Rue Toulouse (35 page)

At nine o’clock sharp, Caterine heard her aunts’ unmistakable voices as they entered Ma Chérie’s front door. Nervously she paused in front of a cheval mirror and straightened the cranberry silk pinstriped jacket and smoothed out the matching skirt.
Okay, here you go. Remember, as far as they’re concerned, you’ve just returned from a business trip. Pay close attention to their reactions when they see you.
She hadn’t taken two steps out into the short hall when Aunt Hyacinth’s words stopped her in her tracks.

“I’m telling you, Frances, it was Caterine that Paulette saw standing in front of the Chartres House looking like a dirty street person in the company of some rough-looking guy. We only have Miss Dauphine’s word that Caterine’s been away on business. What if that’s not true? What if the prospect of owning Ma Chérie and all that entails sent her over the edge? Perhaps she’s had some kind of breakdown and she’s run away and doesn’t know who she is, and Miss Dauphine is trying to cover the whole thing up. Frances, do you realize what this could mean if it’s true? Caterine can’t run Ma Chérie if she’s crazy. Miss Dauphine won’t have any choice but to turn control over to Charlotte.”

“For heaven's sake, Hyacinth, take a breath,” Frances said. “If it was Caterine, and I doubt it was, I can guarantee you that taking over Ma Chérie wouldn’t cause her to have a breakdown. Miss Dauphine has been training her since she was old enough to walk through the store’s front door. I’m sure she’s been away on business, as Miss Dauphine said.”

“But what if you’re wrong and it was Caterine,” Hyacinth insisted. “What’s she doing dressed like a bum, in the company of some nasty looking biker? Or perhaps Caterine has a double life,” she continued excitedly. “And when she’s not being proper Caterine, she runs around with a bunch of trashy people.”

“Really, Hyacinth. Can you actually imagine Caterine not only filthy but dressed like a bum? She may have her faults, but not dressing stylishly isn’t one of them. As far as I can tell, Caterine doesn’t have much of a single life, let alone a double one. No, Hyacinth, whoever Paulette saw, it couldn’t have been Caterine.”

“Aunt Frances is right, Aunt Hyacinth. It wasn’t me,” Caterine said, coming out of the hallway.

Hyacinth threw her arms in the air and let out a piercing scream.

“For God’s sake, Caterine, what’s the meaning of this? You’ve about given us both heart attacks,” Frances scolded. “Have you now taken to eavesdropping? And why are you wearing that suit?”

Hyacinth pointed an accusing finger. “It’s one of mine for the auction. She’s stealing it!”
 

“It’s rather difficult to steal from oneself.” She came farther into the room. “Now, what’s all this about Paulette seeing me with a . . . what did you call him, Aunt Hyacinth,
a nasty looking biker
?”

Frances gave a dismissive wave. “Obviously Paulette was mistaken. When did you get back?”

“I arrived late last night.”

Frances knitted her brows. “That’s odd. I didn’t see your lights on in the carriage house either last night or this morning.”

“As I said, it was late when I got in, and I wanted to get caught up on my paperwork, so I came to work early.”

Hyacinth narrowed her eyes. “How did you get here? Charlotte told us a towing company took your car away yesterday.”

“Someone vandalized my car to the point it may not be repairable so I had to call a cab.” Caterine watched their faces, but neither showed anything but surprise.

“That’s disgraceful. You can’t even park your car on Royal Street anymore without someone vandalizing it,” Frances said with disgust.

“It wasn’t parked on Royal when it happened. It was parked at home, outside the carriage house.”

“What?” Hyacinth gasped. “When did this happen?”

“Right before I left town.”

“That’s impossible, Caterine,” Frances said. “No one could have gotten back to where your car is parked, tampered with it, and not been seen. Audubon Place has a security gate, and the grounds of the house are surrounded by tall shrubbery.”

“Impossible or not, it happened,” Caterine replied.

“What’s not impossible?” Miss Dauphine asked.

The three women turned as one as Miss Dauphine strolled into the room.

“My car being tampered with while it was parked in front of the carriage house.” Caterine kissed her grandmother’s cheek. “It’s good to see you, Grandmère. It was late when I got in last night and I didn’t want to wake you.”

“It’s good to see you as well, my dear. How did your trip go?”

“It was very successful. I’ll fill you in later.”

“That will be fine. Now back to the subject you were discussing when I came in. What is this about your car?” She listened while Caterine explained, then nodded decisively. “Lately, I have been concerned about the security of the house and grounds, so I’ve called Paul LaBeau and requested he go over the house, inside and out, and let me know what he recommends. In fact, he and his partner were arriving as I was leaving.”

Hyacinth frowned. “But Miss Dauphine, the security system we have now seems to work fine. Why replace it?”

“Because it’s probably out of date. A criminal might find the house an easy target.”

Hyacinth’s voice rose. “But the party is on Tuesday. We can’t have the mess of a new system being installed right now.”

Miss Dauphine’s mouth thinned into a straight line. “Really, Hyacinth, is it necessary to speak in that most unpleasant manner? I promise you, Paul and his men won’t interfere with your party arrangements. Now, Caterine, I wish to hear about your trip.” Without a backward glance she swept from the room.

Hyacinth’s lips formed the word
bitch
before her eyes met Caterine’s. With a defiant glare, she turned her back on Caterine and headed toward the coffee alcove with Frances right on her heels.

“Come in and close the door, Caterine.” Miss Dauphine took the seat behind the desk.

