Imogene in New Orleans (32 page)

Lena nodded. “Yeah, baby. He one of them boys a woman lucky to have for a son.” She turned around and her gray eyes became serious. She grabbed Jackson and pushed him into Allen’s workshop with the enormous table for his frames. “Listen. I know you seen my boy Leonard—Glenway called him Catfish. He don’t deserve to be jumped on by the law or by Neil and ’em. That’s how come I let him go. I’m gonna ask you not to say nothing to ’em, if you will. Can you do that, baby?”

“I won’t say anything, Lena, but you should know that the law is looking for your son right now. They think he killed Glenway.” Jackson stared at the file folder in her hands.

“Yeah, and they crazy too. They’ll chase they own tail, won’t they? ’Specially that big ugly one, Rogers. Shoot. That’s how come Imogene and me, we got some information tonight and we gonna go in the back room and sort it out. We’ll let you know soon’s we know something. I took the notion to help y’all just as soon’s they got after my Leonard.”

Jackson glanced at Lena’s New Orleans Saints cap, which wrapped loosely around her head. He felt his heart sink into his gut as a few pieces of the puzzle fell into place. He snapped his fingers. “Miss Lena, you’re a genius.”

“Whatchya mean? You ain’t gonna tell the boys about Leonard, is you?” Lena swatted at him just as he started for the front door.

He shook the umbrella bin in the corner of the foyer and said, “It was this. And that hat of yours. That’s what did it for me.”

“Baby, you ain’t talkin’ plain. Slow down and tell Lena Ward what you sayin’.”

“It’s been in front of me the whole time. The symbol of the city.” He ran out to the porch and asked Allen to come inside. “Allen, I know it’s two a.m., but I’ve figured out what was used to kill Glenway. I know what made that indentation on his skull. It hit me just now as Lena was talking. And since I know
what
killed Glenway, I now know
who
killed him.”

Thirty

Jackson rolled over and glanced at his watch. It was 10:45 a.m. “No!” He jumped out of bed and accidentally kicked Goose, who immediately started barking.

Billy tore off the covers. “What is it, Jackson? Why’s Goose going crazy?”

“We have fifteen minutes to check out of Chez Hill. We’re not staying one more night there.” Jackson hurried into his shorts.

“Why?” Billy stared up at the ceiling in Neil’s guest room.

“It’s not safe. We’re better off here.” Jackson threw Billy a shirt, and in just a moment, they were running for the door. They passed the den where Lena was on one small sofa covered in a blanket and Imogene on another, snoring like she’d never slept a night in her life.

The boys hurried to the car and drove quickly to Chez Hill, stopping at the valet parking area. Jackson tossed his keys to the closest young man in a hotel shirt and ran upstairs.

He stopped in front of the room and unlocked the door, but couldn’t push it open. Something was blocking the door from inside. He could open the lock, but he felt an obstacle leaning against the other side. He shook it.

“What’s wrong?” Billy asked, still wiping sleep out of his eyes.

“I can’t get it loose. It’s blocked.” He stuck his shoulder into it and pushed, but the door only moved an inch.

“Okay. On the count of three, we’re going to force it open. Use everything you’ve got.” Jackson and Billy put their leaned into the door. “All right, one, two, three.”

As they shoved, they heard the sound of wood cracking against the door, which opened about a foot. It was enough room for Jackson to reach around and knock a chair out of the way.

Forcing the door all the way open, they stepped inside to see a horrible mess. The mattresses were lying in between the beds. Drawers from dresser had been pulled out and thrown carelessly around, and the TV cabinet leaned at an angle beside two broken lamps. The decorative knobs on the French doors were bent, and the hot air of August poured into the room from the open doors. The AC unit groaned.

“Again? Someone ransacked our room again?” Jackson said. “I couldn’t be happier to be leaving this place.”

Clothes, shoes, Billy’s backup cuff and blood-sugar monitor, all were tossed to the floor. The security safe’s door had been pried open and left completely empty. Billy swiped his hand through his hair as if straightening it would make him feel better about the disaster. “At least we didn’t leave anything important to the case here.”

Jackson called Neil and told him what had happened. Neil said, “I’m on my way and I’ll bring the women.”

Billy called the front desk to report the break-in. While they waited for Neil and the hotel staff to arrive, Jackson put one of the mattresses on the bed and had Billy sit down. Billy teetered on the edge with his mouth open. He checked his pressure a dozen times.

