Free The Haunting of Anna McAlister by Jerome Harrison Page A

very good deal. Congratulations.”
    Anna could almost hear the contempt flowing from Monsieur LaRoche’s pen.  
    “ Back to the point at hand. I do know that Mademoiselle LaMoreau lived for years in the Hotel Baronette on the left bank in the St. German district of Paris. I know this because the collection, until very recently, had been stored in the attic of this hotel. An employee discovered the treasure and returned it to the only living family member, Mademoiselle LaMoreau’s grand niece.”
    “What’s the grand niece’s name,” Anna had pulled a steno pad from her purse and was taking notes  
    Duncan looked up and then back at the letter. “It doesn’t say.”
    “Fuck.”
    “Do you want to hear what it does say, or would you rather sit and swear at me for awhile first. I can wait.” Duncan stared out a window to his right and started to whistle.  
    “Again, sorry. Go on, please.” Anna bit her tongue and swallowed some pride.
    “Where was I, ah yes.
    “. . . Mademoiselle’s LaMoreau’s grand niece. She had the boxes displayed in a small museum near her home, but shortly thereafter she contracted my services to sell the entire collection overseas as quickly as possible. Why? This I do not know.
    However, if I may speculate, after first receiving the music boxes, the grand niece had hired a university student to investigate their history. A week after the boxes went on display at the museum, this student discovered that Mademoiselle Ariene LaMoreau had not died peacefully. In fact, she had been brutally, tortured, raped and murdered in the hotel where she had lived.”
    Anna and Duncan stared at each other in shock. Jeffrey woke up, screaming. He jumped to his feet and was gasping for air. He held up his hand to his startled friends. “It’s okay. It must have been someone I drank.”
    “I hope so,” Anna said softly.
    Jeffrey took a deep breath. “That teaches me a lesson about bloody Marys.”
    “What? Stop at five?” Duncan had been concerned, but now he was once again angry over his lover’s drinking habits, which he considered to be excessive.  
    “No,” Jeffrey answered. “I have to remember to use less tomato juice.”
    Anna returned her focus to the letter. “Duncan, does the letter say anything else?”
    Duncan retrieved the letter from the floor where it had fallen from his lap. He looked down at the bottom of the page and read the last sentence.
    “I mentioned your request to the grand niece. She insisted that I advise you to be very careful. She refused to say why.
    Sincerely,  
    Monsieur LaRoche”
    Duncan folded the letter. “Pretty wordy for someone who didn’t have much to say. I just have to see those music boxes.” He handed the letter back to Anna. “Now, if possible.”
    Despite Anna’s refusal, Duncan wouldn’t take her no as his answer. Jeffrey jumped in on Duncan’s side. While somewhat frightened by all that had happened to Anna, he still found the whole thing to be terribly amusing in a morbid, black humor kind of way.
    “Come on, Anna,” he said. “Duncan read your letter. The least you can do is show him your box, ah boxes. Don’t be an MBT.”
    “MBT?”
    “Music box tease.”  
    “You don’t understand,” Anna said. “I think it could be, okay. I know this sounds stupid, I think it could be dangerous.”
    Duncan had already put on a light jacket and was combing his hair in the mirror on the wall by the door. “Don’t worry,” he put his comb in his pocket. “I’m a big boy.”
    “Tell me about it,” Jeffrey whispered and squirmed just a bit.
    “You have to show them to me,” Duncan walked over to Anna. “I’ll tell you what. If you let me see them, I’ll write a letter in French to the exporter and see if we can’t get the name and address of the grand niece. I can be very convincing and I’m sure he would be willing to help.”
    Anna started to again refuse, but paused long enough for Duncan to jump in and close the deal.