Between Dusk and Dawn (27 page)

“
Your grandmother left me
that ring and a note with just one sentence. The note said, ‘Take
care of my girl, but I already know you will’,” Chase said
softly.

LaShaun glanced down at engagement
ring on her finger. The sunlight caused the ametrine gemstone to
catch fire with a kaleidoscope of colors. LaShaun whispered,
“Merci, grandmèr.”

“
So it was bad, seeing this
vision.” Chase gripped the steering wheel with both
hands.

“
Horrible. But the thing is
I couldn’t distinguish if Manny was the killer or not, and he
wasn’t alone. The whole thing looked like a wild party that went
way too far. Wait, that’s wrong.” LaShaun felt a sharp stab go
through her. “Killing the woman was the high point of this party.
Everybody knew she would die, except her.”

“
Willie Dupuis talked about
this gang. You think these are the same people?” Chase switched to
the slow lane to allow other vehicles to pass.

“
There is a core group,
maybe even an alpha leader. They pick up members now and then, some
drop out and drift away to other groups. All of them tend to be
transient.” LaShaun closed her eyes to focus and then opened them
again after a second or so.

“
Street people into drugs,
freaky scenes and willing to do just about anything for a thrill,”
Chase said.

“
Right, right. But they
choose their victims carefully.” LaShaun squinted, but not because
of the bright daylight.

“
They made two mistakes
though. They chose one victim from a prominent and wealthy family,”
Chase replied.

“
Yes, but they didn’t know
that. She had mental problems and tended to live on the street.
When she ran off from her family, she looked like any other
homeless person.” LaShaun shrugged when Chase looked at her in
surprise. “Miss Clo kept a file and did her own
research.”

“
I swear we need to put
that little old lady on the payroll,” Chase retorted.

“
Over M.J.’s cold lifeless
body,” LaShaun replied. “What was the second mistake?”

“
This group didn’t know
just how much Manny would enjoy killing. When bodies pile up too
close together in time and space someone’s going to notice. The
police are only dumb in the movies.” Chase frowned at the line of
traffic ahead.

“
Yeah.” LaShaun sat
silent.

Chase broke into her thoughts finally
after ten minutes ticked by. “Are you going to tell me what you saw
back there?”

“
I had flashes of them
running around woods and enjoying the hell out of themselves. They
got to a clearing and...” LaShaun swallowed hard. “There was a
woman on the ground. One of the males had sex with her. The woman
wasn’t scared at first. It was like a crazy partner swapping
gathering with voyeurism as part of the cheap thrill. “

“
They stood around and
watched. Damn.”

LaShaun took in deep breaths and
exhaled before going on. “Then the guy having sex with the victim
started attacking her, during the act. The woman freaked out,
but... the alpha took the first turn mauling her and then the rest
of the pack joined in.”

“
Sweet heaven,” Chase
whispered and squeezed her shoulder again. “You said pack. You’re
not saying...”

“
Yes, a pack of rougarous.
Or at least they believe that’s what they are.” LaShaun squinted
into the bright sunshine reflecting from the gray pavement and put
on her sunglasses. Another few minutes of silence
passed.

“
Well, that’s refreshing,”
Chase quipped.

“
What?” LaShaun snapped out
of her deep thoughts of sadomasochism and murder.

“
That you think these scum
balls have taken role playing too far. I’d rather face a bunch of
delusional devil worshippers than real werewolves any day. I can’t
believe I just said that.” Chase shook his head and sighed. “I’ve
seen a lot of stuff, but nobody could have convinced me that being
home would freak me out more than being in Afghanistan.”

“
How bad was it?” LaShaun
glanced at him and saw his jaw tighten.

“
Bad enough. Being a target
24-7 was no fun. Neither was raining body parts after IEDs went
off,” Chase said quietly. Then he looked at her briefly before
staring ahead again. “Listen, don’t be offended because I don’t
talk about my time in the Army. It’s not about trust or anything.
It’s just...”

