A Cold Day in Hell

by Stella Cameron

  “Are you staying, or going with the others?” Eileen said.

  “I can’t leave Frances,” Lynette said. “I’m the closest she’s got to family.”

  “Yes,” Eileen said. “I’ll see you back in the lobby. Thanks for filling in more details.”

  Lynette nodded and Eileen left the bathroom. A voice called to her softly and she saw Gracie at once, hovering nearby.

  “Hi, Gracie,” Eileen said. “I think it’s great how you get involved in all the town events.”

  “I don’t have a family of my own around here,” Gracie said, with no sign of self-pity. “It’s fun to be around kids at Christmas. And it feels good to do something for folks who wouldn’t have much otherwise. You wouldn’t believe the donations that are coming in.”

  “Did you clear good money at the fair?” Eileen asked. She wanted to get back to her Angel, but she felt guilty that her own nasty episode might have interfered with the success of the fair.

  “Wonderful,” Gracie said. “People were in the mood to buy. That Wazoo from Toussaint made a bundle and she split it with us. That was nice. We only asked for twenty percent. Everyone was generous.”

  Relief made Eileen a little giddy.

  “Eileen?” Gracie dropped her voice lower. “This is going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but could I talk to you privately later today? Between my shifts at Buzz’s and the Boardroom? Around four?”

  The request caught Eileen off guard. She couldn’t imagine what she and Gracie might have to talk about on their own.

  “Absolutely,” she told Gracie. “Where?”

  “How about my place? I rent the apartment at Rusty’s. He’ll be at the paper—he always is at that time.”

  She didn’t want to drive out there but she smiled and said, “Yes. I’d better go now.”

  “Thank you,” Gracie said behind her.

  Eileen couldn’t think of anything Gracie would have a problem discussing with her.

  When she caught up with Angel, he pulled her aside. “Have you figured out what all this means?” he asked.

  “Sure. Matt’s got to be squirming. There’s been another crime and he’s got Chuzah locked up.”

  “You said it,” Angel said. “He’s got the wrong man in jail, just like we told him.”

  “But I do hope Matt’s got people scouring every inch, both in town and outside,” Eileen said. “This guy seems to prefer doing his work in areas people don’t visit.”

  “Except for what he did to Emma,” Angel pointed out. “Mitch Halpern’s got her in the clinic now, too. I meant to tell you earlier but I forgot. Early labor, although Mitch said it wasn’t that early. Apparently she’s a hard woman to keep down. If Finn takes his eyes off her, she sneaks off on some mission. Their house looks like a Christmas shop. She gets more decorations whenever she can. Decorations and baby things.”

  Eileen smothered a smile. She recalled her own compulsion to get away and be busy while she was expecting Aaron. But it was Gracie Loder’s request that kept niggling at her. She could have sworn she saw fear in Gracie’s eyes.

  “You’re quiet,” Angel said. “Lots on your mind, I’m sure. I know there is on mine.”

  Should she tell him about Gracie?

  Not yet. He might either try to stop her from going or insist on hanging around outside in case she needed him. Eileen had nothing to fear from Gracie Loder.

  “I’ve got to get out to Chuzah’s place and check on the boys,” she said, feeling guilty for not telling him everything on her mind.

  “Chuzah will be going home once he’s released,” Angel pointed out. “He may even be out there by now.”

  “He wasn’t when you called,” Eileen pointed out and Angel nodded. “I’m really worried about Frances. A broken leg and broken fingers. And right at their busiest time of year. Christmas and New Year is a mad time for them. The mortgage on the new salon is much higher than the place off Main Street.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Angel said. “I’ll talk to Finn about it.”

  “You are a kind man.”

  “Nah. I’m mean. All I do is take the path of least resistance. More comfortable that way.”

  Mitch Halpern’s face was a welcome sight. He walked rapidly from a corridor toward the reception area, his white coat flying.

  “Hey, Mitch,” Angel said. “How is Frances?”

  “Surprisingly good,” Mitch said, “given the broken leg and fingers. Where’s Matt? He left about an hour ago and said he’d be right back.”

