Big Easy Escapade

by Joan Rylen

  A girl screamed and he yelled and cussed some more before coming back around the corner, squeezing Simone Hitchens in a chokehold. She tore at his arm, kicking and trying to break free.

  He shoved her up the three steps and into the door. “You better stop this shit, bitch, or you’ll end up with the other one.”

  Vivian’s heart raced. She couldn’t believe she was seeing the missing exotic dancer whose face had been broadcast all over the news.

  After he slammed the door, Adrienne snapped to attention and handed Wendy her car keys and phone. “Keep calling Antonio until he answers. Y’all get back to the car. Kate, you call 911 and tell them what’s going on at the old Benoit place on Water Moccasin Lane.”

  Wendy dug into her purse, pulled out pepper spray and handed it to Lucy, then she and Kate ran back to the car.

  “What should we do?” Vivian asked.

  A terrifying scream and a crash came from the trailer and Adrienne replied, “This guy’s probably going to kill her.” She flipped open the Swiss Army knife and handed it to Vivian. “Puncture a back tire but keep the knife. I’m going into the house. Y’all stay behind me and keep low.” With that, she took off running across the clearing to the trailer.

  Chapter 38

  Vivian’s adrenaline kicked in as she stabbed the driver’s side, rear tire of the Mustang. Air hissed as she yanked the three-inch blade from the sidewall. She ran to the right side of the step and crouched as Adrienne kicked in the door, .38 pointed in front of her.

  “Drop the gun!” Adrienne yelled, then ducked as a shot rang out and the side of the doorframe exploded. Pieces blew onto Lucy, who was to the left of the steps, back flush against the dirty siding.

  Adrienne returned fire. Pop! Pop!

  Potbelly yelled and shot his gun again, this time blasting out the window beside Vivian. She dropped the knife, then ducked to the ground. Lucy, too.

  “Motherfucker!” the guy yelled, and Adrienne advanced into the trailer.

  “Throw your weapon down! Do it now!”

  The shotgun ratcheted and Adrienne fired another shot. He screamed in agony and Adrienne yelled, “I said drop it!”

  He moaned, then said, “You fuckin’ bitch, you shot me!”

  “Damn right I did. I could’ve killed you, asshole. Be grateful, ’cuz I still might.”

  Vivian decided it was probably safe to look inside. She crouched and peeked.

  Adrienne kicked Potbelly’s shotgun toward the door and well beyond his reach. She asked Simone, who was tucked between the end of the couch and the wall, “Is there anyone else here?”

  Covering the side of her face, she answered, “I don’t think so.”

  “Vivian, pick up the shotgun and point it at this piece of shit,” Adrienne said. “If he moves, shoot him.”

  Vivian helped Lucy up, then went inside and grabbed the shotgun. Though shaking, she held it on the guy, who lay partially on dingy shag carpet and partially on crusty linoleum, bleeding from his right shoulder and left arm. Lucy held the pepper spray out toward him, too.

  Adrienne walked through the rest of the trailer, then returned to the living room. “Lucy, run tell Wendy and Kate we’ve got everything under control and we need a couple of ambulances.”

  Lucy took off down the path.

  Simone started crying and Vivian went into the cramped, moldy bathroom, wet a washcloth and brought it back to her. One eye had already swollen shut and the other was on its way. Her black hair was matted, chapped lips were busted, and bruises ran up and down her legs. All she wore was a blood-stained, white T-shirt.

  “Was there ever another girl here with you? One named Daisy?” Vivian asked, wanting to reach out and comfort her but afraid she’d touch something that hurt.

  Simone shook her head once. “I don’t think so. He kept me in a back bedroom but I haven’t heard anyone else here.”

  Adrienne stooped over the kidnapper, gun pointed to his head. “Where’s the other girl?”

  “Screw you.”

  She ground her foot into the wound on his shoulder. He screamed in pain. She didn’t let up. “Where is she?”

  “They already found that whore.”

  She dug her foot in deeper. “What about Daisy? The girl you took from the French House.”

  He screamed again. “I didn’t take that bitch. Get off me!”

  She pushed off, and he rolled over into a fetal position.

