Murder in the Marsh

by Ramsey Coutta

  The announcer stated that Hurricane Katrina continued to advance toward the Louisiana coast as a Category Five hurricane with winds having dropped only slightly to 165 mph. It was 140 miles south of New Orleans and was still expected to strike Plaquemines Parish. He warned of catastrophic flooding if the hurricane came directly up the mouth of the Mississippi, due to a wall of water being pushed before it.

  After listening a little bit longer, Rachel turned off the radio. She laid it on her bed, listening to the wind screaming outside. The apartment building creaked and moaned as stronger gusts blew. She hoped the walls were strong enough to withstand the brutal winds. She thought again about Daniel and Claude, wondering whether Daniel had found Claude and how they would be able to survive out in the marsh in this weather. Tears came to her eyes as she thought about the loss everyone would experience if they didn’t make it. Through her tears she began to speak silently to God, continuing on until sleep overtook her once again.

  When Rachel awoke again, it was to the alarming sound of the apartment building rattling violently from the strength of the shrieking winds. The windows clattered loudly while the walls groaned, as if unseen ghosts inhabited them. Rachel jerked upright in her bed and collected her thoughts. She had been dreaming of being back out on the small boat in the storm. She decided that waking up was not much of an improvement with the dangerous hurricane still wailing outside.

  She leapt out of bed, found her flashlight, and strode quickly down the hall, only stopping to grab the little clock out of the bathroom. It was 3:00 am. In the living room she found Adele also waking up, while Michelle continued to sleep.

  “Adele, are you alright?” Rachel asked.

  “Yes, were okay,” Adele whispered back softly.

  “It sounds much worse. I hope this apartment building will hold up.”

  “Ah know. It’s groaning so badly. Have you heard anymore weather news?”

  “The power is out, but I listened to my radio. The hurricane is still heading our way, though the winds have died down slightly. They are concerned about flooding if it comes up the mouth of the river.”

  “Let’s just hope de levees will hold.”

  Rachel and Adele stayed up another hour, listening to the weather and talking silently. They eventually drifted back to sleep as their whisperings gave way to the unceasing fury of the storm.

  A loud rapping on the front door of the apartment startled Rachel out of her sleep. She checked her clock. It was 6:30 am. The hurricane sounded far worse than at any point thus far. Who could be out in the middle of a hurricane, she wondered. She then remembered Daniel and Claude and became excited thinking it could be them. The rapping on the door occurred again. She quickly got up and nudged Adele awake; telling her someone was at the door. Adele got up with her and they went to answer the door together.

  Rachel unlocked the door and held tight as the wind tried to blown it wide open. Both women looked out into the storm ready to embrace Daniel and Claude. Their exhilaration turned to dejection when they saw that it wasn’t the two men, but the deputy who had escorted them to the apartment. He was bending over, hanging on to the guardrail of the steps, trying not to be blown down by the wind.

  “I came to check on you and give you some information,” he said, shouting through the gale. “Can I come in?”

  “Yes, yes, come in,” Rachel said, realizing she should have already offered.

  Once inside, the deputy immediately got to the point, “I’m glad to see that you’re still alright. But I need to warn you the river levee is in danger of breaching. The water is crowning the levee and waves are crashing over the top. The river water coming over the top is scouring the backside, weakening it to the point that at any moment a breach could occur. What’s worse is that a barge has broken away from its moorings and the wind is causing it to ram over and over again into another section of the levee. So what I’m saying is that the river levee has the potential of collapsing in several places and you need to be ready. If it does, the whole area could be flooded.”

  “What should we do?” Rachel asked nervously.

  “Stay put and move up to the second floor of your apartment building if flooding occurs. You should be safe there.”

  “Is that it? Anything else?”

  “There’s not much else that you can do at this time,” he said solemnly. “Just pray.”

  The deputy headed out the door and disappeared into the flying white wall of water and debris. After finally getting the door closed, Rachel thought about their situation. The apartment building was an old two-story wooden structure built in the 1960s, sitting three feet off the ground on brick supports. It had two upstairs apartments and two downstairs apartments. An interior set of steps led up to the second floor. The teachers who stayed in the other three apartments had already left. She knew where a key was hidden by one of her friends who lived in one of the second floor apartments. She decided if worse came to worse, they could head upstairs to the apartment. She shared this with Adele, and they set about making sure they had some food and water prepared.

  For the next several hours, Rachel and Adele anxiously monitored the weather, periodically peeking to see if any flooding was evident. The hurricane increased in severity, ripping away wooden siding, blowing down trees, snapping power poles, and filling the air with dangerous flying debris. The debris eventually busted two windows turning the apartment into a cauldron of violently whipping wind and flying objects. They moved to the bathroom, positioning cushions around themselves for protection. Adele covered Michelle with her body, while Rachel covered them both. After huddling silently for a while, Rachel began to softly sing a hymn for encouragement. Soon all three were singing together, comforting one another, as the storm raged about them.

