Jasper Millard didn't know it, thought Longarm, but he ought to be hoping right about now that the law caught up with him first.
Longarm clasped Claudette's hand as they were ushered out of the house and back into the carriage. 'We will take you back to the hotel,' said the leader of the gunmen, none of whom drew guns again now that they and Longarm seemed to be on the same side.
'Much obliged,' said Longarm. He glanced over his shoulder one last time at the cottage. 'That's a mighty scary old woman in there. No offense.'
The man smiled thinly. 'Only a fool would make an enemy of Marie Laveau.'
'I reckon you've got that right, old son,' Longarm said as he helped Claudette into the carriage.
Once Longarm and Claudette were rolling back through the streets toward the St. Charles Hotel--alone this time since the other men rode atop the carriage--Longarm lifted Claudette's hand and pressed his lips to the back of it. 'Thank you,' he murmured. 'If the Voodoo Queen hadn't been so impressed with you, I'd still be in the dark about what was behind everything.'
'I was so frightened, me,' she said. 'But I knew I would be all right as long as you were with me, Custis. If I had known you are a lawman!'
'Sorry. I was keeping that under my hat until I got everything sorted out.'
'You were nearly killed, you bet, because folks think that you were really workin' for Mr. Millard. Guess it's good I didn't stay at the Brass Pelican after all, me.'
Longarm nodded. 'Yeah, I'd say so. You can stay in my hotel room if you like, until I get everything cleared up. Then I'll take you back down to the bayou country, if that's what you want.'
Claudette leaned back against the seat of the carriage and gave Longarm a wanton smile. 'That would be most nice, but I'm thinkin'.' She grew more serious as she went on. 'You be careful, you. Don't forget those men who try to kill you at the Mardi Gras parade last night.'
'Those were Royale's men,' said Longarm. 'They won't be a threat to me once I've arrested Millard and Clement and it's obvious I don't work for Millard anymore.'
'You know that? You sure that this Royale send them after you?'
'Who else could have done it?'
'Somebody else who don't trust you, maybe?'
Longarm frowned. She was right, of course. He had just assumed that Royale had sent the would-be killers after him.
But maybe Millard had grown too suspicious after finding Longarm in his office and decided that it would be easier all around to get rid of his new employee--permanently.
'I reckon that'll all get sorted out too,' said Longarm. 'But I'll be careful, you can count on that.'
'You had better, or I come after you. I guarantee.'
They left the carriage in the courtyard behind the St. Charles and went in the way they had left, through the back door. There were no guns pointed at them this time, of course, and Longarm was thankful for that. Marie Laveau's men drove off with the carriage, and if he never saw them again, that would be perfectly all right with Longarm. He had had enough of snakes and zombies and voodoo. All that was left now was rounding up some good, old-fashioned crooks and killers.
Claudette sat down on the bed as Longarm buckled on his gunbelt. The mattress bounced a little underneath her, and the sound made Longarm think wistfully of what they had shared earlier. There was no time for a return engagement now.
But once Millard and Paul Clement were either behind bars or dead--depending on how they took to being arrested--then there would be plenty of time for Claudette.
He shrugged into his coat, bent over, and kissed her forehead. 'I'll be back as soon as I can,' he promised.
'Be careful,' she said again. Her expression was taut with anxiety.
Longarm nodded, gave her a reassuring smile, and left the room. It had been a long time since he had slept or eaten anything, but he wasn't particularly tired or hungry. The anticipation of justice about to be served was its own fuel, he supposed, at least in his case. He walked quickly through the lobby and stepped out through the ornate front entrance onto the short flight of stairs that led down to the street.
A woman had just gotten out of a cab that was pulled up in front of the hotel, and as she hurriedly turned and started up the stairs, she stopped short. So did Longarm.
Annie Clement was staring up at him, and she looked scared to death.
CHAPTER 14
'Custis!' Annie exclaimed in a ragged voice. Then she rushed up the stairs toward him.
He caught hold of her arms and looked at her. She was wearing the same gown she had been wearing the night before at the Brass Pelican and the Mardi Gras parade. A small bruise discolored her left cheekbone, and her jaw had been scraped on that side as well. Someone had hit her.
Longarm led her along the steps well away from the doorman before he asked grimly, 'What happened?'
'P-Paul,' she gasped out. 'He... he lost his temper with me... because I saw what he did last night.'
'What do you mean?'
'At the Mardi Gras parade... I saw him point to you, and then a minute later, those men tried to kill you! I... I could not believe it. Paul grabbed my arm and took me away from there. I struggled against him, but it was no use.' She leaned her head against Longarm's chest as a shudder went through her. 'He... he took me back to the mansion, and when I demanded to know why those men tried to hurt you, he... he hit me.'
