Murder in the Marsh

by Ramsey Coutta

  “Daniel, ah want Claude to go with you. Me and Michelle will be awright,” Adele assured Daniel. “Dis big building has kept us safe. Ah want Claude to help you like you helped him. God has taken care of him dis long, and ah know He will continue to.”

  Daniel looked at Adele and then Claude. Claude gave Daniel a nod, indicating he was ready to help.

  “What about your head, Claude? How’s it feeling?”

  “It’s okay. It’s not bothering me. Ah can make it.”

  “Okay. At least let Adele look at it and see if she can wrap it again.”

  In the next few minutes, Adele retrieved some clothing that had been blowing about inside the apartment, tore it into strips, and wrapped Claude’s head. As she did so, she told Claude about Andre’s situation and his recovery in the hospital. After she bandaged Claude’s head, they embraced, kissed, and said goodbye. Claude gave a final hug and kiss to Michelle, then he and Daniel set out.

  Instead of swimming back down through the first floor hallway and apartment, they departed by the emergency exit at the end of the upstairs hallway. They realized that had they known Adele and Michelle were upstairs; it would have been much easier for them to enter that way. When they opened the door, the howling winds and stinging rain greeted them with a familiar refrain. Slamming the door shut behind them, they held onto the handrail and descended. Several steps down, they reentered the cool water. With their life preservers on, they kicked, swam, and floated their way toward the river levee. The marsh levee was too dangerous with water still overtopping it. It took longer to get to the river levee, but once there they could walk on higher ground.

  After thirty minutes, they finally crossed the flooded land. Walking along the river levee was not much easier, as they constantly fought the wind, but they learned to brace themselves when they sensed a particularly strong gust coming.

  The journey across the flooded land and up the river levee took a little over an hour and a half, but fortunately no serious problems arose. Once positioned directly across the flooded highway from the neighborhood, Daniel noticed the current from the flooding seemed to be stronger.

  “The current is really powerful here, Claude. Any ideas why?”

  “Ahm not sure. Maybe we’re near the levee break.”

  “That’s not good. That would mean a lot more damage and danger.”

  Daniel and Claude looked across the flooded land toward the neighborhood. Indeed, it did look worse than elsewhere. Daniel suspected the levee might have broken near the pumping station. They entered the water and began swimming across the road to the neighborhood, making sure to stay close to one another. As they entered the neighborhood, they couldn’t believe their eyes. Entire streets of homes had been crushed into unrecognizable waterlogged matchsticks. Cars sat on top of houses and houses on top of cars. Homes were crushed together, and large trees floated about, plowing into anything in their path. Claude attempted to identify streets, but managed to do so only with great difficulty, due to their being hidden and blocked by houses, trees, and cars. Only here and there did a house remain standing in its original location, but even these experienced flooding well up the roof.

  Daniel wondered how he could ever hope to find Rachel in all of the destruction. He didn’t see any way she could have made it through. They kept searching, calling out Rachel’s name, though their voices didn’t carry far in the wind and rain swept landscape. Daniel knew God had personally intervened for him, but wondered if He would do the same for Rachel. The longer they continued searching and witnessing the flooding and total devastation, the more difficult Daniel found it to maintain hope Rachel was alive.

  Forty-Six

  The decision of whether to abandon the roof of the house or stay was made for Rachel and Ms. Dunbar. The home had been slowly breaking apart beneath the water, but when it struck a submerged obstruction, the walls splayed outward causing the roof to sink suddenly and rapidly below the surface.

  With the top of the roof now underwater, Rachel and Ms. Dunbar swam for the only substantial object nearby, a large log big enough to support them both. Rachel worried Ms. Dunbar would have trouble swimming the short distance to the floating log. She was right. Even with Rachel using one arm to support her, she kept sinking below the surface. After much effort, they both finally reached the log and threw their exhausted arms over it. They could not climb up on it, due to their exhaustion and its instability. They would have to be content with hanging on, floating in whichever direction the current carried them.

  After drifting on the log with the current for several minutes, Rachel shouted to Ms. Dunbar over the storm, “How’re you holding up?”

