Gumbo Justice

by Holli H. Castillo

  She kissed him again, their tongues intertwining, and Ryan felt the blood racing to parts of her body that had been dormant for a long time. His hands moved to her tank top, unbuttoning the top two buttons, just far enough to reach her breast with his tongue. A moan escaped her lips as he ran his tongue around her nipple before taking her breast in his mouth.

  “I should be leaving now.” He moved his mouth to her other breast. “I shouldn’t be doing this, but you feel so good.”

  Ryan pulled Shep’s mouth back to her own, feeling like she was melting, until the ringing of his cell phone rudely interrupted her rare pleasure.

  He stepped back, a dazed look in his eyes, and a second later answered the phone. Ryan listened to his end of the conversation.

  “LaJohnnie Lee? Why are you calling me about this?”

  Ryan buttoned her top. What had happened to her ten-year-old rape victim?

  “I’ll be there in twenty. Don’t let crime lab touch anything until the coroner looks at the body, just in case.” He hung up and turned to Ryan. “LaJohnnie Lee was found dead. GSW to the head, gun in her hand. But Marks thought it was odd that a kid that age would kill herself, especially by shooting herself in the head, and the mother is screaming murder. He was letting us know what’s going on, since she was the victim on the case you just handled.”

  “So he thinks she’s dead because of me.”

  “He didn’t say that,” Shep said.

  “Why else would he call?” she asked, burying her face into his chest.

  “I seem to remember you saying you were friendly with Marks one night. I think he’s just keeping an eye out for you.”

  She looked down at the floor, embarrassed. Well, being a slut wasn’t without its benefits.

  “Baby, whatever happened to LaJohnnie Lee, it isn’t your fault.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll go and see what they find.”

  “I’m coming with you,” she said, reaching for her purse.

  Shep grabbed her in his arms, stopping her. “Oh no you’re not. After that newspaper article, between your dad and your boss, I’ll be in a shitload of trouble if I show up there with you. This isn’t even my district, I’m there unofficially. I promise I’ll call as soon as I know what’s going on.” He radioed for a patrol unit to sit outside her house, and waited to leave until it arrived.

  Ryan sat on the sofa in the dark. She didn’t even try to sleep after Shep left. LaJohnnie Lee was dead. The child had been killed by a maniac because she had the bad luck to be a victim on Ryan’s case. LaJohnnie’s death was not a suicide. It couldn’t be. The timing was too coincidental.

  She opened Patti’s file, looking for anything to take her mind off poor LaJohnnie Lee. There was a single audio tape in it — Ryan’s statement. She had been afraid to listen to the statement before. Now, it would be a welcome distraction. She put the tape in the player in her stereo, and listened to her voice at the age of four. They had let her father conduct the interview, probably because she would be more comfortable talking to him. As the younger Ryan began explaining the story, an image in Ryan’s adult mind played along like a movie.

  She woke on a gold brocade sofa, disoriented.

  “Shut up, she’s awake,” a woman’s voice said. It was Aunt Patti, her mama’s sister. The lady who made her play the mean joke on her mama. Her mama must be mad. Her mama hadn’t come to get her.

  Roaches of all sizes scurried across the floor. Every time one of them moved, Ryan shrank back on the sofa. A little boy stood in front of her. “Don’t be afraid,” he told her. “I won’t let nothing get you. They just bugs, see.” He picked up a cockroach and smashed it in his fingers. The roach made a snapping noise, but kept wriggling its antenna and kicking its feet. Ryan started crying.

  Patti slapped the boy across his face. He fell to the ground, sending the roaches scrambling. The creature in the boy’s hand continued to struggle.

  “Stupid little bastard,” Patti said. “You make that aggravating little bitch cry one more time and I’ll send you away for good this time.”

  The bad man sat down on the sofa next to Ryan. “You’re so pretty. Would you like to stay with me for a while?” He touched her hair. “How old are you, angel?”

  She held up four fingers but didn’t answer out loud. Daddy said she wasn’t supposed to talk to strangers. The man closed his eyes and kissed her fingertips.

