by Dan Foley
“Oh.”
Within a minute of sitting down, a waiter appeared at their table with two glasses of iced tea. “Will Mose be joining you tonight, sir?”
“I don’t know, but he might. We’ll eat while we wait.”
“Very good, sir, dinner will be right out.”
“Without a menu? What are we eating?”
“Whatever they bring out. Don’t worry, it’ll be good.”
When dinner came, it was shrimp etouffee with saffron rice. The waiter placed three servings at the table. Mose joined them before Charlotte could take a bite.
Charlotte was amazed. “How did you know we were here?”
Mose nodded down at his pocket. “He tell me, he always knows when Melvin is here.”
Charlotte looked between the two men. “How ...?”
“He taste Melvin’s blood. Now he can find Melvin anywhere. Maybe he should taste your blood too.”
“Uh, maybe. We can talk about it. Right now I want to eat.” Then she dug into her dinner.
“Now, tell me what da problem is,” Mose said when they were seated at the table in his courtyard.
“I got rid of Old Ben, but then Charlotte told me about a woman named Renee La Pierre. Now I’m dealing with her. I need you to tell me everything about her.”
“Tell him about the corpse,” Charlotte said before Mose could answer.
Mose stared at Wolf. “Maybe you got to tell me everything.”
Wolf looked at Charlotte and then nodded. Some of this was going to be new to her too. “I was stupid. I bought a pickup with a very angry ghost in it. I let Charlotte drive me down to pick it up and she got into the truck while I was paying for it. The ghost terrified her. I lost it. I tore it apart.”
Mose looked at Charlotte and she nodded in agreement.
“That not so bad if she okay. Are you?”
Charlotte took Wolf’s hand before answering. “Yes.”
“It might not have been so bad if I hadn’t picked a fight with two locals the next day. I was still so mad at myself for letting the ghost terrify her that instead of walking away, I antagonized them.”
At this point, Charlotte pulled her hand away and gave him “the look.” It was a look he remembered from high school. He was going to get to get it whenever he disappointed her, or pissed her off.
“Anyway, I got in a few good swings, but they were about to kick my ass when Little Wolf came to the rescue. I felt this tearing in my chest — I thought I might actually be having a heart attack. Then, there he was, ripping and tearing at the shorter one’s face. The big one still might have gotten in a few kicks at my ribs, but he ran when Little Wolf went after him. That took all the fight out of him. This was all before we came up here the last time.”
“So, he do what he supposed to do. That was good ... even if you were foolish.”
“Right, but that wasn’t the end of it, or them.
“When I went out looking for Ben, the smaller one showed up in front of Grandmere’s in a boat. Charlotte was there and Little Wolf went nuts. He had licked the blood off his claws after scratching the guy, so that’s how he knew who he was. Then the guy showed up at the Seven-Eleven where Charlotte works.”
Charlotte broke in here. “Little Wolf went right after him. I tried to call him back, but he was having none of it. I think he bit the guy before he let him go.”
Now it was Wolf’s turn go give Charlotte the look. He just wasn’t as good at it as she was. “You never told me Wolf bit him.”
“I guess I forgot.”
Wolf could see that Charlotte felt terrible about not telling him that. “It’s okay. No harm done.”
“I went looking for the guy yesterday while Charlotte was at work. I went back to the place where we had the fight. It was at a catfish shack an hour south of Bayou La Pointe. I didn’t find the little guy, but the big one was propped up against the back of the shack. At first I didn’t know it was him, because his skin was black. He had open wounds and the meat inside was black too. I said something like ‘Jesus Christ,’ and his head turned and looked at me. That was enough for me. I left. We came up here as soon as we could.”
“That be Renee La Pierre for sure. Now that you done with Old Ben, she got her eye on you.”
“How do I fight her? How do I protect Charlotte and Grandmere?”
“That goin’ to be up to you. You goin’ to have be da one to face her.”
“Then tell me everything you know about her so I can.”
Mose sat silent for a minute as if he was lost in thought. Then he began. “She came to me as a young girl, just like your Grandmere, ‘cept she was an orphan. She was maybe twelve or thirteen. She heard about me in da Quarter, and when she start seeing da ghosts she knew she had to do somethin’. She had already fought with one before she find me. I took her in to protect her while she learn to protect herself.”
“Like Grandmere? You took my grandmere in too?”
“Yes, after she got her woman blood. She didn’t like her power, She was afraid of it. There was no way she was ever goin’ to be able to live in a place like da Quarter. I teach her what I could, gave her a gris-gris to protect her, and let her go. She find a place in Bayou LaPoint where she could live. As long as she stay there, an’ don’t go messin’ round with her power, she be safe. That why Renee La Pierre never bother with her.”
“And then I came back and everything changed.”
“That be a good thing. She been like a queen down there, but a bad queen. I sent her away from here because she fell in love with her power. She didn’t use it to protect herself, she used it to find ghosts and destroy them. Most ghosts don’t deserve that. Some do, that for sure, but most of them, you leave them alone, they leave you alone.”
