ray. Antoine, while your software is running, can you check the status of the NOPD investigation into Medford Hughes’s death?”

“I did before I came over,” Antoine said, “but that was before the NOPD shift change. I’ll do it again.”

A low growl got their attention. Delores’s wolfhound had sat up straight, her teeth bared. A moment later, SodaPop was at Phin’s side, pressed against his leg.

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