by Dan Foley
“Oh yes, child, I seen lots of ghosts,” Grandmere answered.
“Then why can’t I see them? Why can’t everyone see them?” Charlotte demanded.
“It’s sometin’ in da blood. Some power people like me an’ Melvin have that other folk don’t.”
“Are there ghosts around here?” Charlotte asked.
“Ghosts can be anywhere. Ain’t none round here now that I’ve seen. But Old Ben is out in that swamp, and he be enough. So, if you want that boy, ghosts is gonna be part of your life forever. If not, get out now an’ don’t distract him from what he has to do.”
Grandmere’s frankness made Charlotte face the question that had been been running around in her head ever since Melvin had come back. Do I want him? I’ve wanted him since we were kids. I wanted him when I was married. I wanted him the day he came back. But do I want him now, after hearing all this? It only took a second to know the answer to that question. “I do want him Grandmere. Will you help me do what I need to do to get him?”
“Ghosts and all? Grandmere asked.
“Ghosts and all,” Charlotte vowed, and hoped she was up to it.
“Good, ‘cause I know that boy wants you too. He just don’t know it yet.”
11 – Renee La Pierre
Renee La Pierre had been watching Wolf since he had returned from wherever it was he had gone for a week. Today she had followed him when he left Billy Bodie’s bait shop. When he pulled into the house with the old pickup out front, she drove past and parked on the side of the road so she could see what he would do. She knew there was a ghost trapped inside the truck. It was a mean, nasty spirit of a mean, nasty man that had killed himself in a fit of drunken rage.
While Wolf was walking up to the house, Renee walked over to a live oak on the property next door to see just what would happen if he approached the truck. Her interest picked up when Wolf detoured away from the house and went to the pickup instead. What will you do now, boy? she thought as she watched him bend to peer into the driver’s side window. She was thrilled when the screaming face of the ghost appeared in the glass and Lobo jerked back in surprise. Ha! He got you, didn’t he boy? Now run along home and let that old haint be.
The woman who had come out of the house ran, but the boy didn’t. Instead, he ripped the door open and shoved his own face into the ravaged visage that had materialized before him. Frost formed on the pickup’s windshield and leaked out of the cab as the ghost attacked. Then Renee could feel the heat of the boy’s rage as he battled with the crazed revenant that haunted the truck. The struggle lasted less than a minute. The ghost had been no challenge for the boy’s power.
This one could be a problem, Renee La Pierre thought as she watched Wolf go to the house, knock on the door and stuff some bills in the hands of the woman who answered. Let’s see what happens when he meets Old Ben. If he whips that haint, he’s worthy of my attention.
12 – Phantom Pickup
Wolf knew the ghost was watching from inside the pickup, peeking through the crack between the cowl and the open hood — watching, as he pulled the old battery out and replaced it with a new one. He had already drained the gas tank and refilled it with fresh fuel. The next step was to squirt some starter fluid into the carb and try to crank the motor. Hopefully it would start. If it did, he might not need Buster to tow it and he could use the money he had promised him for tires.
When Wolf opened the pickup’s door, the ghost retreated to the passenger side knee-well. Wolf glanced at it once before he turned the key to see if the engine would start. The motor cranked, started with a roar, ran for a second or two and then stalled. The specter howled when the motor caught and laughed with glee when it died. “It just needs more gas,” Wolf told it. Then he cranked the motor again, letting it turn over until the fuel pump finally filled the fuel lines and delivered the new gas to the carburetor. When the motor caught, Wolf feathered the gas pedal until it was running smoothly.
“I’ll be back” Wolf told the phantom after he stopped the engine. “And then we’re leaving.” It started screaming as soon as he shut the pickup’s door. He could still hear it through the Torino’s open window as he drove away.
“Well?” Buster asked when Wolf walked into the garage.
“I got it running. Now I just need to get some air into those tires,” Wolf answered.
