Smith Julie - Five Fun Female Sleuths

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Praise for LOUISIANA BIGSHOT,
the SECOND book in the Talba Wallis series by Edgar-winning author Julie Smith:

Talba Wallis has to be one of the most distinctive female detectives in the business. Her personality and her poetry are riveting reasons to read this book.

The Times-Picayune, New Orleans

Smith has launched Talba Wallis on a welcome series of her own. Wallis is fine fun to get to know a consistently interesting and likable woman of depth and complexity.

The Washington Post

Smith has perfect pitch. Its great to hear her again.Smith gives us a multilayered mystery and a quirky, believable heroine.

Booklist

Smiths new series is a whole other kettle of crayfish: wilder and funnier.

Chicago Tribune

Join Edgar winner Julie Smith for a climax as harrowing as it is cunning.

The Clarion Ledger, Jackson, MS

Highly evocative of the Big Easy, Louisiana Bigshot is an easy read filled with colorful, exciting people drawn with affection and intelligence. Talba seems to get smarter with each novel, and theres even a small cameo appearance by Skip Langdon, Ms. Smiths other New Orleans detective.

Dallas Morning News

The quirky pleasure of watching the Baroness strut her stuff is worth the price of admission.

Houston Chronicle

Unusual subject matter set off by an appealing but street wise heroine makes this a strongly recommended choice.

Library Journal

The strongly drawn characters are appealing. The interplay between the young black woman and her much older white boss is warm and respectful; Smith nicely plays it against the very real and very dangerous racial divide that Talba encounters when she investigates her friends smalltown past.

Publishers Weekly

Louisiana Bigshot is a character-driven tale with plenty of action, suspense, and steamy southern atmosphere Its an exhilarating romp that will have you cheering for Talba.

The Mystery Review

The Talba Wallis Series

LOUISIANA HOTSHOT

LOUISIANA BIGSHOT

LOUISIANA LAMENT

P.I. ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Also by Julie Smith:

The Skip Langdon Series

NEW ORLEANS MOURNING

THE AXEMANS JAZZ

JAZZ FUNERAL

DEATH BEFORE FACEBOOK
(formerly NEW ORLEANS BEAT)

HOUSE OF BLUES

THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

CRESCENT CITY CONNECTION
(formerly CRESCENT CITY KILL)

82 DESIRE

MEAN WOMAN BLUES

The Rebecca Schwartz Series

DEATH TURNS A TRICK

THE SOURDOUGH WARS

TOURIST TRAP

DEAD IN THE WATER

OTHER PEOPLES SKELETONS

The Paul Mcdonald Series

TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE

HUCKLEBERRY FIEND

As Well As

WRITING YOUR WAY: THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL TRACKNEW ORLEANS NOIR (ed.)

LOUISIANA BIGSHOT

A Talba Wallis Mystery

By

JULIE SMITH

booksBnimble Publishing
New Orleans, La. Louisiana Bigshot Copyright 2002 by Julie Smith All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Cover by Nevada Barr ISBN: 9781617504464 Originally published by Tor, a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC. www.booksnimble.com First booksBnimble Publishing electronic publication: November 2012

DEDICATION

To four good kids:

Stella Tripp, Grant Smith, Paloma Tripp, and Will Smith

Chapter One

Under normal circumstances, getting a Louisiana PI license is so routine as to be boringyou take a course, you pass a test, and you pay your money. Usually, theres only one slight catchyou cant be issued a license unless youre already hired. But Talba Wallis seemed to have found another one.

She was already hired, and shed made ninety-seven on the test. For nearly five months shed worked as an apprentice for Mr. Eddie Valentino of E.V. Anthony Investigations.

And still, she almost didnt get her license.

You have to submit a few little things with your applicationa copy of your drivers license, five-by-seven-inch photo, and fingerprints. For the last, the State Board of Private Investigator Examiners provides official FBI cards. All you have to do is take them to any law enforcement agency that offers a fingerprinting service and plunk down a few small bucks.

Piece o cake, Eddie said. Take ya ten minutes, max.

So one gorgeous September day on her lunch hour, Talba drove out to 715 South Broad Street, headquarters of the New Orleans Police Department.

A good thing its close, she thought. She had a client coming in at one, and at three, she had to resume her surveillance of a suspected errant wife. The woman was a college professor whose last class was over then, and Talba was in a hurry to wrap up the case. Eddies jokes about extracurricular activities were getting tedious.

Nonetheless, she was in a great mood. She sailed in feeling buoyant and powerful. Finally, finally, she was getting the damned license. She liked the job a lot. A whole lot. And a funny thing, it was a great way to make friends. It wasnt something anyone ever thought about on career day at school, but once you said the words private investigator, it was amazing how many people blurted, Id love to do that!

They wouldnt, of course. For one thing, there was the tediumof records searches, surveillance, online research, court appearances, intake interviews, half a dozen other things. For another, most people thought divorce cases were sleazy, and these were a good chunk of the work. Actually, Talba liked themshe liked catching scumbags (of either sex) and, though originally hired for her computer skills, shed turned out to be good at it. It wasnt a job for everybody, but, despite the fact that she was such a computer wiz she impressed even herself, a sensitive and talented poet (in her opinion), and a baroness (shed decided), it suited her.

So she was in an excellent mood as she entered the building. A female functionary sporting two-inch purple nails with a tiny picture on each of them pointed to a door on the right. No stairs, no elevator. Couldnt be more convenient.

Talba stepped through to a nearly dark, closet-sized anteroom opening onto a large, light comfortable-looking room, which was populated by two peoplean enormous woman in a black dress and a smallish, wiry-looking man in uniform. Both were African-American, as was Talba herself. The well-padded woman had a motherly look to her. Pencil in hand, she was poring over something in which she seemed to have a deep and abiding interest.

She may or not have heard Talba enter, but either way, she didnt look up. The man was talking on the phone. Talba stood politely for a few minutes, curious as to what was so important the woman couldnt take time out to serve a customer. And finally, she got tired of it. Excuse me, she said.

The woman looked at her over nondescript glasses that couldnt hide a pair of bulging eyes. A thyroid thing, Talba thought, figuring it was causing the weight problem.

Im here to get fingerprinted.

Whatcha need prints for?

Im applying for my PI license.

Thatll cost ya thirty dollars. You can get it done for fifteen dollars at the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office.

Heres fine. I dont mind the charge.

The woman raised an eyebrow, as if she disapproved of spendthrifts. Ya filled out ya cards?

No, do I need to?

Use black ink and be sure ya print.

In the anteroom, there was an end table she could probably write on, but not enough light to see. May I come in to fill them out? There were at least five empty desks.

This rooms part of the police department. The woman went back to her paperwork, leaving Talba rummaging for a pen and hoping if she found one, it would be black.

Next page