Celestial Bodies (17 page)

It was late when Nick and Diana emerged from the police station in the French Quarter. It was a perfect spring night, balmy and misty, fragrant even here in the heart of the city. Nick looked at the lovely woman walking beside him and gritted his teeth in exasperation.

“Did you see that?” Diana said irritably, still nagging at a topic he had already asked her to drop. “He didn’t even write it down!”

Nick resisted the natural, normal, and very reasonable urge to shake her until her teeth rattled. “A half-burned tarot card carried in the mouth of a family pet, Diana, does not constitute evidence of kidnapping.”

“And did you
see
the way he smirked when I told him that Ten of Swords doesn’t indicate violent death?”

“He’s a cop, not a mystic,” Nick said wearily. “And the whole interview would have gone a lot more smoothly if you had kept your mouth shut, the way I asked you to.”

“It’s
my
father that’s missing,” she snapped. “You would think the police would show a little concern over a law-abiding taxpayer’s disappearance!”

Nick tried to take her arm gently, but she jerked away from him. Losing patience, he clamped his fingers around her resilient flesh and forced her to face him. “All right, I’ve let you rant and rave. Now
you
listen to
me.
They showed you plenty of concern—more than you were entitled to after all that nonsense you spouted about psychics and predictions and tarot readings. I thought we agreed, when we called the police, that we weren’t going to drag all
that
into the conversation.”

The accusing tone in his voice made Diana lower her head and try to pull away.

“You and I believe Felix had been kidnapped,” Nick continued. “But as far as the police are concerned, he’s just a peculiar guy who wandered off for an afternoon without telling
 
you. There’s no ransom demand, no blood, and no theft to prove otherwise.”

“And what about the way his study was ransacked? What about the vandalism we’ve reported?”

“That’s why the police are giving this more serious consideration than they normally would. Particularly after the performance you put on in there.” Nick said in exasperation, “Did you
have
to tell him that you and Felix let Jora Lemon burn all the evidence so she could have psychic visions?”

“I noticed that
you
felt obliged to tell them Claude Bouvier was your last client, even though you refused to tell
me
that only a few hours ago!”

He released his grip on Diana’s arm so suddenly that she stumbled back a few steps. “That’s because now I believe a serious crime has been committed,” he said, enunciating clearly. “And I don’t want to be charged as an accessory because I withheld evidence.”

Diana’s face fell. “A serious crime,” she repeated. “Do you think he’s... I mean, they wouldn’t...”

Nick felt turned inside-out again by the uncharacteristic helplessness in her green eyes. “I think he’s all right, Diana,” he assured her gently. “If they were going to kill him, I think they would have done it there in the shop and made it look like a robbery gone bad. Whatever’s going on, his kidnappers apparently need him alive.”

She wrapped her fingers urgently around his wrist. “You’re sure?”

He touched her cheek. “Didn’t you just say that the Ten of Swords doesn’t indicate violent death?”

“You don’t believe that.”

Her hair shone like gold in the tarnished light of the street lamps, and her face looked very vulnerable. He smiled gently. “But Felix does. And so do you.”

Diana released her grip on him and they started walking again. “What do we do now?”

“Well, since you say Felix has no enemies, I think Claude Bouvier is still the most obvious suspect. He tried to get me to discredit Felix and then went berserk when I didn’t. However, the police won’t want to question Bouvier until they’re sure that Felix is really missing.”

“Are
you
going to question Bouvier?” she asked hopefully.

“I’ll have to find him first. Then I’ll tail him. If he’s holding Felix, he might lead me right to him.”

Diana snorted. “This is starting to sound like one of those awful television shows.”

Nick decided to ignore that. “I don’t want you staying at the House of Ishtar alone. It’s obviously not safe. I’m going to call Mrs. Milne and tell her you’ll be staying with her for a few days.”

“No.”

“She won’t mind. She’s done it—”

“I will not be put safely out of the way so you can get on with your manly business,” Diana informed with a flash of temper.

“I don’t have the manpower right now to keep a guard at your house at night.”

“Where will you be?”

“On my stakeout,” he said.

“Then that’s where I’ll be, too.”

“What?” He grabbed her arm. “Now wait a minute!”

“He’s
my
father, Nick. I can’t just sit around and do nothing.”

“Diana, I am a trained professional, and I can’t endanger—”

“I take full responsibility for my own safety.”

“It’s out of the question.”

“Just try going without me.”

He considered all the ways he could force her to stay behind, not liking any of them. This was going to be worse than he had thought. Seeing the stubborn look on her face, he gave a defeated sigh. “Oh, well. At least I’ll know where you are.”

Diana smiled victoriously. “So what do we do now?”

“We get something to eat.”

“Eat?” she repeated blankly.

“Yes, eat. You know. Consume. Ingest.”

“How can you think of food at a time like this?”

“I’m hungry. Come on, I know a good place just a few streets over.” He took her arm again and hustled her along the sidewalk, ignoring her muttered protests. It would be a long night, and they would both need their strength.

When he led her into a colorful old diner, Diana started squirming and trying to pull her arm out of his hold.

“Here?” she asked incredulously. “I can’t eat
here.
”

“I know it looks a little grubby, but the food is great,” Nick assured her, scanning the place for a table. He spotted an empty one and dragged her toward it. “What’s the matter with you?”

“I can’t eat this sort of preservative-stuffed, chemical- laden, deep-fried junk,” she said tersely.

Nick shoved her into the booth—none too gently—and sat down across from her. “I’m sure they have
something
here you can eat, Diana.”