“No problem,” Buster told him, and tossed him the keys to his tow truck. “You know how to use the compressor, right?”
“You’re not coming?” Wolf asked.
“Not if I don’t have too. If those tires hold air, and the motor runs, you can drive it home yourself. I don’t need fifty dollars that bad.”
“Fine with me,” Wolf told him.
The ghost was quiet when Wolf backed the wrecker up to the pickup, but he could see it watching him through the windshield. It was back in its usual place behind the steering wheel. Inside the house, the phantom’s widow was peeking out from behind a set of dingy curtains. Wolf ignored them both and set to work getting air into the deflated tires. Luckily, they were all intact. The rubber was dry and cracked with age, but they’d make the trip from where it sat back to Grandmere’s.
Charlotte was still at Grandmere’s when Wolf returned home. “Hey, what are you doing here?” he said when he walked into the cabin.
“Just talking to your grandmere,” Charlotte answered.
“About what?”
“Just girl talk. I stopped to see if you were here and she invited me in. I was going to ask you out to lunch, but it’s too late now.”
“No. It’s fine,” Wolf quickly answered. “I haven’t eaten yet. What did you have in mind?”
“Po-boys and a beer for me ... a Dr. Pepper for you. But it’s too late. I need to be at work in half an hour.”
“Then how about tomorrow?” Wolf asked.
“Okay,” Charlotte agreed. “I’ll pick you up here at eleven-thirty.”
Wolf started to say he would pick her up, but instead said, “Okay, maybe you can drop me off somewhere afterwards.”
“Where?” Charlotte asked.
“Down the road a bit. I bought a pickup and need to bring it home.”
“I can do that,” she agreed.
The next morning, Charlotte pulled up alongside Wolf’s Torino and tooted the pickup’s horn to let him know she was there. He came out in a minute shaking his head.
“Grandmere said to tell you not to just beep your horn when you’re outside. She says it’s rude.”
“What?” Charlotte asked. “Where does she expect me to park?” The Torino was sitting in the middle of what parking space there was. Charlotte would have had to park in the road if she wanted to come into the house.
“You’re right,” Wolf agreed. “Next time I’ll make sure to leave you enough room. Now, where are you taking me to lunch?”
“You’ll see,” Charlotte told him and refused to tell him anymore.
Charlotte drove south. Along the way they passed the house where the pickup was parked. “That’s the truck,” Wolf told her as they drove past.
“That’s the truck you bought? You know the owner killed himself in it, right?”
“I know, I’ve met him,” Wolf answered.
“When did you meet him? Before you left for the Navy?”
“No, the other day, when I looked at the truck.”
Charlotte hit the brakes and skidded to a stop in the middle of the road. “You met him the other day? How could you meet him the other day? He’s dead.”
Wolf shrugged and answered, “Sorry. I met his ghost the other day. He’s not going to be a problem.”
“His ghost? In the truck? You bought a haunted pickup? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Well ... yeah,” he admitted.
Charlotte sat silent for a minute and then said, “I want to see it.”
“See what, the ghost?”
“Yes, the ghost, you idiot. What did you thi
nk I meant?” she answered.
Wolf just shook his head before answering. “You can’t. It’s not in you to see a ghost. But it’s there, believe me.”
Charlotte wanted to believe him — she really did. But she still wasn’t sure she could. “Let’s get that lunch,” she finally told him, but couldn’t keep the doubt out of her voice.
“Fine,” he answered, and she knew, that he knew, that she was not happy with his answer.
Lunch was a disappointment. The food was good, but the subject of the pickup and the ghost hung over them like a dark cloud. Neither of them was willing to bring it up, even though both of them wanted too.
Things came to a head on the drive back when Charlotte pulled into the driveway of the house where the pickup was parked. “Thanks,” Wolf told her as he got out and headed for the house to get the bill-of-sale the woman had promised him. Charlotte almost left then, but the lure of the pickup was too much. I’ve got to see this for myself, she thought, and she climbed out of her truck and headed for the one sitting on the lawn.
