General Order No. 28

By O'Neil De Noux

As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from the women [calling themselves ladies] of New Orleans, in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall, by word, gesture, or movement, insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States, she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation. By command of Major General Butler.

Did this insulting decree spark the murder of a young US Army lieutenant in Yankee-occupied New Orleans? Or was it something else? Capt. Jason Bartlett, infantryman-turned-provost marshal investigator must wade through waves of Yankee anger and Rebel animosity to solve the mystery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: O'Neil De Noux
• Release date: Apr 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458034861

O'Neil De Noux

O’Neil De Noux writes in many genres, primarily realistic crime fiction, strong on setting, mostly New Orleans, featuring the accurate dialogue of the streets. He also writes scintillating erotica. His publishing credits include 20 novels, nine short story collections and over 300 short stories. From contemporary to historical, De Noux uses several recurring characters in his New Orleans stories and novels: NOPD Homicide Detective John Raven Beau (21st Century); NOPD Homicide Detective LaStanza (20th Century); Private-eye Lucien Caye (1940s) and NOPD Detective Jacques Dugas (1890s). A primary theme in De Noux’s fiction is the effect of violence on victims and their families as well as the sometimes debilitating effect of violence on law enforcement officers, private-eyes and their loved ones. As a former private-eye and currently a police investigator, De Noux knows his subject well. De Noux’s stories span from mystery to mainstream, literary, suspense, thriller, science-fiction, fantasy, horror, erotica, humor, westerns, children’s fiction as well as cross-genre stories – erotic-detective, science-fiction mysteries and the like. O’Neil De Noux’s “The Heart Has Reasons” (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, September 2006) won the Private Eye Writers of America’s prestigious SHAMUS AWARD for BEST SHORT STORY 2007. The SHAMUS is given annually to recognize outstanding achievement in private eye fiction. In 2009, the Short Mystery Fiction Society awarded the Derringer Award for Best Novelette to another Lucien Caye story, “Too Wise” by O’Neil De Noux (which appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine’s November 2008 Issue). The Derringer Award is given annually to recognize excellence in the mystery short form. In June 2012, De Noux’s novel JOHN RAVEN BEAU was named 2011 POLICE BOOK OF THE YEAR by Police-Writers.com, a group that boasts of 1153 state and local law enforcement officials from 485 state and local law enforcement agencies who have written 2504 police books. A hyper-realistic crime story, JOHN RAVEN BEAU provides an intimate look into the beleaguered NOPD Homicide Division, a story that begins in the French Quarter and ends in a swamp, all within the city limits of America’s eternal city, a city that cannot be destroyed – New Orleans. A second Beau novel was released in 2013 – CITY OF SECRETS. Books by O’Neil De Noux (all available as eBooks and trade paperbacks). Go to www.oneildenoux.net for links.

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Cover Photo Copyright 2010 O’Neil De Noux

Copyright 2010 © O’Neil De Noux

Smashwords Edition

General Order No. 28

by O’Neil De Noux

The accused murderer stood in the holding cell of the old Calaboose, the same jail the French and Spanish had used here in New Orleans, her arms folded, her face half-hidden in shadow. I could see her eyes shining in the dimness as she stared back at me. She’d been standing for hours. There was nowhere for her to sit in that hoop skirt.

Get a stool in here, I called back to the sergeant-major.

A stool?

How is she supposed to sit? I said louder.

The sergeant-major, a burly Irishman with a handle-bar moustache, stepped in with a stool and apologized to me. Sorry, Cap’n. I thought she could sit on the bunk.

Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to her.

The sergeant-major unlocked the cell door and took in the stool.

Sorry Ma’am. He doffed his kepi campaign hat and hustled out.

Leave it open, I told him, taking out my note book and pencil and noting the time and date: ten p.m., Friday, August 29, 1862.

I’m Captain Jason Bartlett. I looked at her eyes. I’m with the Provost Marshal’s Office.

She took a hesitant step forward, lifted the back of her skirt and sat on the stool. She was younger than I expected, even younger than I and I’d just turned twenty-three. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a black net. Her purple dress wasn’t of the finest material, nor the latest fashion, but I’d never seen anyone more out of place in a jail cell than Anne Carmaux.

It was almost cool inside the jail, although it was still steamy outside, even at night. It was the jail’s dampness I suspected. I took in a deep breath of stale air that reeked faintly of mold and asked if there was anything she needed. She blinked her brown eyes but did not respond. As my eyes adjusted to the light I could see her face was lovely, very lovely as she sat there staring at me. She was a typical dark-haired daughter of this old southern city, a city more European than American, even as we struggled through this war.

I understand your husband has been notified, I told her and she closed her eyes and let her chin sink.

Do you have children at home that need attending, ma’am?

She shook her head and