Little Black Girl Lost 4 (15 page)

Chapter 43

A
chilling scream echoed off the corridor walls of the house on Bouvier Hill early the next morning, and woke up all its inhabitants. There were only two women in the house, so when Lauren opened her bedroom door and entered the hallway, it didn't take the men long to figure out who was screaming.

The Bouvier mansion was three stories high and had a large wine cellar beneath it. The men of the house and Lauren slept on the third floor. While Beaumont and Cadence did not sleep together or in the same bedroom, they did share the second floor. Beaumont slept in a bedroom on one side of the house, and Cadence slept in the last bedroom on the other side of the hall, far from him.

There were two ways to get to the second floor stairs, so when Lauren saw the men racing down the staircase near her room, she followed quickly to see what had happened. She saw Cadence standing at Beaumont's door, staring inside. Her face looked like every drop of blood had drained from it.

The men rushed inside to see what had happened, but Lauren just looked at Cadence's face, which mesmerized her. She had never seen anyone so completely shocked by what they had seen.

Aubrey was the last one to arrive at Beaumont's bedroom. He walked in, gasped, and said, “Oh God, no!”

All of a sudden, all the men were crying uncontrollably, and Lauren still hadn't looked in there. She still hadn't seen what everyone had seen. The unrestrained anguish that came from somewhere deep within the men beckoned her, calling her into the room as if by her new name.

She left Cadence in the hallway and entered the room. What she saw in there topped everything she'd seen since the night she stepped over her mother and crawled out the open window to meet Amir.

She thought she had seen it all. She had seen Amir kill several men in a matter of seconds. She had seen men chained in the cargo hold of a slave ship and smelled their putrid filth, which made her heave. She had seen a man beaten to death with a bullwhip then tossed over the side like his life didn't matter. She had seen Captain Rutgers drag a woman by her hair to his quarters and witnessed her brutal rape. She had seen man-eating sharks devour a man, a woman, and even a little girl. At the time, that had topped everything, which was why she could watch a slave having his skin peeled from the auction block without looking away.

What she had seen previously was nothing compared to what was entering through her twin portals now. She put her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming and vomiting, in that order, yet never once did she turn away. It was like someone's powerful hands were holding her head in place, forcing her to see what no one should ever have to see. What she saw was beyond frightening, beyond tragic, beyond brutal. What she saw were the acts of an evil mind. Only an evil mind could do that to another human being and hope to get away with it.

Then she saw something familiar and nearly jumped out of her skin. The steel mallet that Joshua had been using the previous day was lying on the floor. Blood and hair was stuck to its head. She looked at the bed again and saw the remains of Beaumont and Louis. They were both naked, lying in a sixty-nine position, as pools of their blood intermingled on the bed and dripped on the floor. Their plows had been cut off and stuck in each other's mouths.

Although none of the men said a word, the identity of the person who had committed the vile act could be read on their faces. Only one name registered—Joshua.

Chapter 44

L
auren saw blood everywhere she looked. It was on the headboard, on the walls, the floor, and all over them. It looked like Joshua had come into the house when he knew everyone would be asleep and pummeled both men to death with his steel mallet. He had done a real number on them. Their skulls were caved in. They looked like every bone in their faces had been shattered; teeth were all over the room. She watched Aubrey pull their plows out of their mouths, which left them looking like jack-o-lanterns long before Halloween.

She looked into the faces of the housemen. Grief was about to consume them, not only because Monsieur Bouvier and Louis had been killed. It was the manner in which they met their end that filled them with rage.

The instant the housemen saw the steel mallet, they tried and convicted Joshua without the benefit of a courtroom. And now they were about to go looking for him to dispense the justice they thought he deserved.

When they filed past Cadence, she did nothing to delay or stop them. She stepped out of their way, giving them her approval without saying a single word.

First they stormed into the stable looking for him. When they didn't find him there, they grabbed a rope and made a noose of it. Next they went to the slave quarters. Being the plantation stud, they thought he was making time with one of the women.

Lauren went along with them, hoping they wouldn't find him, hoping they wouldn't cross paths with the man she thought would be her deliverer. If they did see Joshua, they were going to kill him on the spot. They weren't going to ask questions. They were going to tear him to pieces for what he had done to their master and their friend.

On the way, she heard one of the housemen say, “Let's cut that nigga's plow off first and stick it in his mouth!”

