Between Dusk and Dawn (17 page)

“
Wait, go back to that
one.” Chase wiped his mouth clean of crumbs. He reached over to
adjust the volume and made the male voice louder.

“
Halloween approaches in a
picturesque Cajun Country town as the forces of good and evil seem
poised for battle; at least that’s what a local preacher has to
say. Famous phantom chaser James Schaffer is in Beau Chene,
Louisiana tracking down tales of ghouls and goblins. Ghost Team USA
promises to break news by All Hallows Eve that will send chills up
our collective spines. Can’t wait, Edie,” the man said.

“
You think Schaffer’s
finally got more than shadows on a wall this time?” The female
radio personality made it clear she was skeptical.

“
I don’t know. We’re
talking about the state where Marie Laveau worked her magic.
Louisiana is known for being a place of mystery, voodoo and haunted
plantations,” the man replied and did his imitation of ghostly
sounds.

Edie laughed. “Well folks, guess we
should tune in and see what lurks in the swamps. Ghost Team USA
airs on your local Fox Channel, so check local
listings.”

Chase turned the radio to a station
playing eighties music. He gave a disgusted grunt. “Exactly what we
don’t need; some idiot spreading nonsense to a national audience.
We’ll have kooks coming out of the woodwork, calling the station
with wild stories.“

“
Even you admit the
goings-on have been weird,” LaShaun offered.

“
So far all I see is a
bunch of crazy human behavior, but just barely. What is wrong with
people, running around the woods half-naked some of them, acting
like dogs in heat.”

“
You’re getting warm,”
LaShaun mumbled.

“
What was that, babe?
You’ve barely touched that masterpiece of a po-boy I made for you.”
Chase downed the rest of his ginger ale and sighed. “Now what did
you say about the weather getting warm?”

“
Nothing.”

“
I’ll tell you this much.
Looks like somebody has been hosting wild sex parties out in the
woods. Chances are they had drugs and liquor to help them commune
with nature. Jumping each other in the woods like a pack of
animals.” He shook his head.

“
What you’re seeing may be
canine behavior. Just not dogs... exactly. I’m talking about
lycanthropy,” LaShaun said as she looked at him.

“
What?” Chase chewed on a
few chips. He wore a slight frown.

She took a deep breath, let it out and
jumped in. “Well, I think a lot of this peculiar running around in
the woods stuff is related to lycanthropy. Remember the old stories
about rougarous? “

Chase swallowed hard and stared at
LaShaun. “You’re serious.”

“
Lycanthropy is a clinical
term. A lot of doctors and scientists say it’s a mental illness
where the person believes he or she can become a wild animal. In
this case we’re talking about wolves.”

Chase slapped his hands together to
dust off salt and crumbs. Then he stood up and put both hands on
his trim waist. “You’re right. Those folks are crazy as hell if
they’re howling at the moon and chasing around the swamps hunting
rabbits for food. Lycanthropy.”

“
The rougarou legend says
people are punished for not observing holy seasons, in this case
Lent. They’re cursed to become half human and half
wolf.”

“
Those were ghost stories
told around the fireplace to make us kids behave. My grandmother
scared my sisters straight more than once,” Chase said as he gave a
short laugh, but the sound died away when he looked at LaShaun.
“You really are serious.”

“
Listen, I don’t know if
rougarous are real or not, but if people believe that they’re wild
animals it could explain this behavior. Think about it, animals
don’t follow the same rules as humans. They run free. Wolves also
follow the law of the jungle. If somebody invades your territory,
you kill ‘em.” LaShaun nodded.

Chase scowled. “Lycanthropy, rougarou
or werewolf; all of it sounds like an excuse. Some psychologist
shows up to give ‘em an insanity defense. I don’t buy
it.”

“
A lot of what our
ancestors talked about wasn’t just superstitious nonsense. I told
you about my grandmother, and her grandmother and great-grand
parents. You know what I’ve faced.
^<<
In A Darker Shade of
Midnight, LaShaun fought off a demon, and Chase witnessed
it>> I didn’t make that up.” LaShaun watched as Chase closed
his eyes and pulled a hand over his face.

“
When I signed up to be a
deputy sheriff I expected to fight
human
crime. Damn!”