  Patti looked mad. “Jude, get the hell away from her. You don’t pay, you don’t play.” She then put her hand in the air, as if telling him to wait, and ran to the window. She turned back to the man. “Fuck. Police sirens.” Patti tore across the room, grabbing Ryan, digging her nails into Ryan’s arm. “If I thought I could get away with it, I’d slit your throat right now, you spoiled little bitch.” Patti turned back to the man. “Jude, take the kids. I don’t want the police getting them.”

  He reached down to pick Ryan up from the sofa.

  Patti spun to face him and started clawing at the man’s face. “Not her, you asshole. The other two.”

  The man cringed, and ducked, trying to shield himself from Patti’s blows.

  Ryan scrambled to the other side of the sofa.

  The boy ran over to her. “Make them come back for me,” he whispered to her. “I don’t want to go with Jude.” He looked so sad that Ryan began sobbing harder.

  Patti turned her attention to the boy, grabbed his arm roughly, and shoved him at the man. “Get out of here. Now.”

  The man tried to grab the boy’s hand, but the boy slipped away from him, and threw his arms around Ryan in a desperate hug. “Please,” he whispered in her ear. “Don’t forget about me. Make them come for me.”

  The man grabbed the boy by the arm and dragged him across the room and out of the front door.

  A second later, several policemen rushed inside. One of them threw Patti against a wall.

  Ryan kept sobbing until her father picked her up, holding her so tight she couldn’t breathe. He was crying. Ryan knew she was in big trouble. Daddy never cried.

  The memory ended. Ryan found herself back in the present, tears streaming down her face. She could have been killed, or traded to a pervert. But she had been saved.

  LaJohnnie had been victimized in a heinous way by her own biological father, and thought she had been saved by Ryan. Only Ryan hadn’t saved her. Ryan had helped her go from child rape victim to child murder victim

  She made a pot of coffee and sat at the kitchen table, going back through her mind to try to come up with more bits and pieces of what happened to her all those years ago. Who was that little boy? And what was he doing with Patti? Nothing else would come.

  Just as the sun was rising, Shep called. Ryan was scared of what he was going to tell her.

  “LaJohnnie was definitely murdered, but someone tried to make it look like a suicide.”

  Ryan felt the air leaving her body. “How can they tell?”

  “Besides the fact that in general little girls don’t intentionally shoot themselves, several other things were off. She was left-handed, but the gun was found in her right hand. She would never have been strong enough to pull the trigger the way the gun would have been situated. And the note.” He stopped.

  “What did it say?”

  He hesitated. “I’m sorry I lied in court. I said what Ryan Murphy told me so she could win the case. Her mama says it’s definitely not LaJohnnie’s handwriting.”

  “LaJohnnie calls me Miss Ryan. I doubt she even knows my last name.” Ryan frowned. “But why leave a note that makes the suicide more suspicious? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “If this guy is just trying to screw with you, it does,” Shep answered. “The press was tipped off and got there before the responding officer. They’re going to report LaJohnnie’s death as a suicide. Eventually the truth will come out, but things could be hard for you until it does. And he had to know how killing her would make you feel. Not to mention that this could get your death penalty reversed. LaJohnnie’s note wi
ll call the conviction into question.”

  Ryan didn’t care about the conviction now, or about the death penalty. All she could think about was that another person was dead because of her. The deaths of drug dealers and gang members hadn’t bothered her. But this little girl, a child who had done nothing other than to be born from a man who violated her, was different.

  “We’re going to find him,” Shep insisted. “We need Devon. If we could get an ID on the cop, we could get whoever is behind him.”

  “You don’t think the cop is the major player?”

  “No. I think he’s the hired help. And if it turns out that Lejeune is his boss, he’s going to be one sorry bastard.”

  She didn’t mention what she had just remembered about Patti, needing more time to process the information. “So what now?”

  He blew out a breath. “I’ve got some things I need to run down at the station. Unless you want me to come there first.”

