Big Easy Murder (The Peyton Clark Series Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

the normal reaction whenever anyone discussed the LaLaurie House or the atrocities that happened inside it. As far as the legend went, Madame LaLaurie lived in the late eighteen hundreds. She was a very wealthy and elite member of New Orleans. She was also an absolute psychopath. She took great pleasure in the torture and murder of her slaves. She kept them confined to a room at the top floor of her stately home on Royal Street.
    I’d unfortunately had to visit the LaLaurie House in order to make contact with the spirits who still resided there. And, even more unfortunately, I’d had to go inside that room where they were kept. The things I saw there will forever haunt me. Slaves were chained to the walls, some were dead, and those who weren’t certainly wished they were. Some were held in cages. All of them were being methodically starved. Many had broken limbs, and others were missing their limbs altogether. Body parts littered the room, crawling with maggots. Maybe the worst part was Madame LaLaurie’s penchant for performing experimentations on the slaves, even going so far as to force some of them to undergo sex changes.
    “Let’s just say I know how to contact sentient spirits,” I said before shoving the unhappy memories right out of my mind.
    I felt Ryan’s hand on my back and glanced over at him only to find him looking at me with deep concern in his eyes. I smiled at him to let him know I was okay, and he quickly nodded. I turned to face Peter again.
    “But how will you make contact with Adele?” Peter asked.
    I sighed. That was the part I hadn’t figured out. “Well, I don’t exactly know the answer to that yet,” I started as Peter released a pent-up breath of what I imagined was utter frustration. “But I do know a voodoo priestess and a warlock, and both are much more familiar with all of this stuff than I am. I’m sure they’d be willing to help me, er, us.”
    Peter didn’t respond right away. He nodded for a few seconds, but seemed to be thinking it over. “And you think these two friends of yours could enable you to reach Adele as long as she isn’t one of the spirits who can’t readily communicate? What if she’s simply reliving her past?”
    “Well, then, at least we’ll have some kind of an answer for what happened to her,” I replied, even though I doubted that was enough for him.
    He nodded and again appeared to think it over. “That’s true, I suppose.” Then he stood up and nodded at me again. “I am content with my visit today, Ms. Clark,” he announced as he got to his feet and stepped away from my table. “I would like to hire you in that capacity.”
    “Hire me?” I repeated with a frown, turning to face Ryan who just shrugged.
    “Well, of course,” Peter replied. “I didn’t expect you to do me this great service for free!” The laugh that emerged from him was a deep, hearty sound that seemed to vibrate his whole being. “Let me give you some advice, my dear. In general, when people offer you money for your services, don’t question them, just accept it!”
    “Advice gratefully accepted,” I grumbled, but I couldn’t conceal my smile.

THREE
    The very next day, I found myself sitting on a three-person sofa inside Peter MacGregor’s homey living room. Ryan was on my left side, and Lovie, the voodoo priestess who was kind enough to come to my aid yet again, sat on my right. Peter occupied the chair in front of me while Christopher, the warlock, stood awkwardly in the corner of the ornately wallpapered room, scowling at everyone, as was customary for the less-than-friendly man.
    Although Christopher wasn’t much older than my thirty-one years, the way he dressed and carried himself made him seem almost ancient. At barely over six feet, he had white, pasty skin, which appeared all the more ghastly when paired with the contrasting black clothing he always insisted on wearing. I wasn’t sure if it was stress from dealing with the spirit world, but his hair