Between Dusk and Dawn (35 page)

“
We’ve got us another
serial killer,” he said and yawned. “Sorry to wake you up so early,
but I couldn’t face my cold empty house.” He undressed down to his
briefs only and crawled into bed next to her.

“
I know, baby.” LaShaun
closed her eyes and held on tight to his solid body, absorbing the
warmth from his skin.

Chapter 19

Two hours later LaShaun eased out of
bed and went to the bathroom. The bruising on her arms and
shoulders had faded away. She sighed in relief. “Thank you, Monmon
Odette. I won’t have to explain being banged up just
yet.”

Even though Chase lay exhausted and
fast asleep, LaShaun tiptoed around. She eased his handgun from the
holster and went to the library. Alert to any sounds from the
bedroom, LaShaun put the special bullets she’d ordered into the
Glock 22. Just in case Chase woke suddenly, she returned to the
bedroom and put the gun back. Then she went outside to his truck
and replaced his ordinary shotgun shells with ones encased in
silver and filled with silver pellets. These shells would explode
causing the pellets to disperse and become embedded in the
target.

LaShaun returned to the bedroom and
was relieved to see Chase hadn’t changed his position. She got back
into bed, and he cuddled against her with a soft sigh. Moments
later his kissed her face and body until she moaned with desire.
Lying side by side, they made love slowly. It was as though the
violence they’d both witnessed drove them to find solace in
becoming one. An hour later he dressed and headed off for another
crime scene with only a cup of coffee for breakfast. Fortunately he
was too distracted to notice the circle of burned earth on her back
lawn. LaShaun kept him talking as he went to his truck. The handed
him a travel thermos of strong coffee and a brown paper bag with a
sausage biscuit inside.

“
You need to keep up your
strength,” LaShaun said with a smile.

“
Thank you, ma’am. What you
got planned today?” Chase sipped the coffee and climbed into the
driver’s seat.

“
I’m going to run an
errand,” LaShaun replied vaguely.

“
Have a good one, baby.” He
gestured for her to come close.

“
I’ll cook supper for you
tonight and tell you about my day.” LaShaun kissed his lips and
stepped back.

“
Deal. I’ll call you
later.” Chase started the truck and gave her one last wave before
turning the truck around and driving off.

Her neighbor arrived on an ATV just as
Chase’s truck turned onto the road. Xavier Marchand, Sr. wore
sunglasses. “Morning, LaShaun. How you doin’ today?”

“
Just fine, and yourself?”
LaShaun faced him with her arms crossed.

“
Can’t complain.” Xavier
cut the rumbling engine, but didn’t get out of the seat of the ATV.
His gaze swept the house and her yard before he looked back at her.
“My wife says she smelled smoke and saw it coming from this way
before daylight. Hope you’re okay.”

“
I was burning trash,”
LaShaun said with an easy smile.

“
Might early to be up doing
chores,” Xavier said.

“
Sometimes it’s best to get
started first thing. Frees up the rest of the day. Got a lot to get
done,” LaShaun said with a smile. “Thanks for checking up on
me.”

“
Just looking out for my
neighbor,” he replied as he looked around again. “Me and my
youngest son sleep like logs. Don’t even turn over. But my wife
says she heard barking noises, like wild dogs running around. I’m
going out into the woods to check. Don’t want them dragging off any
of my chickens or the ducks in our little pond.”

“
Those packs can get very
dangerous for humans.” LaShaun studied the woods. “But I don’t
think they’ll come too close.”

Xavier, Sr. looked around LaShaun’s
property instead of at the woods. “Well you call me quick if you
need help. My son and me, we’re good shots. Even my wife can handle
a shotgun. Like you said, wild dogs will even attack
people.”

“
I’ve got my own weapons.
I’ll be okay,” LaShaun replied calmly.

“
Yeah, right. Bye now.”
Xavier kicked up the engine again and drove back through the brush
and across the invisible dividing line between their
properties.

