Catahoula: Shallow End Gals (A Shallow End Gals Book 4)

by Vicki Graybosch

  Lisa bent down and spoke in a whisper, “I’d rather go to the mall than stay here. How about you girls? Izzy, you’re welcome to come with us.”

  Izzy was smiling at first and then asked, “My friend, Ed, promised I could go back to his house when his meeting is done.”

  Lisa asked, “Let’s get his approval of our plan then, okay?”

  Izzy nodded and Lisa motioned for Ed to come over. When Ed arrived Izzy said, “I have been invited to go to the mall with Jamie. I want to make sure it’s the smart thing to do.”

  Ed almost laughed out loud. Izzy certainly knew how to convey her point. Ed whispered, “That will be a lot more fun than this meeting. You have my phone number that you can call when you’re ready to come to my house. How’s that?”

  Izzy stuck out her pinky. Ed curled his pinky around hers.

  Nathan Cottard sat opposite from Gayla in the station house and tried to offer her some comfort. “There’s nothing you could have done, Gayla. This isn’t your fault.”

  Gayla blew her nose, tossed that tissue and grabbed another. “Marla wouldn’t hurt a fly. I know Dooley did this, Nathan. I know it!”

  Mason Dooley entered the room and walked to the water cooler. He glanced at Gayla’s desk and saw Nathan sitting with her. Dooley walked over. Nathan muttered, “There’s no end to this guy.”

  Dooley took a drink from his water and smirked. “I hear your little ‘stranger’ lady got herself killed last night. That couldn’t be what you’re crying about though, is it? You didn’t even know her, remember?” Dooley rapped his knuckles on Gayla’s desk twice and walked away.

  Gayla looked at Nathan with fear in her eyes. “He knows I lied.”

  The Department Chief belted from across the room, “Cottard. Get in here.”

  Nathan patted Gayla’s back and walked away. Once inside the Chief’s office, he asked, “Sir?”

  Chief smiled, “Someone at the FBI likes you. Do you know a Mathew Core?”

  Nathan remembered Core was his self-defense instructor and caught him spying on Justice Inspector Ward Bromley. “I know who he is, sir.”

  “He is requesting you assist him in an FBI assignment.”

  Nathan beamed, “Really? When, sir?”

  “Now.” The Chief pointed at him, “You play your cards right this could be a career play for you. The FBI boys in town right now are some of their best. I’m proud you’ve made this impression for us. Heaven knows we need it.”

  Nathan thanked the Chief and walked toward the exit door. He couldn’t wait to report to the field office and Mathew Core. Someone grabbed his right arm and turned him halfway around.

  It was Mason Dooley. “Get your ass in some trouble there, Cottard?” Dooley was grinning.

  Nathan yanked his arm free. “Get lost, Dooley.” Nathan took a couple of steps, turned and walked back. “And stay away from Gayla.”

  Thursday 11:00 am

  Agents Thompson and Cross stood inside, near the doors of the Voodoo shop and watched customers come and go. People were lined around the corner to have Ms. Spicey tell them their fortune. Sasha rang up the sales and Dakin had set up a small table where she was wrapping turkey feet, feathers and buffalo hair together with leather straps.

  Agent Thompson waited until there were no customers immediately near and asked, “What are those things supposed to do?”

  Dakin smiled and said, “These are protectors for anyone who has one. I’m going to give you each one. I want you to take Agents Weaver and Troy each one, too.”

  Agent Thompson curled his lip a little and flared his nose. “They sort of…stink.”

  Dakin laughed, “That’s just because they’re fresh. That will go away after a while and the toes will close in together.” She reached in her blouse and pulled a turkey foot on a strap from her cleavage. She pushed in the center of the turkey foot and the toes separated displaying the long claw nails. “See?”

  Agent Thompson nodded slowly, “Yeah, I see.”

  Agent Cross was snickering across the room. Dakin frowned. Spicey walked out from the back room. “You ain’t gonna believe this. My Spirit lady just told me Mambo didn’t really put any curse on them bubbas. Said it wasn’t necessary, that Dakin be safe now.” Spicey looked at the two agents. “You might as well go back to the office. Mambo says we be safe, we be safe.”

  Dakin looked distressed, “Mambo lied to us?”

