Toe to Toe

by Deborah LeBlanc

  “What you doing here, mon petite?” he asked. “You were supposed to have the day off, no?”

  Nonie kissed her uncle on the cheek, then went over to the counter, grabbed a Styrofoam cup, and filled it with coffee. “Just needed to get out of the house,” she said. “Buggy’s working at Meemaw’s right now, so I figured I’d stop in here, see what was going on.” She sat down next to Fezzo. “Got a minute?”

  “I’ve always got time for you, mon petite,” he said.

  Nonie sipped on her coffee and asked, “Where’s Mom and Dad?”

  “Your mama’s not here. Guess she figured since Ms. Inez’s funeral was going to be small that your daddy, Margaret and me could handle what needed handling. Your daddy’s with Inez’s family right now. Poor old soul, her. She’s only got three or four people dat came see her. Margaret’s out by de front desk and Butchy, him, is in de embalming room. There’s not too much going on right now. Me, I’m waiting until it’s time to put Inez in de hearse and bring her to de church.”

  Nonie nodded and sipped on her coffee again.

  Fezzo sipped on his coffee, as well, eyeing her. He put his cup down on the table. “So how was you night?”

  “It was different,” Nonie said, unsure of how much to tell her uncle.

  “Different den what?”

  “Well, we went to two houses, and I think we caught some things on our cameras and recorders. You know, this whole thing is for a television show some people from New Orleans are putting together.”

  Fezzo’s brows arched. “You gonna be on TV?”

  “Not me. We’re just scouts. We check on locations that are supposedly haunted, and if we find one, other people will go back to that place with a film crew. They’re the ones who’ll be on TV.”

  Fezzo frowned. “Don’t seem to fair if you ask me. Y’all find a place but somebody else gonna get de credit for finding it?”

  Nonie shrugged. “Pretty much. But we get paid for scouting, which is good. I don’t really care about being on television.”

  Fezzo studied her for a moment. “What made you want to do dis scout thing?”

  Nonie drank more coffee, feeling a little embarrassed about the real reason she started scouting. “The money,” she said finally. “If we get evidence on film or audio, we get paid five hundred dollars each.”

  “Poo yi, that’s some good money,” Fezzo said. “What kind of stuff y’all have to get on dat film and audial? It’s got to show a real live ghost or you got to hear voices on the recorders like de kind you hear on dem scary shows?”

  “It’s not as much as what you see on television. Not all the spooky sounds you see in the movies. It’s more lights, shadows, a word or two on the recorders, maybe a sentence if we’re lucky.”

  Fezzo eyed her. “How come you look like you about to jump out you skin? What you got to talk to me about? Something happened last night? I don’t think it was no light or shadow. I can see dat from you face. Was it bad?”

  “I guess it depends on who you ask,” Nonie said. “It wasn’t bad for me. Just weird.” Before he could ask anything more, Nonie plowed ahead with the real question she wanted answered. “Uncle Fezzo, what made you think . . . or know that I could see . . .uh . . .”

  “Dead people?” he finished for her.

  Nonie nodded.

  Fezzo drew in a deep breath and worked his coffee cup in a circle on the table with a thumb and finger. “Because your grandma, me and you daddy’s mama, could see de dead.”

  “I know. You told me.”

  Fezzo nodded. “Yep. But you know she never talked about it wit’ anybody but close family. When her mama and daddy passed, she’d see dem at de house all de time. And she’d tell us dat.”

  “Did you or Dad ever see anything?”

  “Non, neither one of us. I guess it skipped a generational, ’cause it got you like it did your grandma. So you see, it’s not something I’m a stranger to. I see in you face sometimes dat something’s not right. Not normal. For a while, I could figure out what was de matter. I thought about to ask you, but didn’t want to stick my nose in you business. Den I remembered. De look on you face when you bothered wit’ dead people is de same look my mama used to carry on her face.”

  Nonie swiped a hand through her hair, not sure of how to take this latest news. “But if Dad knew his mama saw dead people, how come he got upset when I told him and Mom that I saw Grandpa, Mama’s daddy, the day after his funeral.”

  Fezzo shrugged. “I guess he didn’t want you to have to carry dat burden like our mama did. Maybe he thought if he told you that you was dreamin’ or made a mistake in what you saw, dat whatever makes you see would go away. You understand?”

