Die Again

by Thompson, Bill

  “It would be interesting to know who the trustees were.”

  Jack smiled. “I thought so too. Prosperine and someone named Charles Richard were co-trustees. I didn’t do a search on him, but I can follow up if you want.”

  Landry said it might be important, and Jack continued.

  “You asked who signed the 1892 deed that transferred the building to a different trust. That’s a great question, because by then Prosperine was dead. She passed away at age eighty-seven in 1865. It’s likely Charles Richard handled the trust’s business until his death sometime later.

  “In 1892 a local law firm called Godchaux and Hart created the LaPiere Family Trust. Its trustee was another person named Richard. This one was Empyrion Richard who by the last time was likely a family member. He signed the deed that moved the building into this new trust. The records show no successor trustee, but the trust exists, so there must be one. Maybe it’s that law firm.”

  Landry smiled. “Empyrion Richard. What a name! Brilliant work, Jack. You’ve done a thorough job and I’m impressed. Now let’s find out who these two Richard men are and how they fit into the puzzle.”

  At last it was Tiffany’s turn. After polishing off her hearty breakfast and two cups of chicory coffee, she was ready to talk about this morning.

  “I eavesdropped last night. I heard you talking to Cate’s father about that hypnotism stuff and going back in time. It scared me, and all night long I couldn’t sleep for thinking about it. Sometime this morning I got up and went into the living room, saw your bedroom door closed and left. I remember doing it, but it was like I wasn’t in control. I just had this feeling and I followed what it told me. What happened after that is hazy, like I’m in one of my dreams.”

  Although she was unfamiliar with the Quarter, Tiffany found her way to Toulouse Street. She would have passed Jackson Square, although she didn’t recall doing so. There would have been people on the streets, but she had no memory of them, nor did she remember unlocking the gate or going inside.

  She put her hands over her eyes and concentrated. “I see myself walking down the hallway into the courtyard. I hear her screaming at Elberta. She’s going to kill her because of what she did. I know she will because I’ve seen what she’s capable of. Now I’m in the doorway looking out onto the balcony. There are other people — down in the courtyard, shouting.”

  “We were those people,” Cate said.

  “You were there? Did you see Madam?”

  Landry said, “We saw a tall woman in a long black dress.”

  “That was Prosperine LaPiere. People called her Madam.”

  “How do you know all that?”

  “Because it’s inside my mind somewhere.”

  Cate said, “You mentioned Elberta. Prosperine wanted to kill her because of what she did with her husband. Is she a servant?”

  “Oh, she’s more than that. Madam caught her, and she’s going to die.”

  Tiffany stared for a moment and said, “That’s all. I looked up and saw Jack standing over me. He brought me outside, and he stayed with me until...until you two came.” She took Jack’s hand and squeezed it.

  Landry pushed her to recall more while her mind was fresh. “You said the devil lives within Madam LaPiere. Is that because she’s going to kill Elberta?”

  “She’s pure evil. She’s the cruelest woman I’ve ever seen. What she did to the ones upstairs —

  “For God’s sake!” she cried. “How do I know these things?”

  Jack held her close as she sobbed. “Easy, Tiff,” he whispered. “You don’t have to say any more.”

  Landry shot a glance at Cate. A bond was developing between these two lost souls, and he thought it could be beneficial for both.

  “Who are the ones upstairs? Are there people in the attic? We thought we heard moans and wails —"

  “Stop it!” she screamed, as people sitting nearby turned and stared. She squeezed Jack’s hand and whispered, “It’s too hard to go there. My mind won’t let me. Thinking about them scares me.”

  Cate insisted they stop, and Landry agreed. “She’s right. I’ve put you through enough for today. Please consider hypnosis. Age-regression therapy isn’t some kind of mumbo-jumbo. You heard us talking with Cate’s father last night. He’s a renowned psychiatrist and someone you can trust. He’ll be right there when Dr. Little hypnotizes you. Given the battles you’re fighting, you have everything to gain by doing this.”

