Page 8 of Deadly Sins: Envy

He said it like his collection was one of the proudest achievements of his life.

“Postage stamps?” I asked.

“Yep. Have one in my collection called The Inverted Swan. It was issued in 1855 in Perth, Australia, and it’s valued around sixty.”

“Dollars?”

“Sixtythousanddollars.”

“I had no idea they were worth so much money.”

“Now you do.”

He turned onto a street littered with homes and rolled to a stop in front of an enormous two-story, blue-and-white Victorian.

“Thisis the plantation?” I asked.

It was big, but I expected it to be bigger.

He shook his head. “This is my brother’s house. The plantation is an hour away in Vacherie.”

CHAPTER 4

“Here’s the deal,” Coop said. “If you’re here, you’re with me, got it? No running off doing private eye stuff on your own.”

“Oh...kay,” I said.

“Second ...”

There was more?

Great.

“Do not interfere in any way,” he said. “I’ve become acquainted with the lead detective on this case. He’s a decent fellow. So far, he’s been giving me information as it comes in. I willnotallow that to get screwed up.”

“Got it. No screw-ups.”

We exited the car, and he pointed toward the far side of the house. “You’re in the guesthouse around back.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ve booked into a hotel on—”

“You’re staying here, Sloane.”

Someone wanted to be sure he kept a close eye on me.

The front door opened, and Gran rushed in my direction. She flung her arms around me and said, “Are you hungry? I’m making sandwiches.”

“Sure,” I said. “Thanks.”

“I’ll take a sandwich,” Coop said.

Gran shot Coop a look, like he assumed too much. “You’ll find everything you need to make yourself a sandwich in the kitchen.”

No sandwich for him.

I wondered what he’d done to piss her off.

“There are a couple of people here from the New Orleans Police Department,” she said. “They arrived a few minutes ago. The man’s all right, but the woman’s ... well, she has more attitude than I do.”