“Yeah. I was shocked to find out that the LEGO Death Star thing from 2005 was worth nearly three thousand dollars.”
“If he’d bought the damn Millennium Falcon LEGO set, like I told him to, back in 2007, that sucker is worth six times that now.” Nick shook his head because even he couldn’t believe the value of little plastic pieces. “Anyway, when he was a kid, we would meet in City Park a lot. He’d ride his bike down from Lakeshore, usually accompanied by Jeanine. We often hung out at Popp Bandstand. Know where that is?”
She nodded. “I had my bridal pictures taken there.”
He would bet she’d looked beautiful in white lace and innocence with one of the city’s most delicate structures as her backdrop. “During summer evenings, we’d stay late. Sometimes a live band would play.”
“The city is so full of music. That’s one thing I loved about it.”
“Yeah. And fireworks would light up the sky. That’s when Mike loved to pretend he was Luke Skywalker. I was Han Solo. We were in a raging battle, and the bandstand was the Death Star. He was going to be the hero, by god. I helped.”
“You indulged a kid. Most teenagers would have ignored him.”
Being with Mike had given him the opportunity to be a kid again, too. He’d barely gotten the chance to be one since his dad had taken off and money had become scarce. “I liked him.”
“He was a wonderful man and I miss him every day.”
Of course she’d loved him. Mike had always been a lucky bastard.
“Me, too,” Nick murmured.
“So you think the evidence is somewhere around the bandstand?”
“Yeah. But I need to call Xander, see if he can find out about the surveillance in the area, if there are any upcoming events… That kind of thing. It’s a public place, and there’s a coffeehouse nearby. It’s likely someone will see us. We have to seem as inconspicuous as possible, try not to draw too much attention.”
“We can ask him about Harper, too, right?”
She must worry about her daughter like crazy. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone worried about him like that. If they ever had. “Sure.”
As he drew out his phone, she disappeared into the room’s little bath. He heard the splash of water, a long sigh. Sasha was trying to keep herself together. Nick would rather she leaned on him, but he knew why she wouldn’t. And it was better this way. Less emotional, fewer opportunities to trip on temptation. Comforting her could be disastrous for his self-control.
Thankfully, Xander answered on the first ring, distracting him. “You there?”
“Yeah. I need another favor.”
“I need a new head of security,” the younger Santiago quipped. “Can we work something out?”
“Bastard. Focus.” Nick asked his questions about Popp Bandstand. “Can you find that out?”
On the other end of the line, he could hear Xander clicking. “I don’t see any events in the next forty-eight hours. I can’t tell you about surveillance, man. Finding that information would take me getting behind a firewall or something, and you know I’m a lover, not a hacker.”
Damn it. And Nick didn’t have a computer with him so he could tap into the city’s security. “Every female north of Lake Pontchartrain knows that, man. And a few south, too, I’m sure.”
“I only have eyes for my wife now.”
With anyone else, Nick would have called bullshit, but from everything he’d seen, Xander was dead serious. “Mike left Sasha a key. I have no idea what it belongs to. Anything in the area that makes sense? It would have to be something he felt sure no one would disturb for months…years.”
“I haven’t been to New Orleans in a while. Sorry. I’ll ask Javier. If he can think of something, I’ll ring you back.”
Sasha emerged from the bathroom. Their eyes met. Hers pleaded. Nick wished she wanted him half as much as she wanted his phone right now, but he couldn’t afford to be a dumb, desperate fidiot. Jesus, why hadn’t he managed to get laid before she’d knocked on his door last night? On the other hand, would it have mattered?
“Great,” he said to Xander. “I’m going to pass you to Sasha so she can ask you about Harper.”
“Sure. Good kid. She seems to be improving.”
Nick was glad to hear it. She probably had Mike’s disposition, too. “Talk to you later.”
When he handed the phone to Sasha, she clutched it like a lifeline. “Hi. How’s Harper?”
