Page 44 of Gumbo, Ghosts, and Deadly Deception
It was hand-drawn, showing the layout of Maison de Minuit and the surrounding properties. But this map included details I'd never seen before—underground passages and the hidden room. The courtyard and a drawing of a tree where the crepe myrtle tree still was.
The same spot where I'd been finding fresh gardenias. Putting a tree on a map seemed odd unless it was of significance.
I folded the map and put it in my pocket, then made my way back toward my car where I’d managed to find a spot on St. Anne.
I was so lost in thought that I almost didn't notice the footsteps behind me.
Almost.
But Teddy had trained me well in the art of paying attention to my surroundings since he was already underfoot, and something about the rhythm of the footsteps made me glance over my shoulder.
A man in a dark coat was following me, staying about twenty feet back but matching my pace exactly.
Okay, so I couldn’t claim he was following me. There were lots of people in the Quarter at any given moment, potentially walking in the same direction as me. I was clearly paranoid.
Yet my heart started racing when I quickened my steps, and so did he.
I was only a block away from my car with plenty of people around. Surely nothing could happen to me here. But the footsteps got closer.
Instinct and adrenaline kicked in and I started to run.
Maybe it was nothing. But why chance it?
I felt in my back pocket for my phone, thinking I could call Hollis or Maggie or anyone who could help, but that would mean I would have to slow down to do that. It seemed safer just to get to my car. I was fumbling in my purse, digging out my keys as I spotted my car.
Hitting the fob to unlock it, a hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
I let out a startled squawk just as the man tugged the strap of my purse down. I tried to grab to hold onto it, but then realized it was safer to just let him take it.
In the split second it took my brain to reason that out he was already off, cutting around the corner of the alley between two buildings. I stood there, grateful I still had my phone and my car keys, watching his retreat, something familiar about the tall figure. I hadn’t seen his face. He’d had on a hoodie underneath a dark coat and was wearing sunglasses. I’d only had the briefest glimpses of him anyway.
Yet, there was something about him…
I got into my car, quickly locking it behind me.
Then I groaned out loud. “The envelope. Dang it, Harper! The envelope of evidence.”
It was in my purse. That I no longer had possession of. Was the purse theft a coincidence or something more sinister?
Everything Lucien had told me came flooding back.
Don't trust anyone.
I sat in my car for twenty minutes, then got back out and hesitantly ventured down the alley where the thief had disappeared. I knew enough about petty crimes to understand if money was all he was after, he’d dump the bulky bag as fast as possible after lifting my wallet.
I was right. It was barely ten feet down the alley, at the foot of the dumpster. I picked it up, wishing I had hand sanitizer. The ground didn’t exactly look clean, various wrappers and an empty long plastic drink tube used for serving alcohol in some bars strewn about.
Quickly making my way back to the car and getting it, I again locked the doors and riffled through my purse. No wallet. No envelope. The man had left my hairbrush, my lip gloss, a pack of mints, and the loose change rattling around the bottom. I was pretty sure there had been a granola bar in there that now wasn’t, which led me to believe it was a regular thief as opposed to a he’s-on-to-me conspiracy thief.
I didn’t bother to go to the police. They had bigger fish to fry.
Lucien better have copies of all that material.
Surely a businesswoman had everything backed up in the cloud.
I was more embarrassed than anything else.
Some sleuth I was.
