PI On A Hot Tin Roof

before had busted two well-known artists,
    (One a teacher at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts)
    Down by the Santa Fe Restaurant
    For walkin’ while gay
—
    And they spent four whole days in Orleans Parish Prison,
    Fendin’ off insults and advances from the
    Very ones that put ’em in there.
    Now THAT ain’ right!
    Well, them same two white po-lice come runnin’.
    Help the chief up,
    Dust off the lawyer chick
    And see that pipe.
    So they happen to look in the front seat of the car
    And they see somethin’ green
    In a plastic bag, which they claim is pot,
    Which, if it is, makes it okay
    To search the rest of the car
    And they
say
they find
    Two big fat rocks o
’
crack cocaine
    In the trunk with Alabama’s kiddy workshop stuff,
    Even though Big Chief Alabama was at the time
    A member in good standing
    Of Narcotics Anonymous
    And his angel and mouthpiece and lawyer-chick
    Was a member in good standing
    Of the Louisiana State Bar
    (Though that don’t necessarily mean nothin’)
—
    And they know that rock’s a plant.
    ’Cause somebody don’ like somebody
—
    But
that
don’ mean nothin’
    And
both
they skinny asses end up in Central Lockup.
    Now ain’t
that
a bitch?
    No wonder nothin’ else went right that year.
    #

 
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PI on a HOT TIN ROOF is the fourth book in the Talba Wallis series. The first is LOUISIANA HOTSHOT. Look for it at www.booksbnimble.com
    “A stroke of genius. Louisiana Hotshot is fresh, fast, and touching. Just like New Orleans, it has a lot of ’tude and a big heart.”
    — The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
    The Talba Wallis books are a spinoff of the SKIP LANGDON series. The first book in which Talba actually appears is 82 DESIRE. Find it at www.booksbnimble.com
    "EXCELLENT ENTERTAINMENT… 82 Desire is fresh and fast paced, gently funny and often touching. In it, Skip Langdon and her creator, Julie Smith, are at their peak”
    — The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
    The Talba Wallis Series
    LOUISIANA HOTSHOT
    LOUISIANA BIGSHOT
    LOUISIANA LAMENT
    P.I. ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Also by Julie Smith:
    The Skip Langdon Series
    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
    The Rebecca Schwartz Series
    DEATH TURNS A TRICK
    THE SOURDOUGH WARS
    TOURIST TRAP
    DEAD IN THE WATER
    OTHER PEOPLE’S SKELETONS
    The Paul Mcdonald Series
    TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE
    HUCKLEBERRY FIEND
    As Well As
    WRITING YOUR WAY: THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL TRACK
    NEW ORLEANS NOIR (ed.)
    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 .

Acknowledgments and
Another Author’s Note
    Though this story takes place in the parallel universe of Talba Wallis’s New Orleans, I’ve tried, as always, to make it as realistic as possible, something I find I can never do without a platoon of kind informers, co-conspirators, and accomplices. Working with them is always not only a huge help, but a great delight—it’s such a pleasure to hear smart people talk about what they know.
    All my thanks to Debra Allen, Glen Pitre, Mary Howell, Sam Dalton, Kathy Perry, Joe Delery, retired Captain Linda Buczek (NOPD), Grant Smith, Greg Herren, Ray Ladouceur, George Terrebonne, Laura Lippman, Steve Sidwell (for some of Buddy Champagne’s choicer expressions); and, as always, my husband, Lee Pryor (for a thousand things). All mistakes herein are mine and not theirs.
    This book is a work of fiction, yet one thing it describes is very real indeed—the sad decline of Louisiana’s shrimping industry. We’re