Rougarou II

by Judith Ann McDowell

  “Tryin’ to quell the flashbacks creepin’ into your mind?” Jerry removed his cap, rubbed a shaky hand over his blond head. “Hell, I still wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares!” He replaced his cap, pulled up on the door-handle. “Ready?”

  “Not really, but it ain’t gonna get any easier sittin’ here.”

  Blain walked towards them, Magnum close by his side. “Where do we start this time, Jack?” He nodded to Carpenter who rubbed a gentle hand over the dog’s head. “I got a real sick feelin’ ‘bout bein’ here.”

  “You ain’t alone.” Jack flicked the chamber closed on his .38. “This whole goddamn estate reeks of death.”

  “Not surprising with all the kids we got missing,” Jerry spoke up.

  “My goodness, Jack, do you really feel you need this much protection?”

  Rafael stood on the porch, his arm placed securely around the trim waist of Christina Crawford.

  “I see you’ve chosen to ignore our warnings, Christina.” Jack remained standing by his rig.

  “Your warnings were unfounded, Jack.” She leaned her head on Rafael’s broad shoulder. “Rafael means me no harm.”

  “I will never allow anyone to harm you, my darling Christina, not even me.”

  “Remember that, next time the moon’s full and you’re lopin’ `cross the lawn on all fours.”

  Jack refused to drop his gaze as bitter hatred glittered in the gray eyes returning his stare.

  “I don’t find your humor amusing, Detective Olivier’. In fact,” she smiled up at Rafael, “I think you owe my fiancé an apology.”

  Jack’s breath caught in his throat, but he quickly regained his composure. “Then all those tears and moments of sadness over the death of your daughter and her friend were just a pretense on your part, Ms. Crawford? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be speakin’ up on behalf of the number one suspect in their murder.”

  Rafael felt Christina’s body stiffen and he tightened his hold. “My Christina knows I would never do anything to bring her pain. What happened to the children had to be an unfortunate accident. There were drugs and alcohol being used that night. I would guess they decided to go for a swim and were attacked by alligators. After all, if you remember right, the clothes were found by the water’s edge.”

  “You mean the clothes Lawrence washed, then spread amongst the reeds?”

  Christina stepped away from Rafael’s tight embrace. “Why would you accuse Lawrence of washing the clothes, Jack?”

  Rafael’s anger rose up, knowing his control of the situation to be ebbing away. “Do you have any proof this is what happened? Didn’t Detective Hays say the clothes came up missing from your evidence room?”

  “That’s right. They came up missin’ the night you and Lawrence and the other goon you dragged along, showed up at the department in the middle of the night. Tell me, Christina,” his gaze moved to include her, “do you use name-brand wash detergent and softener? I know for damn sure, Mrs. Statler doesn’t and yet the clothes all smelled the same. If you want to know what they smelled like you can find the detergent in the Hindel basement.”

  “You never said anything about any of this when I came into the station. You said you couldn’t show us the clothes because they were being tested by a medical examiner.”

  “That’s true, I did. Donavan and I thought it best to keep it from you and Statler about the clothes bein’ missin’.”

  “And all that time I thought the reason you didn’t want to show me the clothes is because they were covered in blood.” She sidestepped Hindel as he tried to pull her back against his side.

  “If I had to guess, I’d say they were covered with blood and that’s why Lawrence, in his ignorance, washed them. If you’d like, I can take you to where we found the clothes. There won’t be any blood to see, but you can still get a good idea where your daughter and her friend spent there last moments on this earth. Since you’re plannin’ on livin’ out your life here on the estate,” he spread his hands, looked around, “you can go visit their murder-site every day.”

  A long, soul-wrenching wail fought its way up and out of Christina’s throat.

  Rafael took a menacing step forward then stopped as Jack shoved the loaded .38 Magnum against his chest. “Come ahead, mother-fucker, you’re not in your monkey suit now.”

  “Jack,” Christina whispered, “I want to leave here.”

  Rafael felt pain he had never experienced slice through his heart. “You can’t mean that, Christina. You have promised to be my wife.”

