Evil in Hockley (23 page)

Amos eyed the grass and decided it
would last another day or two. He would drive to the coffee shop
and visit with friends. He had something to tell everyone in any
case. Harry Tanner had left town.

Sandy went through Harry’s desk while
Karma mixed them both a rum and cola. She came upon an envelope
addressed to Jarrod Tanner. It read,

“As the only relative of record we need
to inform you that Harry Tanner was killed on June 5 of this year.
He was on personal leave and homebound when his jeep was attacked
by terrorists. He was hit with shrapnel from a hand grenade and
killed instantly. Please advise us where the body should be sent.
We have it in deep freeze in Sudbury. The address and phone numbers
are listed below.”

Sandy cried,

“This can’t be right.”

Karma rushed into the room.

Sandy went through the other papers and
found some regarding a prearranged funeral made out by Harry two
days ago.

Sandy repeated,

“This can’t be right.”

Karma scanned the papers then
said,

“He’s dead sweetie. He died on the way
home to bury Jarrod.”

“No, you saw him. He’s
alive.”

They were both in tears.

“No Sandy. That’s why no one could kill
him. He was already dead.”

“How did you know?”

“I didn’t. Mother did. Why do you think
she let him in with Shelley? I saw the look in mother’s eyes and
the way she treated him.”

“This can’t be right,
Karma.”

“That’s why he got caught in my hawk
spell. His spirit is up there with the hawks.”

Sandy called the number in Sudbury and
was told they still had the body in their morgue. She and Karma
drove non stop and were there by six that evening. They showed ID
and Harry’s papers.

A mist rose off the body when they
displayed Harry’s remains. Sandy was crushed and her legs gave out.
Karma pulled her to a chair.

The following day she made arrangements
to have the body picked up and transported to the funeral home in
Orangeville. Harry was cremated a few days later. Sandy and Karma
carried the urn to the hill behind Harry’s house and scattered the
ashes to the four winds. A hawk circled above and screeched as the
ashes ascended the heavens.

No one can ignore the Lord’s call but
sometimes one can be a little late and He won’t mind.

THE END.

Afterwards

I can think of no other city more
fascinating and attractive in North America than New Orleans and
above all the French Quarter which is huge consisting of 78 square
blocks. The east side borders on the Mississippi River so River
Boats can be seen and tours booked.

Mardi Gras day is on
“
Fat
Tuesday,
”
before Ash Wednesday. It was on March 4 in 2014 and will be
held on February 17 in 2015 and February 9 in 2016. The Mardi Gras
Festival however starts on January 6 and runs through the summer
one year until July 27.

Bourbon Street in the French Quarter
has a host of bar rooms and entertainment mostly Jazz based. There
is no end to cuisine from Creole to Cajun cooking. Tourist sites
are too numerous to mention, hosting architecture on par with
sights seen in European cities. I believe the entire French Quarter
is a tourist site and a must to be seen.

I
’
ve included a short history of this fascinating city for
those wanting to understand what makes it so unique.

New Orleans was settled by French explorers, fur trappers,
and traders who arrived in the early 1690
’
s. It was officially
founded and named by the French in 1718 as Nouvelle-Orleans. In
1722 it was made the capital of French Louisiana.

After a British victory over France in 1763 and a
complicated agreement between Britain, France, and Spain, New
Orleans was given to Spain. This is significant mainly because the
original city was destroyed by fire and hurricanes after 1788 and
rebuilt by the Spanish in the early 1800
’
s.

Although called The French Quarter the architecture is of
Spanish design. The wooden buildings were replaced by brick
multi-storied structures, had large doorways and windows decorated
with wrought iron. The entire city, being designated as a
historical site, was never torn down and rebuilt like other
American cities. The original structures built in the early
1800
’
s still remain intact today preserved by loyal
residents.

In 1800 Spain gave Louisiana back to
France. In 1803 Napoleon sold Louisiana to the U.S. in the
Louisiana Purchase. Due to the shift in power and immigration from
different countries over the years New Orleans residents consist of
numerous cultures.

Louisiana Creole people are descended
from French, Spanish, and African settlers. The Creole language is
a dialect consisting of French and African with a little native
American thrown in. There are an estimated two million Creole
people living mostly in Louisiana.

Cajuns are an ethnic group living
mostly in the state of Louisiana and are descendants of French
Acadian settlers exiled from Acadia, now the Maritimes. There are
less than a million living in Louisiana today. They are known
throughout North America for their cuisine, Cajun
cooking.

Voodoo was brought to Louisiana from
Africa and Haiti. Enslaved Africans brought with them their
cultural practices, languages and religious beliefs. They had
knowledge of herbs to heal and poisons to kill their enemies. After
the abolition of slavery the African culture did not die out but
thrived under the French Creole culture.

Voodoo Queens presided over ceremonial meetings, sold or
traded charms and magical powders guaranteed to heal ailments. They
also administrated charms and amulets that would grant desires or
destroy one
’
s enemies.

Marie Catherine Leveau was a Louisiana practitioner of
Voodoo renowned in New Orleans and known throughout Louisiana. She
was born around the beginning of the 1800
’
s. Her daughter was
also named Marie Leveau which causes some confusion as to who did
what in the mid 1800
’
s. It was believed the mother was more powerful
and the daughter hosted events such as the St.
John
’
s Eve ritual. Twelve thousand spectators stood on the
shores of Lake Pontchartrain to watch Marie Leveau II perform
legendary rites on St. John
’
s Eve.

