by Lynn Emery
“You think he didn’t know the whole story? Girl, please. This is Beau Chene. If I sneeze in the morning, by noon everybody is calling to offer cold remedies. But he’s here, which means something.” MJ glanced to her right. She stood as Sheriff Godchaux and Chase entered the kitchen.
“Does it?” LaShaun studied her husband’s drawn expression. The furrows of apprehension on his forehead didn’t ease when he looked at Ellie resting in her lap.
MJ started to answer, but stopped when Chase strode up to them. Their boss followed close behind with another deputy. “Ellie is made of tough stuff. I think she slept through the whole thing. Even now she’s still relaxed. She knows her daddy and mama got things in hand.”
Chase gave a short nod without looking at LaShaun. “We didn’t find anyone outside, but there’s blood on the grass. I found a couple of signs somebody came up through the woods. We can check them out when it gets light.”
“Sure. I’ll go see to the sites being secured,” MJ said.
“I can do it.” Chase started to leave, but Sheriff Godchaux grabbed his arm.
“We’ll handle things from here.” The sheriff gazed at Chase in silence before he left.
LaShaun stared out of the window into the dark. Flashes of white went off as a deputy took pictures. Others moved around roping off areas with yellow crime scene tape. Silence thick with tension stretched between them for several minutes. Chase cleared his throat several times before he spoke.
“So you’re okay.” Chase tapped a fist against his thigh.
“Gee, thanks for asking, three hours after I fought off insane ninjas and found a body at the foot of our daughter’s crib.” LaShaun still did not look at him.
“Drop the sarcasm, okay.” Chase sat in the chair MJ had vacated. “This? This is what I was worried would happen.”
“And how exactly did you expect me to anticipate and stop it, Chase? Please, I’ll take all suggestions from a seasoned lawman,” LaShaun snapped. Ellie stirred as if she could sense the anger crackling between her parents. Her lids fluttered, but she settled again into steady breathing.
LaShaun exhaled slowly. She tried to will the bad vibes away so Ellie wouldn’t pick up on them. “Okay, I’m sorry for that last crack. But still, it’s a fair question. What do you want from me?”
“Calling 911 when intruders show up would be a good damn start.” Chase frowned at her. Then he also breathed in and out. “When the security system app on my phone beeped… all kinds of nightmare scenarios went through my mind. That was a helluva long drive to get here.”
“Exactly. Deputies are spread out all over Vermilion Parish. You were miles away. How long would I have been waiting? Meanwhile those people would have gained the advantage. I did what I thought was right.” LaShaun stroked Ellie’s thatch of thick dark curls. By the way his jaw clenched, LaShaun could tell Chase saw the logic. Yet he couldn’t concede the point and admit it.
“Well, what’s done is done,” he muttered.
“Humph.” LaShaun shot a heated glance his way and looked off again.
“Not a body,” Chase said after a beat.
“What?”
“The woman isn’t dead. An ambulance took her to the hospital. She’s in bad shape, but still alive.” Chase rubbed his hands together. He started to say more when his cell phone went off. “Damn.”
“Who is it?” LaShaun watched his frown deepen as he read the caller ID display.
“Mom.” Chase answered the call, but stood and walked away to talk to Elizabeth Broussard. Moments later he came back.
“What did you tell her?” LaShaun bit back the urge to use one of her nicknames: Queen Elizabeth or Miss Queen Bee.
“That everyone’s fine and not to worry.” Chase paced to the window, gazed out at his colleagues and then sat again. “Look, I shouldn’t have snapped at you earlier. The Dina Menard case is nerve-racking enough, but putting you in the bull’s eye of some wacko has me on edge. But that’s not an excuse for taking it out on you.”
“We took vows to be a team, always have each other’s back.” LaShaun bit her lower lip. She swiped at her eyes to keep tears from falling.
“Yeah. Now more than ever.” Chase reached out and adjusted the blanket to cover more of Ellie’s back.
LaShaun lifted her chin and gazed at him. “Truce then.”
“We need more than a truce. Like I said, we should talk. Ceasing hostility is a start though.” Chase returned her gaze.