Jackson eventually sat beside him. “Since we have a minute alone, I need to tell you about Thurston and the mysterious cane from last night. Thurston’s the one who killed Glenway.”

In a few minutes there was a knock at the door and then the hotel attendants walked in holding their clipboards.

Neil burst in and smacked his hand against the wall. He scowled at the employees. “My friends deserve a complete refund for their stay. This is the second burglary in a week. You need to take care of their bill immediately”—the attendants turned around to go—“because they’re not staying one more moment in this crime-infested hotel.”

Billy stood and said, “I’m feeling sick to my stomach.” Jackson led him out to the balcony for some fresh air. Neil hopped over a mattress and asked, “Are you missing anything?”

Billy gazed toward the river. Even the European rooftops and lush courtyards surrounding the place looked menacing. “No, not that I know of.”

Jackson stepped back into the room toward Neil. “Were those figurines stolen last night from your office, while we attended the ballet? The last time our room was ransacked, someone stole the figurines I was keeping, which is why I’m asking about the ones you were keeping. Because of Imogene’s disappearance last night, they slipped my mind.”

“Oh, I didn’t consider the possibility until now. I was also worried about Imogene being gone, then distracted after her return.”

“It’s odd. Someone took the figurines out of the safe here the first time they broke it. And again the door to our hotel safe was forced open. Seems like lots of figurines are being taken from lots of places, so I wondered about the ones in your office.”

“Let me call Allen and ask him.” Neil took out his cell phone and stepped over a suitcase to get to the corner.

Just then, Imogene and Lena walked into the hotel room, looking the very picture of a hangover. Neil turned to the praline chef. “Lena, did you go in my office last night? I’m trying to find out if anything happened to Glenway’s carved pieces in my office.”

“Naw, baby. And I ain’t touched them figures either. Only thing I took was Imogene and the dawg when we went to the Quarter.” Goose hobbled in with the women, breathing so hard Jackson thought the poor dude would pant his face off. Neither the seniors nor the bull could walk past the bathroom because of the wreck.

Neil rubbed his neck. “It was so late and things got so hectic…Allen? Hey, do something for me…” He walked out on the balcony and closed the French doors after Billy went back into the room.

Billy’s hair stood on end. His nervous condition had flared up from the burglary. He stuck his finger on the pulse of his neck as Jackson sorted clothes.

Imogene put her hands on her hips. “Boys, looks like a hurr’cane tore through here. My panties and bras is everywhere. Who the devil would want an old woman’s underclothes?”

Lena shook her head. “I don’t know, baby. Don’t make no sense.”

Goose scraped by the old woman. He looked as baffled as anyone, standing with his paws pointed inward and gazing from one mess to the next.

After a few moments, Neil came back inside to glare at Lena. “Lena, tell me. What did my office door look like when you left last night?”

“Why you think I done it?” Lena gathered Imogene’s underclothes and stuffed them in her bag. “Your office didn’t look no different than when y’all was there, baby. Did it, Imogene?”

“Naw, son.” Imogene crawled over a mattress, even though Jackson told her not to. She picked up a white bra and threw it in her purse. “There wasn’t nothing disturbed ‘bout your room when me and Lena left.”

“I’m not trying to say y’all took Glenway’s pieces. I’m just trying to understand what happened. Allen couldn’t find them anywhere in our house.” He fidgeted with his golf cap. Suddenly, he whacked it against the curtains. “I bet I know who did it. Rogers took them…or that cop on the curb.” Neil dialed Rogers’s number again. He got the voice mail. “Lieutenant, we’re going to sort this out right this minute. You better return what you stole.”

Jackson had to give his partner three pep talks to get him packing. He used a familiar move from his younger days, which was to put everything that would fit into the suitcases and then place the rest into black garbage bags. Imogene’s old brown suitcase with its 1970s vibe had scrapes and scratches on it. She and Lena helped Jackson pack. Goose offered moral support and grunts of approval. Billy locked himself in the bathroom.

