beautiful women he had encountered in a long time.
CHAPTER 3
'I certainly am a lucky man,' Longarm murmured as he looked at the woman. 'Fortunate because I've just made your acquaintance, have I not, my dear?'
'Qui.' She held out a hand with slender, graceful fingers, and he took it and bent over it to brush his lips lightly against the back of it. 'I am Annie Clement,' she said.
'Custis Parker,' he told her. 'From St. Louis. And I'm very glad I decided to come down here to New Orleans.'
She was tall and slender, though curved in all the right places, as the expensive gown she wore displayed enticingly. Most of the deeply tanned valley between her breasts was visible, and Longarm gazed openly at her charms. She had thick, honey-colored hair that fell in waves to her shoulders, and her eyes behind the mask were an intriguing green with light-colored flecks in them, reminding Longarm of foam on an open sea. Her lips were full and red and curved in a smile as she slowly lowered the mask so that Longarm could appreciate the full impact of her beauty.
From the corner of his eye, Longarm saw the hotel clerk lean forward. 'Can I help you, Miss Clement?' the clerk asked. Obviously, this lovely young woman was known to him.
Annie turned her head and smiled at the man. 'No, thank you, Jack. This gentleman has already introduced himself to me.' She linked her arm with Longarm's. 'And now he's going to take me into the salon and buy me a drink.'
'I'd like that just fine,' Longarm told her, 'but there's just one thing I need to get cleared up first. By any chance are you a, ah, working girl, Miss Clement?'
Annie laughed lightly at the question, but the desk clerk's eyebrows shot up as he looked scandalized. 'Mr. Parker,' he said sternly, 'the St. Charles does not allow-'
'It's all right, Jack,' said Annie. 'M'sieu Parker is a guest in New Orleans and cannot be expected to know everything about our fair city.' To Longarm, she said, 'No, I'm not a soiled dove, M'sieu Parker, if that's what you thought.'
'Not really,' said Longarm, 'but I like to make sure how deep the water is before I go diving in head-first.'
'Around here you'll find that the waters are seldom deep... but they can still be treacherous.' She steered him toward the arched entrance of the salon. 'Now come along with me. Put yourself in my hands.'
'That's a mighty appealing prospect,' said Longarm, and the comment drew another laugh from her.
Behind them, the desk clerk called out, 'I'll have your bag taken up to your room, Mr. Parker.'
A waiter in the salon, who clearly knew who Annie was just as the desk clerk had, showed them to a table that was given at least an illusion of privacy by the potted plants that screened it off from the rest of the room. Longarm felt a little as if he had somehow wound up in a jungle. He leaned across the table toward Annie and asked, 'What would you like to drink?'
'Wine would be nice.'
Longarm repeated the order to the hovering waiter, then added, 'Maryland rye for me, Tom Moore if you've got it.'
'Indeed we do, sir,' said the waiter. 'I'll be right back.'
While they waited for the drinks, Annie clasped her hands together in front of her on the table and looked over them at Longarm. 'And what brings you to New Orleans, M'sieu Parker? Business... or pleasure?'
'Ten minutes ago, I would have said business,' replied Longarm, 'but that was before I met you, ma'am. Now I would have to say that I'm hoping for a combination of the two.'
'How gallant of you. What line of business are you in?'
'Importing and exporting,' said Longarm, trying to convey with his tone of voice that even though she was a beautiful woman, he wasn't quite ready to reveal all of his secrets to her just yet.
'How interesting. My brother and I export sugar to your country.'
Longarm frowned slightly. 'I figured that you lived here in New Orleans. Folks seem to know you pretty well in these parts.'
'Oh, we have a house here,' she said. 'The Clement mansion, on Chartres Street, not far from here. It has been in the family for over a hundred years. But our real home is on Saint Laurent.'
Longarm shook his head and said, 'Don't reckon I've heard of it.'
'It is a small island in the West Indies, where our sugar plantation is located. Paul and I travel here several times each year.' A smile lit up Annie's face. 'Like you, M'sieu Parker, we attempt to combine business with pleasure.'
'A mighty sensible approach,' said Longarm. 'Here come our drinks.'
The waiter placed a glass of wine in front of Annie, then gave Longarm a shot of Maryland rye along with a tumbler of water to chase it. Then the waiter withdrew diffidently, and once again Longarm and Annie had at least the semblance of being alone. They clinked their glasses together, and Annie said, 'To New Orleans... and all the possibilities it holds.'
'To New Orleans,' agreed Longarm. He tossed back the rye, savoring its rich, smoky taste. So far, his trip to the Crescent City had been quite pleasurable.
But no matter what he had told Annie Clement, he was really here for one reason and one reason alone: to find whoever was responsible for the murder of Douglas Ramsey and bring the killer, or killers, to justice.
Annie sipped her wine and then said, 'I shall have to introduce you to my brother. I'm sure you and Paul would have much in common.'
