Darkest Journey (Krewe of Hunters #20)(16)

“I heard.”

He nodded. “So I gather. You’re friends with Alexi Cromwell and Clara Avery, right? You’ve all worked together in New Orleans?”

“Yes, in Godspell,” Charlie agreed. “Alexi was the musical director, Clara and I were in the show. They’re both from the NOLA area. And I saw the news about what happened on the Destiny and the Fate, and how they were involved... So I knew from them what you’d been up to and the work you’re doing now.”

He nodded. “I know about some of your work, too.” He grinned. “I’ve seen you on that new cop series they film in NOLA.”

“It’s just a recurring role right now, but I keep hoping that I’ll get upgraded to series regular,” she said lightly.

“I especially liked that condom commercial you did.”

“Hey. I made good money on that!”

At that, he took off his glasses, and they both laughed softly.

Then the laughter faded, and they were left staring awkwardly at each other.

Business, he reminded himself. He was here on business. To break the tension he said, “Okay, so our head honcho is getting me on the task force looking into the murders, but in the meantime, want to bring me up to speed on what happened the other night?”

She nodded somberly. “I didn’t know anything about the first murder until one of my friends on the film told me about it after we finished shooting for the day. Apparently the information hit the news after I left for the set, and I’d been blocking and rehearsing and filming all day long.” Her face lit up. “It’s really a good movie, Ethan. I think you’d like it. Brad’s captured the flavor of the Civil War era in the historical scenes, a real sense of what people were thinking and feeling. There’s a great scene with one of the ghosts. He talks about the way a man’s home state was everything to him back then. You get a real feel for people, and why they did what they did. And the soldiers... Did you know they would throw away their pipes and playing cards before they went into battle, anything it might have upset their families to find if they were killed. Of course, the movie’s really about our present day—ecologists, big oil, and the need to preserve the land while also making sure that people have jobs and can afford to eat.”

Ethan nodded, loving how passionate she was about the project. “I’m sure it’s going to be a great movie. But what I need to know now is what happened to you last night.”

“Right, last night.” She was quiet for a moment. “I’m never in that area without remembering, you know? I’m not afraid, not usually, despite what happened out there. I mean, the whole unhallowed ground thing doesn’t matter to me, because...because too many people were buried there just because they weren’t from here or up to local standards at the time, or whatever. But then I heard my name being called. I don’t really know if it was the murdered man calling me or if it was Anson McKee—Captain McKee, the cavalry commander who led you to me back when I was stupid enough to think I wanted to be a Cherub.” She let out a breath. “But I found him. Farrell Hickory, I mean. Brad called the police, and the rest you know.”

“I gather both men performed aboard the Journey,” Ethan said.

Charlie nodded, looking around. “Most reenactors own their own uniforms, swords and other props. So when someone’s looking for actors to fill specific historical roles, they can find the people they need easily enough, and the same people end up working together a lot. Friends of mine do it for fun—and for pay, when they can. They filmed a Civil War epic down near Houma not that long ago, and a lot of my friends worked as extras and made nice money at it.”

“Right. So we need to find out who has a grudge against one or both men, who else was on the ship when the victims were, who might have been fighting with whom....” He sighed. “Hell, maybe some idiot just decided to refight the Civil War.”

“It’s not some idiot refighting the war. The victims represented both sides of the conflict. If you were a bitter Confederate, you’d kill Union men. And if you lost a relative fighting for the Union during the war, you’d want to bring down the Confederates.”

“It’s not race. One man was half black, and the other one was white,” Ethan said. “But they were both in that reenactment on the Journey, so my gut tells me it has to go back to that somehow.”

“Maybe someone on the Journey had a fight with both of them,” Charlie said.

Ethan shrugged. He still had a lot of investigating ahead of him. It was much too early to settle on any one theory. He’d just gotten to town—and he’d headed straight out to see Charlie. He didn’t ask himself why that had seemed like the most important thing to do.

Now he’d seen her.

And while so much was different after a decade had passed, everything he felt about her was just the same.

“I have to meet with the police and find out what they know,” he said.

“Can I go with you?”

“No, not this time, anyway. Besides, when I was headed up here, I overheard you telling your father you were going straight home.” When she looked as if she might object, he added, “Charlie, this doesn’t really involve you, you know.”

“Neither did the last murder,” she said sharply.

Once again they looked at one another in silence, and he thought back to that night in the graveyard.