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Sheriff Riley and Michelle went to breakfast before he had to head back to Bear Corner. Michelle still hadn’t decided what she would do just yet. She wasn’t ready to go back home without knowing what had become of her sister.
Maison du Café was busy this morning, but they managed to sequester an outside table that overlooked the Mississippi River on one side and the busy sidewalk on the other. The concierge at the hotel had recommended this place, stating that it was popular among the locals and the tourists. By the size of the crowd in here, he was correct.
She slipped on her sunglasses and perused the menu. “Everything looks so good.”
The waitress stopped by their table, “Are y’all ready to order?”
Sheriff Riley grinned at the frazzled young waitress, “Morning cher, I would like the eggs benedict. Can we also have café au laits and an order of your bite size beignets?”
“Yes sir. And you miss?”
Michelle was still perusing the menu, “I’m not sure what to try.” Glancing over the menu one more time, “I will have the mushroom and spinach omelet.”
The waitress smiled at her, “That is very good. I’m sure you will enjoy it.”
The waitress returned with their beignets and café au laits almost immediately. The tantalizing aroma made Michelle’s mouth water. This was one of the things she missed about living down here. South Louisiana seemed to be the only place where you could get beignets. She popped one into her mouth and moaned in delight. They were so light and fluffy, almost melting in her mouth.
She noticed that Sheriff Riley was watching her eat, and gave him a wicked grin, “There is nothing like the food down here. Whenever I come this way I gain at least ten pounds.”
Sheriff Riley asked Michelle, “What kind of job do you have that allows you to take off from work whenever you need to?”
“I design jewelry. I started out as a peon at a large company designing generic cookie cutter jewelry so to speak. It was a nice place to work, but they didn’t allow me to branch out and create items that were more abstract, fearing they wouldn’t sell. For them jewelry had to be mass produced. I managed my pennies and finally saved enough money to design jewelry at my house. When I had enough pieces designed to sell on the internet, I created a website and decided to see if I would get any hits. What started out as a small secondary business in my tiny spare bedroom soon took off. When the bigwigs at the company I worked for found out what I was doing on the side, they accused me of using their equipment. I proved that while there I did nothing but work on their jewelry, and they had no claim to mine. Once they realized how well I was doing and the talk my work was generating, they wanted me to start a line with them. But after everything they had put me through, I cut all ties with them. Besides, my business was picking up.”
Michelle realized she had been talking non-stop since they arrived. Sheriff Riley was much more patient than she would have guessed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go on and on. My career is nowhere near as exciting as being a cop.”
Sheriff Riley gave her an indecipherable look, “You are one hell of an interesting woman. What are your plans now? Do you plan on going back home or are you staying in New Orleans?”
She shook her head, “I am staying, but don’t worry, I promise I won’t be as foolish as I was last night. I still want to talk to some of Caroline’s friends. I want to know if they can remember anything out of the ordinary. I can’t leave without knowing what happened to her. I can design my jewelry from here. That is the one good thing about my business; I can work from my laptop. When it comes to the actual making part of it, I have a company that helps me with that. Plus, I may be able to find some gemstones around here to work with. I can also visit the local jewelry stores to drum up some more businesses to carry my line.”
Sheriff Riley picked up a napkin and carefully wiped her lip, “You had a little sugar on your mouth.”
His innocent touch sent shock waves through her body, “Oh, thank you.” She felt the heat from embarrassment move up her face. She looked down at her clothes to make sure she wasn’t covered in the sugar. As much as she loved beignets she had not figured out how to eat them without being covered in the sugary powder that coated the delectable treat.
***
MAIS, QUELLE ESPECE de tete dure, elle! Damn, obstinate woman. She was going to get herself killed looking for her sister. C’est fou, sa! It was crazy to stay here. If something bad had happened to her sister then whoever caused her harm did not want a nosy sister sniffing around. “It is too risky asking questions around here. What happens if you ask the wrong person the right question? What if that person had something to do with her disappearance?”
“Well then maybe the police will actually listen to me.”
He’d never been so torn before. The cop in him wanted to see her go back home and far away from any danger she may place herself in. But the man in him wanted her to stay so that he could get to know her. There was something mysteriously intriguing about her.
He told her, “You are a damn stubborn woman.”
She let out a laugh.
“Je t’amuse? Did I say something to amuse you?”
“I have been told that I can be very willful. It drove my mother and sister nuts when I refused to back down from something.”
Now it was his turn to laugh. This woman was irresistible. He couldn’t explain why, but he wanted her.