“Spoken like a true military vet,” LaShaun replied with a slight smile.
“Habit.” Chase’s taut expression eased not quite into a smile. He leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers. “I love you hard.”
“I love you back, Deputy Broussard.”
Chase sat straight when a deputy walked by followed by MJ. When they were gone he said, “The woman had no ID on her. Not surprising. White female, about five feet seven?”
“Nothing about her looked familiar, but then blood covered her face. What’s her condition?” LaShaun looked at him.
“Critical. Beau went for her throat like he was trained to kill. She lost a lot of blood.” Chase studied Beau as he spoke.
“He’s safe around Ellie, if that’s what you’re thinking. Beau isn’t a typical guard dog, Chase.”
“A ghostbuster on four legs, huh?”
LaShaun sighed with relief at his half-smile. There was no anger in his response. “He’ll attack if she’s threatened, and obviously his training is to take no prisoners.”
Chase’s smiled hardened. “I’m good with that when it comes to our daughter.”
“There’s something else. Ellie can sort of communicate with Beau. They understand each other. But I don’t get why she slept through all the racket. I mean, this woman broke into the house, the alarm went off, Beau barked like crazy, but she didn’t even turn over.” LaShaun whispered as if afraid the sleeping child would hear her.
“Well, her daddy goes out like a ton of bricks when he’s tired.” Chase rubbed Ellie’s back with a smile full of love.
“No, it’s more than her being tired after a day playing.” LaShaun turned the puzzle over in her mind.
“Maybe the members of your psychic sorority can give a clue,” Chase said with a laugh.
“You’re right. Miss Rose and the twins have children who inherited gifts.”
“Next thing you’re going to tell me there’s a Facebook group to exchange tips between mommies with psychic kids.” Chase started to laugh again but stopped. He gaped at LaShaun’s raised eyebrow. “You’re joking.”
“TEA members are all ages and at all stages of life. So, yes, a group of mothers do exchange tips. I’m not a member, but maybe I should join.” LaShaun winked at him.
Chase brushed back a tendril of LaShaun’s tussled hair. “Sure you didn’t get hurt?”
“Nah, they didn’t even land two good licks on me. I got the moves, Broussard.”
“I know, but if anything happened to either of you.” Chase blinked hard as he looked away.
“We’re fine, baby. And we’re going to make sure Ellie stays safe.”
“We damn sure will.”
LaShaun squeezed his shoulder. “So, I’m guessing this woman is in no shape to give us any answers.”
“They rushed her into surgery. She’s got damage to her neck and esophagus, bites all over. Beau did a job taking her down.” Chase nodded to Beau, who continued to doze as if knowing he could relax.
“But you should be able to identify her from fingerprints or even motor vehicle photo records.”
“Already in motion. A deputy followed the ambulance to the hospital. He’ll take a photo once they clean her up.” Chase stood when MJ walked over to them still scrolling through messages on her cell phone. “I was just telling LaShaun we’re working on getting an ID for the perp left behind.”
“Mystery solved. Wait a minute.” MJ shook her head. “This case.”
“Really?” Chase looked at the phone scre
en that MJ held up. “Don’t know her.”
“We found Tommy Bradford’s missing girlfriend.” MJ’s eyes narrowed.
“You mean…” Chase blinked at MJ then back at the photo on the phone.
“One of their cousins works at the Vermilion Parish Hospital. She was in the ER when they brought her in. Of course we gotta confirm.”
“What in the seven levels of hell is going on?” Chase’s dark brows pulled together in a frown.
“This case is getting complicated for sure.” MJ cast a glance at LaShaun and then the photo again.
“Wheels within wheels,” LaShaun murmured, quoting a favorite saying of the Dupart twins.
****
The next day LaShaun welcomed the group back to her home. All insisted on meeting fast. Miss Rose and the twins arrived together in Justine’s SUV. LaShaun wasn’t encouraged by the matching grim sets of expressions the three women wore. After terse greetings, Justine set about opening the video conference app on her laptop. They connected it to the big screen smart TV in LaShaun’s den. Daniel Rayford, Shelia, and Sandy Portier appeared in three smaller windows.
