Maryse looked up as the bells over Sabine’s shop door jangled, hoping it was Mildred or Raissa, but instead a petite, pretty blonde woman stepped hesitantly inside. The store had been swamped with business that morning, and the last customer had left only seconds before. Maryse had been hoping to return a call to Raissa, who’d sent her a text message earlier, but so far, there was no sign of a break in store traffic.
Maryse plastered on a smile and walked over to the woman. “Good morning. Can I help you find anything?”
The woman clutched her purse. “I hope so. Are you Maryse Robicheaux?”
Maryse studied the woman’s face, trying to figure out if she was supposed to know her, but absolutely nothing came to mind. “Yes, I’m Maryse.”
“My name is Lila.” She extended her hand. “We’ve never met, so don’t worry about offending me.”
Maryse shook her hand. “Was it that obvious?”
“You’re Southern. It’s sorta a given.”
“What can I help you with, Lila? If you’re interested in a reading, Sabine will be back next week.”
Lila’s expression grew serious. “I wanted to talk to you about Hank.”
“You know Hank?” Of all the things in the world Maryse figured the woman may want, information on Hank was the last thing that she would have thought of. “You don’t look like a bookie, loan shark, or cop.”
Lila blushed. “I’m not any of those things. I’m his boss.”
“I thought his boss was some guy named Chuck?”
“Chuck is the owner of the construction company, but I’m the owner of the clinic that’s being built. Hank’s building the cabinets.” Lila tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her hand shaking.
Maryse placed her hand on Lila’s arm. The woman was clearly distressed, and if it had anything to do with Hank Henry, she probably had good reason to be. “Let me put out the closed sign and we can talk in the break room. I have tea and coffee and might even be able to stir up something stronger.”
Lila gave her a grateful nod. “That would be great.”
Maryse flipped the sign in the front window and locked the door. She motioned to Lila and headed to the back of the store to the break room. “Have a seat,” Maryse said, and waved a hand at the tiny table and chairs squeezed into one corner of the room. “I’ll get us something to drink.”
“Oh, I don’t want to trouble you.” Lila said, and slipped onto a chair in the corner. She sat completely upright, and Maryse could see the stress on her face.
“It’s no trouble,” Maryse said. “I’d just put on a pot of coffee before you came in. Would you like some? If not, there’s soda, water, and tea. Anything stronger and I’d have to make a trip upstairs to Sabine’s apartment.”
“Coffee would be great.”
Maryse poured two cups of coffee and sat them on the table along with a caddy of creamer, artificial sweetener, and sugar. Lila opened a packet of artificial sweetener and added it to her coffee, then began to stir the life out of it.
“You said you wanted to talk about Hank,” Maryse prompted.
“Yes, but I really shouldn’t bother you. This was a mistake. I just thought…But now that I’ve met you, there’s no way…”
Maryse placed her hand on Lila’s arm. “No way, what? Is something wrong with Hank? Is he in some kind of trouble?”
“He’s missing,” Lila said, her voice barely a whisper.
“Oh, well,” Maryse struggled for the right words since it was clear that the woman was distraught. “Hank’s not exactly proven to be reliable in the showing-up-for-things category. In fact, you might say he made a professional career of coming up missing for a couple of years.”
Lila nodded. “I know about your relationship—how he ran off and left you to deal with everything alone.”
“Really? I didn’t know you could get that kind of information in a job interview.”
Lila blushed. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but I was Hank’s counselor when he was in rehab. Please don’t let anyone else know. It’s not ethical for me to talk about things he said to me at the center.”
Maryse leaned back in her chair, her mind trying to process what Lila had said. “Rehab? While I was hunting for him under every cypress tree on the bayou, he was in rehab?”
“Part of the time, yes, and I can tell you that he has a lot of guilt over what he put you through. He stated clearly from the first day of therapy that he was wrong, and you were a wonderful person who didn’t deserve to be saddled with someone like him. I know it’s hard to believe, given the way he treated you, but Hank has great respect for you. I think that’s part of the reason he couldn’t bring himself to contact you.”
“So it had nothing to do with all his gambling debts I got stuck with, huh? I find that hard to believe.”
Lila nodded. “I understand. When Hank first left you, he had gotten in with a rough crowd. Some of them you met when they were trying to collect, but that wasn’t the worst of them. He finally realized that his life was headed to an early end, and he checked himself into rehab in Mississippi. It’s probably what saved his life.”
Maryse sighed. “I guess I don’t really have any room to complain anymore, as he sorta took a bullet that was meant for me a month ago.”
Lila shook her head. “You have every right to complain. The Hank Henry that you knew wasn’t a worthy enough person to have a relationship with anyone, but you have to believe me when I tell you he’s changed. He’s really trying to do the right thing, and this job is the start of a real future for Hank.”
