An explosion and flash fire erupted in the stern of the barge. Flames shot into the air. Glowing cinders rained down on the surrounding boats, including Cliff’s. Crepe paper streamers fueled the hungry fire. Fingers of fire crept across canopies and railings, jumping from one boat to the next. Plumes of black smoke rose in the twilight sky.
Relatives and friends on the bank watched frantic passengers jump into the murky bayou waters. A woman threw two children overboard into the waiting arms of a man treading water beside their boat. A man on the paddlewheeler flung life jackets to passengers floundering in the bayou below. Another man whose back was on fire fell over the railing into the water. Elita thought it might be Cliff, but couldn’t be sure.
Several men near the water’s edge jumped into small aluminum boats tied to the dock and headed out to rescue passengers. Others waded into the water to help those who managed to swim to the bank. Royce jumped down from the back of the truck. Elita and the balding man followed. They tried to press their way through the knot of people, but advanced only a few feet closer to the bank when a second explosion boomed.
Royce stopped and stared at the flames and the smoke. “I have to go.” He turned around, pushed his way through the swarm of people behind him.
Elita caught up with him and grabbed his arm. “Where the hell are you going?”
He pried her hand from around his forearm. “I have to go!”
“No,” she said, “you have to help.”
Royce pulled away and ran down the road away from the blazing disaster.
“Comeback, Royce!” she yelled.
He just kept running.
CHAPTER 20
Elita threaded her way into the crowd lining the water’s edge. Flashing red lights and the chirps, wails, and horns of ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks split the ash-filled air. As she scanned the crowd for Cliff and Susan, she spotted an elderly woman and two soaked children sitting at the bank’s edge. The woman rubbed the little girl’s arms in an attempt to warm her.
Elita made her way to the trio. “Are you alright?”
“I think so. But my grandkids are cold.”
“This will help.” Elita wrapped the blanket she’d brought to sit on around the children.
The boy pulled the blanket tight around them. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“You’re welcome.” Elita judged the boy to be about seven and the girl a couple of years younger. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Their grandmother clasped a trembling hand around Elita’s forearm. “I can’t find my daughter, their mother. She was on the boat too.”
“What’s her name? What does she look like?” Elita asked. “I’ll keep an eye out for your daughter while I search for my two friends.”
“Her name is Shelia Holt. She’s slim built, about 5 feet 5 inches tall, and has medium length auburn hair.”
“She was wearing blue and green checked shorts,” the boy added.
“Are y’all okay?”
Elita turned and found a stout, sandy-haired boy who looked to be in his late teens standing behind her.
“My grandkids are cold and wet, but I think they’re alright otherwise.” The grandmother slid her arm around the children. “We haven’t seen Shelia, their mother.”
“I’m going to go look for her and two friends of mine,” Elita said. “What’s your name?”
“Donnie. Donnie Pollard.”
“I’m Elita.”
The elderly woman introduced herself and the kids. “I’m worried about my daughter.”
“She’ll turn up. They all will,” Elita promised, hoping her prediction would prove true.
“Who are you looking for, Miss?” Donnie asked.
“Cliff Sutton and his cousin, Susan. Do you know them?”
“He’s the guy with the cool yellow Corvette, isn’t he?”
“Yes. Have you seen him?”
“I saw a guy being carried out on a stretcher that looked like him.”
She grabbed Donnie’s arm. “Where did you see him?”
The young man pointed at a row of ambulances lining the west side of the road. “They were headed that way, but I didn’t see which ambulance they went to.”
“I’ll find him.” Elita placed her hand over her chest and willed her pounding heart to slow down. She needed to be the calm, medical professional now, not the fearless girl of her youth that charged into battle without thinking first. “Donnie, can you stay with them until medical help comes?”
“Sure, no problem.”
“Thanks.” She patted his shoulder and took off running.
Elita ran up and down the row of ambulances looking for Cliff. Some of the ambulances were from Texas and were transporting the injured to hospitals in Marshall and Longview. Others came from Shreveport.
