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Nothing.
I couldn’t hold back the tears. That was all I had left of Reagan. I needed it. I wracked my brain, trying to think of where it could be. When had I last seen it? I knew I’d had it on during the cast party—I very rarely took it off—but couldn’t remember seeing it after. Though it was such a part of me that I hardly noticed it was there anymore. Maybe it was at the bar.
I flew back upstairs and grabbed my cell, Googling the number. They weren’t open yet, but someone should be there. I dialed through and waited, my stomach roiling and threatening to give my whiskey from the night before a grand reappearance.
“Lafitte’s, Brenda speaking.”
“Oh, thank goodness. Hi, Brenda. My name is Hanlen Arbor. I was in there the night before last with a group fromHaunted New Orleans. Unfortunately, I just realized that I lost some jewelry, and—”
She laughed, cutting me off. “If I had a dollar for every time I got a phone call like this, I’d be able to afford that penthouse apartment I want. Damn ghosts.”
Her deviation threw me for a second, but it didn’t matter. I continued. “Do you guys have a lost and found?”
“We sure do, sugar,” she said. “What kind of piece was it and what does it look like? I’ll check for you right now.”
“Um . . . it’s kind of hard to explain. It’s a bright gold swirly geometric design pendant on a light-gold beaded chain. A necklace.”
“Okay, give me a second.”
I heard her set down the phone and waited with bated breath, the nausea inside me threatening to overtake me with each second that passed. After what felt like an eternity, I heard someone pick up the receiver.
“I’m holding it right now. It’s safe and sound. The clasp isn’t even broken. This happens so often that our regulars and staff know to snag anything they find because we all know their owners will be in touch soon.”
The relief I felt nearly floored me, and I couldn’t breathe for a minute, much less speak. I swallowed hard. “Oh, thank goodness. Can you hold it for me somewhere safe?”
“Of course. Come whenever you can. I’ll make sure nothing happens to it.”
“Brenda, you just saved me a heart attack. Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure, sugar. See you later.”
I disconnected from the call and slumped down on the edge of the bed, the relief making me weak for a minute and bringing tears. I wasn’t sure what I would do if I ever lost that thing. I really should look into getting a safety clasp put on it, but Brenda had said it wasn’t broken, so that wouldn’t have done me any good the other night.
Crisis averted and feeling the relief of knowing I’d get it back, I went to take that much-needed shower to get settled for my day.
Finally ready and out of the steamy bathroom, I grabbed my cell to see that I had three missed calls from Bea. That was strange. She rarely called me. I took a seat near the window and accessed my voicemail. There was only one message.
“Hannie girl,” Bea said, her voice shaky. “I . . . you . . .” And then she broke down in sobs.
Muffled voices sounded over the line, and then another clear voice came through. “Ms. Arbor, this is Nurse Pritchett. I am so very sorry to tell you this, especially over voicemail, but Mr. Durrand was found dead this morning. Mrs. Durrand is in no shape to handle anything right now. I know you’re not family, but we would be very grateful if you could come over to the house. I’m going to give Bea something to help her rest and will be waiting at the cottage. Thank you. And . . . I’m so sorry.”
I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard. August was dead? I needed to be there for Bea. Their only child, a daughter, had died two years ago of cancer. The sweet woman didn’t have anybody else.
I made a tough call to my mother and then I called Dev.
“Hey,” I said when he answered.
“Hey, yourself.”
I swallowed hard. “So, um . . . I have some news. Some bad news. Bea called me when I was in the shower. They found August dead this morning. I need to go and be there with her. She doesn’t have anybody else, and since I’m in town, I should go. Iwantto go. She was like a second mother to me. August was like my favorite uncle.” I got a little choked up and blew out a breath to keep the tears at bay.
“Oh, Hanlen. I’m so sorry. I’m going to call the team and cancel things for today.”
“No,” I insisted. “Don’t do that. I’ll just be at the cottage. We shouldn’t interrupt you guys.”
“That’s the least of my worries. I want to be there for you. And Bea. The show can wait. We’ll be fine. The network isn’t waiting on this one yet, they have plenty of cached reels to work with. And if they need to, they’ll just do some reruns. We bring in enough money that they’d better not complain. I’d like to come with you. Is that okay?”
I nearly wept again, but this time from gratitude. How long had it been since I’d had someone who wanted to support me like that? To make sacrifices to makemehappy. I couldn’t even remember. Probably Reagan. She had been the absolute best support system a person could ask for. Before bad memories could overtake the good, I answered Dev.
