“Both Axel and Ryder will be close by, somewhere on Bourbon Street. One of them will make the arrest. Or if worse comes to worst, I’ll hold him until one of them can get there.” He hesitated and shrugged. “I can stop someone, but I’m a consultant, and I don’t really have the authority to arrest anyone.”

“Ah.”

“So...shall we?”

He offered his arm to her.

She smiled and accepted. As they exited the house, Jerry, Ben and Mitch made an appearance on the porch, wagging their tails madly.

“I think Monty went out with a carriage tonight,” Katie told Dan. “I keep food here for them. Let me feed them just in case. Everyone seems to be distracted lately.”

“Monty loves his dogs.”

“Yes, I know. But it won’t hurt them to eat twice if he did feed them.”

She headed back into the kitchen, finding the dog bowls she kept for special treats or those times when Monty did ask her to feed them. She filled her bowls with dry dog food and added a small tin of special wet food to each and started to balance them on her arm to bring out, but Dan was there. He took two of the bowls from her and carried them out.

She didn’t think Monty had fed the dogs—they headed right for the food.

“Okay,” she said cheerfully. “I’m happy. We can leave now.”

Dan drove, finding parking on the street about three blocks from the restaurant.

She hadn’t even known it had opened, and she thought that a bit remiss on her part. But apparently it had been open less than a week.

“Lettie and Randolph Rodenberry must have come for opening night,” Dan said.

“Maybe. I’m a guide here. I should have known about this place,” Katie said. That didn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things and certainly not tonight. She hesitated. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Hopefully, we’ll lead normal lives again and...” Now he hesitated.

“What?”

“I’m not sure what normal is anymore. I spent part of the day conversing with dead people.”

“It’s a new normal,” she told him.

They reached Bourbon and turned toward Esplanade to reach the restaurant. The streets weren’t overly busy, but it was Bourbon Street. And the night life was beginning. They passed a neon sign advertising the best strip club in the city. It was next to a casual pizza joint.

Not far down the street, the French Quarter’s busiest karaoke bar was rocking.

They reached Duffy’s Den. There was a sign in cursive on the arch over the doorway noting the restaurant’s name. Dan opened the door for Katie. She thanked him and stepped in.