She stopped several emergency personnel to ask if they’d seen Cliff Sutton.
“They’re getting him ready to transport now.” A firefighter carrying a young girl moved past her and headed to the open back door of the closest ambulance.
Elita followed him.
A lady EMT took the whimpering child out of the fireman’s arms and gently laid her on a cot inside the ambulance. “Any burns?”
“Not that I could see,” he said. “Cold and wet. Check for shock and hypothermia.”
The EMT covered the child with a blanket. “Did she tell you her name?”
He shook his head.
“I recognize her,” Elita said. “She’s the daughter of Fern and Alton Fregia.”
“What’s her name?” the woman asked.
“Paula? Pamela, maybe? I’m not sure about her name, but I think she’s about four.”
The EMT bent closer to the girl. “Is your name Paula?”
The frightened child pulled the blanket up under her chin.
“Is your name Pamela?” Elita asked. “I know your Momma and Daddy—Fern and Alton Fregia. I’m Mamaw Pearl’s granddaughter, Elita.”
“Pam . . . Pammy. My name is Pammy Fregia.” The child broke into sobs. “Where’s my momma? I want my momma.”
The woman struggled to calm the child. “Can you get in touch with her parents?”
“I haven’t seen them,” Elita said. “When I find a phone, I’ll call her family.”
She shoved a pencil and notepad at Elita. “Write down their names and any contact information you have. I’ll radio it to the hospital. They’ll check to see if the parents have been brought in. Include information about any other family members too.”
Elita wrote down everything and handed it to the lady.
“Thanks. You might check the clinic at Oil City for her parents. Tell Pammy’s family we’re taking her to the hospital in Marshall.” She turned to the ambulance driver. “Ready to transport, Charlie.”
He turned on the flashing lights and honked his horn a couple of times. People scattered.
The firefighter shut the ambulance doors. “Thanks for your help, Miss.”
“You said you saw Cliff Sutton. Where?”
“I think they were taking him there.” He pointed at the last ambulance in the row. “You’d better hurry if you want to catch him.” The fireman headed back toward the bayou.
“Was he badly hurt?” Elita shouted after him.
He waved his arm and yelled, “Don’t know.”
Elita got to the last ambulance just before an EMT closed the door. “Is Cliff Sutton in there?”
“Are you a relative?” he asked.
“Elita?” Cliff’s voice was barely audible.
She pulled the door open and started to climb into the ambulance. The EMT stopped her. “I’m Elita. I am . . . his cousin.” If it took a lie to get into see how bad Cliff was hurt, then so be it. Maybe he knew what happened to Susan.
“Go ahead, dammit, but make it snappy.”
She climbed into the back and saw Cliff. “How bad are you hurt?”
“My leg hurts and my shoulder feels hot. That’s all.”
“That’s all?” Elita decided not to mention a bloody cut below his hairline.
Cliff reached for her hand. “Susan. We have to find Susan.” He tried to sit up, tried to move his leg. “Damn!” he cried, “Is my leg broken?”
“We need to get Mr. Sutton to the hospital now, Miss.”
Elita nodded at the EMT and his polite way of telling her to get the hell out of his ambulance. “Don’t worry, Cliff, I’ll find Susan.” She turned to leave.
Cliff grasped the tail of her skirt. “Where’s Royce?”
“We got separated when the explosion started.” There was no way she was going to tell Cliff that his brother didn’t stay to help.
“Find Royce,” he whispered. “Royce will find Susan. He’ll make it right. Big brother always . . . always makes things right.”
In the past, she thought, but not this time.
“We have to go now, Miss.” The EMT grabbed her arm and half helped, half pulled her out of the ambulance.
“Where are you taking him?” she asked as he closed the double doors.
“Willis-Knighten Hospital in Shreveport. Notify his family.”
She nodded and did a quick mental rundown of what she needed to do next: Call Dorothea about Cliff. Locate Pammy’s family. Notify the authorities about Shelia. Look for Susan. Find Virginia.
Elita scrubbed her hand over her face. How could she tell Virginia her daughter was missing and her nephew ran off instead of staying to help find her?
