Behind the Mask

And the krewe’s big parade.

The float jerked forward, bucking like a nervous horse. The motion sickness Lindsey had been fighting all evening attacked again, this time with a vengeance. She held on to the sides of the float and silently ordered her stomach to cooperate.

She knew better than to ride in the parade. But saying no to this bunch of party animals had been about as useless as that last order she had given her stomach. Especially with Grace Ann resorting to her infamous pleading look. The one that had been known to topple powerful men like matchsticks.

Grace Ann had been one of her best friends in school. Sweet, pretty, incredibly rich and generous to a fault. And now she was Queen Grace Ann, of the Krewe of Minerva, a regal monarch who wasn’t willing to take no for an answer. What was the good of being queen, she had argued quite persuasively, if your friends wouldn’t help you celebrate?

So here she was, Lindsey mused, atop a tractor-pulled contraption of brightly painted papier-mâché figures, her costume slipping off her shoulders and her mask riding her nose like a loose saddle. And she was trying not to even think what her stomach was doing while the float snaked along at the pace of an aged snail.

Brigit leaned over the edge, dropping toys and decorated plastic cups to a group of youngsters who were all but climbing in with them. “Come on, get with it,” she told Lindsey playfully. “Your adoring public is begging for treats.”

Lindsey tossed a supply of beads into the crowd, high above the heads of those who swarmed around her. She tossed more toward a balcony full of gray-haired women hanging over the rails. Brigit was probably right about this being the best part of the route. Huge oaks and massive old homes lined the wide streets. And the crowd, though rowdy by her standards, was mostly families, out to enjoy a beautiful evening and all the excitement of Mardi Gras.

She reached for more beads, but the float jerked to a stop, sending her swaying against the rail.

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Here? Now? You can’t be.” Brigit offered a reassuring pat. “But, if you must, aim for that tall guy with the stupid hat. He grabs everything I try to throw to anyone else,” she suggested, only half joking.

Lindsey smiled in spite of herself, although Brigit would never see her expression beneath the stiff masks all the float riders were forced to wear. “I’m serious. I may have to bail out. I could signal one of the policemen to get me a ride.”

“Sure, there are plenty of medical people around,” Danielle threw in, stepping from the back corner to join in the conversation, “although it’s usually the marchers that pass out, not the riders. But you’d miss all the fun.”

“But I don’t know how much more fun I can handle,” Lindsey countered. “The two hours of serious toasting before we even started rolling is a tad more than I’m used to.” She leaned back, resting her head against the float’s center frame. “I’ll try to make it a while longer, though,” she conceded. “Who knows? I might get the hang of this, if I last long enough.”

The band that marched in front of the float swung into a popular rock tune, and the fun-loving spectators broke into applause. The faces in the crowd were shifting now, moving and swaying to the music as the float inched forward. Lindsey stood between her two friends and strived to adopt their carefree manner. She stared into the night, trying to focus on eyes, mouths and noses that appeared and then disappeared, like Alice’s Cheshire cat. Now you see them, now you don’t.

She flung a multitude of colored beads into the distance. Patterns of purple, green and gold swirled magically through the night sky, falling like manna from heaven into the upstretched hands.

A beam of light caught Lindsey’s attention and held it. A tiny sliver of illumination in an otherwise darkened house. There were no people on this balcony, just a lit window in the middle of a rounded turret. The curved French window was pushed open, and the night breeze caught the wispy curtain, billowing it like a sail.

A couple danced into view. The girl was dressed in flowing velvet, her long blond hair encircling her face like an ethereal halo. The man held her close, and she rested her head on his broad shoulder.

They were dressed for the evening. She was the traditional Southern belle, he the dashing uniformed soldier. But they were obviously in no hurry to leave the privacy of home for a costume ball.

Young and in love. Lindsey remembered the feeling well. Too well. Especially here in this town, where it had all begun for her. Begun and ended. Squeezing her hands into fists, she smiled determinedly. She was here for fun, not to be tortured by old memories.

Mesmerized, she watched the young lovers, ignoring the chanting crowds around her. She sighed as he tipped his face toward the girl’s and slowly lowered his mouth to hers. Framed in the golden light, they were as clear as a motion picture, acting out their roles, celebrating carnival in their own intimate way.

He ran his hand along her arm, down to the sheath at his side. His lips never leaving hers, he pulled a shiny dagger from the sheath. He was a picture, all right, the brave young soldier, ready to protect his woman.

No, not to protect. Lindsey’s heart leaped to her throat. Oh, God! It couldn’t be!

