Sugar Doll's Hurricane Blues (17 page)

“Bertrand did this to me. It was Bertrand.” Tony whispered as loudly as he could even as his life poured out of him. In rasping gasps Tony spoke his last words. “Bertrand.” Remy tried to pull out of the grasp not wanting to believe the words that were spoken but knowing deep inside they were true. The reality of Tony’s impending death made it true. He turned away from that truth. As he did so he saw Sugar Doll slowly approaching, warily wondering if he held her mother. He looked back down at Tony’s face and there was the glassy sightless eyes that spoke only of death.

Chapter Fourteen

The winds picked up and the boat rollicked back and forth. Bertrand felt himself become nauseous for the fourth time. He was deeply regretting those hamburgers he had earlier. He had forgotten about his seasickness. He had forgotten that he wasn’t a strong swimmer. He thought of good old Uncle Charlie fighting the good fight. He was a seasoned seaman. “You are the dumbest niggah I ever did know.” Bertrand imitated Uncle Charlie’s high pitched cackling voice. He thought that this once Uncle Charlie had been right. “I wonder if Tony is all right.” He wondered aloud for the first time. There would be hell to pay if a Marsalas was murdered. He was in enough trouble as it was but when things cooled down he planned to go back to the city and pretend that nothing had happened. He looked at his surroundings and realized that it would be a long hurricane. The wind gust outside was picking up. He needed some fresh air to help quell the nausea he was feeling. He tried to balance his heavy body as he walked to the cabin door. He looked outside of the window; the water had come up on the bow of the boat. He could see that the water level was extremely high and at a dangerous level. He would have to untie from the pier in order to ride the storm out in the first place. He ran outside to the pier and tried to loosen the thick
rope but it was as tight as nails. Fear sprang into his heart not for the first time this morning. He went back into the cabin and found an axe. He went back to the rope and began hacking away at it. It began to give. “You stupid old rope, c’mon now.” Bertrand shouted losing his temper. He was afraid. The waves crashed against the boat. The storm had picked up considerably since the hour he had arrived to the dock. The boat was rocking against the rope as though it were a horse trying to get away from its owner.

Bertrand continued hacking away when in success the rope gave. He hopped on the pier to give the boat a push. This really wasn’t necessary because the current was so strong that the boat had already begun to move toward the sea. Bertrand glanced back at his car. He thought for a moment that he should just give up and drive back to the city or Baton Rouge or Tennessee. He turned and jumped on the boat. His fate was set and he would have to ride it out to the end.

“Oh my God Remy, what happened? Did he tell you?” Sugar Doll felt herself grow weak at the sight of Tony’s dead body. Remy closed Tony’s eyes and then pulled the cover over his face.

“I don’t know Sugar Doll. He said that Bertrand did it. Bertrand.” Remy repeated unbelieving.

“What? That ‘s ridiculous, Bertrand doesn’t have a violent bone in his body and why would he kill Tony?” Sugar Doll asked outraged.

“I don’t know Sugar Doll. I don’t think Bertrand would do such a thing. He was in a lot of debt though. Maybe something
happened. There is only one way to find out and that’s to find Mona.” Remy deduced.

“I’ve looked everywhere and she doesn’t seem to be here. They are transporting people to another hospital. The hurricane is getting closer and it’s dangerous. Oh Remy, I’m scared.” Sugar Doll cried and fell into his arms.

Mona walked up Canal Street searching for a taxi but it was a fruitless search. Her bar wasn’t too far away but the stinging rain made her uncomfortable. She still had on her high heels. Too many things were going on for her to change into more comfortable attire. “I wonder if that bastard is dead.” Mona thought to herself. She let out an unexpected wail. She cried bitterly as she realized that she had loved that man. She couldn’t see but this time it wasn’t because of the rain, it was her grief and her tears that clouded her vision. She stumbled into the French Quarter crying against a gray stoned building. She fell to the ground crying uncontrollably. For the first time in her life she was utterly alone. She thought of Tony’s blue flashing eyes and his charming smile and she cried even harder. She realized that what she had felt for him all of those years was pride. Pride that he had chosen her. He was addicted to her as she was to him. No matter what fights they had they always came together in passion and love. There were many women who loved Tony but only one who he loved and that had been Mona. He had set her up with her own business and then frequented the place so much because he loved being around her. Her energy was wonderful. He had loved her beauty but it was her intelligence that kept him coming back to his caramel colored lady. The guys
laughed at him for his guma but he never had a wife to cheat on and he rarely cheated on Mona. When she found out about any affair he would drop the woman and deny her completely. Theirs had been a love story. Even the way Mona walked out on him in his final moments was what Tony considered class. A clingy, sad woman made him sweat but Mona with her steely reserve had left him just the way that he liked it, independent and alone. Now here she fell on a street corner crying for the man she realized she had always loved. She didn’t weaken and turn to the hospital. She straightened herself and wiped her eyes as she stood in the pouring rain and she ran toward home, toward safety.

