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“Laramie. I’m the oldest sister.” She looked behind her, waving an arm toward the open sliding glass doors. Childrenwere jumping and playing in the pool behind her, laughing as children should in the summer heat.

“Laramie, it’s really nice to meet you. Is your brother here?” asked Zeke.

“Yes, sir. Have a seat, and I’ll go get him.” She disappeared down a long hallway, and a few minutes later, they could hear the brother muttering to her.

“I told you not to let strangers in the house. They could be a problem or might want to hurt you and the other children,” said the man.

“Levon, they’re nice men. Just talk to them,” she said, flustered. She waved at the men, smiling. “Nice to meet, y’all.”

“Nice to meet you, Laramie,” said Zeke. Levon stared at the two men, frowning.

“Do I know y’all?”

“No, sir. But we know Alan Snow,” said Zeke.

“What about him?” he asked nervously.

“Levon, I don’t want to harm anyone here, and I don’t want to cause trouble for you. I think what you’re doing, keeping your family together, is admirable. But there are some issues with Snow and how he’s treating people. Now, I don’t care that he gave you money,” said Zeke. Levon opened his mouth to speak, and Rory shook his head.

“Uh, uh, uh. Don’t dig this hole any deeper. We know he gave you money.” Levon swallowed, nodding at the big man.

“Was the money just for his vote to become mayor?” asked Zeke.

“No.” He walked slowly toward a large chair and plopped into it. “No. He wants much more than that. He wants Jackson Square gone. All of it. He even wants St. Louis Cathedral gone.”

“How in the ever-loving hell does he think he’ll get to tear down a Catholic church?” asked Rory.

“I honestly don’t know. All I know is that he came at me and another man on the council and said he had a lot of money if we’d just vote yes. I needed that money. I paid off my debt and got my siblings out of the Ninth Ward.”

“Was it so bad?” asked Rory.

“No. No, it was home. It was where Mama and Daddy lived with all of us. It was a good life. For a while. But when boys started attacking my sisters on their way home from school, I’d had enough.”

“Why were they attacking them?” asked Rory.

“Boys don’t give reasons in that part of the city, mister. Laramie, she came home with a torn blouse, and that was it for me. I needed to get them out of there. So, I started asking about cheap land for sale that I could build on. Suddenly, Snow is in front of me, telling me he’ll have all the money I need if I would just vote yes.”

Rory stared at the children jumping in and out of the pool, then watched as a little girl of about eight walked inside, wrapped in a towel.

“Luella, you’re getting the floor all wet,” said Levon.

“I’m sorry. I’ll wipe it up,” she grinned. She took off the towel and began dragging it over the water trail behind her. Rory and Zeke couldn’t help but chuckle. Then they noticed something. The little girl’s left leg was shorter than her right.

“What do you need, Luella?”

“I’m hungry. Can I have a snack?” she asked.

“I told you, honey. You don’t have to ask me anymore. We have plenty of food in there. Get a snack for yourself and all the others. Okay?”

“Okay,” she smiled, kissing her brother’s cheek. He only shook his head as she dripped another trail all the way to the kitchen.

“She’s a cutie,” said Rory.

“Mama and Daddy sure loved one another,” he chuckled. “They died in a fishing accident. Another boat hit their small pierrot, and they drowned.”

“Did they find the other boat?” asked Zeke.

“No, sir. No one ever came forward.”