“
I know, honey,” LaShaun
said and rubbed his arms.

“
Are you sure?” Chase
looked at LaShaun.

“
No, but the signs are
there. I’ve been reading this book from my family’s library. One of
the old stories talks about what Joyelle described. Then this
morning they talked to Pete, and he let slip--”

“
Oh hell,” Chase blurted
out. “Please say Pete didn’t tell those two little old ladies that
Vermillion Parish has a pack of werewolves roaming the
bayous.”

“
I convinced them Pete was
talking about the legends, and that he didn’t mean to say that
rougarous were real.”

“
Our traditions run deep as
the Gulf of Mexico, LaShaun. Before you know it talk about rougarou
will be all over town. We got another full moon coming, and
Halloween is just two weeks away.”

“
I’m sure they’re planning
the next church bake sale and gossiping about their friends.”
LaShaun smiled at him.

“
M.J. is gonna love
this.”

“
We’re not going to tell
M.J.,” LaShaun said quickly.

“
She sure as hell won’t
hear it from me. But you did say lycanthropy is considered a form
of mental illness. That could explain a lot. Yeah, so if we do have
to bring this up to M.J. that’s the explanation I’ll emphasize. And
stay away from the rougarou stuff.” Chase let out a long sigh. “Not
so bad after all.”

“
Except that guy in the
hospital has a cut that won’t heal, and he’s getting worse,”
LaShaun murmured.

“
The doctor says he’s got
some kind of infection, no mentioning silver knives in front of
M.J.” Chase shook a forefinger at LaShaun. Before he could continue
to lecture his cell phone went off. He grabbed it from the case
clipped to his belt and glanced at the caller ID. “Speaking of the
boss, this is her calling.”

“
I’ll wash the dishes.”
LaShaun slipped from the stool and picked up the plates.

“
Hi, Sheriff. What’s up?”
Chase spoke in a light tone. He shrugged when LaShaun glanced at
him over her shoulder. “Yeah, I’m home having lunch. Uh-huh.
Uh-huh. Yeah, LaShaun does happen to be here.”

Hearing her name, LaShaun forgot about
drying the wet plates and spun around. Chase’s expression went
tense again. The muscle along his jaw bone jumped a few times at
whatever he was hearing.

“
What?” LaShaun mouthed at
him.

Chase waved to her to wait. “I don’t
think that’s a great idea. The guy is unstable and-- okay. Put the
fear of God into the hospital staff, and make sure they know that
if this gets out there’ll be hell to pay. Right, I’ll call you
back.” He tapped the key to end the call.

LaShaun didn’t like the deep frown
creasing his handsome forehead. “I hope it’s not another
murder.”

“
No. Our suspect, the crazy
guy in the hospital, has stabilized. He’s talking pretty clear.”
Chase looked at LaShaun for a long moment. “And he’s asking
for
you
.”

Chapter 10

At ten o’clock that night LaShaun and
M.J. met the on-duty hospital security guard at a service entrance.
He silver metallic nameplate had “James Collins” stamped in black.
M.J. made terse introductions, including that she and James had
been high school classmates. The husky man led them down a hall to
one of the elevators used only by doctors and other employees.
LaShaun felt flutters in her belly at the cloak and dagger routine,
but M.J. had insisted. Not only did M.J. aim to thwart the small
town grapevine, she didn’t want the reality show team to appear
with their video cameras rolling. The security guard led them down
a brightly lit empty hallway to an elevator used by staff only.
Bland white tile floors and gray walls gave the place a sterile
look. LaShaun pulled the denim jacket she wore closer to her
body.

“
It’s freezing in here,
colder than outside,” she said.

“
Keeping the temperature
cool reduces bacteria growth, and keeps viruses from spreading.
Something very important with a lot of sick people,” the security
guard replied.

“
You know your stuff,”
LaShaun said.

The man grinned and nodded. “I learn
all I can, and take classes. That’s the reason I’ve been promoted.
I’m thinking about nursing school. Got three growing kids to feed
and educate, ma’am.”

“
Good for you.” LaShaun
smiled back at him. The elevator bumped to a stop, and LaShaun’s
stomach flipped again as they stepped out.

“
We’re going around this
corner,” James said with a nod, and then led the way.

