Voodoo Summer (LeGarde Mysteries Book 11)

by Aaron Paul Lazar

  Siegfried’s eyes were riveted on the doll. “That is quite strange. You think it fell from her canoe when it tipped over?”

  “It might have. I didn’t notice it among the rocks earlier when I was sitting here.”

  “Her name is Willy?” Elsbeth asked. “How old is she?”

  “Thirteen. Just had her birthday. Like I said, her aunt works at The Seven Whistles and Willy helps her with the cleaning and laundry.”

  “I can’t wait to meet her,” Elsbeth said. “And we can take her for a boat ride, you said, later today?”

  “Yup.” I grinned. “Kind of intriguing, huh?”

  Siegfried raised an eyebrow at my advanced vocabulary, which of course, I’d used to impress him.

  “Ja.” He took the doll from me and looked it over. “I’ll say. Very intriguing. Especially if Willy practices voodoo.”

  “Voodoo?” Elsbeth widened her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  Sig plopped down on the dock, turning the doll over in his hands. “These folks come from the Louisiana region, Ja? Baton Rouge, I think you said?”

  “That’s what Willy said.” I climbed up and sat next to him. “She has a French accent, by the way.”

  He nodded somberly. “There are families from that region who practice voodoo as a religion,” he said. “And a doll like this with pins means only one thing.”

  Elsbeth’s eyes glowed. “What? What does it mean, Siegfried?”

  “Somebody is going to die,” he said. “Or something very bad will happen to them.”

  I leaned down to take another look. “The pins in the heart mean that?”

  “I think so,” he said, handing it to Elsbeth, who studied it carefully.

  She turned it over. “Wow.”

  I glanced toward The Seven Whistles. “I wonder if the intended victim has blonde hair?”

  “It has to be a girl,” Elsbeth added. “It has very long hair.”

  Siegfried kicked his feet in the water, swishing it into little waves beneath the dock. “Are you going to ask Willy about it?”

  “Sure,” I said. “Maybe after we get to know her a little today. We’ll go for our ride, then ask her what it means.”

  Elsbeth frowned. “I don’t know. If somebody wishes another person dead, they might not like you asking about it. I’m sure she didn’t mean for you to find this, Gus.”

  I glanced sideways at her. She was so pretty when she was serious. “Good point. Maybe we’ll just have to take it one step at a time this afternoon.”

  Siegfried nodded sagely. “Good idea. We don’t want her getting mad at us and putting a curse on us.”

  Something told me Willy would never do such a thing. “She’ll like us, I’m sure of it. She seemed really nice.”

  Elsbeth shot a glance at me. Could she be jealous?

  I shook myself. No. Not possible.

  “Should we go dig some worms for the guests?” I suggested. “We can kill time until we meet up with Willy.”

  The twins hopped up. “Sounds good,” Elsbeth said. “I love digging worms.”

  It was one of the things I cherished about my friend. She never shied away from things that got her hands dirty.

  “Auf gehts,” Siegfried said, taking the lead. “Let’s go.”

  Three abreast, we took the back trail up the hill at a gallop, arriving at the icehouse minutes later. I grabbed a tin bucket from beneath the porch, and we each took shovels from the nails on the back of the building.

  The pile of dirt where we always dug was just behind the scaling bench, where the fishermen cleaned their catches. Shiny scales lay in piles on the ground, reminders of yesterday’s haul of perch, bass, and pickerel.

  “Let’s dig on this side,” I said, finding a good patch.

  Elsbeth stuck her shovel in the soil first with a big smile. “I’m going to get the most.”

  Siegfried laughed and plunged his shovel into the soft earth a few feet away from hers. “No way. I’m going to beat you this time.”

  I just laughed and started pulling worms from the soft black earth.

  When we’d filled the bucket, I covered it with moss and carried it down to place in the shade beneath the sundeck, ready for tonight’s fishermen. My grandfather loved it when we did this for his guests. They always caught more fish on live bait, anyway.

  I checked my watch. Two forty-five. “Time to clean up. She’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”

  We were filthy, covered in dirt. Elsbeth laughed. “Let’s just jump in the lake. We’re already in our bathing suits.”

