my friend.” She was silent for a moment. “Do you know how she died?”
“Not yet—the authorities will do an autopsy,” Kerry said. “There seems to be no family.”
Matt studied the young voodoo queen as she paused and gazed at Kerry. She was unusually still for a moment.
“May I read your fortune?” she asked.
Kerry’s shoulders stiffened. “It isn’t necessary. Patti did that yesterday.”
The darkly outlined eyes looked from Kerry to Matt. “Sorrow lies in your path,” she said softly.
“The shining path?” Kerry questioned. “I know about that.”
The young queen ignored her. “Patti sometimes spoke of a plantation where she was raised. Cordon Rouge was its name. On Bayou Rouge. The museum may know more.”
With that, she turned and disappeared into the trees, the flicker of the small flashlight the only sign of her progress. Matt and Kerry were left standing in the dark.
“Well,” he said, “looks like we’re on our own.”
“The path is fairly straight from here to the road,” Kerry told him. She hurried forward.
He caught her hand and walked beside her. The trail broadened, but still Matt felt foolishly protective of the petite woman who held his hand as if she were comforted by his touch.
“What did you think?” the cabbie asked. He flicked away a cigarette and opened the door for them. “Did you find the ceremony interesting?”
“Very,” Kerry said.
As they drove back to the hotel, Matt relaxed, realizing that he’d been tense for the past two hours.
“The old queen can be very haughty at times,” the driver said. “I’ve known her to send away folks if she doesn’t like them. Tourists get angry when that happens, but it isn’t their call.”
“Maybe they don’t understand the ceremony isn’t a show put on for their benefit,” Kerry suggested.
“You got that right,” the man said.
When she slid her hand from his, Matt resisted an urge to slip his arm around her shoulders and hold her close.
They lapsed into silence for the remainder of the trip, which seemed shorter on the return leg. At thehotel, Matt said, “I’m hungry. I’ve heard the chef here makes outstanding desserts. Shall we try a couple?”
Her smile almost caused his lungs to squeeze shut. “Dessert sounds wonderful. We didn’t eat a lot at dinner,” she reminded him.
“I hope they don’t put peppers in the pies,” he grumbled good-naturedly.
They laughed as they entered the restaurant. After they’d ordered decaffeinated coffee and asked for the dessert menu, Matt was pleased to see the smile linger on Kerry’s expressive face as she looked around.
“The hotel is quieter tonight,” she said. “I wonder if word got around about…everything.”
“I suspect it has. This afternoon when I returned from the wine tasting I saw more people checking out. Some of them were probably scheduled to leave, but one couple said they’d cut their trip short because of all the weird things the night before. Their room was vandalized, too.”
She nodded. “Having the generator fail in a major blackout reflects badly on the hotel. And then…then Patti.”
“It was a strange first night in New Orleans,” he concluded, echoing her solemn tone. “But there were a couple of good things, too.”
She glanced at him in question.
“I met a lovely and helpful woman,” he said, his voice going husky. “That was a plus. We saw an interesting ceremony tonight and I’m sure glad I had company for that.”
Her expression brightened. “Me, too. I think I would have been frightened if I’d been alone.”
The look in her eyes made him feel like a hero. He picked up the menu. “Let’s check the desserts out. Maybe we should order one of everything.”
“No way. We’d be on a sugar high until dawn.” She quickly scanned the dessert list. “Oh my. Check out Chef Remy’s specials.”
Matt read over the listings on the menu. Remy Marchand, who had died in a car accident several years
“Not yet—the authorities will do an autopsy,” Kerry said. “There seems to be no family.”
Matt studied the young voodoo queen as she paused and gazed at Kerry. She was unusually still for a moment.
“May I read your fortune?” she asked.
Kerry’s shoulders stiffened. “It isn’t necessary. Patti did that yesterday.”
The darkly outlined eyes looked from Kerry to Matt. “Sorrow lies in your path,” she said softly.
“The shining path?” Kerry questioned. “I know about that.”
The young queen ignored her. “Patti sometimes spoke of a plantation where she was raised. Cordon Rouge was its name. On Bayou Rouge. The museum may know more.”
With that, she turned and disappeared into the trees, the flicker of the small flashlight the only sign of her progress. Matt and Kerry were left standing in the dark.
“Well,” he said, “looks like we’re on our own.”
“The path is fairly straight from here to the road,” Kerry told him. She hurried forward.
He caught her hand and walked beside her. The trail broadened, but still Matt felt foolishly protective of the petite woman who held his hand as if she were comforted by his touch.
“What did you think?” the cabbie asked. He flicked away a cigarette and opened the door for them. “Did you find the ceremony interesting?”
“Very,” Kerry said.
As they drove back to the hotel, Matt relaxed, realizing that he’d been tense for the past two hours.
“The old queen can be very haughty at times,” the driver said. “I’ve known her to send away folks if she doesn’t like them. Tourists get angry when that happens, but it isn’t their call.”
“Maybe they don’t understand the ceremony isn’t a show put on for their benefit,” Kerry suggested.
“You got that right,” the man said.
When she slid her hand from his, Matt resisted an urge to slip his arm around her shoulders and hold her close.
They lapsed into silence for the remainder of the trip, which seemed shorter on the return leg. At thehotel, Matt said, “I’m hungry. I’ve heard the chef here makes outstanding desserts. Shall we try a couple?”
Her smile almost caused his lungs to squeeze shut. “Dessert sounds wonderful. We didn’t eat a lot at dinner,” she reminded him.
“I hope they don’t put peppers in the pies,” he grumbled good-naturedly.
They laughed as they entered the restaurant. After they’d ordered decaffeinated coffee and asked for the dessert menu, Matt was pleased to see the smile linger on Kerry’s expressive face as she looked around.
“The hotel is quieter tonight,” she said. “I wonder if word got around about…everything.”
“I suspect it has. This afternoon when I returned from the wine tasting I saw more people checking out. Some of them were probably scheduled to leave, but one couple said they’d cut their trip short because of all the weird things the night before. Their room was vandalized, too.”
She nodded. “Having the generator fail in a major blackout reflects badly on the hotel. And then…then Patti.”
“It was a strange first night in New Orleans,” he concluded, echoing her solemn tone. “But there were a couple of good things, too.”
She glanced at him in question.
“I met a lovely and helpful woman,” he said, his voice going husky. “That was a plus. We saw an interesting ceremony tonight and I’m sure glad I had company for that.”
Her expression brightened. “Me, too. I think I would have been frightened if I’d been alone.”
The look in her eyes made him feel like a hero. He picked up the menu. “Let’s check the desserts out. Maybe we should order one of everything.”
“No way. We’d be on a sugar high until dawn.” She quickly scanned the dessert list. “Oh my. Check out Chef Remy’s specials.”
Matt read over the listings on the menu. Remy Marchand, who had died in a car accident several years
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