  “I can’t stay here. I can’t be where my baby breathed her last breath…where she…” Jack’s arm shot out to pull her against him.

  Rafael snarled, then lunged, slapping Christina to the ground.

  Her scream of pain brought all six shots from the .38 slamming into Rafael’s chest.

  At the sound of shots being fired, Lawrence came running out of the mansion. “Oh my god! What have you done?”

  “Your grandfather attacked Ms. Crawford. I had no choice,” Jack told him.

  “My grandfather would not attack Christina. He is in love with her.” Lawrence dropped to the ground to pull Rafael’s head into his lap. “You did not have to use such drastic measures.”

  “I disagree,” Carpenter came forward, “this gun fell to the ground just as he was shot. Must have been shoved down in the back of his belt.”

  Jack’s head snapped up as the gun went flying out of Carpenter’s hand to land with a ping onto the cobblestone driveway. “Oh shit, I can’t seem to hold onto anything anymore. But I can attest that’s the same sound I heard when the gun fell out of Hindel’s belt and hit the driveway.”

  Jack turned to the nearest deputy. “Check and see if he’s got a pulse,” he nodded to Hindel, “if he does, call an ambulance, if he don’t, call the coroner.” Then, before Lawrence knew what was happening, Jack jerked him to his feet, to slap the cuffs on him.

  “What are you doing? I must see to my grandfather.”

  “As a convicted felon and one who has been in a mental hospital I have to make sure you ain’t gonna try and attack us, too.”

  “You know that gun does not belong to anyone living in this house!” Lawrence screamed his anger.

  “Detective Carpenter saw it fall from Rafael’s clothing. Can’t argue with a witness carryin’ a badge.”

  As everyone stood around, entranced with what was going on with Jack and Lawrence, no one noticed Carpenter stoop down, rub a handkerchief over the pistol, then, deliberately, press the fingers of Rafael’s hand against different parts of the gun. Getting to his feet he motioned to a nearby deputy. “I need an evidence bag.”

  The officer took off in the direction of his car.

  “Is Hindel breathin’?” Carpenter murmured.

  Jack shook his head, leaving no doubt Hindel no longer posed a threat.

  “I thought a werewolf had to be burned or shot with a silver bullet.” The grin spreading across his face, dictated his feelings.

  “Guess when they’re in human form and the shots are fired right into the heart, there ain’t much chance for recovery. Even a werewolf can’t live without a heart.”

  “What the hell we planning on doing with that little puke?” Jerry nodded towards Lawrence. “We know he’s still carryin’ a heart and since he’s too much of a chicken-shit to attack there’s nothing we can do to stop it.”

  “I’m gonna have him taken to the station and put in a padded cell. If he starts changin’ into a werewolf all the officers on duty can do is pump him full of bullets and hope for the best!”

  “Well hell! With Hindel dead and Lawrence in jail this should be a pretty easy investigation from here on out.”

  “Don’t place your last buck on it. I gotta sick feelin’, this whole damn estate’s crawlin’ with these furry fuckers! Only two places I know they could be hidin’. Quigley’s old cottage or in the cave. My money’s on the cave”

  “What would you say to our getting our hands
on some dynamite?”

  “You serious?”

  “We don’t know what the hell’s waiting for us inside. I think we would be within our rights to make sure we’re gonna be safe.”

  Jack’s lips drew back. “I swear to Christ, Carpenter, you and I could be twins as much as we think alike.”

  “I swore the last time we were threatened with these sons of bitches that I would do all in my power to destroy each and every fucking one of them.”

  “We gotta pretty good start. If you know who to call with your dynamite idea, by all means get them to bring all they can lay their hands on. I always said I’d like to blow this goddamn place off its foundation. Looks like now, I just might get my wish.”

  With Rafael taking a ride to the morgue and Lawrence safely secured and on his way to the station, Jack took time to call Donavan on what all just went down at the mansion.

  Donavan sat straight up on the couch. “Jack, this better be a goddamn joke! Tell me you did not shoot and kill Rafael Hindel!”

  “No can do, partner. He attacked Christina and I shot him. He’s deader’n hell!”

