Free Vieux Carré Voodoo by Greg Herren Page A

was forty years old. And I never saw this one
before.”
    “All right, let’s get moving.” She gave Blaine some
directions I didn’t hear, and we walked down the back stairs.
    We walked the two blocks to my apartment in silence. My mind
was racing. Surely it couldn’t have been a coincidence that Levi had rented the
apartment upstairs from me, and was looking for a man who just turned out to be
an old friend of my family? But it had to be coincidence. If he’d known Doc was
Moonie, he didn’t need to hire me to find him.
    I hate coincidences, but they do happen. In a city like New
Orleans, they happen a lot. Levi had said his grandmother was from New Orleans,
had gone to school with Millie. Doc was from Vicksburg, had lived in New Orleans
for forty years. Maybe that was the connection. Maybe Doc had introduced Marty
to his bride. But why didn’t Marty just tell Levi in the letter who Doc was?
Maybe he was afraid whoever was after them would find the letter…which meant
Levi might be in danger. If the same people had killed his grandfather and now
Doc…
    I tried to remember every little bit of our conversation,
tried to get a sense of whether Levi had been lying to me. I tried to remember
his tone of voice, his body language, everything he’d said and how he said it.
He’d seemed a confused young man, torn with grief and confusion. Unless he was
an incredibly gifted actor, I was pretty sure my impressions were correct.
    What the hell was going on? What had the three GIs done over
there?
    I got my keys out to unlock the iron door at my house, but
it wasn’t latched.
    I turned to Venus as I reached out and pushed the gate. It
swung open, hit the wall, and swung back. I put my hand out to stop it from
shutting.
    Millie and Velma were sticklers about making sure the gate
was locked. If the gate was left open, anyone could just walk down the passage
and would have easy access to the back stairs—and everyone’s apartments. Millie
had even put a spring lock on it so it would slam shut. The only way the gate
could be left ajar was if someone had deliberately tried to keep it from
shutting.
    Millie and Velma would kill for far less than that. Velma
had lectured me more than once about the importance of keeping the door closed.
“Leaving it open, for any reason, at any time, is grounds for immediate
eviction.” Her tone made it clear she was not joking. “Anyone could walk in
here. Anyone. And I don’t really want to be robbed, raped, or killed simply
because you got careless.” I’d gotten the message, and had passed it along to
Frank when he’d moved in. I was certain Levi had gotten the same lecture.
    No one who lived in the building would leave that door open.
    I looked at Venus. “This isn’t good. I know I shut the door
when I left. I heard it slam.” I explained how security conscious my landladies
were.
    Her eyes narrowed as she flipped open her phone and called
for backup. She pulled her gun and slipped the safety off. “He’s on the top
floor?”
    I nodded.
    “Stay here.” Her heels made no noise as she moved down the
passageway. “When the squad car gets here, let them know I went in.”
    I stood there in the doorway, my armpits clammy with cold
sweat. A couple of cars drove past heading uptown. I could hear music from a
live band playing at Checkpoint Charlie’s on the other side of Esplanade. Some
people were hanging out in front of Charlie’s, drinks in hands, talking and
laughing loudly. Further up Decatur Street, I could see street kids camped out
in front of some of the closed shops, spare changing people going from bar to
bar. The night sky was clear of clouds, stars twinkling in a sea of deep blue
velvet. The wind still felt cold and damp. I shivered and rubbed my arms.
    I hoped Levi was okay. I said a quick prayer for him.
    It seemed like I waited forever, but only a few minutes
passed before she finally came back. She was talking into her