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The Caine Plantation: The Next Quilt is Red

Page 22

by Karine Green


  "Oh, thank you!" Kathy said, smiling and taking the box. "It is perfect! I can hardly wait to read it."

  "My pleasure. I am happy someone is in a position to be able to showcase them." He motioned for Jason to lead the way. "Let's go ahead and make that call."

  "Absolutely, this way." Jason led the Sheriff out of the conference room and into his office.

  Dr. Lacompte smiled kindly at Kathy, "You know, Dr. Newsome seems to think your house is haunted."

  Kathy stuck with her story, it was after all, still true. "I have heard that from more than one person, but I have never seen a ghost there."

  "He also apologized for running out."

  Kathy sighed. "There is no need. The movers ran out, the contractors ran out, the landscapers won't return, unless I am there to make sure Dark Lady won't talk to them. At this point it would be weird if someone actually wanted to stay at my house, so why not the Doctor?"

  "Because he is more professional. I would like to inspect the house, if you don't mind."

  "Of course not. I need to be there for the landscapers later anyway," Kathy said smiling. She couldn't wait to get home. Haunted or not, it had welcomed her. She just needed to talk Jason...her husband...into moving in.

  "I also have my own package for you," she handed Kathy a flash drive. "Apparently my great-grandfathers had an obsession of hunting the Caine's but could never..." She was cut off by a commotion out front.

  "This! Is a violation! Of! My rights!"

  Kathy put the flash drive in her pocked. She could hear Lauren screaming, and what sounded like someone kicking the tables and cabinets. She had screamed herself hoarse as the last words were hatefully hacked-up.

  Kathy had to cover her mouth. "I am almost ashamed for her."

  "Don't be, she's a Blanc in her heart, through and through," Dr. Lacompte said, shaking her head in disgust.

  "You can add assault and resisting arrest to the charges," Alan said, in a tone that suggested he was grinning.

  Kathy heard the door to the cell slam, and key turn. She smiled, they still used keys here, and not the electric doors. She opened the door and peeked out.

  She heard Alan's voice. "She's locked up, if you want to talk to her now." He said, knocking on Jason's door, and then backed off as he realized they were still on the phone.

  Kathy and Dr. Lacompte waited about ten or fifteen minutes for the Sheriff and Jason came out of his office before they came out of the conference room.

  Jason approached the cell putting his arm around Kathy as she came out of the conference room. "Why?" he asked looking at Lauren.

  "Why! What!" she screeched at him. "What is it that you have invented to charge me with?"

  Kathy feared Lauren would have a stroke with the way the veins on her neck were popping out.

  "Homicide, Attempted Homicide, Burglary, and Felony Vandalism," Jason said, sounding very serious, but the corners of his mouth had a slight upturn to it.

  "Homicide!" she squeaked out. Her voice was failing with all her screaming.

  Kathy stepped forward, taking the cell bar with her left hand, and showing off her ring. "How did you meet Carrie Bell? You may know her as Lee Wilson."

  Lauren stared at the ring. "You breeze in here, buy my house out from under me, take my man and now you..."

  "I am not, nor was I ever, your man! I was your boss." Jason protested. "There is a huge difference."

  "Jace," Lauren stared at him.

  "Don't call me that. Only Mike calls me that. To you I am Chief Rose."

  "Fine, Chief…Rose Carrie said if I could help her, then I could have the house." Lauren said, talking slower and slower. She looked at the bars, and then Sheriff Rainier. "I didn't know she was planning on killing Milton Lawrence. She just said that in the end I could have the house. The clause was her idea. How was I to know she was going to carry it too far?"

  "No the clause wasn't," Kathy said, folding her arms, again, carefully making sure her ring was in Lauren's full view. "No one in New York even knew I bought the house until after the closing. If you remember correctly I had forgotten about it. You called to remind me. If I didn't know, or remember, how could I have told anyone I was coming? You missed your chance to kill me and dump me in the bayou. Boy, I would have been a missing person report, forever if you had killed me right after the closing. I uploaded photos to my Facebook page, again, after the closing. However, once I returned to New York, anyone and everyone knew. That would have been when Carrie found out. I'll bet this was a crime of opportunity you stumbled onto later, or shall I say a conspiracy of opportunity, in order to keep your own hands clean. How did you meet her?"

