Mardi Gras Murder_A Cajun Country Mystery by Ellen Byron

Author:Ellen Byron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Published: 2018-10-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

By the time Maggie got home, it was late evening. She checked the manor house and saw Gran’ had followed orders. The house was secured, and the rarely used security system activated. Although overwhelmed with exhaustion, Maggie somehow managed to go through her nightly ablutions, which now included applying a thick layer of Veevay Age-Away Night Crème. She’d put a lot of faith in Louisiana’s humidity keeping her skin dewy, but with her thirty-third birthday approaching, it was time to seek anti-aging help from someone other than Mother Nature. She fell asleep with an arm around Gopher, and Jolie snuggled up tight against her side. As she drifted off, Maggie wondered if she was destined to spend her life sharing a bed with nothing but furry companions.

When she woke up, she could smell her mother’s Holiday Brandy Pain Perdu from the shotgun cottage. She sauntered over to the manor house for French toast and black coffee. Ninette was loading the dishwasher while Tug glumly rubbed oil into a new cast iron pot. “Nice pot, Dad.”

“I bought it for him to try and make up for ruining the other one,” Ninette said.

“Which I appreciate, chére, but it’ll take generations past mine to season it proper.” Tug put the pot down and massaged his seasoning hand. “The gumbo prize’ll be someone else’s this year.”

Maggie filled a plate with pain perdu, adding a dollop of sugar cane syrup. She poured a cup of coffee and sat down next to Ninette. She saw a copy of the Pelican Penny Clipper lying on the kitchen’s trestle table and picked it up. Little Earlie had come through. A banner headline announced the orphan train exhibit was canceled.

“We didn’t see you last night,” Ninette said. “How is Constance?”

“Weak, but getting better. We’ll be judging without her for a couple of days.”

“The pageant’s still happening? I thought for sure it’d be canceled.”

“No. Turns out it’s not the pageant that’s motivating murder—it’s the orphan train exhibit.”

“Really? That seems such a harmless thing.”

“You’d think, wouldn’t you? Anyway, it’s important to Constance that the pageant goes on. Oddly important, frankly.”

“Well, they should cancel something out of respect for Gerard,” Tug said. “If not the pageant, then the gumbo contest.”

Ninette groaned, and Maggie burst out laughing. “Dad, you are such a sore loser.” Tug grumbled something unintelligible and went back to seasoning his pot. “Anyway, I’m hijacking the front parlor for an hour or two. Robbie and Mo are on their way over. We have to read the finalists’ essays and decide who wins the Gerard Damboise Memorial Award. It’s no cancellation of the gumbo contest, but it does show respect for Gerard.”

Maggie finished her breakfast, then poured a carafe of coffee and arranged a plate of breakfast pastries on a platter. She carried both to the front parlor. Moments later, Robbie and Mo arrived. “I touched base with Constance this morning,” Robbie said as he settled into a club chair. “She got a good night’s rest and is feeling way better, so she’s hoping they’ll release her today, or at least tomorrow.

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