  I realized she was right. “Good idea. We can jump in here and swim down to Wee Castle. I have towels on the railing there.”

  “Last one in is a rotten egg,” Siegfried said. As usual, he sprinted past us and raced to the end of the dock, leaping in the air with arms and legs flailing.

  “Come on,” I said to Elsbeth, laughing hysterically. “Let’s get him.” I grabbed her hand. We ran side by side to the end of the pier where we launched off the rough boards into the clear green water.

  Chapter 9

  Willy came around the bend in her canoe at a few minutes past three. Siegfried caught the rope she tossed him and secured her boat to the dock.

  Elsbeth stood at the end of the dock, waving her down and grinning.

  “Hi, Willy.” I helped her out by steadying her boat. “Come on up.”

  “Hi, Gus.” She stood on the dock with a slight sheen of perspiration on her brow, as if she’d been hurrying to get here. She held out one slim brown hand to Elsbeth first. “Elsbeth? Hi. I’m Willy, short for Wilhelmina.”

  “Hello. Yes, I’m Elsbeth. Sorry, I don’t have a nickname. I hate Ellie,” she trilled a laugh and exchanged smiles with Willy. “I love your name. And your accent is so pretty.”

  “Merci. And so is yours, mon amie.”

  Elsbeth giggled. “That’s French, isn’t it?”

  Willy smirked. “Our Bayou kind of French. I have heard we butcher the pronunciation according to linguists, but it is all I know.”

  Siegfried moved forward, holding out his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Willy. Or should I say bonjour?”

  Willy’s eyes twinkled. “Bonjour to you, too.” She reached for his hand and shook it vigorously.

  When they’d finished the small talk, I ushered everyone over to the boat, tossing Willy an extra life jacket. “My grandfather’s boat. My grandfather’s rules.”

  She shrugged and buckled into it. “C’est bien. Where are we going, anyway?”

  I’d already decided on Moosehead Island. “Straight across the lake. See that little island over there? It’s really pretty. Nobody lives on it. And the water lilies are beautiful.”

  She nodded enthusiastically. “Bon.”

  Elsbeth sat beside Willy in the middle seat, Sig took the bow, and I manned my usual position by the tiller. The motor started up after two pulls on the cord, and I carefully steered us out of the berth and into the open water.

  As much as I had the urge to show off by going fast, my grandfather’s face kept floating up in front of me. Heck, it was just the beginning of summer, and if I pulled some risky stunt like speeding and hit a rock or something, he’d pull all boating privileges from me for the summer. So, I held in my desire to be a cowboy on water, and let Siegfried guide me around the submerged boulders.

  The middle of the lake was no more than twelve feet deep. Usually we could move quickly over it. But once we got about a hundred feet from the island, I needed him to tell me which way to go. I dropped the speed to barely moving as we wove in and out of the big rocks.

  The sun warmed my bare shoulders and hair, and I trailed one hand over the side, every so often splashing myself with water to cool down. I wanted to swim, and I’d thrown in an extra towel for Willy, along with the twins’ and mine.

  Willy and Elsbeth had chatted nonstop the whole way, but all I could hear was the occasional squeal of delight when they discovered some common interest. When we slowed down, I he
ard them talking about the Beatles’ newest album, Revolver.

  They both started singing, “Here, There and Everywhere” in their melodic voices. It was eerie and pretty at the same time. Siegfried and I listened while we navigated through the last narrow channel using his hand signals.

  The girls finished the song with a sigh.

  “I love George,” Willy said. “He’s so fab.”

  Elsbeth piped up. “Oh, he is. But Paul is dreamy. He’s my favorite.”

  Sig and I jumped out. We dragged the boat onto the shore. It settled in with a satisfying, sandy screech. “Okay. Everyone out.”

  I tossed the towels onto a bleached white log higher up on shore, discarded my life jacket, and waded through the waist deep water, glad for the cool liquid that swirled around my legs. The shore here was covered with golden sand, just like at Loon Harbor. But the most glorious part of this little island was the water garden of lilies. Reddish green lily pads held flowers of all colors. White, pink, and yellow blooms lay glistening in the water. Some were closed in tight buds; others had fully opened, splaying their soft petals in the sun as if welcoming the warmth. It dawned on me that nature had hidden this treasure from most people’s eyes, and that we were downright lucky to have discovered it.