Charlotte felt the air grow colder as she approached the truck. When she got to within a few feet of it, the hairs on her arms and neck started to stand on end. Nerves, she thought, and reached for the door handle. When she grabbed it, it was ice cold. She tried to jerk her hand back, but, instead, she pulled the door open. A blast of cold air hit her and her mind was assaulted by waves of anger and hatred. Images of dead things filled her mind; a man with the back of his head blown away, rotted corpses in open graves, a black man rising up out of the swamp. She let out a muffled scream before collapsing to the ground.
Wolf heard the scream,he immediately knew what had happened. The old man was terrorizing Charlotte, his Charlotte. He raced to the open door of the pickup and tore into the shade. This time he was unable to keep his anger in check. The revenant had dared to hurt someone he loved. The power in his blood burned, the thing inside him struggled to get out. Wolf unleashed all of his power on the revenant. It screamed as it was torn apart. Wolf could feel its agony as he forced it out of the pickup and into whatever place had been waiting for it.
When his blood cooled, and his mind cleared, Wolf bent and lifted Charlotte from the ground. She was sobbing and shaking and covered in a cold sweat. She was in no shape to drive, or be alone, so he put her in the passenger seat of her pickup so he could drive her home. As soon as he closed the door, it popped back open and Charlotte leaned out and vomited. Wolf had to jump back to avoid being hit. She managed to say, “Please take me home,” before she threw up again.
Renee La Pierre smiled when the ghostly scream echoed in her mind. Lobo, he’s getting stronger. He’s destroyed the ghost in the pickup. Soon he’ll be strong enough for my needs. When he is, I’ll drain him of his power and make it my own.
13 – Aftermath
Wolf headed back toward Bayou La Pointe, one hand on the steering wheel, the other on Charlotte’s shoulder. He still didn’t know where she lived. For now he was just driving, trying to put some miles between them and the old pickup.
“Stop here,” she told him as they approached the Seven-Eleven. It was the first thing she had said since being attacked by the shade. He did, and soon as he had parked, Charlotte got out and walked shakily to the front doors where he watched her stumble inside. Two minutes later she walked out and made her way back to him.
“I told them I’m sick and need the day off,” she said as she climbed back into the pickup. Wolf didn’t bother to ask if they had a problem with that. Anyone who looked at her could tell she was in no shape to work. Her complexion, normally a healthy, glowing tan, was dull and washed out. Her hair was a mess and she had vomit stains on the red blouse she was wearing.
“Home?” Wolf asked.
Charlotte didn’t answer. She just nodded and stared straight ahead.
“I don’t know where you live,” he told her. “You’re going to have to give me directions.”
Again, she didn’t answer. Instead, she pointed north, in the direction they had been driving. “Turn here,” she said when they reached a side road a mile from the Seven-Eleven. As soon as they were off the main road, the pavement disappeared. The familiar crunch of oyster shells filled the cab. Clouds of white dust kicked up in the rear-view mirror. The road dead-ended after about a hundred yards where a lone, one-story house sat. Wolf parked in front of it and then followed Charlotte as she stumbled toward it. As soon as they were inside, Charlotte stripped of her soiled blouse and disappeared into what Wolf assumed was the bathroom. A minute later, the sound of a running shower confirmed his guess.
Charlotte was still shivering when she stepped into the shower. She could not shake the cold that had invaded her body when she opened the pickup’s door. She ran the water as hot as she could stand it, and even though she stood under the spray and rubbed her body almost raw, she couldn’t banish the cold that seemed to have invaded her very soul. She had been visited by death and now she needed an affirmation of life. That was going to take more than hot water, and right now it was sitting out in her living room.
Charlotte’s didn’t even towel off when she stepped from the shower. Instead, she went straight to Wolf. She saw the surprise in his face when she came into the room naked and still dripping from the shower. He started to get up, but she pushed him back onto the couch and started fumbling at his belt buckle.
