“I don’t think I’m hungry,” Katie said. “But I probably should try to eat...”

“Beware, if we’re not at a music venue, the media will be blasting the fact another corpse, a victim of the Axeman’s Protégé, has been found,” Axel said. He grimaced. “That’s what they’ve labeled the killer in the media. The Axeman’s Protégé.”

“Great,” Dan muttered.

“Maybe the restaurants will be empty anyway,” Katie said.

“Probably not. Very little closes down this city.” Dan smiled. “She’s tough. NOLA is a tough grand dame. She’ll make it through this. And so will we,” he added softly.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Katie said. “Commander’s Palace. It’s right next to Lafayette Cemetery. Maybe Mabel will join us.”

“I don’t think she’s just hanging around the cemetery waiting to meet us,” Dan said. “I mean, uh... I don’t actually know much about this yet. Do ghosts hang around cemeteries?”

Axel chuckled softly. “I don’t think anyone has all the answers. I’ve seen people remain because there was something they had to see through, sometimes hoping a killer will be caught, sometimes just hoping to help a loved one through a situation. We went to Gettysburg once where I met a woman—”

“Living or dead?” Dan asked.

“She was long gone and had died of natural causes, but she stayed because she liked to haunt historians who twisted history. She told me about other ghosts there, men who fought the same battle over and over again, all trying to understand the past. She would try, bit by bit, to convince them that they could move on. She was there during the battle but died several years later of heart failure. Many like to return to places where they were happy. And sometimes they do haunt the cemeteries where they were laid to rest or interred, just as a...home.”

“Well, thankfully,” Dan murmured, “we made nice homes for our dead. Anyway, okay, Commander’s Palace it is.”

Katie tried a weak grin. “A landmark restaurant that opened in 1893,” she said.

“One of the famous Brennan family has something to do with the restaurant now, right?” Dan said.

“Yes. I haven’t been in a while,” Katie said. “But—”

“But?” Axel asked her.

She shrugged. “When I visited with my folks... My mom was a bit of an amateur artist. She loved to sketch in Lafayette Cemetery, and we all loved the Garden District Book Shop. And a meal at Commander’s Palace always went with the outing. I do love the place.”

Dan looked at Axel. “Hey, she might even eat something.”

“Sounds good. Let’s do it,” Axel said.

They took Axel’s car. He apparently knew the city well enough to navigate to Washington Street, but as they started out, Katie commented, “Oh! It’s nine fifteen. Will we make it in time?”