Wolf thought about the ghosts he had destroyed. Most had attacked him, but that one on the road, he had gone looking for that one. He had challenged it, and it had responded.
“People down there afraid of La Pierre. She like a big spider with a big web. Anybody challenge her, she send her familiar after them. I think she fraid to try that with you because you can fight back. You know what that creature is and your familiar can warn you when hers is near. But that don’t mean she ain’t goin’ to try. You an’ Charlotte got to be ready.”
“Yeah, but how?”
“You cain’t just sit back an’ wait for her to come after you. You got to have a plan. Maybe you got to go after her.”
Wolf thought, Go after her? How the hell would I go after her? I don’t even know what the woman looks like.
Charlotte echoed his thoughts. “How can we go after her? We don’t even know who she is.”
“That don’t mean you can’t make plans. Then find out who she is an’ where she lives. He can help you with that,” Mose said, pointing at Little Wolf. “He part of your team, use him.”
Little Wolf chittered his agreement.
“How do I deal with the dead man?”
“Oh, that easy. You just cut off his head.”
Charlotte looked like she was going to be sick. “Cut off his head, is that the only way?”
“That the best way, but if you can destroy his brain, that do it too. That’s how she control him. She put a little bit of her will into his brain before he die. She use that little bit to keep him ready to use. Then, when she need him, she can use him.”
“Cut off his head or destroy his brain. That’s more than I knew before. Now, tell me about La Pierre.”
“Da last time I seen Renee La Pierre she was ‘bout thirty. She must be ‘bout fifty now. She short, five-feet two maybe, and thin like a whip. She always vain, she never let herself get fat. She got black hair an’ her skin be olive color. She got a tattoo on her left wrist that say “Witch.” She do that herself just before I sent her away.”
Wolf’s head snapped up when he heard that. “I’ve met her. She tried to give me a ride.”
“When?” Charlotte deman
ded.
“When I was walking down to get that pickup. I was hitching and she was the only one to stop. I almost got in, but something about her gave me the creeps. Little Wolf didn’t like her either. He started growling as soon as I reached out and touched the car’s door handle.”
“See. That boy knew her familiar was in that car. You done right not to get in with her.”
“Do you remember what kind of car she was driving?”
“No. But it was a car not a pickup. That eliminates over half the vehicles down there.”
“Yes, but it still doesn’t tell us where she is or how to find her.”
“Yes, but it a start,” Mose told her.
Charlotte looked to Wolf to see what he thought, but he was staring off into the distance, concentrating on something. “I think I might know how to find her, and Little Wolf is going to help.”
9 – You’re Next
“How are we going to find this woman?” Charlotte asked on the drive home.
We? Wolf thought. Then he had to admit she was right. They had to do this together. “We’re going to see the woman at the catfish shack where I had the fight with those two rednecks. The last time I was there she was terrified when I walked in, and the dead one is propped up behind her shack. She saw our fight and she saw Little Wolf. I think she told La Pierre about me.”
“What about the dead man? He’s still there, isn’t he?”
“Probably, but I think I know how we’re going to deal with him too.”
“Really, how?”
“We’re going to blow his fucking head off. Do you have a shotgun?”
“No.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing I do. I used it for duck hunting before I went in the navy. I saw it in my closet at Grandmere’s. The next time I see him, I’m going to have a surprise for him ... and La Pierre.”
“When are we going to do this?”
“Tomorrow, as soon as you get off work”
“I’m working the evening shift the rest of the week. We can do it in the morning.”
“Even better,” Wolf told her.
“You want breakfast?” Wolf called into the bathroom as Charlotte showered.
“Yes, but not here. We have to stop at your Grandmere’s to get the shotgun and she loves to feed you. She’d be insulted if we ate before we got there. We can tell her about our visit with Mose while we’re there. But we’ll bring our own coffee. I know it bugs her, but I just can’t drink hers.”
Grandmere met them at the door before they could even knock. She gave them a disappointed look when she saw they were both carrying coffee. “I s’pose you already ate too,” she said as she opened the door for them.
“Not really,” Charlotte answered.
“Good, then set on da porch an’ drink your coffee while I make eggs and grits. An’ I ‘spose you’ll want sausage too,” she said to Wolf.
“That would be great.”
“No sausage for me, thanks,” Charlotte told her.
“I know that, dear, but you could use some ... you too skinny.”
Wolf laughed when he saw the look of surprise on Charlotte’s face. “Oh, I don’t think so, Grandmere. I like her just the way she is.”
“I bet you do,” Grandmere replied, and laughed when Charlotte’s face turned red.
“It looks different,” Wolf told Charlotte as he gazed out over the bayou.
Charlotte looked out and couldn’t see any difference. “Really? It looks exactly the same to me.”
“Every time I’ve looked at it, or thought about it, for the last seven years, the image of Old Ben rising up out of the water haunted me. Now that he’s gone, all I see is the bayou. It feels like it’s mine again. It’s like I’ve finally come home.”
“And now you have to deal with La Pierre. It hardly seems fair.”
“No, but we can handle her.” I hope.
With La Pierre hanging in the air, the conversation died until Grandmere came in with breakfast. “So, what you two up to this morning?”
