Murder in the Marsh

by Ramsey Coutta

  As she endured the thrashing of the hurricane in her exposed position, Rachel sensed the deeper spiritual significance of her situation and that of her friends. She remembered that at various occasions in the Bible, storms arose and affected the lives of individuals. Some responded in fright and fear, while others responded in faith. She remembered when Jesus and the disciples were on the Sea of Galilee and the storm suddenly arose, frightening the disciples. She also thought of Paul aboard a ship, who for many days was tossed relentlessly about by a storm and eventually shipwrecked. Though she had taught others the principle of faith in God during difficult times, only now did she begin to truly understand the full meaning. Jesus had chided the disciples about their faith, and Paul had trusted God enough that he had the Roman soldiers cut away the life raft from their ship, knowing that God would save them.

  Rachel began to understand that the hurricane and flooding were opportunities for her faith in the Lord to grow stronger, not something to be feared. Her concerns about her safety and that of Daniel, Adele, Claude, and Michelle should be placed in God’s hands. While each of them could act for their own well being, there was no need to fear because God’s will would be done regardless. She thought she had a stronger faith, but now realized since the beginning of the hurricane she had constantly worried. She recalled the scripture from Romans in which Paul wrote, “Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into his grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

  Rachel determined in her heart that she was going to find a way to rejoice in her sufferings and to find peace in her perilous situation. She refused to allow the hurricane to cast further fear in her heart and thus weaken her faith in the Lord. As she sat on the little strip of exposed wall with the water raging about her, she closed her eyes and envisioned each drop of rain hitting her, and each gust of wind buffeting her as refining and purifying her faith in the Lord, drawing her closer to Him. She prayed fervently for His will to be done and her faithfulness to that will. Then at last, with the fury of the storm swirling about her, she experienced the warming presence of the Lord providing her with a deep sense of peace that overcame all her fears and doubts.

  Forty-Three

  Daniel and Claude fought against the fierce winds as they walked south on the river levee. At times, the wind became so intense it threatened to blow them off the levee and into the Mississippi River. On both sides, the water from the flooding and the water from the Mississippi River were very high, so they could not use the edge of the levee to take cover from the wind. They held on to one another and measured their slow progress in feet. Several head of cattle had taken refuge on the levee as well and stood stock-still with heads bowed in the face of the wind. Other less fortunate cattle floated in the flooding waters at their feet. At one point, they observed two alligators that had some how found their way between the two levees and were making a meal of one of the dead cattle. Dogs, cats, and a few wild animals also found safety on the high ground of the river levee, often huddling right next to one another. They even passed a couple of wooden caskets floating in the water. The stone lids of the above ground sarcophagi must have been washed off, allowing the delicately carved caskets to float up. He shuddered at the bizarreness of the sight.

  They passed a barge beached against the river side of the levee, its bow pointing upwards as if it were a rocket about to take off. It had damaged the levee, but not enough to cause it to collapse. They also observed that the ongoing flooding had collapsed a number of houses below them, and caused others to float about indiscriminately colliding with one another. This caused them to be more concerned about the fate of the women, and they increased their pace even more.

  The journey of two and a half miles down the levee would have normally taken them less than an hour. But this time it took over two hours, and when they reached the point directly across the highway from the school, they still had to cross several hundred yards of flooded land still being scoured by the hurricane to reach Rachel’s apartment. Realizing that trying to swim, even with their life preservers, would be a dangerous and arduous task, they looked around for anything they could use to help them get across. Walking a little further down the levee, Claude came across a large piece of rectangular white styrofoam, used to support floating docks. Easing down into the water, Daniel moved to the front edge and draped one arm over it, while Claude positioned himself to his rear. They had the extra buoyancy of the styrofoam to help keep them afloat, while being able to use both legs and one arm to paddle forward. The current from the flooding made maneuvering difficult, and the fact that they were heading directly into the wind also impeded their progress. Nevertheless, they were able to traverse the flooded land and make their way down the inundated street towards Rachel’s apartment.

  As they picked their way through the debris, they noticed the Sheriff’s criminal investigative building had collapsed and numerous cars floated randomly about. Power lines also criss-crossed the oily water. Since they had not been electrocuted yet, they figured the power must be completely out. The hurricane continued to savage them, but they found brief moments of respite behind the buildings that lined the street. Kicking their feet in the water and using one arm each to paddle, they neared the apartment building.

  Once they were in sight of where the building should have been, Daniel was mortified to see it was no longer there. He didn’t have to look far, as it rested along the fence of the high school football field. The fact that such a large wooden structure could have moved so far increased his tension and worry. Claude wasn’t sure at first which building housed the apartments, but Daniel pointed it out and the fact that it had floated off its foundation. The good news was that despite some missing wooden siding and roof damage, the apartment building was in relatively good shape and in one piece.

