The only problem was I had my heart set on a French Quarter setting.

  As we got closer to Bourbon Street, the tourist traffic slowed. People must be sleeping in after a night at the bars. We turned onto Royal and went past my favorite dinner place, The Court of Two Sisters. Honestly, we could have met at my hotel and been closer to the shop, but Danielle had called to confirm the appointment after I’d already left to walk around. I looked behind me and spotted the bodyguard Nic had assigned me. I’d thought I’d lost him on my walk to the coffee shop, but no such luck.

  He, and his relief, always wore a black suit with black sunglasses. He looked like a cast member of The Men in Black. And somehow, it didn’t look weird in the mix of tourist clothes and feather boas. The name he’d given me to call him was Bubba. He didn’t match the image that came up with the name. I knew it wasn’t his real name. He was probably an Edward or a Michael or a Thomas. I’d learned as a child from our own security team at the compound that most of the time, our guys didn’t give out their real names, just a code name they were assigned when they were hired. I’m sure his employer had gotten a good joke out of calling the blond, blue-eyed tall slim man that was now two people behind me, Bubba.

  I waved at him as we crossed over another street. He furrowed his eyebrows. Apparently, he didn’t want people to know he was following me. Or he was mad at how I’d tried to ditch him earlier. I expected a call from Nic anytime telling me to stop being childish.

  As we got closer to the building, my heart started to race. Hopefully Matty truly wanted to sell this time because I knew the multi-level building held floors crowded with furniture, antiques, and, if rumors were true, a few Egyptian artifacts with questionable papers. I wanted the building, the contents, and the location.

  Danielle was already on the next showing telling me about a quaint little store in the middle of the Garden District near Lafayette Cemetery #1 and Commander’s Palace. “Shall I set up a visit tomorrow? We can ride the street cars out there if you’d like. I’ll treat you to lunch.”

  “Let’s see how today goes, but I’m willing to look.” I groaned inwardly. If she knew I was considering a different location, she might not be as intense on getting me something in the French Quarter. My brother’s voice echoed in my head, you’re too nice and stop ditching Bubba.

  In response, I tightened my walls to keep him out. That’s what nice does, I responded as I finished the wall in my head. I heard a chuckle on the other side. My brother’s connection with me was getting stronger the longer I stayed in New Orleans. One of the reasons I’d left in the first place was so I didn’t have to worry about who was listening into my thoughts. Now, I needed to find a way to keep him out, even if we were standing side by side. A niggle in the back of my mind told me that one of my ancestors memories had a solution, but I’d have to deal with it later.

  I stared up at the building. Goldstein’s Antiques had a first level of big, showcase windows, then the tan building moved upward with only three windows on this side per floor that I could see. The buildings next to it were built close and I didn’t think I could walk between them. So having windows on those sides was kind of useless. “I love this place.”

  “Well, don’t love it too much. You know we’re already behind the eight ball since your family is well known in the area and it’s rumored you just came into an inheritance. A fact I’m ignoring and trying to convince others that it’s just a rumor. Talk about your work in Seattle. Why you want to own an antique store. And maybe how much you love the area. Just don’t be too sold on the building going in. We need some sort of negotiation leverage to have a ghost of a chance with Matty.”

  A passing by ghost giggled at the word choice and nodded at me. Then she disappeared into the building next door.

  I nodded and followed her into the antique store, trying not to follow my gaze and gush over the pieces crowded into the first floor. If I got this place, I’d clear it and then reset little vignettes. I could see that table set with the china stashed over by the window with the over-the-top chandelier hanging above. And the monkey light on a fake wall with over the top wallpaper. I tried to stop resetting the pieces as Danielle asked the salesman who’d come to greet us where we could find Matty.

  “He’s in his office on the second floor.” The man frowned as he looked at us. His name tag said his name was Mark and he was happy to help, but he didn’t look too happy. “Is he expecting you?”

