One of the carts contained several white, plastic bags with the logos of large supermarket chains printed on the outside. She opened a few of the bags and identified boxes of cereal, crackers and a large jar of peanut butter. Next to the bags were three large jugs of water. Behind the other cart and nestled against the wall, were several large black plastic garbage bags. “Ah,” she said to herself. “This must be where he stays.”
“You!” A voice shouted behind her. She jumped, whirled around and came face to face with a dirty and disheveled man. Coarse, matted hair was shot through with gray. Some of it was twisted, as if he tried to give himself dreadlocks. His skin was the color of burnt toast. Gray stubble covered the lower half of his face. He glared at her, eyes wild. “You stay away from my stuff.” He gripped a large, metal pipe which he raised high above his head.
Jonelle held up both hands, as if to ward off an impending blow. “Calm down. I’m not here to hurt you or take your things. I think you may be able to help me find a friend of mine. She’s missing and everyone’s worried sick.”
Something flickered in his yellow, rheumy eyes. Jonelle saw a glimmer of intelligence. “Why the hell you think she here, huh?” He still held the pipe upright. When he spoke, Jonelle noted gaps where teeth should’ve been.
She lowered her arms. “I’m not sure. I know she was seen walking in this direction. And I found an earring outside. Mind if I show it to you?” Jonelle slowly reached in her pocket, her eyes glued to the metal pipe, and pulled out the earring. She held it toward him, dangled between her thumb and forefinger.
“Don’t look familiar,” the man said, barely glancing at the gold hoop. He still held the pipe aloft. For someone who looked as bent and broken as he did, Jonelle marveled at the man’s strength. The arm that held the weapon never wavered.
Jonelle tried to reason with him. “My name’s Jonelle Sweet.” He narrowed his eyes. “I’m looking for LucieBlu Bonderant,” she continued. “Her friends think she’s in a real delicate frame of mind and if we don’t find her soon, I fear something bad will happen. If it hasn’t happened already. I’d really like your help.” She paused. That damn pipe was still aimed at her head. “I promise not to touch your things and I’ll leave as soon as you tell me whether or not you’ve seen her.” Jonelle watched his reaction to LucieBlu’s description. Recognition flashed in his eyes.
“Thought you said you was a frien’. Don’t sound like it now.”
“I’ve been hired to find her. Based on everything I’ve discovered, I do feel as if I know her. And I do care what happens to her.”
“You a cop?”
“C’mon. Do I look like a cop?”
Liquid eyes swept Jonelle up and down. “I seen me a lotta chunky cops.” After a few more moments of staring at her so hard she started fidgeting, he shook his head. At last, he lowered the pipe. He held it across his body like a shield. “Name’s Luther,” he said.
Jonelle let out a deep breath. “Luther what?”
He glanced at the wall. “Luther… St. Vincent.”
Jonelle smiled. There were St. Vincent de Paul homeless shelter posters glued to the walls and scattered over the floor. At least he can read. “Mind if I call you Luther?”
He shrugged.
“Okay, Luther. Have you seen her? Or heard of anyone who might have noticed her walking in this area about a week ago? It would’ve been real late at night.”
Luther frowned. “How I know for sure you ain’t gonna hurt her. That’s if I know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout. Which I don’t. Tell me somethin’ else ‘bout her.”
Jonelle’s heart skipped a beat. She tried not to show how excited she was with what he’d told her. “LucieBlu is transgender,” she said with more calm in her voice than she felt. “That is, she was born physically as a man, but has always believed she was a woman. So, she changed her name and started to become what she felt she always was… female.”
The homeless man’s eyes shifted back and forth. Jonelle could almost see the thought processes in his mind. She pushed on. “That night she wore her favorite green dress. That dress always made her feel good about herself.” Whether that was true or not, Jonelle didn’t care. Luther looked as if he was about to come to a decision.
“What’re you… hey!” Luther’s eyes widened. He raised the pipe again.
A voice behind Jonelle spoke.
“What’s going on?” Sherman asked.
CHAPTER 29
Jonelle groaned at the sound of the voice. She turned and faced Sherman, fists closed in anger. “I thought I told you to stay where you were,” she said through clenched teeth. Sherman stepped back. He looked from Jonelle’s face to the pipe held in the homeless man’s hand.