  She knew seeing him would have to wait. “No. That’s okay, do what you need to. I have a meeting with my boss, and then I’m going to meet Patti. I think I need to go alone.”

  “I understand, baby. Call me when you’re finished. Or if you need anything.”

  She got up from the kitchen table and dressed, questions swirling in her head as she got ready to face the D.A.

  10:00 A.M.

  Her meeting went as well as Ryan could have expected. Since her section of court was closed for the next week anyway, Peter wasn’t making a decision about Ryan’s fate as a prosecutor at the moment. If the murders weren’t solved by the time her judge was back, or worse yet, if anybody else got killed, that could change. But for now, at least, she still had her job.

  Peter had also told her that Chad had been released on an ROR. Judge McAllister had signed the paperwork while Chad was still in booking. Ryan wasn’t surprised. All attorneys had at least one judge in their corner. She was a little hurt that McAllister would let Chad out knowing Ryan was the victim, particularly with everything else going on, but she couldn’t let that get to her at this point. The only significance to Ryan was that Chad could have killed LaJohnnie Lee.

  Before leaving the office, Ryan stopped to see Bo, recalling that he was the one who introduced her to Chad in the first place. She had gone to St. Louis Cathedral for Red Mass, a service to bless the Louisiana Supreme Court. Most of the attorneys in the city were there, more to be seen than as a show of respect. Ryan had gotten stuck sitting next to Bo in the last pew because she had arrived late.

  Chad had been sitting next to Bo, and Ryan had thought that Chad was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. She had known he was an attorney, and that he came from a wealthy family, but that was all. She had certainly never heard anything to make her suspect he was a sexual deviant. When Mass was over, she had gotten Bo to introduce her to Chad, although Bo seemed a little hesitant at the time. Ryan thought she knew why now.

  Bo looked up from his desk with his usual bland expression. “Still got a job?”

  “You could say that,” she answered, and then got straight to the point. “Bo, was there some reason you didn’t want to introduce me to Chad?”

  Bo looked embarrassed, but composed himself after a second. “I’ve known Chad a long time. He was always kind of an asshole.”

  “Give me a particular.”

  “He’s got a reputation for being a little rough with his girlfriends. I didn’t think you were into that kind of thing.” He looked away.

  “Do you think Chad’s crazy enough to kill people?” She watched Bo’s face closely.

  “You mean those defendants in the projects? I don’t know.” Bo seemed to perk up. “He’s always been a little off. When we were younger, he used to do things like set cats on fire.” He pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Do I think he’s capable of killing a bunch of people in the projects? Maybe. I just don’t know if he’s intelligent enough to pull something like that off.”

  “What do you mean intelligent?” she asked with a frown. “Most murderers get caught because they’re actually pretty stupid.”

  “How would he find out which cases you lost? And even if he was following your career before you started dating him, how would he be able to get your defendants in the St. Thomas to kill them? The paper said the victims didn’t even live there.”

  Ryan dismissed Bo’s doubts. “I don’t know how he found out about my cases, but he could have paid people to do all the hard work. Chad has enough money. And he’s made some obvious mistakes, so he’s not that smart.”

  “He has?” Bo seemed interested in hearing her theory.

  Ryan couldn’t help feeling a little superior at having inside information on a big case, even if the case did involve her. “Nothing major, but he’s left enough clues so the police should be able to find his accomplices. And his accomplices will lead them right back to him.”

  “Maybe he does some of the things you think of as mistakes on purpose,” Bo said. “To let you know it’s him. Chad was never exactly subtle. Maybe he’s making conscious choices to lead you to him.”

  “Maybe. He left a suicide note with LaJohnnie Lee that obviously wasn’t written by her, to let me know he really killed her. That’s what I think, anyway.”

  “I really hope it’s not Chad,” Bo said. “He is an asshole, but I’ve been friends with him for a really long time. You hate to think that someone you know could do something like that.”

  She nodded, and stood up to leave.

  “Uh, and just to let you know, Kellie was talking about you this morning.”

