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“Is he afraid to talk?” Josie asked, handing Beaux a glass of water.
“He’s afraid of breathing,” Beaux replied. “We got the FBI trailing us and somebody trying to off all of us.”
“Is Armond’s empire crumbling?” Connor asked.
“Yes, it is,” Beaux said. “I...I listened in when the FBI was talking nearby his room.” He gave Josie a hard stare. “I know you’re FBI but I ain’t gonna tell anyone. I didn’t even tell Mr. Armond. All I know is you tried to help him and then, boom, someone shot him. I saw y’all after all the fireworks in that other hotel. I shoulda stayed there and helped Mr. A., but I panicked.”
Connor let out a groan. “Did you tail us, Beaux?”
“Nah, not since y’all left town. I been holed up at a run-down hotel out on the interstate. That’s the truth. But I knew if I hung around the Quarter long enough, I’d probably see somebody who could help me. The FBI and those other agencies took all of Mr. A.’s files, computers—you name it, they stripped it. They want to pin Lewanna’s shooting on him, and they think they’ve got some other evidence or something. But they don’t have any proof of nothing on the shooting, ’cause they can’t find the weapon. They swept that mansion clean.”
He inhaled a deep breath, then let it out.
“I got to stay close or I’ll be a fugitive. Only I don’t have anywhere to stay, since Mr. Armond is so sick. I ain’t going back to that house. I don’t like that place. His wife won’t even come back to check on him. She’s scared. Gone into hiding.”
“Interesting,” Connor said, shooting Josie a glance. “So why did you come to us?”
Beaux leaned in and lowered his voice. “Mr. Armond whispered something in my ear before he fell back asleep.”
“What did he say?” Josie asked, her patience about to crack.
“He told me to find Randall and...that broad.” He glanced at Josie. “Sorry, his word, not mine.”
Josie did an eye roll. “It’s okay, Beaux. What do you want us to do?”
Beaux swallowed some water. “Mr. Armond might still be mad at you, Connor. He says if he ever leaves that hospital alive, he has to find you.”
“So he sent you here as a courtesy, to warn us?” Connor asked.
Beaux shook his head. “He was confused and forgetful, but he didn’t tell me to kill you. Besides, I like you, Connor. And...I ain’t got no beef with you, FBI lady.”
Josie would never understand the criminal mind. This man was obviously a gentle giant, but he’d gotten himself caught up in a world of crime. He did as he was told as long as he had a safe place to stay and a gun to protect him.
She touched Beaux on the shoulder. “Did you cut a deal with Armond? Or maybe you need to talk to the FBI?”
“Maybe,” Beaux replied, his eyes misty.
“It’s okay,” Connor said. “I sealed my fate by agreeing to work with the FBI. I don’t blame you for doing the same.”
“I haven’t done anything yet,” Beaux said, perspiration pooling in big drops on his brow. “I don’t want to work with them, ’cause if Mr. A, finds out, I’m toast. So I came to warn y’all.” He shrugged. “I’m mostly wanting to find out why Mr. A. told me to go back to the big house and secure the garage.”
“The garage,” Josie and Connor said at the same time.
Beaux bobbed his head. “He kept whispering about a car in the garage. Maybe his Bentley?”
“What is it about that garage?” Josie asked out loud. “Something’s in there. Which means we need to get back out to that house before someone else does.”
Connor rubbed his forehead and started in on Beaux again. “So we’ve got someone on our tail trying to blast us, and now we’ve got a new message from Armond, but you don’t want to go back out to the house, so...again, what do you want from us?”
Beaux got up and shook out his wrinkled suit. “I want you both to run as far from Louisiana as you can get. Don’t go back to that house. It’s the only way to keep you alive.”
