Big Easy (Cowboy Craze)

by Sable Hunter

  They were involved.

  “We’re involved,” he said the words again, testing them out. They sounded good. Damn good. Could Jewel feel the same way? As he neared the entrance to Belle Chasse, Easy pondered the possibility. He was so preoccupied with the idea that, at first, he didn’t see the half dozen cop cars parked every which a way in front of the mobile offices. “What the hell?”

  No sooner was he out of the vehicle that Wesley Holt came running toward him. “We got a helluva mess here, Ezekiel.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Got ourselves a dead body. Cops are swarming the place.”

  “God in heavens…” Easy breathed in horror.

  “It’s a woman,” Wesley muttered. “That’s the second victim found in these parts, isn’t it?”

  Easy was stunned. “Yea. Fuck. How did she die?”

  “Hell, I ain’t no coroner. She looked beat up. Choked. Chewed on by a gator. Not to mention the fact that some pervert jammed a tree branch…”

  Easy held up his hand to stop Wesley’s words. “Who found her?” He was expecting to hear it was one of the men.

  “That little girl the big boss befriended. What’s her name?”

  “Wren. Wren Rabalais.”

  Easy was about to ask the question he dreaded the most when Jed came driving up in his Jeep. Slamming on the brakes, he stopped a few yards away and jumped out. “Easy!”

  Wesley slapped Easy on the back. “I’m gonna get back down there. I guess you’ll be along soon?”

  “Sure. Of course.” He moved to intercept his friend. “Jed?”

  Jed shook his head, frowning. “It’s Marion, Easy. The dead woman is Marion Cole.”

  * * *

  Jewel puttered around her kitchen with a smile on her face. She was in the midst of preparing two of her specialties – Creole Collard Greens and a big pot of dirty rice. While she’d always enjoyed cooking, Jewel admitted to herself that this was different. Who would have thought she’d get such a kick from cooking for a guy? “Goes to show a psychic doesn’t know everything, huh?”

  Each time she passed the fridge, her eyes fell on the note from Easy.

  Morning, Treasure

  I hope you slept well. I did. Waking up with you in my arms is amazing. I forgot to tell you last night how early I needed to leave this morning. We’ve got some new calves I need to check on and at least a dozen head about to give birth. I don’t plan on being late, but you never know. Have a good day and try not to worry about anything. Keep the door locked and take care of yourself. I’ll see you this evening.

  Easy

  P. S.

  I can’t wait to kiss you again.

  Swoon!

  As she laid out vegetables to chop for the dirty rice, her eyes landed on yesterday’s copy of the newspaper. A tinge of guilt seeped into her consciousness. Was it wrong for her to be so happy when these women had suffered and died?

  Maybe.

  Especially if there was something she could do about solving the crime and making sure no one else suffered such a fate

  Knock! Knock!

  Jewel glanced at the clock. If this was her next client, the woman was nearly an hour early. Taking a moment to check the image on the computer, she saw Sandy Wenger standing at her door. “Well, all right. Perhaps I had the time wrong.”

  Opening the door, she smiled. “Hey, Sandy. Welcome.”

  “Thanks. I know I’m early; I apologize. I had another appointment in Thibodaux, but it was canceled. I guess I could’ve killed time at a restaurant or something. I left my phone at home or I would’ve called.”

  Jewel patted her on the arm. “No problem. You don’t have to explain.” She led her over to the table by the window where she normally did her readings. “Please sit.”

  Sandy pushed her long blonde hair over her shoulders. “I’m nervous. I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, don’t be,” Jewel assured her with a friendly grin. “This is going to be painless; I promise.”

  “That’s good to hear, I’m so tired of being poked and prodded by doctors whose promises only come up empty.”

  She could hear fatigue in the woman’s voice and see it reflected in the depths of her light green eyes. “I understand.” Holding out her palm, she invited Sandy to take the next step. “First, let me do a reading. Next, we’ll consult the tarot and see if there’s a baby in your cards.”

  After taking a stabilizing breath, Sandy lightly gave Jewel her hand. “I’m scared of what you’ll see.”

  Jewel ran a finger over the smooth flesh, following the faint lines. She didn’t bother doing a normal reading. The woman was only interested in one thing. “Well, from what I see here, there are definitely children in your future.”

  “Children? As in more than one?”

  “Yes. Definitely.” At this point, Jewel couldn’t say if they would be naturally born or adopted, but there was every indication of progeny. “Children lines are these upright lines below the base of the little finger. They indicate the number of offspring a person may have. The deep marks indicate males, while the short, shallow lines suggest females. So…I’d say you have a boy and a girl in your future.”

  “Let me see!”

  Sandy’s enthusiasm made Jewel laugh. “The only thing this doesn’t tell us is when. To gain some idea of timing, let’s consult the cards.”

  Over the next few minutes, Jewel laid out the tarot, gaining some insight into the woman’s struggle. “Okay, Sandy, there are some things I need for you to do to make this happen.”

  “All right. Anything.”

  Jewel touched the woman’s too thin wrist. “Eat more. Your body is lacking leptin, a hormone that controls hunger. With low leptin, you miss menstrual periods. You’ll never get pregnant if you don’t give your body what it needs.”

