Le Jardin Rouge—the Red Garden—sat in the middle of Pasteur Avenue, east of downtown. It was a grand two-story mansion with white columns and steep rooflines, illuminated by a hundred red globe lanterns. In the garden of roses, bougainvillea, and wisteria filled with water fountains and gazebos, waiters in black velvet jackets served guests at tables covered in white linen. An ornate wrought-iron fence fronted the property. It was Saturday night, and luxury automobiles lined the road, still slick from the afternoon rain. Drivers milled about on the footpath, smoking, watching the arrival of
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