Page 78 of Quarter to Midnight

“Duh,” Carlos said, then yelped. “Don’t hit me, X. That hurt.”

“It was supposed to.”

“They aren’t cops!”

“We don’t know who they are, asswipe,” Carlos’s brother said.

Molly shook her head. “Just... keep them out of sight. If you get stopped by a cop, and he finds weapons, I can’t help you.”

“I’m not foolish,” Cicely said gravely. “But neither will I allow someone to threaten my son’s life.”

Molly sighed. “Fair enough. Miss Willa Mae, how well do you know New Orleans?”

“I worked in the Quarter when I was in school. Hasn’t changed all that much, I don’t expect.”

“Probably not,” Gabe agreed. “You might get a call from a guy named Burke. You can trust him, Xavier. He was also a friend of my father.”

“His old partner?”

Gabe hid a flinch. If his dad had told Xavier about Burke, then they’d been closer than he’d thought. That stung and made him wonder what other secrets his father had kept. “Yeah, he’s the one. Molly works with him. He’s going to find a way to separate you from the white SUV.”

“Okay,” Xavier said. “I wish you’d told me about Burke when you first called. I wouldn’t have been freaking out over Miss Sutton’s Wikipedia page.”

Molly wasn’t able to hide her flinch, not at all. “I have a Wikipedia page?”

“Yes, ma’am, you do,” Xavier said respectfully. “Just the part about what happened in North Carolina. It says that you’re now a PI, but it doesn’t say who you work for. I have to say, though, if Burke Broussard trusts you, then it really must have been self-defense.”

“Okay,” Molly said. She seemed rattled, and Gabe hated to see it. “Well, thank you, Xavier. And Miss Cicely, I totally get defending your family, but it’s better if you can avoid the situation. Take it from me.”

“I understand,” Cicely said, so quietly that her reply was almost inaudible.

“We’ll be in touch,” Molly promised.

“Take care, y’all, and be careful,” Gabe said, then hit end. He looked at Molly, who appeared to be miserable. “You didn’t know about your internet presence?”

“I knew that there were stories. Newspaper articles and all that. But... dammit. It shouldn’t make a difference that there’s a Wiki page for me.” Her lips trembled and she pursed them. “But it does.”

“You can get it taken down.”

“And I will. But another will pop up in its place. It really doesn’t end. That’s why we have to make it so that Cicely Morrow doesn’t have to shoot anyone to keep her son alive.”

This time Gabe made the move, taking her hand and holding it tightly. She squeezed his hand as she drove with her free one clutching the wheel in a white-knuckled grip.

He didn’t let go when her burner rang again.

“I talked to André,” Burke said as soon as Gabe hit accept. “As soon as I told him that someone was driving Paul Lott’s SUV, he got really interested. Turns out there’s a reason why I haven’t been able to reach Lott’s assistant. She’s been at NOPD, getting questioned.”

“For?” Molly asked, although Gabe figured they both already knew the answer.

Gabe was so tired. “Lott’s dead, isn’t he?” He should probably feel bad about that, but he was too numb to feel much of anything except total exhaustion.

“Beaten up and shot in the head in his own house, probably last night. Place was ransacked and his laptop and wallet were taken. Cops were working it as a burglary gone wrong. Needless to say, André was very interested in providing backup to make sure that Xavier gets here safely. I didn’t even have to tell him why Xavier, his mother, and their friends were coming to see us, but I imagine he’ll want to know.”

“I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Molly said, sounding as tired as Gabe felt. “This is not good, Burke. I’m grateful for André’s help, but I do not want to get too beholden to NOPD or give them a reason to get their claws into our operation.”

“I agree completely, but I trust André. This means that they’ll pull the Lott imposter over once you separate the green Jeep. He’s sending a cop he trusts to follow the Jeep. All you have to do is shepherd everyone to the exit, make sure that the minivan and the SUV veer off, and keep the Jeep from following them.”

Molly nodded. “I can do that.”

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