Between Dusk and Dawn (12 page)

“
I knew nothing was wrong
inside the house, but there was something outside. So I got my
knife and went out to the backyard.”

“
You did what? In pitch
black night with no help? LaShaun.”

“
I knew you were going to
freak out and go all Mr. Protection on me.” LaShaun squinted at
him. “I really can handle myself, and I always use good
sense.”

“
Sorry, you’re right. We’ve
got to trust each other, too; even more than most other couples.”
Chase relaxed his disapproving frown. “So you went
outside.”

“
So I went to the backyard
and I saw the outline of some kind of animal moving in the woods.
You know how when it’s dark, but you see something that looks
denser than the darkness around it, then it moves?”

“
Yeah, I know exactly what
you mean.” Chase now listened intently. All judgment seemed wiped
away by his interest in her observations. The investigator honed in
on every detail.

“
Right, I knew something
was in the woods. I took the knife, and trust me I know how to use
it. But then I didn’t feel any kind of threat or malevolence from
that figure. In fact I could almost hear it calling out for help, a
desperate plea to understand what was happening. I know that sounds
nuts.” LaShaun shook her head.

“
I have faith in that sixth
sense of yours.” Chase rested a large hand on her thigh.

Encouraged, LaShaun went on. “About
the time I was going closer to try and offer some kind of comfort,
or figure out how to help, things changed. I got a wave of alarm
from the person, or animal. I don’t know which it was, but it was
warning me. I was concentrating on her so hard I must have missed
the signals. I hardly had time to register the direction of the
danger when something pounced on me.”

“
The only reason why
I’m
not
freaking
out right now is because you’re obviously all in one piece,” Chase
said in a measured tone. Still he gripped her leg.

She smiled, put her hand on his, and
leaned closer to him. “You just examined me from head to toe, so
you know all my parts are working.”

Chase let out a slow breath as though
remembering her touch, then nodded. “Tell me what happened. Was it
a man?”

“
I’m not sure.” LaShaun
stopped smiling and frowned at what the possible right answer could
be. “At the time it seemed to be upright with arms and legs, but I
don’t know. It had a funky gamey smell. Like a sweaty animal, or
damp fur. I haven’t been hunting in years, not since I was a kid.
But that’s the best way I can describe it.”

“
You used to hunt?” Chase
looked surprised.

“
Sure, my grandmother and
Uncle Robert taught me to handle a hunting rifle. Monmon Odette
bought a small one just for me. We didn’t hunt for fun. Monmon
would give the meat to some poor families around that she knew. I
use a bow and arrow, too.” LaShaun nodded as his eyes went
wider.

“
We’ll talk hunting later,
right now tell me about being attacked,” Chase said leaning forward
even more.

“
Something jumped on me,
pushed me flat on the ground. I should have been paying closer
attention to my surroundings, but when I had the feeling that
someone was in trouble I got distracted. I managed to get hold of
the knife and was able to fight back. I just remember slashing for
all I was worth. Whatever or whoever it was let out a howl of pain
and ran off. I went back inside fast and locked the door. But there
was no more danger.”

“
You should have called
me,” Chase said calmly. He rubbed his jaw as though thinking about
her account.

“
They were gone, both of
them. I also knew they wouldn’t be too eager to come back for more.
I don’t play.” LaShaun chuckled, and then heaved a sigh when Chase
glanced at her sternly.

“
Let’s see the knife,” he
said.

She went to her bedroom, found it in
her nightstand and came back. When LaShaun pulled it from the soft
leather sheath Chase let out a low whistle. He stood up and took it
from her. The knife’s blade was pure silver and thirteen and a half
inches long with a ruby red bone handle. Chase turned it over in
his hands in frank admiration. He gripped it combat
style.

“
You cut somebody with this
thing, hell yes he’s gonna run. I’m surprised. This is silver, but
it doesn’t feel heavy. How old is it?” Chase looked at LaShaun with
a new appreciation in his dark Cajun eyes.