In just under an hour, they headed downstairs. Jackson stopped at the front desk to take care of the bill, which thankfully had been reduced considerably at Neil’s insistence. Afterward, he stopped in the restroom beside the hotel manager’s office. As he stepped out into the lobby, Jackson heard the door to the manager’s office slam and a man with a bald head, wearing a yellow Hawaiian shirt, rushed toward him. It wasn’t clear if Thurston was running away from someone or charging at Jackson. Either way, Jackson was in Thurston’s path, and once again, he got knocked to the floor. In a few breaths, Jackson found himself tangled up with the cane and the man. Thurston dropped a piece of carved jade in the struggle. Jackson grabbed it. This piece was similar to the ones he’d been studying all week. This one was a jester wearing a pointy hat and a decorative collar.

Jackson closed his fingers over the piece. Thurston grabbed his cane, hopped to his feet—showing quite a bit of agility for a sedentary, literary man—and ran feverishly for the door. He slipped out the side entrance just as Rogers stormed into the lobby.

“What have you got yourself into?” Rogers leaned over Jackson.

“Thurston knocked me over,” Jackson said. He scowled at Rogers.

“Thurston? The old man who uses the walking stick? He couldn’t knock over those old women out there.” Rogers pointed to the valet area. Imogene was leaning against the car with Lena, perusing papers from the file folder.

Jackson slid the tiny jester in his shorts pocket. “Well, it was him, and he’s gone now. Help me up.” As soon as Jackson got to his feet, he started running in the direction that Thurston had taken. Rogers drew his gun and followed. They caught sight of him near where Neil stood waiting.

“Rogers, there you are, you ass. What did you do with Glenway’s figurines?” Neil ran toward him and blocked his path. “The only reason you agreed to help us last night was to steal Glenway’s figurines.
Again.
In fact, I bet the minute we left, your lackey swiped them from my house.”

“Out of my way, Neil. Suspect’s on the loose.” Rogers flung Neil aside with his forearm. As Thurston turned the corner, Jackson shouted for them to follow in the car. Neil jumped inside with Goose and Billy. Imogene and Lena did their best to hurry to the Cadillac, parked on the road.

Jackson hoofed it after Thurston. He rounded the corner and saw the man dashing at full speed. Thurston paused for just a second to use his cane to pry open the lid of an enormous garbage bin on the side street, trying to block his pursuers. .

Jackson dodged the lid and heard Neil’s car skid into the alleyway. Rogers turned to check on the car coming in and ran smack-bang into the lid, which knocked the gun from his hand.

“Damn it!” Rogers slowed to pick up his gun. He rubbed his ribs where he’d connected with the lid and then slammed the garbage bin closed.

Jackson kept running, passing the side door to the pool and courtyard at Chez Hill. He began gaining on Thurston, who appeared to be tiring from his sprint. Thurston used his cane in a sort of walk-run-hop motion. Neil slowed the car, driving only a few feet behind the runners.

Thurston turned and tossed his cane at Jackson, hitting him squarely in the gut. Jackson plucked it off the street. “You’re only making things worse. You can’t outrun me.”

Thurston stopped, and Jackson grabbed him. He had to rest before talking. Rogers ran up beside the men and pulled his handcuffs out of his pocket.

“You dropped one of Glenway’s figurines.” Jackson reached in the pocket of his shorts.

“What do you mean?” Thurston’s bald head glistened in the noonday light.

“This.” Jackson held up the carved jade character. Rogers’s eyes got the size of Mardi Gras doubloons. He stuffed his handcuffs back in his pocket, turned on one foot, and stormed away.

Neil pulled beside Jackson on the street and said, “Where’s he going?”

“I think I know.” He held Thurston’s arm as the man tried to squirm free. Billy opened the rear car door and slid across the seat. Then Jackson pushed Thurston next to Billy. The man started screaming and didn’t stop until after receiving a decisive whack with the handle.

“I owed you that,” Jackson said, jumping into the front seat. He threw the cane in the back, not caring if it hit Thurston again, but Billy grabbed it.

“I do know one thing,” Jackson said. “We have the man who killed Glenway right here. I know you did it, Thurston. I figured it out last night.” He pointed to what Billy held in his lap. “You used that cane with the fleur-de-lis pattern on the handle. That’s what made the indentation on Glenway Gilbert’s skull, which Billy spotted the day we discovered Glenway’s body.”

Thurston tried to interrupt, but Jackson wouldn’t let him. “I was certain that whoever killed Glenway also stole the figurines. This beautiful piece of carved jade was stolen from Glenway’s studio. Imogene took pictures of it while it was still there. You’re the one who’s been working with Lieutenant Rogers, which is why he fled the scene. You’re going to take us to your apartment right now and give us the rest of the stolen art.”