Thinking of Royce’s actions made her stomach roil. Cliff was right. Royce had always been the fixer, the one who made everything right again. Why did he run off? It made no sense to her unless it had something to do with Vietnam. Maybe the explosion and fire brought back painful memories and he panicked. She’d heard about such cases while working in the hospital.
Elita mumbled, “Can’t worry about Royce now. Just concentrate on what you can do.” She needed a phone. The lady EMT said some of the injured went to the clinic at Oil City. Elita weaved her way to her truck, silently praying she’d find a phone and Susan.
CHAPTER 21
The clinic at Oil City was a study in organized chaos. People filled the hallways and poured out onto the lawn, searching for missing friends and family members. Elita headed for the front door and ran smack into Starla and her older sister, Arleen.
“Get out of our damn way,” Arleen snapped.
Elita stepped to the side. “I know where Pammy is.”
“How the hell do you know where she is?” Arleen demanded.
“I saw a fireman put her in an ambulance.”
Starla’s hand flew to her chest. “Not our little Pammy! How bad was she hurt?”
Elita put her hand on Starla’s shoulder. “A few little scrapes, but she was talking. Nothing looked serious. They took her to the hospital in Marshall to get her checked out. I gave them her name and family information.”
Starla pulled Elita into a bear hug. “Thank you, and thank you, Jesus.”
Any lingering rivalry between them vanished. In that moment, the two women were united in concern for the people they loved. Elita pulled out of Starla’s embrace. “What about Fern and Alton?”
“They’re not here.” Arleen wiped the sweat off her forehead. “We called Shreveport and they weren’t there either. I didn’t think about checking the Texas hospitals.”
Elita asked, “Are their other children missing?”
Arleen shook her head. “The boys are on a camping trip with Grandpa Fregia down at that new Toledo Bend Reservoir.”
“I’ll check on Pammy,” Starla said. “Go to Uncertain, Arleen. Look for Fern and Alton.”
“When I find them, we’ll come to the hospital to see Pammy. If I don’t find them . . . .”
Starla patted her sister’s shoulder. “Maybe they’re in Marshall, too.”
“Have you seen Susan Reed?” Elita asked.
Starla pointed toward the clinic. “No, but I saw her mother inside.”
Elita sighed gratefully. “Maybe Susan is here too.”
Starla thanked her again before she and Arleen headed for their cars.
Elita entered the packed waiting room of the small Oil City Medical Clinic. Every face was a portrait in angst and fear. She stopped at the sign-in desk and finally caught the harried clerk’s attention. “Is Virginia Reed here?”
“First hallway to the right,” the clerk said as three other people threw questions at him.
She turned the corner and found a tearful Virginia cocooned in the arms of Matthew Dupree. Elita stopped, stared, and waited for her mind to make sense of the scene in front of her. She recalled Royce’s words, they’re back. He knew something about Virginia and her uncle and he’d deliberately kept that information from her.
Matt unwound his arms from around Virginia. “Look, Elita’s here. She’s safe.”
Virginia closed the distance between them in two steps and gathered Elita into her arms. “Thank heaven you’re okay. We’ve been so worried about all of you.”
“I’m fine. I’ve been looking for Susan.”
Matt stepped closer. “Susan is here. She has a few scrapes and a bump on her head. The doctor wants her to stay awhile for observation.”
Virginia laid her head against his chest. “Our baby will be okay, won’t she, Matt?”
“Our baby is going to be fine.” Matt kissed Virginia’s forehead and rubbed her back.
Elita’s eyes fixated on her uncle’s left hand, fourth finger. A wedding band. He was wearing a wedding band. She looked up to find his eyes searching hers. “Are you two married?”
Matt nodded.
Elita wrapped her arms around her waist. What the hell was going on? The always reliable Royce ran away, Starla hugged her, and her uncle just married Royce’s aunt. The words our baby scrolled across her mind. Both Virginia and Matt had referred to Susan as their baby. Did they misspeak in the anxiety of the moment? What happened to Virginia’s husband, Darwin Reed? And how long had Royce been keeping these secrets from her? An explosion boomed, but this time, it was in her head and not on the bayou.
