Rougarou II

by Judith Ann McDowell

  “The hood, he’s got pulled up over his head, makes him impossible to identify, though it’s as plain as the reason the Hindels came into the station this mornin’ where he came from.”

  “The view of the parking lot shows him walking in, so we can’t even get a make on a vehicle. The Hindels had this pretty-well thought out.”

  “Have you decided what we’re gonna tell the parents ‘bout the clothes? They know we have them…had them,” he corrected himself.

  “Yeah, had them!” Donavan kicked a chair out of his path on his way to the door. “I want to know how that fuck got in here this morning! Without the code, it’s impossible!”

  “What I wanna know, is why Jamison didn’t catch it on the monitor.”

  “That one I can answer!” Donavan pushed open the door to his office. “He didn’t see it, because the Hindels had him distracted with all their babbling about the kids!”

  “I hate to say it, but they pulled off a damn-near impossible feat! We know everyone in this department, so we can rule out any of them bein’ in on it. But, if someone didn’t give them the code, then how the hell did they get in?”

  “I don’t know.” Donavan sat down in his chair behind the desk, pulled out a cigarette. “I have a thought running through my head, I’m not comfortable with, Jack.”

  “What’s that?” he leaned back in the chair, propped his feet up on the desk.

  “Before Jonathan attacked Paulson, we considered Paulson a fine, upstanding part of this department, too.”

  “Don’t even go there, Donavon,” Jack warned him, his stomach tightening as little voices of guilt, right on cue, slipped into his mind. Uncomfortable he shifted, trying to shut out the pictures flashing into his mind before they could become shrieking flame throwers. “Paulson turned out to be just another of Jonathan Hindel’s victims. But, he chose death rather’n become a monster. I oughta know,” he flinched as one of the flame throwers made a direct hit, “I’m the one who shot his brains out.”

  Donavan blew a stream of smoke into the air, berating himself for bringing up the subject. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have gone there. But goddamn! How else do you explain someone getting in here this morning and walking out with an entire bag of evidence?”

  “I can’t explain it! One thing I can tell you, is a person can’t be a goddamn werewolf and work rotatin’ shifts!” His nerves continued to jump and the alluring smell of Donavan’s cigarette didn’t help matters. “If we learned anything from Jonathan Hindel, it’s you’re gonna be one of two things! Either you’re gonna be runnin’ ‘round on all fours barkin’ at the fuckin’ moon or, walkin’ upright with your shit together! We might not have the smartest men workin’ this department, but most of them got their shit together.” He ignored the brief look Donavan shot his way. “But, gettin’ back to who could have made off with the evidence, maybe he waited in the shadows while the deputy punched in the code.”

  “I don’t think so, if he got that close the deputy would have spotted him.”

  Out of patience now, Jack looked at him. “Do you have a better idea?”

  “I’m all out of guesses, Jack.” He rose to his feet, stubbed out his cigarette. “Nope, the way we’re going to figure this one out is with a crystal ball.”

  “Shit!” His feet hit the floor. “Why didn’t I think of that!”

  “Don’t be a smart-ass, Jack. I’m not in the mood for it!” He yanked his suit-coat from the back of the chair, jammed his arms through the sleeves.

  “For your information, I ain’t bein’ a smart-ass! You said we need a crystal ball! What I’m tryin’ to tell you is, we got somethin’ a lot better’n that; we got Seelah!”

  Donavan whirled! “Would she be able to tell us who came in here last night?”

  “Hell if I know!” He grabbed his jacket, felt the last of his tension slip away. “Let’s go find out!”

  Chapter Eleven

  Seelah breathed in deep and tried to relax her mind. “I’m not getting anything. I very seldom can unless I have something to hold or touch that the person I’m trying to tune into has left their energy on.”

  “Would it help if we went to the station?” Jack asked. “He had to touch the door in order to get inside.”

  “Yes, that could work.” She got to her feet, stood for a moment, with one hand pressed against her stomach before walking from her chair.