  “Just glad to be alive. You’re a blessing sent from the Lord, Rachel,” Ms. Dunbar replied genuinely thankful.

  In spite of it all, Rachel appreciated the compliment. God seemed to be teaching her about faith. The words of Ms. Dunbar made her realize God may have planned for her to go through all the trials so she could help others survive. It was a comforting thought, but she felt it would be bittersweet if Daniel and Claude did not make it through. Did God also have a purpose for them being trapped in the hurricane? Were they simply to die, as seemed likely, or did God have other plans in mind? She didn’t know, but it was hard for her to believe she would ever see them again.

  “Rachel, how did you get caught in the hurricane?” Ms. Dunbar asked, interrupting her somber thoughts.

  “It’s a long story, but I believe it was God’s will.”

  “I’m glad to hear you have faith in God. When you’re alone, you have nobody else but the Lord. What about family, do you have any here?”

  Though talking was difficult over the hurricane, Rachel sensed Ms. Dunbar did so to help keep up their spirits.

  “They’re in Mississippi. I teach at Port Sulphur School.”

  “So you were stranded here alone like I was?”

  “I guess you could say that. Actually, someone was helping me to evacuate, but we learned of a family having trouble, and we all got trapped by the hurricane before we could evacuate.”

  “How did you get separated from them?”

  “I stayed with the mother and children, while my friend Daniel went searching for the husband out in the bayou. The mother and child are at my apartment, and I hope okay. We haven’t heard anything from Daniel and the husband.” Rachel felt herself getting emotional. “It’s hard to even believe they could have made it back through the hurricane and the storm surge.”

  Ms. Dunbar paused, realizing Rachel was having difficulty talking about it. Finally she said, “Rachel I know we just met, but I can tell you’re someone who trusts in the Lord. I’ll pray for them, as I know you have, and we’ll have faith that God will protect them.”

  “Thank you for your prayers, Ms. Dunbar. I needed to hear that.”

  The two women continued to cling to the log as they slowly drifted along. Though they floated past several partially submerged houses and a tree or two still standing, they never came close enough to swim to them. Rachel felt the strength in her arms beginning to ebb, and realized Ms. Dunbar must be having difficulty too. They needed to find a resting place better than the log!

  Fifteen more minutes passed, and then Rachel noticed something unusual about their movement through the water. Their speed had gradually picked up. She noticed they were drifting in the direction of the marsh levee, but when they finally broke out from behind an overturned tree, she saw their danger. Though heading toward the levee, they also floated toward the levee break by the Hayes pumping station. Water still rushed through the break at a tremendous volume. Worse still, once the water roared through, it slammed against the crushed walls of a house that stood in its path. This caused the water hitting it to curl back on itself creating a monstrous, foaming white hydraulic, potentially fatal for anyone caught in its deadly swirl. The current ensnaring them was pulling them straight toward the rushing water and the hydraulic.

  “We’ve got to kick!” Rachel shouted t
o Ms. Dunbar over the roar of the rushing water. “We’re heading toward the levee break. We’ve got to make this log go back the other way!”

  Ms. Dunbar looked and quickly realized their danger. Though she was weary from clinging on to the log, she found the extra strength to start kicking along with Rachel. Though kicking frantically, they made little progress steering the log away from the surging of water. At best, they only slowed their drift, with it quickly becoming evident they could not avoid being pulled into the crushing torrent.

  Rachel slid closer to Ms. Dunbar, and the two joined arms to face the trial together. Rachel didn’t know what would be best; to cling to the log as long as possible or release it in hopes they wouldn’t be injured by the heavy timber as they went through the rapid. In the end, the sense of security it provided, as well as keeping them afloat, convinced them to hang on.

