Bad Karma In the Big Easy Read online

  “How the hell hard would it have been to plant three here, too? I don’t have a lot of confidence this is gonna produce anything, but were here, so let’s go in.”

  The front entrance opened onto a small space with an institutional terrazzo floor and cold, white walls that emphasized Nursing more than Home. Broussard noticed that the fake palm near the door needed a good dusting.

  The two men walked over to the glass-enclosed administrative cubicle and stepped up to the counter, where an overweight woman whose breasts probably entered a room a full second before the rest of her came over to see what the two men wanted.

  “Is there a James Bolden here?” Gatlin said.

  “What’s the nature of your interest?” the woman asked.

  Gatlin flipped out his badge. “NOPD Homicide. We’d like to talk to him.”

  “Have a seat over there. I’ll get him.”

  “We’d rather this not be a public conversation.”

  Giving Gatlin a stern look, she said, “Then you’ll want to keep your voices down.”

  “I like your perfume,” Broussard said to the woman. “It’s Obsession, isn’t it?”

  Suddenly beaming, the woman said, “That’s exactly what it is.”

  “Very nice.”

  She picked up the phone and put her fat finger on one of the buttons across the bottom of the keypad. After a brief interval in which she stared at Gatlin with pursed lips, then shifted her eyes to Broussard, whom she favored with a much fonder look, she said into the phone, “Would you bring Mr. Bolden to the front? He has some visitors.”

  Gatlin and Broussard moved to the opposite side of the small room, where there was a sofa and two chairs all constructed of strips of fake brown leather slung over a chrome frame. They formed a sterile, unfriendly grouping that didn’t beckon either of them to sit.

  Making sure he couldn’t be overheard, Gatlin leaned close to Broussard. “Obsession... How the hell did you know that?”

  “Knowin’ smells is part of my job.”

  “All I could smell was disinfectant.”

  “Maybe you should also sign up for nuance school later today.”

  After a short wait, a tall fellow in a white uniform came from the back of the facility pushing a wheelchair containing a wizened old black man with close-cropped hair the color of dirty cotton. Looking at Bolden, Both Gatlin and Broussard saw what the guy in Bolden’s back yard meant when he said Jimmie might disagree about being in trouble.

  The right side of Bolden’s face looked like it was melting, an obvious sign he’d had a stroke that paralyzed him on that side. His right arm lay limply in his lap. His left held a wadded tissue.

  The attendant pushed the chair over to the two men. “This is Mr. Bolden. I’ll leave you all alone so you can talk.”

  As the attendant left, Gatlin introduced himself and Broussard. Believing a handshake might be difficult for Bolden, neither extended the offer of one.

  Gatlin said, “Mr. Bolden, we understand you own the property at 523 LeDoux Street. Is that right?”

  “I can’t see you with you standin’ up like that,” Bolden said, slurring the words because of his paralysis. “You gotta sit. Pull those chairs over and put your asses in ‘em.” He dabbed at the drooping corner of his mouth to blot at the saliva escaping there.

  When everyone was at eye level, Bolden said, “That’s better. How’d you know where to find me?”

  “We tried your home,” Broussard said. “A man in your backyard told us you were here?”

  “He have a bulldog with him?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s the biggest liar in the neighborhood. You shouldn’t listen to a thing he says.”

  “But he did send us here.”

  The old man looked puzzled at this response. He dabbed at the corner of his mouth with the tissue, then said, “How’s my house? Is it ruint?”

  “It’s gonna need a lot of work,” Broussard said.

  Bolden let out a long breath. “I was about to put it up for sale just before the storm... to help pay for livin’ here. Guess I can forget that...” His mood suddenly improved. “...unless the gov’mint is buyin’ everybody out. Heard anything about those plans?”

  “Sorry, no.”

  Hope still evident on the working side of his face, he looked at Gatlin, who shook his head.

  Bolden lowered his eyes. “It figgers.” He looked at Broussard. “Ever notice how when you’re down, up is not a possibility?”

