Lucky Thirteen (The Raiford Chronicles Book 1)

by Janet Taylor-Perry

Raif, on the other hand, dragged Chris and the Reynoldses into the woods on his property to chop his own tree. He decorated inside and out, even stringing lights on the Johnsons’ house to Sheena’s delight. His neighbors became close friends. Chris spent the week before Christmas baking with Mrs. Reynolds, reveling in experiencing a southern Christmas.

  Christmas Eve, Mrs. Reynolds thumped Ray on the back of the head, ordering, “Get dressed. We’re going to church.”

  “Mom,” Ray quarreled, “I really have no desire to go to midnight mass.” He rubbed the back of his head. “That hurt.”

  “We’re not going to mass. Get dressed. You’ve lost enough weight that your jeans won’t be tight. You don’t have the ‘they hurt my incision’ excuse anymore. Move!”

  Like a scolded child, Ray obeyed. He and his parents, with Mr. Reynolds driving the GT, drove to Charity Chapel, the nondenominational church Larkin attended. “Oh, no,” Ray groaned. “Why are you torturing me?”

  “Deal with it,” his mother scolded again.

  Inside, Raif and Chris had saved them a seat. “Were you behind this?” Ray growled in his brother’s ear.

  “Merry Christmas, Ray,” was his reply.

  Even Ray could not quell the Spirit during the service, and he had heart flutters when Larkin sang, “O, Holy Night,” to dismiss the congregation.

  After the benediction, Larkin came to speak to her friends. Ray refused to make eye contact with her. He asked, “Where’s Robert?”

  “He’s not comfortable here.” Her eyes searched his face as if she was looking for the answer to an unasked question. “Were you?”

  “The service was quite nice. You sang just like an angel.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Well, Merry Christmas, Larkin.”

  “Merry Christmas, Ray.”

  Ray still moved gingerly with his hand pressed against his abdomen as he headed toward the exit. Larkin called after him, “Ray?”

  “Yes?” He half turned.

  “Sometime do you think we could talk about”—She breathed emotionally—“About Latrice? You’re the only other person I know that…well, you know.”

  “It gets easier. You did the right thing.”

  “I know, but it’s still hard. It hurts.” She placed a fist over her heart.

  “The department has a support group for us officers. Maybe you could come.”

  “Yeah, maybe. I need to heal.”

  “Me too.” Ray rubbed his middle. “Good night, Larkin.” He started out the door again.

  To his back, she said, “Good night, Ray.”

  He turned around once more. “Do you have plans with Robert for New Year’s Eve?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Never mind. Larkin, it was him, not you.” He went out the door.

  Her face twisted in confusion, and she whispered to his retreating back, “All you had to do was say, ‘Cancel them. Spend New Year’s Eve with me.’ Why couldn’t you?” She slowly shook her head.

  ♣♣♣

  New Year’s Eve proved to be eventful in Eau Bouease. The night was unusually cool, but Raif had special plans for Chris. He picked her up and drove to the property he owned. Once there, he wadded the grungy jeans and sweatshirt he had worn through the worst ordeal of his life into a ball. He jammed them under a pile of twigs in the shape of a teepee, doused them with a liberal amount of lighter fluid, struck a match, and tossed it onto the bundle of rags, starting a bonfire. The flame made a loud swoosh. Raif grinned with satisfaction as the fire erupted, causing his dimples to deepen and showing the little scar on his cheek in almost exactly the same place as Ray’s from a childhood accident. Then, he spread a picnic, including champagne.

  Chris was overwhelmed. The expensive perfume he had given her at Christmas had been extravagant and flattering, but the quiet intimate picnic brought her to tears.

  “Wait a minute,” said Raif. “This isn’t part of the plan. You’re supposed to be having a good time.”

  “I am,” she sniffled. “Can’t you tell? This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

  He put his arms around her. “Dare I start the fireworks?”

  “You have fireworks, too?”