  “The whole goddamn estate is surrounded by cops and you shoot the son of a bitch full of holes! I knew better than to leave you alone.”

  “The bastard left me no choice, Donavan!” Jack could feel his anger rising. “What the hell would you have done?”

  “I sure wouldn’t have shot the asshole!” He tried to calm down knowing his risk factor for high excitement. “If this parish survives what is going on, you can bet your ass the heads of the department are going to have a fuckin’ field day with this.”

  “He was armed, Donavan.”

  “Are you serious? You have the gun that was in his possession?”

  “I do.”

  “Did that gun belong to Hindel, Jack?” Donavan’s voice lowered as he spoke.

  “Carpenter swears he saw it fall to the driveway from where he thinks Hindel had it jammed in the back of his belt.”

  “Will Carpenter swear to that fact in court?”

  “I’m sure he will.”

  “Then I won’t ask you anymore about it. What was Lawrence’s reaction to all this?”

  “He went snake-shit! Insistin’ the gun was not Rafael’s. I handcuffed him and sent him to the station to be put in a padded cell. I told the deputy who transported him to tell whoever’s on duty to keep an eye on the son-of-a-bitch and if he comes tearin’ through the bars in full werewolf regalia, open fire and don’t stop till he’s no longer twitchin’. Right now we’re gettin’ ready to get the dogs started on the grounds then start on the cave.”

  “Be careful. We know that cave ain’t empty.”

  “No shit! In fact, Carpenter just put in a call to a friend of his for some dynamite.”

  There was complete silence on the other end of the line.

  “Donavan? Are you still there?”

  “Yeah, Jack, I’m still here.”

  “Thought I’d lost you there for a moment.”

  “Tell me you are not planning on using dynamite.”

  “The only way’ we’d use dynamite’s if we find the damn cave full of werewolves. You know as well as I do, Donavan, once those fuckers start changin’, we’re gonna be walkin’ targets.”

  “Jack, do us both a favor? Just sit tight. I’m on my way.”

  As soon as he finished talking with Jack he hung up the phone.

  “Did I hear you right, Donavan? You are going to go and meet Jack? Do you think that’s wise, given the fact you should be taking it easy?”

  “If I want to keep the job that pays our bills, I do.”

  “Has Jack done something to anger you, Donavan?” Seelah moved up to stand beside Barbara.

  “As a matter of fact, yes.”

  For a moment she tried to tune into Jack’s energy then gave up. “What is it he’s done?”

  “Killed Rafael Hindel.”

  Both women drew in their breath to stare at him. Barbara regained her composure first. “Oh my god. I know none of us have any liking for the man, but this could cause Jack all kinds of problems with the department.”

  Not trusting himself with a response, he merely kept walking down the hall to their bedroom. When he opened the door he was surprised to find Brandy lying across the foot of the bed.

  “What are you doing in here, girl?” He ran an affectionate hand over the dog’s head. “I thought you were keeping Jenny company in her room.”

  “So did I.” Barbara walked out into the hall. “She must have decided to take a nap. She tried to still the fear creeping into her stomach as she pushed open Jenny’s bedroom door. “Oh my god, Donavan, she’s not in here!”

  “Don’t start panicking she could be out on the patio.” He raced down the hallway.

  “What’s going on?” Seelah got up from the couch.

  “Jenny’s not in her room.” Donavan slammed the patio door behind him. “She must be in the backyard.” He raced out the kitchen door in search of her. “Jenny! Jenny, are you out here?”

  Fear slammed into his gut, when he didn’t catch sight of her.

  “Donavan, is she out there?” Barbara called out to him and bent over clutching her stomach when he came back to the door alone. “I am going to go call Mrs. Jennings. Maybe she went to visit with her.”

  “No! Don’t touch the phone! I can hit the redial and see if she called anyone!” He ran past her into the bedroom. With a shaking hand he pressed the button for redial. As he heard the number continue to ring he was about the hang up when he heard the voicemail come on. His heart jumped into his throat as he heard the voice of Roland Lybbert. “That sick bastard!” He wrote the number down quickly.