She glared at him and accepted a menu from the waitress a moment later. After a lengthy perusal, she tentatively ordered a salad and a baked potato.

“House special,” Nick told the waitress. “And a draft beer.”

As soon as they were alone, Diana leaned forward and said, “Now what are you going to do about my father?”

“First of all, I want you to tell me everything you can think of about Felix and Mrs. Bouvier.”

Diana blinked. “What?”

“I questioned her once, and nothing she said can account for Claude’s conviction that Felix’s advice is damaging. Claude has made some ridiculous charges, but I figure his primary concern is that he thinks Felix is influencing Mrs. Bouvier financially.”

“Felix would never do that,” Diana said hotly.

“I realize that now. That’s what Mrs. Bouvier says, too.” Nick paused to take a sip from the beer the waitress had brought, ignoring Diana’s blatant disapproval. “The question is, what do Mrs. Bouvier and Felix talk about? What does Felix tell her that Claude perceives as threatening to himself? Or at least, threatening his access to the family fortune?”

Diana shook her head. “You know Felix never talks about what goes on in a consultation.”

“But he told you that a relative of Mrs. Bouvier would bring chaos and turmoil into your lives,” Nick reminded her.

 
“Yes.” Diana frowned, trying to remember something significant. Nothing came. “That’s the only specific comment he ever made about the Bouviers. He mostly says cryptic things like, ‘There are disturbing indications in the cards,’ or ‘Mrs. Bouvier faces some difficult choices.’ Nothing else, really.”

“Does she ever talk to you? Tell you her worries or troubles? Tell you what Felix has said?”

Diana shook her head. “No. Especially not lately. These days, all she ever talks about are the arrangements for her daughter’s twenty-first birthday party.”

Nick looked at her sharply. “That’s soon, isn’t it?”

“Tomorrow, thank God. I’ve had to come up with more excuses for not going than you could ever—”

“Didn’t she say they’re having it out of town? Some family estate in the country?” he prodded.

“Yes, that’s right. You’ve got a good memory,” she added grudgingly.

“I’ll bet you that’s where they all are tonight,” Nick said. “Getting ready for their big, weekend blowout.”

“Are you going to confront them?” Diana asked hopefully.

“Maybe.” Their food arrived, and Nick turned his attention to dinner. After a few bites he felt vaguely uneasy. He looked up to find Diana watching him with fascinated horror. “What’s wrong?”

“What
is
that?” She stared at the food on his plate as if it might jump up and bite her.

“Country-fried steak with bacon gravy.”

Diana grabbed his arm when he moved to cut another piece. “How can you pollute your body this way?” she demanded.

“Funny. That’s what I wanted to say when you were serving me eggplant casserole and red bean pudding, night after night.”

Diana looked hurt. “I thought you liked my cooking.”

“A starving scavenger wouldn’t like half the stuff you made me eat,” he said with feeling.

“And red meat!” she added in a shocked voice. “I thought I explained to you—”

“Look,” he interrupted irritably. “Do I try to tell
you
what to eat?”

 
“At least
I
exercise a little common sense and social responsibility when I sit down to dinner.”

“Very noble, Diana. If you ever exercise yourself on some palatable food, be sure to let me know.”

She made a noise that reminded him of Ishtar and dug into her salad with a notable lack of enthusiasm. “I’m sure this isn’t organically grown,” she grumbled.

Diana was determined to maintain a dignified silence during the rest of the meal, but when Nick ordered pecan pie and coffee for dessert, her sense of duty forced her to speak up. “I can’t believe the way you’ve abused your system in just one meal. Animal fat, sugar, alcohol, caffeine—”

“Sure. All the major food groups.”

“Oh, Nick.” She shook her head in dismay. “I didn’t know you at all.”

“Yes, you did,” he said quietly.

Their eyes met. He looked very serious and a little sad. Diana remembered the kisses and smiles. She remembered the suspicion and confusion that had blossomed into trust and affection. She remembered the moment she had realized he wanted to make love to her.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she whispered, hurting all over again.

“I guess not.” He didn’t need to ask what she meant. “But I couldn’t think of anything else at the time.”

She looked down at her hands, folding and unfolding her fingers. “Did you really think we were thieves and swindlers?”

“I didn’t want you to be.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Once I got to know you both, I thought you were innocent.”

Her expression grew bleak. “And when was that? Before or after we—”

“Don’t.” He reached across the table and covered her hand with his, finding himself squeezing a little harder than he’d meant to. “Don’t, Diana. Do you honestly think I would have made love to you before I was sure about you?”

She saw his earnest expression through a mist of tears that came so suddenly they surprised her. “But you did it before
I
knew about
you
,” she said in a rough voice. “How do you think I felt the next day, when I found out you had lied all along to me? That you were investigating us?”

“How do you think I felt, when you attacked me on the basis of a tarot card?” he countered gently, wanting to be reasonable.

“Since you were pretending to study under my father, I had no way of knowing that you were so contemptuous of the mysteries.” She pulled her hand out of his grasp and raised her chin in silent challenge.

“And since you were pretending to be rational, I had no way of knowing that you took it so seriously!” he snapped. Realizing from her expression that she was prepared for a real fight, Nick said, “Never mind. This is getting us nowhere. Felix should be our main concern right now.”

“Yes, of course.” Diana was ashamed that she had forgotten her father’s plight for a moment there. This man had a bad effect on her, under any circumstances. “What now?”

“I’ll have to check in with Peter, then we’ll see if we can find out if the Bouviers really are at their country estate.”

“And if they are?”

“That’s our next stop. I don’t suppose you have a car?”