  Spicey held her finger in the air, “You watch that, girl! We have us a Hoodoo / Voodoo match right here and now! Mambo didn’t lie. If you remember, she said she would do what was appropriate. We assumed that meant she would put a curse on ‘em.”

  Dakin stood and came within inches of Spicey’s face. “Mambo lied. You want a piece of Hoodoo? I can make you fart flames!”

  Spicey put her finger up to Dakin’s face. “I can turn you into a toad!”

  Dakin screamed, “I can fill your face with purple warts!”

  Spicey said, “I’ll make your nose hairs so long you gotta braid ‘em!”

  Dakin thought a minute, “You can do that?”

  They both started laughing and then hugged each other. Agents Thompson and Cross had been listening in terror. They never had to break up a fight between Hoodoo and Voodoo before.

  Sasha laughed at their expressions, “You Men in Black ain’t used to Cajun women fights, are ya?” She slapped her knee. “I best go outside and thin that crowd. We ain’t wantin’ to work through lunch time.”

  Sasha had only been gone a few minutes when she ran back through the door screaming. “Them bubbas be parkin’ down the street. We be only two Voodoo shops away from ‘em comin’ here.”

  Sasha looked at the agents, “Get your guns ready! It’s gonna get Nawlens nasty!”

  The whisper microphone was barely visible in Stone’s ear, hidden by tufts of his light brown hair. Naked bulbs hung from long wires. They illuminated three foot spots of light down the center of the long, dark hall. On either side of the walkway stood tall metal cages stacked with evidence boxes and secured with industrial padlocks. Stone needed to locate the guard and neutralize him in order to properly search for the box.

  The voice of Stone’s New Orleans contact came over his earpiece. “Can you see the guard?”

  Stone whispered, “No.”

  Stone made his way to the end of one long aisle and grimaced at the length of the building. He was hoping to find the guard asleep in a chair somewhere. He only needed a few seconds to spray him to guarantee at least thirty minutes of uninterrupted search time. Stone froze in position, the hairs on his neck signaled danger. He turned his head to look behind him. Searing pain flashed across the back of his neck and the world went black.

  Mathew Core reached down to retrieve the ear-piece and whispered, “Guard down.”

  A slight pause was followed with, “F 496.”

  Core whispered, “Copy.”

  Core removed the earpiece, pried the back off and flipped a round chip from the tiny chamber. Core cuffed Stone to the iron fencing of the evidence locker. He removed Stone’s weapon and saw the G190 spray and called Cottard over.

  “See this? Gives you a half hour while they sleep. When they wake up they don’t remember anything. They didn’t want anyone to know they had been here.”

  He turned to Nathan, “Check him for a cuff key. He has one. He’ll only be out for a minute.”

  Core left to search for the evidence box. Cottard found the cuff key and put it in his pocket.

  Stone stayed on the floor and waited until Core’s footsteps were some distance away. Stone pulled the second cuff key from where it was taped to the center of his back. He unlocked the cuffs and watched Cottard through a narrow slit of his closed eyes. Cottard had nervously moved to the side and stared down the long hall after Core.

  Stone landed a blow to the back of Cottard’s neck, and went after Core.

  Core had located the box. He dialed Roger.

  Roger answered, “You have Stone?”

 
“Got him, and I have the box.”

  Roger had asked Thor and Jeanne to wait near the site and assist in transport once Stone was caught. Roger called Thor, “They have him.”

  Core sensed Stone before he saw him. His training kicked in and he was on automatic pilot. Core tossed the box across the room, crouched and spun around. Stone was leaping toward him with a lethal kick aimed at Core’s head.

  Core let the kick pass through and quickly leaped behind Stone and landed a crushing blow on Stone’s neck and then on Stone’s right forearm. Stone grimaced and came back at Core with a series of blows to Core’s upper body. Core wasn’t expecting Stone to switch out techniques and it nearly took him down. Stone was extremely strong and fought with a warrior’s fierceness.

  Core stopped Stone’s next punch and pushed back on Stone’s fist to twist Stone against the wall. Core’s forearm was pressing against Stone’s neck. Core could feel Stone’s torso twisting and he knew Stone’s left arm would soon be free. Stone did a full body twist and landed Core against the wall. Now Stone’s forearm was on Core’s neck.

