Talking bones, p.15
Talking Bones, page 15
“Just checking in on you,” Terrence replied. “How are you doing?”
“Much better. Feeling a whole lot less stressed about things.”
“That’s a good sign. What about Jonesy?”
At that, Gage winced. “Nothing, no progress in any corner.”
“Damn,” Terrence said softly.
“We’ll have to accept the fact that we may not get the answers we want as fast as we want them,” Gage noted, with a yawn.
“You don’t sound like you’re very awake.”
“Went out on the town last night.” He stifled another long yawn.
“Well, at least you’re enjoying yourself,” his brother noted grudgingly.
“Yeah, I didn’t really expect to, when I came down here,” he muttered, “but, when you realize there’s not a whole lot you can do about something, it tends to shift gears for you.”
“As long as you’re not wasting time. Are you coming back if you can’t find Jonesy or any other leads? Because you certainly have a lot of work to do here.”
“Oh, and I thought you were handling everything.”
“I am. I absolutely am, but normally you’re a very hands-on guy.”
“Like I said, I needed to take some time, to back up a few steps, and to ease up on things.”
“I know you keep talking about it,” his brother grumbled, “but you must understand that, if this deal doesn’t go through, we’re all screwed. So I can’t have you stepping off the accelerator now.”
“No, I’m aware of that,” Gage replied. “I’m very invested in this deal too. We just have to keep everything quiet about my current focus on Jonesy. This family matter is as important as business deals to me, although many in the business world would disagree.”
“At least he wasn’t involved in the deal or the company,” Terrence muttered. “Then we would have even more delays.”
“No word on the contract yet from our interested buyers?”
“No, nothing yet. They’re still going over the terms.”
“Well, we know it can take a while.”
“I know. I was hoping to have it locked up by now though.”
“I hear you,” Gage stated, “but we haven’t changed anything from the approved draft document, so it shouldn’t take too long.”
“No, no, we haven’t.”
An odd note in his brother’s voice attracted Gage’s attention immediately, and he knew his brother was lying. “Or did you?” Gage asked, his tone sharp.
“What do you mean?”
“Did you change anything before the final contract was sent out?”
“Well, I couldn’t have changed anything without you,” he replied in exasperation.
“That’s not necessarily true,” Gage stated slowly. “So, tell me. Honestly. Did you make any changes to it before it went out?” After a moment of silence came, Gage knew it. “Jesus, you did.”
“Just a small change,” Terrence admitted, “and I told you about it.”
“We didn’t discuss any changes to that contract,” he argued, almost yelling now. “We had the lawyers go back-and-forth on it for days. So what did you change?”
His brother hesitated.
“You need to tell me,” Gage demanded, his voice allowing no argument. “What the hell is going on here? Why would you make a change at the last minute?”
“It’s not like you were paying attention to things,” he whined. “And it was just something simple.”
“Then tell me what it was.”
“I’ll send you a copy of it,” he snapped. “You probably won’t even notice.”
“Then you need to tell me, and you need to tell me right freaking now. I am beyond frustrated with you at present.”
“So what then? You’ll return and take over?” he asked. “I thought you were talking about me taking over.”
“And remember what you just said about me needing to stay at the helm in case you screwed this up?”
“I didn’t. It was just dates.”
“And why did you change the dates?” he asked loudly.
“Just the closing time frame,” he replied.
“That could be why they’re taking longer to look things over because we’re pushing for a faster time period.”
“Well, I also changed the time they had to consider it,” he finally added.
“You what? Why the hell would you do that?”
“I don’t know,” Terrence said in frustration, “because I wanted this over with. I didn’t want to give them too much time.”
“But you have to give them enough time. Jesus Christ, Terrence,” Gage yelled. “Otherwise it looks suspicious as hell. They need time for their lawyers to go over it all, and, if you try to push it through too quickly, they’ll wonder what you’re trying to hide. We’ll be lucky if this doesn’t blow the whole thing right out of the water.”
“I wasn’t trying to hide anything. I just wanted it done.” And, without saying anything else, his brother hung up.
Gage stared in frustration at the phone in his hand. “Why would you even do shit like that?” he grumbled, wondering what was really going on. It’s one of the reasons Gage was selling his business, refusing to hold any position thereafter, even limiting his transition time involved. He didn’t want to worry about all these things. It would be up to other people, other board members, to determine who should stay in power or not. But a stunt like this made Gage wonder if his brother had what it took to be successful on his own.
The last thing Gage needed was his brother making things too awkward or making changes that weren’t discussed, which made everyone involved very nervous. His brother should know that. So why the hell would he have done it? Everybody wanted this deal over and done with. Everybody wanted it signed.
No. Technically the last thing Gage needed was to accuse his brother of intentionally tanking this deal.
