Bad Juju (43 page)

Now that her oppressor was gone, she experienced happiness for the first time in her adult life.  Jake probably had something to do with Pete, but she no longer cared.  Even
Rhianna
stopped asking for him.

Leah should have clipped her relationship with Jake clean, but enjoyed being with him on so many levels.  Besides the sex, he tried so hard to be a man in her eyes and a role model to her daughter.  He’d talk of the big plans he had after high school with such sincerity.  She couldn’t let go.  On her off nights, he came to her bed.  There was a sense of security about being loved.  One night she woke up and he was gone. 

Feelings of worthlessness came back like flies
landing on
an open sore.  Was he angry?  Did he have another girlfriend?  Did she rely too much on him to take care of
Rhianna
?  She looked out the window and saw his car parked outside.  Self-doubt became worry.  Too upset to go back to sleep, she sat outside by the front door drinking coffee and chain smoking cigarettes.  By the first ray of daybreak, still dark, she saw Jake, Lucien, and another man slip into Lucien’s trailer.  Jake came back out and headed home.

Shit!
  She ducked behind the chair, and the darkness hid her.  As he stepped up to the front door, she sprang up from her hiding place.  “Where the fuck were you?”

“
Aaaahhhh
!” Jake screamed.  “Oh Leah, you scared me.  Didn’t see you down there.”

“Well?” she asked impatiently.

“I…was with Lucien.  I…I’ve got a lot of secrets that I’ve been keeping from you.  Maybe it’s time we talked,” Jake answered.

“I’m listening.  Got the whole day off.  And I saw you with another man besides Lucien.  Who the hell was he?”

“That was T.J.,” Jake replied.

“What the fuck are you trying to pull?  You know damn well where he is.  You and that old man have been up to some bullshit for months now.  Does any of this have to do with Henry?  He’s like a vegetable, right?  Crazy?  Don’t talk anymore?” Leah drilled.

“Please lower your voice.  Many of our neighbors get up this early in the morning.  Let’s go inside and I’ll tell you everything, I swear.  I should have told you this a long time ago,” Jake said.  They sat down in the living room.  “Before you throw me out, at least hear me out.  I’ve been in love with you since I moved here.  And I know you saw me as a boy until now.  It all started last winter, before Christmas.  Lucien promised to teach me Voodoo.  One of the first lessons I learned was how to make a Voodoo doll.  I used Pete’s cigarettes and some of his other personal items.”

“Like what?” Leah asked.

“Stuff from the garbage.  It doesn’t matter.  T.J. died right after I made the doll.  I thought it was my fault.  They both smoked the same brand of cigarettes.  I thought I grabbed the wrong butts and I cursed the wrong guy.  I thought the whole thing was my fault…” Jake explained.

“That’s crazy.  Pete was to blame.  Pete put him in that bad situation,” Leah interrupted.

“Maybe, maybe not.  I’m not so sure,” Jake said and then motioned with his hand to withhold any more comments.  “Please let me finish.  Then ask me anything you want.  Lucien trained us, me and Henry, in the dark arts.  He was a big deal back in Haiti.  He even initiated us into his
Bizango
brotherhood.  Henry and I grew stronger.  We were performing spells and seeing magic.  Our spells became more difficult.  You were one of them,” Jake said.

“You cursed me?  Why?” Leah asked, unable to remain silent.

“I didn’t curse you.  I put a love spell on you.  That day when you were teaching me how to drive and we first had sex…You and I, we aren’t real.  At least your feelings for me aren’t real.  Because I love you so much, I just let the spell run its course.  I’m so sorry,” said Jake.

“That’s ridiculous.  What do you think?  That once this spell wears off I’m going to dump you?  Want you out of my life?  I fell in love with you because you’re adorable,
romantic, and because you make me feel as if I matter.  And there’s no spell in the world that can do that,” Leah said.