  She shook her head. “Everything to gain, but what might I lose? My sanity? My mind? What if he took me somewhere and I couldn’t get back? I heard once that happened to somebody who was hypnotized on stage and never came back. They spent the rest of their life in an insane asylum.”

  “I doubt that story’s true,” Cate said. “Anyway, this isn’t stage hypnosis. It’s a medical procedure done in a controlled environment. You should be safe.”

  “You can’t guarantee that.”

  “You’re right,” Landry said. “We can’t guarantee anything. All I’m saying is, what’s your alternative? You can’t work, you can’t sleep, and you don’t know why.”

  He suggested setting up a call with Dr. Little so he could explain the procedure and answer her questions, but Tiffany sipped her coffee in silence.

  In a moment she said, “I just told you about what happened this morning, and it makes no sense to me. I named people called Madam and Elberta. Who are they? Maybe I read about them in a book. They’re not real, are they?”

  Landry nodded. “They were real, all right. Madam Prosperine LaPiere and her husband owned the building. Elberta was a quadroon — a house servant, most likely — who became Mr. LaPiere’s lover. There’s a legend that says Prosperine threw her husband and Elberta over the balcony in 1832. She got a servant boy to dig a hole. After he put the bodies in, she knocked him out and buried him alive.”

  “Oh my God. Oh my God! And I know all about them. I even know their names! How can you even suggest hypnotizing me?”

  “You’re not the only one who knows about them,” Cate said. “We saw her too, standing up on the balcony with you. You’re in the middle of something supernatural. We can’t explain it any more than you can. Maybe the hypnosis will bring you answers and the peace you deserve.”

  “You’re right. I must trust someone, and the three of you are all I have. If you’ll be there to support me, especially you, Jack, then I’ll let them do the hypnotism.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  The next morning Tiffany called her employer and took a month’s medical leave, while Cate took a ten-day leave from her father’s practice. She had to be here; not only was she a comfort to Tiffany, she was Landry’s sounding board. Her job was like that of a referee’s — blending Landry’s enthusiasm and search for answers with Tiffany’s welfare and sanity.

  Landry wanted the session to occur inside the Toulouse Street building with a Channel Nine team filming everything. He ran that idea by Cate.

  “Is it selfish to ask Tiffany’s permission to video? And do you understand why I think the building would be a perfect venue? It’s the source of her problems, so she could face her enemy head-on.”

  She thought filming the procedure was fine. Dr. Little said he videoed every session anyway, to create an irrefutable record. She also understood why he wanted that venue. If something odd happened, it would make for great footage. But was it best for Tiffany? She asked her father, who then asked Dr. Little.

  He preferred the controlled environment of his own clinic, but he was open to other suggestions. He and Doc went back and forth on this one. The positive was, as Landry had said — they could deal with the issues in the environment where they existed.

  But were the potential negatives too great to ignore? More than once Tiffany had been drawn to the building in a somnambulistic state. Her experiences inside had been not only disturbing, but harmful. There was a malevolent force inside those walls. What if the session unleashed something so powerful and menacing that it put th
em all in danger?

  After considerable debate, Dr. Little agreed with Landry. He’d been at this for decades, and everything had turned out as expected in all but two sessions. Those subjects had been difficult to awaken, but with patience and a little time, everything turned out fine.

  Jack joined Landry as he spoke to Tiffany about what he wanted to do. She had no problem with the videotaping, but his suggestion that they conduct her session in the building came as a surprise.

  “What if something goes wrong?” she snapped. “You’re the ghost hunter, and you want to do it there because of the vibes in the building. I don’t understand why it wants me inside, but it’s scary. Knowing all that, can you say it’s safe to hypnotize me there?”

  Landry explained he was relying on Dr. Little’s expertise. “Look at the cast of characters who’ll be there. Two doctors plus Cate, Jack and me, and Channel Nine’s crew. That’s enough people to handle any situation. Dr. Little says these sessions are routine, even though they may sound esoteric to people like us who haven’t experienced one.”