  "I don't know what you are talking about. She may have called about my book. I get a ton of calls on it. I told her what I found in my research for the book."

  Jason looked at her with such an expression of doubt that Kathy wasn't sure he didn't just swear at her silently.

  Sheriff Rainier handed her a copy of the warrant. "You, and you alone, put the clause in the sale of the house regarding Kathy's death? I am sure any reasonable person could easily figure out what that meant. You also have a well-documented obsession with your former boss here. I am sure you were planning on being there for him in his grief at the death of his wife, lover at the time," he said, referring to the 'reasonable person' standard a jury uses to make decisions. "You were Carrie Bell's puppet master, because she had no idea of how to carry that out without your direct support. At the minimum you are an accomplice after the fact, at max, a co-conspirator."

  The color drained from Lauren's face. "But, I didn't do anything..."

  The Sheriff shrugged. "From this side of the bars, it looks like you knew Bell was unhinged, and that you were hoping to take advantage of it to get the house. As to comforting Chief Rose in his grief, it sounds like you might have overestimated that relationship." He turned to the new deputy and Alan. "Did you read her, her Miranda Rights?"

  They both nodded. "Just like you said, Sheriff."

  He nodded, "Go ahead and process the assault and resisting arrest charges as well. Send it directly over to the District Attorney, and find out if he wants to come over now, or be briefed later."

  They both nodded and went over to Alan's desk.

  Lauren slumped down on the lone steel cot in the cell. "I want an attorney, now." Her voice was husky, like she was holding back tears.

  "I will bury you out at the old Blanc Plantation prison." Jason said, with a coldness that Kathy had not heard him use. "You can have your old family plot back. Be buried with your ancestors."

  Lauren balled up in the corner of the cot. Her hands were shaking as she put them over her ears.

  "Since we can't ask her any more questions. I will just comment out loud to you," The Sheriff said to Kathy, "Do you think she would have told us were Carrie Lee Wilson-Bell is hiding?"

  Lauren whimpered in the corner of the cell, and then began crying hysterically. She started chanting almost imperceptibly, "Why couldn't you just love me?" She rocked back and forth as she chanted the same thing over and over again.

  Kathy shrugged, "I think she fed Carrie all the behind the scenes information to stage it to look supernatural. As a side note: Carrie fought with a trained police officer for twenty years, kicking his ass on more than one occasion. Milton Lawrence was no match for her stout-trained figure. Lauren was just taking advantage to get what she wanted. The clause was a lucky happenstance, or I suppose an unlucky one for her, since it was what ultimately cast the light on her. I don't think she meant to become the puppet master, but the reality is that, Carrie isn't smart enough to carry this out on this level. So, Lauren kept getting roped in deeper and deeper; and never made any effort to back out."

  Lauren looked at the rubber mattress. There were no sheets to hang herself with. All she had was her jeans and blouse. She needed to kill herself now, before she lost the nerve. She stood up and turned to face Jason, "You don't appreciate anything, you ungrateful bastard! Taking u
p with this Yankee whore, after all I have done for you. You never bothered to investigate the cheerleader's murder. It had been easy to kill that lush. Everyone thought she killed herself in a drunk driving incident, it was all too easy!" She took in a quivering breath. "If Lee had listened to me, everyone would have thought the ghost was involved. She would have been able to get away with murder. But, no. She had to, for some insane reason, kill Milton Lawrence. Too bad she didn't get her face shot off by Kathy that morning. If it hadn't been for me telling her about the hidden stairs in the library and the downstairs parlor, she would be dead. The whore here should also be dead! Just like the cheerleader bitch! Just like anyone who sleeps with you should be."

  Jason smiled at her, "I do appreciate the confession, thank you very much, ma'am."

  Kathy scoffed, "You crazy bitch! You really thought these people were stupid enough to think a ghost killed me?"

  "Come on," The Sheriff ushered everyone back into the conference room. "We have a manhunt to organize. Alan can you find out who her attorney is and call him?"