“Wait,” Wolf told her and pushed her hands away. Then he undid the buckle himself. As soon as it was undone Charlotte unzipped his fly and pulled his pants down around his knees. Then she was on him, riding him like hell itself was chasing her. There was no affection in their coupling. The act was over in minutes, and she clung to him, arms around his neck sobbing.
“I’m so sorry that happened back there,” Wolf told her as she continued to straddle him.
“Shush,” Charlotte answered, placing a fingertip on his lips. “We can talk about it later. Right now just be with me.”
Wolf did as she asked — he held her and stroked her hair as she shook in his arms.
When she started shivering from cold and not from fear, Charlotte separated herself from Wolf and stood before him, naked. “Come with me,” she said, and led him toward the bedroom. Once there, she slipped between the sheets. When Wolf made no move to join her, she patted the space beside her. “Get in. I need you to be with me for a while.”
Wolf started to undress and then thought about the gris-gris hanging around his neck. After what had happened with the ghost, that was the last thing Charlotte needed to see right now. It was one just more thing she wouldn’t understand.
“Melvin, please,” she pleaded from the bed and he had no choice. He had to join her.
It’s gotta come off, he realized. So, as he drew his shirt up and over his head, he removed the leather pouch with it. He set them both on the floor, and then covered them with his pants. Charlotte would have to see the gris-gris sometime, but not today.
When Wolf slipped in beside her, Charlotte rolled onto her side, facing away from him. Wolf knew from their weekend in New Orleans that she wanted him to snuggle up behind her and meld his body to hers. When he did, she pushed back into him to get as close as possible. They lay that way, unmoving, until she felt him become aroused. This time their lovemaking was slow and tender and filled with emotion.
“Are you asleep?” Wolf heard Charlotte ask as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling.
“No, just thinking,” he answered.
“About?”
“Us.”
“Me too,” she answered.
“I …” he started to say, but she shushed him.
“Tomorrow. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. For now, let’s just be together. Can you stay tonight?”
“Yes, but I’ll need some things, and I’ll need to tell Grandmere, she’ll worry.”
Charlotte hesitated before answering. Wolf sensed that she did not want to leave the familiar safety of her home. “I can drive
over and be back in a half-hour,” he assured her.
“No, I’ll go with you. I don’t want to be alone.”
When they climbed out of bed, Charlotte headed for the bathroom and Wolf took the opportunity to slip the gris-gris over his head and quickly cover it with his shirt. When she came back, still naked, he was fully dressed and ready to go. “I’ll be ready in a minute,” she told him as she grabbed a clean pair of panties and a bra from her dresser. “Out,” she said and pointed to the living room when Wolf showed no signs of leaving the bedroom while she dressed.
The ride to Grandmere’s was filled with silence as they both avoided talking about the elephant in the room and small talk seemed too trivial. Charlotte sat as close to him as possible on the bench seats, seemingly unwilling to lose contact with him. When he parked behind the Torino, Charlotte waited in the cab until he walked around and opened the door for her.
Grandmere glared at Wolf the minute she saw Charlotte’s face. “What you do to this poor girl?” she demanded as she rushed over to take Charlotte’s hands in her own.
“He didn’t do anything, Grandmere. It was ... something else,” Charlotte answered in a voice barely above a whisper.
Grandmere started to ask what had happened, but a look from Wolf stopped her. “I’m going to be staying at Charlotte’s tonight Grandmere. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.” He knew she had questions, but she stayed with Charlotte without comment while Wolf got his toilet articles and a clean set of clothes.
“I’ll be back in the morning,” he told Grandmere over his shoulder as he led Charlotte back to her pickup for the drive home
“Where are you going?” Charlotte asked, when Wolf drove past the turnoff to her house.
“I need something to eat, and so do you,” Wolf answered.