  “Yep.” He lit a fuse, and over the next several minutes, he held her close as they watched their own private spectacle. They snacked and roasted marshmallows and laughed about actually burning the loathsome clothes and the fact that both he and Ray had said they wanted to burn them weeks before.

  By unspoken agreement, they waited for midnight. At precisely twelve o’clock, Raif kissed Chris softly and gently and whispered, “Happy New Year.” Afterward, they lay in each other’s arms and counted the stars.

  After a time, Chris could tell Raif had fallen asleep. She hoped a little piece of the shield over his heart had fallen away. But she also realized he was still guarded, almost as much as Ray, only without the anger. There was no animosity, no bitterness in this man beside her. The New Year would continue to be a healing balm for him. Chris just wondered what part she would play.

  ♣♣♣

  Robert LaFontaine acquiesced to Larkin’s desire to be home by midnight. He enjoyed the parties and celebration, but he could pursue those pleasures after he had won Larkin.

  When the clock struck twelve, he pushed his point. He kissed her hungrily. He tried to slip the sequined straps to her silver satin evening dress off her shoulders.

  She pushed back from him. “Robert, stop it.”

  He pulled her to him again. “I want you. Make love to me.”

  She shoved him away more forcefully. “I said stop. You know this is not going to happen. Why can’t you respect my choice?”

  “Larkin, you’re not a little girl. You’re a very desirable woman. It’s time to act like one.”

  “Robert, if I were pregnant and chose to have an abortion, would you support my choice?”

  “Absolutely. It’s your body.”

  “That’s right. It is. And my choice is to respect my body and share it only with the man I plan to spend my life with. Support that choice.”

  “And who would that be—Reynolds?”

  “It’s time for you to go home.” She pulled the thin silvery shawl that matched her dress over her shoulders.

  “Larkin, the New Year just started.” He regretted mentioning Ray. He realized too late that he had pushed too hard.

  “And you will be starting it on that side of my door while I start it on this side of my door.” She pointed sharply toward his car. “Good night.”

  Robert left reluctantly. I’ll call that little spitfire tomorrow and feign remorse. For now, I’ll find a party in full swing. New Year’s resolution: Conquer Larkin Sloan. If I have to put a ring on her finger to have her, okay.

  ♣♣♣

  Larkin locked the door, turned off the light, and picked up her phone as she walked upstairs with Cyclops who hissed at Robert every time he came into the house. As if by reflex, she dialed Ray’s number.

  Ray, watching the celebration in Times Square on television, checked the caller ID. He allowed the call to go to voice mail and went to bed.

  ♣♣♣

  Raif had never been so happy, but he could not stand seeing his brother so miserable. He was determined to pull Ray out of his despair. After several weeks of convalescing, Ray was at last going into work half days. Raif showed up bright and early at his brother’s apartment on January 13th, with a banana nut muffin sporting a candle. “Happy birthday!” he chirped.

  “You, too,” Ray replied in a manner that would have made Eeyore proud. “Thanks for the birthday cake. I didn’t get you one.”

  “That’s all right. I’ll have something sweet tonight at dinner. Until then, I have a surprise for you—no work. We’re going to meet our mother. Don’t balk. I’ve already called ahead and pretended to be you. We get to see her privately, without barriers, since you’re a cop.” He grinned. “And I sort of hinted there might be new evidence in her case.”

>   Ray could not help but admire his brother’s ingenuity. “Why do I think we would’ve traded places to annoy our teachers if we had been raised together?”

  “I don’t know.” Raif chuckled. “It would’ve been fun, wouldn’t it?”

  The twins drove to the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in St. Gabriel.

  ♣♣♣

  The prison guard found Audrey van Zandt in the prison library re-shelving books. “Audrey, you have visitors.”

  “Are you kidding?” she asked.

  “It was a surprise to me too. In the ten years I’ve been here, you’ve never had a visitor.”

  “I never had one before you came either. Who’s here?”

  “A detective named Reynolds and I guess his partner. I didn’t see them, but was just told to get you. This isn’t regular visiting time.” The guard shrugged. “Guess it must be official business. Maybe they’re here to tell you something about your family.”