  Jack reached out to her. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah.” She chuckled at his concern. “I don’t know, but I think your son did a flip in the night and is getting ready for his long-awaited arrival.”

  Barbara placed her hand on the top of Seelah’s stomach, pushed her hand inward. “You’re right, the baby has dropped.”

  “Seelah, if you’d rather not do this, it’s okay,” Donavan told her, placing an arm around her shoulders.

  “Oh, Donavan, I’m fine,” she assured him. “He’s just a little heavier now, is all.”

  “Are you sure, baby?” Jack pulled her close to him. “I mean, if you don’t feel comfortable doin’ this, we can figure out somethin’ else to try.”

  “Would you stop worrying?” She extracted herself from his tight grip. “I’m in excellent health. At my last checkup, my pediatrician said the baby would be dropping any day now and she told me what to expect. Guess what? She didn’t lie.” She giggled outright. “He dropped and I do feel like I’m carrying an elephant.”

  “All right, if you’re sure it’s gonna be safe.” Jack placed a quick kiss on the side of her face. “The last thing I want is for the Hindels to put you and my son in danger.”

  The moment the words left his mouth, he felt icy chills skitter up the back of his neck. He turned away.

  “Jack,” Seelah touched his arm. “What is it?”

  “Nothin’.” He breathed a deep breath before turning to face her. “I just don’t feel comfortable with you bein’ involved in any of this.”

  “Don’t worry, my darling,” she brushed a loving hand down the side of his face, “I have faith that Chandra would warn me if I could be in any danger.”

  “Yeah.” Is all he could say as feelings of unease continued to mount in his already, churning stomach.

  “Okay then, I guess we’re ready to go find out who stole the evidence.” Donavan reached out to pull Barbara close for a quick hug. “We won’t be long, hon.”

  “Oh no, Mr. Detective, you’re not leaving me out of this! I’m going with you!” She slipped her feet into her sandals.

  “Don’t you think you should be here when Jenny comes home from school?” He tried to make light of his unease at having her along.

  “Oh, Donavan, Jenny’s almost a teenager. She’ll be fine on her own for a little while.” She looked at him. “Although, if you’d rather I don’t go, then I won’t.”

  “No, it’s fine.” He picked up his keys, as Seelah and Jack walked to the door. “I guess I’m like Jack. I don’t like having my wife involved with anything having to do with the Hindels.”

  “I appreciate your concern, but like Seelah said, we’ll be fine.”

  When they pulled into the parking space at the station, they all drew in their breath, as they saw Lawrence and Rafael Hindel waiting for them.

  “Can you believe the arrogance of those two pricks?” Jack opened the car door, stepped to the pavement. “You two wait here while we see what’s goin’ on.” He shut the door before either woman could argue.

  Donavan got out of the car and together they walked over to the Hindel’s minivan.

  “What a pleasant surprise,” Jack said, stopping in front of the two men smiling at him. “I didn’t think you’d have the nuts to show your face after what you did this mornin’,” he directed the comment at Rafael.

  “Why, Jack, whatever do you mean?” Rafael’s smile deepened. “We thought, since we couldn’t get any information about the missing kids from your dispatcher, when we came in earlier, we would come back and talk with you and Detective Hays.”r />
  “Where’s your buddy?” Donavan moved up to stand beside Jack.

  A puzzled frown creased Rafael’s brow and he became serious. “I am afraid I don’t understand what you are asking me, Detective Hays.”

  “Sure you do, Rafael,” Jack told him. “He’s referrin, to the other night owl you brought with you this mornin’.”

  “Maybe you can enlighten me about what Jack is talking about, Detective.”

  “I’ll be glad to enlighten you, Rafael,” Donavan said, glancing at Lawrence, before bringing his attention back to the older man waiting for him to explain. “Jack’s talking about the tall man, dressed in black pants and sweatshirt, with a hood pulled over his face. We got him on video.”

  “I’m afraid I still don’t know what you are talking about.” He swung around, looked at Lawrence. “Do you know what Detective Hays is referring to, Lawrence?”

