Murder in the Marsh

by Ramsey Coutta

  Twenty-Six

  The feel of the patrol craft rocking violently woke Daniel from his sleep. He instinctively grabbed hold of the seat armrest to steady himself. A particularly strong gust of wind had shaken the boat, then died down to a lesser gale. Daniel thought the winds must be thirty-five to forty miles an hour, with gusts near sixty. The hurricane was fast approaching, he thought. He looked up through the rain and saw dark gray clouds churning overhead. They still rotated from the southeast to the northwest, but appeared thicker, darker, and more tightly compacted. They also had a rippled appearance underneath, such as the surface of a pond when a pebble is dropped in. He wondered how long he slept. His watch said 2:45 pm, which would have been about forty-five minutes. Not long, he thought, but too long if Claude LeBlanc was still alive.

  He turned on the radar instrumentation and inspected the screen. He noticed a faint blip he had not seen before. Some kind of object or structure appeared out in the bay to the front right of the bow of the boat. He still didn’t know how to determine distances on the instrument, but adjusted the digital controls so the object became more visible. He couldn’t interpret the nature of the object, but it was his best lead thus far, and he was determined to check it out.

  Before setting out, Daniel attempted to reach both Claude and Rachel on the radio, but neither responded. Feeling isolated and discouraged, he started the engines and hoisted the anchor, backing out of the cove and into the full force of the wind and waves. The rain assailed him head on, making the struggle to see much more difficult. He decided he would follow the radar to the object out in the bay. If he couldn’t find it, he would allow the wind and waves to push the boat back, while keeping the bow pointed directly into the storm. This would prevent him from being turned sideways against the oncoming waves and being capsized. Once driven back far enough, he would power up and head out again until he caught sight of the object or structure. Checking the gas gauge, he realized he could not attempt this many times before he would have to break off the search and head back to Happy Jack.

  Daniel eased the throttle forward and the boat edged ahead. Large waves crashed against the bow, sending clouds of wet saltwater raining down on him. He spent as much time watching the radar instrumentation as he did the water in front of him. For the next ten minutes, he smashed through the waves as he neared the location of the object. He didn’t see it ahead of him, but after consulting the radar again, determined it was somewhere off to his right. Cutting back on the throttle, he peered intently through the rain off to his side. For a moment he thought he saw something, but wasn’t sure. He couldn’t directly turn the boat in that direction or he would be broadsided by the waves.

  He allowed the boat to drift back, while keeping the bow pointed directly into the wind and waves. After he determined he had dropped back far enough, he increased the power and veered towards the right. He proceeded cautiously in order not to ram whatever he had seen. In a couple of minutes, a large bulky shape arose directly in front of his boat. As he drew closer he grew excited. The object appeared to be a large boat that had capsized in the water. The water wasn’t deep enough for the boat to sink below the surface, and it rested on its side with the cabin area facing in Daniel’s direction. Moving closer, he could see it was a white shrimp boat with dark red trim.

  The boat lay on its side, half under water, apparently resting on the mud bottom of the bay. The mast and rigging pointed directly in Daniel’s direction. Daniel noticed the shrimp nets had partially broken free from their rigging and were splayed out across the water. The nets could be a severe hazard, if he got too close to them. They could easily become entangled in the twin props of his motors. He would have no way to cut them free in this weather. Directly behind the shrimp boat, Daniel found the closer he approached it, the less trouble he had with the waves, due to their breaking against its hull on the opposite side.

  He eased the engine power remaining fixed in one spot, while he searched the boat for any sign of life. He hoped he had found Claude’s boat and Claude was alive. After a couple minutes of looking and seeing nothing, he blew the boat horn. He still didn’t see anyone. He blew longer for a second time, and before he finished, he saw someone lean out from the cabin wearing a red life preserver and waving a yellow object. Daniel couldn’t edge much closer due to the danger of the shrimp nets. He remembered the patrol craft had a loud speaker. He turned it on and shouted into the microphone.

