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Xavier shook his head. “No, sir. I asked a few times, but Rocky would never say. Who was he?”
“One of the nights during Katrina, my mother miscarried a pregnancy. They had planned to name the child John Alan. He was their second son.”
“Oh,” Xavier breathed, his eyes burning again. “He found me during Katrina.”
“Maybe that same night,” Gabe said sadly.
“He lost one son and found another,” Cicely murmured. “Oh, Xavier. That man had the kindest heart.”
“He did,” Gabe agreed, his voice gone gruff. “And if he wanted you to have that trust, then you should keep it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to call the vet about keeping Shoe a little longer.”
Molly rose with him. “I have to call home. I’ll be right back, though. Do you all have a place to stay?”
“No,” Xavier said.
“Yes,” Burke said. “They’re staying with me. We can talk about who’s guarding whom once we have everyone settled.”
“Thank you,” Cicely said. “I’ve got an overnight bag and Willa Mae brought a few things, but we’ll need a trip to the drugstore for toiletries.”
Burke shook his head. “Joy, our office administrator, already has it covered. Tell her what you need. She’ll make sure you have it.”
“Xavier’s got clothes at least,” Carlos commented. “The guy posing as Paul Lott insisted that he pack a bag.”
Willa Mae leaned forward again so that she could see Carlos. “But not you and Manny? You were all together, right? Why didn’t he let you two go home to pack a bag?”
Carlos cocked his head. “That’s true. Why was he so worried about your bag, X?”
“I have no idea,” Xavier said. “I mean, if he meant to kill me, why ask me to pack a bag? Why take the time for that?”
“I told you that he was watching you funny when you were packing,” Manny said.
“We need to figure that out,” Molly said. “Let me call home and then we can start making a list of what we don’t know. That will be first on the list. Be thinking about it, Xavier. Gabe?”
“Right behind you.”
The two of them left, and Willa Mae made a dreamy sound. “How long have they been together?”
“Two days,” Burke said dryly. “But I think you’re onto something, Miss Willa Mae.”
“I usually am,” she said smugly.
And Xavier thought she just might be right.
The Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
TUESDAY, JULY 26, 4:45 P.M.
Gabe ended the call with the vet’s office and finally relaxed into the visitor’s chair in Burke’s office. Joy, the office admin, had directed him here when he’d asked for a place to make a few personal calls.
He hadn’t really needed privacy for the calls. He’d just needed a minute or two to decompress. And to process. And maybe to allow the tears he’d been holding to fall.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” he whispered. Sorry that he’d believed the worst. Sorry that he hadn’t noticed that his father carried such a heavy burden. Sorry that he hadn’t been able to help.
Sorry that his father had been murdered for doing the right thing.
A light knock came a second before the door cracked open. “Can I come in?” Molly asked. “And it’s okay if you don’t want me to.”
He didn’t think twice before saying, “Yes, please. Come in.” Because he needed someone who’d sit with him and simply let him be. He needed Molly Sutton.