  Tiffany snapped, “Seriously? You know the risks. You deal with supernatural things as part of your work, but I don’t. Have you ever been in the middle of something that scared the living hell out of you? Something that you weren’t sure you could escape? I’ll bet you have. You’re thinking of your career instead of my life. This pisses me off. Jack, I’m surprised you went along with it.”

  “He didn’t know what I was going to ask, so please don’t blame him. You’re right. I have a selfish motive. I want you in that building when the doctor takes you back to your childhood. Yes, there are paranormal things going on. Yes, something scary and unexplainable draws you there. The idea is to help you find answers and help me at the same time. I’m convinced doing it there where the problems lie is the only way to get answers. Dr. Little agrees.”

  “You also want him to do that other stuff, don’t you? That past life stuff he talked about, like reincarnation or whatever it is. That’s scarier than the building but be honest. That’s what you can’t wait to see. You want me to be your guinea pig.” Jack took her hand, but she pulled it away.

  Landry disagreed. “That’s not what I want. I only learned of past life regression from my call with Cate’s dad. That part of all this is a little far-fetched, if you ask me. How could a hypnotist take someone into a previous life? That’s hard even for a ‘ghost hunter,’ as you call me, to accept. So no, I don’t want that for you. Not at all.”

  “I have a lot of thinking to do and right now I want you to leave me alone. Jack, please stay. You’re struggling just like I am. Maybe we can figure this out together.”

  Once they were alone, Cate said it surprised her Landry didn’t think past life regression might be real.

  “I didn’t say that. I said it’s far-fetched and it’s hard even for me to accept. I’ve seen a lot of weird stuff, and by hanging around me, so have you. It’s a fascinating concept, and sure, I’d like it to be real. That would be incredible. But I told her the truth.”

  “Yeah, in a way. You figured out a way to tell the truth without telling the truth.”

  Landry went to the office and tried to work. He shouldn’t have suggested doing the hypnosis in the building. The place was spooky, her experiences there were alarming, and she was right. Suggesting it had been insensitive. Sometimes on an exciting case he thought only of his goals. He had to clear things up because what he’d asked of her was wrong.

  Jack called an hour later and said, “We talked things through. She was angry earlier because all this frightens her. She agrees that she should confront her fears in the building, and she’s agreed to your request.”

  “I’ve changed my mind. I was wrong for pushing her to do it my way. You shouldn’t have convinced her either.”

  Jack laughed. “Oh my, if you think I convinced her, you’re mistaken. She’s stronger than you give her credit for. I didn’t convince her, because I couldn’t have. She decided this on her own. We talked it through step by step, and she concluded you were right. It’s the root of her fears, and it could be the place to overcome her fears.”

  Landry asked about past life regression. Was she also willing to let the psychologist try to take her back before her birth in this life?

  She wanted to talk to Dr. Little about how it worked, but she was open to the idea. She had told Jack if she was doing part of it, she might as well do it all.

  The next hurdle was permission to use the building. Landry assigned Cate to that task, since she’d gotten the lockbox code from the agent earlier. Cate went to their office on Magazine Street, briefly explained the situation, and asked if the owner would mind. She purposely avoided mentioning Landry’s name, because many property owners didn’t want ghost hunters in their buildings. For the moment this was simply a medical request from the daughter of a prominent psychiatrist.

  The agent said she’d contact the trustee.

  “The successor to Empyrion Richard, correct?” Cate asked, and the agent said yes, it was a local attorney, the same person who’d signed the property listing agreement.

  It excited the agent that not only had Cate gotten the lockbox code, she’d done her homework on the deed and the trust. She hoped a purchase offer might be coming soon.

  “What can you tell me about Empyrion Richard?”

  “All I know is he was the first trustee a long time ago. When he died, a lawyer with Godchaux and Hart became trustee, and one of their people has done it ever since.”

  She recalled Jack having mentioned the firm’s name yesterday.

  “Who would have chosen that firm?”

