Kent Conwell - Tony Boudreaux 07 - The Swamps of Bayou Teche (25 page)

For the third time, I reiterated the events of the last
several days from April 25 through Thursday, May 6,
the night of the Loup Garou Festival.

Marty leaned back in his chair and shook his head
slowly. He glanced at Jack, who was sitting at my side,
and then eyed the sling cradling my left arm. “And
you are all right?”

I shifted my arm slightly. “Yeah. Fine.”

He shivered. “Lucky thing for you the pilot
knocked her sports bag on the floor and jammed the
foot pedal”

I grimaced, remembering the beautiful woman who
had been Laura Palmo, a.k.a. Karen Rouly Babin.
“Unlucky for her.”

Marty grunted. “Yeah. Oh, Mrs. Hardy’s on the way over.” He paused and cleared his throat. “I don’t
know if … well …”

“Don’t worry, Marty. I’ll leave out the details about
Hardy’s death and the money-laundering scheme. It
won’t make her feel any better knowing her son was a
thief.”

He grinned gratefully. “Have they got a positive
I.D. on the woman in Babin’s grave?”

“You mean the real Laura Palmo? Not yet. Her only
living family was the brother. The Terrechoisie Parish
Sheriff’s Department is disinterring Babin’s grave in
Maida.”

He grunted. “From what you’ve told me about this
Babin woman, she was a pretty sly gal”

“Sly?” I arched an eyebrow. “I suppose. She could
lie with the best of them, and she knew how to put just
enough truth in each lie to make it seem plausible if it
were pursued. But you know, lies have a way of catching up with a person.”

At that moment, Mrs. Josepphine Hardy came in.
Still neatly dressed, hair perfectly coiffed, she nodded
briefly to us. She had aged twenty years, but she held
her head high. Her bottom lip quivered, revealing the
true emotions she was experiencing. “Well, Mr.
Boudreaux. I’m ready to hear what happened” She
glanced uncomfortably at Jack, who quickly rose and
excused himself.

I didn’t know just how detailed I should be about his macabre death, but I knew I wasn’t going to mention his connection with the mob.

She remained standing, her shoulders thrown back
and her chin jutted out. “Mr. Blevins said he drowned”

I kept my eyes fixed on hers. “Yes, ma’am. He was
in the water a few days. That’s why they had to run
DNA, to make sure of his identity.” I decided that was
enough to say.

“And those responsible?”

“Dead”

“You saw them?”

“Yes. One drowned, and the other had an accident
that took her life. I can give you the name and number
of the sheriff’s department in charge.”

Her face paled. Her voice, when she spoke, was as
frail and brittle as fine crystal. “When … will I have
my son’s body returned?”

“It’s on the way back as we speak, Mrs. Hardy.”

She studied me a few more moments, then glanced
at Marty. “The remainder of your fee will be in the
mail tomorrow, Mr. Blevins.” She turned and strode
toward the door. When she reached it, she stumbled
slightly, put her frail hand on the jamb to steady herself, then disappeared around the corner.

Marty looked around at me. “What I want to know
is how this Pellerin joker knew where you were all
the time.”

Jack joined us. “Me too,” he exclaimed. “It was re ally spooky. No matter where we were, there was
someone dangling snakes in front us or turning them
loose in the room. There was the boat and-” He
shook his head slowly. “I don’t care what Tony says.
There was something supernatural going on”

I gave him a crooked grin.

“What?” He frowned.

“To tell the truth, I was beginning to wonder about
spirits myself.” I gestured for him to follow me. “I
think I know what the answer is. Let’s go down to the
parking lot.”

His frown deepened, but he followed, and Marty
was right behind Jack.

In the parking lot, I dropped to my knees and
peered under the front bumper of the Cadillac.

Nothing.

Under the rear bumper, I found what I had been
looking for. “Here’s your supernatural loup garou,
Jack” I held up a bumper beeper. “Pellerin stuck it under there that first night at the lodge” I tossed it to
him. “After that, it was a simple matter to track us”

As we entered the office, the phone rang. It was
Sergeant Emile Primeaux. I put him on the speaker.
“How you be feeling, Tony?”

“Good, Emile. As good as you could expect”

“Well, you might feel better if you know that Marvin Gates, we done fished him out of Bayou Teche.
And the offshore account information you give us, we turn over to the Fraud Division at the Department of
Justice. Dose boys, dey take care of Jimmy Blue.”

“What about the fire at the dentist’s office?”

“Gates-we caught the guy Gates paid to burn it.”

“So it sounds like everything is tied up neat and
proper. Thanks for letting me know, Emile.”

“Thank you, Tony. Hey, there, you figure we be seeing you at next year’s Loup Garou Festival?” I heard
the slight taunting in his words.

With a grin on my face, I winked at Marty and Jack.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

I hung up and nodded to Jack. “Take me home,
Jack. I’ve got a kitten to feed”