  Wendy drove up in Adrienne’s SUV and came inside the trailer with Kate and Lucy. “Is Daisy here?” she asked.

  Vivian shook her head. “No, Adrienne checked the rooms. She’s not here.”

  Kate looked around the torn-up trailer, then said, “The 911 dispatcher has the police and EMTs on the way.”

  “I spoke to Antonio,” Wendy said, carefully stepping over a broken lamp. “He said to call him ASAP.”

  “I’ll deal with him later.” Adrienne asked Simone, “Is there anything we can do for you?”

  “I just want to go home. Can I use your phone?”

  Vivian handed it over and Simone dialed with a shaky hand. “Momma,” she said when the call connected. She started crying too hard to speak, so Vivian gently took the phone and explained that they found her hurt but alive. Help was on the way and she’d be taken to a hospital. The police would be calling soon on what hospital Simone was taken to.

  “Praise God! Praise Jesus!” her mom said several times before Vivian could hang up. As soon as she did, she heard sirens in the distance.

  A few minutes later, two sheriff deputies pulled up to the trailer. Kate and Wendy met them outside.

  “I’m the one who called this in,” Kate said.

  As they walked up to the trailer, one of them saw Adrienne with the gun and started to draw his weapon.

  Adrienne held her hands up, the Lady slinging on her finger. “Whoa. Point that at him, not me.”

  “Drop your weapon.”

  “Okay,” she said, and bent over and slid it across the floor toward the officer. She raised her arms back up.

  One deputy called for the ambulances and trained his gun on the kidnapper while the other searched the house.

  The sheriff arrived just as the ambulances pulled in. One of the deputies ushered Adrienne and the girls outside so the EMTs could get to work. Soon the kidnapper was loaded up and hauled off in an ambulance, followed by two patrol cars. A female EMT attended to Simone in the trailer.

  Lucy had a one-inch gash on her cheek from the doorframe debris and was treated by a stocky, brown-haired EMT. He blew on her cheek after he cleaned her wound with alcohol.

  “It’s not deep enough for stitches,” he said as he gently placed the first of two butterfly bandages.

  Lucy looked up at him. “I’ll add this to my list of flaws.”

  He stepped back and looked her up and down. “I don’t see any flaws.”

  The deputies separated the girls and waited for additional units so they could drive them individually to the sheriff’s office.

  Vivian’s anxiety was building and thoughts of Mexico flooded her mind. She started to panic. “We didn’t do anything wrong,” she said to the nearest deputy. “Adrienne saved this girl. Why are we going to jail?”

  “You’re not going to jail,” the deputy said. “We’ve got to do this by the book, which means separate interviews. We don’t want the prosecutor to have any reason to doubt your friend’s story.” He helped Vivian sit down on the back bumper of his patrol car.

  She took some deep breaths trying to calm herself. In through your nose, out through your mouth.

  The female EMT and the guy who fixed up Lucy walked Simone down the steps of the trailer and helped her into the back of the ambulance. The female climbed in with her and the guy closed the door and got in the cab, then drove off.

  Antonio came hauling ass up the driveway in a black Dodge Charger just as the sheriff put Adrienne in the back of his car. Antonio jumped out of his car and flashed his badge. “That’s my sister. What
the hell happened?”

  “She fired her Lady Smith, hit the guy twice, we’ve got to take her in,” the sheriff responded. “She’s not handcuffed and we haven’t Mirandized her.”

  “Did anyone else get hurt?”

  “Other than the girl being held here, everybody else is fine.”

  “If it’s okay, I’d like to be present for the interview.”

  The sheriff shrugged. “Fine by me.” He got in his car and headed out, no sirens or lights.

  Antonio walked over to Vivian, stern look on his face. “Y’all put yourselves in a lot of danger with this stunt.”

  Vivian’s stomach clenched. “Adrienne was goin’ in, we had to have her back. She’s had ours.”

  His eyes softened and his shoulders relaxed a tad. “I know, she is a bit of a wild card isn’t she?” He squeezed Vivian’s hand. “But I don’t want that putting you in danger, so quit getting involved, okay.” He dropped her hand and started jogging to his car. He looked back at her. “Please!”