  “Willy. Look over here,” I said.

  She shrugged out of her life jacket, pitched it into the boat, and joined me, leaning over to smell the flowers. “Oh, it’s spectacular, Gus. You were right.” She tossed me a brilliant smile.

  Elsbeth quickly joined us and took Willy’s hand, pulling her away from me. Again, I wondered, what’s up with her?

  The four of us walked along the edge of the island, skirting the lily pads and boulders, scuffing our feet over the soft sand. A blue heron stood not far from us, his head suddenly raised when he caught sight of us.

  “Look,” I whispered.

  For a moment time stopped and we watched him watching us. Then, the spell was broken. He lifted his wings, soaring high above us.

  “There he goes,” Sig said wistfully. “I wonder if it’s a sign.”

  “Of what?” Willy said, giving him a flirty sideways glance.

  I felt a stab of jealousy when I saw him return her look with a blush. Would they end up liking each other?

  And why did I care?

  I hadn’t any claims on the girl, and I still liked Elsbeth a lot. She and I had talked about getting married someday, way back when we were ten and eleven. And to be honest, Siegfried hadn’t yet found a girl who made him blush like that. I had to try to be fair and be a good friend. Still, the interaction between them stung. He was my best friend, after all. I didn’t want to lose his company over the summer to a pretty girl. So was I jealous over that, too? Mad at myself for stupid thoughts, I shrugged it off.

  Sig had been staring at the bird, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

  Willy repeated, “A sign of what?”

  “Oh,” he said. “I don’t know. Maybe some wonderful event to come. Maybe something more…life changing.”

  Willy moved closer to him, poking his side with one finger. “Or maybe something awful.” She winked at me. “Maybe someone’s about to die.”

  Surprised at her words, I studied her face. But she looked mischievous, not serious.

  Sig chortled a laugh. “Ja. We could imagine all kinds of things this bird is trying to tell us.”

  Elsbeth’s face darkened. She grabbed Willy’s hand and tugged her away again. “What’s your favorite Beatles song, Willy?” She shot Sig a dirty look and turned back with a sweet smile to Willy.

  “Oh, I don’t know. There are so many.” Willy began to list her favorites, and when they came to “If I Fell,” both girls squealed and began singing. Elsbeth matched Willy’s notes with the same harmony John and Paul used in their “Hard Day’s Night” album.

  A loon called from the distance, its tremolo blending beautifully with the girls’ voices. Sig and I exchanged a glance of pure happiness.

  “Wanna go for a swim?” I asked. “We can let these girls get to know each other.”

  Sig nodded. “Ja. I am boiling hot.”

  We sloshed our way back to the boat and waded out to chest-deep water.

  I floated on my back, watching cottony clouds drifting overhead in a sea-blue sky. “This is the life.”

  Siegfried dunked under and popped up again. “Wunderbar. That felt so good.”

  The girls began to sing “Yesterday.” Their voices soared up to the heavens and back again, echoing across the still lake.

  I closed my eyes and let the water move me slowly closer to shore until hunger drove me to stop and think about the time.

  I glanced at the sun in the sky and then waded back to shore to check my watch that I’d left in the boat. “Quarter past four,” I said. “We’d better head back.”

  Amidst disappointed groans, my three friends slowly joined me in the boat, and I piloted them safely back to Loon Harbor.

  Chapter 10

  The twins scampered off to change for the dinner shift we’d be working in a few minutes. I helped Willy get her canoe to shore so she could climb in and head home to The Seven Whistles.

  “There you go,” I said, steadying the canoe with both hands.

  “Thanks, Gus. And by the way, I really like your friends. They are merveilleux.”

  “Does that mean ‘marvelous’?” I asked, hoping I was right.

  She nodded. “Très bon! Yes, that is exactly what it means. Do you know a little French?”

  “A little. We had a teacher come in last year to see who might want to take it this fall in the seventh grade. I liked it. We practiced a few phrases and watched a film strip about Paris.”