  “Since we can’t call, I’ll just run over next door and see if she’s with Mrs. Jennings.” Seelah was already walking out the front door.

  Donavan tried to blot out the pictures he had been seeing earlier of Jenny lying on an altar in the Hindel cave. “Seelah!”

  Seelah turned back at the sheer panic sounding in Donavan’s voice. “What?”

  “Never mind. She’s not over there. I want to know about the pictures I was seeing earlier about Jenny. You said they were psychic pictures!”

  “Yes, Donavan, I believe they were. And now I think I know who sent them for you to see!”

  “Who?”

  “Chandra.” Seelah breathed deeply against her fear. When at last she felt a small amount of calmness creep over her she tuned into Chandra’s energy. Within moments, Chandra stood before her. “What is happening here, Chandra? Is Jenny in danger?”

  “Jenny is in extreme danger, Seelah. She has gone to meet Rolan Lybbert.”

  “Oh my god!” She threw up her hands.

  “What is it, Seelah? What are you seeing?” Barbara moaned the words.

  “Chandra is here and she says that Jenny has gone to meet Rolan Lybbert!”

  “That goddamn evil piece of piss! If he puts his filthy hands on her I’ll rip his fucking heart out!”

  “Donavan, you need to calm down! You and Seelah both need to calm down!” Barbara told them while at the same time feeling her own fragile grip on reality slipping out of her hands.

  Seelah ran a comforting hand over Barbara’s back. “Call Jack,” Seelah told him. “The pictures you saw of Jenny were in the cave. Tell him what is going on.”

  “The hell with that! Come on. We’re going to find Jenny!”

  ***

  Jerry held up his cell phone. “Jack, this is my call back on the dynamite. Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

  “Hell yes, I’m sure! Tell him to bring it on!”

  As Carpenter turned away to speak into the phone, Jack saw one of the deputies shake his head. “What’s the matter, Hendrickson? You think we’re makin’ a wrong call here?”

  “No, just tryin’ to wrap my mind around the idea’s all.” Hendrickson grinned over at him. “I do think it’d be a good idea to pass the hat to all the deputies, who are already here, so
the dynamite man can get paid for his merchandise. It’s for damn sure the department ain’t gonna spring for the bill!”

  “Damn good idea, Johnny.” Jack laughed. “And you’re right about the department not springin’ for the bill. When they hear about this latest escapade I’m involved in, I’ll be lucky if they don’t kick me to the curb. Again.”

  “Guess while we’re waitin’ for the demolition man to show, I might as well take some of the men and the dogs and get started on checkin’ out the house.”

  “Might just as well. Donavan should be showin’ up any minute, so we better look like we been doin’ the job.” He handed over a crisp twenty.

  Pocketing the money, Hendrickson motioned Blain and some of the other deputies forward as he and Jack walked up on the front porch of the mansion.

  “Jerry.”

  Carpenter pressed the phone against his chest, gave Jack his full attention.

  “We’re gonna be checkin’ out the house, so when you’re finished with your call, join us inside.” He saw Carpenter nod and walked on into the house.

  “There’s something I want to do while we’re here.” Blain walked across the room.

  “What’s that?” Jack joined him inside the library door.

  “I’ve noticed that every time we checked out the house, Magnum always zeroed in on this heavy oak bookcase.” He ran his hands up and down the sides. “I didn’t pay it much heed at the time, but later I started thinking about the possibility of a hidden panel.”

  “This goddamn house is known for hidden rooms and passages.” Jack felt beneath the shelves and the top of the bookcase. “Bingo!”

  “I was right.”

  “Jack!” Donavan called out coming into the house.

  “In here, Donavan,” he yelled into the quiet. “We’ll come back to this.” He turned as Donavan walked into the room closely followed by Barbara and Seelah. “Donavan, do you think it was a good idea to bring the girls with you?”

  Seelah hastened across the room to wrap her arms around Jack’s waist.

  “He’s got Jenny, Jack!” Donavan said, his voice filled with both anger and fear.

  “Who’s got Jenny?” Jack’s breath shot forward from his lungs.