Bayou Paradox

by Robin Caroll

  “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to cause any problems.”

  “Yes, indeed.” She leaned against the open door. “You accidentally picked up a phone, dialed Jackson’s number and informed him that my grandmother’s in the hospital? Sure, I can see how that just happens.”

  “I needed information. You said you were going to notify them. I assumed you’d do that sooner than later.”

  “Well, you were wrong. Just like you’re wrong in thinking what’s happening with Grandmere and Tanty is coincidental and random.” She ran a hand over her hair, smoothing down the wayward strands. “Was there a particular reason you came by, other than just to annoy me?”

  “I was concerned when you missed the last visitation with your grandmother.”

  Guilt slammed her like a sledgehammer. She cut her gaze to the wall clock. Could that be right? Had she really dozed off for a couple of hours? “Uh, I fell asleep. Has there been a change with Grandmere? I mean, the nurses are supposed to call if there’s any—”

  “No, no. There’s no change. I just got worried about you when you didn’t show.”

  Shame transformed her words into cutting remarks. “I don’t need a keeper, thank you very much. I’m a big girl, able to take care of myself.”

  “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I on—”

  “And I don’t need you jumping into my family business.” She turned away from the door.

  “Look, I said I was sorry about that.” He followed her into the kitchen. “Besides, I need to follow up on a couple of things with you.”

  Standing at the sink, she reached for the sponge. “Such as?” She rested her hand on the hot-water knob.

  “You said your grandmother had a visitor before she fell ill.”

  She glared at him over her shoulder. “And?”

  “You said there were dishes left in the sink?” He joined her and jutted his chin toward the plates and cups she’d been about to wash. “Those them?”

  She nodded.

  He pulled several paper bags from his pocket. “Can I run some tests on them?”

  “Please.”

  He donned latex gloves, then carefully slipped the plates and cups into the bags before shoving the two forks into envelopes. He tossed the gloves in the trash and grabbed his pen. In a neat hand, he labeled the bags, then glanced around the kitchen. “Do you have any idea who might’ve come to visit your grandmother?”

  “I told you, I wasn’t here. I haven’t a clue.”

  “Well, these tests will probably net us nothing, but we’ll try.” He lifted the bags and hesitated. His eyes softened as he stared at her. “I really am sorry. For everything.”

  The spark flared again. She nodded, sure no words could force their way past the emerging lump in her throat. The door shut softly behind him.

  Tara stared out the window, noticing the sun dipping below the trees as the bayou prepared for night. Alyssa and Jackson would be here soon. How could she avoid the confrontation that would certainly take place?

  By not being at home when they arrived.

  They’d probably stop by the hospital before heading to the house. She could leave them a note, go into work and get the club’s books current, take a leave of absence, then go to the hospital for the night visit and slip more of the healing potion into Grandmere. If she played her cards right, she could avoid her sister until the wee hours of the morning. By then, surely Alyssa would be either asleep or too tired to fight.

  Yeah, good plan.

  Ten minutes and a shower later, Tara dressed and scrawled a note for Alyssa and Jackson. She headed to her car just as an SUV whipped into the driveway. Great. Now what?

  An older woman sporting hair an interesting shade of blue jumped from the running board, gripping a casserole dish covered in foil. “Hi, there, honey.”

  Like she knew this woman? Maybe a friend of Grandmere’s? “Hello. Can I help you?”

  “I’m from your grandmother’s church and brought you this chicken casserole.” She reached Tara and handed her the dish. It was still warm. “You can stick it in the fridge if you’re on your way out. Easy as pie to reheat. Just put it in the oven at three-seventy-five for thirty minutes and it’ll be right as new.”

  “Thank you.” The woman made no attempt to move. “I’m just on my way to work.”

  “Oh. Don’t let me keep you, then, honey. My name’s on masking tape on the bottom. Marie will know how to get it back to me.” The woman gave a final nod before climbing back into her SUV and backing down the driveway.