One might wonder how the mother and
daughter could influence the multiracial cultures of the times. She
gave people reason to believe in her at a time when little else was
available to relieve suffering from injury or disease. She gave
potions and cast spells to heal the sick. She could also grant
wishes. One must remember there was no lottery at the
time.

Marie Catherine Leveau reigned as the Voodoo Queen of New
Orleans until her death in 1881. Some reported seeing her after her
supposed demise. Numerous songs have been written about Marie one
called
“
Witch Queen of New Orleans,
”
and another
“
Marie La
Veau.
”
Several movies have also been made using the name Marie
Leveau or Queen Marie.

Nowadays Voodoo attracts many tourists
to the French Quarter and is and industry selling charms and
amulets. Today there are many Voodoo Queens in New Orleans and
twice as many Voodoo priestesses. None has a carved in stone
following as did Marie Leveau.

North of New Orleans lay the bayou
which is typically a wetland surrounding river and streams that
flow into the Mississippi. A diverse animal population lives in
this area including alligators and some crocodiles. Bayou tours are
available on Airboats otherwise known as Swamp Gliders. There are
also larger flat bottom boats that traverse larger rivers and
lakes. Scenery in this area is unique especially in areas hosting
the majestic cypress trees. Growths can be so dense that trees and
vines appear to form a wall.

More About Other
Books

by William
Buckel

“
All about Ivy,
”
is a paranormal thriller. Ivy is in
an asylum and her husband Jason is dying of cancer. All three of
their children have an IQ over 200 which defies all known odds. No
one in the family knows they
’
re being watched by
the Research Company that created the technology hidden in a
fertility drug used by Ivy to create her three genius children. The
youngest boy, Mickey, knows there
’
s something wrong. He
hacks computers aided by an expert CyberWolf and his girlfriend
Firefly. It
’
s a complicated web of intrigue that only
Ivy
’
s gifted children can unravel.

“
Magdelana,
”
is a paranormal thriller. Sara DeAngelo is a
doctor turned private investigator who takes a case involving an
abduction. Archaeology Professor Marty Rockwell has apparently
kidnapped Jessie Cross, a student, and taken her across the Mexican
border. Sara follows them to Rockwell
’
s dig, an old church,
hit by lightning 500 years ago. Before her eyes, during a storm,
Sara watches Jessie transform into the Mayan woman, Magdelana who
died in the church when it was destroyed. Sara has problems dealing
with the change yet can find no other explanation. She follows as
Magdelana searches for a lost city and her final
destiny.

The Jackie Star Collection consists of 6 books: Baja
Nights, Star Investigations, A Star File, Dangerous Blondes, Final
Closure, and The Border. Jackie is an investigator facing daily
challenges, her life a mess since childhood. If you like Indiana
Jones adventures you might like Jackie. There
’
s little room for
emotions in her life as she fights for family, friends, and
clients. She
’
s a vigilante and won
’
t think twice about
killing a rogue politician or company CEO. It
isn
’
t until the sixth book that we find out how screwed up a
person she really is. She has a split personality, hers, and her
dead mother
’
s, Angel Star, a stripper and prostitute who overdosed on
cocaine. Jackie is the loving trusting person but when trouble
comes then so does Angel to bail her out.

The Tyhton Trilogy consists of three tales: The Enchantress
of Tyhton, Tales of Tyhton and The Dragon Lord of Tyhton. These are
fantasies played out at a time when Wizards, Sorceresses, Elves,
Dwarves and Witches roamed the earth. It is a tale of fantasy
castles, knights, dragons, and princesses. Sixteen year old Jensen
Taggart has no idea she
’
s gifted let alone the
only Enchantress on earth. She is the only person capable of
defeating the wizard, Kamahl, who is attempting to unleash
creatures from the underworld on mankind. During the course of the
trilogy she grows into the role. In the first book she begins as a
naïve girl but by book three she has both aged and developed into
the deadliest adversary anyone could possibly have.

“
A Viking Tale,
”
isn
’
t the traditional
blood and guts tale one expects associated with this subject. The
theme of the story is based on slavery. When is a slave not a
slave? When a slave becomes the master. It is an epic tale of two
generations of Vikings. It begins when Wolf a Swedish King captures
a tax wagon laden with gold and abducts Abigail Links, a sixteen
year old, living in a village on the south English coast. Abby
never assumes her role as a slave and uses Wolf
’
s love for her to bend
his will. The tax master, Lord Sandow, swears revenge and follows
Wolf to his home in Sweden. Oddly enough although Wolf stole gold
and abducted a woman it was his only raid as King of his lands. He
was a peaceful sort thinking more about the welfare of his people
than monetary gains. He also claimed he
’
d never take slaves
yet made one exception when he abducted Abby. He fell in love at
first sight and couldn
’
t leave without her. The tale starts at the
beginning of the first Century 1000 AD and ends with the death of
William the Conqueror 1087.

“
The Ghosts of Kara Keep,
”
is an epic story of three
generations living in a castle set into Hadrian
’
s Wall in northern
Britain. It is a tale that starts prior to the first century 1000
AD then ends around 1080 AD. These were violent years in Britain
when Saxons and Vikings fought for the English throne. Ironically
neither was able to keep it as William the Conqueror brought a
French army to England and claimed the throne. That started
hundreds of years of conflict between the English and the French
over ownership of Britain. The story focuses on three generations
of women at Kara Keep as they fought to preserve family values
during difficult times. Arranged marriages is the theme of the
story: merely the idea of having a life of your own choosing and
not that of the King. William the Conqueror
’
s harrying of the
north also brought about the destruction of castles and brought an
end to many old British families. This story does not have a happy
ending but hope for the future of a lone survivor.