an offense you need the police to deal with.”
“Breaking into my apartment is.”
“I didn’t.... Someone broke into your apartment? Look, I swear, it wasn’t me. I don’t even know where you live.”
She studied his face, and he waited for her to draw a conclusion. Surely, the shock he felt was clear in his expression. If not, then he was sunk. It was much harder to prove you hadn’t done something than proving you had. She bit her lower lip and rolled an end of her apron between her fingers.
“But you want something from me,” she said finally. “And I don’t believe for a minute it’s my jewelry.”
Paul ran one hand through his hair, not wanting to immediately launch into his reasons but knowing he needed to explain enough to keep her from running. “No. I’m not interested in your jewelry—at least, not as a buyer.”
“Are you still accusing me of stealing that design?” Ginny’s face flushed.
“No. That’s not it at all.” Paul saw the kitchen door open a crack and Madelaine peeked over at them. “Look, I need to talk to you. It’s personal and I don’t want anyone else to know what I’m doing here. Is there any way you can take a break?”
Ginny glanced back at the kitchen and Madelaine ducked back inside. “Let me get your breakfast and tell my mom I’m going to speak to you a bit before heading to the festival. We’re closing soon, anyway.”
Relief coursed through him. “Thank you. I promise I’ll explain everything.”
“You better,” Ginny said, then spun around and headed back into the kitchen.
Paul watched her walk through the door to the kitchen and tried to organize his thoughts. He’d hoped to get information from her without divulging the real reason behind his query, but if someone had broken into her apartment, that changed everything. The timing could be totally coincidental, but it would be one heck of a coincidence.
And one that Paul wasn’t ready to buy.
Chapter Five
Ginny hurried back into the kitchen, her emotions all over the place. She didn’t believe Paul was the person who’d broken into her apartment. The look of shock on his face was genuine, unless he was the best actor she’d ever met. But he was a man with secrets, and for some reason he seemed to think his secrets involved or included her. That unnerved her on many levels, especially as she’d never met the man before that night in the woods. What could he possibly want with her?
And if Paul Stanton hadn’t broken into her apartment, then who had?
She broke off her thoughts as she approached the grill, hoping the stress she felt didn’t show on her face. Madelaine turned from the grill with Paul’s breakfast order. “I saw you talking to Mr. Cutie.” She gave Ginny a big smile. “So is he interested in your jewelry, or something else?”
Ginny forced a smile. “He would like to talk to me some about my designs. I told him I could spare a few minutes while he ate, if that’s all right.”
“Of course. The café’s almost empty, and I’ve just got to clean this grill and rinse the coffeepots. Take all the time you need. I’m going to finish up in here then head out to the festival. You can lock up the front when you’re done.”
Ginny took the plate from Madelaine and slipped bottles of catsup and Tabasco in her apron. “Thanks,” Ginny said and hurried out of the kitchen with the food before Madelaine could clue in to how nervous she was. The woman could read her far too well for Ginny to fool her for long.
She placed the plate, catsup and Tabasco on the table in front of Paul, refilled his coffee and poured herself a cup before sliding into the booth across from him. The last of the patrons said goodbye as they stepped out of the café, and Ginny gave them a wave. “My mom is going to finish up in the back, but I don’t have very long before I have to get to the festival. Please tell me what this is about.”
Paul nodded and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open and showed Ginny a license inside.
Ginny stared at the license in surprise. “A detective? What in the world…I mean, why would a detective need anything from me?”
“I’m looking for a missing child. She’d be a young woman now, but she went missing sixteen years ago.”
Ginny’s pulse began to race. “And you think I’m her?”
“No. You don’t have the right eye color. Her eyes were brown and I think she’s probably a little older than you, but not by much.”
“I don’t understand, Mr. Stanton. There are no other adopted women my age in Johnson’s Bayou, and if I’m not the girl you’re looking for, then I don’t know how I can help.”
“I thought the girl I’m looking for may have been at the school in the woods. You’re the girl who wandered out of the swamp the day after the school caught fire, aren’t you?”
Ginny froze. Of all the things that had ran through her mind, this wasn’t one of them, which was stupid since her first run-in with Paul Stanton had been at the LeBlanc School.
“I…yes, that was me. But I still don’t see what good that does you.”
“I hoped that you may remember something…anything that would help me find out if she was at the LeBlanc School.”
“But I don’t remember anything. I never have. I don’t even know if I was at the LeBlanc School. “
“Then why were you in the woods that night at the house?”
“I don’t know.”
He narrowed his eyes. “So you normally stroll through a swamp at night, carrying an expensive spotlight?” he asked. “And don’t tell me you were hunting. I won’t buy it.”
“I was, oh, I don’t know what I was doing. I guess I thought if I saw the house that maybe…”
Paul stared at her, clearly surprised. “You’ve never been to the house before that night? That’s hard to believe.”
“I never had a reason to go. Knowing what happened that night wasn’t going to change my life now. I don’t expect you to understand.”
Paul stirred his coffee, silent. After a couple of seconds, he spoke. “I understand. The truth of what happened that night must be horrid, or your mind wouldn’t have blocked it all this time. Remembering won’t add any value to your life now, and in fact it may only take away.”
Ginny stared. “You surprise me, Mr. Stanton.”
“Please call me Paul.” He gave her a sad smile. “I know what it’s like to live in the past. Part of you moves forward every day, but you’re not really existing in this point in time. You’re not really living because the part of you clinging to the past weighs you down—steals a part of you so that you can’t be whole.”
Ginny felt the weight of his sadness, and a thought flashed through her mind.