“
Bye now,” LaShaun echoed.
He and Mrs. Marchand would have another strange story to tell about
the Rousselle girl.

Twenty minutes later LaShaun drove
down I-10. Manny’s psychiatrist had been reluctant to approve
another visit, but Dr. Norris finally gave in to her own curiosity.
When she arrived, Officer Roosevelt met LaShaun at the door. Dr.
Norris arranged it so LaShaun didn’t have to check in at the main
building.

“
Ma’am, hope you had a
pleasant drive,” he said dryly, his tone suggesting her destination
would be anything but.

“
Something has happened?”
LaShaun looked at him, but before he could answer Dr. Norris strode
out.

“
I started to text you and
cancel. Manny is very upset, but he got practically hysterical when
I suggested we put this off.” Dr. Norris frowned. “I’m taking a big
chance. The medical director had to be convinced. I told him Manny
was linked to a new on-going murder investigation.”

“
But you didn’t mention
that I’m not in law enforcement,” LaShaun said and raised an
eyebrow. Roosevelt cleared his throat loudly and walked away as
though he didn’t want to hear more.

Dr. Norris stepped closer and lowered
her voice. “He didn’t ask, and I didn’t offer more details. I read
the news stories about those latest victims. If there’s a chance
you can stop the blood bath... Let’s make sure we don’t get Manny
worked up this time. I don’t want to spend the holidays looking for
another job.”

“
Understood.”

LaShaun followed her back to the same
room they’d been in the first time. Manny was already seated at the
table. Another correctional officer stood in one corner only a few
feet away from him. A husky male nurse stood on the other side of
the room. He and Dr. Norris had a whispered conversation, and then
nodded to the two officers. LaShaun was shocked when the four left
her alone with Manny. Then she noticed he blinked slowly as though
fighting to keep his eyes open. Both his arms were strapped to arms
of the chair. Another thick strap around his waist kept him secured
against the back of his seat.

“
Hello again, sweetheart,”
Manny said softly. He pressed his lips together and reached for a
paper cup near his right hand. His restraints were loose enough to
allow him to pick it up, but he had to lower his head to sip. “The
medicine they gave me dries out my mouth something bad. You see how
much they trust me, and even after I promised to
behave.”

“
You’re not always in
control, Manny,” LaShaun replied. She helped him get a better grip
on the cup. When their fingers brushed she felt a stab of fear come
from him and pulled away again.

“
You visited Verlena.”
Manny’s dark eyes sparkled. “Did she tell you...” his voice trailed
off.

“
Everything, your sister
told me everything,” LaShaun said quietly.

Manny flinched as though the words
stung him, and then he relaxed again. “We grew up in a crazy world.
Nobody looking at us from the outside knew.”

“
I’m sorry.”

“
A screwed up family ain’t
no excuse for slaughtering people. You don’t have to say it. I
could hear you loud and clear.” Manny chuckled softly to himself.
“I agree. No excuses.”

“
You can find absolution if
you help stop the killing,” LaShaun said in a low tone.

“
Don’t worry. They’re not
listening. They don’t really want to know.” Manny jerked his head
toward the door. Then his amused expression faded into a grim one.
“He’s pissed with you, so be careful. Don’t go a lot of places
alone at night for a long time. Stay away from Verlena, at least he
doesn’t know you went to visit her yet. See? I can keep secrets
from him. Orin doesn’t realize how strong he made me.”

LaShaun felt another stab of fear,
this time her own. “Tell me how to stop him.”

Manny shook his head. “You killed
three of his best pack members. All by your pretty little self.
We’re alike, you and me. We understand the value of being
underestimated.”

“
That’s how you got close
to your victims.” LaShaun fought off the shudder of horror at the
way Manny smiled at her.

“
Yes,” he replied softly,
hissing the word. He giggled. “And that’s how you played it for
good old daddy slash granddaddy. You surprised his ass. I love
it.”

“
How can I surprise his ass
one last time,” LaShaun said carefully. Manny stopped laughing and
grew still.

