Rue Toulouse (47 page)

She started to say no, then hesitated. “I don’t recall either of them saying anything, but I do remember I didn’t like the looks on their faces.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought they looked smug and, well, rather cruel. Remi, I’m so sorry. I was supposed to be here to help you, and I failed.”

Remi scowled and got to his feet. “You didn’t fail me, Pet. I failed you.” He turned to Bobby and Antoine, then silently cursed at the pale anger on Bobby’s face.

In a low voice filled with emotion, Bobby asked, “What the goddamned hell’s been going on around here? And what do my mother and sister have to do with Grandmère’s disappearance?”

As Remi opened his mouth to reply, his blood went cold. Caterine’s voice, clear but faint, came through from her hidden microphone to his earpiece.

“Travis, why are you doing this to us?”

Remi stood motionless, then heard Travis say, “Shut up and walk, Caterine.”

Antoine gave Remi’s arm a shake. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Caterine.”
 

Their portable radios screeched. “Yes,” Remi yelled into his radio.

“Remi, it’s Sosa. Can you hear me?”

“Yes. Where’s Caterine?”

“I don’t know. I just found Paul LaBeau down. He’s been tased.”

Remi swore long and hard in Cajun.

“Remi, it’s Philippe.” Antoine held up his radio. “He says the gallery camera showed Caterine going down the back stairs with some guy.”

This time Remi cursed in English as he headed for the sitting room door, calling over his shoulder as he ran, “Antoine, stay with Pet and go with her to the hospital.”

“Wait for me.” Bobby was right on Remi’s heels. “If my mother and sister are involved, I’m coming with you.”

“What’s the quickest way to the back?” Remi asked as they ran.

“This way.” Bobby led them along the hall, around a corner, then down a flight of stairs that took them into the large kitchen. As they made their way through the house, patches of Caterine’s conversation with Travis came through Remi’s earpiece.

“This leads to a courtyard and the parking area by the old stables.” Bobby pushed open a heavy wooden door, and they charged into the night.

As they rounded the courtyard wall, Remi saw a white panel van halfway down the drive on the far side of the parking area. Then in his ear he heard a woman scream, “Zap her with the Taser, you idiot. We have to get out of here before that coon-ass boyfriend of hers finds us.”

Remi was breathing hard when he spotted a figure lying on the ground near where the van had been parked. Fearing it was Caterine, he quickened his pace. Relief washed over him when he realized it wasn’t her.

Next to him, Bobby panted. “My God, is that Jonathan Day?”

Bending to get a closer look, Remi realized the man on the ground was the one he’d stopped from bothering Caterine.

“Is he dead?”

“No, I’d say he’s been tased.”

“What the hell does he have to do with this?” Bobby asked.

“I don’t know. He’d been dating Caterine, and she broke it off with him. How he’s involved is anyone’s guess.”

“Now what do we do?”

In a voice as hard as steel and as cold as ice, Remi replied, “We go get Caterine.”

Something sparkling on the ground caught his eye. Reaching to pick it up, his heart lurched. In his palm rested a silver and diamond fleur-de-lis hair clip. He heard Bobby’s sudden intake of breath.

“My God, that’s Caterine’s. Remi, do you think Caterine and Grandmère are both in that van?”

Remi nodded. Closing his hand around the clip, he said a prayer before placing it in his pocket. “Come on, we’ve got to follow them.” He ran toward his car.

“What about Jonathan?” Bobby asked as he followed.

“Leave him.”

Bobby jerked open the T-bird’s passenger door and slid into the seat. “How are we supposed to find them?”

Remi smiled. “With this.” He flicked a switch, and a blinking white dot appeared on a screen mounted to the dashboard.

“A tracking device?”

Remi nodded as he turned onto St. Charles. “It’s part of Caterine’s hidden mike. Another precaution we took.”

“Does she know she’s being tracked?”

“No. I figured the less she knew the better.” Watching the white dot, Remi narrowed his eyes. “Where the hell are they going?”

Bobby studied the screen. “What’s wrong?”

Remi scowled. “They’re crossing the river on 90 toward the west bank.”

“It looks like they’re turning onto 45,” Bobby said. “The Jean Lafitte preserve is in that direction.”
 

“Fuckin’ A.” Remi increased his speed.

Bobby narrowed his eyes. “It’s time for you to tell me what the hell’s going on, and how my sister and mother are involved.”

Remi glanced over at Bobby’s confused, scared face and sighed. “All right, but this involves more of your family than just your mother and sister. And I imagine you’re going to have a hard time believing most of it.”

Bobby stared straight ahead, his hands clenched into fists, listening as Remi began.

After he’d concluded, minutes passed in silence. Then in a voice full of rage and contempt, Bobby said, “I always knew I came from a messed up family, but this is too fucking much. You’re telling me that right now, in that van, my mother, my sister, and Travis Jenkins have kidnapped Caterine and Grandmère and are planning to kill them to get their hands on Ma Chérie? You realize that sounds crazy, right?”

Remi sighed. “I said you wouldn’t believe me.”

Bobby laughed without humor. “I didn’t say I don’t believe you. I just said it’s crazy. Unfortunately, I believe every word.” He turned his attention to their surroundings as Remi slowed the car. “Where are we?”

“They’re following a damn service road.” The taillights of the van came into sight and Remi killed his headlights, driving by the light of a sliver of a crescent moon.

He knew he had to remain calm and focused, but he could feel his self-control slipping as, through the earpiece, he heard Miss Dauphine ask Caterine how bad she was cut and someone he assumed to be Hyacinth telling Caterine she was going to feed her to the gators.