LaShaun would not even think of leaving Ellie with anyone, not even family. She wanted her child close by, so Ellie sat in her play pen. Though surrounded by toys, the toddler seemed more interested in watching the adults. Beau sat nearby placidly gnawing on a big rawhide chew bone.
“Well everybody, the last few hours have been interesting to say the least,” Daniel began. The others nodded.
“The only good news, and I use the word good loosely, is the news reports are sensationalized,” Pauline said. She exchanged a glance with her twin.
“The sheriff’s department public information officer spoke to the news directors at two local television stations. He reported it as only a burglary.” LaShaun blew out a long breath.
“Nurses cut off her clothing at the hospital, so her all black clothing didn’t draw attention. Yet—,” Justine put in.
“Somebody breaks into the home of a high level deputy sheriff, and that kind of talk is going to get around. So I figure we have a small window of opportunity before the media wises up.” Miss Rose looked around at her colleagues.
“Hey, there is more good news. Our closest neighbors happen to be out of town for the holidays. Mrs. Marchand is better at spreading gossip than any twenty-four-seven news channel,” LaShaun said with a grin.
“Yes, but reporters are going to start digging. A woman is in the hospital, no identity, and they’ll find out who lives at this address,” Daniel rumbled. “You can’t keep these things quiet in today’s high speed communications world.”
“Our adversaries know their attempt failed.” Miss Rose shot a worried glance at Ellie. “We must anticipate how they’ll respond.”
“Maybe they’ll back off, even give up. Wait, hear me out,” Dr. Portier said quickly, raising her voice to drown out their objections. “Going after a high risk target could be more of a problem than they need right now.”
“Sandy, that brings us to the key questions. What did they hope to accomplish? We don’t know if they came to deliver a message, intimidate or take something,” Miss Rose said.
LaShaun crossed her arms tightly as if cold. “Three attempts to get to Ellie. Two were through psychic means. When those attempts didn’t work, they decided on a direct approach.”
Miss Rose nodded with a grave expression. “Agreed. But you’re a valuable target on your own. You’ve also pretty much wrecked Juridicus.”
“What about the dagger?” Justine asked. She glanced at Miss Rose first and then her twin.
“Oh?” Shelia St. Denis leaned forward with interest.
“Right, we haven’t told you that. LaShaun inherited an artifact, a dagger which…”
“It’s a knife, not a dagger,” Pauline broke in.
“Same thing, sister.” Justine waved a hand.
“No it isn’t. A knife has one sharp edge, while a dagger has a double sharp edge. Ours is a dagger. LaShaun has an ancient Mayan knife.” Pauline wore a look of irritation. “You should know better, Justine. We’ve talked about this a hundred times.”
“They’re both silver, they both get the job done,” Justine retorted. “She likes picky details. I’m more concerned with the results.”
“Not silver, Damascus steel. For crying out loud, Justine. Pay attention,” Pauline snapped.
“Hey, grandfather willed it to you, and you’ve been jealously hiding it for twenty years. Forgive me for not knowing all about the damn thing.” Justine squinted at her.
“You pitched a hissy fit, so stop pretending you didn’t care I got it.” Pauline waved a finger.
“Wait a minute, you own a dagger made of Damascus steel? What era?” Daniel’s eyes lit up.
“I’d love to see it and LaShaun’s Mayan knife. This is fascinating, not that I’m into weapons as a rule,” Shelia added.
Pauline perked up. “Grandfather inherited it from his grandfather. It dates to the sixteenth century Turkish empire of—”
“Save the history lesson for another day. Please.” Justine poked her sister in the side with an elbow. Pauline scowled back.
“Justine is right,” Miss Rose said quickly to head off one of their sibling arguments. “The Rousselle family history is well known in our circles. Juridicus has most certainly done more homework on them.”
“For sure. Especially since LaShaun used her knife against them. No doubt they’d love to get their hands on it,” Pauline said.
“How’d the woman get in?” Daniel asked.