  “My family wouldn’t let me know if something had happened,” Audrey said bitterly.

  “Well, come on. You won’t find out here.”

  ♣♣♣

  Ray sat on the end of the table in one of the prison interrogation rooms as Raif quasi-sat on the narrow ledge and stared out a small slit of a window reinforced with wire and watched blue-black clouds rush past a determined sun.

  Audrey van Zandt entered the room warily. What could a cop want with me after thirty-one years?

  When she entered, both men stood respectfully.

  In dismay, Audrey exclaimed, “You look just like Jesse, except your eyes! You have my eyes. I would’ve known you anywhere. How did you find me? Oh, my God! It’s your birthday.”

  Although a little worn by time, Audrey van Zandt was still attractive. She did have the same big blue eyes her sons had and wore her blonde hair pulled slicked back in a ponytail. She was slim, and despite her circumstances, carried herself well to stand five and a half feet tall, except when stressed, at which time she slouched. She slumped immediately upon seeing two men who could have been ghosts to her. Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Better yet—why did you find me?”

  “We needed to meet our mother,” Raif answered compassionately.

  “Please sit down,” Ray requested.

  Audrey sat down tentatively. The brothers sat across from her. Ray explained a little. “I’m Raiford Reynolds, but everybody calls me Ray. I’m a detective. I used my position to track you down because I didn’t know my brother existed at the time. He was having a little trouble, and a lot of people began to think it was me.”

  “Oh,” said Audrey, hands clasped tightly in front of her. “They didn’t keep you together.”

  “No, but we’ve found each other now, and all the trouble is over.”

  Raif said, “Believe it or not, I’m Raiford Gautier, but I’m called Raif.”

  “That’s bizarre,” said Audrey.

  Ray and Raif agreed together, “Yes, a little.”

  “Audrey, will you please tell us what happened?” Ray asked. “From what you said when you came in, can I assume you meant Jesse Gatlin, one of the boys you shot?”

  “Yes, Jesse Gatlin. I don’t like to talk about it, but I’ve been going to the sexual trauma resolution group. You would be surprised how many of us in here were sexually abused in some way.”

  “No, I wouldn’t,” said Ray. “I’ve seen a lot.”

  “Of course you have. As a cop I mean.”

  “Yes.” Ray nodded.

  Raif asked, “Please tell us?”

  “All right,” she agreed. “I guess you deserve the truth. None of it was your fault, but at thirteen, having you was more than I could handle. Can you understand why I left you for someone else to love?”

  “Yes, ma’am, and we’ve both been loved very much. You did the right thing for us, but we’d still like to know what happened,” Raif assured tenderly.

  Audrey nodded and relaxed a bit before two men who she sensed were worthy of knowing the truth about their beginning and her ending. “I had the biggest crush on Jesse. I’m glad to see that at least Jesse was your father because at first I really liked him, and I thought he liked me. My dad had forbidden me to see him. He told me that a nineteen-year-old man had only one thing on his mind when he hung out with a girl my age. I should’ve listened, but I thought I was in love, and the fraternity guys were having a summer bash on campus. Jesse invited my friend, Julia, and me to come. We lied, so our parents thought we were spending the night with each other.”

  A shake of her head accompanied, “Oh, I know we shouldn’t have been drinking, but we were impressionable kids. We thought we were big, partying with the frat rats. That is, until they started passing us around.”

  Audrey tightened her clasped hands. “I tried to fight them, but I was too drunk to stand. But I wasn’t drunk enough to forget how much it hurt, physically and emotionally, the way they laughed at my protests. I couldn’t tell anybody what happened. After all, I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be. I guess it was really my own fault.”

  Ray shook his head. “There is never a legitimate excuse for rape.”

  Someone did a good job as parents with these two men. She smiled slightly as she thought.

  “He’s right,” said Raif. “Please finish your story.”