Despite the unspeakable deeds of Orin
Young, he was still the only family Manny really had left. LaShaun
also knew that even in abuse cases, children still loved their
parents. The unspoken goal seemed to sober him. He looked through
the window to his left for a few seconds then back at
her.

“
You’ve got what you need.
I know because you’re smart.” Manny’s head dropped until his chin
almost touched his chest. For a few seconds he seemed to have dozed
off, but then he lifted his head again. “He has one
weakness.”

LaShaun leaned forward when Manny
didn’t go on after more silence. “Which is?”

“
Can you believe it? Daddy,
dear, Daddy is afraid of eternal damnation. That’s right, the man
who has attended mass faithfully all his life while in league with
the devil. He’s scared of God. So he wants to live forever, his
escape plan you might call it. That’s why he found a rougarou and
let it bite him.”

“
Madness,” LaShaun blurted
out and shrank back in revulsion. “We both know there is no such
thing, not really.”

“
The mind is a powerful
thing, and there is a devil; as surely as there are angels and a
God.” Manny waved a hand still tethered to the chair. “I’m going to
tell you a little secret. Orin thinks you’re grandmother raised you
contrary to the Catholic Church. He’s convinced that like him, you
only pretended. What he doesn’t know, and what I ain’t gonna tell
him, is that you got plenty faith. That’s your weapon.”

“
My weapon,” LaShaun
repeated quietly.

Manny wore a wicked smile. “I let him
believe you were just as corrupt as he is. Orin is bigheaded.
Thinks he knows it all. Figured he could scare you off easy. But it
didn’t work out that way, huh? He doesn’t know them rumors about
you and your grandmother are wrong. You never gave in completely to
your demons, and especially not now. I felt it that first day, as
you got closer on the highway I knew. He’s so defiled he can’t
tell.”

“
I see.”

LaShaun didn’t feel quite as
confident. Years before she’d set loose a demon, literally. Was she
so free from her past and the things she’d done? People she’d hurt
might not believe so. Certainly few in Beau Chene would agree; not
to mention Chase’s mother. Now she’d selfishly pulled Chase into
the chaos called her life. He had everything on the line for her,
professionally and now personally with his family. How many of his
friends would stick by him? Her faith in herself was shaky at best;
especially late at night when there was no running from the
truth.

“
In the Bible God used all
kinds of rascals to do good deeds, even holy work,” Manny
said.

His voice jerked LaShaun away from
self-examination. “Then I’ll fit right in.”

“
I’d say so,” Manny replied
mildly with a twinkle in his eyes and a crooked smile that almost
made him seem human.

LaShaun started at the clank of the
heavy security door being slammed down the hall. The sound reminded
her where she was. “Can you do some good, too? Even after the
things you’ve done?”

Manny looked away. “He’ll strike out
at you, so keep your eyes open day and night. He’s creative when it
comes to making people suffer.”

“
Orin enjoys the power.”
LaShaun shivered as she remembered the vision Manny
shared.

“
I had to let you see how
bad it can be,” Manny said, his gaze still directed on some point
far away. “You know what has to happen, and you have the tools you
need.”

LaShaun started to put a hand on his
arm, but stopped. Instead she placed both palms on the table,
pushed back her chair and stood. “You hate him that
much?”

“
What I feel is a lot
harder than hate,” Manny said in a flat voice.

“
I won’t be used as your
murder weapon to punish Orin,” LaShaun repeats.

Manny looked at her. The mischievous
expression returned and made him look boyish. “I know your secrets.
You’ll do what’s necessary to protect the ones you
love.”

LaShaun’s temper flared. “Don’t
threaten me.”

“
I never did any such
thing,” Manny said, a pretend whimper in his voice. His eyes
widened giving him a helpless and even beguiling look. The
conniving serial killer assumed the act that fooled his
victims.

She lowered her voice to make sure
those standing at the window wouldn’t hear; not even the intercom
used to monitor visits. “I know your secrets as well.”