Between Dusk and Dawn (9 page)

“
The Blood River Ripper’s
grandfather visits Monmon Odette’s granddaughter, and you’re
surprised word got out fast?” Chase leaned against the long counter
and watched her.

“
I’m surprised you’ve been
tied up with a murder and missing person, people. I guess Patsy and
her lover are still gone without a trace.” LaShaun figured her
attempt to steer the subject in a new direction wouldn’t work. She
was right.

“
What am I gonna do with
you?” Chase shook his head.

She wrapped her arms around his waist
and pressed against him. “I’ve got some real good suggestions if
you want to take off that uniform.”

“
I’m serious.” Chase pulled
free of her embrace and crossed his arms. “First of all you
shouldn’t have let the man in here at night when you were alone.
His grandson is a serial killer.”

“
Right, but he’s not. He
was a member of the Catholic Men’s Fellowship ministry at St.
Anthony’s. His wife grew up with my grandmother.” LaShaun spoke in
a measured tone to sooth his irritated nerves.

“
Oh, well that cancels out
the fact that he raised a murderer who butchered people.” Chase’s
hard expression didn’t soften even a little.

“
If it helps, Xavier, Sr.
and his son came over to check on me. I’ll bet they kept an eye out
until he left. His wife called later to make sure I didn’t need
anything.”

Chase gave a grunt. “Betty Marchand
wanted more information she could add to the gossip that I’m sure
is making the rounds right now.”

LaShaun was more than a little annoyed
with him for seeing through what she didn’t say. “Maybe so, but
what does it matter? I baked some tea cakes. I’ll give you a bag to
take home.”

“
What does it matter? Oh I
don’t know, LaShaun. Maybe you might consider that folks will think
I can’t be trusted to protect them. I have to be seen as objective,
willing to follow the facts and not be influenced.” Chase followed
her.

“
So this is about you
running for office, huh? What about the fact that Orin Young wasn’t
convicted of any kind of crime. Unless loving his grandson despite
what he is or what he’s done breaks some law.” LaShaun faced him
with her arms crossed and her own scowl.

“
All I’m saying
is...”

Chase broke off and walked away to
stare out of the bay window. He leaned on one of the chairs around
the table next to it. He wasn’t enjoying the view of her woods
either. LaShaun was buffeted by his strong emotions: anger and
disappointment. She knew her tone should stay calm, but her
annoyance at his judgment of her got in the way.

“
What? Spit it out,” she
said.

“
You won’t meet my family,
and you seem to be doing everything you can to stir the pot when it
comes to town gossip. First it was this thing with Miss Clo and her
friend Joyelle. Now of all people you could be seen talking to,
Manny Young’s grandfather. We both know half of Beau Chene already
knows by now. The other half will get the news by dinner
time.”

“
Let’s deal with one thing
at a time. First about meeting your family, just two days ago you
said there’s no rush. Remember that? Apparently you didn’t mean
it,” LaShaun said.

He spun around. “I did, I do... it’s
just. I can’t keep explaining to my folks why you won’t come to
Sunday dinner. Or even an evening of dessert and coffee with just
my parents. I can understand if a big family event would be too
intimidating to start.”

“
I’m not scared of your
family,” LaShaun shot back. “I’m proud of my own family, and I
don’t need to explain or apologize for who they were, and who I
am.”

“
I only meant you need to
get comfortable with letting them get to know you,” Chase replied
evenly.

“
Showing up so I can pass
inspection isn’t my idea of an enjoyable social event.” LaShaun
glared at him.

“
That’s not true,” he
replied with heat.

“
You want your parents and
the rest of your family to approve of me. That means I shouldn’t be
discussing supernatural stuff with Miss Clo and Joyelle. Maybe I
should have run inside the house and refused to open the door the
minute I knew who Mr. Young was, huh? Should I let you give me a
list of people and places I should avoid and subjects I can’t
discuss?” LaShaun matched his hot response with her own fiery
words.