“Bobby, I’ve been able to listen off and on to what’s happening in the van. Caterine and Miss Dauphine are still alive, but it sounds as if Caterine is hurt.” He hesitated before continuing. “And I’m sorry, but your mother is threatening to kill Caterine.”

An ominous thump came from under the car as it jerked to a stop.
 

“Fuck.”

“Christ, what did you hit?”

“Hell if I know.” Remi put the car in reverse, trying to back off whatever had them hung up. Grinding sounds came from under the car. “
Merde. Fils de putain. Putain de merde
,” he cursed, slamming his fist against the dash. “Come on, Bobby, we’re going the rest of the way on foot.”

Remi grabbed a flashlight from under his seat and jumped from the car. He hadn’t taken two steps when he clearly heard Caterine in his earpiece screaming his name.

“Grandmère,” Caterine sobbed as Paulette’s thrust from the Taser left Miss Dauphine lying limp on the van floor. All the hurt and cruelty these two women had subjected her to throughout her life manifested itself into a strength Caterine didn’t know she possessed. Ignoring the blood streaming down her side from the knife wound, and with a guttural sound that was pure animal, Caterine came off the floor kicking and swinging. Paulette was the first to feel her fury. Raking her nails across her cousin’s face, Caterine let out a string of cuss words that would have made Remi proud. Before Paulette could react, Caterine slapped her with as much force as she could muster. As she reared back for another onslaught, Caterine winced in pain as her hair was practically ripped from her scalp and a hard object was shoved into her back.
 

“I’m going to love watching you die, you haughty little slut,” Hyacinth hissed into Caterine’s ear. “You were born into privilege, but you’ve shown your true nature by spreading your legs for that scum. Once you’re dead, my little girl is going to take your place in society as head of Ma Chérie. We’ll finally be shown the respect we deserve.”

Caterine could feel her strength waning and knew it was a matter of seconds before Hyacinth pulled the trigger on the Taser, rendering her incapable of movement. She had one more chance to escape. She drove her stiletto heel down hard onto Hyacinth’s foot. As Hyacinth cried out, Caterine jerked away. She shoved Paulette toward Hyacinth and scrambled to the front of the van. She made it to the passenger seat, fumbling with the door handle. Finally able to get the door open, she half crawled and half fell out onto the hard dirt road.

The heady smell of a bayou filled her nostrils. Wispy tentacles of Spanish moss dangled eerily from the branches of live oaks. In the dark, something slid into the water with a faint splash. Shaking uncontrollably, feeling slightly dizzy, she stumbled into the moonlit night. She hadn’t taken more than a few steps when she heard the back of the van open and Hyacinth’s taunting laughter.

“Remi-Re-Remi, pl-please, Remi, help us,” Caterine sobbed as she tried to put distance between her and her pursuer. As she heard Hyacinth’s footsteps gaining on her, she increased her speed only to be brought up short as she stepped in an unseen hole. She felt her ankle twist and fell to her knees. She tried desperately to stand, but Hyacinth was upon her. This time, instead of the Taser pressed to her back, Caterine felt the tip of a knife against her throat.

“Thank you for making this so easy for me,” Hyacinth said, laughing gleefully. “Now get up, whore.”

She grabbed Caterine’s arm and jerked her to her feet. Determined not to give Hyacinth the satisfaction of hearing her cry out in pain, Caterine bit down on her lip until she tasted blood.

“I love you, Remi,” she whimpered as she felt the knife slice into her neck.

Chapter Forty-Four

“I love you, too, Princess,” came a reassuringly familiar voice from the darkness.

Not sure it wasn’t her imagination, Caterine tentatively spoke, “Remi?”

“I’m here, Princess. Don’t move. It’s all over, Hyacinth,” Remi said, his voice low and menacing. “Drop the knife and step away from Caterine. Her Cajun loverboy is standing right behind you with a gun pointed at the back of your head. I suggest you don’t give me a reason to use it.”

“Mama, please, what’s wrong with you? Let Caterine go,” Bobby pleaded.

Caterine felt the knife blade on her neck begin to tremble as Hyacinth slowly turned them both around to face Remi and Bobby. Hyacinth’s shrill, startled voice quavered.

“Bobby, what are you doing here?”

He cautiously approached. “Mama, please, I want you to let Caterine go and give me the knife.”

“Bobby, no, go away,” Hyacinth wailed. “You shouldn’t be here! You’re ruining everything I’ve worked for.”

Tears filled Caterine’s eyes at the torment on her cousin’s face. “Bobby, I’m so sorry,” she murmured.

“Mama, stop.” Bobby’s voice broke on a sob. “Please, Mama, this isn’t right. You have to let Caterine go.”

“No. Don’t come any closer.”

Bobby was steps away from Caterine when Remi fired.

Caterine felt the weight of something strike her back, then Hyacinth’s piercing scream. The knife swung away from her throat, and Caterine dropped to her knees. Whimpering, she turned, expecting to see Hyacinth’s dead body. Instead, by the light of Remi’s flashlight, she saw the thick black snake curled next to her. Stifling her own scream, Caterine tried to get to her feet and felt herself lifted into Remi’s comforting embrace. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, buried her face in his neck, and sobbed.

He held her close as her tears dampened his skin. “It’s okay, Princess. It’s over. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

“Is she dead?” Caterine gasped.

Remi looked over to where Hyacinth stood silently crying, clasped in Bobby’s arms. “No, Bobby has her.” He took a deep breath. “Princess, are you all right?”

Caterine sniffed. “I thought you’d never get here. But how did you shoot that snake right out of the tree—in the dark?”

Remi smiled. “I was just lucky. I didn’t even know it was there. I shot up in the air over Hyacinth’s head to scare her, and the snake fell right on top of her.”