And yet there was more to it; it went deeper. Because so-called Neil was tall, but not extraordinarily so. He was built, but not massively. And it had sounded as if the man in the long black coat with the slouch hat hanging out and watching the Rodenberry house had been big.

Six.

Were there six people involved?

The man Dan had been hired to watch had met with Neil and Jennie—and Neil had wanted him to join with them. So, if there were six in the group imitating both the Axeman’s murders and Allan Pierce’s belief in the number six, they were now missing at least a couple players.

The dogs began to bark, but their tails were wagging, and Katie heard voices just outside the stables. She set her brush down, gave Sarah a pat and promised that she’d be back and hurried out to the entry.

Lorna and Matt had arrived together, with Benny.

Today, Benny was back in historical attire, dressed as a swashbuckling Jean Lafitte. As he often did, he’d used stage makeup to appear silver-gray from head to toe. He was so good at what he did that Katie and Lorna often enjoyed watching people’s surprise and amazement as they realized Benny was actually not a statue but a living man capable of entertaining them and making them laugh at themselves and him.

She thought about Benny and the artists and musicians on the square, along with the tarot readers and others. She loved New Orleans. And she realized that while, yes, she was scared, she wanted justice for what had happened to her parents. And now she was furious anyone could do these horrible things and tear at the fabric of a city that offered so much continual wonder.

“Hi!” Lorna called, seeing her.

“Hey, you guys!” Katie said. “That was good timing. The three of you here at once.”

“No, not timing,” Matt told her.

“We—Lorna and I—stayed at Matt’s place last night,” Benny explained.

“Oh,” Katie said. “Good idea.”

“We figured with three of us, we had a better chance of waking up if something was going on,” Benny said.

Matt grimaced. “And Benny brought his costumes and makeup...and swore to clean up the mess this evening.”

“Before he makes it again tomorrow,” Lorna said, laughing.

Dan had been listening, obviously done with his calls.

“We can’t all have a drop-dead, hunky G-man guarding us,” Lorna said, throwing a wink his way.

“I’m just a consultant,” Dan said, grinning.

“Still, you’re with the Feds now!” Lorna said. “Oh, and it’s cool... I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”

“No offense taken,” Dan told her. “And yes, stay together. There is a certain safety in numbers.”

“You’re going to get him, right?” Lorna asked.

“Or them,” Katie muttered.

“More than one person is doing this?” Benny asked, horrified.