“
If talking about the war
bothers you then don’t,” LaShaun put in quickly. She moved closer
to him on the seat and put a hand on his thigh.

“
Thanks, baby. I’ve been
out eight years, and I’m proud of the job I did. But I’m mighty
glad to be home.” Chase sighed. “I’m going to be interviewed on a
local channel with the other candidate this Friday. So I expect my
military service will come up. I don’t want to be made out some
kinda hero.”

You’ll do just fine. Say exactly
that,” LaShaun grinned. “And you’ll sound like the honorable,
strong and honest man who should be elected.”

Chase laughed. “I should hire you as
my campaign manager.”

“
Are you kidding? Any
decent political advisor would tell you to dump me fast,” LaShaun
retorted. “In fact, I’d have to agree.”

“
Not going to happen, end
of discussion. I’m surprised my opponent has taken any swipes at
us.” Chase shrugged.

“
Can it be that the good
folks of Vermillion Parish have become more open to diversity? Shh,
I think angels are singing the hallelujah chorus,” LaShaun said and
laughed.

“
The fact is a lot of the
older generation has died out, so not as many people left to bring
up your past.”

“
More than enough to
remember and cause trouble, trust me,” LaShaun replied.

“
So far the campaign has
been focused on crime and qualifications, which is how it should
be.” Chase nodded.

“
Yeah, and at least we’ve
kept the Ghost Team USA from finding out about Willie and Manny,”
LaShaun said.

“
Me and M.J. are working
hard to keep it that way.” Chase cleared his throat. “Enough about
werewolves and serial killers. Let’s talk about something really
scary.”

“
What?” LaShaun grinned and
nudged him playfully.

“
Umm, my parents invited us
to have lunch at their house this Sunday.” Chase glanced at LaShaun
sideways. The air between them turned heavy with
anticipation.

“
Oh,” was all LaShaun could
manage after a few seconds.

With everything on her mind, the last
thing she’d thought about was facing his family. She looked at the
ring on her finger. Of course he wanted her to meet his parents.
They were engaged. She couldn’t expect Chase to leave them out of
such an important part of his life for long.

“
Sounds good,” LaShaun said
finally.

“
Really? I know it came up
kind of sudden, but actually they’ve been asking about you for a
while now. I haven’t told them about the ring just yet. This is
going to be a good time for the family to...”

“
Whoa, whoa, the family?
You said we’d be having lunch with your parents.” LaShaun’s stomach
tightened.

“
It’s kind of a tradition
that my parents have a family lunch once a month. Usually we get
together on the fourth Sunday after everybody goes to early mass.
It’s not this horde of people, hon. My two sisters, their husbands
and kids and my three brothers come from Lafayette with their
families. That’s it.”

“
Oh, sounds like a real
tiny gathering.” LaShaun imagined a sea of eyeballs tracking her
every move.

“
Listen, to me; If I
thought for one minute there would be some kind of ambush or
judgments of you I’d have said no way.” Chase’s expression turned
serious. “I love my family, don’t get me wrong. But in some ways
all I’ve seen in the Army and as a cop... I don’t know. I had a
hard time relating to them when I got home. And I can’t talk to
them about work.”

“
I think I understand,”
LaShaun said.

Chase gazed off without speaking for a
few moments. “My mama says that traveling the world, the war and
seeing the worse side of people all the time as a sheriff changed
me. She’s right, and I think she’s not sure it was a good change
either. Neither am I sometimes.”

LaShaun knew that Chase had dark
moments in the past. He didn’t choose to stay in the old family
home for sentimental reasons only. His grandparents’ house sat
several miles from the nearest neighbor. One of his sisters had
lived there for a year or so after getting married, but moved to
Lafayette when they had their first baby. She didn’t want to be so
isolated from other young families. The seclusion suited Chase.
LaShaun also knew his parents worried about him.