Another, who had the steel mallet, said, “I'ma bash in his skull first so he can see how it feels!”

Still another said, “He calls us Romans because of our tastes! Before we kill him, let's turn him into a Roman!”

Another said, “Yeah! All of us too! One at a time! All night long!”

Aubrey was the only voice of reason in the chaotic situation. He said, “Men of Bouvier Hill, let's not lose our heads over this. This is a matter for the law. I'll go to town and get the constable, and we'll turn Joshua over to him.”

One of the men said, “Go and get him, Aubrey. I can't guarantee there'll be much left of him by the time you return.”

The housemen kicked in door after door, only to find each residence empty. Bouvier Hill had more than two hundred slaves, so there were plenty of shacks to search. And search they did, relentlessly, growing more angry, but determined to find the man who killed their benefactor so brutally.

There were only a few shacks left to search. Approaching one, they heard the sound of fever-pitched intimacy. They had Joshua, and he was naked; being nude and doing the same things Beaumont and Louis were doing was an unexpected bonus.

They kicked in the door and rushed over to the naked couple wildly copulating. They pulled the man out of the woman and had nearly beaten him to death as the woman protested before they realized they had the wrong man.

The housemen grew more frustrated, but were unrepentant for almost killing the wrong man. They had gotten a measure of satisfaction from the assault. As far as they were concerned, what they had done to him by mistake sent a strong message to any other would-be murderers who gave serious consideration to coming within reach of the big house while they slept comfortably in the beds.

The man had been beaten so severely that they didn't bother asking him any questions about Joshua's whereabouts. They did, however, interrogate the woman with the same ferocious behavior, kicking and punching her until she bled.

“Where's Joshua?” one of the men yelled.

“I don't know! I don't know!” she screamed.

They punched her and kicked her a few more times.

She looked up at the men beating her. Blood trickled down her nose and mouth. “I swear I don't know where he is! He stopped visiting me a long time ago. He ain't been by to see me in months, so I found myself another man!”

When they told her why they were looking for Joshua, her reaction to hearing about the death of Monsieur Bouvier was one of genuine surprise. Though she would never weep over any of their deaths, she didn't wish them any ill will either.

Chapter 45

T
he housemen didn't stop looking for Joshua until it was dark, and only after they had searched the entire plantation and the surrounding area twice. Several of them wanted to light torches and continue the search, but Aubrey convinced them that Joshua had somehow found out that they were looking for him and fled for his life.

They had decided to call it a night when they heard someone knocking. Aubrey went to the door and opened it. He saw Walker Tresvant, his wife and Monsieur Bouvier's sister, Marie-Elise, and a regiment of armed French soldiers. In their haste to find and deliver swift justice to Joshua, they had not contacted the garrison commander as the law required.

Aubrey fixed his eyes on Monsieur Tresvant. “We were just about to contact you, dear sir. There's been a tragic death in the Bouvier family.”

Walker barged in, pushing Aubrey out of the way with his shoulder as he passed. “We know all about it,” he said roughly. “Where's the body? We want to it see right now!”

Marie-Elise didn't bother acknowledging Aubrey as she walked past him. She didn't even look at him. Behind her was a man in uniform. He walked in too.

“Monsieur Tresvant, I don't mean to trouble you on a night such as this, but who shall I say this gentleman is?”

“I'm Lieutenant Avery. Troy Avery. The commandant is away on business and left me in charge. I'm here to investigate the murder of one Beaumont Bouvier.”

“Lieutenant Avery,” Aubrey began, “there's no need to investigate. We know who killed Monsieur Bouvier.”

Lieutenant Avery was about to respond when Walker said, “Do you, now?” He parted his jacket and put his hands on his hips. “I can tell you this much: it wasn't Joshua.”

Aubrey's face shattered. His mouth fell open, but no words exited.

Walker stepped to him and got right in his face, their noses almost touching. “That's right, fancy pants; it wasn't Joshua. And since it wasn't Joshua, that means one of you good-for-nothing Romans did the deed. My considerable money's on you, Aubrey.”

Aubrey took a few steps backward and said, “Me? Surely you jest, dear sir. Why would I kill Monsieur Bouvier? He was my . . .” His words trailed off.

Marie-Elise offered a disgusted frown and said, “My dear brother was your what?”