“I heard voices,” he said. “I thought I’d come to see if you needed help.”
Jonelle checked her anger. “Luther and I were having a conversation,” she said. Her gaze shifted back to Luther. “It’s okay. Sherman’s a friend and wants to find LucieBlu just like I do.”
Luther shook his head over and over. “Uh-uh. Nope. How I know he didn’t do somethin’ to hurt that girl.”
Sherman moved forward a few steps. “What do you know about LucieBlu?” he shouted. “Where is she? I can feel her presence.”
“Shut up!” Jonelle pointed at Sherman. “You, step back over there. Now.” She waited until Sherman had backed up several steps.
“Listen, Luther. You have to help me find her. Time’s running out. If you know where she is—”
“She’s here,” Sherman whispered behind her.
“Then you need to think of her well-being,” Jonelle finished.
Luther lowered the pipe. “I’m keepin’ my eye on fat boy over there,” he said. “You, I can talk to.” He motioned for Jonelle to come closer.
She turned and faced Sherman. “Do. Not. Move. Got it?”
“Yeah,” Sherman said. “But,” he called out as Jonelle and Luther moved away, “if you’re not back in twenty minutes, I’m calling 9-1-1.”
Luther stared at Sherman, mouth open, eyes narrowed. It became clear that Sherman’s attitude aggravated Luther and Jonelle regretted having the director there. “Don’t worry,” she said so only Luther could hear. “He has no idea where he is. Come on, let’s go.”
Luther guided Jonelle through another open archway. More homeless shelter posters covered the floor. She bent down and picked one up. Brown spots dotted the printed words. Faint light filled this section of the building, so she had trouble identifying the specks. She lifted her eyes to the high ceiling. Plaster fell away in spots, exposing multiple holes. To her left, a wide, long hallway, led somewhere in the back. She looked down and studied round splotches on the floor. Was that blood? Or something else? Luther continued toward the back. After a few feet, he turned. Watery eyes glared at her. Jonelle paused. As long as light poured in the building in the front, and through the shattered windows she was fine. With a minimum of light pouring in through this area, she felt her chest tighten. And it looked even darker where he was headed.
“You comin’?”
Jonelle nodded. “Where are we going?”
“You scared? Know somethin’ lady. I believes you now. You really ain’t no cop. No cop would be such a scaredy cat.” Laughter erupted from deep within his chest.
Great. Even he has my number. She motioned for Luther to go on.
Jonelle wanted to ask him more questions as they went deeper into the gloom, but she was concentrating too hard on keeping her breathing regular. The farther she walked, the more she had to strive to stay calm. As she was about to rest and catch her breath, Luther stopped.
More trash. More dust. More stink. This section looked like the one she left. Except for one significant addition. Way back in the corner, stacked several feet high, boxes formed the kind of fort she and her friends used to make as children. Jonelle headed for the boxes.
Luther shifted the pipe and held it in front of Jonelle, blocking her progress. “You hold it right
there a minute.” He limped over to the barrier and stopped. He looked behind the open end of the barricade. His mouth moved, but Jonelle couldn’t make out the words. He turned back to her and tapped the pipe against his open palm. “You makes one threatenin’ move and I’ll bash you with this thing. Don’t think I won’t.” His head gestured for her to come closer.
Jonelle paused. She wasn’t sure what lay behind those boxes. Whatever it was, Luther seemed very protective. She inched forward a few steps and stopped. Jonelle strained to hear if there were any sounds coming from behind the make-shift fortress. Nothing but silence.
“You better come on ‘fore I change my mind,” he said, still holding the pipe in front of him.
Jonelle reached the edge of the boxes closest to Luther. He stepped aside. The opening looked large enough for one person to slip through. At first, all Jonelle made out were several blankets piled all around, forming a make shift bed. A half-filled gallon jug of water, box of crackers and large jars of applesauce collected in a pile at the far end. Cheap, plastic bowls, the kind you get at the dollar store, once contained some kind of food. Plastic utensils littered the floor. Roaches and ants swarmed and feasted on the dried out remains. Jonelle shuddered and zeroed in on the blankets. Some sort of lump lay underneath. Jonelle looked at Luther. He nodded. With one hand, she lifted the top blanket. In the middle, curled in a fetal position, a pale body lay swollen and bruised.