  “I think so.”

  Fezzo cocked his head slightly and studied her. “You see you boyfriend, Guy, huh? He’s around a lot?”

  Nonie felt tears sting her eyes and wasn’t exactly sure why. She glanced down at her cup. “Yes, I do. Almost every day.” When she didn’t hear Fezzo respond, she glanced up at him. He was nodding slowly.

  “I figured dat, me. Now what about last night. You saw something?”

  “Yeah.” Nonie pierced a little arch in her Styrofoam cup with her thumbnail. “I saw an old lady at the first house and an old man.”

  “They was dangerous or no?”

  “The old lady wasn’t. The old man was more grouchy than dangerous. Now the second house we went to, things got a little bit crazy.”

  Fezzo arched a brow at her, but didn’t say anything.

  “I saw a large, black woman there that went after two of the guys that were with us with a big iron skillet.”

  Fezzo let out a little gasp. “Aw, mah, no. And you don’t think dat was dangerous?”

  “Well, she didn’t come after me. And from what I saw, I don’t think she was going to really hit any of the guys with that skillet. I think she just wanted to scare them good because they wouldn’t shut up and stop asking her questions.”

  “What dey did when she took after dem wit’ de skillet?”

  “The leader of the group told all of us it was time to go. He didn’t want any of us to get hurt.”

  “Smart man.”

  Nonie nodded. “He is.”

  Fezzo rubbed his chin briskly. “So is dat’s what’s botherin’ you now? What happened last night? Or is it you boyfriend? Is he here now?”

  “No, I haven’t seen him yet today.”

  “Then what’s got worry lines on you forehead?”

  Nonie blew out a short breath. “Remember I told you I saw an old woman in the first house we went to?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She sorta followed me home. Well, actually, she followed Guy to my house. He’s there most nights. The woman’s name is Helen, and she said she latched onto Guy’s energy and came home with us because she wanted to be on television.”

  “How she knew about de television thing wit’ you?”

  “She asked me what we were doing there, and I told her.”

  “Poo yi,” Fezzo said again. “And what about de one wit’ de skillet. She came back with you her, too?”

  “No. Her name was Tiana Lewis. As far as I know, she stayed where we left her, back at an old plantation.” Nonie chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. She’d told Fezzo so much already yet there wasn’t one speck of incredulity in his eyes. His expression was serious, and she had his full attention. “I’m not quite sure about what to do with Helen, the ghost that followed me home.”

  “Well,” Fezzo said, sitting back and scratching the side of his neck. “From what my mama used to tell me, if a ghost follows you it’s because dey want something from you. From what you tol’ me, dis ghost wants to be on de television. Is dat something you can give her?”

  Nonie shook her head. “I’m not the decision maker on whether or not they send a film crew to her house. That’s the producer’s decision.”

  Fezzo frowned. “Wait up. She can’t be on television anyways. She’s dead.”

&n
bsp; “I know, and she knows that, but she wants her house on television. She thinks if people know her house is haunted they’ll want to come and see it. Her son is trying to renovate it right now. She’s afraid he’s going to try and sell it, which is something she doesn’t want.”

  “Mah, why she didn’t just ask you to tell her son not to sell her house?”

  Nonie gave Fezzo a wary look. “Suppose a stranger came up to you and said, ‘Uh, Mr. Broussard, your mama doesn’t want you to sell her house,’ what would you do?”

  “Hm, dat’s a good point.”

  They sat silent for a moment, each finishing off the last of their coffee.

  “Well, mon petite, I don’t know what I can tell you that would help. I’m afraid dat Helen’s gonna leave when Helen’s ready to leave.”

  “Great.”

  Fezzo laid a hand on her arm and patted it. “Look, I know you went to do dis thing wit’ de ghost because de money was good and because you don’t want to work here.”

  Nonie started to object, but Fezzo held up a hand to stop her. “I don’t blame you for dat. It’s hard, workin’ around so much sad all de time. You got so much life in you. You don’t need to be in a place like dis. I know dat, and deep down I think you daddy knows dat, too. Now me, I’m old, so being here don’t make me no matter. When I was younger and out in de swamp alligator huntin’, I faced danger every day. I don’t have to do dat no more. Working over here, I face the sad every day, but you just gotta know how to put it in its place. I can do dat me ’cause I’m old. It’s different for you right now. De only thing is you have to be careful about what you chose to do. What you gonna do if everywhere you go you wind up bringin’ a ghost home wit’ you?”

