Page 19 of The Lady on Esplanade
I flicked a cookie crumb from the collar of my navy blue blouse—a gift from Jolene, so I figured it worked—then tucked the blouse into my pants before sliding my feet into the low-heeled pumps I’d borrowed from her.
“Come on,” I said, walking quickly past her and not making eye contact.Allowing her to catch me would mean at least a half hour of accessorizing and tweaking, and I wanted to hurry up and get the evening over with.I hadn’t been back to Mimi’s house since the night of the fund-raiser and the showdown with the evil spirit of Antoine Broussard in the attic, and I wasn’t thrilled about returning.
I slowed down long enough to give Mardi a good scratch behind his ears and promise that Jolene and I would be home before he had time to miss us.I’d made it to the French door at the top of the stairs when Jolene said, “No need to rush like there’s a sale on Crisco down at the Walmart, Nola.Antoine is no longer there to mess with you—remember?And if he wants to try something, I will be happy to open up a can of whoop-ass on him on your behalf.”
I stopped to look at her, amazed yet again at how perceptive she was.“I’m sure that won’t be necessary, but thank you.”I turned and walked down the stairs.
“And you look real nice.I like what you did to your hair.”
I kept moving while waiting for abless your heart.Instead she said, “I’m right proud of you, Nola.You’ve come a long way since your camo-and-jeans phase.I think we’re ready to move on to accessorizing and nails.”
I kept facing straight ahead so she wouldn’t see me roll my eyes.“Let me master driving first, okay?Then we can go on to the next big hurdle.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Jolene said as she shut the door behind us.Her jangling keys let me know that she was locking the dead bolt.We’d already been broken into twice, and we weren’t taking chances.
I waited near Bubba as Jolene approached.“And don’t think I couldn’t feel you rolling your eyes, Nola Trenholm.”
Before I could ask her how she could possibly feel my eye roll with my back to her, she said, “It’s a gift.”
She unlocked her car door and slid in before leaning across the front bench seat to unlatch my door.I sat down, then immediately jumped up with a shout.“What in the…?”I plucked the creepy doll off the seat and plopped it into Jolene’s lap.“Why is this here?”
Jolene’s eyes met mine.“I thought you’d put her there.”
“No.Definitely not.”
Jolene blinked, then turned around to place the doll carefully on the rear seat.“Well, then.Beau wanted to show it to Mimi, so it’s a good thing we remembered to bring it.”
“Right,” I said.“We won’t talk about how the creepy baby doll got into your car with all the windows closed and the doors locked.”
Jolene put Bubba in reverse and began backing out of the driveway.“Please don’t call her creepy.Some little girl once loved her, and it’s sad that the doll got forgotten on the shelf of an armoire in an empty house.But you’re right, Nola.My brain is already full to bursting, what with my job, trying to dress up your house while working around the hole in your roof, and planning an engagement party.If I have to worry about this, too, my head might explode.There’d be red hair everywhere.”
I found myself grinning despite the violence of the image.“Yeah.What a mess.”I gripped my armrest as a pickup truck’s horn blared as it barreled up behind us, brakes squealing as Jolene slowly pulled out onto the street.I kept my gaze focused in front of us so I couldn’t see any interesting finger gestures from the truck’s driver.
“Just thinking out loud here,” I said, “but what if the doll belonged to the little girl who disappeared?I think Lynda was her name.If we find out that’s the case, maybe it will lead us to figuring out what happened to her and her parents after her grandmother’s murder.”
Jolene nodded solemnly.“And if that’s her doll, and it keeps showing up, then it probably means she’s no longer with us.”
We rode in silence as we considered the implications, until we reached the intersection of Broadway and St.Charles Avenue and I clenched my eyes shut out of habit.Jolene seemed to assume that she had the right of way regardless of traffic light color or oncoming streetcars.It was just better not to watch.
“That poor, sweet girl.”Jolene turned to me.“How do you plan to find out if the doll belonged to Lynda?”
“I think I need to speak to her two aunts.Maybe they’ll have pictures of Lynda.My brother JJ’s comfort item was a kitchen whisk.Every picture of him as a child shows him clutching that whisk.Not sure if Honey and Joan would have any pictures of their niece, since they were estranged from their brother, but I can ask.Beau mentioned that the aunts asked him to meet with them—maybe I can tag along.”
“What about Sarah?”Jolene asked as she swerved around a pothole, nearly sideswiping a bicyclist.
“She didn’t have a comfort item.I guess she didn’t need one since she always had ‘imaginary friends’ to keep her company.”
Jolene took a sharp and sudden right off St.Charles.I closed my eyes, not wanting to see a flying bicycle or pedestrian, and opened them only when I hadn’t heard a thud against the car’s hood.“Maybe you should invite Sarah back for a visit.She might could tell you what you need to know about that doll and the family who used to live in the house on Esplanade.”The front tire thumped against the curb as Jolene parked in front of the Ryans’ Italianate home, the familiar ornate architecture reminding me of a wedding cake.
“Or,” she said, unbuckling her seat belt, “you could ask Beau.”
“Well, we are supposed to be doing this murder-house-flipbusiness together, starting with the house on Esplanade, but so far his only interest has been in the nuts and bolts of the renovation part, which I don’t think is unintentional.Like, he wants to pretend that any lingering residents aren’t part of the process.”
“He’s really good at denial, isn’t he?”Jolene asked.
“Most definitely.It’s beyond aggravating.”
Jolene looked at me without moving or opening her door.“Is that so?It reminds me of someone else, too.”
