Page 33 of Rafael

Rafael spun on his heels and left the boat factory, climbed into his truck and drove back to Main Street and the apartment he’d just moved into. He needed the time to cool down, unwind and unpack.

Thankfully, he had a clear view of the Mamba Wamba from his bedroom window. He’d stop in later that afternoon to check on his self-proclaimed client.

On a strictly professional basis.

Valentin would be happy to know.

Message received...loud and clear.

CHAPTER 7

With the ZydecoFestival still in full swing, business was steady. Tourists filtered through the shop, purchasing voodoo dolls, gris-gris amulets, Gisele’s Motion Lotion, LP#9 and other remedies advertised as infused with voodoo magic.

She’d sent Lena out to get lunch for them from the diner and hadn’t had time to eat her chicken Caesar salad. Every time there was a lull in the flow of customers, she’d dash back to her salad. Before she could take a bite, the door would open, and more people would enter.

Lena could handle questions about different products or voodoo customs as well as Gisele could, but someone had to run the register while the other fielded those questions.

Thirty minutes before she was due to close the shop, a heavyset teenage girl stormed through thedoor, blond hair flying, her face red and angry. She slammed a bottle on the counter in front of Gisele and demanded, “I want my money back.”

Gisele calmly lifted the bottle and noted the label—LP#9. “I don’t normally offer refunds for my lotions and potions. Could I have a name, please?” she asked in her calmest tone.

“My name is Lana Dafani, and I want my money back.”

“What seems to be the problem, Miss Dafani?” Gisele asked.

“This potion didn’t work,” Lana said, her voice rising. “In fact, it had the opposite effect of what I expected.”

Gisele studied the girl’s face. Her lips looked like any normal teenager’s lips. Not having seen her before applying the potion, she couldn’t tell if it had worked. “Did you follow the instructions that came with it?”

“What instructions? There were no instructions.”

Gisele shook her head. “Every bottle of LP#9 is sold with instructions printed on the label affixed to the back of the bottle, and either my assistant or I go over those instructions before a bottle leaves the shop.” She held up the bottle and pointed to the back label.

The girl squinted at the label. “Oh, those. Yes. I did what it said. It didn’t work, I tell you.”

“I also record the names of those who purchaseit.” Gisele booted her computer and brought up the database of customers and products purchased by each. “I know I didn’t speak with you.” Gisele turned to Lena. “Did you sell Miss Dafani this bottle of LP#9?”

Lena shook her head. “I did not. I’d remember her if I did.”

Gisele searched for the teen’s name in her database. “I’m sorry, your name isn’t coming up.”

“I didn’t buy it,” the girl said. “My mother purchased it. I used it, and I want our money back. It didn’t work. It’s dangerous and shouldn’t be sold. I should sue you for everything you own for what it did.”

Gisele shook her head. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to be more specific. Can you explain to me what it allegedly did?”

“Tell you?” She snorted. “I’ll show you.” She stormed out of the shop.

Lena leaned over Gisele’s shoulder. “We’ve never had a problem with the LP#9 lip plumper.”

Gisele checked her database for any other Dafani. “I have a Beatrice Dafani in the system. She’s a forty-two-year-old woman who lives in a small town to the west of Bayou Mambaloa. She purchased the bottle onthe first day of the Zydeco Festival.”

“We were both here,” Lena said.

“The sale was recorded, so one of us spoke to her mother about how to test it on a small patch of skinto make sure she doesn’t have an allergic reaction to the ingredients in the formula.”

The blond teen burst through the door again, dragging a young man behind her.

He wore a hoodie pulled up over his head and walked with his head down, his face hidden in shadows.

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