  Thirty-Two

  Daniel didn’t realize he had fallen asleep. After praying for Claude, he had decided to remain in the recliner next to him. He wanted to keep an eye on him to make sure that he would be all right. The next thing he knew, he was rudely awaken by the sound of aluminum roofing being peeled back by the wind and being slammed over and over again against the side of the house. He checked his watch, and to his surprise discovered it was close to 5:30 am. Time was running out. The hurricane sounded as if it was right on top of them. Whereas, previously he had heard variations in the gusting of the wind, now it seemed like one long continuous scream. Everything in the modestly built home seemed to groan and shake, leaving Daniel wondering whether it could be blown apart piece by piece.

  He moved over to Claude’s side and checked his pulse. The pulse was stronger now and Claude was softly moaning. He was conscious, but in obvious pain.

  “Claude, can you hear me?” Daniel spoke in his ear.

  Claude only moaned.

  “Claude, are you awake? Can you hear me?”

  “Where…where am I?” Claude struggled to say the words.

  “You’re at your home. Some falling boards struck you. You have a severe cut to the back of your head.”

  “Yeah…ah feel like a sledgehammer is pounding my head. What about Adele and de chiren?”

  “I don’t know, Claude. I haven’t heard anything from them. The power is out and the telephone isn’t working. I think the core of the hurricane has almost reached us. The wind is terrible. It must be 70-80 mph.”

  “What about gas for de boat?”

  “I had to leave it when you were struck by the porch overhang. I drug you back here, and haven’t returned to get it. It might not be there anymore with the wind blowing so badly. I was waiting until you recovered, then I fell asleep. I’m going back to see if I can find it.”

  “Ah can hear the wind from here, Daniel. It’s too dangerous for you to go back over dere. Before we do anything, ah’v got a weather radio in de bedroom we should listen to and see what’s happening wit de hurricane.”

  “Where is it, I’ll get it,” Daniel offered.

  “It’s on de dresser. It has batteries.” Daniel took the flashligh
t and went into Claude’s bedroom and found the weather radio just where Claude said it would be. He brought it back into the living room and turned it on. Its red light glowed in the darkness as the computer-generated voice gave the latest weather information about Hurricane Katrina. The hurricane was only thirty miles from striking Plaquemines Parish. Wind speeds had dropped to 135 mph making it a low Category Four storm, but the central pressure was 920 millibars, a dangerously low measure supporting a higher storm surge. Already, a buoy near the mouth of the Mississippi River had recorded wave heights of fifty-five feet. The center of the storm was expected to strike anywhere from the southern part of the parish up to Port Sulphur.

  If the storm was only thirty miles out, Daniel thought, then it would be suicide to try to go anywhere. If the eye passed near Port Sulphur, they might have one to two hours to attempt to make it out of the marsh, if they didn’t die before hand. Daniel got up and went to the front door and took a step out on to the front porch. The main thrust of the wind was hitting the back of the house, leaving the porch less exposed. The area around the house appeared like a white blanket of rain being blown sideways. Marsh grass, sticks, shrubs, lumber, and debris were being blown dangerously about. The wind direction had shifted slightly, and instead of coming directly from the east, it was now coming from the northeast.

  Daniel stepped back inside and thought about this for several minutes. As the hurricane drew closer, the winds would continue to shift until they blew out of the west and southwest. Daniel realized this would be the most dangerous time. Currently, the wind was blowing the water back out into the marsh, which is why the storm surge had not hit them yet. But when the winds shifted and started blowing from the southwest, the water would be pushed in towards their exposed location and the vulnerable strip of inhabited land between the two levees. With the storm so immense and the pressure so low, there was little chance they would survive when the surge arrived. They would have to hope the eye passed over them, and then make a break for Port Sulphur.

  Daniel came back in the living room to check on Claude. He noticed that water had started dripping from the ceiling and streaming down a wall. It would probably get much worse as the storm drew closer, he thought.

  “Claude, I know you’re in a lot of pain right now, but I need to know if you’ll be able to hike across the marsh to Grand Bayou road, or if I need to make plans to get the gas and boat to carry us out.”

  “Ah don’t know. Let me try to stand up and see how ah feel,” Claude said, trying to lift himself off the couch.” He clutched the blanket around him and stood up. Immediately he fell back to the couch groaning.

  “Are you alright?” Daniel reached out to stabilize Claude.

  “Ah don’t tink so. Ah went black there for a minute. My head is poundin bad.”

  “I don’t think you’re going to be able to make it walking, Claude. I’m going to go and get the gas and then the boat.”

  “Daniel, it’s too dangerous for you to go by yourself. Maybe in a little bit ah will feel better.”

  “We’ll see, Claude.”

  Outside, the hurricane raged unlike anything either man had ever experienced. Frequently, they heard the snapping of boarding, roofing, and the shattering of glass. Several windows in the house had already been busted by flying debris. Daniel wondered how the bayou home continued to hold up under such a ferocious beating.

