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The bartender flips a switch hidden under the counter and a quiet whirring joins the background noise. “That sh
ould help,” he says.
I see Robert preparing to address our strange companion, when the man rises and takes his tablet. He places a few dollars on the table and abruptly leaves the dining car, rendering us all momentarily silent in his wake.
I’ve decided it’s time for coffee when Lara speaks. “You’re from New Orleans, Baron?”
Her pointed question surprises me. Perhaps she does know him after all… But how?
Esterhaus straightens, seeming uncomfortable. “Why no. Calgary.”
“But you spent time there,” she insists.
“Many years ago.” He clears his throat. “Many, many years ago. How do you know about that?”
“I’m from New Orleans,” she says. “I thought I recognized your face. It just came to me.”
The older man shifts on his stool, and I’m intrigued by this turn of events. I’ve never seen Esterhaus put on guard.
My skin prickles. Perhaps this is the trip I’ve been waiting for. I only need her.
I’ve always needed her.
He squints over his small glasses at Lara. “How would you recognize my face? Have we met?”
“When I was in the city, I worked at a theater. It operated a private club, which I believe you had an interest in.”
The older man’s expression goes from startled to stony in the flicker of an eyelash, and I shift forward in my seat. What she’s saying is true, and I’ve often wondered how he doesn’t recognize me from that… interest. I suppose he was drunk or stoned each time he visited the city. I wonder if tonight will be the night I place this gentleman under arrest…
“I was briefly involved in a nightclub establishment,” he grumbles crossly. “I divested myself after a very short time.”
“Is that so?” Lara’s voice drips with innocence. “I can’t understand why. It was such a vibrant and active place when I lived there.”
“I was too far away to have an active hand in the business decisions. I didn’t have a voice in what went on. I wasn’t aware—”
His tone makes me think of a large snow crab backing up from a predator, front claws snapping. Lara is on her feet, sweeping toward him at once.
“I’m so sorry.” Her voice is soft and endearing. “You must think I’m terribly rude to pry into your affairs. I simply love my hometown so much. So many years have passed since I was there. I enjoy finding others who can remember it with me.”
Robert shifts on his leather stool, and I notice Molly has silently joined them. She stands at his arm, and holds out the chunky gold chain.
“You wanted to look at my necklace?” Her innocent tone seems to relax him further. “I’ve had it so long. It might be fun to learn about its history. Can you tell me?”
The cigar returns to his mouth, and Lara drifts away. I’m sure she would say it’s to avoid the smoke, but my eyes follow her. My chest is tight, and a pain moves into my temple as Aleister acts quickly to provide her with company. I signal the bartender for another scotch and lean on my forearms, fixing my eyes on the glossy wood in front of me.
“A New Orleans lady…” I hear him say. I imagine his lips curling beneath his oily mustache to reveal his tobacco-stained teeth. “I detected your French heritage the moment I saw you. The Acadian connection.”
“I’m not Acadian,” she says.
Aleister lights a cigarette, and my mind snaps back, across the miles, to a closet-sized room hidden down a dark passage in the back of an enormous theater.
Whispers in the shadows.
Cigarette smoke in velvet curtains.
Rooms covered in black wallpaper embossed with ornate velvet wreaths…
Five years ago…