  “I have indeed,” Broussard said.

  Bolden touched the tissue to the drooping corner of his mouth. “And you know, I can’t even get a little rice puddin’ here. They say it’s not available from their supplier. And God forbid they should actually make somethin’ in the kitchen. Take my advice... don’t ever get dependent on other folks. You won’t like it. Yeah, I own that property on LeDoux Street. Worst decision I ever made. Couldn’t rent it... nobody else was stupid enough to buy it from me. It’s just been a tax drain ever since I took it on.”

  “So you never leased it to anybody,” Gatlin said.

  “Couldn’t. It needed to be fixed up inside. I didn’t have the money and nobody else wanted to risk theirs in that neighborhood. I once tried to talk the owner of that beauty shop next door into expandin’ into my area, but she’s barely holdin’ on as it is. So at least the flood didn’t hurt me over there any morn’ I was already hurtin’.”

  “Ever give anyone a key to the place?” Gatlin asked. “...A realtor... a relative...”

  “I wouldn’t use a realtor. They cost too damn much. And I wouldn’t give any of my relatives the sweat off my nuts.”

  HEADING BACK TO THE car, Gatlin said, “Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time seeing that guy sprinting across Kit’s courtyard and running up that ladder to the roof.”

  “Know what I think?”

  “Usually, but not at the moment.”

  “We need to go back to LeDoux Street.”

  Chapter 19

  Broussard came back into the main room and walked over to Gatlin, who was kneeling on the mud-covered floor fiddling with the electrical outlet that served the freezer where the bodies had been stored. “There’s also a deadbolt on the backdoor that can only be locked from the inside.”

  “How come you didn’t notice that when you were here the first time?” Gatlin replied, standing up and brushing off the knees of his pants.

  “We were a little occupied keepin’ a band of thugs from killin’ us.”

  “Yeah, but how long could that have taken?”

  In truth, Broussard, too, was wondering why he hadn’t noticed that earlier. After the thugs had gone, he could have spent another minute or two looking around a bit more, but he hadn’t.

  “This outlet has been spliced into the wiring for the business next door,” Gatlin said. “So they were paying for running that freezer. Any lights he needed when he was here could have been run off the other plug.”

  Feeling his cell phone vibrate, Gatlin took it out of his jacket pocket and flipped it open. “Gatlin.”

  Broussard could hear the caller on the other end, but only faintly.

  “Okay, thanks,” Gatlin said a moment later. He pocketed the phone and looked at Broussard. “This just gets better and better.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Gatlin told him what the caller had said.

  “We can’t keep all this from Kit. She has a right to know.”

  Gatlin passed him his phone. “You do it.”

  DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF the cop in the courtyard and Teddy by her side, there was no way Kit could sleep after what happened. So she and Teddy spent the night fully dressed on the sofa apparently watching the TV, but comprehending very little of what they saw. For the first few hours, Kit went to the door every half hour and checked to make sure it was locked. She would then go to the window and look for the cop downstairs. Feeling she needed this reassurance, Teddy did nothing to interfere with her ritual. Eventually, as da
wn washed over the French Quarter, Kit’s eyes closed and she slumped against Teddy’s shoulder, finally sleeping.

  Teddy pulled a couple of pillows from the far end of the sofa into his lap. Carefully, he moved down and lowered Kit’s head onto the pillows. There they remained for the next several hours until the phone rang.

  The sound jolted Kit awake. She was up and on her feet in an instant. Her hands went for the Ladysmith.

  Teddy bolted from the sofa and gently touched her on the arm. “It’s okay. You’re safe. It’s just the phone.”

  She gave him a disoriented look. She turned and stared at the still ringing phone.

  Teddy said, “Want me to get it?”

  “No,” She slowly ran her hand through her hair. “I’ll do it.” She crossed the room and picked up the receiver.

  “This is Kit.”

  “It’s Andy. How you doin’?”

