Sweet Mystery by Lynn Emery

game. “Hope I can
live up to your expectations.”
    Rae gave him an appraising glance from head
to toe. “Oh, I’d say you can hang.”
    Walter brought the check, which forced Simon
to let go of Rae’s hand. On the short drive down the highway to her
house, the silence between them was heavy. Both were wrapped in
thought. Simon wondered if Rae was experiencing the same rush as he
was.
    “Well, thanks for an interesting day. And
lunch,” Rae said, smiling at him. “See you tonight.”
    “Say around six?”
    “Perfect.” She winked at him and hopped down
from the Explorer. “Don’t forget your dancing shoes.” With a wave,
she walked away.
    Simon blinked, feeling as though he was
coming out of a daydream. Had it really happened so easily as that?
In a heartbeat he was going out with the infamous Rae Dalcour. She
was right – Papa Joe would ask him if he’d lost his sanity. And
Toya... Simon did not even want to think about that. But they would
not be the only people in town questioning his judgment. He turned
up the radio and swayed to the beat of a pop tune. They’ll all just
have to adjust.
     
     

Chapter 6
     
     
    Marcelle stepped over a broken piece of chair
and looked around Lucien’s old dance hall. “Girl, you gotta lot of
work on your hands.”
    “Hey, I’ve been cleaning up some. You should
have seen it four days ago.” Rae stood in the middle of the large
room with both hands on her hips.
    The old juke joint had definitely seen better
days. The sign with ‘Rockin’ Good Times’ in red letters was propped
against one of the walls. Rae had brought it inside after finding
it hanging, lopsided over the front door. The bar was along one
wall of the main room. Tables were within a few feet of it. Then
the dance floor took up a good part of the space, with a raised
bandstand opposite the bar. Windows let in light from the bright
morning sun. Through a door just past the end of the bar was a hall
that led to the restrooms. Another short hall led to a kitchen. The
equipment looked to be in need of repair or replacement. There were
two other rooms; one for storage and the other an office.
    “This place is bigger than I thought.”
Marcelle flipped a light switch. “Hey, you got lights!”
    “Guess who paid for it?” Rae took out her
notepad and reviewed everything she needed to have done.
    “Your mama,” Marcelle said promptly.
    “Yeah, Mama thinks this is a real bad idea,
but said she didn’t want me to break my neck stumbling in the dark.
Mr. George says he wants him a good party spot.” Rae gave a short
laugh. “He’s something.”
    “Mr. George is a sweet man. And he’s crazy
‘bout Miss Aletha, too.” Marcelle stacked up some glasses in a box
that needed washing. “I mean no disrespect to your daddy.”
    “Don’t be silly. I love him for making Mama
happy.” Rae paused in writing down the items. “Daddy pushed Mama
away. Seems he poured all his energy into this place and the
past.”
    “What does Neville think?” Marcelle took a
large bottle of liquid cleaner and sprayed the tiled bar top.
    “Well, I talked to him on the phone about
possibly selling the land. He’s coming over this weekend.” Rae
glanced at Marcelle. “I was surprised. He wasn’t too keen on
selling to a St. Cyr.”
    “Uh-hum. Even Neville, who’s been preaching
that you should unload all this, has doubts.” Marcelle eyed her old
pal. “You got that old look about you these days.”
    “What are you talking about?” Rae put down
the pad. She began to remove the tattered remains of curtains from
the windows.
    “The time you stalked Celeste Gravier for
calling you trash, you had that same look.”
    Rae finished one window and started another.
“I did not stalk Celeste. And what look? This is my normal
look.”
    “Your ‘I’m up to something that’s gonna blow
your mind’ look! Just like with Celeste.”
    “No way!” Rae smiled despite her protest.
“Wonder how old Celeste is?”
    “You