  Both women prayed as they experienced the final moments before being pulled in. When the leading edge of the log protruded into the fast moving current, the women felt themselves whipped around sharply, at once becoming a part of the flow. The log rushed forward, heading straight for the crushed and jagged walls of the collapsed house. Being in front, Rachel had an unobstructed view of the danger blocking their path. As they entered the pull of the hydraulic, Rachel felt the log being ripped away from her. She also felt Ms. Dunbar’s arm being torn loose from her’s, despite the fact she was holding on with all her might. Rachel suddenly felt a wall of water smash into her face, as she finally hit the hydraulic rapid. Her body struck the walls of the collapsed house, and whipped up and over as the water fell back on itself. The last thing Rachel remembered was being circulated around and around, helpless against the powerful forces of the surging rapid.

  Forty-Seven

  Daniel and Claude could see Rachel and the unknown woman clinging to the log as it floated toward the levee break, but the two women didn’t see them. They yelled as loud as they could, but the hurricane and the roar of the current drowned out their voices. They saw the two women begin to kick feverishly as they approached the current, but without any effect.

  “They don’t see us!” Daniel shouted in alarm to his companion. “They’re going into the rapid. We’ve got to do something!”

  “Come on! Swim!” Claude said, putting Daniel’s words into action.

  At first they had to swim against the current, but soon reached an eddy, which pulled them slowly toward the hydraulic. As they swam, they watched helplessly as the two women drew nearer and nearer the dangerous hydraulic. The women focused on the danger ahead of them, and still didn’t see the two men swimming in their direction.

  Now within fifteen yards, Daniel and Claude felt the eddy pulling them even more swiftly in the direction of the hydraulic. They also witnessed Rachel and the woman finally being swallowed by the foaming behemoth. Both men gasped hard for breath as they swam. Their life preservers were efficient at keeping them afloat, but a hindrance to swimming efficiently.

  A few seconds after the women disappeared into the hydraulic, Daniel and Claude finally entered the surging current and felt their speed pick up dramatically. Side-by-side they hurtled toward the frothing rapid. Daniel understood well the movement of water and its effects on land, stationary objects, and floating objects. He knew a hydraulic rapid was very dangerous, and could trap a person in it long enough for them to drown or be beaten senseless by underwater obstructions. As a college student, he had once taken a whitewater-rafting trip on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. As the inflatable raft floated over a ledge and dropped down into a watery hole, the rear of the raft sank far enough down for him to be sucked out. At that time, he found himself caught in a hydraulic and churned around and around, nearly drowning. Fortunately, he remembered the best way to exit a hydraulic was not to swim straight up, which was the natural inclination, but to swim underwater and downstream away from it. He did so and finally surfaced several feet away.

  As he and Claude neared the menacing rapid, he remained focused on looking for the women. Just before being drawn in, both men spotted the woman in green being expelled from the left side, the side closest to Claude. Daniel had just enough time to point to the woman and yell, “Claude, you take her!” before they both were consumed by the hydraulic.

  Daniel felt his body being drawn down, twisted violently, and then spewed up and over, before landing and drug down again. He could see nothing and had no idea where Rachel was, but he hoped to find her quickly. Over and over again he was cycled and flung about. Fortunately, he had taken several deep breaths, which he could hold for a couple of minutes. Touch being his only reliable sense; he spread his arms and legs out as best he could in an attempt to make physical contact with her. He felt nothing, but kept reaching. He thought of the possibility she had already been expelled, but he wouldn’t have a second chance if she hadn’t. Several times in the process, he smashed into the wooden beams of the collapsed house, but he didn’t allow himself to focus on the pain.

  Quickly running out of breath, Daniel grew desperate, hoping beyond hope he could locate Rachel within the next few seconds. In his growing sense of hopelessness, he prayed simply, “Lord, save Rachel! Intercede on her behalf.”

  Once more he reached out, but felt nothing. Finally, he realized he needed to try and escape, or he too would be lost. It would be impossible to swim straight downstream, because of the collapsed house blocking his way. He swam as deep as he could, and then started swimming out the side of the rapid. Suddenly, he collided with an object blocking his path. It took him only an instant to realize that the object was a body. Rachel’s body!