  Tara ran the casserole into the house, shoved it in the fridge, then headed back out the door. She couldn’t risk Alyssa catching her at home. Mais non. That wouldn’t do. She hopped in her car and sped to the jazz club.

  But that casserole had sure smelled good. Her stomach growled as she parked behind the club. When was the last time she’d eaten? She’d grab something on her way to the hospital. In the meantime, she’d snatch all the pretzels she could from the club.

  The band neared the end of its last set as Tara wove around people toward the office. She stopped at the bar and smiled at the bartender. “Hey, Mike, can ya give me some pretzels? I’m starved.”

  He passed her a bag and winked. “Want a cola with that?”

  “Please.” She turned to face the crowd.

  Smoke hung a hazy curtain over the room. The band broke, then left the stage. Voices rose over the jukebox as it kicked on and spewed out old jazz classics. A few couples remained on the dance floor, oblivious to the change in music.

  Her boss, Jayden, made his way across the crowded floor and plunked down on the barstool next to her. “Hey, there. I heard about your grandmother. How is she?”

  “In a coma. That’s part of the reason I came by—I need to take a leave of absence to be with her. I’ll get everything caught up tonight, though.”

  He touched her arm. “I understand. No problem. I’m so sorry.”

  “Me, too.”

  Jayden stood, hesitating. “If you need anything, you just call, okay? I’m here for you.”

  She smiled as he touched her hand. “Thanks.”

  He retreated to the back office while she glanced back over the dance floor. Another reason for her to take a leave of absence—Jayden had lately been showing interest in her. Too much interest.

  “Hi.”

  Tara nodded at the woman standing beside her at the bar. Stunningly beautiful, the woman lifted her blond hair off her neck. “It is hot in here, isn’t it?”

  Something about her accent, along with her striking good looks, struck Tara as familiar. “It’s a bit warm, yes.” She inspected the woman.

  Mike slid a tall cola across the bar to Tara, then widened his smile at the woman. “What can I get ya, honey?”

  The woman primped without a mirror. “How about a martini, dry.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled at Tara.

  The movement sparked a flash of recognition. It was the woman with the pharmaceutical company’s research team. Irritation bloomed in Tara’s chest. “I thought y’all would be long gone by now.” She took a sip of her drink, watching the woman over the rim of the glass.

  “Not until we get what we came for.” The comment left no question that the woman knew exactly who Tara was.

  “Thought you got it. The other night.” Tara set her drink on the bar and clutched the bag of pretzels tighter.

  “Not quite.” The woman’s throaty chuckle changed to a croon as Mike slid a martini glass toward her. “Thank you, so much. I’m downright parched.”

  Parched? Who used such a word? A Yankee, that’s who. Tara lifted her cola and pushed away from the bar. “Just make sure you stay off my land while you’re getting whatever else you need. You’ve been warned.”

  “Trespassers will be prosecuted?”

  Tara narrowed her eyes at the woman’s condescending tone, then smiled. “No, trespassers will be shot and fed to the gators.”

  “Do you have any idea
where my sister is?”

  Bubba turned from the nurses’ station and stared at Alyssa LeBlanc Devereaux. Her husband trailed her, wearing a sheepish look. “I don’t know.”

  Alyssa shook her head. “I can’t believe she didn’t call me and isn’t here now.”

  “Have you tried her cell phone? I talked to her earlier. She was fine.” Bubba shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He’d dropped off the dishes from the LeBlancs’ at the lab, grabbed a quick sandwich and headed straight to the hospital, sure he’d see Tara.

  He’d been wrong. As he usually was in regard to her. Beautiful, but frustrating.

  “I’m sure she is. But she’s not here, and she’s not answering her cell. Someone should be with Grandmere all the time.”

  Bubba rubbed his chin, dismissing the stubble this time. “We can only go back into the ICU to visit for fifteen minutes every couple of hours. The rest of the time is just hanging out in the waiting room.” Boy, no wonder Tara had berated him for calling Alyssa. He’d forgotten how demanding she could be when provoked. He should’ve remembered. But in his defense, he’d been in ICU himself most of the time she’d been working to find out who attacked him.

