Under the Cajun Moon Read Online Free PDF

attorney.
    The man who now lay dead on the couch in the suite next door.
    Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my knees, closed my eyes again, and tried to recall what had happened next.
    In front of Ledet’s restaurant last night, I had been startled by Kevin’s appearance because he wasn’t the Mr. Peralta I had been expecting. Seeing the confusion on my face, Kevin explained that I was probably thinking of his father Ruben, who had died of cancer the year before.
    “I’ve taken over his practice,” he added.
    I expressed my condolences, and in turn he tried to offer words of comfort about my own father’s precarious state.
    “I know it’s scary right now, but it’s going to take more than a gunshot wound to stop the great Julian Ledet,” Kevin said. “He’s too stubborn to take this lying down. I guarantee you the feisty old guy is going tobe back on his feet in a couple of days, shouting at the nurses about the hospital food.”
    “Maybe.”
    “No, really. Can’t you just picture it?” Suddenly, he put one hand on his hip, puffed out his chest, and began bellowing in a perfect imitation of my father. “Nurse, you call this
Jell-O
? My
dog
could make better Jell-O than this! The
fleas
on my dog could make better Jell-O than this! Get it out of my sight! Bring me some flan!”
    By the time he was finished, I was nearly crying with laughter. You had to know my dad to get that imitation just right. Obviously, Kevin knew my dad very well.
    “Chloe? Is that you?”
    Kevin and I both turned in surprise to see a man standing in the open doorway of Ledet’s. It was the fill-in bartender, the guy Ledet’s always called in to sub when the regular bartender couldn’t make it.
    “Hey, Graze. How are you? Long time no see.”
    “Hi, Chloe. I’m sorry,” he replied, holding the door wide so we could step inside. “Your mom told me to leave the door unlocked for you, so I opened up the back. I thought you’d be coming in that way.”
    “We would have tried that next. Don’t worry about it.” We stepped inside and waited as he again locked the door. “So what’s going on? Is the restaurant closed tonight because of my dad’s situation?”
    Looking surprised, Graze said no, that Ledet’s was always closed on Mondays.
    “Oh, right,” I relied, feeling stupid.
    Graze led us away from the elegant entranceway and through the main dining room, which was dark.
    “If you’re closed, what’s going on out there?” Kevin asked, gesturing toward the courtyard.
    Just as I had thought, there were about ten or fifteen people milling around among the greenery and fountains and café tables.
    “Private party. A wedding shower for two Ledet’s employees who are getting married. That’s why we’ve got some staff here tonight, a cook and a waiter and a dishwasher. And I’m running drinks.”
    He named the happy couple, saying that one was a captain and the other was a sous chef, so it was a joining of front and back house. As I didn’t recognize either name, I figured that both of them must be newer employees. Turnover in the restaurant industry was notoriously high, especially in the high-pressure environment of five-star restaurants like this one, and except for a few old-timers like Sam who had managed to stay in the same position for years, it wasn’t unusual to see new faces every time I came home.
    Graze led us toward one of the smaller dining rooms. The lights were on inside, and as he opened the double French doors and swung them wide, I saw that the center table had been set for two.
    “Your mama said to give you a room to yourselves and to fix y’all some dinner. But first, can I bring you something to drink?”
    “Just water for me, thanks,” I said. “I won’t be here long enough to eat dinner.”
    Kevin ordered a drink for himself, and I told him to feel free to order food as well. Just because I had to leave soon didn’t mean he couldn’t stay and enjoy.
    Once Graze left to get the