Jazz Funeral

she’d gotten through the dirges fine, but the happy songs made her sad. It was because they reminded her of Ham, because they celebrated his “bad life,” his earthly life, brought back the Ham she’d loved. He wouldn’t hear these songs again; he wouldn’t ramble and he wouldn’t march. That was what hurt.
    But it was a sweet hurt, for the songs also celebrated the release of his soul.
    And mine. The sad part of my life is over. With these songs it’s over.
    She said it like an incantation and was tempted to add, “Begone!” as if she were banishing a demon.
    She knew how pathetic she looked to the world; she had seen the look on Richard’s face. Her brother was in the ground, her mother in jail, Ti-Belle in trouble.
    She missed Ham already, like she’d miss a hand or a foot. In spite of everything, she was going to miss her mother.
    But she wouldn’t miss her childhood, and she was saying good-bye to that. Today she was like a saint: marching in.
    THE END

Acknowledgments
    Heartfelt thanks to the endlessly patient and generous people who helped piece this thing together, offering everything from medical and musical advice to much-needed company for walks on the wild side: Betsy Petersen, Chris Wiltz, Jim Colbert, Kit and Billy Wohl, Becky Alexander, Terrell Corley, Liz Scott, Chris Smither, Ed Becker, Steve Holtz, Michael Goodwin, Greg Peterson, Jamie Howell, Chris Smith, Captain Linda Buczek and Officer Joe Costanza of the New Orleans Police Department; Judy LaBorde and Paul Henkels of Covenant House; and the kids at Country Day, especially Marigny Pecot and the three musicians, William Petersen, Langley Garoutte, and Justin Rubin.
    The next Skip Langdon mystery is DEATH BEFORE FACEBOOK (formerly NEW ORLEANS BEAT) . Find out about it at WWW.BOOKSBNIMBLE.COM OR WWW.JULIESMITHBOOKS.COM
    What they said about DEATH BEFORE FACEBOOK:
    “Compelling…a first class mystery…” – Santa Barbara News-Press
    “A peek into the sometimes dangerous world of the computer obsessed…with just the right dose of Suthern humor.”
    – USA Today
    “Smith does her usual excellent job of capturing the feel of New Orleans.”
    – New Orleans Times-Picayune
    The Skip Langdon Series (in order of publication)
    NEW ORLEANS MOURNING
    THE AXEMAN’S 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

Also by Julie Smith :
    The Rebecca Schwartz Series
    DEATH TURNS A TRICK
    THE SOURDOUGH WARS
    TOURIST TRAP
    DEAD IN THE WATER
    OTHER PEOPLE’S SKELETONS
    The Paul MacDonald Series
    TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE
    HUCKLEBERRY FIEND
    The Talba Wallis Series
    LOUISIANA HOTSHOT
    LOUISIANA BIGSHOT
    LOUISIANA LAMENT
    P.I. ON A HOT TIN ROOF
    As well as:
    WRITING YOUR WAY: THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL TRACK
    NEW ORLEANS NOIR (ed.)
    And don’t miss ALWAYS OTHELLO, a Skip Langdon story, as well as the brand new short story, PRIVATE CHICK, which asks the question, “Is this country ready for a drag queen detective?” More info at www.booksBnimble.com.
    If you enjoyed this book, let us keep you up-to-date on all our forthcoming mysteries. Sign up for our mailing list at www.booksbnimble.com

About the Author
    Julie Smith is a New Orleans writer and former reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and the Times-Picayune . New Orleans Mourning , her first novel featuring New Orleans cop Skip Langdon, won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, and she has since published eight more highly acclaimed books in the series, plus spun off a second New Orleans series featuring PI and poet Talba Wallis.
    She is also the author of the Rebecca Schwartz series and the Paul Mcdonald series, plus the YA novels CURSEBUSTERS! and EXPOSED. In addition to her novels, she’s also written numerous essays and short stories and is the editor of NEW ORLEANS NOIR, an anthology of dark stories, each set in a different New Orleans neighborhood.