“
My grandfather inherited
it from his father. His great-grandfather got it from his father.
The story handed down says it was originally made by a great Mayan
warrior in Belize. This warrior was favored by the gods, and the
knife is magical.”

“
Right,” Chase said drawing
the word out.

“
I’m telling you the family
legend,” LaShaun shot back and grinned at him. “The warrior fought
off the Spanish in a terrible battle. He killed his enemy and
brought victory to his people against great odds; or something like
that. How my ancestors ended up with it is a bit of a mystery. You
know the story of a group of slaves who left Louisiana, moved to
Central America and eventually settled in South
America?”

“
No, but I want to hear it
one day, and more Rousselle family stories.” Chase continued to
slice the air with knife.

“
Deal,” she grinned, then
grew serious. “However we got it, one tale is consistent; the knife
is magical and can defeat supernatural beings.”

“
I’m going to borrow this
beauty if I have to arrest a demon,” Chase said. He moved away from
her across the large kitchen and pivoted, gracefully making
offensive moves like a soldier in combat. He stopped and walked
back to her. “Whoever you cut is gotta be hurt bad.”

LaShaun accepted the knife from him.
“Exactly.”

Chase stood with one hand on his
slender waist. “What?”

“
That male victim in the
hospital has deep cuts on his leg. I slashed low and hard, to cause
pain and disable whatever jumped me.” LaShaun watched his
expression go from confused to skeptical.

“
Oh c’mon, babe.” Chase
pulled a hand over his face.

“
You should check to see if
his wound matches the shape of my knife,” LaShaun said quietly. She
looked down at the silver blade. “And if it does...”

Chase stared at her knife.
“Damn.”

Chapter 7

Two days later LaShaun drove to
Vermillion Hospital. She had a mixture of wanting to go there, and
wanting badly to stay away. The fact that her grandmother had died
there brought back sad memories, but that wasn’t the strongest
aversion she had to it. The closer she got to the innocuous looking
tan brick building, the more her stomach roiled. She’d even had to
stop at small park downtown and breathe deeply to get over the
queasy sensation. With the silver cross from Monmon Odette’s prized
rosary beads clutched in a fist, LaShaun closed her eyes and
whispered a prayer. A male voice startled her.

“
You alright,
ma’am?”

LaShaun opened her eyes to see a
teenage boy standing on the passenger side of her Honda CRV. He
peered through the open window with a slight frown. Before she
could answer a boy standing with two other teens called
out.

“
Dude, you’re messing with
the local voodoo queen. You best get your butt outta there before
she puts something on you,” a scruffy looking blonde kid called and
let out a brash guffaw. The two girls with him giggled at his
antics.

“
I’m okay,” LaShaun said
and smiled at him.

Adolescent peer pressure was alive and
well. With an embarrassed grin, he gave a slight nod and joined his
friends. After a brief exchange with them his face turned bright
red. LaShaun laughed and was about to start the engine when she saw
a woman pointing to her. Two men, one carrying a compact video
camera came her way. Although she always avoided reporters LaShaun
decided that she should wait for these two. Actually her extra
sense decided for her. She watched them approach. One man was
stocky. He looked no older than LaShaun, but he already had an old
man’s beer belly. He carried the camera. The other man appeared to
be in his late forties. Lots gray mixed in with his reddish brown
hair. He wore a cap, dark blue denim pants and a plaid long-sleeved
shirt. He grinned at her as he got closer.

“
This is great!” the man
called out as his long legs closed the space between them. His
younger companion huffed with exertion to keep up. “A happy
coincidence, but then we know that everything happens for a reason.
There is some invisible clockwork that sets in motion events that
are meant to be. Ms. LaShaun Rousselle, am I right? I’m James
Schaffer. You might know me from my show, Ghost Team USA. This is
Adam Moore, a member of the team.” He stuck out his hand and seemed
pleased when LaShaun accepted it.