“
Don’t be ridiculous,”
Chase shot back. He massaged his forehead with the tips of his
fingers. “The reality is I want to make a life for us in this
parish, and as the
wife
of an officer of the law you--”

“
Oh wait a minute, Deputy
Broussard,” LaShaun cut him off sharply. “We haven’t even gotten
that far in this affair.”

“
Okay. Right. We’re having
an
affair
.”
Chase’s leaden tone made the word sound dirty.

“
Stop with the
self-righteous act. You were more than eager to have this
affair
. Don’t try to make
it sound like I deceived you or something,” LaShaun shot
back.

“
Being with you is
something special. At least it was to me. Otherwise I wouldn’t have
brought my family into it.” Chase gazed at her steadily.

The “was” stabbed into LaShaun. His
words sounded like rejection because she’d failed some standard,
some benchmark test. She didn’t know what he wanted from her, or
maybe she did and knew she couldn’t give it to him. Chase was
measuring her by some yardstick that applied to other women, not
her. She was a Rousselle, and she was used to walking on the
fringes of normal social interaction.

“
You’re special to me, too;
but if accepting who and what I am doesn’t work for you then...”
LaShaun crossed her arms, but this time to brace herself for
pain.

“
Meaning you don’t do
commitment?” Chase stood still, arms by his sides.

“
We started off talking
about Orin Young, and now we’re having a heart to heart about us.”
LaShaun went to the cookie jar shaped like country cabin. She
filled a plastic bag with tea cakes and closed it with a twist tie.
She held it out to him. “You’re leaving so you might was well take
these.”

“
Is this my goodbye gift?”
Chase said quietly as he took the bag.

“
That’s up to you,” LaShaun
replied. She angrily swiped a stray tear from her cheek then looked
at him. “You would have an easier time getting elected and a less
complicated life in general if you do say goodbye.”

Chase stood holding the bag and gazing
at her. “I need to change clothes, get a few hours of sleep and go
back on duty. I’m too tired and on edge, not good for us to talk
right now. I’ll call you later.”

“
Okay.” LaShaun took pride
in the fact that her voice didn’t crack, even though her heart
did.

He approached and kissed her lightly
on the forehead. For a few moments he seemed about to say more, but
went through her back door instead. LaShaun didn’t follow him as
usual. She heard the engine of his truck start and the sound of
gravel crunching beneath the tires as he drove away. Only then did
something force her to move to the back door and lock
it.

To dodge the empty sensation those
thoughts brought on, LaShaun went over plans to work on the house
that wouldn’t violate the historical features. Her great-great
grandfather, Lawrence LeGrange, had built the original house in
1878 as a gift for his daughter Marianne. LaShaun gathered research
to submit her application to the Louisiana State Historical
Society. The local museum curator had agreed to help her, so
LaShaun had two good reasons to go see him. The other being she
needed to get out of the house and away from bad vibes left after
her fight with Chase. LaShaun finished a few housekeeping chores,
put the box of her family’s documents in her CRV and headed for the
museum. A few hours thinking about history was more appealing than
brooding about a possible future without Chase

Hours later LaShaun felt better, but
not much. Thank God Pete Kluger, the curator, had given her
homework. LaShaun climbed to the finished attic and happily sorted
dusty boxes and old trunks. Decades of Rousselle family clutter
helped keep her busy.

“
Thank you, Monmon, for
being a confirmed collector. Pete will be thrilled, and I’ll get to
clean out this place,” LaShaun muttered looking around with
satisfaction.

She’d even managed to find a wooden
box of more family papers that dated from the late nineteenth
century. At first glance, the letters seemed fairly dull. But Pete
would delight at tidbits from everyday life in nineteenth century
Vermillion Parish. The chiming of the front doorbell interrupted
her reading a riveting account of taking hogs to market. LaShaun
put down the journal, slapped dust from her clothes and went down
the narrow stairs. She was surprised to find Savannah on the
porch.