  Claude fell back to sleep, and Daniel settled in the recliner. There was nothing he could do at this point but wait. He noticed a Bible laying on an end table and picked it up, focusing his flashlight on it. It had been forever since he had spent time reading the word of God. He remembered the story of Jesus and the disciples on the boat when the storm came up, and how Jesus had rebuked them for their lack of faith and calmed the storm. He turned to it and read it again for the first time in years. He continued reading for the next hour, moving to a chair near the front door to take advantage of the trickle of light after his flashlight failed. He put the Bible down for a little while, thinking about the words he had read. He started reading again, soaking in the teachings of Christ, momentarily forgetting the troublesome storm that seethed outside. Another hour passed, then a third. The storm grew in intensity, but he didn’t fear. He felt as if he could continue reading on and on, but finally his eyes grew tired and he laid the Bible down.

  As he sat in the wooden chair, he thought about his lack of faith in Christ over the years. He realized that the Lord had been with him when he had not been with the Lord. Had God not spared his life thus far, and answered his prayer by allowing him to face and overcome the threat of the Sheriff, finding Claude, and making it back in the storm? Did God not protect him in the raging sea when the boat was on top of him and he saw no way out? Everything he had been through over the past couple of days began to overwhelm him, as well as the knowledge of how God had been so good to him. He felt this emotions rise up within him. He got up and walked to a back bedroom and fell to his knees beside the bed.

  “Father, you have been so good to me and I have been so unfaithful to you. I have followed my own ways, thinking I didn’t need you. But you have been patient with me and have shown me mercy when I didn’t deserve it. Lord, I am a sinner, undeserving of your grace and forgiveness. But I don’t won’t to go on living without your presence in my life. Jesus I pray that you will forgive me of my sin, my disobedience, my arrogance. I pray that you will come into my life as my Savior and save me from my sin.”

  Warm wet tears rolled down his face as he felt a joy and a peace in his heart he had not felt in a long time. He sensed that something had changed in him; a burden had been lifted. He felt the presence of Christ in his heart, giving him a sense of peace that had long been missing. Something was also different outside. The hurricane was rapidly dying down in intensity. The wind was growing calmer and he could only hear a light pattering of rain beating on the roof and windows. Through the window, the light was growing brighter, casting its radiance on him as he knelt by the bed. The storm had been calmed, if just for the moment.

  Thirty-Three

  After huddling together in the darkness of the bathroom for several hours, Rachel and Adele noticed the intensity of the hurricane begin to diminish. Waiting a little while longer, Rachel finally stepped out of the bathroom into the hall. The wind had undeniably eased, and debris no longer blew about the room. She walked to a window and peered through the shattered glass. Outside, the dark grey clouds were quickly giving way to a blue sky. The rain dropped off to a drizzle, and the trees still standing barely swayed in the light wind. She went back to the bathroom and informed Adele and Michelle that the danger had subsided.

  “Is it over?” Adele asked.

  “I don’t know. It just seems strange to end so quickly,” Rachel responded.

  “Yes, very unusual.”

  Rachel thought for a minute. While it seemed like the hurricane lasted for an eternity, the suddenness with which it ended didn’t seem right.

  Rachel and Adele looked at one another. They both came to the same conclusion almost simultaneously.

  “The eye!” they both said in unison.

  “Yes, ah tink it must de eye of de hurricane!” Adele said

  “It seems like we barely survived the first half.”

  “Ah wonder how long we have before it hits again?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ve got my Walkman. I’ll listen to it and see if I can learn anything.”

  Rachel found the Walkman still lying on her bed. Turning it on, she listened to the announcer updating the latest statistics for Hurricane Katrina. What caught her attention the most was the location and size of the eye. The announcer reported that Katrina made landfall over southern Plaquemines Parish and was pushing northward. The eye remained well formed and approximately forty miles in width. Rachel calculated distances and determined it was large enough to cover the entire town of Port Sulphur and much of the parish. The announcer stated the hurricane was moving slowly, and would not clear t
he parish for a couple of hours.

  Rachel relayed the news to Adele, as Michelle clung to her mother’s leg.

  “A couple of hours?” Adele repeated astonished.

  “If even that much. I guess it depends on whether we’re at the edge of the eye or near the middle. I’m going to go outside and take a look around. It might be a good idea to try and board the windows up before the winds begin again.”

  Rachel opened the door and looked around. Adele and Michelle were right behind her. The scene stunned them. Snapped telephone poles and wires laid across the ground. Street signs leaned unnaturally twisted or blown over. Giant tree braches, snapped off at the trunk, lay many yards away from their origin, while several trees sat uprooted and laying on their side. Shingles, wood, paper, plastic items and all sorts of other debris littered the street and lawns.

  Adele looked about in stunned amazement as she carried Michelle. Michelle seemed just as wide eyed as her mother. Rachel guessed she probably had the same look on her face.

  “Let’s see if we can find some scrap boards or plywood in all this debris,” Rachel suggested. I have some hammer and nails in a closet. We can nail them across the windows to serve as protection.”

  For the next forty-five minutes the two women sifted through the scatted debris on the street and nearby lawns, while Michelle watched from the steps of the apartment. Bit by bit they located pieces of wood, plywood, and boards that while not perfectly shaped, could still be hammered across the exposed windows to provide some protection. Having collected a pile of assorted lumber, Rachel retrieved her hammer and nails. Adele held the wood over the window while Rachel hammered. When they were finished, they stepped back and felt a small sense of accomplishment of having completed the job.