“And what the fuck was that besides nearly a shoot-out in my foyer?”
“You watched the surveillance?”
“I did.” I watched it in fast motion. I had this little issue of a wedding this evening and a sexy wife I wanted to fuck.
Noah placed his foot on the floor and turned to Leon. “We have some thoughts.”
“About Henri?” I asked.
“About Boudreau,” Noah said. “I’ve watched the video about four times. Leon mentioned he had the gut feeling Boudreau was nothing more than a mouthpiece for someone else. Fuck, boss, I’m not sure why we didn’t pursue this in the past. I know all the evidence, even the ranks we’ve infiltrated, led to Boudreau, but after watching Ingalls and him tonight...” Noah shook his head. “There’s no way he’s the fucking brains in this operation.”
“It’s her,” I said. “I’ve suspected it since I spoke to Michelson yesterday. It’s like she wants us to know. She’s fucking giving clues. I’ve got men working on the cryptocurrency, but it was the numerical code that was her calling card. Mrs. Ramses wants to see her mother.” I shook my head. “That isn’t fucking happening. It’s Jezebel, she’s the money and the brains.”
“No one has seen her in years,” Leon said. “We suspected she was alive, but where?”
“She’s here in New Orleans,” I answered. “Fuck, I think Ruth talks to her somehow. Then again, I never know if what comes out of Ruth’s mouth is fabricated or authentic.”
“Ruth thinks it’s real,” Leon said with a grin.
“Do you trust Ruth?” Noah asked.
I walked around the desk and sat again in the chair. Removing my cufflinks, I rolled my sleeves halfway up my arm as I thought about Ruth Guidry. “My mother did. She trusted Ruth implicitly.”
“That’s not what Noah asked, boss.”
“I don’t trust her to keep her mouth shut around Emma. I do trust her when it comes to Ramses. She’s devoted her life to this family.”
“Then we need to find out if she’s really talking to Jezebel,” Leon said. “Boudreau confirmed while he was here that he’s in touch with her. It fucking makes sense. I’ll have Ruth’s phone records scanned.”
My lips came together. “Fuck, I pay her bill. Do that.”
“It won’t be that easy,” Leon said. “Jezebel North has been planning this for too long to fail.”
“You know,” Noah said, “if we’re right and Jezebel is the brains behind this, it answers other questions, such as where Kyle O’Brien was for two and a half years before resurfacing in New Orleans.”
My fingers splayed over the desk before I looked up. “I could have fucking killed Boudreau tonight and it wouldn’t have ended the coup.” I was voicing my realization.
“If she sent them here, it was a test,” Noah said.
“For them or us?” I asked.
“Probably both,” Leon answered.
My questions continued. “How have we missed this?”
“Because she wanted us to,” Leon said. “I used to know her, back when she ran her business.”
“I don’t want to know how well,” I replied with a bit of a grin.
“No, it wasn’t like that.” Leon’s lips came together. “She was always beautiful, striking even, enticing. It could be said she was bewitching.”
“Is this a conversation you should be having with your wife?” I teased.
“Maybe your priest,” Noah added.
“No, like I said, it wasn’t like that. Neither of you knew her?”
“Not well,” I said. Although, the description Leon had just given of Jezebel—striking and enticing—reminded me of her daughter, the one waiting for me upstairs. “Fuck, here’s where your age gives you a better understanding. I was young when everything went down between her and Boudreau. Over the years, Jezebel North has become more of a legend than reality.”