  A fact he’d never forget.

  Jackson lay an arm across his wife’s back and extended his free hand to Bubba. “How’s your aunt?”

  Grabbing his old fraternity brother’s palm, Bubba gave a half shrug. “No change.” And every hour that passed had him more worried. Neither Aunt Tanty’s nor Mrs. LeBlanc’s condition had been upgraded from critical, and the fact that the doctors still had no clue what had caused their comatose condition concerned him greatly. Not to mention Tara’s admonitions. Or were they accusations?

  Jackson smiled at his wife. “Why don’t you check with the nurses to see if you can sneak in to see your grandmother while I talk to Bubba for a minute?”

  She gave her husband a knowing look, but complied. Jackson moved with Bubba toward a corner in the hall. “Listen, I tried to broach the subject of voodoo with Al, but she went ballistic. I couldn’t get anything useful out of her without triggering her curiosity about why I was interested.”

  Bubba sighed. Just what he’d been afraid of. “I guess I’m on my own here.”

  “Not necessarily. Al called CoCo and Luc. They’re cutting their honeymoon short and catching a flight home tomorrow. If anybody would know about the voodoo stuff, it’d be CoCo.”

  And she was less of a thorn in Tara’s side than Alyssa, that much Bubba knew for certain. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  Jackson glanced over at his wife, who was giving a nurse an earful. “Tell me what you’re thinking, pardner.”

  “When I look at both cases side by side, the only common thing between them that excludes others in town is voodoo.”

  “What’s your gut tell you?”

  Bubba pondered that question for a moment. Was he letting Tara’s rantings skew his cop instincts? No. The scary part was that his hunch lined right up with her convictions that some person, some outside influence was the cause of what happened to Aunt Tanty and Mrs. LeBlanc.

  “I think the voodoo connection is the key to finding out what’s going on.”

  Jackson paused as Alyssa turned from the nurses’ station. “Let me see what I can find out. We’ll be staying at the house, so I’ll nose around a bit.”

  Eyeing Alyssa’s approach, Bubba whispered, “Yeah, good luck with that, Jacks.”

  “They said I could visit for five minutes, but that’s it,” Alyssa said. “Better than nothing, I suppose.” She smiled at her husband. “But only me. I’ll be back in a few.” She planted a kiss on his cheek before following a nurse down the hall.

  Jackson regarded his old friend. “Why haven’t you just asked Tara?”

  Bubba almost choked. “Because she barely tolerates me as it is. She wants me to run around and start accusing people. I can’t do that.” He jutted out his chin. “Haven’t you realized your sister-in-law is a bit of a, um, fireball?”

  Jackson laughed. “She can be a handful. But she knows voodoo. She trained for a couple of years under her grandmother, and last Al ranted, she’d been visiting your aunt for further instruction.” He paused, all traces of laughter gone. “Could Tara be the connection?”

  “It’s crossed my mind, yes.” Bubba had a sinking feeling in his gut. “If she is, she might very well be in danger.”

  And that was something he couldn’t ignore. Not when it seemed she’d slipped under his skin.

  No sign of Alyssa.

  Tara breathed a deep sigh and left the elevator. She turned the corner, heading directly to Grandmere’s room. Luckily, still no glimpse of her sister. Of course, it being after midnight probably had something to do with it. Just as she’d planned.

  She eased open the glass door and slipped into the room. Perching on the edge of Grandmere’s bed, Tara withdrew the vial of healing potion. She looked around once, then administered eight drops before putting the vial back in her pocket. She mumbled an incantation and waited.

  Grandmere appeared less wan. A hint of pink in her cheeks. Could the potion be working?

  The door opened behind her. She jerked to her feet and met the gaze of a nurse.

  “You shouldn’t be in here now.”

  “It’s my regularly scheduled visiting time.” Tara glanced at her watch just to make sure.

  “But your sister was here earlier.”

  Tara crossed her arms over her chest. “And I missed my time before that.”

  The nurse hitched a brow, a frown creasing her face.

