by Amy Cross
***
Looking up suddenly from her paperwork, Inspector Isobel Cavaleri realized that there was an unfamiliar sound outside her window. She knew it couldn't be, but it sure as hell sounded like...
Laughter...
Getting to her feet, she crossed the room and looked outside. Sure enough, at that moment a family walked past: Jonathan and Elise Corvey, and their daughters Melissa and Suzanne. Cavaleri knew the Corveys well, knew that they were all very hard-working people, so the sight of them out and about in such good spirits was a shock. Sensing that something was wrong, Cavaleri made her way to the police station's front door and stepped outside, only to spot half a dozen other families all headed in the same direction. Nearby, the baker's shop was closed, as was the hair salon.
“What the hell?” she muttered under her breath.
“I'm not getting my hopes up too much,” said a young girl, hurrying past with her friends, “but I heard there's an actual band!”
Following the small crowd, Cavaleri found herself a few minutes later in the town square down by the harbor, where she witnessed another surprising sight: half a dozen motor vehicles were parked in formation, each of them with townsfolk climbing up into the open back sections. As soon as the first vehicle was full, it set off, juddering around the war memorial in the center of the square and then making its way along the road that led straight through the town and then up the hillside toward...
She looked up at Edgar Le Compte's mansion, high above the town. Something seemed different this morning. Whereas usually the mansion stood in ominous stillness, today there were clearly people milling around in the garden. Lots of people. Moments later, she realized she could hear the faintest sound of music, as if a band really was playing up there. Turning to look at the nearby wall, she saw that several of Le Compte's posters were still in place, promoting his garden party. Cavaleri had assumed that the posters were a joke, that a man like Le Compte would never even entertain the idea of hosting a party, and yet...
She almost jumped out of her skin as a truck sped past, carrying more excited townsfolk up to the mansion. Stunned, Cavaleri stood and watched for a few more minutes as almost everyone from the entire port town climbed into the trucks. It was as if the entire population of Thaxos was giving Edgar Le Compte a second chance. Slowly, Cavaleri realized she could feel her blood starting to boil.