  “Oh?”

  Bo looked uncomfortable again. “I think she had a problem with all the slut comments you made about her last night. Not that I blame you. I wish I had the balls to take her on. But I overheard her saying that the only reason Chapetti has been hanging out with you is because your dad asked him to babysit you while he was out of town. She said that when your dad gets back, Chapetti is going back to Wanda.”

  “Did she say where she heard this?” Ryan asked, suspicious.

  “She said she heard it from Wanda,” he answered. “Last night after you left.”

  “Thanks for the heads up,” Ryan said, walking out of Bo’s office. She would have to deal with Shep and Wanda later. Right now, she had a biological mother to meet.

  Ryan tried to stay calm on the short drive to the Upperline Convalescent

  Home. She had to put Shep temporarily out of her mind. She needed to focus all of her attention right now on getting up the nerve to talk to Patti.

  Upperline Convalescent looked more like a country club than a home for the sick. The palatial building was set back far from the street, and the expansive, well-manicured front lawn had neatly landscaped beds of roses, daffodils and lillies.

  Ryan tried the front door, feeling like an intruder, and was surprised when it opened easily. The front desk reminded her of the check-in at the Ritz Carlton. An ornate chandelier was suspended from the cathedral ceiling above the marble floor. A woman with a hundred-dollar hair cut dressed in a Chanel suit looked up and smiled. “May I help you?” Her name tag said Clara Parker. Her shoes said Jimmy Choo.

  “I’m here to visit Patricia Ryan.” Ryan wondered if she was going to be allowed in. She fought the urge to look down at her own wrinkled T-shirt, frayed jean shorts and shabby tennis shoes.

  Clara Parker’s face stretched into a pained smile. “Oh my, you must be Angie’s daughter. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  Ryan was surprised, but tried to act cool. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

  “Oh my,” she said again, and Ryan got the feeling something was troubling her. “I’ve been trying to contact your mother all day.”

  “She’s out of town. Is there a problem?”

  “Angie told me she would be in Grand Isle, but she’s not answering the number she left. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but your aunt passed away sometime during the night.”

  “She what?” Ryan grabbed onto th
e counter top.

  Clara obviously mistook Ryan’s reaction and patted her hand. “She went peacefully, in her sleep.”

  “What was the cause of death?” Ryan asked, immediately on alert.

  “We don’t know yet. The coroner received her this morning. Whenever a guest with a non-fatal illness expires, the coroner has to conduct an autopsy. Your poor mother is going to be devastated. I wish I could tell you more, but that’s really all I know. When she couldn’t be roused for breakfast, the doctor saw her and determined she had expired.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell my mother.” Ryan wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do.

  Clara smiled with obvious relief. “I am so sorry I didn’t have the opportunity to tell her myself. Could you please send my condolences? And ask her to call as soon as she can?”

  Ryan nodded, unsure what she should say. So she didn’t say anything, and instead went back out to her Jeep and climbed in. She called the coroner’s office and finally got Doug. He was surprised to find out that Patti was Ryan’s aunt, and said there were no obvious signs of a homicide, but he hadn’t had a chance to do the autopsy or gotten the toxicology results yet to determine the cause of death. He also told her that LaJohnnie Lee’s death was going to be classified as a homicide. No prints had been retrieved from the apartment, but he had heard that the gun used had been reported stolen. He promised to call Ryan if he found out anything else.

  Ryan called her mother next. If she waited, she knew she would lose her nerve. Her mother answered on the second ring.

  “Mama, it’s Ryan.”

  “Is everything okay, baby? Your father has been frantic with everything that’s been happening there, but Gram’s not doing well. I don’t know if she’s even going to make this trip home. Is something wrong?”

  “Uh, Patti’s dead.” She didn’t know how else to say it. “Clara Parker has been trying to get in touch with you. Doug doesn’t know the cause of death yet, but he didn’t find any signs of homicide.” She stopped, wondering if she should offer her sympathy or ask her mother why she hadn’t told her Patti had been alive to begin with.