Maryse turned up her hands. “Then if he’s really changed and the job is great, why did he take off again? And how do you think I can help you?”
“Chuck and I think Hank was kidnapped.”
“What?” Maryse sat straight up in her chair.
“We called the police. They looked things over and agree that it looks suspicious.”
“Holy crap. Are there any suspects?” Maryse shook her head. “What am I saying? This is Hank. The list of suspects is the same as his list of creditors.”
“There was a guy at the site one day that Chuck didn’t like the look of. Hank was talking to him, and Chuck said Hank looked aggravated, but when Chuck asked about it, the guy said he was just asking for directions. Chuck didn’t really buy it. He said Hank looked nervous after talking with him, but Chuck didn’t press him. He wishes he had pushed, now. He’s blaming himself, which is wrong.”
“What did the guy look like?”
“Chuck said he had dark hair, dark sunglasses, and drove a black Cadillac.”
Maryse felt the color wash from her face. “A black Cadillac? Chuck is sure?”
“Yes. He said he remembers specifically because he looked at the car to buy one, but ultimately he didn’t want to pay for it. Why? Is that important?”
“It may be.” Maryse studied Lila for a second. The woman was clearly worried. She’d stirred her coffee during the entire conversation but had yet to take a single sip. “I’m just wondering why you’re here telling me all of this.”
Lila blushed. “Um, well, one of the days before that, when Chuck thought he saw the Cadillac, Hank came in and asked to use his cell phone. He claimed his was dead, and he needed to call his ex-wife. I guess maybe we just thought he might have told you something.”
“Did you tell the police about that call?”
“No.” Lila frowned. “What’s going on, Maryse? Do you know something about Hank that you’re not telling me? I saw your face when I mentioned the black Cadillac. Is Hank in trouble? Is there anything I can do?”
Maryse stared at her, finally understanding why Lila was talking to her. “You care about him.”
Lila looked down at her coffee. “Well, of course I’m worried when anyone I know comes up missing.”
“That’s not what I meant, but I won’t push you.” Maryse sighed. “Hank did call me that day, but it’s not him that’s in trouble, or at least we didn’t think it was. He was stuck in the middle of a situation involving a friend of mine, and he called to warn me so I would warn her.”
“What kind of situation?”
“I can’t really tell you much without breaking a confidence, but suffice it to say that some very bad people are looking for her. I promise you, she’s above reproach, but the people who are looking for her are some of the same people that Hank was involved with before. They know he was married to me and that she’s my friend, so they’ve been trying to shake him down for information.”
“But Hank wouldn’t give them what they wanted.”
“No, and in all fairness he doesn’t know the answers to their questions. We all thought it better if he didn’t.”
Lila nodded. “That makes sense. You’re certain your friend is telling you everything?”
“I’m positive. I can tell you that the local police and the FBI are trying to protect her. This is huge, Lila. She’s in a life-threatening situation, and the fallout reaches far beyond her. She’s just as unhappy about that and feels guilty as hell, but I promise you, there’s nothing she can do about it that is not already being done.” Maryse sighed. “I’m sorry I have to be so cryptic, but the police have really forbidden me to talk about anything.”
“Please, don’t apologize. I understand completely. Well, not really, but I understand why you can’t provide me with details. The FBI? Wow. I shudder to think what your friend’s gotten in the middle of that rates that kind of attention.”
“It’s been kinda hairy. That’s for sure.”
“And the New Orleans police are also aware of this situation?”
“Yes.” One of them, anyway.
“Then they’ll be able to connect the dots to Hank’s disappearance?”
“I will call my contact and make sure that they do, if they haven’t already.”
“Thank you.” Lila opened her purse and pulled out a business card. She wrote a phone number on the back of the card and handed it to Maryse. “The woman that’s in danger—if there’s anything I can do, please let me know. I have connections with several safe houses.”
“Thank you. That’s really kind, but you don’t know my friend. She doesn’t exactly duck things well.”
Lila nodded. “If you hear anything that you can share, I’d really appreciate a call. That’s my cell number on the back of the card. Call anytime.”
“Of course,” Maryse said.
Lila rose and Maryse followed her to the front door of the shop and drew back the dead bolt. “It was nice to meet you,” Lila said. “I only wish it were under different circumstances.”
“Me, too,” Maryse said as Lila slipped out the door. At the last minute, Maryse tugged on her sleeve. “He’s doing a good thing for my friend. Hank, that is. I want you to know that. You’re not wrong in believing he’s changed. I believe it, too, and I’m definitely the last person to say something good about him unless it’s warranted.”
Lila smiled. “Thank you. I’m glad I haven’t been wrong.”
Maryse closed the door behind her and turned the lock in place. She was officially closed for the day. She pulled the pay-as-you-go cell phone Raissa had gotten her from her pocket and punched in Raissa’s number. Things were getting much, much worse.