  “Claude LeBlanc! Is that you?”

  The man waved the yellow object again, which Daniel took as an affirmative.

  “Claude. I’m unable to get any closer. I need you to move to the bow of your boat. Can you do that?”

  Daniel observed the man wave again and then make his way out of the cabin. He began pulling himself along the upturned deck towards the bow. Daniel nudged his boat in the same direction. The bow was free from the nets, but he would be subjected again to the pounding waves, which would make his boat harder to control and more dangerous for Claude. If the waves slammed the patrol craft up against the collapsed shrimp boat, Claude could be crushed in between.

  Claude reached the tip of the bow before Daniel did. Daniel found the handling more difficult as he edged out to the tip and into the oncoming waves. Finally, he reached Claude’s position. The crossing from the shrimp boat to Daniel’s would be tricky for the stranded shrimper. He needed to let go of the shrimp boat and swim a few feet over to Daniel’s boat. In doing so, he also would momentarily be subjected to the waves. If he didn’t make it or Daniel’s boat was thrown off course, Claude could be swept away with little chance of recovering him in the raging waters.

  Daniel managed to hold on to the wheel and throw a rope out to Claude. Claude let go and began kicking furiously to grab hold. He seized the rope, but an oncoming wave engulfed him under a mountain of water. Fortunately, he maintained his grip and came up through the surf pulling himself hand over hand to the patrol boat.

  “Claude! Can you make it?” Daniel yelled over the gusts.

  “Maybe,” Claude weakly gasped. He threw a hand up over the edge of Daniel’s boat, but Daniel could see he didn’t have the strength to pull himself up. Daniel realized he would have to let go of the wheel to help him in.

  Adjusting the bow of the boat one more time so it pointed directly into the wind and waves, Daniel let go of the wheel and reached over to grab Claude. He leaned over the side and grabbed Claude under the shoulder area of his life preserver. He pulled upwards, but Claude only partially came out of the water and then dropped back down. Daniel braced himself again to pull even harder.

  “Claude, I need you to pull up on the side of the boat on the count of three!”

  Claude grabbed the side of the boat with two hands letting go of the rope.

  “One, two, three!” Claude came up far enough that he was able to throw both arms over the side of the boat.

  Daniel counted to three again, and Claude came up over the side of the boat so that he laid over it at the waist. Daniel pulled once more, and Claude fell to the floor wet and exhausted. Daniel took a deep breath and immediately returned to the steering, but he was a split second too late. While hauling Claude in, the bow of the boat shifted gradually to one side. By the time Claude was fully in, the boat had turned broadside to the oncoming waves. Daniel turned the wheel frantically, but two successive waves smashed powerfully into the vessel. The boat rolled to the side, dangerously close to tipping, but then began to right itself. Before that happened, a third even larger wave slammed into it, completely capsizing the patrol craft.

  Daniel clutched the wheel, as the boat flipped. Gear from the boat went flying, some of it striking him. Still he maintained his grip on the wheel and in the next moment found himself in darkness. To his horror, he discovered he was trapped under the boat in an air pocket. The engines must have shut off automatically, because he didn’t hear them running. The craft continued to rock madly back and forth. He called out for Claude, but received no response. He bega
n to panic, but then recalled the words of the Sheriff about the faith of his father while facing death.

  Daniel began to pray. “Father, you have helped me before when I didn’t deserve it. I believe you did so because it is your will that I live. I believe you have a purpose for me that I have blinded myself to. Jesus, I pray that your will be done, and if your desire is for me to live, then I trust you will bring that about. If not, then I pray that you will spare the life of Claude, as well as his wife and children, and Rachel also. Comfort my family if I don’t make it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

  From his position under the boat, Daniel could not see the tremendous wave that approached the boat. He only felt its powerful blow when it hit.