“Katrina has been upgraded to a Category 4 Hurricane.” The news report droned on and both Elise and Patrice hugged each other. The Superdome was so hot that it felt like a sauna. Patrice and Elise found themselves wishing they had gone with Sugar Doll. Rain had begun to leak through the ceiling and the sense of fear was palpable. The wind gusts outside had picked up considerably and both girls held onto each other although some of that wind would be welcomed in this dank hole. They moved from their high spots because the water was dripping down on them.

“Is that woman dead?” Elise asked pointing to an elderly woman who seemed to be propped up clumsily to the chair.

“Quit it! She ain’t dead, she’s just sleeping stupid.” Patrice responded annoyed.

“Then that’s a deep sleep honey.” Elise answered cynically.

The girls both openly stared at the old woman. Bobby Joe and Tommy both approached the girls interested in this new sport, “What are ya’ll staring at?”

“That lady over there looks…well she looks… Patrice stammered feeling faint.

“She looks dead.” Bobby Joe finished her sentence.

“Let’s move ya’ll. We found a spot that isn’t wet and smells a hellava lot better. We been looking for ya’ll for a minute.” Bobby Joe said taking Patrice’s hand.

“For True?” Elise reached for Tommy’s hand who promptly avoided her touch.

“Yeah, like it’s dangerous here man. All of the homeboys from the 9
^th
ward and Algiers are here and we thought about ya’ll all alone and stuff. We gonna protect you.” Bobby Joe said winking back at Elise.

“Why thank you.” Elise said stepping forward between Patrice and Bobby Joe. “It’s a scary place and we were starting to be afraid.” She took Bobby Joe’s hand, who was much too polite to take it away. He glanced over at Patrice. The four of them walked down the long stairway of the stadium to the east side of the dome. Tommy turned on his radio.

“We’ve got to find Mona.” Remy said as he took Sugar Doll’s hand. “The only place besides the French Quarters she could go would be the Superdome.”

Sugar Doll wasn’t as certain as Remy. They were in their car but the wind and the rain was overwhelming. Signs were straining at their bases and the traffic lights whipped back and forth at an alarming rate. “The French Quarters are already
experiencing wind damage and fallen trees. Please be advised that the Quarters are closed to the public.” A news reporter droned on as Remy hit his hand on the steering wheel. Sugar Doll changed the station. “Mayor Thompson has ordered a mandatory evacuation. The hurricane has been upgraded as a category five and is expected to create a state of emergency.”

“Oh Remy, what are we going to do?” Sugar Doll cried thinking about the fact that the club was on the tree lined Royal Street.

“We are going to go to the Quarters to see if Mona is still there and then we are going to head to Gonzales before it’s too late.” Remy nosed his car toward the Quarters. The rain fell down heavily but it wasn’t as bad there as had been reported. It was no more than a bad thunderstorm. As they came close to the club there was a tree strewn in front of the narrow street so Remy just stopped the car where they were and hopped out quickly. He looked back in and signaled for Sugar Doll to stay where she was. He walked around the perimeter of the building and could see that it was locked up tightly. He went to the back alley and saw Mona’s Lincoln Continental packed up to the roof. He walked to the back stairway and yelled up, “Mona! Mona!” There was no answer. He knocked on the door and the adjacent window and saw no signs of life. He knocked harder and stood and waited. He shrugged and walked back down the steps to the front street. Sugar Doll was standing in the rain holding her arms. She looked beautiful. “Honey, get back in the car, she isn’t there.” Remy ran up to her and led her back to her side of the car.

The storm was getting worse and it was important to find shelter. Remy and Sugar Doll drove up to Claiborne street to hit the expressway but were met with a blockade. There
were orange signs all over but no one to give direction. Remy realized that he had waited too long and that they had to find immediate shelter. He knew that the French Quarters were on higher ground and so returned to his apartment on Vieux Carre at Dumaine and Royal. Sugar Doll sat silently. “Honey, it looks like we are going to have to ride this thing out here. After the storm we will go to the Superdome to look for your mama I promise.”