  Tara dropped her arms and shoved her hands into her pockets. “It’s not like I’m wearing her out any. Please?”

  The nurse shook her head. “Sorry, but those are the rules.”

  “Can’t you bend them just a little? Just this once?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t.” The nurse lifted Grandmere’s chart. “The ladies from her church are in the waiting room down the hall holding their prayer vigil. Just in case you’d like to join them.”

  As if. Tara sniffed, dropped a kiss on her grandmother’s cheek and headed out the door.

  Beeeeeeeeeeep!

  Tara shot back into the room just as Grandmere’s eyes fluttered.

  SIX

  As inexplicably as she’d fallen into it, Marie LeBlanc had awakened from her coma. Bubba glanced skyward. The late moon shone brightly on the parking lot. Stars winked back at him. Who knew, maybe Aunt Tanty would wake soon, as well.

  Lord, please let it be so.

  He crossed the asphalt and strode through the hospital’s double doors. His quickening heart set the pace for his steps as he made his way into the elevator and up to the fourth floor.

  Jackson, Alyssa and Tara stood in a semicircle in the ICU waiting room when he entered. A group of women from CoCo’s church stood holding hands in the corner. Some had tears running down their faces. His friend reached him first. Jacks clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Isn’t it a miracle? Reminds me of what happened with you.”

  Bubba found the words hard to form as memories flooded him. “It is, indeed, a miracle. What happened?” He spoke to Jacks, but his attention focused on Tara.

  Her face showed a mix of emotions: excitement and relief with a bit of annoyance added in. Her sister stood beside her, hand on hip. Ah. That explained the annoyance.

  “I’d just left her room when the machines let out an awful beep.” Tara became animated in the retelling of the event.

  Seeing her enthusiasm made Bubba’s heart beat a little faster. Man, she was something.

  “You were kicked out of her room for visiting outside the proper schedule,” Alyssa blurted out, disapproval edging her voice.

  “Since when do you care so much about law and order?” Tara rolled her eyes and then met Bubba’s gaze. “Anyway, as I was saying, the machine went haywire, so I ran back into the room. The nurse was flustered, pressing buttons and stuff, when Grandmere woke up.” Her eyes were like pools of sm
ooth chocolate as her smile flickered into them. His stomach knotted into a tight ball.

  “The nurse called the doctor, who’s examining her now.” She cut her gaze to the hallway. “We should hear something from him any minute. I also asked about Tanty.” Tara looked directly at Bubba, her voice softening now. “There’s no change.”

  It didn’t make sense. If the two comas were connected, why had Mrs. LeBlanc awakened while his aunt still lay in the coma’s dark grasp?

  Tara put a hand on his forearm. “I’m so sorry.”

  That she understood his conflicting emotions and empathized with him meant the world to him, though he wasn’t sure why. He’d analyze that later. He coughed to clear his throat. “Once the doctors complete their tests tomorrow, I can ask your grandmother what happened. Maybe we’ll get some much-needed answers.”

  Alyssa clutched Jackson’s arm. “At least she woke up. That’s got to mean she’ll be okay with no permanent damage.” She looked at Bubba. “When you were in a coma, the doctors were concerned your vital organs would start shutting down the longer you stayed under.”

  He knew the drill all too well.

  Tara jabbed her sister in the ribs. “Cooyon! Tanty’s still in a coma.”

  Clamping her hand over her mouth, Alyssa turned pale and her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, Sheriff. I didn’t think.”

  “It’s okay.”

  But it wasn’t. Tanty had been in a coma longer than Mrs. LeBlanc. She should’ve been the one to come out first. That would’ve been right. Fair. Then again, whoever said life was fair?

  A doctor appeared in the doorway. “Are y’all Mrs. LeBlanc’s family?”

  Alyssa and Tara pivoted and answered yes together.

  “Preliminary results reflect a positive prognosis for Mrs. LeBlanc. We’re still running more tests, but by all indications, the coma caused no lasting damage.”

  The sisters clung to one another as tears streaked down their faces.