  After a few more minutes, Daniel and Claude reached the building and grew concerned that the whole first floor was flooded up to the second floor window. Daniel also saw Rachel’s Sentra floating rear end up, letting him know the women had at least made it to the apartment. He and Claude became increasingly worried they had been trapped inside the apartment. Though the building was twisted around, Daniel located where the outside door to Rachel’s apartment should have been. It was completely under water, and though he tried to swim down to open it, it was locked. Next they found the windows to the apartment, which were also submerged. Once again, Daniel swam down and found they were covered with nailed up boards. He gave one of the boards a tug, and it loosened fairly easily. He then resurfaced to explain the situation to Claude.

  “The windows are boarded up.” Daniel said. “But I think with a couple of tries we can pull the boards off and possibly swim inside. There might be an air pocket up toward the ceiling.”

  “But if de windows are boarded up and de door is locked, den how would dey have gotten out,” Claude said, sounding frantic that his wife and daughter might have been caught inside and drowned.

  “I don’t know, Claude… Let’s just pray that somehow they’re alright in there.”

  Claude immediately swam down to the window and began jerking the boards off with as much force as he could muster. Daniel gave him a minute, then followed, tapping him on the shoulder to encourage him to return to the surface to get air. Daniel began pulling on the remaining board and managed to remove it before he too returned to take a breath.

  “That’s it… We got it…We can go through now,” Daniel said breathing heavily. “Only one of us should try to go through at a time.”

  “I’ll go first,” Claude stated, eager to find his loved ones.

  “Okay, but save enough time if you need to come back out, if there is no air pocket.”

  Claude didn’t answer, but immed
iately took a deep breath and swam below the surface. Feeling his way through the broken window, he pulled himself into what once was the living room. Furniture and numerous other household articles floated around him. He kicked upwards, and as Daniel had speculated, he broke the surface to a thin air pocket about six inches wide from the ceiling. He decided to wait for Daniel, as he knew he would be coming. As he waited, he called out for Adele, Michelle, and Rachel but received no response.

  A couple of minutes later Daniel splashed up through the water next to Claude.

  “Have you found them?”

  “Ah’v called dere names, but no response.”

  “I’ve been in this apartment once before. I kind of know the layout. You check here in the living room and kitchen area. I’ll try to find the hallway and check out the bedroom and bathroom.”

  “Awright. We’ll meet back here.”

  “Good.”

  Daniel started kicking his way back toward where he remembered the hallway to be. He had to swim around the floating furniture and other objects, but eventually located the passageway. Down the hallway he found the doors to the bedroom and bathroom. He continued to have the benefit of the air pocket, but once in the bedroom, he kicked below the surface to look around. The water was difficult to see in, so he had to feel around as best he could. He felt his worst nightmare would be to place his hands on the lifeless body of the women or Michelle. Discovering nothing in the bedroom, he similarly checked out the bathroom, but with the same results. Convinced the bedroom, bathroom, and hallway were clear, he swam his way back out into the living room. He heard Claude continuing to check out the kitchen and called his name.

  “Claude! Found anything?”

  “Nothing. Ah don’t tink day’re here,” Claude responded not far away. “What about one of de other apartments?”

  “Well, if they’re not here, then they evacuated. If they evacuated, they would be unlikely to go to one of the other first floor apartments. I think it would be best to check out the second floor apartments.”

  “How do we get up dere?”

  “I think there’s a door to the hallway from this apartment, and there must be a flight of stairs leading up to the second floor. I’ll take a look.”

  Daniel started searching for another door and shortly found one in the living room. The door was already partially opened and all they had to do was swim through it. He waited on Claude and both exited the apartment one after the other out into the hall. In the hall, they found another air pocket near the ceiling. The narrowness of the hallway, and the fact that they were in seven feet of water, increased their feelings of claustrophobia and danger, but they pressed on. Kicking and swimming their way down the passageway, they eventually located the open doorway of the stairs. They were able to place their feet on the steps and emerged from the water as they walked upward.

  Reaching the top of the flight of stairs, Daniel emerged first and then Claude right behind him. Looking down the hall, they noticed a huddled mass on the floor leaning against a wall. The next thing they knew, Adele jumped up with Michelle in her arms and flew down the hall into Claude’s outstretched arms. All three cried and shouted joyfully at having found one another again.

  Forty-Four

  Rachel clung to her little perch while the floodwaters raged at her feet. It had been an hour since she first pulled herself up onto the exposed wall, but the hurricane maintained its strength. Several times she felt herself in immediate danger when flying debris barely missed her, and the structure upon which she rested suddenly shifted. Though it wasn’t the most secure, she hoped she could wait out the storm at her present location without having to move again. She knew Adele would be worrying about her, but if Adele was experiencing the same level of flooding she was, then she had her own safety and that of Michelle’s to worry about.

