The watch still showed one o’clock. Maurice snorted. What good was a watch that didn’t work? It would only ever be right twice a day.
Amelie passed him on her way to flip the sign on the door from closed to open. She came to stand beside him and looked at the watch.
“Isn’t it strange that Armand kept that watch his father gave him for all those years and never got it fixed?” She shook her head. “It’s been one o’clock for decades.”
“Why wouldn’t he get it fixed?”
She shrugged. “Never had the time?”
“The man worked in a restaurant,” Maurice pointed out. “Did they serve breakfast?”
Amelie shook her head. “No.”
“What time did he go to work?”
“Between nine and ten each day,” she said. “It allowed him to sleep in after being up late the night before but gave him enough time to prepare for the lunch crowd.”
“Surely, he could’ve taken the time in the morning to drop the watch off to have it repaired.”
“I offered to drop it off for him.” Amelie’s eyes narrowed. “He said his father had given it to him like that, and he had no intention of changing it.”
Maurice studied the watch again, picked it up, turned it over and laid it down next to the photo of Germaine and Celine standing in front of the St. Louis Cathedral with its three steeples and the clock in the middle.
“Holy shit,” Maurice said and then laughed out loud. “That’s it.”
Amelie moved closer and looked down at the photo. “What’s it?”
“It was right there all this time, and we just didn’t see it.”
Amelie’s brow puckered. “What didn’t we see?”
“Armand refused to fix the watch.”
“So?”
“What time is it stuck on?” he asked.
“One o’clock.” Amelie looked from the watch back to the photo. Her eyes widened. “I’ll be damned. The clock on the cathedral was photographed at one o’clock.” She looked up. “Is that the clue?”
“It has to be,” Maurice picked up the photo. “That’s the where we were looking for. Don’t you see? Either the painting is hidden in the cathedral, or it’s where we’ll find another clue. We need to get to New Orleans.”
“I can’t leave the bakery. Not now.” She nodded toward the vehicle pulling into the parking space out front. “I have customers. Besides, the cathedral doesn’t open this early.”
Maurice pulled out his phone and looked up the St. Louis Cathedral’s hours of operation. “It opens at nine o’clock. If you can’t get away, I could have one of the guys come here to take over your protection while I run to New Orleans to see if I can find the location indicated in the clue.”
Amelie’s jaw hardened. “You cannot go on this treasure hunt without me. Germaine and Celine might’ve set up the initial clues, but if what you find is another clue, it might be of Armand’s doing. I knew Armand better than anyone, even his son. I’m going. That’s non-negotiable.”
Maurice pulled her into his arms for a quick kiss. “Agreed. Besides, I don’t like the idea of someone else in charge of your safety.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Even one of your own teammates?”
“I trust them with my life. I just don’t know if I could step away as your protector. Not yet. Not until we remove the danger in this situation.”
“Good. I don’t want any other protector but you. And I don’t want to be left behind. Now that we’ve got that settled, I’m going with you,” Amelie said. “You realize St. Louis Cathedral is a national park, don’t you?
Maurice nodded. “It was part of the Louisiana Purchase.”
“If, in the process of retrieving the painting or another clue, we do anything to damage the structure, it’s considered a federal crime. Depending on the extent of the damage, it could be considered a misdemeanor or even a felony.
