Fat Tuesday Fricassee Read Online Free

them.”
    â€œThat sounds a little melodramatic. Don’t you think that’s over the top, even for a secret society? This isn’t the 1700s anymore.”
    Daddy put his arms around me in the back of the car. “I mean it, Zoe. Don’t tell anyone what you’ve seen and heard tonight. I can smooth things over with Chadwick. Just keep all of this to yourself. Promise me.”
    I promised, surprised by his earnest entreaty. “Maybe you shouldn’t belong to this society anymore.”
    He laughed. “Not belong? My ancestor started the Mistics. I don’t think he’d like me to abandon our heritage.”
    â€œAll right. I won’t say anything. But let me know if you find out who that poor man was in the garden.”
    He kissed my forehead. “Forget about this, sweetheart. Pretend you didn’t see any of it. That’s what I plan to do.”

THREE

    Tiffany Bryant, one of the PR people for Mobile Mardi Gras, was reading through a list of dos and don’ts for food truck vendors who’d been invited to take part in the festivities this year.
    I kept falling asleep.
    It wasn’t my fault. With the schedule I’d kept since last fall, and the shock from last night, I was lucky I could get out of bed that morning. Keeping up with the Biscuit Bowl, getting up five days a week at four A.M. , was hard enough. Staying up half the night smiling and wearing costumes when there were events and then getting my food truck out on the street by six A.M. had been a nightmare.
    But I loved Daddy, and he’d always been there for me. I didn’t want to let him down. Now the showy secret parties were over. All I had to do was keep my food truck open most of the day, and night, for the next two weeks.
    I was going to need a vacation when it was over.
    The hectic schedule was starting to show in dark circles under my eyes, which are on the violet side of blue, and a general lack of attentiveness. I’d fallen asleep three times while working in the last week alone. Only Ollie had saved me from going headfirst into the deep fryer.
    â€œZoe?”
    I heard my name in the midst of what sounded like mumbling and perked up. “Yes?”
    â€œYou were sleeping again.” Tiffany’s voice expressed her disappointment and frustration with me.
    I felt like I was in school again.
    â€œSorry. I was at the King’s Masquerade last night until two after working all day.” I yawned. “There’s not enough caffeine to keep me awake right now.”
    That statement didn’t make Tiffany any happier. Her pretty face screwed up into a petulant frown, and her green eyes narrowed. “You know this is the chance of a lifetime and that dozens of other food truck drivers in our area would love to be in your shoes, right?” I was sure they would, too.
    When I’d signed up to be part of the big food truck rally during carnival, it had seemed like a wonderful opportunity. I remembered being excited about it at the time. But that was before dozens of balls, masquerades, and Daddy’s coronation as King Felix had taken their toll on my energy.
    I wanted to say it out loud, but I’d already caused enough trouble. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to get some extra sleep. I’ve read the instructions, if that helps. I know where I’m supposed to park and what I’m supposed to do.”
    â€œI suppose that’s better than nothing.” Tiffany took a deep, dramatic breath and plunged into the rest of her long recital.
    There were twelve food trucks that had been invited to take part in the carnival celebration. It would all come to a head in two weeks with Fat Tuesday and the parades and festivities across the city before Lent.
    There were bound to be thousands of people who would eat my food and remember my name later when they were looking for someplace to eat lunch. Despite my general lack of caring at that moment, I was counting on