  “I’m okay. Did you catch him?”

  “Not yet. Look, I’m with Phillip. We just came from talkin’ to the owner of the buildin’ on LeDoux Street.”

  “The owner... it’s not Jude Marshall?”

  “No. A guy named James Bolden. Phillip got his name from the tax rolls. Anyway, he’s an old man in a wheelchair from a stroke. He obviously has no connection with what happened. Right now, Phillip and I are standin’ inside that buildin’. Both doors have had deadbolt locks installed on the inside so no one on the outside could get in by usin’ a key. Phillip found that the freezer was run by hijackin’ power from the shop next door. All that means the person we’re after didn’t have any connection to the place. He was just an opportunist who saw it was empty and moved in.”

  “Then I guess it’s like you suggested, he probably picked up my name from the report you sent to the state police.”

  “Could be.”

  “Any good prospects there, or is it too early to know?”

  Broussard didn’t answer right away.

  “Hello,” Kit said. “You still there?”

  “About those other prospects... There are six people whose duties require them to have handled that report. Five are women and one is a 61 year-old male with emphysema. Apart from that, the report could have been viewed by an untold number of others in the system.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m sorry, but... we’ve hit the wall here.”

  Kit couldn’t believe it had come to this. Broussard had promised they would catch the guy who attacked her. Broussard... the man who could always see what others missed, the man whom she believed could do the impossible, was saying he was beaten. There was no one in custody or even under suspicion. The guy was totally free to try again. The thought made her feel cold and helpless. A shiver ran down to the small of her back. Her arms erupted in gooseflesh.

  “Of course we’re gonna keep after it,” Broussard said. “There has to be a thread somewhere that’ll get us cookin’ again. And I’m gonna find it. Meanwhile, Phillip will keep a uniform in your courtyard around the clock. And Kit... you and Teddy need to be careful.”

  Kit responded mechanically. “We will.”

  “Believe me, I wish I could offer more.”

  “I do believe you. Let me know if you make any progress.” She hung up.

  “What’d he say?” Teddy asked.

  “They’re out of leads. They have no idea what to do next.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “Same thing I thought when I heard. They’re going to keep a cop downstairs.”

  “So they think the guy may come back?”

  “I’m sure they don’t know. It’s a precaution.”

  “I’m staying, too.”

  “What about the alligator farm?”

  “I got somebody who can look after that. I’ll call and let them know I’m going to be here awhile.”

  “I’m sorry to be so much trouble.”

  Teddy moved closer and took her in his arms. “I’d never think of being with you as trouble.”

  Kit drew her head back. “I’d like to get cleaned up.”

  “Okay, you take a shower and I’ll make us some breakfast. I won’t find the fridge bare, will I?”

  “I’ve got everything you’ll need.”

  “See you in a few minutes then.”

  Kit gave him a kiss on the cheek and headed for the bathroom. When she reached it, she pushed the door open and paused on the threshold. Suddenly, she felt once again the plastic bag over her head... and even though the bag wasn’t really there, she couldn’t get her breath. It was all happening again. She inhaled as deeply as she could, making an audible gasp that Teddy heard in the kitchen.

  Leaving the fridge standing open, he darted across the hall to her side, where he took her by the shoulders. “What’s wrong?”

  At his touch, the horror diminished, but didn’t leave. “I had a flashback to last night. Felt like I couldn’t get any air.”

  “You okay now?”

  She inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. “I think so.” She looked into the bathroom. “I know it’s crazy, but... would you pull the shower curtain back for me?”

  “Sure.”

  She stepped aside to let Teddy pass. He went inside and swept the curtain along the rod. He turned toward her. “See, nobody there.”

  She let him back into the hall.

  “I’ll be right over there in the kitchen,” he said. “No need to worry.”

  She looked at the tub without moving. Her gaze shifted to the small window high on the wall opposite the door. The thought of being alone and naked in the bathroom was more than she could handle. “Would you mind staying in here while I shower? I’ll do it fast so it doesn’t get steamy and uncomfortable for you.”

