What Happened on Beale Street Read online

  Isabelle waited as the waiter delivered a bottle of champagne for those who wished to partake. “I still have cousins and a few friends. Besides, Natchez is smaller and slower paced than New Orleans, and every town has houses to sell. Realty World even has an office there.”

  Around the table, everyone murmured agreement and words of encouragement. Everyone but Nicki, that is.

  “How can two people date when one of them lives in New Orleans and the other in Mississippi?” Nicki didn’t even try to hide her distress.

  “That brings us to the rest of our announcement,” said Nate, feeling Izzy’s small hand slide into his. “I’m setting up a PI office in Natchez. I have plenty of family who’ll make sure Izzy doesn’t get lonely.” While spatters of applause erupted, Nate locked eyes with his cousin.

  “What about me? You hire and fire me all in the same year?” Nicki poured champagne into her glass even though imbibing was something she rarely did. “Is this because I stepped on the ME’s toes?” She took a sip and glared at Chip.

  The detective threw up his hands. “Don’t blame this on me, sister. Your name never came up in my conversations with Nate.”

  “Perhaps you could discuss this tomorrow, my love.” Hunter’s melodic drawl floated across the room. “The waiter is ready to take our orders. And this is a night for celebration.”

  “I beg your pardon,” Nicki said to the waiter. “I would like the most expensive entrée you’ve got.” She lifted the menu to hide her face.

  Nate gently pushed the menu away. “Order whatever you like, but I’m not firing you. You will be in charge of the New Orleans office. My secretary can continue to work for you in our current office, or maybe Hunter will make space in his building.”

  “Just think, Nicki. We can hang out whenever you come to Natchez for company meetings.” Isabelle clapped her hands.

  “No joke? I’ll be in charge of Price Investigations in the Big Easy?” Nicki cracked her knuckles under the table.

  Nate gave his order to the waiter and swiveled back to Nicki. “Consider this a promotion. No one’s better at cyber-sleuthing than my cousin.”

  “You see, dear heart, a happy ending for one and all.” Hunter winked from across the table.

  “If Miss Price will be in charge, where can I put in my application? Together we make quite a team.” Henry’s comment triggered another round of applause.

  Isabelle leaned close to his ear. “What a clever man you are.”

  “You have no idea, but you’re about to find out.” Nate squeezed her hand and then enjoyed the best meal of his life.

  Everyone ate too much as they talked and laughed for hours. Henry entertained them with stories of the good old days. Detective Marino offered snippets of famous crimes of the fifties and sixties to match Henry’s era. Mr. Anderson added historical trivia and vignettes about some of the hotel’s famous guests. The meal lasted for hours. A few with an inch to spare even had dessert. Finally, one by one the guests thanked Nate profusely and left Chez Francois.

  Long after the Prescotts had gone and Hunter and Nicki went up to their respective suites, Nate sipped the last of his coffee simply enjoying Isabelle by his side. Never before had he felt so sure about a person or the decision they had reached. “Are you happy, Miss Andre?”

  She flung her silky hair back from her face. “I awarded you the dubious honor of calling me Izzy a while ago, so why the formal address?”

  Nate gestured toward the ornate appointments of their private alcove. “A fancy restaurant like this seems to warrant proper titles.”

  “I suppose you’re right. And to answer your question, Mr. Price, I say yes from the bottom of my heart. It’s amazing how something good came from my brother’s death. It was as though God didn’t want me to be alone.”

  “Are you saying us getting together is some kind of miracle?” Nate gripped the edge of the table, feigning a hurt expression.

  “Absolutely. I thought I’d scared you off for good.”

  “Love… and PI work… aren’t for the faint of heart.” Nate rose and offered Izzy his hand. “How about a walk before I send you home in a taxi? They say moonlight shining on Old Man River is a sight to behold.”

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Despite her education and training, Nicki behaves badly at the medical examiner’s office. What are the advantages and disadvantages of investigating a case in which you’re personally connected?

