Page 17 of Xavier

Jacques laughed. “Rafael made the mistake of telling Danny there’s no such thing as magic. That rang the bell that night. That night made him more of a believer after he had to buy everyone in the entire place a round of drinks.”

Anton held up a hand as if taking a pledge. “Ever since that night, I’ve kept my mouth shut about magic at the Crawdad Hole. Those people are serious about their juju.”

“What?” Xavier said. “Don’t you believe in magic?”

Anton cocked an eyebrow in challenge. “Do you?”

Xavier shrugged. “I’ll keep my options open. Either way, I helped Danny carry the ladder and held the bell against the wall while she anchored it with heavy-duty bolts.”

“They’re just lucky it didn’t hit anyone seated at the bar,” Jacques said. “That thing looks heavy. It could crack a man’s skull.”

“And it just fell?” Anton shook his head. “It wasn’t knocked over in a barroom brawl or because someone bumped into it?”

“No. Danny said it just fell.” Xavier’s brow creased as he thought of Rene DeRoche, the bartender, the only one standing behind the bar at the time the bell fell. “If DeRoche hadn’t moved a second before, it would have clipped his head. As it was, it landed in a case of expensive whiskey.”

“That’s crazy. Makes you wonder why everyone’s luck has gone to hell all at once,” Jacques said. “That’s a lot of bad luck in a town as small as Bayou Mambaloa.”

“Yeah, it is.” Anton frowned. “Too much.” He turned to Xavier. “Hey, can you give us a hand with this hull? We need to set it on those sawhorses so we can work on the other side.”

Xavier moved in to help them raise the boat hull. When they had it where they wanted it, they stepped back.

Anton nodded toward Xavier’s hands. “What happened to you? Get into a fight?”

Xavier glanced down at his bruised knuckles, then shrugged. “Had a run-in with a couple of guys last night after I left the Crawdad Hole.”

“No kidding?” Anton said, his brow furrowing. “Why didn’t you call us for backup?”

“I handled it,” he said.

“Where did this happen?” Jacques stepped closer, his fists clenching. “Did they jump you at the boarding house?”

Cornered and unwilling to lie, Xavier shook his head. “It happened on Main Street, and they didn’t actually jump me.”

“They didn’t jump you?” Anton’s frown deepened. “Did they pick a fight?”

“Two against one isn’t fair odds,” Jacques said.

“They didn’t pick a fight.” Xavier saw no other way to avoid the truth. “They were accosting a woman.”

“Seriously?” Anton raised his fists. “Sons of a bitch. I hope you tore the bastards some new assholes.”

Jacques pointed to Xavier’s bruised knuckles. “I take it you landed a few good hits.”

“I did.”

“And the woman?” Anton met Xavier’s gaze. “She’s all right?”

“She is,” Xavier said.

“Did you report it to the sheriff?” Remy asked, coming out of his office. “I’m surprised Shelby didn’t say anything about it. She would’ve heard.”

Xavier shook his head. “The men got away, and the woman didn’t want to report it.”

“Who was she?” Remy asked.

Xavier braced himself before responding, knowing Remy wouldn’t like the answer. “Lissette Gautier.”

Remy stiffened.