  “I don’t know. That’s my problem. I don’t know how long I’m gonna be stuck with Helen.”

  “Well, my baby, all I can tell you is once you get to dat bayou, den you cross de bridge dat goes over to de other side. Dat’s all you got. Until den, we just guessin’. This Helen ghost, is she nice?”

  “Oh, yes, very,” Nonie said. “But I don’t want her following me around for the rest of my life.”

  Fezzo chuckled. “I wouldn’t want dat me either.”

  “Last night Helen and Guy talked all night long. I hardly got any sleep.”

  “You grandma used to have de same problem. Sometime she’d say de ghost would talk and talk and keep her awake all night. And it would stay dat way until she figured out a way to help dem get past their troubles. She never had no peace, God rest her old soul. But you know, mon petite, what you got is a gift. And when de good Lord gives you a gift you have to use it. Dat’s why he put you here on dis earth. Sometime it’s gonna be to help a soul cross over to de other side to meet him. If dat’s what you gotta do, den dat’s what you gotta do. You can’t just keep collecting de dead. You gonna have to find a way to take what you got and work wit’ dat.”

  “But if it’s a gift, and I’m supposed to help, is it bad that I get paid to do it?”

  Fezzo gave his head an adamant shake. “Not in de least. Not everybody can do what you do. Like wit’ me. You think just anybody can go out to de swamp and alligator hunt?”

  “No.”

  “Dat’s right. You got to know what you doin’ or you gonna wind up being alligator bait. So you see, huntin’ dem alligators was my gift, and I got paid to do it. I got paid. You get paid. No difference. With you, though, you get two good things out of it. You get paid and you get to help a poor soul find its way back to where dey supposed to be, wit’ God.” Fezzo patted her arm again. “You got to promise you old Uncle Fezzo, though, dat you gonna be careful. Always keep you eyes open. If you see something dat’s dark, don’t mess wit’ it. Just turn around and leave. De dark ones, you can’t ever tell what dey gonna do.”

  “Oh, Guy’s already warned me about that,” Nonie said. “He didn’t want me to do these investigations in the first place.”

  “Mah, you boyfriend might be dead, but he’s not stupid. He’s already passed, so he sees all dat’s on de other side.”

  “Not all of it, I think,” Nonie said. “He didn’t cross into the light when it came for him. He said he wanted to stick around here to make sure I was safe. He didn’t want to leave me.”

  “Well, you know dat’s something you gonna have to work out wit’ him. He’s not supposed to be here all de time like dat. He’s supposed to go to dat light. Either way, it’s gonna all work out okay, mon petite. De good Lord don’t give you a gift without showing you what to do wit’ it. Sometimes he don’t show you all at one time. It might take a little while to catch on.”

  Nonie took Fezzo’s hand from her arm and gave his palm a quick kiss. “Thanks, Uncle Fezzo. It felt good to get all of that off my chest.”

  “Anytime,” Fezzo said with a grin. “Dat’s why I’m here.”

  “Hello? Hello? Is anyone back here?” a woman called from down the hallway.

  Fezzo got to his feet. “We in here,” he said, making his way to the door to see who it was. Before he reached the doorway, Clara Grubbs, the woman who’d been with Anna Mae Turner, Mayor Fontenot’s mistress, rushed into the room. She wore a plain brown skirt with a beige blouse and black flats. Her white-blond hair was mussed like she’d just woken from a nap and forgot to brush it out.

  “Oh, Mr. Broussard,” Clara said to Fezzo. “I saw your brother out front and talked to him and Margaret. Both said I should come and ask you, that you might know.”

  “What I might know?” Fezzo asked. “What’s wrong? How come you look so upset?”

  “I can’t find Anna Mae. After the funeral, after that big mess that happened, she never came back home. We came here in separate cars because I had to get groceries after the funeral, and she wanted to go to Lafayette to see her brother instead. I talked to him. Her brother I mean. She never made it there and never came back home.”

