House of Blues

that, because they usually only kill if you've cheated
them or they think you have.
    "But in any case, I would like to see them all
die horrible deaths. Therefore I'm prepared to sing like the
proverbial canary not only about my own case, but about everything I
know about the Mafia in New Orleans. And all our dear 'friends,' of
course."
    She stopped, hands in lap, smiling like one of the
nice church ladies Skip had recently met. "I do this more in
hopes of revenge than leniency."
    "Okay, Anna," said Roth. "Let's stop
there." She turned to the others. "She'll be happy to tell
her story tonight. When we start dealing, we'll talk about the other
stuff. The canary songs."
    Shellmire looked like he'd died and gone to heaven.
Skip thought: The D.A.'s going to be pinching himself as well. I hope
I'm maintaining my usual poker face.
    Shellmire said, "Mind if we tape this?"
    Roth shook her head. "Not at all."
    Once again he reminded Anna of her rights. "Okay,
Ms. Garibaldi, why don't you tell us what happened?"
    Anna looked pretty good for someone who'd been
through what she had. Some criminals probably did want to be
caught—especially those fleeing their country and a burning house
for an unknown life in an unknown land. To Anna, a prison might be
preferable.
    That and revenge.
    She said, "Where shall I start?" She seemed
a different person from the frightened, shaky wraith who had rifled
Skip's purse. Sobered up probably. And not only in a physical sense.
    " Wherever you like."
    "I guess in a way I've always been involved
because of the fish business, although I didn't know it. Gus set my
husband up in the business when we were very young, and of course
they didn't tell me any of the details because I was a woman. Women
have no role in the mob except to produce children. Then when Phil
died, he left the business to me, and I found out it was a money
laundry. Well, I knew what my brother did for a living, and our
father before him; that didn't surprise me. But I'd never heard
anyone talk about it before. I wasn't really one of them, do you
understand that? Because I'm a woman.
    " I think Gus probably had to fight pretty hard
to get them to let me keep running the business, but he wanted that,
because he didn't have time to do it himself. He could trust me, you
see—he knew I was the one person who wouldn't cheat him. Not only
that, I'd been running it since Phil got sick, and I had an aptitude.
    "I was happy doing it.
    "We've always been close, Gustavo and I. His
wife left him a few years ago. I don't blame her—who wants a
husband who's never home and never talks about anything important? I
had one like that. But it's different with brother and sister—Gustavo
and I could talk; he respects me as much as he can respect a woman.
    "So when he got the idea of buying the house—the
one where Detective Langdon was my guest—he asked me if I'd like to
be his hostess. The idea was a meeting place, a place where we could
impress people we needed, do you know what I mean?"
    Tarantino said, "Not exactly."
    "I mean politicians. People on the casino board.
People who control things that affected us.
    "People like Arthur Hebert—he's been to
parties there. He's worked with us for years. A restaurant owner's
ideal for passing messages—he goes around, shakes hands with the
customers, he talks to everybody. Nobody sees anything, you
understand? Of course he got the casino restaurant concession—why
wouldn't he?"
    Skip realized that Sugar's mysterious "Ann"
had probably been the Dragon herself. She said, "Was Reed in on
it?"
    '"God, no. But she had to go before the casino
board as a formality. Poor thing; I hear she worked her little butt
off trying to get what was already in the bag."
    Shellmire said, "Could we get back to the house,
please? What did you use it for?"
    Anna settled back, looking as if she were used to an
audience. "We'd invite these people to parties there, and let
them throw their own parties." She shrugged. "We'd even get
them bimbos if they wanted them. Of course I didn't have to do that.
Gustavo always tried to protect me .... " She blinked and paused
for a moment. "It worked two ways. If they were already in, it
was just a clubhouse for them. We've got a pool and a gym, billiard
room—all that kind of stuff'. Your Sergeant Gresham, for
instance—he liked to bring his women there.
    " If they weren't in, they'd come and meet people
who seemed respectable, and they wouldn't know what they were into
till it was