“
Good morning and what are
you doing out here?”LaShaun asked as she brushed a cobweb from her
shoulder.

“
It’s after twelve, and
have you listened to the radio?” Savannah gazed at LaShaun from
head to toe. “Girl, you really do some heavy duty
housecleaning.”

“
Historical research,”
LaShaun replied and sneezed from the dust.

“
Well you better jump back
to the present and pay attention.” Savannah marched past LaShaun
down the hallway to the kitchen. She threw her leather purse down
and glanced around for the radio.

“
You’ve either had too much
coffee today or not enough.” LaShaun went to the sink and washed
her hands.

“
Listen to this.” Savannah
pressed the button on the radio until she found a station, then
turned up the volume. A male voice rang through the
speakers.

“
The good people of Beau
Chene, and all of Vermillion Parish, need to unite against darkness
that is spreading around us as I speak these words. Evil, dear
Christian friends, is seeping into the very soil beneath our
feet.”

“
Give me a break,” LaShaun
muttered with a snort.

“
I know what some of you
are thinking. Reverend Fletcher, you’re saying, don’t be so
melodramatic.” He paused for effect. “But if you good people
believe in angels and in the Holy Spirit, then you can’t deny that
the Bible speaks of demons and evil. Turn to Genesis, and remember
how the serpent told the first lie. And neighbors, he’s been lying
and deceiving us ever since then. Why he even tried to tempt Jesus
himself!”

“
The man has flair I must
admit,” Savannah said.

“
So how can we dismiss the
notion that evil and demonic influences walk among us right here in
Beau Chene? Be careful, because this evil dresses itself in pretty
faces, and nice clothes. This evil talks about history and culture,
cloaking itself in academic pursuits and uses pretty language like
secular humanism. But don’t be seduced or lulled into complacency
by all these smoke screens. The devil is busy, and he’s looking for
any opening into the lives of God’s children. We have to be
vigilant, steadfast and brave. We must be willing to stand firm
even when it’s not popular. Let’s take a couple of examples I
talked about early in the show, friends. I’ve spoken to your town
and our parish leaders about Halloween celebrations, a most ungodly
celebration. Why, Reverend, I can hear some saying, what’s the harm
in children dressing up and eating candy?Too many parents have been
sucked into thinking this is a harmless night of fun, but look
deeper. There are dark origins to these Halloween celebrations. The
aldermen of this good town are being asked to stop having official
trick or treating hours. Not only that, some have suggested that we
use this unholy holiday as a tourist attraction, and discuss profit
from evil. Shame, on you, Peter Kluger and Savannah Honorè. That’s
right I’m naming names. We need to call out those trying to lead us
to destruction.”

“
What did you do to yank
his chain?” LaShaun looked at Savannah.

“
I wasn’t the only one,”
Savannah blurted out. “A bunch of area businessmen said it would be
great to have a town event. Some suggested we have a costume
contest, and tell popular local ghost stories and legends. At least
a dozen people, including two of the museum board members, were at
that meeting at the mayor’s office.”

“
Let’s see if any of them
step up to admit to it now,” LaShaun said in a grim
tone.

“
We cannot condone these
kinds of activities, or be idle while wickedness takes hold in high
places. Yes, Mr. Mayor, I know you want to bring tourists and more
businesses to Beau Chene. Be careful what else you bring in the
process.” Reverend Fletcher’s voice dropped low giving the
warning.

“
Whoa, this guy doesn’t
play. He knows exactly which buttons to push. Mayor Savoie hates
controversy.” LaShaun looked at Savannah who nodded
back.

“
Finally, we have to be
sure that those we elect to positions of authority are rooted in
righteousness. We’re not just talking about the city hall. Right
across from that seat of power sits another important office.
Sheriff Triche has served this town well, and we must choose wisely
when we replace him. Values, my friends, are reflected in behavior
and who they associate themselves with. Isn’t that what we teach
our children? That they should mind the company they keep? Of
course. Then it stands to reason that we can do no less for those
who are role models for us and our children.”