Crescent City Connection

the way out, she managed to dodge the reporters, but that night she found herself at Jimmy Dee’s for dinner, where she had to tell her story under much more severe—if more intelligent—questioning.
    “Weren’t you scared?” asked Kenny. “I would have been terrified.”
    Sheila rolled her eyes. If she were scared, she’d never admit it.
    “I
was
scared. I
was
petrified.”
    “Would you do it again? I mean, if you had to?”
    Sheila said, “Of course she would, stupid. It’s her job.”
    “Shut up. I asked Auntie.”
    Skip’s fingers gently rubbed the stem of her wineglass; her knee grazed Steve’s. She was full of pasta and good feeling. “Sure,” she said. “If I had to.”
    She barely remembered what she’d told Cindy Lou at lunch. That was centuries ago.
    THE END
     

Acknowledgments
    No one could be nicer than the ever-patient members of the New Orleans Police Department, particularly Captain Linda Buczek. This time I owe thanks not only to her, but also to Lieutenant Jeff Winn and Officer Bobby Norton. I hasten to mention that if I got anything wrong it was my own fault and none of theirs.
    Thanks also to Betsy Petersen, Ken White, Kathy Perry, David Kaufman, and Lee Pryor. In addition, I owe a debt of gratitude to two people I’ve never met—Judith L. Rapoport, M.D., and Richard Sebastian. Their respective books were invaluable in determining The Monk’s thought patterns.
    A final note: Though there are many schools in New Orleans named after John McDonogh, there is no McDonogh 43.

Next in the Skip Langdon series is 82 DESIRE. Find out more at www.booksbnimble.com or www.juliesmithbooks.com .
    82 DESIRE
    by JULIE SMITH
    Though the modern bus has long since replaced the streetcar in New Orleans, Desire is still the meanest street of them all. Now police detective Skip Langdon finds herself on its shady side.
    And soon Skip is embroiled in murder—motivated by that old demon … desire.
    The Skip Langdon Series
(in order of publication)
    NEW ORLEANS MOURNING
    THE AXEMAN’S JAZZ
    JAZZ FUNERAL
    DEATH BEFORE FACEBOOK (formerly NEW ORLEANS BEAT)
    HOUSE OF BLUES
    THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
    CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION (formerly CRESCENT CITY KILL)
    82 DESIRE
    MEAN WOMAN BLUES

Also by Julie Smith
    The Rebecca Schwartz Series
    DEATH TURNS A TRICK
    THE SOURDOUGH WARS
    TOURIST TRAP
    DEAD IN THE WATER
    OTHER PEOPLE’S SKELETONS
    The Paul Macdonald Series
    TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE
    HUCKLEBERRY FIEND
    The Talba Wallis Series :
    LOUISIANA HOTSHOT
    LOUISIANA BIGSHOT
    LOUISIANA LAMENT
    P.I. ON A HOT TIN ROOF
    And don’t miss ALWAYS OTHELLO, a Skip Langdon story, as well as the brand new short story, PRIVATE CHICK, which asks the question, is this country ready for a drag queen detective? More info at www.booksBnimble.com .

About the Author
    JULIE SMITH is a New Orleans writer and former reporter for the San Francisco
Chronicle
and the
Times-Picayune
.
New Orleans Mourning
, her first novel featuring New Orleans cop Skip Langdon, won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, and she has since published eight more highly-acclaimed books in the series, plus spun off a second New Orleans series featuring PI and poet Talba Wallis.
    She is also the author of the Rebecca Schwartz series and the Paul Mcdonald series, plus the YA novels CURSEBUSTERS! and EXPOSED. In addition to her novels, she’s written numerous essays and short stories and is the editor of NEW ORLEANS NOIR.