“Adorable?  Just listen.  There’s plenty more.  And it’s all connected with Voodoo.  Pete tried to kill me the night he disappeared.  He knew all about us.  Except he didn’t disappear.  Lucien saved me by killing him,” Jake confessed.  He kept on talking about shape-shifting,
loa
possession, potions and gris-gris, ending his crazy monologue with a step-by-step account of how he and Lucien raised T.J. from the dead.

Leah sat motionless, filled with sympathy.  She had no idea Jake was splintering off into insanity.  “Jake, maybe you shouldn’t hang out with Lucien anymore.  He’s so old, probably senile.  I’m sorry about Henry.  Is he getting any better?”

“Yes and no.  His doctors think he is, but Lucien thinks it’s the demon or
djab
inside of him growing stronger.  We were planning on…Never mind.  You’re looking at me the same way you look at
Rhianna
when she tells you about a nightmare that she’s had.  You pity me like I’m nuts,” Jake said.

“I think you had a hard year, and an even harder life,” Leah said.  “I did too.”

“You want to see him?  T.J.?” Jake asked as if he dared her to challenge his mental state.

“This is ridiculous.”  She dismissed the idea and rose from the couch.

“Lucien’s preparing him right now.  He’s going to fight the
djab
inside of Henry,” Jake said.

“Okay.  And when he’s not over there, you’ll end this crazy talk?”  Jake agreed.  “Let me check on
Rhianna
, make sure she’s still sleeping.”

***

The sun rose, flooding the day with harsh brightness and heat.  The day would be a humid scorcher.  As they approached Lucien’s trailer, Leah couldn’t help but notice his AC unit was already blaring and the blinds were drawn on every window.

“Wait here.  He won’t want to answer the door if he sees you,” Jake said.

I’ll bet he won’t.  I’ll ship his crazy
mutha
fucking ass to the nearest old folk’s home
, she thought.

The door opened a crack, and Jake spoke so softly she couldn’t hear him.  She did hear Lucien complain about whatever was said. 

Jake walked back to the end of the trailer where she stood.  “C’mon.  He’s pissed I brought you here, but I told him I wasn’t leaving until he let us in.  Only for a few minutes.  Otherwise, it’s too distracting to T.J.”

Terror overwhelmed her, causing her to hesitate before entering Lucien’s lair.  What if they were both crazy and she was their next victim?  Jake admitted the old man killed her husband.  Taking a deep breath, she convinced herself she was fearless.  She entered the house and smelled a sweet aroma in the air.  The scent came from the boiling pot on the stove
making her
somewhat dizzy.  Thoughts of flowers came to mind.  A few more steps inside and she could see someone wearing a ratty suit, seated on the sofa playing with Lucien’s boa constrictor.  The stranger’s hands had bones poking through the receding flesh.  Oddly, there was no blood seeping out. 
How was that possible?

“Leah, don’t be afraid.  I beg you.  We had no choice.  We need to use him as bait if we’re going to save Henry.  He’s not how you remember him,” Lucien warned.

She took a few more steps forward and saw the man’s grotesque head.  His long brown hair grew out unevenly from his malformed skull.  Skin was peeling off, leaving parts of his cranium exposed.  Nausea swept over her. 
Could it be?

Every brain cell screamed at her legs to run, but curiosity was far too strong.  Leah edged closer to the couch.  The man lifted up his head and let go of the snake.  His face repulsed her.  With a hole in one eye and an eyeball protruding out of the other socket, he looked like a demented version of her brother.  His good eye gazed back at her.  She saw muscles and hanging flesh still banded over his cheekbones.  They moved as if he was trying to smile.

“Leah,” he grunted.

“How did…Is it alive?  Is this really happening?  Am I dreaming?” Leah stuttered.

“He’s harmless.  Obeys me and Lucien and will act as another body for the
djab
to possess.  This afternoon we
’
re going to try some of Lucien’s
bokor
tricks and send it back to where it came from, the Crossroads,” Jake announced.

“The what?  I don’t even want to ask.  This is all too much for one day.  Actually it’s all too much for a fucking lifetime.  Can this thing you brought back from the dead even talk?  I mean have a conversation?” she asked.

