a stone’s throw from where they sat that those on the second floor took action. Screams had echoed into the rafters, carrying from the restaurant into the streets. Women and men had fled the building, swelling into the alleyways and avenues adjoining Jacques’.
In the crush of shrieking bodies, Odette had disappeared without a word. At first, Celine and Pippa had worried something awful might have happened to her. They’d raced down the stairs toward the doors, searching the crowd for any sign of a young woman dressed as a man. By the time they’d made their way to the front of Jacques’, all the exits had been cordoned off by the New Orleans Metropolitan Police.
More than an hour later, Odette was still nowhere to be found. In fact, only a few members of La Cour des Lions were still present: Arjun, Bastien, Nigel, the man from the Far East, and the two women with the tantalizing rings. The rest had vanished into the night during the chaos. Celine knew Bastien could not avoid being interrogated. His family owned this establishment. It was only natural that he would be under immediate inquiry. At any moment, she fully expected his uncle, the Count, to stride into the room in a black silk cape and a plush fur top hat.
Celine’s mind churned in a ceaseless barrage of thoughts. Despite her best efforts to silence them, one continued rising to the forefront. The sight of Anabel’s body troubled her immensely. Of course the gaping wound at the girl’s throat would likely haunt Celine for the rest of her days. But something else plagued her. Remained just beyond her reach.
The thud of a solid object echoed from below. The noise clattered down the stairs in staccato bursts of sound. Celine started. Pippa yelped softly. No one else uttered a word. The five officers of the Metropolitan Police cinched their semicircle tighter, drawing closer, like the strings of a purse pulling shut.
Then they exchanged worried glances.
Without warning, someone clapped their hands behind the waiting officers, the sound loud and sudden, causing Pippa to cry out again and rekindling Celine’s irritation. It prickled beneath her skin like a thousand tiny needles threatening to burst forth. Arjun stopped swirling his drink. To his left, Nigel’s frown hardened, the sight contrasting with his curling mustache, the tendons in his fingers flexing as if to keep him from lunging into the fray.
Celine did not need to look at Bastien to know his anger had spiked, just as hers had.
“My most profound apologies for keeping you waiting so long,” a man calmly intoned, the sound disparate with the circumstances. “But I promise only one among you will be truly inconvenienced.”
The officers standing in a semicircle parted without preamble.
Revealing New Orleans’ best police detective.
ONE OF US
The young man who stepped forward was not at all what Celine expected.
Firstly, he looked to be only several years older than she. His clean-shaven skin was tawny, in contrast to the pale features of the other officers present. He was not wearing a uniform. Instead it looked as though he’d left an elegant gathering, his collar impeccably starched, his champagne-colored cravat tied in a pristine knot. His wavy hair had been tamed into the latest fashion, full on all sides. Something about his appearance struck Celine as almost professorial. A touch awkward.
Save for the undeniable air of authority around him.
Before he spoke again, he offered them a forced smile, his teeth straight and bright. Then he adjusted his shirtsleeves until the perfect amount of white peeked from beneath the edge of his deep green frock coat.
“I am Detective Michael Grimaldi of the New Orleans Metropolitan Police,” he began in a clipped voice, each word racing to overcome its predecessor. “I’m hoping to have your utmost cooperation as we work together to find the perpetrator of this horrific crime.” He took a step closer, moving alongside Arjun, who flinched, his features souring.
At the sight of Arjun’s discomfort, satisfaction passed across Detective Grimaldi’s face. Now that he stood next to Arjun, Celine noted a similarity in their coloring, though Detective Grimaldi’s features did not bear the same look of the East. Perhaps he was Italian, as his name suggested.
Detective Grimaldi’s light eyes swept around the room again. Undoubtedly scanning the crowd, searching for an opening. In short order, he settled on Celine. His head tilted ever so slightly, his gaze appraising. Celine lifted her chin automatically. Defiantly. She didn’t know what possessed her to do it, but she