  Twenty-Seven

  Rachel found a small television set in a back room and plugged it in, while Adele spoon-fed Michelle warm soup. The television worked, but the reception was poor. Rachel adjusted the antenna until they could hear the sound clearly, even though the image remained cloudy. The New Orleans weatherman was in the middle of explaining that Hurricane Katrina had reached maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and had reached Category Five status. Hurricane force winds extended 105 miles from the center, while tropical storm force winds extended outward upwards to 230 miles. He noted that at 4:00 pm the minimum central pressure fell to 902 millibars, the fourth lowest reading on record for an Atlantic storm. The center of Hurricane Katrina rested only 190 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River heading directly towards Plaquemines Parish.

  He warned the hurricane would be a deadly storm, and because tropical storm force winds were already lashing the coast, anyone who had not yet evacuated needed to stay put. He expected it to make landfall between 4 and 7 am Monday morning. The weatherman also predicted a substantial storm surge, possibly as high as eighteen to twenty-two feet above normal tide, with some places as high as twenty-eight feet. The visual image of the hurricane on television was chilling. Storm clouds extended all the way from the west coast of Florida to Texas, covering nearly the entire Gulf of Mexico.

  Rachel and Adele sat staring at the TV screen during a commercial, unable to say a word. Adele completely forgot about feeding Michelle. The two women had difficulty digesting the terrifying information they just received.

  After several moments, Rachel turned to Adele, “Adele, we need to leave soon. If the storm surge rises as high as he said, and we’re on this side of the levee, we’ll be in a lot of danger.”

  “Ah agree,” Adele responded solemnly. “Do you still tink we should go to your apartment?”

  “I wish we had a better option, but I don’t think we have any other choice. The weatherman is telling people to stay off the roads, and I’m guessing the highway has already been closed.”

  “You’re right. Ah wish dis camp had a phone so ah could at least call about him,” Adele said looking about.

  “I’ve got a cell phone.”

  “It’s still working?”

  “We can try. What’s the number?”

  Adele pulled a wet slip of paper out of her pocket and read it off to Rachel. After punching it in, Rachel listened and heard dialing. She gave the cell phone to Adele.

  As Adele talked, Rachel sat down by Michelle.

  “Michelle, how are you feeling?”

  “Ahm feeling better, Ms. Rachel. Ah was scared in de boat. Ahm glad we’re safe now.”

  “Yes, it was scary. But we’ll have faith that God is watching over us.”

  “Are we going to have to leave here, Ms. Rachel?”

  “Yes. We have to go Port Sulphur. It’s safer there. We don’t need to be in this camp with the hurricane coming.”

  “Ah don’t want to go back out in de hurricane,” Michelle said sadly.

  “I know. I don’t want to either. But it will be safer for us to leave, and this time we won’t have to go in a boat. We’re going to walk down to my car and then we’ll drive to my apartment.”

  “De storm won’t get us there?”

  “I think we’ll be safer there.”

  Michelle seemed a little more comforted. She also appeared to be doing physically better and wasn’t coughing as much. Rachel could hear Adele talking to Andre on the cell phone telling him that he would be safe at the hospital, and she would come to be with him as soon as she could. After a few more minutes, she hung up.

  “How’s Andre?”

  “He’s doing much better. De doctor say de surgery went fine and he’ll make a full recovery. Andre, he sound better when ah talked to him. Ah told him it would be a little while before ah could come see him.”

  “I’m glad he’s doing well, Adele. Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be safer there.”

  “Yes, ah tink he’ll be awright. But ahm also worried about Claude and Daniel. Dey should’ve been back by now.”

  “I know. I’m really worried something may have happened. I’m sure it won’t work, but let me try Daniel on my cell phone again. If I can’t reach him, I’ll call 911.”

  Rachel dialed Daniel, but as she suspected, she received no response. She then dialed 911 and reported Daniel and Claude missing again. The dispatcher informed her the Sheriff’s department and the Coast Guard had discontinued responding to emergency calls until after the hurricane passed. But she promised to relay the information so that her superiors knew about it. Rachel thanked her and despondently hung up.

