Vieux Carré Voodoo (30 page)

“Maybe the whole thing was a subterfuge of some sort,” Dad
replied. “Maybe the stone was never really stolen in the first place? Maybe the
whole thing was set up to topple the theocracy, and Doc was a decoy, trying to
draw out the enemies of the current Pleshiwarian government.” When we all looked
at him, he shrugged. “Hey, I enjoy a good conspiracy theory. I still don’t think
Oswald acted alone.”

I took the paper back from Mom, and read it over again.

To whom it may concern:

You have made it this far, but your quest still has
another step before you find what you truly desire. The stone in this box is but
a clever reproduction; it is not the holy stone that you seek. Consider this a
reward for a job well done.

But where is the real Eye, you are asking yourself.
Where, indeed, could it be? It was taken for a reason. It was not stolen to be
sold, or given as a gift. It was not stolen for power, it was not stolen for
riches. Rather, it was stolen in order that a people might be able to be free.

Freedom is something to be fought for, to spill blood
for. It is not something to be held in your hands, but something intangible to
always strive for, It is a state of mind, but even should the shackles be taken
away, it is not a guarantee that other shackles will not take their place.

The Eye should not be returned until there is more than
a promise of freedom. Promises can be empty words spoken.

The Eye will not return to Pleshiwar until the shackles
are gone for good.

I shook my head again. It didn’t make any sense to me.

“Whatever anyone wants to believe about the afterlife, I
hope wherever Doc is, he’s burning,” Mom said. “All that talk about freedom—it
sounds like some right-wing militia tract.”

“But it says you have one more step before you find what you
desire,” Frank said. “So this message has to be a clue of some sort to where he
hid the Eye.”

I stood up. “Well, maybe after a good night’s sleep, we can
give it another try,” I said. I started to put it in my pocket, but Venus
snatched it out of my hands.

“Evidence.” She smiled at me as she put it inside a plastic
bag, and marked it. “You have the phony Eye?”

“It’s back at my apartment,” I replied.

“Well, I’ll give you a lift over there,” she said. “I need
to take it in. It’s evidence.”

“All right.” I gave Mom and Dad a hug. I said good-bye to
Rhoda and Lindy.

“I suspect our paths will cross again,” Lindy said with a
wink. “It’s been fun working with you.”

I just smiled. “No offense, Ninja Lesbians, but I hope I
never see you again.”

“None taken.” Rhoda winked at me. “But we can be quite fun
when we aren’t working.”

I laughed. “There’s no doubt in my mind about that.”

Frank and I rode back with Venus in silence. When she pulled
up on the sidewalk in front of our gate, she said, “I’ll wait here.” As I
started to shut the door, she added, “But if you’re not back down here in ten
minutes I’m coming up with my gun blazing.”

“Don’t even joke about it, Venus,” I replied. “If there’s
anyone up there, I’ll throw them off the balcony myself.” I slammed the door.

I unlocked the gate, and we went down the back passageway.
Millie was folding the clothes we put in the dryer after we’d gotten back from
the cemetery. “Scotty, how many times have I told you about leaving your clothes
in here?” she snapped, but her features relaxed when she saw Frank. “When did
you get here?” she asked, giving him a rib-crushing hug.

“It feels like a million years ago,” he replied. “Sorry
about the clothes.”

I kept climbing the stairs. “Millie, we’ve got a lot to tell
you. But one thing—I need to have some glass replaced in one set of French
doors.”

She just gave me a quizzical look.

“Later, Millie, I promise. I have to get something for Venus
right now. She’s waiting.”

Frank gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Come on, Millie. Let’s
go inside and I’ll tell you everything. And I am dying for a cup of coffee.”

“Anything for you, Frank dear.” I heard the door close
behind them.

I unlocked the door and walked in to the apartment. It was
blessedly silent, thank You, Goddess. I walked into the living room, and there
it was, sitting on the coffee table where I’d left it. I put it my pocket and
went back out to give it to Venus. I walked around to the driver’s side. She put
the window down, and I handed it to her. “Thanks for everything, Venus.”

She took it and put it in her jacket pocket. “Well, I have
to say, things aren’t dull when you’re around.” She laughed.