“Dear God,” Jonelle whispered.
CHAPTER 30
Jonelle reached down, grasped a pale arm and felt for a pulse. Though weak and irregular the feeling in her fingertips indicated the woman was alive. The skin felt clammy to the touch and the face was splotchy and bloated. A kaleidoscope of bruises made identification hard, but not impossible. As she removed more blankets, Jonelle noted the green dress, torn and bloody in several places. Extensive bruising also covered swollen legs. Her feet were bare, the soles lacerated. Strips of dirty cloth encased both forearms.
“She was worse’n that when I found her,” Luther said. “She kept shiverin’ even though it was warm. That’s why I covered her up.” He lowered the pipe to the ground. “I wrapped her arms to stop the cuts from bleedin’. Did the best I could. Those bastards jus’ left her lyin’ on the ground. Guess they figured cuz of what she is, she don’t matter. I knows what it’s like when people think you don’t matter.”
“Where did you find her?”
Luther inclined his head. “Outside. Near the fence. I was inside talkin’ to a few friens, sharin’ a bottle like we do and next thing, we hears screamin’ and yellin’. Chester and Robbie took off runnin’ to the back. Me? I had to look.” Luther stopped. He looked down at LucieBlu and shook his head.
“No human bein’ deserved to be beat like what she got. Damn sons-a-bitches.”
A knot formed in Jonelle’s throat. “What happened next?”
Luther waved his pipe. “Got me ole Betsy here and screamed I was gonna crack me some heads if they didn’t leave that girl alone. It worked. Bastard took off runnin’.”
Jonelle’s heart raced. What Luther said would help find who assaulted LucieBlu. Yet she was confused. “How many did you see?”
Dirty fingernails reached up and scratched the scalp beneath coarse hair. Luther frowned. “What you mean?”
“Well, you said ‘they’ but you also said ‘bastard,’ as in just one. Did you see more than one person?”
Jonelle needed to get help for LucieBlu but she also sensed that if she didn’t get some information from Luther now, she may not get the chance again. “Luther?”
“What’d you say her name was agin?” He asked softly.
“LucieBlu.”
His face brightened. “I knew we has a connection. Luther… LucieBlu. Hot damn.”
“Did you see who did this to her?”
He reached down and touched LucieBlu’s face. Next to her head was yet another plastic bag. Luther reached in, and withdrew a cloth. He crouched down next to the body and wiped her face.
“I heard somebody say somethin’ like ‘I’ll teach you to mess with me.’ After I yelled, he stopped poundin’ on her, turned around and took off. Only saw one guy. It was darkern’ pitch out there an’ he was runnin’ away so, no, I didn’t get a good look at him. All I seen was a body.”
“Yet, you said, ‘bastards’ before. Why?”
Luther shrugged. “She look like a strong girl. Bein’ beat like that I thought musta been more’n one. The one I seen was kinda big. Figured t’other one coulda run off before I got there.”
Jonelle touched LucieBlu’s forehead. She felt too warm. “Do you have anything else to use as a cover that’s not as heavy?”
Luther nodded. He left and returned a few seconds later with a large, dirty blue sheet. “This oughta do,” he said.
“I’ve got to call for help, Luther,” Jonelle said, spreading the cloth over the bottom half of the body. “We need to get her to a hospital.” Jonelle expected some resistance from the man. Instead, he looked down at LucieBlu, eyebrows knitted together. Concern filled his eyes.
He nodded. “I know.”
Jonelle leaned down and stroked the woman’s head. “Everything’s going to be all right, LucieBlu,” she said. “I’m going to get you to a hospital.” Eyes crusted with dirt and dried tears opened… and closed again. She tried to speak through cracked, swollen lips.
“Shh. Don’t talk,” Jonelle said. She looked at Luther. “How did you get her back here?”
