She trails off, hesitant and a little uneasy. She absently twirls the fringe of her crimson blouse. Despite what I need to do right now, I’m curious.

“You were hoping what?”

“I was hoping … we could take a little walk.”

Shit.

I check my watch. Two minutes. I’ll give her two minutes.

“Okay, let’s go for a walk.”

Soon we’re strolling down Loyola Avenue. It’s a busy commercial strip, and we pass throngs of people. Most are office workers dressed in suits and ties, but plenty are tourists and Carnival revelers wearing costumes and masquerade masks.

But how safe will they be in just a few days?

“You grew up here, right?” she asks. “So this is all … normal to you?”

“Born and raised, so yeah, somewhat normal,” I answer. “You a transplant?”

“I’ve lived here for a couple years so I’m still getting used to it,” she says. “I’m originally from a little town on Long Island, Glen Cove.”

“Really?” I ask. “Then how come you don’t have one of those funny ‘Lonk I-land’ accents?”

“A New Orleanian making fun of an accent?” She smiles and shakes her head. “But wear me out—when I get tired you’ll start to hear it.”

“Oh, sure. Your husband would love it if I did that.”

I meant it as a flirty joke, of course. But her smile fades fast.

“You didn’t see him today, did you?”

“Lucas? No. Why?”

Her eyes flicker down to her wedding ring. Its massive diamond glitters in the midday sun like a disco ball. For some reason—unlike the night we first met—she’s wearing it.

“We … had a stupid fight this morning,” she says. “I told him how I’d stopped by your truck the other night. How you made me that amazing sandwich. Well, Lucas blew a gasket. He started yelling, calling me names. Told me I could never eat at Killer Chef again.”

“Gosh,” I say, with fake innocence. “I guess that means I don’t need to call him back and officially say no to his offer.”

That makes her laugh, but just for a moment. I want to say more but I bite my tongue. I’d love to see her leave that son of a bitch, but their marriage isn’t any of my business.

She goes on. “I told him he was acting crazy. That I could do whatever I wanted. That maybe I’d stop by your truck again today—out of spite. He actually threatened to drive around it in circles all morning if he had to. Can you believe that? In his stupid new Lamborghini, too. Sounds like a jet taking off. And he said if he saw me … ”

One mystery solved, I think, as she trails off.