  Suddenly Stone pulled away, stepped back, his hands in the air.

  Core was panting, looked around Stone to see Nathan Cottard with a gun pointed on the back of Stone’s neck.

  Core leaned forward and spit on the concrete floor, “What the hell took you so long?”

  Stone spun turned around to face Cottard. Core yelled, “Shit!” the very instance Stone took the gun away from Cottard and fired.

  The gun had jammed.

  Jeanne’s voice came from the side, “Drop it, Stone.”

  Cat marveled at the technology the FBI apparently had now. He was reviewing transcripts and listening to captured cell conversations. Both sides of the conversations on burn phones with encrypted SIM cards. Amazing. He had taken over a small office at the FBI field office, so he would be there when the evidence boxes arrived from the medical examiner and from the evidence storage locker.

  Cat had spent the last hour scouring the financial records of Dillard Boggs. He did find several sizable payments to Mason Dooley for services rendered. One was for ten thousand dollars and a month prior to Molly’s murder. It became obvious fairly quickly that Boggs ran several sets of books designed to obscure the true nature of his transactions. It was looking like Boggs may have hired Dooley to kill Molly. Dooley may have just decided on his own to set up the first guy he came across that night. It just happened to be Ed.

  Roger knocked lightly on the door and walked in. “I have a couple of new transcripts and audios for you.”

  Cat said, “I want to hear the audio first.”

  Roger watched Cat’s expressions as he listened. “I can tell that you are piecing this together. It still has me stumped what half of these conversations have to do with the Jarvis case. This is your baby. I’m going to feed you information and do what you ask of me.”

  Cat smiled, “I appreciate that.” Cat stood and began pacing again. “I’m still missing a part. Obviously, the machine, as Ed would put it, is done with Dooley. That was a pretty clear hit order to Ward Bromley. It sounds like he’s being told to do it personally.”

  Roger agreed, “I think you’re right and I don’t think it’s normally Bromley’s job to get that dirty.”

  “Agreed.”

  Roger said, “We have enough to arrest Dooley now. Forensics came back on that shirt. We have Steven Marks blood all over it.”

  Cat spoke through his hands as he messaged his temples. “How do people end up this callous?”

  Roger stood to leave, “I don’t know how callous Dooley really is. He actually mumbled he wanted his mom when he was in holding last night. I think the thought of going to prison terrifies him. I think this group he’s mixed up with terrifies him.”

  Roger left the room and Cat started clicking his pen. Cat entered the public records data base, entered a few names to the search engine and waited. His index finger rested on his upper lip as he narrowed the dates on his search even further. Finally he saw proof of what he suspected. Cat stood and looked out the window to the bustling traffic below.

  Steven Marks had been right all along. William had been the target. Cat and Steven looking at the Jarvis files is what started all of these conversations. Roger’s case on Senator Dalton and Senator Welsh shared some common players. Ed’s manifesto crept back into Cat’s mind.

  Mathew Core and Nathan Cottard walked past Cat’s door heading for Roger. They were carrying a small box. Behind them an FBI courier carried a larger box. Cat followed them all to Roger’s office. For Cat, this was it. This would be the moment of truth.

  Roger knew Cat wanted to review the items first. Roger signaled for Core and Cottard to follow him to the conference room. Roger handed Core a piece of paper. “Raise your right hand and read that.”

  Core did. Roger swore him in as a representative of the FBI.

  “This is the arrest warrant for Mason Dooley. We have proof he was the shooter of Steven Marks.”

  Nathan’s jaw dropped. Roger looked at Nathan, “Do you have a problem arresting a fellow officer?”

  Nathan put his shoulders back, “Not this one, sir.”

  Core and Cottard left.

  Roger signaled Paul and they joined Cat in Roger’s office. Cat was sitting at the desk with a very serious expression on his face.

  Roger asked, “Anything there that helps you?”

  Cat glanced over to Roger, “Oh, yes. Tox report on William Jarvis shows extremely elevated levels of insulin. The box has post mortem tissue and blood samples.”

  Roger asked, “Was he diabetic?”

  Cat answered, “Not according to his medical history. The Medical Examiner also saved a skin graft of the needle injection site from Williams’s neck.”