Aubrey responded with loud silence. He knew he couldn't say what they were all pretending not to know. The truth acknowledged and death were one and the same.

Lieutenant Avery remained quiet and observed Aubrey's reaction to Walker's stinging accusation.

“I'll say it since you won't!” Walker screamed. “He was your lover, right? Right? Go on ... tell us. He was your lover, right? Say it!”

“Walker Tresvant, what's the meaning of this intrusion?” Cadence said when she entered the foyer.

Lauren and the housemen listened attentively.

“I think you know the meaning, Cadence,” Marie-Elise said with rancor. She knew of Cadence's affair with her younger brother, Tristan, and it angered her to see her acting as if she was in love with Beaumont. The marriage had been a sham from the start. It was a marriage of convenience and for the consolidation of power. Beaumont needed a wife to cover up his homosexuality, and Cadence married Beaumont in an effort to gain power. She had assumed that Beaumont was weak because he was effeminate. When she found out that he wasn't weak and that she was expected to behave like any other married woman, she thought she had been tricked and began to loathe him.

“I most certainly do not,” Cadence said. “My dear husband—”

“Your
dear
husband?” Marie-Elise questioned, disrupting her sister-in-law in mid-sentence. “Don't pretend to love my brother now that he's gone to meet his maker.”

“What . . . on ... earth are you talking about, Marie-Elise?” Cadence asked. “What's this all about?”

“It's about money and property, Cadence!” Walker shouted.

“Bouvier money, Cadence,” Marie-Elise added, backing her husband's play. They had carefully planned this little scene before leaving Chateau Tresvant.

“My dear husband was murdered today and his body isn't even cold yet, and you two come here screaming at me about money and property? Are you two insane?”

“I'm sure his body is quite cold by now,” Marie-Elise said sarcastically. “Come to think of it, it's been cold where you're concerned from the beginning. Isn't that right?”

Cadence slapped her face so hard that it left a hand print on her cheek. She screamed, “How dare you!”

Marie-Elise was stunned by the sudden stinging blow. When she had been slapped, she returned the favor with the back of her hand. A fight was about to break out, but the men separated the women before any more blows were thrown.

“Lieutenant,” Walker shouted, “are you going to stand there stone-faced while she assaults and insults my wife?”

“Let's all calm down and keep our wits,” Avery said calmly. “Where's the body? I want to see it. Until I see a body, there is no official death.”

“He's upstairs in his room,” Cadence said. She looked at Walker. “If you care anything about your wife, don't let her go up there and see him like that.”

Aubrey said, “May I ask how you know for certain that Joshua did not kill Monsieur Bouvier?”

“I know he didn't kill him because he was at my plantation all night with a female I own. If you doubt that, tell me how I know all about the tour you gave Lauren Renee Bouvier. How do I know her new name if I have not been in contact with Joshua or the girl?”

“That you were in contact with him does not prove he didn't kill Monsieur Bouvier and Louis,” Aubrey said. He hated the idea that no one seemed to recognize that there were two murders, not just one. He couldn't help but think that if Louis were a woman and was found in the same condition, everyone would acknowledge both deaths. “He could have killed
them
and then gone over to your plantation to secure an alibi. It only proves that Joshua somehow learned that the men of Bouvier Hill sought to have a word with him. Knowing this, and perhaps fearing for his life, he fled to a place he considered sanctuary.”

Lieutenant Avery finally said, “And what do you make of the girl's assertion that the man in question was with her the entire night?”

“What is the penalty for murder, Lieutenant?” Aubrey asked.

“Death by a firing squad,” the lieutenant answered without contemplation.

“So then, if you find that he did in fact kill both men, how soon would you carry out the death sentence?”

“Immediately. This very night. This very moment. I brought the soldiers from the garrison for the occasion.”

“Again, sir, that is precisely why he lied about his whereabouts,” Aubrey said. “His life hangs in the balance.”

“There are two flaws in your line of reasoning,” the Lieutenant said.

Aubrey raised his eyebrows. “Flaws, sir?”

“Yes, flaws. First, he did not lie about his whereabouts, as you claim. The man was as forthright as one could be. The woman he was with confirms this. Second, if he were worried about the immediacy of death, as you assert, why would he run to a neighboring plantation, see a woman, lie with her, and remain with her all night, knowing full well that he, being a black man and a slave, killed a white man in his own house, in his own bed?”