Echoes in the Bayou (43 page)

"That's
what you say Mister DuPonte but I am here to tell you that what you're telling
me is impossible. Look, the Gas and Go station was shut down after the owner
shot himself.
"

 
Ava and Magnus exchanged looks; it was slowly starting
to sink in.

"Detective,
do you know the story of what happened?" She asked
. The look on his face told her that he did.

"
Oh no not this legend again," The rookie let out
a mocking snicker. He'd heard all about the legend from the old timers down at
the station.

His
partner shot him a look that told him to respect his superiors. "Sorry
sir," he said to his much older partner
.

"Miss
Montgomery, I was a teenager back then but I remember the story well. My
partner here is right, It is somewhat of a legend around these parts but I
believe in it enough not to go messing around in that old place.  Well
anyway the story goes, back in '67or '68 this young couple passing through
stopped at the Gas and Go, now it was for sale at the time and on a whim, they decided
to buy it. Now the owners were getting up in age so they worked out a pretty
good deal on the place.

Now a
couple years go by and like any place that starts to get old, things start
falling apart, and there was plenty of things that were in desperate need of
repair. So when they couldn’t keep up with the place, they start thinking that
maybe it's time to sell it and move on. They were hoping to save up enough
money so they could move on up to Canada, wanted to buy a nice piece of land,
build a house, and start a family. 

So the
young man takes on a bartending job at night, he figures his wi
fe can run the place at night while he's doing his
bartending gig.

Well one
night a group of thugs down from Portland are driving through and the
y decided to stop at the Gas and Go. It was late and
she was just about to close shop when they come barging in. So she figures,
she'll take care of 'em and get 'em out as fast as she can. Well they had other
plans because next thing you know she's lying dead on the floor behind the
counter.

Those
rotten bastard
s had taken everything out the
register and then decided to rape and beat her to death.

Report
said the
thugs were on dope or something. Anyway
hubby comes by to pick up his wife and he finds her lying in a pool of blood
beaten beyond recognition. He calls the cops and before they get there, he
shoots himself in the head. At first they thought it was a murder suicide, but
when someone overheard one of the thugs talking about a hold up and how they'd
beaten a woman to death, well it didn’t take long for the cops to catch up to
all of 'em.

 
"My god," Ava sat overwhelmed. "So
heartbreaking."

"Yes
ma'a
m it certainly was, especially in a small
town like this."

"Detective,
you wouldn’t happen
to know the names of the
couple would you?" Ava asked. Magnus knew what she was thinking because he
had been thinking it too.

"Yes
ma'am, never forget, William and Celeste Nomiuet.
"

Magnus
carefully returned the baby to the bassinet next to Ava's bed, he felt
lightheaded.

Now it
was he and Ava's turn to sit dumbfounded. The older detective cleared his
throat. "Look, the way I see it, you two hav
e
been through enough. We'll make out our report and it'll read something like
this. Steve Cason flew here to Vermont to try and destroy yours and Mister
DuPonte's life; he'd spent most of his time and money snorting cocaine. When
his supplier told him that he was going to have to wait to be replenished, he
subsequently drove to Miss Montgomery's house where he hid in the backseat of
her car, and lain in wait for the chance to shoot her.

When she
stopped at the light on the corner of Jenson and Gardenia Road, Mister Cason
saw his chance and forced her to pull into the parking lot of the abandoned Gas
and Go.

Now I
don’t need to go into the rest but that's about the gist of it and if it's o
kay with you all, then that's somewhat how it'll read
in the report. 

 
And I'm not saying that I believe in ghosts," he
said looking at his partner who'd been eyeing him suspiciously throughout the
entire conversation. "What I will say is that you ended up at that place
for a reason and that if somebody did help you out well then I couldn’t think
of a better man to do it than William Nomiuet."

 
Ava let out a sigh. "I appreciate that detective
but answer me this, surely when the police showed up they had to have seen that
someone else was there!" She almost shouted.

"No
ma'am, I inquired about that and what the cops saw when they pulled up was you
standing there doubled over in pain and Mr. Cason pointing the gun at you. The
entire
place was deserted, believe me, we
checked every square inch of the place."

And so
far Mister Cason hasn’t said anything about this so called attendant and if he
does, well I'll think of something," he said and patted his partner on the
back
.

"I
can't bel
ieve you just said all that without
having to write a word of it down," his partner stared blankly at him.

"Son
when you've been on the job as long as I have it doesn't take long before you
realize that some things are better if they're stored right up her
e," he said tapping the side of his head.

"
And I told ya, some legends are true. Now let's let
these new parents enjoy their beautiful baby girl," he said and winked at
them before leaving.

 "Well
that settles it," Magnus said.

"Settles
what
?"

"We
have two guardian angels looking out for us Ava, so it looks like we're going
to have to have a son, just so we can name him Will. I mean it's only
fair," he said with a smirk
.

