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All right, this was her special turf She’d spent her life here, right here, in the French Quarter If there was a story out there, she’d heard it The history of the city was so she could recite in her sleep And she loved it Funny, that irl, her friend had been a in New Orleans In fact, she’d burst into laughter when Nikki had urged her to tell her why she was grinning like an imp
"It’s just… well, you’re not a drinker And it seeo somewhere without crowds… so, why live in and love New Orleans?"
The question had startled Nikki "It’s ho boozer I love jazz! I love the artists on the street, and the perforh!"
And she did
"What on earth do you do during Mardi Gras?" Andy had de
"Visit friends in Biloxi," she said dryly
It was true There were always tourists in New Orleans She liked tourists She just didn’t like thewith Mardi Gras in New Orleans
Well, she thought, yawning and stretching, she would stay in New Orleans for Mardi Gras next year They all wanted a party She’d do it--for Andy, and the others, as well, she figured Julian was Mr Party hiood friend, and she loved hiht now She’d known him her whole life, and he’d taken the job when she’d asked him on Max’s behalf because of her, not because he’d originally thought they could really do so, and great at this work, even if he was overly drahost ith him were always thrilled
Sure, this year, she’d have a party Patricia, who had grown up not too far away, in Cajun country, longed to have a really good Mardi Gras party, too She’d grown up close--but far enough away so that she longed to be part of the real heart of the celebration, too--from the above-the-vomit line, as she called it Mitch, of course, was froet into the dead center of it all As he had told Patricia, he didn’t care what evils lurked on the street; he wanted to see it all Of course, he’d prefer a nice party place, but…
Nathan was more like her He was shy, except with friends, unless he was on, and then, like Julian, he was on Now, he was madly in love with Patricia, and he was coh Nikki was certain Nathan would just as soon head for Biloxi during Mardi Gras, too, he would want a party because Patricia would want a party
And, of course, it would be an i so well
Nikki felt a real sense of pride--despite her pounding headache A lot of the tiuides was just schood They knew their subject ive a tour--they were an event
And though the whole thing had been created through Max’s plan, vision--andreal fruition She had been there with Max at the very beginning, when there had been just the two of the it all over the place by herself Befriending the concierge staff at the hotels, begging store ive the free tours to travel agents, thanking God that Max had saved up enough to be able to bring the people in After the first go, Max had told her to bring Julian in He hadn’t been convinced that he’d ever really get a substantial inco to take a chance because she was so iun to thrive, and so, Max had told her to increase the program, and the staff She had found the others later--they’d had to "audition," bom for historical accuracy, and for their ability to tell a daht lies No one in their group ever said that such things as vahosts, or any other metaphysical creature existed They told the stories that had been told The legends They were still known as the "ghost" walk, though officially, ends of New Orleans"
Nikki ran her fingers through her hair, trying to let it dry in the breeze
A newspaper ca over the brick wall The newsboy--late as he was!--had cast it over the brick with a down at the headline, she let out a sigh There were two pictures on the front page One of the statelier Harold Grant and one of the more charismatic Billy Banks
"Billy Banks," she uy named Billy Banks?"
As she leaned down to pick up the paper, she heard the front gate opening
As it did, she felt a vicious cold sweep through her, as if an arctic blast had suddenly hit her entire bloodstrea true
She looked up, reh her h he was in plainclothes, that the man who approached her was a police terrible
She stood up, her
"You--you’re a cop Soasped out
The officer nodded He cleared his throat "I’m Detective Massey, Owen Massey, Miss DuMonde"
Nikki stared at hie that filled her,into her mind
"No, no… there’s a mistake"
"I’m so sorry"
"Someone is… hurt?"
"I’m here about Miss Ciello, Miss Andrea Ciello"
He looked helpless--big, kind and helpless Cops like hiive people bad news all the tiuy "We were referred to you A Mrs Montobello is the one who called us… insisted we go in, swore that Miss Ciello would have co She said that you were Miss Ciello’s best friend? I’m sorry, so sorry I wish there were an easier way to do this Uo inside?"