  “Yes. Point us to the elevator and we’ll go up.” Danielle said as a customer came in and started gushing over the monkey lamp. “That way you can help your customer.”

  The frown deepened, but he pointed to the side wall. “It’s over there, behind the customer service sign. I’ll call him and let him know you’re coming.”

  I watched as he pulled his cellphone out of his pants and dialed while walking toward the new arrival. That man had an attitude and if I got to buy the place, he’d be one of the first to go. Maybe it was the lack of food that was making me grumpy. I should have gotten that beignet that Helen wanted to enjoy. I saw Bubba standing guard outside, looking through the window at me. I wondered if he’d freak out when we got on the elevator, but he knew I was looking for a store to buy. Maybe he’d treat me like an adult and let me work. It would be a nice change of pace after being home with my family for the last few weeks. Aunt Franny had called me every night for the last week, trying to set up time to chat. Or dinner. Or coffee. Or meet some nice son of a friend. I couldn’t even think about the horror of a dinner with a guy who my aunt was trying to matchmake with me.

  I pushed the up button, there was also a down, which told me the place had a basement as well. Hopefully nothing important was down there since the area had problems with flooding and hurricanes.

  When the door opened on the second floor, we stepped into a warehouse filled with boxes and furniture and items. “That weasel gave us the wrong floor,” Danielle grumped.

  We went back into the elevator and pushed the button for the third floor. This time when the doors opened, a sign pointed left toward offices and right to the employee break room.

  I stepped out and turned left. “Maybe he meant to say third.”

  Danielle shook her head. “No, he was playing games with us. Which means Matty is too. This was probably a waste of time. Sorry to get your hopes up.”

  “It’s worth a shot. Let’s see what he really wants and see if I can go that high.” I kept thinking about the dining room scene I’d imagined on the first floor. And now, I’d already seen several items on the second floor that should be front and center in those showroom windows. Matty wasn’t taking advantage of what he owned.

  “Okay, it’s your time to waste, I guess.” Danielle walked up to Matty’s door and knocked.

  “Come in,” a deep, masculine voice responded. As we walked into the office, I saw that Matty Goldstein liked the finer things in life. The room was filled with items I would have had out to sell, not locked away in my office. The oriental rug itself was probably worth over ten thousand. And I didn’t even want to price in my head the desk he was sitting at with a soda sitting by his computer. Without a coaster. I swallowed and fought my urge to go pick it up and put something, anything under it so it didn’t ruin the finishing. Or the wood.

  I let Danielle take the lead on the conversation. I focused instead on Matty Goldstein. His thoughts were jumbled all over the place. Danielle’s sources had been right, Matty was bleeding money in the business. They weren’t making a profit, and now, he wasn’t going to be able to make his bank payments. The thought of foreclosure hung over him like a black balloon. He hadn’t set up the business as a corporation or even an LLC. He was sole owner and proprietor of Goldstein’s Antiques, and he was going to go down with the ship.

  When Danielle introduced me and asked me to tell Matty why I was interested in buying the business, I laid it on thick, hitting all the sore spots I’d found while observing the man. “I love design. It’s my passion and all I can think about when I see a place is how beautiful it would be with a few tweaks. Like your showroom. Customers are probably having trouble finding the items they want, so they leave and go somewhere else where it’s less crowded and more focused on furniture for beautiful homes. I can set up the showroom so the place will continue to thrive, even when you’re in Jamaica on your first holiday for what, five, ten years?”

  “Ten,” he admitted. “But you know how it is with a small business. It takes all your time.”

  “When you let it.” I shook my head. “Look, I know you’re probably not even interested in selling, but what if selling actually gave you a chance at a new life. A life you’ve been meaning to live since you took over the family business. We all have an expiration date. Do you want to experience yours in this beautiful office? Or on a yacht sailing the Mediterranean Sea? It’s your choice.”