"And
I suppose you think that I want to go through all that pain again?"
She asked her tone full of resentment.

Magnus
looked at her and immediately began to apologize. "Ava, I 'm so sorry I
didn’t mean to sound insensitive, I was …
"

She could
hi
de the grin on her face no longer.

 
"You scared me," he grinned and leaned in for
a long and passionate kiss.

"And
just so you know, I plan on having a lot more babies with you," she said
and kissed him back. "Bu
t for now let's
concentrate on getting me and the baby out of this hospital. I'm so ready to go
home."

 After
having to stay in the hospital a total of four days, she was finally discharged
and allowed to go home. She laughed as she watched Magnus drive home from the
hospital. "Sweetheart, there's a line of cars behind us," she
grinned.

"That's
too bad
, they'll have to wait or go
around." He sat nervously behind the wheel. Although the ride home took
longer than usual, Ava didn’t mind at all. While Nina sat asleep buckled up
safe and sound in her car seat, Ava thought about Sterling, and the rest of her
friends who were anxiously awaiting their arrival.

Pink
balloons lined the long driveway as they pulled in and she smiled when she saw
them waiting to welcome home the newest addition to the family.

Even
though they had all visited her whil
e she was in
the hospital she knew that there was nothing like having your friends and
family waiting for you when you arrived home.

"She
looks like an angel," Kelly said as she welcomed her home
.

 
Kisses and hugs were given out and while Adrian and
Kelly walked Ava and the baby inside, Magnus pulled Sterling off to the side.

"Did
you get it?" He asked
.

"Oh
I got it honey; there is nothing to worry about. But are you sure you want
everyone here when you do it?" He eyed him up and down as if he were crazy
.

"No,
I'm not crazy and yes I want all of our friends around us when I do it. I know
that she'll like
that idea very much."

"Now
that's funny," Sterling couldn’t help but grin
.

"What?
"

"This
is one of those freakish moments where I actually agree with you," he said
.

"But
don’t tell anybody," he winked and joined the others in the house
.

 
"Ava honey are you sure you're up for us being
here? Sweetheart you just got out of the hospital and you had a C-section for
goodness sake. Aren't you sore?"

She
chuckled. "I'm not tired, and yes I'm a little bit sore but it's nothing
that I can't
handle. Besides, being here with
all of you is exactly what the doctor ordered."

"Well
in that case, Magnus break out the champagne and let the fun begin!
"

A little
while later it was time to show Nina to her brand new room.

 
They had decorated the nursery in warm neutral tones
and Ava smiled as she walked into the room. The sun was peeking through the
blinds and it reflected off the antique crystal sconces that hung from the
walls. The clinking of the tiny crystals made the room appear even more
magical. She and Magnus stayed a moment and watched as Nina fell fast asleep.
He turned to her and held her in a warm and loving embrace.

"You
mentioned something about me bei
ng
fulfilled?" He questioned her and looked into her eyes. They were
sparkling and he was mesmerized.

 
"Yes I did."

"Ava,
I have never been this fulfilled in my entire life, I have you and Nina to
thank for it
."

"Magnus,
I feel so much joy in my heart now and it's all
because of you and this little angel right here," she said and gently
touched little Nina.

"Sleep
well little angel," they said before turning on the baby monitor and video
recorder
.

Not only
would they be able to hear Nina while she slept but they would also be able to watch
her. The high tech monitors were a gift from Sterling and Anthony. "It's
the least we can do for our little goddaughter," they hinted. Ava hadn’t
told them yet that she and Magnus had long ago decided to make Sterling and
Anthony, Nina's godparents. She remembered when she asked Kelly if she would be
offended.

"Not
in the least bit," said Kelly. "Ava I know that Sterling has been
there for you practically from day one and both he and Anthony love you. But I
want you to make sure that little Nina knows that I am and always will be her
number one aunt. You and I may not be related by blood but we've been through
some pretty intense things and we made it through together so in my book, that
makes us sisters."

"I
couldn’t have said it better myself Kell," she s
miled and hugged her friend. "And who knows, Adrian and I may want
to hear the pitter patter of little feet too." She winked at her friend.

Chapter
Thirty One

"All
set," Sterling winked. While Magnus kept Ava busy upstairs, he and the
rest of her friends busied themselves with lighting the candles, fireplace, and
refilling the champagne glasses. They had turned the already cozy living room
into the perfect setting fit for a marriage proposal.  No matter what time
of year Ava loved white twinkling lights, so Sterling had gone over while she
was in the hospital and discreetly placed them around the windows in the living
room

When he plugged them in, they all commented on how
wonderful the tiny lights looked as they shone through the lace curtains.
"Looks beautiful," Anthony said as he wrapped his arm around him.

"She'll
be down in a minute, she wanted to change," Magnus told them when he came
downst
airs.

"Everything
looks great guys, thanks so much for wanting to be a part of this.
"

"Thank
you for including us," Adrian said
.