Murder in the Rue Ursulines

I cursed myself for a fool. By talking to him last night, I’d put him in danger. I hadn’t warned him, hadn’t done a goddamned thing except promise to buy him lunch.

Nice move, slick.

I was positive Rosemary had killed Glynis. But why?

I got up and started pacing around my living room.

She was the last person to see her alive. She found the body.

I’d been so distracted by Freddy and Jillian I’d forgotten a basic principle of murder investigations. Who had access?

Rosemary had access to Glynis’s house any time she wanted. She had access to Glynis’s computer. And she was the only person who knew about Joey Rutledge and his connection to the case.

But why? How did she know about Karen-

What if Rosemary Shannon WAS Karen Zorn?

I picked up the file with the emails, and opened it to the first one.

You can fool the public, Freddy, but I know what you are.

My hands trembling, I went to a directory assistance Website and typed in her name. Her address-down on Desire Street in the Bywater popped up. I went to an address search Website. I filled in her name and current address, and clicked GO. A list of addresses came up. I cursed myself yet again. They only went back ten years. Beyond that, there was no record of her.

Just like Karen Zorn disappeared off the radar ten years ago.

The first address listed for Rosemary was in Wichita, Kansas.

I kept searching. Nothing-there was nothing on any sites online.

She hadn’t existed before she got that apartment in Wichita.

I picked up my cell phone and dialed Venus. “Casanova.”

“Venus, this is Chanse.”

“Make it quick, I’ve got a lot on my plate right now,” she replied.

“Venus, can you come by? Or can I meet you somewhere?” I gripped the phone tightly.

“To repeat what I just said, I’m kind of busy right now.” She sounded exhausted. “We had another murder in the Quarter last night. And Mayor Do-nothing is putting a lot of pressure on us about the Parrish case, as I’m sure you know.” She sighed. “The man is having hourly press conferences. He sure likes to see himself on television, doesn’t he?”

“That’s why I’m calling. It’s about Joey Rutledge-and Glynis Parrish.” I said. “The murders are connected.”

That got her attention. “What?”

I cleared my throat. “Venus, he was a key witness in the Glynis Parrish murder.”

There was a brief silence on the phone, and then she said in very quiet voice, “And why the hell I am just hearing about this now?”

“I’d rather not talk about this over the phone.”

“Are you home?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be right there. And this had better be good.”

I shut my phone and started pacing again. There was nothing you could have done, I told myself. It may have had nothing to do with this case, it could have been a random act of violence-the violence that was ripping the city apart and making the streets run with blood. But no matter how much I tried to convince myself, I knew. There was no doubt in my mind now that Rosemary had killed him, the same way she’d killed Glynis Parrish. When I talked to him, and he’d told me why he was there the night of the murder, I’d sentenced him to death.

I could feel the anxiety coming back.

You are not the angel of death. It isn’t your fault, there was nothing you could have done.

And that snide, horribly vicious voice in the back of my mind: You could have waited for him to get off work, and brought him back here, kept him safe until he could tell his story to Venus and Blaine.

I heard Joey say again, I never pass up a free meal.

Pull it together, Chanse, Venus is on her way and you need to get your act together. You have work to do.

And somehow, I managed to pull myself together.

My therapist would be proud.

Venus and her partner, Blaine Tujague, arrived about half an hour later. I heard the commotion outside. Reporters were shouting things like Are you here to make an arrest? As I watched through the blinds, Venus and Blaine ignored them completely-not even giving a ‘no comment.’ I opened the door as they reached the top of the stairs and shut the door behind them. “Sorry about that,” I said.

Venus looked tired. “I’m getting kind of used to it. Fucking vultures. I hate the press.”

“You and me both,” I commiserated, sitting down in my desk chair. “You two probably have it worse than I do.”

Blaine shrugged. “It’s a high-profile case.” Blaine and I had once been friends-with-benefits. We’d met originally when I’d be on the force, and over the years had become friends. He was a good looking guy with a thickly muscled body, curly black hair and blue eyes. He looked as if he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. He yawned. “Sorry-we got called out on this kid’s murder. I need to sleep for about a week.”

Venus flipped open her notepad. “Okay, you want to tell me how this stripper kid was involved with Glynis Parrish?” She gave me a look. “You sure you don’t want your lawyer present?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t need a lawyer.” I took a deep breath and started from the beginning. I handed over the file with the e-mails. Venus and Blaine both scribbled notes as I talked. I explained how I’d seen Joey for the first time when I met Rosemary at Cafe Envie. I was explaining the Karen Zorn connection when Venus interrupted me.

“You accessed the database at this college?” One of her eyebrows went up, and she put her pad down. “I don’t think-“ she glanced over at Blaine, “-that we really need to know any more about that. And I don’t want to see anything you might have downloaded or copied from their database.” She smiled. “We’ll just call that an anonymous tip.”

I went on, explaining how I’d seen Freddy’s senior picture-complete with braces-and made the connection to Joey Rutledge. “I went to the Brass Rail last night and talked to him,” I ignored the knowing smirk on Blaine’s face, “and he told me all about how he knew Rosemary Shannon, and how he was there the night of the murder. And I planned on bring him in today to tell you all this himself. My identification was all fucked up, so I knew we needed him to come forward.”

She sighed and closed her notebook. “Yeah, I’m sure you would have. This just sucks, you know? You’re absolutely positive he was the guy?”

“Every Wednesday afternoon, he picked up Glynis’s drycleaning and dropped it off at six. He ran errands for Rosemary sometimes. He thought it was her house.” I cursed myself again. “I bought his innocent act, you know. I really thought he didn’t know what he was involved in.” I thought for a moment. “It’s still possible he didn’t know. But after I filled him in-he had Rosemary over a barrel. I’d be willing to bet he called Rosemary as soon as I left the bar.” I groaned. “Maybe tried to get money out of her, I don’t know. But his being there with her before she called anyone…her story was she came home and found Glynis right away was kind of blown.”

“You know as well as I do none of this will hold up in court, Chanse-it’s hearsay, and without the kid to back you up, no judge will allow it.”

“And a defense attorney would have a field day with you, buddy.” Blaine shook his head. “Your credibility is completely worthless, you know. Frillian paid you, first you were sure it was Freddy, now you’re convinced it was this kid. And all Rosemary has to do is deny all of this. It’s your word against hers. And you seeing the kid there- well, maybe he killed Glynis.”

“I know, I know.” I slammed my fist down on my knees. “I completely blew it. And now the kid’s dead because I didn’t think ahead. Why didn’t it even occur to me he’d call Rosemary?”