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Mel chuckled a little, watching the man. “You said it’s easy to do?”
The blood-filled gaze flicked back to Mel, the smile less harsh on his features.
Mel smiled back. “How easy?”
Anastacia’shandachedfromtaking as many notes as she could about Mel’s life and past visits to New Orleans. An extensive delve into Mel’s visits to New Orleans with his father kept Anastacia and Knight looking into family contacts Mel might not have known about. When Knight switched to examining the dealings of Jason and Mel together, Anastacia grew even antsier. Mel should be whispering in her ear about every person of interest on the list or stuck to the board. He should be helping. Instead, he went who knew where and she had to keep a list of questions to ask him hidden from Knight. She couldn’t even imagine how she would excuse having written, ‘What’s your connection to Bobby Finch, who is under investigation for insider trading?’
“We’ll get it done, you’ll see.” Knight sighed and bit at the end of his pen in thought.
“It’s just a huge stretch to go as far back as twenty years ago. He was what? Eleven?”
“His father is in business. Sometimes the territory comes with a few hurt egos. We look at every lead no matter how small.”
Anastacia leaned back in her chair and looked directly up at the ceiling. Mel grinned down at her from above, over the back of her chair.
“Having fun without me?” he teased.
She sat up as he dropped into the empty chair next to her since Knight opted to use his desk as a chair. As Knight went through a few things on the board, she took the opportunity to angrily glare at Mel.
“Where have you been?” she seethed.
“Right here along with you.” Knight peered over his shoulder at her. “You doing okay?”
“Just talking to my brain. My thought processes are fading. Sorry.” She mentally kicked herself, knowing better than to just blurt out when she talked with the departed in front of another living soul.
Knight stretched his shoulders, pointing to the coffee table. “Well, I could go for some coffee. How do you take yours?”
“All creamer with a touch of light roast,” Mel answered, despite Knight not being able to hear him. Mel smirked at knowing her coffee choices from the week sequestered in her apartment.
“Light roast and three packets of creamer,” Anastacia instructed Knight.
Knight shrugged at her choice and went to fill a mug for her.
“So?” Anastacia turned to Mel with eyebrows raised.
“Learning a new talent. Check it out.” Mel leaned to the desk and touched the electrical cord leading up to Knight’s lamp. It immediately turned on, flickered a few times, and then turned off. Mel grinned back at her, face beaming with pride. “Huh, huh?”
“Well, that’s… something,” she offered.
“Hey, Knight!” a uniformed officer shouted into the room and immediately shoved a folder in Knight’s hand at the coffee table. “They found something in the building.”
“Thanks,” Knight grunted and looked through the few sheets of paper as he approached Anastacia. “Who knew?”
“What’s up?”
“Inside the room, they found a shell casing, some cigar ash, and a little friend.” He showed her a picture of what looked like a tie clip with initials on it.
“What am I looking at?”
“Those tie clips are gifts to the table service employees at the Deblous Manor. It’s a ritzy restaurant in the Quarter,” he explained, dumping his keys into his pocket.
“A place you’ve been to?”
“I’ve had to deal with the owner in the past. I know the initials on the tie clip. Sammy Buser, a quiet kid, trying to make a name for himself in some dealings around town. I've run into him a few times but never had anything substantial enough to bring him in for. Wanna go with me to talk with him? See a good time out on the street?”
She took a quick glance at Mel, who shrugged and nodded his head to follow the detective. “We said he’d lead.”
DeblousManorloomedproudlyon a corner smack dab in the heart of the Quarter. The multiple-story manor stood out among the other restaurants and tourist traps flanking the cross streets, overshadowing them with its very presence. The architecture was a heavy mix of Spanish with French. Anastacia recognized some charms in the doorways as Voodoo in nature. It was a beautiful building with a mix of charm and eccentricities.
