Bonfire Masquerade (15 page)

I saw Lenni get jumped by two robed figures and go down in a heap. Another Krewe de Crude member leaped in on top of the pile. One of the skateboarders was on his board, chasing someone down a staircase. Somewhere in this mess were Frank, Nancy, Bess, and George, but since I had no way of telling who they were, I concentrated on looking for someone else I knew was in here—Aaron.

Some guests were making for the exit at the back of the ballroom. One caught my eye. He was noticeably taller than most of the other people around him. I wormed my way past groups of fighting people. Someone grabbed my ankle, and I nearly went down, but
I managed to shake him off. I caught up with the tall masked figure right before the exit.

He wasn't broadcasting. I grabbed him by the sleeve—and he turned around and punched me in the face!

I heard a
crack
as he hit my nose. That was going to hurt in the morning, I was sure. But with all the adrenaline of the brawl rushing through my system, I barely felt it. I kicked him in the knee, and he fell. But as he did, he grabbed the top of my Mohawk, pulling me down with him.

We grappled on the floor, rolling this way and that, knocking into guests and tables full of food. Someone stomped on the masked man's hand, and he howled. While he was distracted, I yanked his mask off. It was Aaron!

He shoved me off him and tried to run, but his robe had gotten tangled around his feet while we wrestled. He tripped, and slammed headfirst into the wall. He went down in a half-conscious heap.

I turned and looked at the raging party/fight behind me. I'd never considered how I was going to get the Krewe de Crude to stop… .

“And then one guy came up behind me, and I thought for sure I was going down,” I said. “But Bess jumped on his back! He ran around trying to get her off him, like a chicken with its head cut off!”

We were all safely back at the hotel, catching up on what had happened. After I caught Aaron, the fight slowly died down. One by one, his gang of thieves was captured. From what I heard, his guests thought it was the “most epic party ever.” Even though Aaron was going to jail, it would be a long time before anyone threw a party as unique as that one.

I'd had to go to the hospital to have my nose looked at, but apparently, it wasn't broken. It just hurt a lot, and looked like I'd tried to open a door with it. I was icing it now, as we sat up on our private roof patio and watched the parade below.

“How many were there in the end?” asked George.

“The police said they arrested sixteen people in connection with the fires,” I said. “And get this—they were all rich kids from good families! Aaron convinced them that they could get even richer if they went along with his plan. By burning down those buildings, they could buy them for a song, and then have Aaron redevelop them.”

“Right,” said Nancy. “So when Aaron finally had the money to buy one of them on his own, and Daniel refused to sell it to him, he went crazy and strangled him to death.”

“Ugh.” Bess shivered. “And to think I went on a date with him!”

“Two dates,” teased George. Bess threw a set of
Mardi Gras beads at her, and George laughed. “He was charming, though. It's not all your fault.”

I laughed, but it made my nose hurt. “Apparently, he had a private helicopter waiting for him at the levee,” I added. “He was going to ditch the rest of his gang at the party. No honor among thieves …”

“So what happened with Nicole?” Nancy asked. “I hope she's all right.”

“ATAC called me while we were at the hospital. They found her in Chicago. She'd gone home. When she had a meeting with Aaron, she saw that map and figured out the same thing you did—I guess it's that photographic memory she has. She put together that folder we found, just to make sure she was right. Then she fled town. When you mentioned that she was dropping her bid on the building, Aaron figured she'd found him out, and sent those two guys to kill her!”

It had been a crazy few days. But we still had two more nights left in our hotel room. And Nancy's dad was staying down to help Yvette settle her brother's estate. Which meant one thing.

“We have one more mystery to solve, guys,” I said.

Everyone stopped dead.

After a moment of silence, Nancy asked, “What?”

“Where to get the best gumbo!”

“Yes!” yelled George. “That's a case I like the sound of.”