“That does sound cool,” the younger boy said.

“Come on,” the mom said. “These people probably want some dinner, too. Thank you so much, Katie, and goodbye. Say goodbye and thank-you, kids.”

Laughing, the kids waved and followed their parents, the little girl’s hand clutched firmly by her mother.

“The city is full of tension,” Dan said, shaking his head. “Record day at the shooting ranges in and around New Orleans.”

“But is there anything new on the case?” she asked him.

“One thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I got a phone call from an old coworker in Florida.”

“And?” she asked, a grate of impatience in her voice.

“George Calabria. He changed his name. He’s going by the name George Calhoun. And he’s here, just over the bridge in Gretna, in New Orleans.”

CHAPTER SIX

The sun was falling, and the colors of night were doing something spectacular. The mules and their carriages, the fence around the park, the trees, the streets, the historic buildings, all seemed to be bathed in a picture-perfect aura of soft mauves and pinks with an occasional streak of majestic gold.

But as Katie stared at Dan, disbelieving his words, just as quickly it seemed smoky shadows replaced the color all around. Darkness was coming.

“Katie, please, I’m keeping my promise to you. Just because he’s here, I’m not going to make any assumptions or accuse him again,” Dan told her earnestly.

She wasn’t sure if his being so determinedly fair helped her at the moment or not. If he’d said See? I told you. It’s George, she would have rushed to George’s defense.

As it was, she was simply stunned.

“He’s living across the river. In Gretna,” she managed to say.

He nodded solemnly.

“He...he never attempted to reach me. After the trial in Orlando, he said he was starting over somewhere new. That he had to establish a life somewhere. He’d learned to live with the fact his wife and his best friends had been murdered...and then it had happened all over again, and he couldn’t bear the way people looked at him. To live, he had to...change.”

“And that may be true, Katie. You ended up here in New Orleans, and I’m here, too. We didn’t plan that.”

She nodded and looked at him suspiciously. “But...”

“I’d like you to reach out to him. Let’s go with your theory, that George is innocent. He must be freaking out now, too, and he’s probably in disbelief, wondering how unlucky he could possibly be with what is happening here.”

She nodded woodenly.

“Hey, guys!”

Katie swallowed hard and turned around. Matt D’Arcy hopped out of his carriage and approached them. He was smiling curiously.

Katie hadn’t really spoken with him since all this had begun. Most probably, Lorna had. Therefore, he’d be curious about Dan Oliver.