  Vivian smiled as Antonio sped off, a dirt cloud trailing after his car. She watched as, one by one, Kate, Lucy and Wendy were loaded into separate patrol cars and taken away. The deputy came for her and opened the back door. She slid onto the bench seat and looked at the cage in front of her. It’s happening again.

  The deputy went to close the door, but Vivian stopped him and pushed it open. She jumped out, fell to her knees and threw up.

  Chapter 39

  The interview room at the St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s office had gray cinder block walls, one table bolted to the floor and two chairs. Vivian looked at her reflection in the one-way mirror and almost got sick again. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was sticking out everywhere. She stared at a vomit stain on her shirt.

  The door opened and a state trooper walked in followed by the sheriff, who carried a manila folder and a pen.

  “Vivian Taylor, I’m Sheriff James Daugereaux. This is State Trooper Brian Hill. I understand you’ve not been feeling well. Is there anything we can get you before we proceed?”

  This interview is starting out way better than in Mexico. Being accused of murder was a little rough. “I had some water, thanks.”

  “We need you to go over the events of today. Please be aware this interview is being recorded and could be used as evidence.”

  Vivian agreed and told them what led the girls to the trailer.

  Hill drummed his fingers on the table. “So you went there because Adrienne Russo’s mother was flipped off by this guy?”

  “No, but her mom saw the gray Mustang and we knew one had played a role in Simone’s disappearance. We were hoping to find a connection to our friend Daisy’s kidnapping.”

  Vivian backtracked a little and told them about Daisy, Jason, the body in the cemetery and how she knew Adrienne and Antonio.

  The trooper shook his head. “And you’re here on vacation?”

  “Yeah. Parts of it have been fun.”

  The officers asked a few more questions about the events at the trailer. Vivian answered and soon the interview was over. They walked her to the lobby where Lucy, Kate and Wendy sat with Antonio.

  Antonio stood and asked Vivian, “Oh Jesus, are you okay? What happened in there?”

  Vivian felt super self-conscious and pushed her hair out of her face. “I’m better now. I wasted all your mom’s good cooking, I’m afraid. So much for a relaxing day visiting your parents and taking an airboat ride.”

  He shook his head. “From what I’ve heard, I have a feeling it’s always something with you girls.”

  Lucy looked Vivian up and down. “You look like you’ve been run over by an airboat. Several times.”

  “It’s just been a long day, and I need a shower,” Vivian answered.

  Al walked in as Daugereaux said to Antonio, “We’re about to interview your sister. You want to come on back?”

  “Yes, and this is her husband, Al Russo.”

  Al stuck out his hand. “Hear my girl’s been causing trouble.”

  The sheriff shook his hand. “That’s one hell of a lady you’ve got. I’ll take you to her.”

  Al went back with the sheriff, and Antonio started to follow. Wendy stopped him. “I’ve got Adrienne’s phone and keys.” She handed them over.

  “How are we going to get back to New Orleans?” Kate asked.

  Antonio looked to the deputy behind the front desk and handed Wendy the keys. “Can you see these girls get back to the SUV on Water Moccasin Lane?”

  “Sure, we’ll take care of it.” A few minutes later a red minivan pulled up to the entrance. “That’s my wife, Peggy. She’ll take you.”

  The girls thanked him, especially Vivian, who was afraid she might hurl again if she had to get back into a patrol car.

  Peggy played oldies as they drove the few miles to the SUV. “I hear y’all took down the guy who kidnapped that stripper up in N’awlins.”

  “It wasn’t us,” Lucy said. “We just watched as our friend kicked ass.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing and I’m glad to have met ya.”

  Wendy took the wheel and got them back to the Delacroix Highway. Since Wendy and Kate weren’t in the trailer for the action, Vivian and Lucy told them everything.

  “Adrienne’s got some cojones,” Wendy said. “I don’t think I could have done it.”

  “You sure had some guts on our last trip,” Lucy said. “That Colorado cliff could have been the end of us.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Wendy said. “Right now I need someone to rescue me with a map, ’cuz I don’t know where the hell we’re going.”