  “Of course.”

  The bathroom was small and didn’t easily accommodate two people, but with Teddy seated on the commode, it gave Kit enough room to maneuver. The first item she removed was the Ladysmith still on her calf. Reluctantly, she laid the holster on the sink, arranging it, so the butt of the gun faced the tub.

  She undressed and hung her clothes on the hook beside the tub. She pulled the shower curtain partially closed, then leaned in and turned on the water. A few seconds later, with the water at the proper temperature, she glanced at her gun. She wanted to do a quick practice move to see how fast she could yank it from the holster, but not wanting to appear any more paranoid to Teddy than she already had, she turned back to the tub and stepped in.

  She drew the shower curtain fully across the rod.

  When she’d first gotten her dog, Lucky, whenever she had to leave the house for work, he would cry and howl for her to return. The vet explained that it was separation anxiety... he was afraid she wouldn’t ever come back. When he became comfortable enough to trust her, he relaxed.

  In the shower, Kit suddenly knew with greater clarity then ever before how Lucky felt. Separated from her gun, she experienced a rush of claustrophobia. Her chest grew tight and once again, she couldn’t breathe. She whipped the curtain aside and stepped back into the bathroom.

  Teddy shot to his feet.

  She raised a calming hand toward him. “I’m all right. I just felt closed in and trapped in there.”

  Teddy’s brows knitted in concern. “Leave the curtain open a little. Maybe that’ll help.”

  She nodded and tried again. Though his idea made the situation tolerable, she still wasn’t entirely comfortable, so when she stepped into the stream of water, she kept her eyes open. What followed was the fastest shower she’d ever taken. Moving cleverly yet with warp speed, she managed to wash her face and hair without closing her eyes longer than to blink. She gave the rest of her body a quick pass and got out of there.

  A few minutes later, in fresh clothes, her gun back on her calf, Kit sat at the counter between the kitchen and the living room. While Teddy worked on breakfast, she plugged her hair dryer into a nearby receptacle and flicked the thing on. As usual, the noise filled her ears, cutting her off from any other sound. Una
ble to bear even that kind of isolation, she switched it off. Leaving the dryer on the counter, she got up and walked to the widow onto the courtyard.

  Where was the cop who was supposed to be there? An adrenaline surge washed over her.

  Then he strolled out into the courtyard from the lattice-ceilinged walkway. Even though she now saw there had been no cause for her sudden spike in anxiety, it wasn’t easily ignored, so as she walked back to the counter, she wondered if one cop was enough.

  She took her seat and watched Teddy add some chopped mushrooms and onions to a pan already containing melted butter.

  Sitting there, Kit wondered, what was wrong with her? Why was she acting so damned paralyzed? God knows this wasn’t the first time her life had been threatened since she’d come to work for Broussard. It wasn’t even the second... or the third. And she’d handled all those better than this. What was different about this one?

  In reviewing the previous times she’d been in danger, she saw that with one exception, the threat had been acute and was permanently resolved within a very short interval. There hadn’t been hours and hours to dwell on a danger that still existed. Even when she and Teddy had been kidnapped, she knew who to fear. This time, she had no idea who had attacked her. Or when he would try again. That was it... the uncertainty of this situation... how could she not be unnerved?

  But there was another reason, one she now harbored in a small dark place where little light reached. In each of those other situations, she had responded as any sentient organism would when its existence was threatened. She had fought with every resource at her hand to keep living. But that was before she knew she had a destiny yet unfulfilled. She had not yet loved as the Hendrins had loved their daughter or the Munsons their son. She could not die without having had that experience. Now, even though she wasn’t fully aware of it, she had much more to lose. That’s why she couldn’t handle the thought that her latest attacker might try again and this time succeed.

  Because Teddy made the meal, Kit volunteered to do all the clean-up while Teddy watched. When she was finished, he suggested they get some air.