Charlotte looked to Wolf and nodded for him to tell Grandmere.
“We went to see Mose last night,” he started, and then told her the whole story.
“That ol witch a bad one, no doubt ‘bout that. You right to go lookin’ for her. You wait for her to come to you, and she be da one who win this fight. Just be careful an’ don’t underestimate her. An’ don’t be fraid to fight dirty. She will.”
“Don’t worry Grandmere, I’ll fight any way I can.”
“That’s good. Now you better get going, there’s no time like da present.”
“Do you know what you’re going to do once we get there?” Charlotte asked on the drive to Stella’s.
“Oh, yes. First I’m going to deal with Stella, and then I’m going to blow Mr. Dead Guy’s head off. That should send a message to La Pierre.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“I’m not sure, but it should force her hand. Maybe it’ll put a little fear in her heart.”
Stella jumped up and started yelling as soon as Wolf and Charlotte walked into her shack. “I told you to get out the last the last time you were. You’d better leave if you don’t want trouble.”
“Really? From who — La Pierre, or the dead guy out back?”
Stella didn’t answer, not even when Wolf walked up and got right in her face. “You’re the one who called La Pierre after my fight with your two friends, aren’t you?”
When Stella didn’t answer, Wolf told Charlotte, “Let Little Wolf out.”
Stella recoiled in fear when Little Wolf climbed out of Charlotte’s purse and scrambled to her shoulder.
“Tell me about the witch.”
“I can’t, she’ll kill me.”
“She’s not here, we are. Show her, Wolf.”
Before Stella could move, Little Wolf was off Charlotte’s shoulder and at her neck. “Go ahead, taste her,” Wolf told his familiar.
Little Wolf drew one claw across Stella’s throat and a thin red line of blood welled to the surface. Stella stood frozen, afraid to move as the little guy licked at it. She started trembling when he drew back and hissed at her.
“Tell me what I want to know, or I think you know what will happen next.”
Stella really started to shake, sobbing and saying, “She’ll kill me, she’ll kill me.”
“You can take your chances with her, or I can turn you into a lump of dead meat like that fool out back. Take your pick.”
For emphasis, Little Wolf drew another line in blood across her throat.
Stella dropped to her knees and a moan escaped her. “Everyone knows who Renee La Pierre is. She wants to know when strange things happen around here. I called her after I saw that creature attack Skeeter and Bubba. She came down the next day and talked to all of us. Bubba wouldn’t do what she wanted, so her demon bit him.”
“What about the other one ... Skeeter?”
“She sent him to spy on you, to find out all about you.”
“Where’s Skeeter now?”
Stella looked toward the back of the shack. “In the bayou. Bubba drowned him.”
“Do you know where La Pierre lives?”
“No.”
“What kind of car does she drive?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know about cars. All I know is that it’s big, and it’s black.
That sounded right to Wolf. “But you have her phone number. What is it?”
“I can’t …” Stella started to say until Little Wolf bared his fangs and hissed at her. Then she blurted it out so fast Charlotte had to make her repeat it so she could write it down.
“Stop your blubbering and stand up. We’re going out back,” Wolf told Stella. There was no sympathy in his voice.
“I don’t want to. Please don’t make me.” Stela begged.
“You started this. Now you have to see it through. Get up.”
Wolf made Stella go f
irst. He followed along behind and Charlotte brought up the rear. When they all turned the corner, Bubba was still sitting propped up against the back wall of the shack. Stella wailed and Charlotte vomited when she saw him. Then, just like the last time, the dead man’s head turned and he looked right at them.
“Here’s a warning, witch. I’m coming for you next,” Wolf said. Then he blew Bubba’s head off with the shot gun.
The part of Renee La Pierre that she had left in Bubba let her know that Lobo and his familiar were back at Stella’s. She shifted a bit more of her conscious into the dead man and turned his head to see what was happening. She was shocked to see Stella, Lobo and his woman through the dead man’s eyes. She tried to withdraw from Bubba’s mind as soon as she saw the shotgun come up and realized what was happening. She was too late. She screamed in pain as lead pellets from the blast shredded Bubba’s head. Then it was her turn to vomit. The bit of her power that had been in Bubba was gone. Lobo had taken it from her.
After she was sick, she was furious. No one had ever had the nerve to attack her. She was going to enjoy stealing his power and turning him into a walking dead man.
Then her phone rang. If that’s you Stella, I’m going to rip your head off. “What,” she spit into the mouthpiece.”
“Did you see that Witch?” It was Lobo! “I’m coming after you next.”
For the first time ever, Renee La Pierre was so infuriated that she screamed in anger and slammed the phone down.
“You’re dead Stella. You gave him my number, and now you’re dead.”
10 – A Present
“You might consider leaving until this is all over,” Wolf told Stella as he stood over what was left of Bubba. “And you might want to get rid of him too,” he said, nodding at the corpse.
Stella just shuddered and ran back to her shack. She was already closing it up when Wolf and Charlotte were driving out.
“What do you think she’s going to do?” Charlotte asked.
“She’ll leave if she’s smart.”