“He’s dead.  His words are limited, but he remembered you and
Rhianna
.  He asked for you both back at the cemetery.  Try talking to him,” Lucien said.

“Okay.  T.J.,
where does your spirit go after you die?” Leah asked.

“I want it to go
uuuuuup
, not used for
sommmmmmeone
ellllllse
,” T.J. moaned.

Leah was confused by his words.  She looked at Lucien and shrugged.

“He was inside of me for a while.  That’s how I’ve managed to keep on living.  The dead.  Now he’s back inside of himself waiting to ascend or go up to the Cosmos,” Lucien explained.

“
Assscccennnddd
,” slurred T.J.

“So you want to go to Heaven?” Leah clarified.  T.J. nodded.

“Your idea of Heaven is similar to our idea of the Cosmos.   Papa
Legba
stands at the gate and judges everyone before they enter.  If you do something good, like save a boy for instance, maybe Henry, then Papa
Legba
will open the gate for you and invite you inside.  You see T.J. never was a bad person.  I got to know him quite well, and he had many things going for him. 
He just wasn’t
a good person. 
He’s too evenly balanced. 
That’s why he’s stuck,” Lucien explained.

“Don’t
waaaannnnt
to go
dowwwwwnnnnn
,” T.J. moaned.

“Even though you’re dead, you still got options.  I envy you, T.J.  I envy a dead man.  Wish I had options.  I gave mine up many decades ago,” Lucien said.

The old man’s words hit Leah with the force of a grand piano falling from the sky.  “
Rhianna
!  I better get home.  Don’t go anywhere without me.  I need to find someone who will watch her for the rest of the day.  Boys, like it or not, I’m coming with you.  I have as much, if not more, blame to carry than all of you put together.  T.J. wouldn’t be dead if it wasn’t for my own husband,” Leah said.

T.J.’s one good eye rolled backward as he yelled, “
Hhhhheeeee
gooooooo
dowwwnnn
!”

“We appreciate your offer, but I’ve been training Jake for several months and he can handle this.  You’re too new to all of this.  You’ll be more harm than good.  Please don’t come with us.  It’ll be too dangerous,” Lucien begged.

“Excuse me, but he’s my brother.  He’ll listen to me when your
bokor
Voodoo bullshit wears off.  Now about him not being a good person, I’m no one to talk.  Shit!  I
gotta
find someone to watch
Rhi
.  But I’m coming back!  And starting right now I’m
gonna
try to do the right thing.  Don’t want to end up like my brother,” Leah declared while looking at Lucien.  “Or worse, I don’t want to end up like you.”

Chapter 50

Jake watched Lucien brew up another big pot of lavender and frankincense.  The trailer smelled like a soap shop.  “What’s this for?” Jake asked.

“Well, T.J. smells better than he did in the coffin, but I can still smell death on him.  The
djab
will know he’s a zombie right away by his scent.  We have to fool it into thinking T.J. is alive, fully human.  This concoction will counteract the graveyard smell.  Since you’re here, I need you to bathe him and get him into some clean clothes,” Lucien said.

“I’m dying to see what’s underneath that suit,” Jake quipped.

Lucien laughed.  “In the end, no matter how good looking you are, you end up as rot and dust.  Sorry you didn’t go back to bed?”

“Couldn’t sleep if I wanted.   Will the demon kill Henry?” Jake asked.

“If it doesn’t have another vessel to inhabit, yes, in time,” said Lucien somberly.  “Please go in the bathroom and fill the bathtub up about halfway.  Then dump these two pots into the bathwater.  It should be enough for him.  Here’s a garbage bag.  It’s for his clothes and any skin that might fall off.  Now go pretty him up.  I’ll find him something clean to wear.”

Once Jake was finished preparing the bath, he called T.J. from the living room.  The zombie was quite content playing with
Mami
.  “C’mon, T.J.  Bath time.”

“
Ugggghhh
!” T.J. groaned.  He rose from the couch and clomped towards the door.