  Paul declared, “Neck? Then it was murder.”

  Cat nodded, “Yes.”

  Cat pointed to the small box that he had opened. In that box was a hypodermic needle and a piece of paper. The piece of paper was a confession for both murders of Molly and William Jarvis. It was signed. The guilty party acknowledged Williams DNA would be found on the needle in addition to the confessor’s fingerprints. Cat handed the paper to Roger.

  Roger read it and handed it to Paul. Paul sighed, “Dear Lord.”

  Cat looked at Roger, “Now I’m ready.”

  Ed had just hung up from talking to Izzy. She was having a blast at the mall and asked if she could stay with Lisa and Jamie longer. Lisa had told Ed she was going to go grocery shopping and let the girls make cookies. She also suggested that Izzy was welcome to spend the night if she wanted. Ed had been so happy listening to Lisa describe how well Izzy and Jamie got along, he had forgotten about his own life.

  Reuben placed a call to his dad. “Dad? The FBI says we can go public now about you being alive and innocent. They asked we wait until this afternoon. Dad? Did you hear?”

  “Today? This is great.” Ed’s sat down and took a deep breath. This was the last big step. Reuben sounded so happy for him. Ed remembered what Roger had said about Marla. “Son, are you okay? I heard about your friend, Marla. I’m so sorry. I feel guilty about getting you involved in all of this…”

  “Dad, stop it. Marla is, was, a wonderful person. She had a mind of her own. I’m going to miss her. She was becoming very special…” Reuben’s voice broke, “to me. We have waited four years for this day for you. You can have your life back. Don’t be thinking about me, I want you to enjoy this.”

  Ed felt a pang of guilt. He didn’t deserve a son like Reuben. Ed tried to lighten the mood. “I hear you have a roommate now?”

  Reuben chuckled, “Dang dog got in the shower with me this morning. Loves water! Kept nippin’ at the spray. Scared me to death I was going to get bit.”

  Agent Thompson looked at Dakin, “Did you file a police report when these two attacked you?”

  Dakin shook her head and said, “I haven’t had time.”

  Thompson looked at Cross, “All she has to do is
point them out and we can arrest them. Let’s do this outside.”

  Sasha was hopping up and down. “Spicey, Mambo was right! We don’t need no curse, we got Men in Black!”

  Agent Cross shook his head. “You gals walk with us to where these guys are and point them out. We’ll take it from there.”

  Spicey turned around, grabbed something and dropped it in her pocket.

  Claude and Earl were just leaving the Voodoo shop next door to Spicey’s and walking toward them. Dakin pointed, “That’s them!” Dakin quickly jumped behind Sasha and grabbed the back of Sasha’s dress.

  Sasha waved her arms trying to shoo Dakin away. “Don’t you be hidin’ yourself behind me.”

  Claude and Earl looked at each other and then at Agents Thompson and Cross. Agent Thompson walked up to Earl. “Put your hands behind your back.”

  Claude and Earl both stepped back and stared at Dakin’s face peeking from behind Sasha’s dress.

  Claude pointed at Dakin, “What does she mean, ‘that’s them’? I ain’t never seen that girl in my whole life!”

  Spicey stepped forward and dangled the wind chime Dakin had made from her long contorted black nails. “This here spurt your memory?”

  Earl moaned, “Uh, oh.”

  Claude spun around and started running. He was nearly to Betty Sue when Agent Cross yelled, “Stop or I’ll shoot.” Claude opened the truck door, jumped in and Betty Sue let out a loud cough. Then the motor started. Claude pulled a shotgun from the floorboard and put Betty Sue in reverse.

  Agent Cross jumped out the way. Claude pointed the gun at him and pumped the slide to load. “You drop that gun, pretty boy.”

  Agent Cross let his gun drop to the pavement and put his hands up. Agent Thompson had his gun drawn and yelled for everyone on the sidewalk to get back. Spicey grabbed Sasha before she could faint. Earl started to run toward the truck. Spicey grabbed his overalls and tossed him to the sidewalk. She sat squarely on his back and yelled for Sasha to come help. Sasha walked over; her eyes rolled back and she fainted. Her midsection landed right next to Spicey on Earl’s back.