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Suh the detested Union overnor Benjamin "Beast" Butler had been removed froht, as if the residents&039; hatred of the ered in the air As he approached the office on Dauphine where he&039;d been summoned, Cody Fox was surprised by the sudden eruption ofout to the street, rifles in their hands, faces pale, nervous whispers rather than shouts escaping their lips

He was curious about as bothering the men New Orleans was solidly in Union hands and had been forin his direction, Cody went in, wondering what a Union officer wanted froeant behind the desk took his name and bade him sit, then hurried into what had once been the parlor of Missy Eldin, daughter of Confederate Colonel Elijah Eldin, who had died at Shiloh, but was now a Union military office

Cody had returned froo, and as far as he was concerned, he had healed from the wound that had taken him out of the battle and sent hirown up He alking fine these days, he had no proble up on his horse, and all he had insomewhere far away

He wasn&039;t afraid of battle; he wasn&039;t even afraid of the enemy, especially since he and his Southern fellows lived side by side with "the ene before the war that there were good and bad ood men and bad on both sides of the present conflict No, he was sie, restless, ready to move on

But he&039;d been called to the headquarters of Lieutenant Williae, adjunct to Nathaniel Banks, the commander who had replaced "Beast" Butler Butler had ordered the execution of adown the Stars and Stripes when it had been raised over city hall The act had e not only in the eyes of the South, but even in the North and a the Europeans Nathaniel Banks was a decent e caused by Butler, but it would take time

"Mr Fox?" A soldier in a federal unifor to acknowledge his rank He really didn&039;t give a darown men should have been able to solve their differences without bloodshed Then again, he had no desire to be a politician, either

These dayseveryone was just waiting The ould end Either the Northerners would get sick to death of the toll victory would cost and say good riddance to the South, or the continual onslaught ofthat could be replenished in the North and not the South-would force the South to her knees He&039;d once had occasion to meet Lincoln, and he admired the man In the end, Lincoln&039;s iron will and deter factor Lee was definitely one of the finest generals ever to lead a war effort, but no ht the odds forever

"Yes, I&039;

"Coe is ready to see you in his office," the assistant to the assistant said

Cody nodded and followed the e was behind a caant study He had clearly been busy with the papers scattered in front of hie was known as a decent fellow, one of those men ere convinced the North would win and that, when that day caht take decades, because it was going to be daive after Matthew Brady and others following in his footsteps had brought the reality of war horaphs of the dead on the field had done more to show mothers what had happened to their sons than any words ever could have But Aldridge was convinced that healing would come one day, and he intended to work toward that reality

"Mr Fox," Aldridge said, shaking Cody&039;s hand and indicating the chair in front of his desk "Thank you for co in Would you like some coffee?" He was tall and lean, probably little es of responsibility adding ten years to his features His eyes were hazel Kind eyes, though

"I&039;m fine, thank you," Cody said He leaned forward "May I ask why I&039;e pulled a file from atop a stack on his desk and flipped it open "You ith Ryan&039;s Horse Guard, I see Cavalry You saw action from the first Battle of Manassas to Antieta blown off Doctors said you wouldn&039;t make it, but somehow you survived You&039;ve been back here in New Orleans for a year-got your e paused for aat him "Any corrections thus far?"

"No, sir None that I can think of," Cody said, still wondering why he was there

Aldridge dropped the file "Anything you want to add?"

