Page 19 of Rafael

“I’m the only store in town selling remedies and voodoo tchotchkes.” She took another bite of her éclair.

“Are there any self-righteous mamas on a mission to eliminate Voodoo from the bayou?”

Gisele shook her head and swallowed. “No. I give free samples of my facial moisturizer to the PTA mamas. They love me and buy my products.”

“Has anyone been the target of a Voodoo doll stabbing?” he persisted.

“Not that I know of. I usually only sell those to tourists. I had a run on them the past few days since the Zydeco Festival began. No locals bought them.”

“Maybe someone from out of town?”

“Maybe.” She sighed and sipped her coffee.

“Could it be someone who might have been the unwilling object of a Voodoo spell or elixir?” heasked. “Have you sold one of your remedies that could be used on someone the purchaser might target for revenge?”

“I don’t sell harmful remedies or elixirs—only things that can help people,” Gisele said. “No spells or black magic. I leave those to Madame Gautier, the Voodoo Queen. I dabble. She’s the expert.”

“Could someone have a grudge against your family based on something your grandmother might have done?”

“I don’t know. She hasn’t cursed anyone since Lester Faulkner tried to poison Tante Mimi’s malti-poo.”

Rafael’s eyebrows rose into the wisp of dark hair that fell over his forehead. “She cursed him?”

Gisele’s lips twisted in a wry grin. “He had the worst case of jock itch for over a month. He stayed away from the malti-poo and Tante Mimi after that.”

“How did she give him the jock itch?” Rafael asked.

She shot him a glance. “I told you; she invoked a Voodoo curse.” Gisele shook her head. “Oh, right. You don’t believe in magic.”

“Whether I believe or not, I take it Lester believed.”

“He did. And he didn’t like having jock itch for that long. When he promised to stay away from Tanti Mimi and her dog, Madame Gautier removed the curse.”

“How long ago did this happen?”

Gisele closed her eyes, trying to remember. “Fourteen years ago.”

Rafael’s brow dipped. “Has he caused you or your family any problems since then?”

“No. Anyway, it couldn’t have been him last night.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’m five feet tall,” she said. “Lester is about as tall as you. The man who broke into my shop wasn’t nearly as tall as you. He was somewhere in between my height and yours.”

“Are you sure it was a man?” Rafael asked.

Now that he posed the question, she wasn’t sure at all. “I assumed it was a man because he was dressed all in black and wore black gloves and a ski mask. And he hit me hard, coming out of the shop. Hard enough to knock me on my ass.”

“Close your eyes and think back to last night.” Rafael leaned toward her.

Her pulse quickened at his nearness. Gisele closed her eyes to keep from staring into his. Even with her eyes closed, she was hyper-aware of the man. So much sothatshe could feel the heat of his body.

“Can you picture him?” Rafael’s voice was soft and low.

Her breath caught and held. She forced her mind back to that moment when she’d reached for the door handle on the back door of the shop. She let thememory roll forward like a video in slow motion. “He came through the door so fast, it’s a blur in my mind.”

“Was there something in the way he moved that made you assume he was a man?”

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