  Adele heard everything Rachel said. She knew little hope existed for Claude and Daniel if they remained out in the marsh during the hurricane. Rachel saw she was close to crying, but trying to keep up a brave face for Michelle. Adele walked over to a window forlornly looking out over the marshland and the building storm.

  For the next fifteen minutes, little was said. The frightening sounds of the building hurricane only intensified their anxiety. Rachel prepared what meager supplies they brought with them. The wind and rain seemed to pick up by the minute, and all three dreaded going back out into the tempest. Finally, Adele acknowledged she and Michelle were ready. Both women felt that leaving the camp for more secure surroundings was akin to abandoning Claude and Daniel for good. But they knew they had to do it, if just for Michelle’s sake. They donned their raincoats, bundled up Michelle, and descended the steps out into the driving wind and rain.

  Twenty-Eight

  Daniel felt certain he was going to drown as the huge wave rolled the boat over. He couldn’t tell up from down in the troubled waters, and he couldn’t control his movement. The immense wall of water carried him along until the wave finally passed. The life preserver slowly pulled him to the surface, where he blasted out the breath he was holding and inhaled as much air as his lungs could hold. The waves lashed him, making it impossible to see further than a few feet in either direction. Relieved he was still alive, he looked around to see if he could spot Claude. Not seeing him after several minutes, he swam in the direction the wave had surged, figuring this would be the direction of the shoreline, and possibly the direction Claude was taken.

  “Claude! Claude!” he called out as he swam. The roar of the storm was deafening, and he knew unless Claude was right next to him, he probably wouldn’t be heard.

  Momentarily riding the crest of a wave, he caught sight of the patrol boat ahead. To his amazement, he watched as another wave flipped it upright again. The canopy had been torn off and the plastic windscreen broken. He swam even more energetically, slowly closing the distance between himself and the vessel. Based on the waves, and the direction the waves were driving him and the boat, he knew a very strong possibility existed the boat could be grounded on the shore of the marsh. If that happened, he would be unable to get it off. He needed to get to the craft quickly or all hope would be lost.

  As he neared the boat, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Claude swimming frantically. Claude had also seen the boat and struggled to reach it. Daniel called out to him, and he waved desperately back also having spotted Daniel. Daniel reached the boat first and made his way along its exterior to the rear.
He stepped on the attached ladder and pulled himself in. As Claude neared, Daniel grabbed his arm and directed him around to the back, where he did the same.

  “Claude LeBlanc… I’m Daniel Trahan… Nice to meet you,” Daniel offered his hand as both laid on the floor gasping for air. Claude was a compact man with dark tanned skinned and well-developed muscles from long days working the nets. Despite the ordeal he had been through, he offered Daniel a broad grin.

  Claude grabbed his hand and holding on replied, “Ah don’t know what you’re doing out here in dis hurricane, but ahm sure glad to see you!”

  “I’m a friend of Rachel Breland—Andre’s teacher. You’re wife reported you missing, and Rachel and I offered to help. Rachel stayed back to help your wife and children evacuate.”

  “Oh, tank you! Tank you! Ah’v been worrying dat my wife would stay behind for me and put herself in danger. Dat’s blessed news she’s safe.”

  “Yes, she’s been very worried. But if we don’t get up and get this boat running, she may have good reason to be concerned.”

  Daniel pulled himself to his feet and clung on tight in the lurching boat as he stepped up to the pilot’s console. Providence had been good to them again, because the key remained in the ignition. However, when Daniel turned it, nothing happened. The second time he tried, the engines whined as if they were trying to start. The third time both engines roared to life. Daniel put the throttle in gear and turned the bow into the waves. He couldn’t head directly across the bay on the return trip. The waters and wind were simply too violent. Once again, he began edging his way along the shore. Visibility was even lower than when he had arrived, making it hard to see the shoreline. Claude acted as a spotter, helping to avoid being grounded. Daniel headed directly into the wind, making the handling of the boat a major challenge. Without the canopy, Daniel and Claude stayed just as soaked as if they were in the water.