  "Yes, Sheriff," Alan said, stepping forward.

  Dr. Lacompte pulled Kathy to the side. "Let's leave them to it. Do you think we can go to the library at your house?"

  It wasn't Kathy who answered. It was Jason. "Kathy isn't going anywhere without me. Not until that lunatic is in the cell with Lauren."

  "Jason, I can handle myself."

  "I love and respect you. But this is a police matter...in a jurisdiction over which I am the Chief. I am not going to allow anyone, especially my wife, to be a murder victim. I am very sorry, but you are not going anywhere without me, or some sort of guard. We don’t know everything Lauren’s got planned, and we are certainly out of the loop on Carrie Bell."

  Kathy smiled. She wanted to be mad, but couldn't. She looked at the Sheriff. "Deputies Miller and Bordeaux are assigned to your evidence technology division, correct?"

  He nodded, and continued Kathy's thought, but was speaking to Jason. "They wouldn't be part of the manhunt; they could both go with Kathy and Dr. Lacompte. It will also give them a chance to check out some of the background of the case, and the cave area where you found the arrowheads."

  Jason folded his arms. "It's a sinkhole, not a cave."

  Kathy hugged his arm, "It will be all right. No one would try to hurt us if we are all together. And, if there are any more poisonous packages at the house the deputies can take care of them." She leaned up on her tip-toes, and whispered in his ear. "Besides, Dark Lady said the house was safe for me. And so far, that seems to be the only thing that has checked out. I am the only one who hasn't had a problem at the house." She backed off. "I am sure the deputies can drive us, and bring us back." He loosened up and put his arm around her waist, kissing the top of her head.

  Deputy Miller nodded, "Yes, we would need our equipment in case we did find something. It would be best if we drove."

  "We'll keep them both safe," Deputy Bordeaux said, nodding and pointing to Dr. Lacompte and Kathy.

  Jason glanced at Dr. Lacompte. He whispered back into Kathy's ear. "Please be careful, let the deputies check everything first."

  "We will all be very careful." She kissed his cheek and headed for the door. "Coming?" she said motioning the deputies to follow her.

  Kathy sat next to Dr. Lacompte in the car. She smiled at Kathy. "From your briefing it sounds like you have done quite a bit of research into the Caine Plantation."

  "I accidentally found it. I had flagged a search engine for Caine Plantation and was a bit shocked to find a hit on it from within the agency. I am actually assigned to Midwest, Ohio, but when I read Dr. Newsome's report, and his request for a transfer off the case, I requested it. I didn't know about Milton Lawrence, or the attempt on your life until I arrived here yesterday afternoon was briefed by Sheriff Rainier. I was just interested in the Marissa Caine death."

  Kathy nodded. "How long have you personally being following the Caine's?"

  "Not really at all. I only have family stories. My grandmother scanned and emailed me copies of the family journals. I have only been digging a few days."

  Kathy smiled and pulled out her tablet. "Here, let me transfer a folder of my best research to you. This should help catch you faster than sifting on your own."

  "Oh that would be fantastic." Sylvia pulled out her tablet and they exchanged data.

  A few minutes later they pulled up the driveway and parked directly in front. The yard looked fantastic. Nori and Chuck were yard masters! Kathy couldn't be more pleased with their work, odd as they were. The trees were trimmed, and the new bushes and sod where very rich looking.

  Deputy Miller was impressed. "Wow! This doesn't even look like the same place."

  "It's all curb appeal, trust me, you'll see in just a minute."

  They got out, and walked up the steps. "The library is where the cyanide and suicide note of Marissa Caine was found." Kathy used her new skeleton key to open the door. As soon as they walked in Sylvia stopped and stared at the staircase.

  "It that her?" Sylvia pointed.

  "I don't see ghosts." Kathy said, looking up the stairs were Sylvia was pointing.

  "Hello." Sylvia said, continuing to look up the stairs. "I am..."

  There was a pause. Both deputies crossed their arms. "We aren't giving you any money, for this so-called psychic reading."

