Bones of a Feather - Carolyn Haines [9]
The tour concluded, and everyone began to talk and laugh as we retraced our steps to the Eola. I turned back for one last glimpse of the loess bluffs created by a long-ago earthquake that dictated the route of the Mississippi River. A large object encased in fluttering, diaphanous material sailed off the top of the cliff. I watched in soundless horror as the human-sized entity fell more than one hundred feet to smack into the water with a splash that drew everyone’s attention.
“What was that?” the guide asked.
Several people laughed shakily. I clutched Tinkie’s hand. “It looked like a body,” I whispered.
Tinkie pushed my shoulder. “It’s part of the show, Sarah Booth. We got our money’s worth on this tour.”
Her comment drew agreement from the others. Even the guide chuckled.
As we meandered back to the Eola, Tinkie chatted with an older couple from St. Francisville, Louisiana. I couldn’t shake the sense of tragedy that flooded me at the sight of the lace-clad missile dropping into the swift current of the Mississippi River. There had been no scream, nothing to indicate the object was alive. Still, I couldn’t let it go. The menacing gloom that hung over Briarcliff had slithered into my bones.
A. J. and Carlie Wells, the older couple from down river, were also staying at the Eola, so we pushed through the revolving door one after the other, Tinkie’s bright laughter leading the way. I loved her laugh, and I determined to shake off my glum mood.
Tinkie suggested a drink at the bar, so we followed her, until she stopped abruptly in the doorway. Like a line of ducks, we tumbled into one another. “What the—” And then I saw what had brought my partner to a dead halt—El Hombre Siniestro.
He wore a tuxedo and sat, one foot cocked on the bar rail in a GQ pose. His dark hair was pulled in a queue at the nape of his neck and an ill-tempered scowl claimed his face. He glowered as if we’d intruded on his most private moment.
Ignoring him, we settled at a table in the corner. We had a round of drinks and chatted pleasantly for half an hour.
“I think we’ll head upstairs,” A. J. said. “It’s been a long day.” He and Carlie slipped out of the bar, leaving me and Tinkie with the Thunder God. The tuxedoed man tapped the bar with his thumb as he scowled.
“Who the heck is he?” Tinkie whispered.
“An ass.” I liked brooding well enough, but I didn’t like it forced down my throat. When the waitress came to take our order, I buttonholed her. “Who is that guy?”
“He just arrived. From out of town.”
“Transylvania?” I asked. My wit was lost on her.
“No, I think New Orleans. His name is Don Cipriano. He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.” She sashayed past him, her hips swaying just a little more than normal.
Cipriano had the bad-boy appeal down to a science. I didn’t need Madame Tomeeka, Zinnia’s talented psychic, to tell me he was arrogant, overbearing, boorish, tormented, and aware of the figure he cut. In my younger days, he would have been like mainlining heroin. Now, though, I had Graf and a better understanding of the joys of a real relationship.
“We’d better check the harbor and see if he came with a coffin filled with dirt,” I murmured to Tinkie.
“He’s dangerous, all right.” Tinkie, too, had a weakness for handsome men, though her marriage to Oscar was solid.
“As Aunt Loulane would say, ‘Look, look, but looking and getting are two different things.’ We can look all we want as long as we don’t touch.”
“Righto,” she agreed. “But he is a perfect … specimen.”
How correct she was. Broad shoulders, balanced features, big feet clad in polished boots. The tuxedo looked custom-tailored.
With a mere tip of his head, he acknowledged us and stood. To my surprise, he approached our table. “Ladies, may I buy you a drink?”
“We’ve ordered.” My protective shields were on full alert. This man was a force to be reckoned with, and he knew it.
“May I join you?”
“Please do.” Tinkie indicated a chair. “What brings you to Natchez, Mr. Cipriano?”
“So, you know my name. I haven’t had the pleasure.”
Tinkie made the introductions.