“Well, no offense, but I’ll settle for dull for a while.” I
started to walk around the front of her SUV when she called after me, “Nice
work, Bradley.”

I climbed back on the sidewalk and waved as she put the SUV
into gear and winked as she drove off.

Maybe she’s changing her mind about me
, I thought,
and laughed out loud.
Not a chance in hell.

I stripped out of my clothes when I got to my bedroom, and
collapsed into the bed. I was just starting to drift off when I felt Frank climb
into the bed with me. He wrapped his arms around me. “I’ve missed you so much,”
I said drowsily, and drifted off to sleep.

I was standing on the cliff again, facing the pedestal
where I knew the incarnate statue of Kali rested. The sky was blue and free of
clouds. I felt no fear; rather, I felt the peace and love I always felt in the
presence of the Goddess.

I could hear birds singing.

I started walking toward Her. As I drew near the steps,
I could see that both of Her eyes were shut. The necklace was just skulls again.
Her long tongue hung down from between Her red lips. When I was a respectful
distance from her, I dropped to my knees and bowed my head.

I felt Her awaken, and felt Her gaze.

“You may rise,” She said, Her voice soft and gentle.

I looked at Her and saw that Her open eye was brown and
normal looking. “I failed you, Great Mother.”

She smiled, and I saw that the teeth were no longer
filed sharp. “It is true that you did not find my Eye, Scotty, as I commanded
you. But I am a merciful Goddess, and have no doubt that you will complete your
quest.”

Her four hands began waving, undulating up and down. She
was not holding a skull or a sword this time. The motion of Her hands was quite
beautiful and hypnotic.

“I will continue looking, Great Mother.”

“You will succeed,” She replied. “As you succeeded in
defeating those who would commit evil in my name. I am the Destroyer, but I am
also the Creator. I danced this world into existence, and when I choose I will
dance it into oblivion. But my hand will not be forced, and it will not be done
in my name until I wish it to be done. And this creation of mine has much time
as you measure it to continue to please me.”

“As you wish, Great Mother.”

“You may go now. Go and find my Eye, and see that is
returned to me.”

“But Great Mother—where should I look for it?”

She threw her head back and laughed. It sounded like
music to my ears, it was a wonderful sound I could have listened to forever.
“You already know, Scotty, in your heart of hearts. You have begun to remember
to listen to your heart, and have let me back into it. Look into your heart of
hearts, and you will know where to look.”

I opened my eyes and looked over at the clock. It was just
past seven. I felt completely refreshed—mentally, emotionally, and physically. I
eased myself out from under Frank’s arm. He was snoring softly.
I am truly
blessed,
I thought as I watched him sleep for a moment. I leaned down and
kissed his scarred cheek. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and walked into the
kitchen. I got the coffee started, and while it brewed I sat down on the couch.
The copy of Doc’s final note was sitting there on the table. I picked it up,
remembering the dream.

Look into your heart of hearts, and you will know where
to look.

Hmm, I wondered as I read it over again.
What did She
mean by that?

The note kept repeating the words
freedom
and
shackles
over and over again.

I puzzled over it for a while, and then it hit me in a rush.
My heart started beating a lot faster.
Damn you, Doc!
I thought to
myself as I ran back to the bedroom.
You were one tricky son of a bitch!

And in the back of my mind, I could almost hear him
laughing.

I tried to wake up Frank, but he just grunted and rolled
over. I dressed and called Venus. “I think I know where the Eye is,” I said
quickly. “Can I meet you at the station house?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” she replied. “Come on down.”

I hung up the phone. Frank was still snoring, so I didn’t
bother trying to wake him again. I gave him another kiss on the cheek and headed
out the door. It was a gorgeous day. I ducked into the coffee shop and got a
coffee of the day to go, which I sipped happily as I strolled up Royal Street.
The gutters were filled with debris from the storm, but I felt like singing as I
walked.

I just
knew
I was right.

