by Sutter, C M
“Yep. Give me five more minutes.” I gobbled down the last piece of bacon on my plate and dug into what remained of my omelet.
Chapter 14
We headed down to the car a few minutes later. After Renz clicked the fob, I opened the rear door and set my briefcase on the floor. I mindlessly climbed into the passenger seat at the same time Renz took his spot behind the wheel. He cocked his head and stared at me. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure, but something is, unless I’m tipsy this morning.”
He chuckled. “Did you pour anything besides coffee into your cup?”
“No, but I feel like I’m sitting lopsided. Look straight out the windshield. Doesn’t everything seem tipped my way?”
“Now that you mention it, yeah.” Renz climbed out, did a slow walk around the front of the SUV, then came around to my side. I lowered the window.
“I found it.” He pointed at the rear of the vehicle.
I stuck out my head. “Can’t see shit.” I unfastened my belt and climbed out. “How did we get a flat tire? Do you think we ran over something just before we got here and it went flat during the night?”
“Maybe.” Renz knelt at the tire. “Or maybe not.”
“What do you mean?” I knelt at his side.
He indicated with his finger. “That’s a slash if I’ve ever seen one. If we had run over a nail, a staple, or something like that, it would be lodged in the tire.”
I stood and did a three sixty. Nobody appeared to be watching us, and I didn’t see cameras on that side of the building. “Now what?”
Renz rolled up his sleeves and scanned the sky. “I need to change the tire before the sun gets on this side of the building. At least now, we’re in the shade.”
I watched as he jerked the heavy spare from under the cargo area, got the tire jack out, and went to work. He jacked up the Explorer, loosened the lug nuts, and pulled off the flat.
“We’ll have to get this plugged somewhere.” Within twenty minutes, the new tire was on, and the lug nuts were tightened. Renz put away the tools and looked at his hands. “I better run inside and wash up.”
I smiled. “Sure, and I’ll stay out here and guard the car.”
Luckily, we were off to an early start, so despite the tire mishap, we still arrived at the sheriff’s office at eight fifteen. The sheriff, Pat Conway, and several deputies were already milling around. We told the sheriff what had happened, and a concerned look crossed his face.
“There are sketchy people in this neck of the woods. Watch yourselves out there.”
Renz said we would take his advice then asked to see the missing persons file that covered the last six months.
Conway swallowed a sip of coffee. “For our parish only? Because if we go into Baton Rouge Parish, the results will be skewed. It’s the largest parish in Louisiana.”
Renz spoke up. “Yes, only Terrebonne Parish for now. If we have to expand later, we will.”
We hovered at the sheriff’s back and waited as he logged in to their local reports.
“Okay, during the last six months, we’ve had seven reports filed, and three of those people were located safe and sound. They were runaways who were luckily tracked down before things took a dark turn.”
“And the four others?” I asked.
“Let’s see. A seventeen-year-old boy who will be a senior in high school, a married woman who up and vanished from her home, a twenty-one-year-old grocery store cashier, and a twenty-three-year-old young lady who attended cosmetology school and had her own apartment in Raceland.”
“And who reported all of them missing? Family members?”
“Mostly people who noticed they were gone.”
I gave Renz a side-eyed glance. “And nobody made a big deal of it? Seems like a lot of people to go missing for one parish.”
“Our parish covers twenty-one hundred square miles, Agent Monroe, with a bunch of small towns and generations-old family properties scattered about. The owners of those properties are good folks in their own right but don’t like law up in their business.”
“Then exactly who filed the reports?”
Conway shrugged. “Sometimes it’s family, but mostly workmates or friends. The world is a lot different down here than it is in the north, but as a law enforcement agency, we have to follow up on unusual discoveries like those bones.”
I groaned. “So because family doesn’t talk to the law, are we going to have guns pointed in our faces when we walk up to a house?”
He shrugged again. “We’ll go with you anywhere you need to go, if you like.”
I shook my head in utter disbelief. “Zero cooperation from family will probably make finding the killer even tougher.”
Conway continued. “I’d focus primarily on the people who filed the reports. You’ll get the most cooperation out of them.”
I nodded a thanks. “We’ll need a printout of those missing people, their addresses, and the names and addresses of the people who filed the reports.”
“You bet.” Conway tapped the print icon, and the machine behind his desk came to life.
Renz spoke to the sheriff while I looked over the reports. “We’ll likely be out all day, but if we don’t get anywhere with the locals, I’ll check the VICAP database to see if other cases that are similar have come up in Louisiana.”
“You do know that there’s a lot of voodoo and black magic that goes on in Louisiana, don’t you?”
Renz nodded. “I’ve heard that but have never dealt with situations involving it.”
“Black magic or the occult is dark, real dark. It’s widely practiced in New Orleans, but in this area, it’s becoming even more prevalent. Forbidden Bayou is only a little ways west of town.”
My eyes widened. “Forbidden Bayou? What on earth is that?”
“It’s where folklore legends come to life. Plenty of spiritual voodoo and animal sacrifices happen back in those swamps. We find areas deep in the bayous where they perform their rituals, do what they do with those damn snakes, and burn their sacrificial animals. We see evidence of animal bones when we stumble across their ceremonial spots, but we’ve never come across human ones until lately.”