Caterine couldn’t stop the blush that stained her cheeks at the thought of what had happened on that desk earlier.

“Are you all right, my dear?”

“Ah, yes, ma’am, I’m fine. Hyacinth just makes me so angry sometimes.”

“The woman has the brains of a goose. Now have a seat and I’ll tell you the latest news. As you heard, Paul and Mr. Michaud are at the house planning where the security should be placed the night of the party.”

“That was clever having Paul pretend to install a new system.”

“It’s no pretense. He’s been instructed to do just that. After leaving Paul’s office yesterday, I got to thinking about their plan and wondered how I could be of the most assistance. So late last night I called Paul, and we spoke for quite a while. Paul is the one who suggested upgrading the house’s security, and I agreed.”

“And he can have it done in time for the party?”

“I’m not sure he’ll have everything installed, but he promised me the important items will be.”

“Such as?”

“Hidden surveillance cameras, for one.”

“But, Grandmère, if anyone in the family sees him installing hidden cameras, it will tip our hand.”

“That’s why they’re working this morning. The house should be empty for most of the day. Now, what is this about your car?”

Caterine explained Antoine’s theory then related the conversation she’d overheard between Frances and Hyacinth. “I can’t wait to tell Remi he was described as a nasty biker.”

Miss Dauphine smiled. “I imagine Mr. Michaud will find that rather amusing. But what happened to your car is most distressing.”

“I know. I loved that car.”

“I’m not talking about the loss of your car being distressing, Caterine. It was only a car, which can be replaced. What disturbs me is the thought of some criminal skulking around outside the house. I always thought the shrubbery surrounding the grounds was not only useful for privacy, but a form of security as well. Obviously I was mistaken. I intend on notifying Audubon Place security of the vandalism to your car. Now for our next problem. I’m wondering if we should be concerned over Paulette seeing you yesterday, although I suppose since you’ve made your presence known now, it doesn’t really matter.”

“Probably not. I’m surprised Paulette didn’t also mention seeing me talking with Travis Jenkins. She must have driven by seconds before he showed up.”

“Caterine, what on earth are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry. I haven’t told you about the peculiar encounter I had with Travis Jenkins.”

Miss Dauphine sighed when Caterine was done. “I don’t know what happened between those two. But if I had to guess, I’d say Travis figured out what a spiteful, spoiled brat Paulette is and called the wedding off while he still could.”

“If you’re right, it’s really too bad for Paulette. Travis seems to be a really nice guy who would have been good for her.”

“I suppose we’ll never know the truth. Now, is there anything else I need to know about?”

Caterine hesitated. “Only that Remi’s taking me to his family’s crawfish boil tomorrow and I’m a nervous wreck.”

“For heaven’s sake, why are you nervous?”

“I’ve never been to a large family gathering like that, especially with people whose lifestyle is so foreign to me. What if I do or say something inappropriate?”

Caterine was surprised at the annoyance that flashed in her grandmother’s eyes. “Caterine, whether one is attending a gala ball or a crawfish boil, proper decorum, etiquette, and graciousness are always appropriate behavior. I’ve never known you to be lacking in any of these. Conduct yourself in the manner in which you’ve been taught and you’ll do fine.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, what do you think?” Paul asked as he and Remi concluded their tour of the Doucette mansion, ending with the spacious third-floor ballroom.

“I think we’ve got us a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. And I sure as hell shouldn’t be taking tomorrow off to go to a crawfish boil.”

Paul rubbed his chin in thought. “You’re right about the work, but wrong about taking tomorrow off. You need to go and recruit help. I say we begin working on securing the ballroom first. We’ll get the surveillance cameras installed in here and outside on the gallery.”

Remi nodded. “Sounds good. Let’s get at it. How long did Miss Dauphine tell you she thought we had until people started coming home?”

“Most of the day. It’s Charlotte, Randal, and Markus I’m concerned about.”

“I wonder if Ray could help us out by keeping them away?”

Paul smiled. “Good idea. I’ll call him right now.”

While Paul talked to Ray, Remi walked the ballroom’s perimeter.
Just this one room is bigger than the house I grew up in,
he thought, reality again hitting him in the heart like a fist.
What made me think I could take Caterine from this world and expect her to get used to living in mine? Well, tomorrow she’ll see for herself where I come from and the kind of lifestyle I’m used to and comfortable in. So, Remi old boy, you may not have to worry about how you’re going to let the lady go. She’ll probably run away from you on her own.

Paul interrupted his thoughts. “It’s all taken care of. Ray is going to call a special Doucette family board meeting.”

Remi grinned. “That should keep them busy for most of the night.”

Paul grinned back. “And punish them for bad behavior as well.”

“Right on,
cher
.”

“Okay, let’s get busy.”

“When Caterine calls, I’ll have to leave and go take her home, but I’ll come right back.”

“I could ask Elaine if she could go get her.”

Remi snorted. “Don’t you remember what happened the last time we left them on their own?”

“But Elaine will have the boys. They can’t get into too much trouble with a three-year-old and a five-year-old along.”

“It won’t be too dangerous for Elaine and the boys?”

Paul shook his head. “Until this morning, no one knew Caterine was back in town. Besides, they’re not going to try and hit Caterine in broad daylight with witnesses.”

Remi hesitated. “You’re probably right, and it would save time if I didn’t have to leave.”

“I’ll call Elaine and make sure she doesn’t have plans. If not, I’ll tell her to let Caterine know she’ll be picking her up.”