  Nonie got up from the table. “Did you try calling other relatives?” she asked. “Maybe she went back to Alabama or Georgia. Where was she from again?”

  “Alabama,” Clara said. “I called the entire family. No one has seen or heard from her. No one in town has seen her. Not that she’d show her face around Clay Point right now. Not after that big fight at the funeral. She was so embarrassed. I don’t know what to do. I was hoping one of you might have seen her.”

  “No ma’am,” Fezzo said. “Not hide or hair.”

  “Neither have I,” said Nonie.

  Clara swiped a shaking hand through her hair repeatedly. “I don’t know what else to do.”

  “Have you gone to the police?” Nonie asked. “Maybe you should talk to Sheriff Buchanan or Deputy Lopez. They might know something.”

  “I’ve already talked to them,” Clara said. “They haven’t seen Anna Mae, and they claim they can’t put file a missing person’s report yet because it’s too soon. They said she was certainly old enough to go wherever she wanted to go. Said she could have gone to Florida for all we know to get away from town for a while. Let folks get over the scuffle she had with the mayor’s wife. I don’t believe that, though. Anna Mae would have told me if she’d wanted to leave town. She wouldn’t have just left. And all her clothes and makeup are still at the house. She wouldn’t have left without that. No clothes, makeup, shoes. She wouldn’t have gone out of town like that. I told that to Sheriff Buchanan, but he didn’t want to listen. All he kept saying was there was nothing they could do about it right now.”

  “Did they offer any help?” Nonie asked.

  “All they said was that they’d ask around town. See if anyone has seen her. That’s nothing different than what I’ve already done.” Clara put her hands over her face and sniffled. “I truly don’t know what to do now. I’m so worried that something might have happened to her. It’s just not like her to leave that way.”

  “Ms. Clara, why don’t you come and have a seat,” Nonie said. “Let me get you some coffee.”

  Fezzo nodded and took Clara by the shoulders, gently leading her
to the table he and Nonie had been sitting at. He pulled a chair out for her.

  “You want cream and sugar in your coffee?” Nonie asked, already at the urn.

  “No just black. Just like Anna Mae would have taken it. Black.” Clara sniffled again. “Why would she disappear like that? I don’t understand.”

  Suddenly, T-boy stuck his head into the coffee room. “Hey, peanut,” he said to Nonie.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  “Y’all helping out, Ms. Clara?”

  “Not too much we can do,” Fezzo said. “Neither me or Nonie seen Anna Mae.”

  T-boy tsked, then said, “Fezzo, can you get the hearse started? We’re ready to head to the church.”

  “I’ll be right there, brother.”

  T-boy nodded and disappeared from the doorway.

  “If you’ll excuse me, Ms. Clara, I have some business to tend to,” Fezzo said.

  “Oh, please don’t let me interrupt anything,” Clara said and started to stand.

  “No, no,” Fezzo said. “Stay and have some coffee with Nonie. Have a little chat, maybe calm down a bit before you get back on the road. You don’t need to be driving all nervous like dat.” He gave Nonie a little nod as he left the room.

  Clara sat back down and took the coffee Nonie offered her.

  Nonie didn’t have a clue what to tell the woman to comfort her. “I’m sorry you’re going through this, Ms. Clara.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I wish I could help you. Have you gone to Meemaw’s Café? A lot of people in town go there for breakfast and lunch. Maybe somebody there has seen Anna Mae.”

  “I’ve been there twice. No luck.” Clara took a sip of coffee, then looked around the room as if to assure herself they were the only two in the room. She leaned closer to Nonie. “And you know what else?”

  “What?”

  Clara sighed deeply. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this because I haven’t told another living soul.”A worried look crossed her face. “Since Anna Mae left, there are all kinds of strange things happening at my house,” she whispered.

  “Like what?” Nonie asked.

  “Sometimes I’ll go into my kitchen to get something to eat or drink and all my cabinet doors are open. I’ll go in my bathroom, and the shower’s running. Weird stuff like that. This morning I woke up and found my washing machine running. I sure didn’t turn it on, unless I walked in my sleep and didn’t know it. I mean that machine was running like it had a heavy load of clothes washing. Kept making a kathunk kathunk sound. I turned off the washer and checked inside. Nothing in it.”