“Where’s Dorothea?” Elita asked. “I need to tell her about Cliff.”
“I called her,” Virginia said. “She’s coming here. Did you see Cliff?”
“Found him in an ambulance. Looked like he had a broken leg, some burns on—”
“Burns!” Virginia grabbed Elita’s shoulders. “Where? How bad?”
“I’m not sure. Susan was his main concern. He wanted us to find her.”
“Where’s Royce?” Matt asked. “Wasn’t he with you?”
“Yes, but when the explosions and fire broke out, Royce . . . .”
“He what?” Matt asked.
Elita hesitated. As mad as she was with Royce for leaving, it was still difficult to think he’d run away when there was trouble. Still, that is exactly what he’d done.
“Where’s Royce?” Virginia asked.
“I don’t know. When the explosion and fire happened, everyone ran toward the water to help. Everyone . . . except Royce.” Elita cleared her throat. “Royce ran off in the other direction. He ran away.”
Dorothea’s high heels clicked on the polished floor. “I don’t believe that for a damn minute.” She pressed her way between Virginia and Elita. “You’d better stop spreading lies about my son, Elita Dupree, or I’ll have my lawyers bury you in lawsuits.”
Matt stepped forward. “Calm down, Dorothea. We don’t need your drama today.”
Dorothea glared at him. “Now that you’ve married a Sutton, I guess you think you can talk to me in that tone. You are so damn wrong. I’ll sue the hell out of you, too.”
“Don’t threaten my family,” Virginia warned.”You don’t want to take me on.”
“Then make this damn girl stop trashing my son’s reputation.”
“I’m only telling what happened,” Elita said. “I don’t know why Royce ran away, but he did run off when the commotion started.”
; Dorothea jabbed her finger at Elita. “You’re lying.”
“No, she’s not.” Everyone turned to find Royce standing behind them. “I did run off. I ran to my Jeep, used my CB to call emergency services, and grabbed my first aid kit.”
Elita slapped her thigh. “Dammit! I forgot about your radio and first aid kit. It all makes sense now.”
Royce’s eyes narrowed. “You mean you no longer think I’m a coward?” Not waiting for her answer, he turned to his mother. “An EMT said they sent Cliff to Willis-Knighten Hospital. He didn’t know the extent of his injuries.”
“I saw Cliff in the ambulance. He’s got a broken leg, a few minor cuts, and burns on his shoulder.” The words rushed out of Elita. “His main concern was finding Susan.”
“Has she been found?” Royce asked. “I looked for her but—”
“Susan is here.” Virginia said. “A few bruises and a small knot on her head. They’re keeping her here under observation for awhile.”
Matt slid a protective arm around his wife’s shoulders. “We’ll be here until Susan can go home. Royce, you and your mother go find Cliff.”
Dorothea tugged at Royce’s sleeve. “Let’s go check on your brother.”
Royce nodded and escorted his mother back through the dwindling crowd.
Virginia removed a small bottle of aspirin from her purse. “I’m going to sit with Susan. Could you find me a cup of coffee, Matt?”
“I could use a cup myself. Want some coffee, Elita?”
“No, thanks.”
Virginia snapped her purse closed. “Is the Cypress Café still open?”
He kissed the top of his wife’s head. “I’ll check.”
Elita watched her uncle leave. A fog settled over her mind. How could she have forgotten about Royce’s radio and first aid kit?
“I’m grateful everyone is safe,” Virginia said.
“What?”
“Elita, are you okay? You’re as white as sugar.”
“I need to talk to Royce.” She ran out of the clinic and into the parking lot. The glow from the floodlight on the front of the clinic barely reached the edge of the shell lot. Royce opened the passenger door of his mother’s Cadillac and she got in. He walked around the car and opened the driver’s door.
Shadows of Home: A Woman with Questions. A Man with Secrets. A Bayou without Mercy Page 22