I frowned. “We’ll keep that in mind.”
We started out by driving to the home of the seventeen-year-old high school student whose family lived in Mechanicville. Hopefully, we’d make progress that day, and we planned to ask each family that would talk to us for a sample of their loved one’s DNA.
Chapter 15
He thought back to earlier that day when he’d sat in his truck at the end of the hotel parking lot. Robby couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. He’d watched as the male agent lugged those tires around, jacked up the SUV, and dirtied his hands.
And as he followed the black Explorer out of town, he sneered. “You haven’t seen nothing yet. You get too close and you’ll be sorry you ever came to our little community. The Feds don’t belong sniffing around Louisiana’s business.”
Robby would put his enterprise on the back burner for the time being until those agents left town. He needed to keep his eyes on them to see what they thought they knew and what they intended to find out. He couldn’t afford to have them ruin everything he’d worked so hard for.
From the sheriff’s office, he followed the agents south on Barrow Street then east until they reached Highway 57 and south into Mechanicville.
Hmm… you must be planning to pay Jadon Fish’s family a visit. That’s a waste of time since his remains are long gone. They were tossed into the swampy muck on the edges of Lake De Cade, where the gators are plentiful.
Robby waited along the curb and watched as the agents exited their vehicle and approached the modest yellow house. Seconds later, the door opened, and they disappeared inside.
I’m surprised they were allowed in—maybe because the family is considered town folks. Wait until you trespass on bayou people. You’ll see what kind of reception you get.
As much as he didn’t want to wast
e the day, Robby knew he would have to follow the agents to find out how many of his victims actually had missing persons reports filed on them.
They’re likely looking for information on anyone and everyone who has gone missing, since there’s no way in hell they’d have the DNA confirmation yet on any of the bones that were found.
Robby settled in, relaxed, and watched the front door.
Chapter 16
Mrs. Fish wasn’t the most welcoming person, especially when we showed her our FBI credentials. She allowed us in, offered us seats, and didn’t beat around the bush.
“Tell me why you’re here and what you want. I’ve got people to see and places to go.”
Renz passed that one off to me, I assumed because I was a woman and could possibly soften her up.
“Mrs. Fish, your son, Jadon, went missing five and a half months ago. Has he ever contacted you to say he’s okay and where he’s at?”
She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “No, ma’am.”
“And that doesn’t concern you?”
She shrugged. “He’s a rebellious teenager. I expected as much.”
I frowned. “As much as what?”
“I expected him to run off. He was using and selling meth, never went to school, and stayed out all night. He didn’t listen to me or his daddy anymore, so I say good riddance to bad apples. If you don’t mind the house rules, there’s no need to live here.”
Her harsh words were startling to hear, but Sheriff Conway had given us fair warning. We wouldn’t get a warm welcome from some of the local folks, and I wondered why.
“Ma’am, do you have anything that contains Jadon’s DNA? We’d like to add the results to the missing person’s report that was filed on him.” I wasn’t going to tell her that we actually wanted to compare his DNA to the bones we’d found.
“I guess you can take his toothbrush with you. Lord knows he’s not coming back for it.”
There was a good chance her words were true but not in the way she thought. I asked her to put the toothbrush in a baggie, then we thanked her for the sample. I left my card, and we walked out.
After climbing into the vehicle, I jotted notes on Jadon’s paper report. With a sigh, I gave Renz a glance. “How do you want to do this? Interview all four families first and then go back and interview the person who filed each report, or finish up completely with one person before moving on to the next?”
Renz rubbed his cheek. I assumed he was weighing the options. “Who filed the report on Jadon?”
I scanned the sheet. “A woman named Bette Meadows.”
Renz frowned. “I wonder who she is?”
“Let’s go find out. We have the address.”
The home of Bette and Marlin Meadows was a short five blocks away. After we gave two knocks on the door, she welcomed us in.
We exchanged pleasantries then got to the point since we had a full day ahead of us. I took the reins again. “Ma’am, we’re here to ask you a few questions about Jadon Fish and why you filed a missing person’s report on him.”
She scrunched her face. “I did it because his parents don’t give a crap about the kid. Alvin, my son, is Jadon’s best friend and was worried sick when Jadon up and disappeared. I finally gave up after numerous calls to the sheriff’s office to ask if a missing person’s report had been filed. Since none had been, I took it upon myself to do it after he’d been gone a week.”
“Do you have any idea where Jadon was when he went missing?”
“Alvin invited Jadon over to play video games that night. Jadon agreed and said he was stopping at Grant’s grocery store first to pick up snacks. He never came by, never answered his phone, and never was heard from again.”
I was taken aback. “So didn’t the sheriff’s office look at camera footage from the store?”
“Grant’s doesn’t have outdoor cameras, only indoor ones since shoplifting is a problem. They saw Jadon walk through the aisles, purchase the snacks, and walk out. There wasn’t anyone in the store that looked to be following him.”
