CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
The minutes passed like hours as Dr. Little tried in vain to revive his subject. She lay quietly and unresponsively.
At last the psychologist took Landry aside. “I’m so sorry, but whatever happened is beyond my area of knowledge. We should call an ambulance.”
“Not yet,” Landry said. Having nothing to lose but a few more minutes, Landry walked to Empyrion Richard’s chair and said, “Bring her back.”
“All you had to do was ask,” he replied. He walked to Tiffany’s side, instructed Dr. Little and Doc Adams to step away, and sat down. Taking her hand in his, he leaned in and said something.
She stirred, and he murmured other words. This time her eyes opened.
“Tell me your name,” he said aloud.
“Tiffany. Tiffany Bertrand. Who are you?”
“Where are you, Miss Bertrand, and what year is it?”
She shot him a puzzled look and said, “I’m in the building on Toulouse Street and it’s 2020. Who the hell are you?”
He tipped his hat again and said, “Empyrion Richard at your service, ma’am. And here’s your friend Mr. Drake.” He stood and backed away as Landry and Dr. Little rushed to her side.
She sat up and asked, “Did it work? Were you able to hypnotize me?”
Yes, it worked all right. It worked almost too well, Landry thought as the psychologist simply said things went fine. There would be time later to talk. For the moment everyone except Tiffany seemed to be recovering from the near mishap.
The director called it a wrap, and Phil’s crew began dismantling equipment. The guests gathered around Dr. Little and Cate’s father to ask questions, but the psychologist broke away and found Landry.
“Where’s that man who brought her out? I want to talk to him.”
“You’re not the only one.”
Cate said during all the confusion, he must have left. The clerk at the front door said he’d walked out a few minutes earlier, bidding her goodbye and tipping his hat. “He was like an old-fashioned gentleman,” she added.
Landry left Cate with Tiffany and called Jack.
“I’m sorry,” he began, but Landry cut him off.
“I’ll do the talking. What did you tell Tiffany that agitated her? You whispered in her ear and she started screaming.”
“Wait a minute. What are you talking about? I didn’t tell her anything.”
“I know you’re hungover, but think, man! This is serious. You created an immense problem for me today. You knelt beside her and said something that started her screaming like she was dying.”
“I swear I don’t know what you mean! I came to find you. I...I know I interrupted the session, and I apologize. But I didn’t talk to her. She was asleep. I saw her lying in that chair. I didn’t say anything, Landry!”
He realized Jack was telling the truth. For whatever reason — alcohol-based or not — he didn’t remember what happened. He said, “Okay, we’ll deal with this later. I can’t explain a lot of what happened today, including what you did. You did say something that made her scream like a banshee. Everyone saw you, and we’ll review the video later. Enough of that. How do you feel?”
“Like a truck ran over me, but I’ll live. I’m so sorry —"
“Let it go. You relapsed. It happens, and you’ve done well until now. Learn from this. I have faith in you, so pull yourself together and come help me as soon as you feel like it.”
“I can come now.”
“You’re in no shape to work. Stay sober tonight. Call me if you need to, but stay sober. We have something very important to do tomorrow. Meet me at Café du Monde at eight.”
“I’ll be there. Is there anything I can do to help until then?”
“If you feel up to it, there is something you can do. I asked you the other day to look into Charles and Empyrion Richard. It’s even more important now. They both died long ago, but somebody calling himself Empyrion came to the session today. Very tall African American, sharp dresser, in his fifties. You copied a lot of records; look through them and see if you can find these guys. I want to talk to the man who was here today.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Jack was already at a table when Landry arrived. Powdered sugar from a beignet was all over his face. More of the savory pastries sat on a plate, and he had a steaming cup of chicory coffee in front of him. Jack looked good and seemed sober, and that heartened Landry.
Phil Vandegriff joined them and said everything yesterday in the courtyard was on video. There were a few minutes of crazy camera angles, but it was all there — the balcony and stairway, the body falling, and even Jack’s and Empyrion’s whispers into Tiffany’s ear.
Jack said, “Sounds like some amazing things happened.”
Landry said, “You missed something unbelievable, and I want you to watch the whole thing later at the office. Maybe it’ll jog your memory about what you whispered to Tiffany.”
Phil asked what was on their agenda for today, and Landry turned to Jack. In his condition, Jack might not have felt like going through documents, but maybe he had.
“Did you go through those copies you made during your research? I’m still wondering about Charles and Empyrion Richard.”
“I did. After we talked a few days ago, I searched the Richard men’s names in state records. Besides their house here, the LaPieres had a