“
No, there is no darkness
in your soul, Chase Broussard,” LaShaun replied with tenderness.
“

Chase’s somber expression eased a
little. “Is that the psychic talking?”

“
That’s the woman who has
gotten to know you talking, cher.” LaShaun smiled at him. “So, I
better start planning what I’m going to wear.”

“
Tell you what; I’ll
explain to the folks that we should start out with just the four of
us. We can plan the big meet the family event later.
Better?”

“
Thanks, Chase,” LaShaun
said, unable to hide the relief she felt. “I think that would suit
me just
fine
.”

Chase smiled. After a few seconds he
whistled a tune, then broke into a popular song in Cajun French.
His deep rich voice washed over her like a soothing balm. Yet
LaShaun felt sadness pushing through as she pictured the faces of
his family turned to her.

*****

Friday morning the temperature had
dipped to forty degrees, but the sky was a brilliant blue. LaShaun
drove down Black Bayou Road just outside of town to find more
answers. A mile down the blacktop road she reached her destination.
Not many cars were in the parking lot, which is why she’d come
early on a weekday. She had her pick of spaces. After parking
LaShaun got out, but stood studying a few minutes before she went
inside.

The smell hit LaShaun’s nostrils as
she went through the glass doors of the Shady Moss Nursing Care
Home; a stale odor of dirty mop bucket water mixed with a faint
whiff of urine. The wide central hallway looked cheery enough with
pastel landscape prints on the walls. A brass plaque announced they
were from a generous donation by a local artist. A sandwich style
board welcomed visitors, and also listed social events like bingo
and Bible study groups. The main reception area was brightly lit.
The decor struggled against any suggestions that Shady Moss was a
place of despair. Except for the smell, and a group of sad, sleepy
looking residents in wheelchairs lined up against one wall. Two of
them drooled. Another woman with short gray and blonde hair waved
gaily, smiling at LaShaun. She seemed eager to claim any visitor as
her own.

“
Hi,” the woman
lisped.

“
Hello. How are you today?”
LaShaun smiled back at her.

The woman nodded and kept waving one
hand. “Hi.”

“
Good afternoon. Can I help
you?” A tall woman with skin the color of cinnamon spoke from the
center nurses’ station. She wore a floral scrub top and white
pants.

“
Yes, I’m looking for Mrs.
Flora Lee Young. I’m a friend of the family,” LaShaun
said.

“
Sure. She’s down the
Rainbow Hallway in Room 269.” The woman pointed down one of three
hallways branching off to LaShaun’s left.

“
Thanks.”

LaShaun had an explanation ready in
case the woman questioned her. She didn’t need to bother. The nurse
had already gone back to making notes in a patient chart. A nursing
assistant dressed in navy blue scrubs brushed by. No one seemed
interested in a stranger walking in to visit. The television in the
large dining room that faced the nurses’ station blared noise from
a game show. LaShaun glanced in the rooms as she walked looking at
the numbers on the wall. Most looked fairly clean. The rooms were
semi-private with two beds in each, with at least one bed occupied.
Suddenly a man who looked no older than fifty whizzed out of one of
the rooms in a wheelchair, his arms pumping as he pushed the
wheels. He looked at LaShaun, but quickly averted his gaze. She
felt his embarrassment. In a flash she had a picture of him as a
strong healthy man working on a roof. More pictures of him with a
series of pretty women. The man hated having her see him broken,
sick and in an old folks home. LaShaun wanted to reassure the man
that he had worth and dignity, but he was gone. And what could she
have said anyway? With a sigh LaShaun continued down the hall with
tan vinyl tiles. She reached Room 269. The door was half closed.
She pushed it open. Both occupants were in bed. The name plate on
the door indicated that Manny’s grandmother was in the bed near the
window.

“
Hmm.” A small woman lay in
the first bed curled on her side. She blinked at LaShaun and
smiled. Her lips worked for a few seconds before she could speak
again. “Nice to see you.”