  2. Nate’s meeting with Isabelle Andre opens an emotional wound. Why do high school rejections sting more than those later in life?

  3. Nicki has always been an independent woman, especially on the job. Why doesn’t she resent her fiancé’s attempt to control her from afar?

  4. Why is Nicki drawn to the retired bellman and the history of the Carlton Hotel?

  5. The personality of the late Danny Andre is revealed throughout the story. Does your opinion of him change? How so?

  6. Isabelle doesn’t seem very likable at first. Why has she erected a wall around her heart?

  7. The life of a blues musician can be difficult. What challenges did Danny face and yet, what was inherently irresistible?

  8. What makes stalking a difficult crime to prevent, enforce, and prosecute?

  9. The scavenger hunts of the 1950s would be impossible to duplicate today, even for the very rich. What has changed in the hospitality industry and in our society in general?

  10. What valuable lessons does Nicki learn from the living participants of the Carlton scavenger hunts?

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Mary Ellis is the bestselling author of a dozen novels set in the Amish community and several historical romances set during the Civil War. Midnight on the Mississippi and What Happened on Beale Street are the first books of a romantic suspense series, Secrets of the South.

  Before “retiring” to write full-time, Mary taught school and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate. Her debut book, A Widow’s Hope, was a finalist for a 2010 Carol Award. Living in Harmony won the 2012 Lime Award for Excellence in Amish Fiction, while Love Comes to Paradise won the 2013 Lime Award. Mary and her husband live in Ohio.

  Mary can be found on the web at

  www.maryellis.net

  or

  Look for Mary Ellis/Author on Facebook

  MIDNIGHT ON THE MISSISSIPPI

  What Lies Beneath the Black Water of the Bayou?

  Hunter Galen, a New Orleans securities broker, suspects his business partner, James Nowak, of embezzling their clients’ money, but he’s reluctant to jeopardize their friendship. After James turns up dead, Hunter realizes his unwillingness to confront a problem may have cost James his life.

  Nicki Price, a newly minted PI, intends to solve the stockbroker’s murder as she establishes herself in the career she adores. As she ferrets out fraud and deception at Galen-Nowak Investments, Hunter’s fiancée, Ashley Menard, rubs her the wrong way. Nicki doesn’t trust the ostentatious woman who seems to be hiding something, but is the PI’s growing attraction to Hunter—the police’s only suspect—her true reason for disliking Ashley?

  As Hunter and Nicki encounter sophisticated shell games, blackmail, and death threats both subtle and overt, danger swirls around them like the mysterious dark water of the bayou. Only their reliance on faith and fearless determination give them hope they will live to see another day.

  Discover an exciting, brand-new story of investigation and romance in the next book in The Secrets of the South Mysteries, coming soon to your favorite retailer…

  MAGNOLIA MOONLIGHT

  After being jilted by his fiancée, Michael Preston, a former CPA, pursues a new job as a private investigator specializing in forensic accounting. And what better place to work than the new office of Price Investigations in Natchez, Mississippi? Unfortunately, Michael’s partner, Elizabeth Kirby—a crack shot ex-cop with a past she wants to escape—resents having to work with someone whose only surveillance experience comes from television and video games.
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br />   Their boss and his wife, Nate and Isabelle, are insanely busy newlyweds who are forced by their friends to finally take their honeymoon. However, their romantic trip turns into an investigation when they bump into Izzy’s ex-husband, Craig, who seems to have taken up his gambling addiction once again. In an attempt to save Craig, Izzy discovers her ex doesn’t hold all the cards.

  Back in Mississippi, Michael and Elizabeth are left to take on their first case without Nate’s oversight when a preacher allegedly commits suicide. His widow suspects foul play, but things look grim when Michael discovers the Reverend may have been stealing from his congregation.

  What happens when these intrepid private investigators finally uncover the true face of deceit behind the masks that surround them?