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And then it disappeared.

The vision hadn’t ended. Celeste had taken it back.

The woman slipped her hand out of Cassie’s, but she didn’t look scared. In fact, she looked impressed. “Well, you’re quite the surprise, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry.” Cassie wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for. She just knew she’d done something wrong. “I didn’t mean to.”

“No harm, no foul.” Celeste looked like she was seeing her for the first time. “You’ve got a lot of power, Cassie Quinn. It’s a shame you don’t know how to use it.”

Cassie opened her mouth and then closed it. She wanted to ask what she meant, but when she opened her mouth again, a different question came out. “Who are you?”

“There are a lot of interesting answers to that question. ‘What do you do?’ is a better one. I run a voodoo museum in the French Quarter.”

“You’re a lot more than that.” Cassie was still trying to wrap her head around what had happened. “How’d you do that?”

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nbsp; “Practice. Discipline. Control.” Celeste’s eyes sparkled. “You’ll get there some day.”

Cassie had a thousand questions, but she had a feeling Celeste wouldn’t answer them, so she started with an easy one. “You’re from New Orleans?”

“Born and raised.” Pride oozed from her voice. “What about you?”

“Savannah.”

“Lot of restless spirits in Savannah. You’ve got your work cut out for you.” Celeste’s face tightened. “I’m getting a feeling life hasn’t been kind to you. Your road might be the one less traveled, but it’ll take you where you need to go.”

Cassie looked away. She had pushed thoughts of David’s death out of her mind for a few moments, but they were never far away. Neither was Novak nor the troubles with her family. Still, Celeste’s words were kind. “Thank you.”

A man’s voice came over the plane’s speaker. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our descent into New Orleans. Please turn off all portable electronic devices…”

Celeste pulled a business card from her purse and handed it to Cassie. “If you want to see the real New Orleans, call this number. Tell her I sent you.”

Cassie looked down at the card. It was black with gold lettering, and the name Sabine Delacroix flashed in the florescent overhead lighting. Was this the woman Cassie had seen in the vision before Celeste had shut her out? How much would she be like her sister?

Celeste patted Cassie’s arm. “This trip will be good for you, Cassie Quinn. I can feel it.”

Cassie looked out the window as the ground drew closer. She hadn’t felt optimistic about the trip when she’d boarded that morning, but Celeste’s confidence gave her a spark of hope. David was gone and his murder was unsolved, but life carried on. She’d have to find a path forward, one way or another.

A visit to New Orleans could be exactly what she needed.

5

Cassie had the Uber driver drop her off as close to the New Orleans Museum of Art as he could manage. The chill breeze sent a shiver down her spine as she walked the rest of the way. She pulled her jacket closer, regretting the fact that she hadn’t brought a pair of gloves, especially once she pulled out her phone to call Magdalena. The device was freezing to the touch.

“How was your flight?” Nothing could dampen the cheer in Magdalena’s voice, not even the wind. “Enjoying yourself so far?”

“My flight was good.” Cassie almost said it was uneventful, but that would’ve been an outright lie. Celeste Delacroix had made sure of that. “But I haven’t had too much time to myself yet. I dropped my stuff off at the hotel, and now—”

“Oh, how’s the hotel? Was your room okay?”

Cassie frowned. “Bigger than I needed, but it’s nice. Are you sure the museum was okay with paying for that?”

“Oh yeah, it’s not a problem.” Magdalena’s voice betrayed the smile on her face. “George had final approval. Don’t you worry about it.”

“Okay.” Cassie planned on taking full advantage of the room—and the jacuzzi bathtub that came with it—but for now, she wanted to get on with business. “Anyway, I’m outside the museum now. I wanted to check in on the truck and make sure it’s arriving on time.”

Magdalena’s silence spoke volumes. “There’s been an issue with the truck.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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