I said hello to every pedestrian I met. It was, truly, an
incredibly beautiful day. There were no clouds in the sky, which was a brilliant
shade of blue, and it was about seventy degrees with a cool, gentle breeze
blowing. Finally, I reached the precinct house, which looked like an old
plantation house and was painted a lovely shade of peach. I laughed as I climbed
the steps. The last time I was in this building was on Lundi Gras, way back in
2005, when we were all trying to sort out the huge mess of my murdered
half-uncles. I’d also been arrested for assaulting a federal agent, but the
charges were dropped. That had been a hell of a night.

I checked in with the desk sergeant and made my way back to
Venus’s desk. It was everything I would have expected it to be—organized to
within an inch of its life. She was wearing an LSU sweatshirt over a pair of
black jeans. She smiled at me and put down her cup of coffee. I looked around.
“Where’s Blaine?” I asked.

“Day off.” She shrugged. “I got some paperwork to catch up
on, so I came in anyway. I’ve got your statement for you to sign.” She pushed it
over to me.

I read it over and gave a laugh. “Reading it makes it seem
even crazier.” I grabbed a pen from her desk and signed it.

“Every time I get a statement from you I feel like I’m in
The Twilight Zone.
” She shrugged. “But it keeps me on my toes. So what are
you thinking?”

“Do you have the phony Eye?” I asked.

“Got it out of the evidence room as soon as you called.” She
unlocked a desk drawer and pulled out the bag. “Right here.”

I took it from her and removed the fake sapphire. I smiled
at her. “Check this out. You got a pocketknife?” She gave me a weird look but
got one out of her purse and handed it over to me. I laid the fake Eye down on
her desk and opened  the knife. I sliced into the front of the Eye.

“Hey, don’t destroy evidence!” She grabbed my arm.

I shook my head. There was a groove in it where my knife had
cut it. I rolled it over to the other side, where Abhwesar had cut it in front
of me. “Look,” I said, “the grooves are about the same depth.”

“So?”

I put my knife inside the groove Abhwesar had cut, and tried
to saw it. Nothing happened. With the knife in the thin groove, I twisted it.
Flakes came off. I shaved at it, and more flakes came off.

“You mean—” Venus said, realization dawning in her eyes.

I nodded. “Where is the smartest place to hide something?
Right in front of our eyes.” I shook my head. “I should have remembered how much
Doc loved puzzles and mysteries. This is the real Eye. He just encased it in
some material, the same color as the original. So a jeweler or an expert would
look at it and say it was a fake.” I laughed. “And the real thing was there the
whole time! What a great joke on everyone!”

“But how did you know?”

“All that stuff about shackles and freedom in that note,” I
said. “He was telling us the real Eye was shackled,
encased
in
something. We had to ‘free’ it from its ‘shackles.’ I thought it was weird when
Abhwesar cut the stone in front of me. I thought it was weird that the cut was
so shallow—I mean, if it wasn’t the real sapphire, he should have been able to
cut it pretty deeply.”

I heard someone clapping behind me, and I turned to see
Colin standing there. He had a big smile on his face. “I knew if anyone could
find it, it would be you.” He took a seat next to me. “The president of
Pleshiwar has canceled Abhwesar’s diplomatic status, by the way—and he started
singing like a bird. Even as we speak, his colleagues over there are being
rounded up.” He clapped me on the arm. “And you even found the Eye.”

“Will you answer some questions for me?” I asked.

Colin winked at Venus and stood up. “Come on, I’ll walk you
home.”

As we walked, I said, “So, Doc and his buddies really worked
for Blackledge.”

He nodded. “Yes. They were never really in the military, nor
were they from Biloxi. That was all a part of the cover Blackledge came up with
after their mission, when it was obvious they were in danger and had to be
retired. The Pleshiwarian underground had been trying to overthrow the theocracy
for years—but obviously, no country was interested in helping them. The Western
powers at that time were too busy fighting communism, and the Pleshiwarians
didn’t want Communist interference inside their country. Once the uranium was
found, of course, the Western powers couldn’t allow the Communists to get
control of the country—nor could they allow the theocracy of Kali to continue in
power.” He shrugged. “Several of the Western countries—I don’t know which, so
don’t ask—hired us to bring down the theocracy. Stealing Kali’s Eye was deemed
the easiest way to do it.”