  “A week later, Julia slit her wrists,” Audrey went on. “Then, I found out I was pregnant. My folks threw me out and haven’t spoken to me since. I was an embarrassment to them. My father’s political career was over all because of me. I wandered around the various shelters until I went into labor two months early. After I had you, nothing else mattered except making them pay. They killed Julia, just as sure as if they pulled the blade across her wrists; and me, too, I suppose. I felt dead inside. In my mind, I was exacting justice that never would’ve happened.”

  “Audrey, what are you doing sitting in prison?” asked Ray.

  “Where else should I be?”

  “Free is where you should be. Why didn’t you tell your lawyer all of this? He could’ve argued diminished capacity. You were only thirteen. Even if you had consented, that still would have been statutory rape. We’re living proof that something happened.”

  “I killed six men. I broke into my own home and stole my father’s shotgun. I knew what I was doing.”

  “Still, you don’t belong here. If I can get you out, will you let me help?”

  “Where would I go? Nobody wants me.” Tears she had never shed dripped silently down Audrey’s cheeks.

  “That’s not completely true,” said Raif. “Why don’t you give your boys a chance to know you?”

  Wiping tears away with the backs of her hands the woman barely whispered, “Do you really mean that?”

  “Yes,” the twins answered in unison.

  Audrey was quiet for a time before she answered, “All right. Try. But if you can’t, you know where to find me.” Her trembling voice carried years of isolation and sadness. “A visit now and then would be nice.”

  ♣♣♣

  Ray and Raif had a quiet birthday dinner with Chris. She brought Ray season tickets to the next football season of the Saints because she knew Ray was a die-hard fan and was always waiting for that miracle year. To Raif, she presented a golden retriever puppy, which he promptly named Sunbeam for all the light flooding his life.

  Ray went home alone while Chris and Raif spent time with the puppy. The two of them discussed the search Chris had begun for her daughter. Raif encouraged her to find the child and set up a meeting. After meeting his mother, he told Chris, “I’m certain now that’s it’s the right thing for you. If nothing else, you’ll get closure.”

  “Okay.” She nodded as she scratched the puppy’s ears. “I have a lead and should know something soon.”

  “Let me know what you find out.” He kissed her tenderly. “I love Sunbeam. Thanks for my companion.”

  The next day found Raif poring over new blue prints and Ray driving to Baton Rouge to meet with th
e state attorney general. Ray had a new purpose: He was determined to get Audrey van Zandt out of prison.

  30

  Unsolicited Advice

  Chris stayed in Eau Bouease until after she celebrated Ray and Raif’s first birthday together with them. She checked her dwindling bank account since she had used all paid leave and knew she had to get back to work, but the last few weeks had been the best of her life. She had spent Christmas with her favorite twins and their family. It meant a great deal to her because it was the first Christmas she had actually felt wanted since her mother’s death, though she knew in her heart how much her father loved her. The highlight of the holidays had been the New Year’s kiss she received from Raif. Afterward, he had merely held her in the moonlight without words.

  Chris also had a mission to close the hollow place in her heart. The weeks between Latrice’s escape and the New Year, she had spent looking for the child she had given up for adoption. The day after the birthday celebration, she showed up at Raif’s office with a file. “I think I found her,” she announced. “I got this early this morning.”

  “Your daughter?” Raif stopped his drawing. “Really?”

  “Yes. It appears she was adopted by Damian and Chelsea Kersh. They named her Lindsay. They live in upstate New York. It seems she’s been well provided for and loved.” She laid the file on the drawing board. “She’s an honor student, plays tennis, and sings in both the full choir and the Madrigals. The only drawback I have is that she has been raised Jewish.” She held up her hand, indicating for Raif to halt his comment as his mouth opened. “Not that I have anything against Jewish people, but I’m Christian. I can’t help but want her to be Christian, too.”

  “Well, ma chère”—Raif took Chris’s hand—“what are you going to do now?”

  “Nothing. Pray.” Chris sighed. “She’s happy. I don’t want to complicate her life.”

  “You sure?”

  “No, but it’s best for her.”

  “All right, if that’s what you really want. Are we still on for dinner tonight before you fly out of my life?”