  Just as Rachel began to consider the possibility of making it through the hurricane alive, she heard a faint shrieking carried in the wind. She couldn’t be sure it wasn’t the wind itself, so she cocked her head and listened more intently. A few seconds later, she heard the sound again and felt more certain it was a woman’s voice. Rachel tried to pinpoint the direction from which the cry for help came from, but it was very difficult over the roar of the wind. She heard the screaming several more times, and finally decided it was coming from a one-story house a block away. The house was drifting, and completely submerged in water, except for a few feet of the roof. No windows were visible, but the attic vent on the side of the house could have been the location from which the sounds came.

  For an instant, fear gripped Rachel as she realized someone was trapped in the house, and she was the only one who could do anything to help. But just as quickly, she remembered her thoughts on a faith that overcomes fear, and she felt calmed. She saw no other way to reach the house other than swimming. There were some floating pieces of wood debris swirling around, but none looked substantial enough to support her. Saying a quick prayer, Rachel slid off the wall and into the water using her feet to push off toward the submerged house.

  Though she was soaked through and through, nevertheless, the shock of the cool water reinvigorated her senses and awakened her from the sense of fatigue and drowsiness she had been experiencing. Picking her way through the debris, she swam toward the flooded home. Ten minutes later, and feeling even more exhausted, the roof of the submerged house was only a few feet away. She swam to it and pulled herself up on it. As soon as she pulled herself up, a sudden cry for help emanated from right below her. She was right, there was someone trapped in the attic of the house. She crawled over to the edge of the roof, where she could see down to the attic vent.

  “Is anybody there?” she called out.

  “Yes. Help me! I’m trapped!” a frantic older female voice cried.

  “Okay. I’m going to try to help. What’s your name?”

  “Annette. Annette Dunbar.”

  “Alright, Ms. Dunbar. We need to remove this vent so you can crawl through. Can you push on it?”

  “I’ve already tried. I’m not strong enough. I also can’t get any leverage. I’m floating in the attic.”

  Rachel thought a minute. “Okay, this is what we’re going to do. I’m going to pull on it from the outside and I want you to try to push as much as you can from the inside.”

  “Okay.”

  Rachel swung her legs over the side and dropped into the water below. She then reached up and grabbed hold of one of the wood slats that made up the vent. She saw fingers from inside grasp the same piece. She counted to three and started pulling. At first nothing happened. Then she started to feel the wood slat begin to give way and finally break free from the house. Unfortunately, the whole vent didn’t come off, but if they could pull another couple of slats, the woman possibly could slip through. Rachel explained the plan, and as they pushed and pulled, they were able to pull off two more pieces of the vent to create a sizeable exit hole.

  “Annette, extend your arms out the hole as far as you can, and I’ll pull while you use your feet to push.”

  “Okay,” the woman sounded more hopeful.

  When the woman placed her arms out the hole, Rachel grabbed them while planting her good foot against the side of the house. She pulled with all her strength and the woman began to slide through. Another two pulls and she slipped free from the attic. At first she seemed frantic in the water seeing the massive flooding around her, but Rachel calmed her and guided her over to the edge of the roof. They pulled themselves up until they were out of the water.

  The woman was still in her green robe and sported matted grey hair peppered with yellow attic insulation. She appeared to be in her mid-sixties. She thanked Rachel over and over and embraced her joyfully. Finally, Rachel found her chance to ask what happened. The woman explained that she had no relatives and had decided not to evacuate because she had nowhere to go. She thought she had weathered the hurricane well, until the flooding began. At that point, the water quickly entered the house. Ev
acuating the house didn’t appear much safer to her, so when the water rose several feet high, she climbed up into the attic. She had not taken anything with her to escape from the attic if she got caught, and just before Rachel came along, felt certain she was going to drown. Having completed her brief story, she again embraced Rachel, thanking her for rescuing her. Rachel returned the hug, while thinking about what their next move needed to be. She feared staying on the floating house much longer, concerned that it could completely sink or collapse.

  Forty-Five

  Daniel’s joy turned to confusion and then to concern when he didn’t see Rachel with Adele or Michelle. He allowed the family to continue their joyful reunion as he looked down the dim hallway in search of her. After Adele spent a few moments in Claude’s embrace, she turned to Daniel, as she remembered Rachel.

  “She’s not here, Daniel,” Adele said somberly. “She decided to run down de levee during de eye to see if she could find you two at de marina. She take her two way radio with her and she call me and say she was not able to make it back because of the storm.”

  “Where is she now?” Daniel said alarmed. “How far did she get?”

  “She say she got to de Hayes pumping station, and she would try to take cover in a house across from dere.”

  “Which house? Did she say which one?”

  “She didn’t say. Ah know dat area. Dere is a small neighborhood. But ah don’t know which house. Ah told her ah would come to help, but she told me to stay with Michelle.”

  “How far is the pumping station from here?”

  “About a mile up de road,” Claude answered for his wife. “Ah’ll go with you. You helped me find Adele, and ah’ll help you find Rachel.”

  “No, Claude you need to stay here with Adele and Michelle. The hurricane is still dangerous, and they’ll need you here.”