Read Voodoo Love (And the Curse of Jean Lafitte’s Treasure) for Free Online Page B

room, a little spring to his step I’d never seen before.
                  I debated over telling Eddie about seeing Juan Carlos. After all, I trusted Eddie. He would know what do, but it sounded so crazy. And now, I was starting to have my doubts that Juan had been real. I mean, where the hell had he gone? Maybe I'd imagined the whole thing. Maybe my desire to see him again was causing my mind to play tricks on me. I could feel paranoia rearing up, but I fought against having a full-blown anxiety attack. Eddie would really know something was up if that happened, and that would lead to questions and confessions. Better to drink my wine and start cooking supper.
                  I pulled the Devil card out of the ribbon attached to the wine bottle and tossed it on the counter, wondering what Juan was trying to tell me with it. That he was my addiction? My desire? No one had to give me a card to tell me that.
                  “Something smells good.” Eddie came back into the kitchen.
                  “Thanks. I’m making mushroom chicken with rice.”
                  “Sounds great. I’m starved. Mind if I help myself to a glass of wine?”
                  “Go ahead.”
                  He held the bottle up, staring at the label. Uh-oh. Had I mentioned the significance of that brand before? I didn’t think so or else I would never have bought the first bottle this morning. He glanced at me, but said nothing as he opened it, poured a glass, and took a small sip. He picked up the tarot card and frowned.
                  "What's this, Elizabeth ?"
                  "Um…a tarot card." I stirred the chicken, trying not to meet his eyes. "Could you pour me a glass of wine, too?"
                  He did so and then asked, "Where did the card come from?"
                  "I don't know. I just found it…around.  Lots of people in this town are into that voodoo crap. Why?"
                  "Just curious. It looks like something I've seen before. Any idea what it means?"
                  "Not really," I lied. "I think the guy on the card is the devil or something."
                  I looked at the clock, noting that it was 5:00. I could have sworn when I talked to him earlier he’d said he would be home late. Anxious to change the subject, I said, “Thought you were working late. Any special reason you are home early?”
                  “Yeah.” He sipped from the glass again and put the card back on the counter. “We need to talk.”
                  “Look, I said I was sorry about the gun thing in the supermarket. It was a bad decision that’s not going to happen again.”
                  “Good, but that’s not what we need to talk about.”
                  Eddie walked to the stove and turned the chicken to low. He grabbed my hand and led me to the kitchen table where he sat me down and placed the wine glass in front of me, saying, “You’re going to need this.”
                  “Okay.”
                  Oh, god. Did he know about Juan?
                  He took a long breath and stared at the kitchen table. “I got a call after we talked, one I’d been waiting on since this morning. Seems someone is stirring up interest again in finding the lost treasure of Jean Lafitte.”
                  “Who is this someone?”
                  But I thought I knew-- Juan Carlos, that sneaky bastard, toying with my emotions. He wasn’t dead. Just really good at hiding! He’d been real after all. He didn't have any superpowers. Seeing him had just…jogged my memory, breaking down the barrier my mind had put open surrounding the past. However, Juan was slipping a little if someone had spotted him.
                  “Remember Diego