M.J. glanced around the hallway, and
then down three that branched off to other wings. “You’re sure we
won’t see anybody?”

“
It’s after visiting hours,
and tonight we enforced that rule on this floor more than usual. I
checked to make sure visitors left,” James said in a grave
tone.

“
Good,” M.J. said, her
voice just as solemn.

“
Your guy was moved to a
wing with two empty rooms, but it’s still close to the hub. That’s
what we call the nurses’ station. You’re in luck,” the guard said.
“Mildred Jones is the charge nurse on duty tonight. She takes
confidentiality so serious she could head up national
security.”

As if she’d heard her name, a tall
woman with “M. Jones, RN” strode from an office next to the nursing
station. She cast a brief glanced at LaShaun before nodding to M.J.
“Evening, Sheriff. I hope we can get this over fast. My people are
jumpy enough as it is.”

“
We won’t be staying any
longer than we have to. How is he?” M.J. looked at two nurses who
looked away and got busy doing something else.

“
He’s still able to talk
sense, if that’s what you mean. I hope you can track down his next
of kin,” the charge spoke low.

“
We’re trying,” M.J. said
quietly.

“
You know who he is?”
LaShaun looked from the nurse to M.J.

“
Not here. Let’s go,
James,” M.J. said with a glance at the security guard.

“
Right.” James led the
way.

They walked several feet from the
nursing station and around another corner. Chase stood with a
deputy outside the second door to their left. Both of them seemed
just as tense as their boss. The blonde deputy had a fresh-faced
boy-next-door look . He appeared to be barely out of his teens. His
hazel eyes were wide as though he expected some unpleasant surprise
soon. Chase whispered instructions to him then approached
them.

“
One of the male aides is
in there with a male nurse. They’ve got something to calm him down
fast if he gets violent again,” Chase said to M.J., but he was
looking at LaShaun. “Let’s cut it short if he even looks like he
about to get crazy.”

“
Definitely,”M.J. said and
signaled James they were ready to go in.

“
Okay,” James whispered to
no one in particular.

He pushed open the room door, and then
stood holding it as the others entered the narrow room. Chase led
the way followed by M.J. and Nurse Jones. LaShaun tried to move
forward to see the man, but M.J. shook her head. Two men stood
beside the hospital bed, both dressed in light blue scrubs. They
looked at the charge nurse who gave a slight nod toward M.J. and
Chase as though saying, “This is your show now”.

The male nurse cleared his throat, and
looked at his boss. “He drifted off to sleep a few minutes ago. His
vitals haven’t changed.”

“
His name is Willie Dupuis.
He won’t tell anyone but you his story,” Chase whispered. “If we
try to ask a question he shuts down.”

“
The doctor says he’s a
little stronger, but whatever kind of infection he has is weird and
persistent,” M.J. added.

“
Let him do the talking,
don’t ask a lot of questions. At least not at first,” Chase
said.

The male nurse and aide moved aside.
M.J.’s expression tightened into a grimace. Chase put a protective
hand on LaShaun’s shoulder for a few moments. LaShaun nodded to
indicate she was fine, and that she would follow his lead. Then she
looked at the man.

“
My God.”

Lying beneath the white light above
his bed, the man looked like a creature from another world. Willie
Dupuis’s skin had turned a shimmering shade of silver with a bluish
tinge. LaShaun pushed past Chase before he could react and stood
close to the bed. The male nurse glanced at the charge nurse. When
she didn’t object, the men stepped back against the wall to watch.
For several minutes no one spoke. LaShaun gazed at him steadily
until her surroundings seemed to fade. She heard Chase speaking to
her, but his voice seemed far away. Even that sound died when the
first wave of bleak resignation hit her. LaShaun shuddered and let
out a soft gasp. Willie Dupuis grimaced then opened his eyes. His
gaze drifted to the opposite wall, up to the ceiling and then in
LaShaun’s direction. Yet he seemed not to see her at first. He
blinked a few times. His lips moved, and the effort caused him to
flinch. The aide got a plastic cup with a straw and let Willie sip
for a few seconds. When Willie nodded he’d had enough, the aide
retreated to stand against the wall again. Willie looked at
LaShaun.