  Matty picked up his soda and finished it. Then he took his shirt sleeve and wiped up the moisture the can had left on the desk. “You make a good argument. Danielle has my asking price. If you’re okay with that, I’ll consider selling. I would like to see Greece.”

  He didn’t add, before I die, but I could see the wheels turning in his head. I’d made my pitch and that was all I could do. I stood and thanked him for his time. Then Danielle, who was staring back and forth at the two of us like we were crazy stood as well. “Eddie and I will write up an offer and get it to you tomorrow.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” He smiled and stood to shake our hands. When he reached out to me, he said, “I am so sorry about your grandmother. I knew her back when we were both young and foolish.”

  His terminology made me smile. “I’ve never known my grandmother to be either of those things, but I’d love to hear stories.”

  He clasped a second hand over mine. “Maybe the next time we meet we can have lunch and I’ll tell my tales.”

  “Thank you for your sympathy and your time,” I said as we started out of the office and back to the elevator. “I’m looking forward to talking soon.”

  As we rode the elevator down, Danielle blew out a breath. “Well, I hadn’t expected that. Do you still want to see the Garden District property tomorrow?”

  “Why not. Write up the offer, I’ll sign it tomorrow and then we’ll go look at another option, just in case he says no.” I didn’t think he would reject our offer. Maybe ask for more money which I’d have to consider before agreeing, but I thought he’d eventually accept. Looking at the Garden District property would give me an idea on what my competition would be. “I haven’t been to the Commander’s Palace in years.”

  As we walked toward my hotel where Danielle would catch a cab back to her office, I imagined all the things I could do with the first-floor showroom to bring in customers and local design houses. Danielle was talking about all the advantages of being located in the Garden District. She’s already moved on, thinking that Matty Goldstein was going to say no.

  I knew better. Goldstein Antiques was mine. Now all I had to do was sign the paperwork and write a check.

  5

  I’d brought the car since I’d had to be at the compound later today. Now, I sat outside the old brick building on Royal Street watching a sidewalk sleeper roll up his sleeping bag. It was clear the man had been sleeping huddled in the entry way of Goldstein Antiques. I pulled a ten out of my tote and climbed out of the SUV. The brick sidewalk still showed signs of the party crowd that reveled throughout the French Quarter until early this morning. How the guy actually slept on the hard concrete I didn’t know and I didn’t want to find out.

  “I’m not doing nothing.” The man mumbled as I moved toward the doorway. “You all are here way too early. Customers don’t show up until after ten.”

  “Who else has been here?” I held out the bill, hoping the man would use it for a meal. He looked gaunt.

  With a dirt caked hand, he grabbed the money without looking me in the face. “Just the guy.”

  I saw the moment he made the police cruiser slowly driving down the one-way street. He stuffed the bill into his pants and the sleeping bag into a small rollaway cart and took off in the opposite direction.

  “So much for having a conversation with the locals.” I waved at the officer inside the cruiser who was now watching me.

  The joy and problems of running a business in the historic New Orleans neighborhood had just become my concern. Or had yesterday at two when I’d handed Matty Goldstein a check for the building and all the contents.

  Now I owned an antique shop in the heart of the French Quarter I’d never been happier. A black Range Rover pulled up behind my car and I met my brother on the street in front of the shop.

  Nic paused on the street, staring at the building. His dark hair was a touch too long and curled over his ears. His dark eyes took in the condition of the building, clearly not impressed. He reached down and picked up a red solo cup from the street. “This is what you get for your inheritance from Grandmother Andrews. Having buyer’s remorse yet?”

  “Not on your life, Nic. I’m looking forward to starting this new chapter.” I thought about my recent move home. After settling in Seattle, I’d thought life would keep me far from my Louisiana roots. Instead, I was back. I dug the ring of keys Matty had handed over yesterday and grinned at my brother. “Want to see the inside?”