And the fact that it now came down to something this dicey made his heart pound in fury. He took several calming breaths, trying to release the stress knotting up his gut and twisting the back of his neck. He would end up with a migraine if he kept this up and briefly wondered how he had handled all this crap before the accident.
It had seemed like it had been small peanuts to him back then, but it really hadn’t been. It’s just that he’d handled it all differently, but now it seemed like everything caused him major trauma. Which was too damn bad because it was starting to get to him in a big way.
Shaking it off, he raced downstairs to the hotel lobby and burst out onto the street. If only he could find something that would make a difference in his world, like locating Jonesy. … That would help.
As he walked down the street, somebody from the hotel called out, running behind him. Gage stopped when he heard his name, then turned and spoke. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you were looking for me.”
“I was waiting for you to come down,” the manager explained, catching his breath, “but you charged right out, and I didn’t get a chance to talk to you.”
“What’s up?” Gage asked.
“There was a message for you this morning,” he replied, as he handed over an envelope. “This was dropped off.” At that, he looked back at the hotel. “I must return now. I left the desk unattended.” Then the man turned and bolted toward the hotel.
Gage stared at the envelope, wondering why the hell somebody would leave something like this instead of coming up to his room. And was no answer from him expected? Odd. Holding the envelope, he walked down to the small restaurant that had some of the best beignets he’d ever tried, and there he chose a table outside and ordered a fresh coffee, then waited for the waitress to leave.
As soon as he was alone, he opened up the envelope and studied the message.
Jonesy is gone. If you want to know where his body is, meet me at noon.
His heart sank.
The message also included the name of a cemetery.
“Jesus,” he muttered to himself. “How the hell did that work?” He immediately took a picture of it and texted it to the detective Gage had contacted when he’d first arrived in town.
The cop phoned him. “When did you get that?”
“I just left the hotel, and the guy from the front desk ran down the street to hand it to me,” he explained. “Apparently whoever it was came in this morning but didn’t want to go up to my room and just left it for me at the front desk.”
“Very suspicious.”
“You think?” Gage quipped. “I don’t know what the hell this means at all.”
“No, neither do I, and I don’t understand the cloak-and-dagger nature of it,” he replied quietly. “I presume you want to meet him.”
“Absolutely I do,” Gage stated. “Finding Jonesy is the reason I came to New Orleans.”
“Right, we definitely need to meet your mystery person there.”
“I’m also bringing Skylar from Skylar’s Heaven,” Gage added.
“Why?” the cop asked in alarm. “The less people you bring, the better.”
“Maybe so, but it’s a cemetery that she knows very well.”
“How is it that she knows it?” he asked suspiciously.
No way would the detective understand, so Gage avoided answering that question directly. “Don’t worry about it. The bottom line is that I’m bringing her along.”
“Whatever. I’ll meet you there at noon.” With that, the detective hung up.
Gage then texted the same photo of the message to Skylar. He was just sipping his coffee and waiting on his beignets when she phoned him.
“When did you get that?” she asked, but no accusation was in her tone, more curiosity.
He explained the scenario, like he had to the detective.
“Interesting,” she noted. “I guess it’s possible that people saw you out partying last night and didn’t want to wake you this morning.”
He smiled at that because it was the nicer answer. “Yes, that’s definitely possible.”
“Still, I’d already arranged to be gone,” she added, “so, if you want, I can come with you.” Yet she sounded hesitant.
“No, I would definitely like for you to come,” he stated.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he murmured. “I don’t know what you might see or understand about what’s going on, but just the fact that I’ve been asked to meet at a cemetery makes me more than a little suspicious and apprehensive.”
“You’re thinking that Jonesy’s been buried there?”
“I have no idea,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t know how anybody could tell.”
“It would be a fresh grave,” she replied almost instantly.
“Right, like that’ll help much though. It’s a graveyard, so there’ll be a lot of fresh graves.”
She chuckled. “So I can see why you’re thinking maybe I should go with you, in case there are any ghosts to talk to, is that it?”
“Maybe, but there could also be a lot of people around, so I don’t know how much actual talking you could really do.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” she murmured.
“I don’t know,” he told her. “Where you are concerned, I’m not sure anything will surprise me at this point.”
“Well, it was a fun evening last night,” she said. “Maybe you got to see a little more of me than you expected.”
“I loved every moment of it,” he shared warmly. “You were natural, friendly, and open.”
“I had a blast.”
“Good, so maybe we can do it again sometime.”
“Sounds good,” she agreed, “but let’s deal with some of these crazy issues first.”
“I’m all for that.” He sighed. “None of this makes any sense.”
“Well, let’s hope, after today, it does,” she suggested. “Are you coming here just before noon then?”
“How far away is the cemetery?”
“Walking distance,” she noted.
“Okay, I’ll be at your store at one-quarter to noon.” With that, he hung up and realized that he didn’t have all that much time left. As he studied his phone, his beignets arrived. The fresh smell wafted up to his nose. “My God, these are absolutely divine,” he murmured.