  “We expected to meet him here,” Eileen said. “So far we haven’t seen him.”

  “He’ll be here,” Mitch said. “It’s amazing how well the older woman’s doing, too. We don’t want to move her again yet, but she’s going to need more than we can offer here. Dr. Max Savage from the plastic-surgery clinic near Toussaint will be over to take a look at her as soon as he’s out of surgery. She doesn’t have a good heart, but it’s holding up okay. She’s a tough lady. We do have to watch her for shock, though.”

  “Who is this woman?” Angel asked.

  “She’s Betty Sims from Lafayette. She was at the Oakdale Center with a bus tour. She’s eighty or so, and she’s got enough guts for a battalion. And a sense of humor.”

  Angel figured they’d find out the reason for Matt holding back soon enough.

  “Can we see Frances?” Eileen asked. “Then, if it’s okay, I’d like to see this Betty Sims. Poor woman. How did she get hurt?”

  “Wrong place, wrong time,” Mitch said. “She was in the same field where they found Frances.

  “An old lady?” Eileen said. “Coward, whoever hurt them.”

  Mitch nodded and led the way.

  Eileen followed Mitch into a cubicle.

  Angel hung back to collect himself. He wanted a private word with Matt, and he didn’t want to persist with the draining sense that there would be more trouble, not in front of an audience.

  Minutes ago a premonition had begun. The shapes that came with it were more formed this time and it sickened him. He didn’t want to go back to all that. And this is exactly how it progressed. With each of the events, he saw more shapes and suggestions of shapes. And the stick figures were back. If he was really unlucky they’d become more or less clear in the end. A few episodes of that in South America had been enough. He couldn’t argue with the successes he’d had with prisoners who fell apart once he started telling them things they thought only they knew. But there wasn’t anyone here he had to shock into breaking under interrogation.

  The feeling could be about Frances and this woman they didn’t know yet. The black premonitions were not always accurate in their timing. What was this? He concentrated on Frances, but felt no fear. He hadn’t met the other woman and his mind didn’t react to her at all.

  He stood upright against the wall, watching for Matt.

  His head buzzed, not badly, but he wished the discomfort would go away.

  Matt walked in, a grim expression carved into his face.

  “Have you been in there yet?” Matt asked.

  “Thought I’d wait for you,” Angel said. “You’re ticked off big-time. Why, if it’s not just the attacks?” He didn’t mention that he figured Matt’s stuffing was knocked out by learning that Chuzah shouldn’t have been arrested.

  “This is the biggest mess I’ve ever had on my hands,” Matt said. He leaned a shoulder on the wall beside Angel. “Remember we started out with someone taking potshots at Aaron and Sonny, then at you?”

  “And Eileen,” Angel said. Might as well put it all out there.

  Matt sighed. “And Eileen. Then the shootings stopped and we got women being beaten up, a murder and what looks like an attempted murder.”

  “Betty Sims, you mean?” Angel said tonelessly. “How come you didn’t mention her on the phone?”

  “I’ve had a bad night,” Matt said. “And this is turning into a bad day. I don’t feel like I have control over anything. I should have remembered
to tell you about her.”

  Angel slapped his shoulder. “Forget it. We’re all walking on nails.”

  “There’s more.”

  Just then the front doors opened again and Finn Duhon came in. He took off a slicker and shook it. “It’s really coming down out there,” he said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder. “Sky just opened up.”

  Angel grinned at him. “You gonna put that wife of yours in restraints? Maybe Matt’s got a spare pair of handcuffs.”

  From the look on Finn’s face he was too wound up to take anything seriously—or notice a joke. “Mitch thinks it won’t be more than another couple of hours. Her blood pressure’s up so this is the right place for her. I’m not letting anyone take my pressure about now.” His wide smile made him look like a teenager.

  “You might as well hear this, too,” Matt said to him. “You know all about Frances and the older lady?”

  Serious at once, Finn nodded. “Whoever’s been doing these things has to be crazy.” He leaned forward for a moment. “I’m going to stick around here until things settle down. There needs to be someone on guard.”