“She broke a window in Ellie’s bedroom. Our system has glass break detectors, so it went off,” LaShaun replied.
Shelia scribbled notes as she talked. “Makes sense. Go through a child’s room figuring she’s less of a threat.”
“LaShaun also has family journals, at least two rosaries over a hundred years old, and more. This house is a treasure of items the cult would love to get their hands on.” Justine waved her arms.
“Well we have to narrow down exactly what they want,” Miss Rose said with a grimace.
“And why,” Dr. Portier added.
Silence stretched as the five TEA members pondered the points made. LaShaun couldn’t contain her nervous energy anymore. She excused herself to check on Ellie. While in the kitchen, she prepared a tray with coffee and pastries for her friends. Ellie fussed until LaShaun broke off a small corner of one lemon tart and gave it to her. Excited voices pulled her back to the family room where the group sat.
“Tell me you’ve had a break through. I’m ready for real good news, no air quotes or qualifications.” LaShaun sat down on her leather ottoman.
“We finally have a start, thanks to my smart older sister.” Pauline snickered when Justine shot a sour look at her.
“By six seconds, and everyone says I look younger than you,” Justine retorted.
“Nobody says that, girl. Who you kiddin’?”
“Stop acting like you’re still thirteen. I swear.” Miss Rose rolled her eyes. “Okay, we still have lots of question marks hanging over our heads, but…” She looked at the TV and smiled.
Daniel cleared his throat. “The TEA has made a number of technological advances in the past, I’d say ten years. Recently our X, Y, and Z Chapter developed an app that looks for patterns of troubling activity. Very impressive stuff.”
“X, Y, and Z?” LaShaun blinked at them.
“Generations X, Y, and Z. Young people who have grown up in this new mass communication and digital age. Not that us boomers can’t hang when it comes to techie stuff,” Justine said.
“But we finally acknowledged they’re more comfortable and skilled at writing code, developing apps and more,” Miss Rose said. “That was a battle. Egos fell like mighty oaks.”
“Hmm, who wants to admit they’re not just old, but out of step?” Shelia covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re part of the under fifty crowd. Bite me, youngster.”
Dr. Portier grinned at her friend.
“If we can get back to the point…” Miss Rose gave her colleagues a look of annoyance.
“Ahem, right. We can look for a pattern and develop a profile to give us clues. Now we have a definite reference point, Vermilion Parish.” Daniel tapped on a mini tablet computer as he talked. I’m messaging Ian McDermott now. He’s the app developer and contact to initiate a work order.”
“Narrow it to Beau Chene,” LaShaun said.
“Just a second.” Daniel wore a wide grin a few seconds later. “Even better, they’ve updated the app so that they can narrow coordinates to geo coordinates. I told him to start wide and then pull in. The computer program can sort out irrelevant data.”
“Human eyes should look to make sure. No one can program intuition,” Pauline said.
“Or for a computer to be psychic,” Dr. Portier added and laughed.
“We need to know what they’re after, sure. But frankly, I don’t think they want a thing. A little girl is missing. Cryptic messages were left behind at the scene. My daughter’s room is where this woman was found. No, this is about who they want, not what they want.” LaShaun tried to calm her fears to see clearly using her psychic skills. Emotion blocked her vision. The thought of Ellie suffering the same fate as Dina Menard overpowered everything else.
“We don’t have clear evidence that the two crimes are linked.” Miss Rose gripped LaShaun’s shoulder to reassure her.
“May I also point out that these folks managed to get past our precautions? Another important piece of data.” Shelia leaned forward again toward the camera. “These are not rookies, folks dabbling in the occult for thrills.”
“More evidence that Juridicus operatives might be in play. Another thing, they knew LaShaun was outside and probably knew Chase wasn’t home. Why pick Ellie’s window unless…” Pauline looked to Miss Rose.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Miss Rose said.
LaShaun clasped her hands together. “Pauline’s right. She didn’t randomly choose Ellie’s window. They’re going to pull out all the stops next time.”
“So, we bring out the big guns.” Daniel tapped on his tablet computer as he talked. “Herbs won’t cut it.