Murder in the Marsh (7 page)

As Daniel pulled away from the LeBlanc home, he noticed for the first time bands of gray clouds traversing the sky. The long thin clouds pushed toward the north as they rotated from the southeast to the northwest. Blue sky could still be seen in-between, as they remained relatively sparse.

              The clouds must be the feeder bands for Hurricane Katrina, he thought. Streaking out from the extreme edges of a hurricane, feeder bands supply moisture from the ocean to the growing storm within. He knew thicker, swiftly rotating masses of clouds would soon follow. These would be so dense and dark that the sky couldn’t be seen. Day would become like night, and heavy rain showers would begin to fall. The wind would pick up to the point it would be difficult to even walk upright. The water would become too rough for a craft his size to safely operate. He began to wonder whether he would have as much time as he thought.

              Daniel sped through Grand Bayou village much faster than he normally would. He had a long way to go and didn’t have time to worry about the speed limit within the village confines. He flipped on his GPS chart plotting instrumentation, which provided him a clear image of all the canals, bays, and bayous in his immediate area. He needed to continue for approximately a mile due south on Grand Bayou Canal. Then he would veer off onto the similarly large Socola Canal and head southwest until he hit Bay Sansbois. After crossing Bay Sansbois, he would cut through the narrower Bayou Dulac and then to Bay Batiste. Working in the coastal marshes for the past ten years had taught him the importance of using caution through the canals and bays. A boater could easily damage his vessel on underwater obstructions such as oil and gas pipelines, submerged dams, abandoned shrimp nets, sunken vessels, oyster beds, derelict pilings, and a sundry of other dangerous objects. Running into one of these could bust, crack, or split the hull of his boat, as well as permanently damage a propeller blade or entangle it in the prop. He needed to move swiftly, but he also needed to avoid an untimely collision.

              On a normal day, Daniel would be concerned about colliding with other boaters. Seeing around one canal into another was difficult, because of the marsh grass and shrubbery that lined the shore. Boaters frequently experienced near misses as they rounded the curves. Recently a man and his wife had been killed when another boat slammed into theirs as it emerged from an intersecting canal. Daniel didn’t think he would have a problem with other boaters today, but he would keep an eye out just in case.

              Once out of the village, he pushed the throttle further forward. The two powerful engines roared in obedience and rapidly propelled the boat through the water. He made sure to stay near the center of the canal. If he strayed too far to either side, he could easily get trapped in the thick marsh mud. He didn’t need to get any mud sucked up into the cooling line of his engine. This would prevent the water from circulating around the engines and the motors could overheat.

              Daniel double-checked his marine radio to make sure it was set on the channel that Claude had radioed on. Though he couldn’t hear anything over the engines, he would eventually stop for a moment to see if he could make contact. He thought possibly the closer got to Claude’s location, the better the chance he would be able to clearly hear him and respond.

              After a few minutes, he veered to the right into Socola Canal. The canal was two miles long, and wider than Grand Bayou. A few forgotten crab trap floats bobbed on the surface, but nothing else moved in the normally heavily traveled canal. On both sides grew flats of marsh grass, which extended far into the distance. Every now and then a side canal branched off leading to some indeterminable destination. A few large skeletons of  cypress tree stood frozen in death off to the right, but it would not be long before time claimed even these remnants. As he observed the marsh habitat, he failed to notice the boat trailing him approximately a quarter mile behind.

Sheriff Holet sat in the wheelhouse of the shrimp boat he had boarded, and waited for Trahan to pass by. After some time passed, and he didn’t see him, he began to question whether he would return his way. If Trahan decided to head north on Grand Bayou Canal, he could take any of the numerous dredged canals branching off to the west. Depending on Trahan’s destination, those canals could take much longer to travel. Holet didn’t think Trahan was familiar with these canals, so he stayed put, gambling he would retrace his route

From his position, Holet could observe whether Trahan really was rescuing somebody. If so, he would be able to see the extra persons in the boat, and they would head back toward Happy Jack Marina. After what seemed like a long wait, Holet finally heard Trahan’s engines, and saw his boat go by. Holet lowered himself in the wheelhouse and peered over the wheel. No one else rode in the boat with Trahan, not even the teacher. Trahan didn’t look his direction, so the Sheriff felt confident he hadn’t been seen. If Trahan really was rescuing a mother and her two children, he should have been able to see them. He wondered what happened to Trahan’s teacher friend, but didn’t have time to investigate it. Trahan sped along rapidly. Holet needed to get in his boat and trail Trahan wherever he was going. He would look for the opportunity to deal with this problem once and for all.

As Holet pulled out of the side canal, he could see that Trahan was not turning back toward Happy Jack Marina. He headed south on Grand Bayou Canal. Holet allowed him some lead-time, and then followed. Several minutes passed, and Trahan took Socola Canal heading west. As he followed Trahan, the current situation seemed reminiscent of an earlier time. Holet found it hard to suppress thoughts from that fateful night James Trahan was murdered.

He remembered that after they rolled James Trahan into the boat tied up in the net, they set off for one of the deeper areas of Bay Batiste. Lauzon’s camp was located at the mouth of where Bayou Dulac opened up into Bay Batiste. Bayou Dulac was a short, but wide natural canal that connected Bay Sansbois to Bay Batiste. The distance had not been far to travel that night. However, even with a bright moon, they had trouble finding their way in the vast bay. They planned to tie the anchors to Trahan, and then drop him alongside a sunken shrimp boat. The only way to locate the submerged vessel was to find a white mast that still protruded out of the water. By dumping Trahan next to the boat, they would avoid a shrimper or oysterman inadvertently snagging on the body.

