“That’s amazing, Landry, and even more so since I told you not to leave town. But I get it, and you did the right thing. I never thought you hurt Tiffany, and what you did to help her yesterday should prove that to others. Let me interview her and if the story checks out, I’ll call the assistant DA. With the warrant outstanding the boys will have to take you in, but I’ll make sure you don’t spend the night in jail.”
Landry said, “So will my attorney, who’s likely wondering where I am right now.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Two hours later, after being processed into the criminal justice system, represented by counsel and released on $50,000 bail, Landry returned to his apartment. It distressed Tiffany that a boy had died in the building. She ducked her head and sat on the couch with legs tight against her chest, rocking back and forth as she listened.
She murmured, “I wonder if that boy had dreams too, like Jack and me. I wonder if the building called to him.”
Landry said no and explained how they happened to be inside. The surviving boy claimed his friend fell from a balcony.
“I think I saw that balcony when I found you unconscious the other night,” Landry said. “That’s where the dead boy fell.”
“He didn’t fall. She pushed him.”
“She? Who are you talking about?”
Eyes wide with fear, she stared at him. “I don’t know.”
He showered and put on fresh clothes and asked if Cate had heard from Jack. When they parted company on Friday afternoon, he was to report for work at the station Monday at eight. Landry didn’t go in, but a call to the station revealed Jack hadn’t shown up or called.
Landry hoped that didn’t mean what he suspected. Three days had passed since he saw Jack. He tried calling and decided to go to the motel. On the way he called Ted with a partial update and said he’d check in when he knew more. Aware of Landry’s unconventional work schedule, Ted thought nothing of it.
When Jack didn’t answer the door, Landry went to the front desk to speak with the clerk. The man had been off all weekend, but he had seen Jack yesterday morning after breakfast. He’d gone out, returned in the late afternoon, and had been at breakfast again this morning.
“Today he left around eight,” the man said. “He had some papers with him — business papers, I guess. I waved at him and he said he was off to work.”
The news relieved him. Whatever Jack was doing, it appeared he wasn’t drinking. He knew Jack would turn up, and now he turned his attention on Tiffany.
Back at his apartment, he announced they were going to walk to Toulouse Street. He refused to accept Tiffany’s protests. “We’re going, and we’re going now. Get dressed,” he commanded. “We leave in ten minutes.”
While Tiffany was in the bedroom, Cate chided him for being too harsh, but he shushed her. “Trust me. I know what I’m doing. This has gone far enough, and we have to take a fresh approach.”
Her eyes brimming with tears, Tiffany emerged wearing the clothes from yesterday. “Don’t make me do this,” she begged, but Landry explained that facing this demon was the only way to move ahead.
“I’m okay now. I had another peaceful night. Why do I have the dreams at home, but never when I’m here in New Orleans?”
“How long have you had them?”
“Since childhood. Some of my earliest memories are having disturbing dreams — not nightmares, but no pleasant fantasy either. It was always about a building. I’d see it from a distance, and the street was as familiar as the one I grew up on. That’s why it surprised me so much to find the building on that ghost tour. There was the place I’d dreamed about for forty years, and it terrified me. Now it makes me come back. It won’t let me stay in LA. Don’t you see? I’m going to die. I know in my heart whatever’s there will kill me. Please. Please don’t make me go.”
Just as Cate shot him a stern, imploring glance, Landry had an idea. There might be another way. Now it was time to call his friend Henri Duchamp.
He said, “Okay, we won’t go right now. I’ve thought of something that could help. Cate, can you please stay another day or two? I think we all agree Tiffany can’t go back to LA, but we can’t leave her alone here either.”
Cate agreed, Tiffany relaxed, and Landry went to work. He believed Tiffany had to face the demons on Toulouse Street, but perhaps there was another way. He called Henri for a late lunch and crossed his fingers.
Out on the sidewalk, he almost collided with Jack. Both relieved and angry, Landry resisted the impulse to lash out.
“You had me worried. You never checked in yesterday. I thought —"
Jack interrupted, his face beaming with anticipation. “I’m sorry. I know what you must have thought, but I haven’t had a drink since the last time I saw you. Between meetings, I kept my mind occupied. In fact, you won’t believe it! I went to the public library, the historical museum and the records room at the Cabildo. I’ve been digging up stuff about the building — a lot of off-the-wall material — and I think you’re going to be amazed. Can I tell you about it?”
“No, not