  Silvia frowned at Deputy Miller, and then took a breath in. "She's kind of a bitch, isn't she? Told me to 'hush'. She says, for you to stay in the house. That she can protect you from the Angry One."

  "What does the Angry One look like? Is there two?"

  There was a pause. "One is descendant spawn of the Blanc rape of Percy's daughter. She isn't the Angry One, but she helps the Angry One. Tells her what to do, just like William used to do to teach Percy. The Angry One is consumed with hatred of you. She talks like a Yankee. She ran into the door frame knocking herself unconscious trying to get away from Dark Lady."

  "New York. Carrie Bell is from New York. You can't get any more Yankee than that."

  "She will not enter the house again. Apparently she passed out and when she came to, Dark Lady frightened her so badly that she knocked herself unconscious again, trying to leave."

  Deputy Miller frowned, “I think you hit your head. Can I take you for a CAT scan?”

  "Dark Lady," Kathy said, feeling like she was talking to air. "Jason and I have proof you didn't kill Marissa. The truth will be known. Everyone will know the good you and Marissa working to do. Percy, William, the Blanc's will also be known for the magnitude of evil they did. The Caine fortune will go to helping people in a foundation I am setting up. You must let people I have invited into the house, without scaring them."

  There was a pause.

  "She said, thank you for restoring her beautiful wallpaper. When you did, she knew you had a kind soul. She will be with you until the baby is born, and then she faded away into a black fog. You really couldn't see that?"

  Kathy shook her head, "Well, I suppose I should show you the library. I tossed out the legal books, but the remaining Caine collection is still there."

  Deputy Miller folded his arms in tighter, "You don't believe that?" Deputy Bordeaux nodded in agreement. He wasn't buying it either.

  Kathy shrugged. "Three months ago, no, I wouldn't have. Since then, quite a lot has happened. Come on, it's upstairs, this way." She led them upstairs. "Besides, I was here when Dr. Newsome was. I saw his reaction. He was terrified. He was talking and reacting to someone we could not see. So honestly, I no longer know what I believe; with one exception...I can't see or talk to ghosts. And, if Carrie Bell knocked her bulldog, bitch-face, self-unconscious, that is hilarious." She led them up into the library.

  "My great-great grandfather and his son tried and tried to expose the Caine's, but the political environment favored them." She fanned her arms out to indicate that she was in the Caine's house. "Well, at least one Caine will be going to jail for her crimes."

  K
athy pulled out the Shakespeare reader. "This one is definitely interesting. Even though it has Percy's name on it I think it belonged to Stable Boy." She explained there had been strange messages in it, but she left off the content specific to her.

  She then showed them the brown quilt, and the message in the attic locker, before taking them to the sinkhole. Ultimately nothing new was found, but they seemed to appreciate to being able to visit the house and get more of the history. It was certainly more interesting than discussing personnel assignments to a search grid.

  There was also no sign of any sort of intrusion. But, if what Dark Lady said was true, then Carrie most likely would not risk returning to the house. She needed to talk Jason into moving here.

  They drove back to the station where Sylvia and Kathy exchanged contact information before she headed back to the lab with the deputies to concentrate on the case.

  Kathy sat with Alan while Jason and the Sheriff discussed the manhunt in his office. She downloaded all the pictures of Carrie Bell from her Facebook page. She and Alan pulled together a wanted poster.

  Alan smiled as he typed in the description. "Bull-dog Bitch-face is not an approved police description."

  Kathy frowned. "5'6" 190lbs, Short, but curly blond hair. Hazel eyes, very stocky, more so than fat...she’s muscular. I'll bet she can bench press 200 lbs."

  Alan typed her description onto the poster.

  She looked over at Lauren. She was lying on the steel bed staring at the wall. She smiled, feeling a sudden super mean streak for the woman who had just helped plot to kill her.

  "Alan, you have kids right?"

  "Three, but their adults now. I have six grandkids. Two of the grandkids graduate high school in two months." He smiled, pointing to the photos on his desk.

  "When did your wife start showing?"

  "About three or four months, I guess." And then he did the dirty work for Kathy. "How far along are you?"

 

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