Renz took his turn. “Ma’am, Mrs. Fish said Jadon dealt in and used meth. Do you know anything about that?”
She laughed. “Hell no. That boy was a good kid. If anyone dealt in meth, it was the parents themselves. Jadon worked part-time at that grocery store as a bagger, and it was his only means of income. I probably know more about him than his own mama, and that’s pathetic.”
“Sounds like you cared about him.”
She nodded. “I wish his parents cared as much.”
We thanked her, left our cards, and returned to the Explorer.
“I wonder if we’re going to hit the same brick walls for the other three missing people too.”
Renz shook his head. “Without witnesses to actual abductions, we’ll never know who the perp is. We have to follow the plan of collecting DNA samples from each missing person, see if they match any of the bones found, and then really push the family and the missing person’s friends about their last known location. The killer has an area he trolls for victims, and we need to find out if that area is somewhere the missing people frequented.”
I had to agree. It was imperative to narrow down the possible abduction areas in the enormous parish. My phone rang as we were having that conversation. “Hold that last thought while I get this call.” I pulled my phone from my purse and checked the screen. “It’s a local number. Must be the sheriff’s office.” I swiped the green phone icon and answered. “Agent Monroe here.” I listened for a second then responded that I was putting him on Speakerphone. It was the sheriff. “Okay, Sheriff Conway, I have Agent DeLeon listening in too. Go ahead with what you started to say.”
“Agent DeLeon, I was just telling Agent Monroe that I have a young lady sitting across from me by the name of Gayle Moline who said her sister never came home from the bar Sunday night.”
“Keep her there. We’ll be back in five minutes.” I clicked off the call and fist pumped the air. “This might turn into the lead we desperately need.”
We were almost to Houma when the call came in. I was excited to finally speak with somebody about a loved one who had gone missing less than forty-eight hours earlier. Renz parked, and we entered the building.
The deputy behind the counter waved us on. “Sheriff Conway is expecting you. Go ahead.”
I nodded a thanks, and we continued down the hallway to the sheriff’s private office. The door was standing open, indicating he was expecting us. Inside, a young lady faced him on the guest chair, but she turned when we walked in. Her cute appearance—shoulder-length blond hair, shorts, a tank top, and flip-flops—was marred by her swollen red eyes. I immediately wanted to hug her and say it would be okay, but as a realist, and because of the field I was in, I knew to do otherwise.
The sheriff introduced us and said only that we were there to investigate the disturbing number of people who had gone missing over the last few months. Nobody, not even the press, had been informed of the bone discovery yet.
Conway suggested we talk in their conference room, which had a large table and enough chairs for all of us to sit in. Once inside, I opened my briefcase and pulled out a small recorder to capture the entire conversation while everything was fresh in her mind. As she told us what she knew, I would jot down important points to follow up on.
Renz began the questioning. “First, may I see your identification? Taking a picture of it is faster than writing everything down.”
“Sure.” She fumbled with her purse, pulled out her wallet, and slid the laminated card out of the sleeve. She passed it to Renz.
He took the picture and read the information aloud so the recorder could pick it up. After passing the ID back to her, Renz asked Gayle to go ahead with the background information first.
“Carla Moline is my little sister. She’s twenty-two years old and works as an assistant at John’s Shoe Warehouse.” Gayle sucked in a calming breath as she handed a picture of Carla to me, the
n she smiled through her tears. “She’s a cutie, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she is, and thank you. I’ll make sure you get the picture back after we photocopy it.” I gave her a nod to continue.
“We moved here together last year from Chackbay. The town is small—five thousand people—and job opportunities are slim. Our folks live off Dad’s disability, and we didn’t need to add to their monthly bills by living with them, so we moved south to Houma. It’s a much larger city with more opportunity than what we were accustomed to.”
I caught up with my notes then asked her to speed ahead to Sunday.
“We just had a casual day, nothing out of the ordinary. We made a batch of chocolate chip cookies after Carla went to the store to buy the ingredients.”
“What store was that?”
“Sentry on Main.”
My shoulders slumped. My hope for a connection with Grant’s grocery store was dashed quickly, and since Mechanicville was three miles away, there would have been no reason for Carla to drive to another town when there were closer stores.
“Okay, and then what?”
“Nothing, really. Straightened up our apartment, watched TV, and talked to our mom on the phone. Carla said she was going to meet our friend Sheila at Bubba Mike’s later that night, but since I had to work on Monday, I didn’t go along.”
“Does Carla have a car?”
Gayle shook her head. “She uses mine at times, but since I had to work yesterday and needed my car, I dropped her off at Bubba Mike’s, and she said Sheila would bring her home.”
“Do you remember what time you two left?”
Gayle rubbed her forehead. “We watched a reality show, and when that ended, she changed clothes, and I drove her there. I’d say it was around ten fifteen.”
“And is Bubba Mike’s in Houma?”
“Yes, on the west side of town. I dropped her off, joked about not staying out until five a.m., and then went home. When I got up yesterday morning, she wasn’t there. I figured she spent the night with Sheila.”
I raised my brows. “And Sheila’s last name is?”