  He grabbed hold of her with both arms. He could no longer swim, but decided he was willing to die with her rather than swim out alone. For a moment, it seemed as if this would happen, but their combined weight altered the flow of water over their bodies. Suddenly, they shot out the side of the hydraulic and floated freely in the current. Daniel’s life preserver lifted them to the surface, and he inhaled as much oxygen as his screaming lungs could hold. Frantically examining Rachel, he saw her face had turned blue and her body was limp and lifeless. He knew she didn’t have long. If she inhaled water, he needed to remove it out quickly and begin CPR. Spinning his head around, he searched for a piece of land or a solid object he could lay her body on.

  The weather impeded his field of vision and the waves swamped him over and over again, but he spotted the roof of a home jutting up out of the water at a slight angle. He hoped that underneath the roof he might find a level surface shielded from the storm. The roof rested against the branches of a stout oak tree and seemed stable enough to him. Swimming with Rachel in tow, he pulled her through the limbs and up under the roof. It was dark, yet calmer, and in a few moments he found a place where the flooring from the attic remained. He crawled out of the water and pulled Rachel up behind him, laying her on the plywood floor. He then turned her head to one side and quickly knelt over her astride her two hips. Placing one hand on top of the other, he felt for the abdomen area below her rib cage, and gave her a quick thrust into her upper abdomen. Water began flowing from her mouth. He continued the procedure several more times until no more water trickled out. Believing that he had gotten most of the water out of her lungs, he quickly shifted position and put his ear to her mouth listening for breathing. He didn’t hear a breath, so he adjusted her head and sealed his lips against hers giving her two slow breaths.

  Rachel didn’t respond at first, but then suddenly her chest lurched upwards as she coughed, spitting up more water and gasping for breath. Daniel turned her on her side, allowing her to expel more fluid and to breathe easier. Once she had stopped coughing, he gently turned her on her back and cradled her head in his arms whispering to her that she was safe. She finally opened her eyes and looked up into his, easing his anxiety with a faint smile and a slight nod. Daniel felt overcome with joy and emotion knowing that she would be all right. From the depths of his soul, he thanked God over and over again for saving her.


  Claude managed to escape from the hydraulic fairly quickly. When he saw the woman discharged from it and heard Daniel tell him to take her, he started swimming off to the side hoping to avoid the worst of the rapid. He wasn’t completely spared its power, but he fought his way out within a matter of seconds. Surfacing, he immediately began scanning the wind swept waters for the woman. He spotted her about twenty yards ahead, struggling to stay above the surface, but slowly losing the battle.

  Only a minute or two passed before he was at her side keeping her afloat as they continued to drift. Her frenetic attempts at saving herself quickly eased as she felt herself safe. Looking around, Claude spotted a camper trailer, which had come to rest against the marsh levee. They swam over to it, and he forced opened the thin aluminum door. A portion of the camper remained submerged in the water, but the other end was elevated and dry. He checked out the safety of using the camper for cover and decided it would be stable and unlikely to float off again. He and Ms. Dunbar climbed in, taking shelter from the hurricane and spending the next hour and a half monitoring the storm and talking about their experiences. From time to time, Claude looked out to see if he could spot Daniel or Rachel, but not seeing them, he trusted their safety to the Lord.

  Forty-Eight

  Daniel and Rachel sat huddled close to one another underneath the roof. Daniel wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to keep her warm. Their wet clothes continued to make them shiver as the wind periodically whistled through the wood supports. Rachel coughed every now and then, but felt her strength recovering with each passing minute. She remembered passing out in the hydraulic, but didn’t recall anything afterwards up until the point Daniel revived her.

  Hurricane Katrina continued blowing, but Daniel and Rachel sensed the worst was almost over, and it was passing on to wreak its destruction elsewhere. It didn’t matter to either of them anymore whether the hurricane continued blowing for another five hours or another five minutes; they felt secure in the knowledge God brought them safely through thus far and would do the same for the others. Rachel asked about Ms. Dunbar, and Daniel told her of Claude’s rescue efforts. They had no solid evidence of the safety of either one, but both felt a sense of peace God would protect them. Daniel swam out from under the roof several times to see if he could spot them, but he saw neither and returned.