  Lucy pulled up directions back to their hotel and the girls made it without incident.

  Wendy valeted the car and said in the elevator, “We smell like swamp, sweat and that skanky trailer. We need showers.”

  The doors opened on their floor and Vivian stepped off. “We’ve got to go see Jason and tell him Simone was found but the guy didn’t know anything about Daisy.”

  Wendy unlocked their room. “Don’t you think we should let the cops handle that? We got in trouble last time we gave him news.”

  “Antonio has his hands full with Adrienne, and I doubt the sheriff’s office will come out here and tell him anything.”

  “If by chance the police have already talked to Jason, then we can still tell him our version of the incident,” Kate said. “And if he hasn’t heard from them, then this is not going to be easy news to break. Maybe it’s best coming from us.”

  Lucy opened their door. “I need food for that kind of mission. Let’s grab a bite before we go see him.”

  The girls took turns getting ready and stuffed their swampy clothes in the laundry bag supplied by housekeeping. “I’m tying this bitch up tight,” Lucy said, yanking on the plastic strings. “We do not want to come back to this stench.”

  Wendy grabbed her big purse and said to Vivian, “I’m diggin’ that shirt.”

  “Thanks, my mom gave it to me for Christmas.” Vivian straightened her flowy white, purple and turquoise floral blouse. “It’s kinda see-through.” She tucked her white tank into her black capri pants and grabbed some silver dangle earrings.

  “I need more color,” Wendy replied, looking at her black and white striped V-neck blouse and black skirt.

  “You look cute,” Kate said. “Your snazzy purse jazzes you up.” Kate had thrown on a long, red maxi dress and grabbed a beige wrap.

  “Damn, I wish I could wear those kinds of dresses,” Vivian said, looking her up and down. “I think they make me look pregnant.”

  “Not everyone can get away with that style,” Lucy said. “I’m too short.”

  Kate walked up to her and pulled a thread off the sleeve of her charcoal, V-neck top. “This fits you perfectly. And I like those jeans with their little bit of bling.”

  “Thanks,” Lucy said grabbed her small, black clutch. “Y’all ready?”

  “Are you going out with the Band-Aid still on your face?” Wendy asked.


  “Oh yeah!” Lucy said and went into the bathroom where she peeled the bandage off her face and inspected her wound. She dabbed some powder around the spot and threw the bandage away. “I don’t need this.”

  “Are you sure?” Vivian asked and inspected her cheek.

  “I might have played up my injury a little bit. The EMS guy was really cute.”

  Vivian smacked her on the ass. “You bad girl.” As the girls left the room, she said, “Let’s go somewhere close. I’m too tired to walk.”

  “Morton’s is across Canal,” Wendy said. “I think we need to celebrate being alive. We can grab a quick dinner in the bar.”

  Vivian’s mouth watered thinking about the macaroni and cheese. “Sounds perfect.”

  Chapter 40

  The girls walked across the street and the Morton’s valet opened the restaurant door for them. As they rode the elevator up, Vivian’s stomach growled at the sizzling steak and baked bread aromas.

  “I’m going to eat an entire filet,” Lucy said as she sat down. “I’m not sharing.”

  “I think I could eat two steaks right now,” Kate said, taking a seat next to Lucy.

  John the bartender introduced himself and gave them each a bar menu. Two appetizers would hold them over until dinner arrived.

  “We’ll have the mini-crab cake BLTs and the petite filet mignon sandwiches,” Wendy said, closing her menu. “And we’d like to go ahead and order if that’s okay.”

  Lucy, true to her word, got the center-cut filet. Kate ordered the porterhouse so she could get the filet on one side and the New York strip on the other. Vivian ordered the Cajun ribeye and Wendy the Shrimp Alexander.

  “And what can I get y’all to drink?” John asked.

  Before any of the girls could answer, a man in a tuxedo came over. “They’ll have a bottle of Silver Oak cab.”

  “Ralph!” Wendy said and jumped up and gave the maître-d a hug. “So good to see you!” Wendy bartended at Morton’s in Houston during college; Ralph was her manager.