“You know... Well, the great powers that be tend to be more generous toward outside consultation when there’s a reason, when a victim, survivor or family member has hired an investigator. For two reasons. Gives us extra manpower and makes sure the victims know we’re doing everything humanly possible.”

“Well,” Dan said, “since the Rodenberry’s son is on maneuvers in the Middle East, it might be days before he even knows his parents have been murdered. Their closest other contact—their live-in help—was killed with them. What other family is there?”

Ryder hesitated. “Well, better than nothing, there’s Miss Delaney.”

Dan’s frown deepened. “Her folks were killed twelve years ago in Florida.”

“She’s still an interested party, since we might be dealing with a serial killer.”

Dan sat still and silent. The likelihood of Katie Delaney wanting anything to do with him was slim. “That doesn’t seem probable,” he said finally.

“But not impossible. Talk to her. She may want your help.”

“Aw, come on, Ryder. Your department hired me on the drug murders last year that took place in the Seventh Ward. And the year before that—”

“This is different. Sad but true. In a city the size of NOLA and with the tourism and everything else that haunts this town, there are bad things that happen. This is different. This is going to put the police on edge and the citizenry in a frenzy. The media will play it for all that it’s worth. I’m afraid of being stonewalled. See what you can do.”

“Okay. You’ll keep at it in the meantime, right?” Dan asked him.

“You know it.”

Dan stood to leave. Ryder was a good guy and would do all that he could for him. He knew the routine, too.

He headed out.

On the sidewalk, he took a few moments to breathe. Then to his own surprise, when a taxi came by, he hailed it and asked the driver to take him to the Garden District. He was going to go to the Garden District Book Shop and find anything he could on the Axeman of New Orleans.

But when he reached the bookstore, he looked across the street at Lafayette Cemetery.

He hadn’t lied to Katie Delaney: he had plenty of family in New Orleans. However, most of those family members were in a vault in Lafayette Cemetery.