  “Why not. My first appointment isn’t until noon.” Nic threw the cup into an overflowing trash can. “You’ll need to hire someone to clean each morning before your customers arrive. And I don’t want you staying late here. If we don’t keep security on you, call me if you leave after dark and I’ll send someone to follow you home.”

  “I found my way home for over ten years in Seattle all by myself. In fact, I’ve been doing it a lot since I turned thirty. Besides, for now, there’s always Bubba.” I waved at the man who sat in a black sedan across the street watching us. I fit the key into the lock. Nic hadn’t needed to show up to help me open the building, but he loved treating me like a child. The door didn’t move after I’d heard the lock engage. Why hadn’t it opened? “That’s weird.”

  Nic took the key from me and quickly opened the door. “You don’t think it was left open, do you? Who else has keys to this old firetrap?”

  “I don’t know.” The thought worried me as I pushed open the door. The lights were already on, a detail I hadn’t noticed in my haste to get inside. I paused just inside the doorway. “Hello? Is someone there?”

  An older woman with her hair in a bun stepped out of a side room. She was dressed in a black pant suit. She peered at us. Probably sizing us up as potential buyers. I’d fallen short in her eyes as her gaze took in my clothes and canvas tote, but her face softened into a smile when she saw Nic’s Rolex. She hadn’t figured out we were related, probably because of my short and currently burgundy hair. Add in the fact Nic was five to six inches taller. We looked as different as night and day. “Good morning early birds. You’re my first customers of the day. What can I help you find?”

  “Who are you?” I asked, feeling Nic’s elbow in my side.

  The woman blinked but gained her composure quickly. “I’m Sarah Stiner. I’m sure if we don’t have what you’re looking for, I can find it. Who am I helping today?”

  Nic stepped in between me and the woman. “My name is Nicolae Ardronic. This is my sister, Eddie Cayce. She purchased the building and the business yesterday from Mr. Goldstein. I take it you weren’t informed of the change of ownership?”

  The woman’s eyes widened. “Matty, I mean, Mr. Goldstein sold the store?”

  “Yes.” I held up the ring of keys he’d give me. Then I heard a noise from the back. “Who else is here?”

  Sarah shook her head. “No one. I open the store Mondays through Friday’s exactly at eight. I don’t work weekends. I just saw Matty yesterday. Why wouldn’t he have told me?”

  I was wondering the same thing but I was still worried about who else was in the building. “I heard something in the back. Are you sure there’s no one else here?”

  “That’s probably Harry.” Sarah sank into a nearby chair and put her head in her hands. “I’ve worked here for over ten years. What am I going to do now?”

  “Who’s Harry?” Nic put a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Can I get you a glass of water?”

  Sarah nodded. “Thank you, that would be nice. There’s a small breakroom at the back, past the accounting office. And Harry, well, he’s the building ghost.”

  I met Nic’s gaze. Of course, there was a ghost. The building was probably original to the founding of New Orleans. Every building had at least one story that the tourist trade used to build up business for the nightly ghost tours. “I’ll go get the water.”

  “Eddie, be careful. She’s not wrong.” Nic glanced around the shop.

  I tried not to roll my eyes in front of my brother. He’d been taught by our father the family fortunetelling business. I knew it more for the con than the connection to some so-called other side. Besides, with my new ‘power’ if there was someone here, I’d know. Nic was better with real people. He didn’t have Grandma’s extra shine.

  I made my way to the door marked, Employees Only, and pushed my way through. Apparently, Matty Goldstein had been a little too excited about his big payoff to deal with his employees yesterday. Hopefully, I could get ahold of him today and have him break the news to the rest of the staff. I’d rather hire my own crew than take over ones that had been loyal to the aging dealer. But if I had to keep a few, I could work with that.

  For not the first time, I wondered if coming home after the breakup had really been the best idea. There were other cities where I could have bought a failing antique business. Probably cheaper too. But I’d been drawn home. Now I had to deal with the consequences. At least here my ‘power’ wouldn’t be looked on like a curse.