Page 56 of Rafael

Who wore a jacket, even a lightweight one, in south Louisiana during the summer? He wasn’t like the hordes of other customers who’d been through that day. This man had entered alone.

Rafael followed Gisele and pretended to rearrange items on a shelf close by, keeping the man in view through his peripheral vision and in range should he try anything.

CHAPTER 12

Gisele approachedthe customer with a smile on her face. “Can I help you?”

He turned to her, his brow wrinkled. “I was in this store a few years ago. Wasn’t it a pawn shop or an antique store?”

“Yes, sir,” Gisele said. “It was an antique store before I purchased it a little over three years ago.”

He nodded. “I thought so. It had some interesting antiques in it. I haven’t had a chance to get back here until now and hoped some of the items would still be available. How long have you worked here?”

“I purchased the property a little over three years ago,” Gisele said.

“Do you know where I can contact the former owner? The antique dealer?”

“I’m sorry,” Gisele said. “I was told he died of a stroke.”

“Do you know what happened to all the antiques?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” she said. “His family sold the store to me as is, with everything in it. They didn’t want to deal with trying to dispose of or sell what was left. I hired an auction company to come in and sell the contents.”

The man’s face pinched. “Oh, that’s too bad. There was one piece in particular I was interested in. A vintage brass cash register mounted on a wood cabinet. You wouldn’t happen to know where it ended up, would you?”

Gisele smiled. “Actually, I know the piece you’re talking about. It was a beautiful piece in great condition. I kept it, thinking I might use it when I remodeled and made this a gift shop. But I needed something more modern, and the vintage one took up a lot of floor space.”

The front door opened. A gaggle of girls entered. They giggled and pointed at different items on display racks and shelves.

One of them looked toward Gisele and waved a hand. “Excuse me. Could you help us?”

Gisele turned toward the girls. “I’ll be right there.” When she started to walk away, the man laid a hand on her arm.

“What did you do with the old register? Is it still here in the store?” he asked eagerly.

Rafael stepped up beside Gisele and stared down at the shorter man. “Need any help, sweetheart?”

She pulled her arm free of the man’s grasp. “I don’t think so,” she gave the stranger a tight smile and added, “do I?”

The man looked from Gisele to Rafael and moved back a step. “No, ma’am. Just curious what happened to the old register.”

“I gave it away,” she said and walked away with Rafael.

After dealing with the giggling girls, she looked around for the strange man with a thing for vintage cash registers.

“He left,” Rafael said from his position near Johnny’s cage.

“Good.” Gisele crossed to the counter, locked the register, slung her purse over her shoulder and dug out her key. “I need to feed Johnny, lock up and get to the festival before seven.” She hurried to the front door before any more customers wandered in.

“Why the festival?” Rafael asked, following her.

“Madame Gautier is holding court,” she said with a twisted smile.

“The Voodoo queen?” Rafael asked. “Your grand-mère?”

“Yes, sir.” She stepped through and waited for Rafael to follow. Once he was outside, she locked the door, hurried around the side of the building and climbed the stairs to her apartment.

When he followed, she didn’t bother to argue. Once she unlocked her door, she stood to the side and let Rafael enter first.

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