  “No.” Lawrence fidgeted from foot to foot. “I didn’t see anyone dressed like that.”

  “There, you see detectives? We have no idea who you are talking about.”

  “In a pig’s ass you don’t, you lyin’ puke!” Jack moved towards Rafael.

  “Jack! If Mr. Hindel and Lawrence say they don’t know who we are talking about, then we will have to leave it at that.”

  Without another word, Jack turned on his heel to walk towards the front door of the station.

  “Have you ever thought of sending Detective Olivier’ to an anger-management class, Detective?” Rafael watched Jack yank open the door. “It appears to me he could benefit from such a class.”

  “He’s a little disturbed about some evidence that came up missing in the middle of the night.”

  “For goodness sake.” Rafael gave Donavan his complete attention. “I thought all evidence had to be kept in a locked evidence room. At least, that is what is always portrayed on all the police shows.”

  “That’s right it is, except our visitor this morning somehow got into our locked room and walked off with our evidence.” Donavan continued to watch Lawrence, noting the nervous way he kept switching from foot to foot and wiping his forehead on the sleeve of his shirt.

  “My god!” Rafael’s gaze switched from Donavan to Lawrence. “He must be talking about the evidence taken from the estate yesterday! If that’s so, then how in the world are they going to find out what happened to the children?”

  “Oh, I’m not worried about it.” Donavan kept his voice even and calm. “It seems that on the way out of the room, the person who stole the bag, let some of the evidence slip out. I feel sure we still got enough to take to forensics.”

  “I thought all the bags, had to be sealed in keeping with the chain-of-evidence.”

  Knowing he had been caught in a lie, Donavan tried to make light of his falsehood. “I have to hand it to you, Mr. Hindel. Your knowledge of police procedure is astounding. Guess I didn’t realize how in-depth those police shows are anymore.”

  “Yes…well, being isolated, as Lawrence and I are, there isn’t a lot we can do for recreation.”

  “What about the people staying on the estate, aren’t they good company?”

  Lawrence’s breath rushed into his lungs then trickled back out as Rafael clamped a hand on his shoulder. “I am sure you have had relatives visit. For the first few days, everything is fine, but as the days continue to pass and they make no plans to leave, they begin to wear on one’s nerves. Besides, they have been gone for quite some time now.”

  “Just where is it your relatives come from?”

  “They live in New Orleans. Why do you ask?”

  “No reason. I know a few people in New Orleans. I thought maybe my friends might be acquainted with them. Do they also go by the Hindel name?”

  “In case you aren’t aware of this fact, Detective Hays, the Hindel name is very old. My ancestors have been in Louisiana for many years.” He held the other man’s gaze for a moment longer, then replied, “I rather doubt any of your friends would be acquainted with them.”

  “You never know. Like they say, it’s a small world. Maybe, just for the hell of it, I’ll run a check on the name and see what pops up.” Donavan almost grinned as he saw a look of unease slip across Rafael’s face.

  “I hope you are not inferring anyone carrying the Hindel name would be caught doing anything illegal, Detective Hays.” Rafael’s steel-gray eyes glittered.

  “I’m not inferring anything. If your relatives haven’t been caught doing anything illegal, again, then they don’t have anything to worry about. And neither do you.” Donavan allowed the smile he had been holding back to slip into place.

  “Detective Hays, may I remind you, Lawrence and I came here, of our own free will, to inquire about the children who disappeared on the estate. Your treatment of us tells me you think we may be responsible for their disappearance. This brings me to a proposal.”

  “And it is?”

  “Grandfather…”

  Rafael’s grip strengthened on his shoulder. “I would like to offer a way to take the suspicion off Lawrence and myself and allow you to get on with finding out what happened to those unfortunate children. Therefore, I think we should both be given a polygraph test.” At last, he glimpsed the emotion he had been looking for.

  “I think that’s a great idea!” Donavan tried to remain calm. “We can get started on it right away!”

  “No, today wouldn’t be good. We have a full day ahead of us. However, tomorrow would be all right. Don’t you agree, Lawrence?”

  “Whatever you say, Grandfather.”

