Page 11 of The Lady on Esplanade
“That’s a great idea,” Cooper said.“Since I’m extremely interested in buying the house, I’m thinking I need to be part of the discussion.”
Before I could say that I thought the three of us having lunch together was a terrible idea, a loud crack of thunder sounded above us, followed by a fresh burst of rain.The lights flickered, and my phone buzzed in my hand.I flipped it over to see the music app loading, and then the sound of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” blasted from the speaker.
I attempted to shut off the music, and when that didn’t work I turned the volume down to the lowest setting, which also had no effect.Desperate, I powered off the phone, Adele’s singing coming to an abrupt stop.
My eyes met Beau’s.“That was Adele.It’s happened before.With the same Adele song.But I don’t have any of her tunes in my music library.”
“Hey, look at this.”Beau and I turned to where Cooper was crouching in the middle of the room beside a set of wet footprints—too big to be a child’s and too small for a man’s—distinct from the growing puddle in the corner.He stood, pointing at the fading trailthey made to the doorway, where they disappeared just past the threshold.
—
We sat at an interior table at Café Degas.The simple décor—including a tree emerging from the middle of the floor, and a French tricolor window hanging over the exposed kitchen area—came as a surprise, considering all the accolades the restaurant had garnered since it was opened in 1986.But, as my dad would always say when we went out to eat in Charleston, we weren’t eating the furniture.
Cooper, Beau, and I ordered drinks immediately—a Fauxjito for me—even though it was the middle of the day.Despite our self-proclaimed immunity to paranormal phenomena, we were all a little off-kilter following the morning’s events.
Cooper finished his drink with a large gulp before placing the glass on the table with a thunk.The pretty paisley-patterned tablecloth was covered thoughtfully with a sheet of glass, which I, for one, was especially thankful for, since Melanie said I still ate like a toddler.
“So, what was that all about?”Cooper asked.“Is that another ghost attached to the house, or something else?”
Beau stared down at the ice in his glass.“I’m not sure—”
“It’s his mom,” I interjected.“I’m pretty sure she’s the woman you saw at the Ryans’ house, the one who told you to go to the attic the night Beau almost died.”
Cooper leaned back in his chair.“I know you keep saying that, but the woman I saw wasn’t a ghost.I mean, she wasn’t transparent or anything, and she spoke to me.”
“But she was soaking wet,” I said, “and it wasn’t raining.I’m no expert, but I know that spirits appear in many forms, and that night Adele needed help to save her son’s life.”
“Adele?”Cooper’s gaze flicked over to Beau.
The muscles in Beau’s hand flexed.“Yeah.Like the singer.But that doesn’t mean…”
I opened up the photo album on my phone and flipped through the pictures until I found the one I was looking for.I had snapped a photo of a framed picture of Adele with a much younger Beau the last time I was at Mimi’s house.“Is this the woman you saw?”
Cooper took my phone and stared at the screen, his face blanching.“Yeah.That was definitely her.”He gave me back my phone, with an apologetic glance at Beau.
“It was dark—remember?”Beau said.“And if her hair was wet—”
I squeezed Beau’s arm.“Stop, okay?Cooper’s a friend.He’s also pretty good at solving puzzles; just ask my dad.Sometimes it helps to get a fresh perspective on a problem—”
“There’s no problem, Nola, no mystery to be solved here.I wish you would just drop it.”
The server appeared to take our order, before discreetly backing away at the tone of Beau’s voice.I smiled at her, hoping she wouldn’t take too long to return, because I was starving.
“I’m sorry, Beau.I know you don’t like to admit it, but your mom is still here.”I slid my chair closer to him, placing my hand on his arm.“Do you remember when you came to see me right after you got out of the hospital?After you left, I saw the wet footprints.”
He stared at me in stony silence.
“But before the footprints appeared, I had another visitor.Madame Zoe.She’s a fortune teller in Jackson Square.”
Beau shook his head.“I don’t—”
I cut him off.“She said you wouldn’t know her.But she knew Buddy.Your father.”
“Then why wouldn’t she come to me first?”He raised his empty glass and signaled to the server to bring him another drink.
“Because, according to her, you’d fight the information that she would tell you—but it’s something you need to know.”
“That’s ridiculous.Why would she tell you first?”