  “Okay. Sure. I guess I’ve been too worried to eat.”

  Jewel nodded. “Well, now you don’t need to be so worried.” She glanced down at the cards again. “Go home and get rid of all the household chemicals in your cabinets. Cleansers. Pesticides. Buy some natural products. Exposure to some of these compounds can reduce fertility by a third.”

  “Done.”

  “Also, stay away from smokers. Don’t drink alcohol or caffeine. Cut down on your exercising and…” Jewel tapped the table. “Stop stressing out. This is going to happen.” The expression on Sandy’s face said it all. She looked as if the weight of the world had been taken from her shoulders.

  “Okay, there’s a few more things I need for you to do.” Rising from her chair, Jewel walked to one of the ornate cabinets and began to gather items. “I’m going to make you a bracelet. Right now. I want you to wear it from now until the first of May, which is Beltane.”

  “Okay. Anything.”

  “Good. This is insurance.” Returning to her client, Jewel sat across from her and began to braid red and white leather strips. To those strips, she attached a bead made of moonstone. “Now, hold out your wrist.” With deft movements, Jewel tied a love knot to secure the charm in place. “Now, don’t take this off the entire time.”

  Sandy held her arm up to study the handmade talisman. “Okay. Is there anything else I can do?”

  “Yes.” Jewel ginned at her. “Make love with your husband. Joyfully. As many times as you desire.”

  With a giggle, Sandy clapped her hands together. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “Just my regular fee will do.” Jewel stood. “And a phone call on the second of May to tell me you’re with child.”

  * * *

  “This is fuckin’ unbelievable, Philip,” Easy hissed into the phone. “Looks like somebody is using this place like a damn killing field.”

  “I know. When Wren called me early this morning, I was stunned.”

  “I can imagine.” Easy stood a few feet away from the milling group of lawmen. “They’re still talking to her. In fact, they’ve got our whole operation shut down. We’re all penned up like a herd of livestock. Wai
ting to be questioned. How did Wren find the body?”

  “She went back to the clearing where she heard the uproar the other night. I guess she was suspicious. When she called me this morning, she was pretty hysterical. She found the body in a shallow slough. Said she had to beat an alligator over the head to stop it from pulling the victim into deeper water.”

  “Christ.” Easy shook his head. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Cooperate in any way you can. I’ll be there sometime tomorrow to help sort this all out. I’m going to offer to put up night guards.”

  Easy keyed in on one of his comments. “You’re coming back tomorrow? Does that mean your sister and her husband have been found?”

  Philip let out a long sigh and a soft chuckle. “Yea. Thank God. They’re not home yet, but they’ve been located, and it’s been confirmed that their injuries aren’t life threatening.”

  “They were lucky.”

  “Exactly. Hey.” There was a pause. “I understand the victim is the woman you were with Friday night.”

  “That’s right. We parted ways in the parking lot. I feel guilty as hell for not taking her home.”

  “Expect to be questioned.”

  Easy shifted on his feet. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Oh, you’re not the only one. I expect everyone who was at that club on Friday night will be questioned. Since all three of us were there, I’ve already put a call into my lawyer. Just so he’ll be aware. Zane’s a Louisiana boy himself. He knows how these things work down here.”

  “I know Zane Saucier. He’s done some work for our family.” Easy thought about Sara’s struggle with her ex-husband and Apple’s ordeal with ICE over little Nita’s whereabouts. “But a lawyer…Christ!”

  “This is just to cover our asses. I’m sure they’ll find the killer before long.”

  Easy couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. “All right, Philip. I’ll see you soon. Be careful getting down here.”

  As he ended the call, Easy acknowledged to himself how much he was dreading his turn at being questioned. Without a doubt, he’d tell them he was Marion’s date on Friday night. Trying to hide the fact would only arouse suspicion. “And I’ve got nothing to hide.” Surely, the police would find forensic evidence to lead them to the real killer. Even as his brain processed those thoughts, his eyes were following Sheriff Hill as he moved to take information from their ranch hands. What Jewel believed about the Hills’ kept reverberating through his head. Was she right? If she was…this whole thing was a farce.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Helping someone made Jewel feel good. While she wouldn’t be able to take full credit for Sandy Wenger’s pregnancy, she’d certainly steered her in the right direction. More than likely, stress was the main roadblock to her conceiving. If nothing else, she’d given the woman enough peace of mind to cause her to relax long enough for nature to take its course.

  After stirring the greens and adding a bit more bacon grease, Jewel took a moment for herself. With a bit of trepidation, she fetched the daily newspaper to read during her much-needed coffee break. After sitting down with a cup, she tentatively opened the folds and begin to read. When she found no new information on any of the victims, Jewel didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Oh, she wanted justice for them – no doubt about it. She just didn’t know what role she should play in this drama.

  Bang! Bang!

  The unexpected crashing noise at her door caused Jewel to jump to her feet, spilling her coffee in the process. Needing to know who was causing the ruckus before she allowed anyone entry, she ran to look at the computer. “Willie Mae?” She was immediately struck by an uneasy vibe.