  “Thanks,” Matt said. “There will be two officers here, too.”

  “Any ideas about who we could be looking for?” Finn said.

  Angel was glad he could be a bystander on this one. He didn’t want to be asking Matt all the touchy questions.

  “Yes, I know all too well,” Matt said. He needed a shave. Dark streaks under his eyes showed how tired he was. He looked up from beneath the brim of his hat with an expression of defeat.

  “Who?” Angel said when he couldn’t wait anymore.

  “Chuzah,” Matt said, and held up his hands to ward off the barrage of questions. “He escaped late yesterday afternoon—as near as we can pin the time, anyways.”

  36

  The patient lounge hadn’t been furnished from Sotheby’s, or even an upscale thrift shop. But the square, sagging couches covered with worn gold fabric felt blissful at the moment.

  Matt and Mitch were both there with Eileen and Angel. All of them had their legs stretched out and had that “after the steamroller passed through” look about them.

  “Chuzah didn’t have anything do with this,” Mitch Halpern said.

  “How would you know?” Matt looked as if he’d like to bite Mitch’s head off—or just punch him.

  “I’ve known him for a couple of years. He’s very spiritual and very smart. He wouldn’t do harm to another human being.”

  “Another human being?” Matt said and Angel could hear the sneer in his voice.

  “What does that mean?” Eileen said.

  “Whatever you want it to mean,” Matt shot back. “But he’s escaped and more people have been attacked.”

  Angel had just about had enough of Matt Boudreaux. “You don’t need to speak to the lady like that.”

  “She needs to watch herself,” Matt said. “Just because you got through one attack, Eileen, doesn’t mean there won’t be another one.”

  “Thanks for that,” Eileen said. “You’ve got a mean streak, Matt. And when you’re pressured, you hurt people, whether you mean to or not.”

  The lady could obviously take care of herself in any war of words. Angel met Matt’s eyes, noted the faint flush on the other man’s cheeks and didn’t feel sorry for him.

  “I’ve got to get back to the station early,” he said. No attempt at an apology, Angel noted. “I’m interviewing the man I want as deputy chief. Simon Vasseur. You’ll probably remember him from the Board case. It’s taken all this time for him to get completely free of the Lake Charles sheriff’s department. They were fine as long as he was only on loan. I guess they never thought about anything permanent. Too bad.”

  It was obvious the man was talking for the sake of talking. “I hope it goes well,” Angel said.

  They had visited with Frances who drifted in and out of sleep, no doubt with some medicinal help. Her face was cut in multiple places and big bruises had formed, some filled with blood. Splints and bandages hid her hands and the bedclothes were arranged over a cage that covered her left leg. She’d repeated the word three, several times and Lynette explained that when she’d first got there, Frances was more lucid and told her that’s the only thing the man said when he attacked her.

  He said two to me,” Eileen said.

  “You’re shaken up,” Angel told her. “Put your feet up and I’ll ask for a blanket. It’s cold in here.” He caught Matt’s annoyed expression and the smile that flitted across Mitch’s face.

  “I’m just fine,” Eileen said.

  He went for the blanket anyway, returned and stood over her until she pulled her legs up sideways on the couch and he could cover her.

  “Frances told me about three,” Mitch said. “I really hate the way this man goes for the head and face.”

  “It’s obvious what all this is about, though,” Eileen said.

  Matt rested his head back. “It is? Well, it isn’t to me.”

  Or to Angel.

  “Emma was number one, I was number two and Frances, number three. Secrets, that was our club I told you about. We all belonged and so did a bunch of other women. It looks like he’s counting us off,” she said to Angel. “Men really hated Secrets, especially if their wives were members. It was bologna, but they said the women got above themselves and were difficult to handle. It didn’t help when several of us went after divorces.”

  “I bet they didn’t like it,” Angel said.

  “Those guys had it coming,” Matt said, catching Angel off guard. “I wish Chuck Moggeridge would get lost again. He gives me the creeps.”

  The pain in Eileen’s eyes didn’t please Angel.