  “Then I’ll set it up and expect the both of you tomorrow. Would noon be all right?”

  “Yes, that would be fine. Until then, Detective Hays.” He turned Lawrence in the direction of their vehicle. “Oh,” he turned back, “tell Jack we look forward to proving him wrong, in thinking Lawrence and myself had anything to do with the missing evidence.”

  “Oh trust me, I’ll be sure to pass along your warning.” He forced himself to walk back over to the jeep where Barbara and Seelah waited for him.

  When the three walked into Donavan’s office, Jack got to his feet.

  “So, did you find a way to trick the parish lunatics into sayin’ anything helpful?”

  “Believe it or not, I just may have.” A satisfied grin spread across Donavan’s face.

  “I can’t wait to hear this! What’d they do, volunteer to take a poly?”

  “That’s right!” Donavan danced a foolish jig over to his desk, pulled the telephone forward to punch in some numbers. “I don’t like to brag, but I think this time a little bragging is in order.”

  Jack reached out, pushed the hang-up button.

  “What the hell did you do that for? I need to set up the polygraph for the Hindels. I told them to be here at noon tomorrow.”

  “Why waste the examiner’s time and the taxpayers’ money? They knew about all this when they volunteered to take a polygraph.”

  “Jack, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about! A polygraph, given by a trained paleographer, is damn-near foolproof!”

  “I think I know what Jack is talking about,” Seelah spoke up, as Jack seated her atop his lap.

  “I hope somebody does, because I’m about to lose it!” Donavan walked over to seat himself on the edge of the desk beside Barbara.

  “I’d like to hear this myself,” Barbara said. “I always thought a polygraph test to be pretty-well foolproof, too.”

  “Nine times out of ten it is,” Seelah told them. “Except, they are proving now, when a psychopath takes a polygraph, they can usually, pass it.”

  “How the hell can a deranged idiot pass a poly?” Donavan shot back. His smugness, at getting over on the Hindels, already showing a decline.

  “A psychopath has no emotion and emotion is what the graph reads,” Seelah told him.

  “Son of a bitch! Are you sure about this?” Donavan looked at her.

  “Call the examiner. Maybe they’ve come up with new ways to read
psychopaths.

  “Ain’t she smart?” Jack beamed up at her. “She’s where I heard about all this.

  “That remains to be proven,” Donavan said, then, back-pedaled his words. “I’m talking about this incident, Seelah.

  Seelah nodded as she got off Jack’s lap. “While Donavan is checking out the theory on the polygraph, I’ll see what I can find out about your late-night visitor.”

  “Good idea.” Jack rose to his feet. “Barb, would you like to come with us?”

  “Thanks, but I’ll wait for Donavan. He may need some tender care if the news comes back you’re right.”

  “Okay then. See you in a few.” He placed an arm around Seelah’s shoulders as they walked to the door.

  “I don’t believe this horseshit! Are you going to sit there and tell me that a goddamn mental case is smarter than a proven, scientific procedure?”

  “Donavan, would you please calm down and remember your blood-pressure?”

  Donavan waved her to silence. “No, I am not going to accept that! All you are telling me, is some crack-pot-doctor out to make a name for himself, thinks he has all the answers! Theory! That’s all you got! Goddamn, unproven theory! You’re damn right I want to go ahead with the tests! If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be calling to set up the appointment, you fuckin’ moron!” With that said, he slammed down the phone.

  “Donavan! He is just telling you what he’s learned about administering polygraph tests to mentally-challenged people.”

  “No! He’s telling me what a lot of blow hards have told him and I’m not going to accept it!” He looked around the office. “Where the hell did Jack and Seelah get off to?”

  “Seelah thought, since you would be busy, she might as well find out what she could about who broke in here this morning.”

  “Good!” He held out a hand to her. “Let’s go see what she’s finding out.”

  ***

  Jack followed behind as Seelah walked through the parking lot allowing the energy left behind by the intruder to surround her.

  “Getting anything yet?” Jack raised his voice to be sure he could be heard.