  Bang! Bang!

  With one last look at the monitor to make certain the woman was alone, Jewel headed to let her in. After her less than civilized conversation with Everett Hill, she didn’t have a clue what would happen next.

  “Willie?” She barely got the one word out of her mouth before the other woman pushed past her.

  “Yes, I’m here. I refuse to let that man lay the law down to me! If I want to visit my psychic, I’ll visit my damn psychic!”

  Somehow, this outburst didn’t inspire confidence in Jewel. “Uh, okay. How can I help you today?”

  “I need you to tell me what to do! I want you to tell me my future, dammit!” Like a small heavily made up berserker, Willie stormed by. “You’re the only person I can trust.”

  “Why would you say that? What’s happened?” Jewel followed while every instinct she possessed told her to cut this visit short.

  “It’s Everett. He’s gone nuts.”

  Jewel wasn’t sure Everett had far to go to reach that status. “Come sit.” Jewel steered her to the reading table. “What makes you say that about your husband?”

  She held up her arms, showing her bare hands. “He took all my jewelry, that’s what. I think he’s cheating on me again.” Willie slammed her fist on the table. “If he ever stopped!”

  Jewel glanced around. Willie was definitely alone today. Maybe the missing jewelry explained the missing spirits. “Did you bring something of Everett’s?”

  “I did. Shitass.” She opened her purse and threw a pair of his underwear on the table.

  With a grimace, Jewel turned up her nose. “Washed, I hope?”

  “Nope. I thought you might get a clearer reading if they weren’t.”

  With a look of distaste, she held a corner of the fabric in a tight pinch. “Yuck, Willie, yuck.”

  Jewel’s distaste made Willie laugh. “That’s been my attitude of late.”

  “I thought you’d both found love again.”

  “Oh, your spell worked. He wanted me again. I wanted him too, until I found this in his pocket a couple of nights ago.” She pulled something out of her purse and slammed it on the table.

  At the sight of the silver necklace, Jewel’s heart almost stopped. The delicate chain was connected to a script signature and the name was Marion. “Oh, my God…” she whispered.

  “God didn’t have nothing to do with this,” Willie murmured.

  Jewel feared she was probably right. Tentatively, she looked around, hoping to high heaven the woman in question hadn’t chosen to make an appearance.

  Talk about awkward.

  Thankfully, there were no spirits about – but even this made Jewel wonder.

  “So, Everett took your jewelry away from you?”

  “Yea! And when I asked him about it, he told me he’d decided to hock it!”

  “Hock it? Are you having financial trouble of some kind?”

  “That’s what I wanted to know! And when I asked, he hit me!”

  Jewel was having trouble concentrating on both Willie and the underwear. She did wonder why Everett would reclaim his trophy jewelry. “Hold on a moment, let me listen.”

  Willie gave her an odd look, but complied, staring down at her husband’s briefs as if she anticipated them to begin speaking.

  Closing her eyes, Jewel opened herself up to whatever information she could gather. Unbidden emotions rolled over her, emotions so alien that she didn’t know what to do with them. Blood-lust was the best description she could give the dark, intense feelings swamping her. The images she could see were only muted shadows of men taunting a woman, like one would think savages would do to a trapped animal. The only sure thing she could identify was blood-curdling screams. Unable to bear the sick movie pulsing through her brain, she dropped the plaid undergarment like it was burning her fingers.

  What should she say?

  Was Willie in danger?

  Of course, she was. Attempting to trust someone capable of such an act would be like taking a pit viper to bed and hoping it wouldn’t bite you in your sleep.

  “Willie, listen to me.” She caught the woman’s hand in her own. “You’re in danger. You need to leave. Is there anywhere you can go that Everett couldn’t find you?”

  Willie looked confused. “Yea, probably. I have relat
ives in Chicago. I don’t think we’ve ever discussed them. You’ve mentioned my protection before, what exactly am I supposed to be afraid of? Everett?”

  “Willie…” As Jewel answered, she struggled with what to say. This was it. The moment of truth. She needed to decide what was important. Could she live with something happening to Willie if she remained silent? The short answer to that was – no. “Yes. I’m very afraid he’s involved in something he shouldn’t be.” She stared at the necklace in Willie’s hand. A part of her wanted to say she’d take it…but something stopped her. Not a good idea. “When you get to your relative’s, call the FBI and give them that necklace. Tell them where you found it.” Jewel supposed she could go to the FBI too, but they would come far closer to believing the wife than a psychic.

  Willie stared at the piece of jewelry. “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m very afraid the woman it belonged to is missing. What happened to her, I don’t know – but I’m afraid Everett is involved.”

  “You want me to betray my husband?” she asked in a simple, slightly confused tone.

  Jewel covered Willie’s hand with her own, picking up snatches of Everett railing at her, Everett threatening her. Why she clung to the man, Jewel couldn’t understand. “Don’t think of it as betrayal. Think of it as survival. I’m afraid Everett is somehow involved in harming some women. The jewelry he’s been giving you belonged to these ladies.”

  “Are you sure?” She began to cry. “Everett is a mean drunk and an ass, I know that. But…are you saying he killed somebody?”