She watched, a scream stuck in her throat, suffocated by the terror that washed over her, bringing with it bone-chilling paralysis. Watched as the dashing soldier raised the weapon high above his head and plunged it deep in his lover’s heart.

Lindsey blinked and shook her head to clear it of the warped confusion. The images couldn’t be what they seemed. A deception, a cruel joke, but not what they seemed.

Yet the woman was slumping to the floor, the green velvet pooling around her, drinking up the crimson river that flowed from her chest. The man turned, for an instant, for an eternity. Then his eyes bored into Lindsey’s. For a moment, they were as one—the cold, hard perpetrator and the silent witness.

Her body began to shake, spinning as the float jerked forward, but still she couldn’t scream. And she couldn’t look away, couldn’t tear her face from the nightmare that had begun with a kiss.

Then, suddenly, the sliver of light went black. Lindsey fell forward, and her whole world was bathed in darkness.

Chapter Two

Detective Graham Dufour dragged himself into headquarters at half past two in the morning and poured himself a mug of old and mercifully strong coffee before plopping down in his swivel chair. He rubbed tired fingers across his brow and lifted the mug to his lips. No need to worry about caffeine overload tonight. As tired as he was, he’d drop off to sleep in two seconds flat. With luck, he could persuade his body to wait until he got home and into bed first.

Another one down, he reminded himself, with the smallest inkling of satisfaction. The first big weekend of this year’s Mardi Gras season was half-over, and there had been no major incidents reported. Now, if that record could just hold until the big day...

He picked up the computer printout of the night’s routine complaints. It was a bad habit of his. Minor infractions weren’t his responsibility anymore, not since he’d been promoted to homicide. Nothing but the big stuff for him, except during Mardi Gras, of course. For two weeks a year, everybody pulled a few extra duties. It was the only way the good old NOPD could stretch its manpower to safe levels.

Lack of sleep blurred the names as he skimmed the list. A few drunks arrested in the Quarter. Nothing serious, just tourists satisfying appetites they didn’t give in to at home. Several fights, a mugging on Esplanade, a parade watcher hit in the stomach with a cymbal. And some woman claiming she’d witnessed a murder.

Instinctively his mind jumped into working gear. Female on Minerva float, slightly inebriated, passed out and came to in Touro Infirmary mumbling something about seeing a murder.

“Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. A few drinks and those rich society babes in the Minerva parade are liable to see anything,” he mumbled to nobody in particular.

Lindsey Latham.

The name jumped out at him like a striking snake. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the pain that settled in his gut. Old memories died hard. And some never quite made it to oblivion.

Lindsey Latham was one of those. The vivacious sweetheart of Dominican High. Daddy’s girl. She’d been the prime example of what brains, looks and money could produce. She’d had it all, including Graham’s young and impressionable heart. But what was the heart of a poor jock worth? Evidently nothing, judging from the way she’d dropped him when it was time to move on to greener pastures.

Graham reached for the mug and swallowed another gulp of the black coffee. The bitter taste was suddenly a good match for his mood. It was stupid to let a mere name from his past have such a devastating effect on his ego.

Besides, Lindsey hadn’t been back to New Orleans in ten years. No reason to think she’d returned now. No, the Lindsey Latham hallucinating at Touro was probably some party-loving young debutante, hell-bent on creating her own excitement.

“Are you still here? It’s almost 3:00 a.m. I thought you’d be home and in bed now, especially on a night as quiet as this one.”

Graham nodded at the young detective who had stuck his head in the open door. “I’m on my way. But if I had a sweet little thing on the string like you do, I would’ve been out of here long ago. In fact, if I’d known you weren’t taking care of her tonight, I might’ve been entertaining her myself,” Graham joked.

“You would’ve wasted your time trying. My woman never settles for second best.”

Graham managed a smile. Rooster was a good man. One of the best young ones to come along in a while. He’d worked with him on several cases, and he was always thankful to have him as a backup when the going got rough.

“Did you work the Minerva parade?” Graham asked, trying to sound only mildly interested.

“Yeah, matter of fact, I did. Why?”

“I was just looking over this report. It says one of the float riders passed out and ended up in the hospital. She claims she saw someone murdered.”

“We checked it out. The streets were packed, and not one other report came in to substantiate her story.”

“So you think it was a false alarm.”

“No doubt about it. There was lots to see out there tonight, believe me, but fortunately, there were no dead bodies.”

Rooster started to leave, then turned around and lounged in the doorway. “You know, it’s amazing what body parts some girls will show for a string of cheap beads.”