  “You and me both,” she said to Matt. “He keeps working on Aaron. I don’t know why. He never had any time for him when he was younger.”

  “He’s trying to get to you through Aaron,” Angel said. He didn’t like the way the thought made him feel.

  “What point would there be in that?” Eileen said.

  Matt and Angel stared at one another, but Angel let Matt respond. “He’s figured out what he’s lost and wishes he could get you back.”

  “Chuck came back to Pointe Judah around the time the trouble started,” Angel said. “I don’t suppose my opinion of him counts for much, given the circumstances, but how can I help wondering if he’s involved?”

  Matt put a hand over his mouth and played his fingertips on his cheek. He dropped his hand and said, “I think he’s such an obvious suspect, it hurts to think about not jumping on the guy and hauling him in, but there’s no evidence against him.”

  Eileen pulled the blanket up to her neck and didn’t look at anyone.

  “We’re continuing to watch him,” Matt said.

  “What else did the Secrets members do?” Angel asked. “Rob banks? Steal husbands—not their own? Sacrifice little children?”

  “It’s all on record,” Eileen said shortly. “The statements from the time are on file at the police station. Read about it. We tried to gain strength from each other. They gave me the strength to ditch Chuck—or I would have if he hadn’t beaten me to it. And Emma, she managed to get up the courage to get rid of that horrible Orville LaChance. Sometimes I can’t believe we were so scared of them.”

  “And Frances?” Mitch asked.

  “Frances just supported the rest of us and we did our darnedest to find her a man. Think of that. We were shedding men and Frances wanted one. Women are strange.”

  “You said it.” Angel realized there had been a male chorus and didn’t manage to hide a smile before Eileen saw it, but she smiled back.

  “Most men in this town weren’t thrilled with Secrets,” Matt said.

  “Because their wives got balls?” Eileen asked.

  “Something like that.” Matt’s mouth didn’t even move in the direction of a smile. “It’s only a thought, but there could be someone with a grudge.”

  “Why not Chuck?” Eileen said.

  An
gel was thinking the same thing.

  “Does Chuzah have any reason to bear a grudge about Secrets?” Matt said and Angel didn’t like it that the man avoided looking at any of them.

  “No, he doesn’t,” Eileen said and she sounded angry. “Why go back to him again? None of this has anything to do with him.”

  “He escaped yesterday afternoon,” Angel said. “Late.”

  “So now he’s suspect number one again,” Eileen said, sitting up straight. “This is plain laziness. Chuzah’s convenient so why not blame him? He’s odd, isn’t he? What is it, Matt? Are you past doing a bit of honest police work?”

  Angel barely stopped himself from groaning. Matt continued to stare at the ceiling but his mouth turned down sharply. And Mitch looked as if he’d rather be somewhere else, anywhere else.

  “I’m sorry for that, Matt,” Eileen said. “I stepped over the line.”

  He shrugged. “We’re all stretched thin.”

  A male nurse tapped on the door and stepped in. “Miz Betty Sims is asking to speak to you,” he said. “All of you, from what I gather. Anyone to do with the case, she said. And that woman is determined.”

  They all got up at once. “She can’t mean me,” Eileen said. “I just got hit over the head.”

  “Oh, she wants you, ma’am,” the nurse said. “If you’re Eileen, she does. Someone told her you were in the middle of things.”

  37

  Outside Betty Sims’s cubicle they stopped and looked at each other.

  “How old is she?” Angel asked quietly.

  Eileen bristled. “I know lots of sharp old people. Just because you’re old doesn’t mean you’re stupid.”

  He shook his head. “No, no, I didn’t mean that. She’s been through a lot, is all, and I’m trying to be ready for what we’ll be dealing with.”

  “Eighty-two,” Mitch said. “She was conscious and lucid about everything by the time she was brought in. And mad as a wet hen.”

  “Mad?” Matt said. “She wasn’t mad when I saw her.”

  “She wasn’t conscious when you saw her in that field,” Mitch reminded him. “Now she wants to get back at whoever set on her like they did. She wants to do it for herself and for Frances. Betty says she’s taking a gun because it’ll be in self-defense.”