  “I’d guess Empyrion Richard. They’ve been around since before the Civil War. One of the oldest in the state, I believe. They office in an old mansion out on St. Charles.”

  The Realtor called later that afternoon, telling Cate that Shawn Leary, who was the trustee, wanted to speak with her. She called and he began a barrage of questions she should have anticipated.

  “The agent tells me your father is a psychiatrist who also invests in real estate. Is he interested in buying the building?”

  She drummed up a semi-honest answer, saying it was too early to tell.

  “In recent days there have been two disturbing situations that involved the police, one much more serious than the other. A boy died there, and a woman was injured. Both were trespassing, and police detained the TV personality Landry Drake in the incident with the woman. Does your interest in our building have anything to do with either of those situations?”

  Another fingers-crossed-behind-your-back answer. “No, I’m calling to ask if a psychologist and my father can hypnotize a person in the courtyard of your building.” She avoided mentioning Landry or that the subject was the person injured earlier. She couldn’t keep Landry’s involvement secret forever, but now wasn’t the time to bring it up.

  “Tell me what this hypnosis is about and how the building plays a part in it.”

  Cate blamed patient privacy laws for giving little information. A lady from California experienced unexplainable flashbacks about the Toulouse building, and a trained professional would use hypnotherapy to treat her. The patient was in mental distress over recurring nightmares about the building. Her doctors thought it important that the session happen there.

  “How odd. And just what is the patient’s connection to the building?”

  “None, it seems. She’s had dreams for years, but until a few weeks ago, she’d never been to New Orleans. It’s a mystery the doctors hope they can solve.”

  “Would your father be the one who hypnotizes the patient?”

  She explained that although he would be present, the hypnotist was a psychologist who specialized in that aspect of therapy.

  The attorney said, “You know, in many places a property owner would do anything to keep people from thinking there was something unusual about his building. In New Orleans, however, it seems to be the other way around. The buildings with unexpl
ainable mysteries are the ones people like. I’m fine with your using the building. I’ll prepare a memorandum of understanding.”

  Cate said, “May I ask you something else before we hang up? Who were the Richard men — Charles and Empyrion? What connection did they have with the LaPieres?”

  “I can’t say, Miss Adams.”

  “You know nothing about them?”

  “Our firm serves as the trust’s attorneys, and I’m the trustee. What I meant is that I can’t discuss anything about them.”

  Once they set a date, the Realtor was told the building was closed for three days, and Phil Vandegriff began setting up audio and video equipment there. Tiffany’s hypnosis would occur in the courtyard, the locus of paranormal activity.

  Landry and Ted talked about how hypnosis might reveal secrets from Tiffany’s past and become a brand-new topic for the Bayou Hauntings series. Ted loved the idea, agreed to cover the psychologist’s expenses, and told Landry he would be there when it happened.

  Cate’s father and Dr. Little arrived the afternoon before, and everyone went to dinner at Muriel’s. They found the psychologist to be a warm, easygoing man. Tiffany enjoyed his company and commented on how comfortable she felt knowing he and Doc Adams were in charge.

  After the two professionals left for a nightcap at the Ritz-Carlton, Landry ran through tomorrow’s timeline one last time. Jack was excited to be part of things, and Tiffany said she felt good about it too. She had found peace accepting that hypnotherapy was the right thing for her. Perhaps tomorrow would be the day for answers.

  The next morning Landry arrived first. He unlocked the gate and his crew began hauling in equipment from Channel Nine’s van. Jack was to arrive by nine; Cate, Tiffany, Henri Duchamp and Ted would come at nine thirty; and the session would begin at ten.

  A WCCY-TV employee at the front gate checked names off a list. Cameras, microphones and other equipment were in place, and a thousand wires snaked through the open area.

  Phil Vandegriff went over things one last time with his camera guys, one of whom stood atop a twenty-foot ladder to film the panorama. Since this was Landry Drake’s regular crew, they would be ready for surprises, because that was what Landry was about.