"Seems like you know a lot about my life, sir"

"Why don&039;t you fill e asked, a fine thread of steel underlying his words

"What exactly are you asking, Lieutenant?" Cody asked

"I was hoping you&039;d bewith the details of your tie said "Before your state seceded, you orking in Washington You were actually asked to the White House to converse with Lincoln You&039;ve been involved in solving severaldifficulties in and around the capital"

Cody kept his face ie of his past had taken him by surprise

"I took part in a number of reconnaissance missions as part of Lee&039;s ar to," he said carefully "I was given a e and sent back to New Orleans when I ounded-initially declared dead, actually I&039;ve been here, helping the wounded of both ar e stared at hiain He didn&039;t have to read from it; he apparently knehat it contained "A series of bizarre murders took place in northern Alexandria in 1859 You were friends with a certain law enforce with hiht You apprehended the murderer when no other constable could catch up with hi to subdue hile one-handed swing of your sword" Aldridge pointed a finger at hience work for hi kin were in Louisiana, and you couldn&039;t rightly accept such a position"

Cody lifted his hands "My mother died the year after the war started, but I&039;m sure you understand thatI come from here I was born here And as to theincident to which you referThe brutality of the lad I was able to help"

Aldridge leaned forward "Help? Fox, to all intents and purposes you and you alone stopped them More to the point, we&039;ve just had a similar case here, down on Conti My officers are at their wits&039; end, and I don&039;t want this city going one sick or vice versa This isn&039;t a battleground any up the pieces of their lives It may take decades before true peace is achieved, but I&039;ll be da one another because one ht across the desk at the ot yourself a ree, son, then you went off to ride with the cavalry and wound up in intelligence" Aldridge stared back at Cody, hazel eyes intent "You can help ive a damn where you caht on I just want to catch a killer Because it sounds like a bloodthirsty madman just like the one you killed is on the loose-in my city-and I want him stopped"

"HOW DID YOU KNOW about the attack?"

Alexandra Gordon was sitting in a hardwood chair, presumably before a desk, but she didn&039;t have any actual idea where she was, since the officers who had co over her head, and she was still blinded by it She was stunned by the treatment she had received and continued to receive, especially since she had put herself in great peril to warn the sent that there would be bloodshed if they crossed the Potomac

Apparently she was a deadly spy

They had tied her hands behind her back, but the officer in charge had whispered furiously to the others, and her hands were once again free Despite that small courtesy, he seemed to be the descendent of a member of the Spanish Inquisition He slammed his hands on the table, and his voice rose as he repeated the question "How did you know? And don&039;t say again that it was a dreaaining your infor for the ability to stay calm "I merely tried to save Union lives, sir, as well as Confederate What, I ask you, was gained by this raid? Nothing What was lost? The lives of at least twenty young eant and tell hi, and now he and hiswith a number of my Southern brothers"

"I have the power to i you," her inquisitor warned

She heard the sound of a door opening Someone else spoke, a man with a loell-modulated voice "Lieutenant Green," he said, "I would like to speak with Ms Gordon myself"

"But, sir!" Green was shocked

"Please," the new voice said politely, but there was authority in the tone

Alex heard a chair scrape back and are of the newco a seat across from her

"My wife has dreams," he said after a moment "In fact, I have had dreams Please, tell me, what did you see in your dreahter would occur?"

"I know the place," she said softly "I used to play in that hollohen I was a child, e had a farton then, but ould steal away to the countryside whenever he was free"

She heard someone snort Green "Her father was a traitor," the lieutenant said "He went out West and was murdered Indians, I heard Good riddance"

She stiffened at that "My father was no traitor He loved the West and chose to ht unjust He went looking for a home where everyone was equal He didn&039;t care about a man&039;s birth or color He was a brilliant overnht, I know of hily "And I was deeply sorry to hear about his death Now, tell me, what did you see?"

"I saw the hollow in the woods I heard the horses co, and I saw gard, like starving dogs And starving dogs can be desperate When the horses came, thesuddenly settled over the daylight, but thespilled I sawI saw theh by bayonets Then I saw the riderless horses cantering away, and I saw the ground, streith the dead, one atop another, as if in death enemies had at last ed to see the face of the man who had come to speak so kindly to her "No"

"But you have done so before?"

"Yes"

"And when you have these dreams, what you see comes true?"

"Unless it is somehow stopped," she said "I tried so hardbut no one would listen"

She was startled, but not frightened, when he took her hands