“
You won’t get any kind of
read from touching me, Mr. Shaffer,” LaShaun said quietly and let
go of his hand. She looked at the second man. “You
do not
have permission to
take my picture or tape me.”

“
Yes, ma’am.” Moore and
Schaffer exchanged a brief glance.

“
You’re a legend in Beau
Chene; in fact your whole family has quite a reputation. I’m not
surprised you can mask parts of your aura.” Schaffer studied
LaShaun as though looking for a sign anyway.

“
I’m not masking anything,”
LaShaun said mildly.

“
You’re just naturally
immune to others who have clairvoyant ability then?” Schaffer
scanned LaShaun’s CRV as though committing every detail to
memory.

“
Nope, don’t have to mask
or be immune. You guys aren’t psychics,” LaShaun said.

Schaffer’s smile slipped a notch, but
he recovered. “We’re investigating a series of unusual events here
in Cajun Country. An interview with you would be a great addition
to our research. We hope to...”

“
Let me save us both some
time. No, thank you.” LaShaun broke in to head off a long-winded
attempt to flatter her into talking. She didn’t need to be
clairvoyant to know this guy loved the sound of his own
voice.

Schaffer didn’t bat an eye at the
rebuff. He lost the ingratiating grin and grew serious. “There are
a lot of wild rumors. We would respect your desire for privacy if
you want to speak off the record. I promise we’ll present a fair
and balanced account of the remarkable series of events that have
occurred here. This is a golden opportunity for you to get your
side of the story told to a wide audience.”

“
Is that right?” LaShaun
turned toward him and rested a hand on the steering
wheel.

“
Absolutely. I’m sure you
know some residents claim you have a part in these unusual
phenomena. Things like people seeming to be possessed, doing things
they wouldn’t ordinarily do. And two badly mangled victims were
recently found on your property, one of them dead.”

Schaffer leaned his tall frame forward
as though he didn’t want to miss a word of her response. Both men
stared at her intently. The younger man blinked and looked away
when LaShaun raised an eyebrow at him.

“
They weren’t on my
property for one thing. And I haven’t heard anyone talking about
possession. You better do more research. So far you’ve got a bunch
of gossip and not much else,” LaShaun said, and waved a hand at
them as though slightly bored.

“
The facts are solid, Miss
Rousselle. Two murders, a victim who is badly mauled, and all this
in the hometown of the Blood River Ripper. Some say Manny Young
isn’t done with Vermillion Parish.”

James Schaffer pulled up to his full
height. He had to be six feet four if he was an inch. With his
serious air and deep voice, the man seemed made for dramatic
performances. LaShaun squinted at him for a few moments. She made a
note to do her own research on Schaffer. His partner seemed less
inclined to press LaShaun. Adam Moore cleared his throat and took a
step back.

“
I know what the rest of
the town knows. Maybe the mayor can tell you more. Sheriff
Arceneaux keeps him informed.” LaShaun eyed Moore when he tried to
film her on the sly. She concentrated on his hands until she saw
him flinch. Moore stared at his hand and then at LaShaun, eyes
wide.

“
Uh, hey Jim, the mayor’s a
public figure. We could film him.” Moore moved a few feet farther
away.

“
Matter of fact there’s
Mayor Savoie now.” LaShaun nodded in the direction of city hall
several blocks away. A group of people crowded around the mayor.
“Aren’t those other reporters getting a statement from
him?”

“
I say we check it out.
Maybe there’s some new developments,” Moore said with a jerk of his
thumb, the camera balanced on his shoulder. “We promised an update
during a break on tonight’s show.”

Schaffer glanced in the direction of
the mayor and then back at LaShaun. “Please reconsider. I’m sure we
can be of help to each other. Someone with your abilities could
become quite famous.”

“
No, thanks. I’ll leave
stardom to you.” LaShaun started her engine.