  “Do you want to go there someday?” she asked. “I’d like to see the Eiffel Tower.”

  “Sure. Elsbeth, Siegfried and I want to tour Europe together when we’re old enough.”

  “Elsbeth is so funny. And Siegfried is very calm and sweet.” An embarrassed smile crept over her face.

  “I knew you’d like them.” I reached down for the doll I’d tucked in the rocks nearby. “Hey. Is this yours? I think it fell out of your canoe this morning.”

  Her expression froze. “Oh, mon Dieu! I wondered where that went to.” She reached for the doll, scrutinizing it. “She is soaked, n’est-ce pas?”

  “Willy?” I locked eyes with her. “Is that a voodoo doll?”

  She smiled mysteriously. “Oui.” With no more discussion, she took the paddle and began to move into deeper water. “I will see you sometime soon, non?”

  “Tomorrow?”

  She called over her shoulder. “Why don’t you guys come to The Seven Whistles? I’ll show you around. After lunch?”

  “Sounds good,” I said to her retreating back. “How about we walk down the road and meet you at the top of the hill. Around one?”

  “D’accord.” With a wave of one hand, she disappeared around the bend.

  ***

  Two hours later, I dropped onto a chair in the kitchen, exhausted. “Phew.”

  Siegfried pulled up a seat beside me, mopping his forehead with his sleeve. “This is hard work, isn’t it?” he said.

  “Yeah. It’s brutal.” I stretched my legs and leaned back. “My back’s sore. But it’s worth having the use of the boat all summer, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, Ja. Absolutely.”

  Elsbeth stood at the table with Betsy, finishing up the last of the silverware. They laughed and giggled about The Beatles the whole time.

  I rolled my eyes. “I love that group. They’ve got the best songs. But the way the girls go on about them, you’d think they had just come down from Heaven to marry them.” Betsy had her transistor radio leaned up against a window with its antenna pulled all the way out. “Paperback Writer” blasted from the tinny speakers.

  Siegfried laughed. “Ja. I know. Elsbeth’s room at home now is plastered with posters of them. One whole wall is covered. It’s a miracle my parents didn’t get mad.”
<
br />   “They don’t care?”

  “They say it is ‘harmless puppy love.’”

  I laughed. “Well, I guess you could call it that. But frankly, I’d rather have a real puppy than moon all day over someone I’ll never meet. And you know what? I kind of like The Rolling Stones. I mean, ‘Paint it Black’ is such a cool song. I like the beat. And I like how they get kind of bluesy, you know?”

  “’Satisfaction’ was a good song, too. I do like that they are not as goody-goody as some of the groups. Like Herman’s Hermits. His songs are good, but he seems a little too—”

  “Cute?”

  “Ja.” He smiled briefly, but his mood shifted and his eyes defocused.

  “Sig?” I nudged him with my elbow “Where’d you go?”

  He glanced over at me. “I was thinking about Willy.”

  “You like her, don’t you?” We didn’t have to pussyfoot around each other. I always came right out and asked him what I wanted to know, which was one of the best aspects of being lifelong friends.

  He flushed. “I…Uh—”

  “It’s okay. I think she likes you, too, buddy.” Somehow it seemed okay now that I’d brought it out into the open. As much as she fascinated me from so many angles, I wanted him to have a special someone. It would be good for him. He was such a loner, always hanging out with his sister and me. A girlfriend might draw him out of himself, make him want to have more fun. At least it would be better than him studying calculus and differential equations all summer, whatever the heck those were.

  His eyes lit up. “You think so?”

  “I do. There was a special way she watched you this afternoon. I think it means she’s interested.”

  He leaned back and smiled. “She is very pretty, Gus. Did you notice?”

  I chuckled. “Yes, I noticed. She’s beautiful.”

  His brow wrinkled. “But what about the voodoo? Do you think I should be worried?”

  “What? You think if you have a fight or something she’ll stick pins in a doll that looks like you?” I laughed, stood up, and untied the wet apron from my waist. “Heck, no. It’s probably just a kid’s game, anyway. Maybe she learned how to do it in Baton Rouge. Probably she’s just fooling around.”