The waitress laughed, then smiled brightly. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard that or a similar comment.”
He grinned. “These are definitely from the gods.”
She nodded. “I don’t know about the gods’ involvement, but they’re definitely a popular item,” she confirmed.
“And with good reason,” he murmured, as she left him to his breakfast.
He picked out the first one and took a bite of the fresh soft sugary dough and moaned. It was absolutely divine. By the time he finished two cups of coffee and all but one of the beignets, he wrapped that last one up in his napkin and slowly worked his way to Skylar’s place.
When he got there, he was still a little early but not by much. He walked into the store to find her busy with customers. He put the beignet on the counter in front of the register, then wandered around the store, waiting until she was done. By the time she’d finished with her last customer and had locked the front door, putting up the Be Right Back sign, it was almost time to go.
She looked at him and blew a few tendrils of hair from her face. “It’s been crazy busy this morning,” she murmured. She looked at the beignet and sent a big fat smile in his direction. “This looks lovely.”
“I didn’t know how many you got these days.”
“I’m fairly blessed. A friend of mine is working his way toward making the best beignet in town,” she noted, “and, of course, he’s up for some pretty stiff competition.”
“I see.” Gage nodded, with a sly smile. “So he brings you samples?”
“All the time.” She picked up the beignet, took a bite, and swallowed. “But this I need right now, before we head out. Otherwise I might collapse on the way.”
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Nope, didn’t have time.”
“Right, we were out late last night.”
“We were, indeed. And I woke up late, so I just ran downstairs in time to get the store open.”
“Only you didn’t have to commute anywhere.”
She laughed at that. “Nope, I’ve been in a job where I did have to commute a long way, and it really ate into my day.”
“It sure does, doesn’t it?”
“What about you, did you commute?”
“I did for a while, and then I bought a condo closer to work,” he explained. “I don’t know what I’ll do with the place now.”
“You won’t go back there?”
“I’m not sure I fit in there anymore.” He shrugged. “I already felt a bit that way immediately after the accident, but everything is surely different now.”
“It is. It really is.”
“It feels odd, like my old life doesn’t even fit anymore. It’s not just that I’m different but that nothing in that world really fits me anymore. It’s the weirdest sensation.”
“I get it,” she agreed. “And when you do find the right place, it will fit perfectly and will feel right.”
“So, is that why New Orleans feels right then?” he asked, staring at her.
“I don’t know. You tell me. Maybe because you’re getting answers.”
He nodded. “I wondered if that was something I was looking at. It’s a little confusing at times.”
“It’s very confusing at times,” she confirmed, with a smile, “but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth sorting out.”
“No, I will, and I’m not limited to the time frame that I’m here either,” he noted. “So I’ll stay as long as I need you to help me figure this out.”
“Good for you. I gather you’re independently wealthy.”
“Wealthy, yes, … and, if this deal goes through, I pretty well won’t have to work anymore,” he shared, with a shrug.
“Is that what you want?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want to work anymore. Not at all. I want the deal to go through because that culminates the business I built, and I’m ready to walk away from it,” he explained. “I just don’t want to give it away.”
“Of course not,” she murmured.
Just then her doorbell rang. She looked up and smiled. “And now we can go.”
And, with that, she slipped her arm through his, and, after saying thank you to her friend, they walked out.
“We need to go straight to the cemetery for this meeting.”
She nodded. “Let’s go.”
By the time they walked through the cemetery gates, the detective stood there, waiting for them. He impatiently shifted from foot to foot. “You’re late,” he snapped.
Skylar immediately apologized. “It was my fault. The store was busy.”
He just glared at her. Then he turned to Gage and asked, “Did you get any more instructions as to where you’re supposed to meet him?”
“No.” With a nudge from Skylar, Gage pulled out the note and handed it to her.
She frowned as she read it, then turned to look around. “I presume Jonesy’s body is here.”
The detective glared at her.
She shrugged. “Why else would he choose a cemetery?”
At that, another voice broke through their conversation. “She’s right, you know? Why else would anybody choose this location?”
She turned to look at the man and frowned. “Do I know you?”
His gaze was focused as he studied her, and then he slowly shook his head. “I don’t know, do you?”
She didn’t like hearing that which was obvious. She turned to look at the cop, who was studying the newcomer.
“Are you the one who sent the note?” the detective asked the stranger.
“I am,” he stated. “I wasn’t expecting a whole party of you to come though.”
At that, Gage just shrugged. “No reason not to.”
“I guess. It’s a little bit gruesome though.”
“What is?”
“Your uncle’s body.” Then the stranger led the way through the cemetery to one of the crypts at a back corner. It seemed broken on one side. But then so many of the crypts were broken. He pointed. “I think that’s him in there.”