After nearly two hours of searching in the darkness, they finally found the sunken boat. They dropped anchor and shut off the motor. As they set about tying the two heavy anchors to Trahan, he began to talk to him through the netting. He shared with them that his physical death was only the beginning of a new spiritual life. He also told them he forgave them for their actions. Holet and the other deputy worked as quickly as possible. Trahan’s words seared Holet’s conscience, but fear kept him from doing what was right. Fear of the consequences, for him and his family, if he didn’t follow through on Lauzon’s orders. As they grabbed Trahan’s body, they could hear him praying to God. Instead of pleading, they heard him giving God thanks for the many blessings he had been granted in life. He was praying for his wife and child when the two deputies dumped him overboard. He floated momentarily until they dropped the two anchors in the water behind him. He immediately sank to the bottom and to his death. Holet looked at the other deputy, took a deep breath, and pulled up the boat’s anchor. In the years that passed, the other deputy died, and now only he carried the awful secret of James Trahan’s death.

As he pursued the younger Trahan, a mixture of conflicted emotions battled within him. Fear, anger and uncertainty churned inside, but fear remained the most powerful. As much as he wanted to think of himself as a different person now, he was essentially the same. Nearly forty years later, fear still mastered him. It compelled him on to actions that under normal circumstances were unfathomable. He had become a slave to fear, and fear acted as a cruel and demanding master.

Rachel noticed the changing weather after Daniel pulled away from the dock. The breeze had picked up and the clouds increasingly filled the sky. She knew they needed to act quickly to evacuate. She went back in and found Adele caring for her son, holding his head up and giving him a sip of water. Michelle stood at the foot of the bed watching her mother.

              After Adele finished, Rachel asked to speak with her in the next room. Rachel explained they needed to quickly gather some food and clothing, and then depart for Port Sulphur. The boat was not big, which would limit what they could carry. For the next forty-five minutes, Rachel and Adele set about gathering essential items. They also secured the house as well as they could to weather the approaching hurricane.

              Once they placed in the boat those supplies they needed, they began to prepare Andre and Michelle. They suited Michelle up with a small life preserver. Then they went to Andre’s room, and Adele bent down to help her son sit up. As Andre attempted to sit upright, he gasped in sudden pain. Adele quickly lowered him back down on the bed.

              “Andre, what’s de matter?”

              “My stomach, mama! It hurt bad,” he nearly wept in pain.

              “Oh, sha! Ahm so sorry. We’ve got to go because de hurricane is coming.”

              “I know mama. But it hurts.”

              “Ah know it does, baby. Let’s try again. Dis time we’ll go slow, and Ms. Rachel will help lift you.”

              Rachel moved to the other side of Andre’s bed, and they put their arms around his back. They gently lifted him, but Andre continued to experience sharp pains. They would not be able to continue, so they gently laid him back down on the bed. Rachel began to think about his diagnosis. She knew a person with stomach flu experienced nausea, vomiting, fever, and cramps, but she thought it unusual he experienced such sharp abdominal pain when trying to sit up. Stomach cramps shouldn’t cause the intense pain that Andre was experiencing, she thought.

              She asked Adele if Andre experienced any pain when she touched his abdomen. She didn’t know. She told Andre she was going to put a little pressure with her hand on his stomach. When she did so, Andre groaned pitifully. Adele quickly pulled her hand back, apologizing to her son, and looked to Rachel for an answer. Rachel motioned to go in the next room.

              “Adele, I don’t know for sure, but Andre’s symptoms are similar to appendicitis. I know the doctor said he had stomach flu, but he shouldn’t have such sharp and intense pain when he is barely touched like that.”

              “You tink appendicitis?”

              “I don’t know for sure, and I hate to second guess a doctor, but it sure seems like a possibility. I’m concerned that if we try to move him, his appendix could rupture. If it ruptures while we are moving him to the boat or during the trip, it could be very dangerous for him.”

              “What do you tink we should do?”

              “I think maybe we should try to call 911 again and see if we can get help.”  

              Adele agreed, so Rachel dialed 911 and spoke with the emergency dispatcher. The dispatcher took down their information and stated that all emergency help was tied up. She said that a Sheriff’s patrol boat was reported to be in their area, and she would see if it could be contacted. She also stated she would contact the Coast Guard to find out if any helicopters were available. She placed Rachel on hold. When the dispatcher came back on the line, she said the Sheriff’s patrol boat did not respond. She also stated that the two Coast Guard helicopters were still dealing with the offshore helicopter crash. The dispatcher told them to remain near the telephone, but to go ahead and make preparations if they absolutely had no other choice but to evacuate on their own.

              Rachel hung up the telephone with renewed apprehension. She explained the situation to Adele, and suggested they make final preparations and then grab something to eat. They removed Michelle’s life preserver and explained to her and Andre that they were going to have to wait a little longer for help to come. Adele turned on the TV to check the weather. The hurricane track still showed it churning in a westerly direction, while the forecaster continued to warn residents to evacuate. Rachel and Adele’s concern grew, but they tried to remain calm around the children.