He shrugged. “Chester helped. Couldn’t leave her outside. Hell, even you an’ fatso was crawlin’ around out there. She’s safer right here.” Luther looked down at the body. “I cleaned her up best I could. Gave her water and she could eat some crackers, long as I made ‘em mushy and fed ‘em to her. Bought her some soup from the kitchen up the street. That helped a lot.”
“You helped a lot,” Jonelle said. “She would’ve died out there, I’m sure of it. But I have to get her to the hospital and I’m afraid to move her. Paramedics have to come back here.” Jonelle didn’t mention she’d also have to contact the police. From the look on Luther’s face, it was apparent he had figured that out.
Jonelle pulled out her phone. No signal. “Shit. I’m going to have to go outside to call and wait for help. Can you stay and watch her ‘til I get back?”
“I’ll stay ‘til I hears the sirens. But I can’t be here. They’ll think I did somethin’ to hurt her. And I didn’t,” he said.
“I know you didn’t. Know something, Luther? You have no problem accepting LucieBlu as a woman. Yet I know, that you know… well.”
Luther looked around his home-made hospital room, and picked up the blanket that once draped LucieBlu’s body. “Only God can judge people. If she wants to dress like a woman and make herself up like a woman, then she’s a woman in my book.”
“You’re a good man. Listen, I’ll tell the police all you did to help her. They’ll understand.”
Luther shook his head and smiled sadly at Jonelle. “Look at me. You think they’re gonna believe it when an ole black bum says he didn’t hurt nobody? You knows better.”
“You’re not a bum.” Although she had to admit Luther was right. She dug deep into her bag and pulled out a card with her name and cellphone number, and a twenty dollar bill and silently cursed herself she didn’t have more money. She held both out to him. He took the money and stuffed it in his pocket. He frowned at the card. He tilted his head and studied her as though she’d sprouted horns.
“What the hell am I gonna do with that?”
“You never know,” Jonelle said. He shrugged and pocketed the card.
Jonelle ran back the way she came and nearly collided with Sherman. “Your time’s up,” he said in a clipped voice.
“I gotta call for help,” she said as she rushed past. Sherman followed as quickly as his bulk would allow. Jonelle stopped and pointed. “LucieBlu is way back there.”
“I knew it. I knew it. What? Did that bum—”
<
br /> “That man saved her life,” Jonelle said. “Luther said he’ll stand guard as long as he could.”
“And you believed him?”
Jonelle ignored Sherman and sprinted outside. She gave the emergency operator the best instructions she could for them to find the place and advised she’d wait outside, next to her vehicle.
“Damn right I believe him,” Jonelle said to Sherman, as she ended the call. “LucieBlu would be dead if not for him. Somebody beat the crap out of her and he nursed her the best he could. Most people around here wouldn’t have bothered.” Jonelle studied Sherman. Luther said the attacker was big. Was Sherman’s so-called psychic sense real, or did he have some prior knowledge of what happened to LucieBlu? And what about that lawsuit?
Jonelle paced along the sidewalk. Sherman alternated between staring at Jonelle and looking back at the building. She could tell it took all his strength not to rush to LucieBlu’s side. Was it concern for her well-being, or did he want to check to see if she was able to talk. Jonelle shook her head. No. She didn’t believe Sherman would hurt LucieBlu.
“What do you think happened?” he asked, as Jonelle passed him for the fourth time.
Jonelle shook her head. “Don’t know,” she said, and continued her pacing.
“Can you please stop doing that? You’re making me dizzy.”
“Sorry. No can do. Helps me think,” Jonelle said. She fingered her gold necklace and kept moving. “There were some strange men taking pictures of trans people at the club the same night LucieBlu disappeared.”
“Think they hurt LB?”
“Possibly. However… about time,” Jonelle said. Sirens wailed in the distance and she stopped moving back and forth. The sirens grew louder. At last, she saw red flashing lights and waved to get their attention.
A man and a woman hopped out of the vehicle.
“You’re going to need the stretcher. She looks bad, and you’re gonna have to go all the way to the far end of the warehouse.”
The two emergency workers exchanged glances. They walked to the rear and opened the doors. “Lead the way, lady,” the man said as he and his partner dragged the stretcher between them.
Gone Missing: A Jonelle Sweet Mystery Book 2 Page 17