Only By Moonlight (20 page)

“Wow,” LaShaun murmured as she rested the
open book on her lap.

“Now you know of the chilling tie between
your family and the Trosclairs,” Miss Rose said as she set up three
long white candles on the coffee table. She then arranged a circle
of small cloth bags around them. Next she placed a rosary on a lace
shawl that she draped on one side of the long table.

“We are related, and I had an affair with
Quentin back in the day,” LaShaun murmured in shock.

“Non, cher. Chloe’s baby died. It’s said that
the baby had a shock of red hair just like the Scotsman, one of the
beasts that violated her. It’s fairly certain his seed is the one
that took root in the poor girl.”

LaShaun felt a burning hot hunger for
vengeance. “Were they all cursed? Those men I mean.”

“Legend has it that none of them ever
prospered.” Miss Rose turned to LaShaun and shrugged. “Their names
are lost to history, so we can’t be sure.”

“Why did the Trosclair family become rich if
they were cursed?” LaShaun picked up the book and turned pages to
read more.

“The tale passed down says Chloe’s uncle,
Theodore LeGrange, made a bargain with Trosclair. He would not
curse his generations, and in return, the LeGrange family would be
freed from slavery. Not only that, but they would be given land and
livestock.” Miss Rose started to continue but the doorbell chimed.
“Let’s get this business done with the least damage.”

“I wish you’d explain...” LaShaun broke off
when Miss Rose waved a hand at her.

“No time. Watch and learn.” Miss Rose went to
the foyer.

Moments later came the sound of the door
opening and closing. When Miss Rose returned, LaShaun thought she
was alone. Then Miss Rose swept out both arms in a flourish. The
enigmatic “they” walked through the archway into the parlor side by
side.

“This is Odette’s grandchild.” Miss Rose
turned to LaShaun. “Justine and Pauline Dupart, LaShaun.

“Nice to meet you,” LaShaun said. She blinked
at the dizzying feeling of seeing double.

The identical twins both wore their hair in
thick braids. One had hers pinned up. The other wore a tignon, or
elaborate scarf, with several of her braids hanging to her
shoulders. Though they looked ageless, LaShaun guessed them to be
in their late fifties or early sixties. One wore jeans and a tunic
styled tie-dyed t-shirt under a bright red jacket. The other wore a
maxi dress in vibrant colors and a dark green ankle length coat.
They both eyed LaShaun with great interest.

“I’m Justine,” said the twin with her hair
uncovered.

“Which can only mean I’m Pauline. Glad you
said something, sister. Sometimes we don’t even know which of us is
which.” Pauline tittered. This earned a rolling of the eyes from
her sister.

“That joke is older than our grandmother,”
Justine retorted.

LaShaun laughed. “I liked it.”

“Don’t encourage her,” Justine replied. She
put her large quilted floral purse on one end of Miss Rose’s sofa.
“Are we going to have to beg for something to drink? That’s a long
drive from Mermentau, Rose.” She sat down heavily on the sofa.

“Pooh, stop your complaining. You drive
farther than that to see that old man you chasing,” Pauline replied
with an impish wink at LaShaun. She sat down on the other end of
the sofa.

“That is none of your business.” Justine
snapped. “You keep flapping those loose lips and I’ll...”

“I was only remarking on how wonderfully
faithful you are to Henry, dear sister,” Pauline said. Her large
brown eyes widened innocently.

“How you have time to mix in my affairs is
amazing. Your unruly herd of a family can’t keep themselves out of
trouble more than a few days at a time.”

“My boy went to jail one time and you never
stop talking about it,” Pauline said heatedly.

“Stop it right now,” Miss Rose cut in. “I
don’t have time or patience for this nonsense today. You should at
least learn to curb this bickering in front of someone you just
met.

Pauline cleared her throat. “Absolutely
correct, Rose. I’m sorry, sister. I shouldn’t tease you.”

Justine shrugged. “Well, I should be used to
your ways by now. I’m a little sensitive about my Henry,” she said
to LaShaun in a whisper as though they were alone. “My husband died
ten years ago. A woman gets lonely you know.”

“Henry’s a good enough man, Justine. But you
could do better,” Pauline butted in as she accepted a cup of coffee
from Miss Rose.

“Now don’t you start with that again.”
Justine grimaced at Pauline.

“Enough,” Miss Rose said loudly. “We have a
serious situation on our hands, ladies.”

“I’ll say.” Pauline turned to gaze at LaShaun
intently, so did her twin sister. “We got to stop Satan from being
elected sheriff of Vermilion Parish,”

Chapter 12

LaShaun shot to her feet. “What the
hell...”

“Exactly, girl. Straight from hell,” Justine
said in a grave tone.

“Miss Rose, I’m gonna need you to start
explaining right now,” LaShaun said. For the first time in years
she felt unnerved.

“Surely Miz Odette prepared her?” Pauline
turned to Miss Rose.

“LaShaun was living in Los Angeles when
Odette got sick. LaLa ran out of time, my dears.” Miss Rose sat
down one of the upholstered chairs that faced the sofa.

“LaLa?” LaShaun asked. “That was my nickname
when I was little.”

“Oui,” Justine said. For the first time the
serious woman wore a smile. “We called you Petite LaLa. But your
grandmother was LaLa first. Her grandmother used to call her that.
You know LaLa was what the old folks called house parties.”

“They say nobody could party like your great
grandmother, and you from what I hear. You got it honest,” Pauline
added with another wink. “I hear you had Quentin Trosclair wrapped
around your finger at one time.”

Miss Rose spoke up before a stunned LaShaun
could recover enough to answer. “We didn’t come here to gossip.
What do you think about this idea of reaching out to the spirit
world?”

“No biggie. We’ve done it before,” Justine
said promptly.

Pauline put a hand on her sister’s arm. “But
only in very serious situations.”

“Well I’d say trying to fight the devil
qualifies, sister,” Justine replied mildly.

“You keep talking about the devil. My family
stirred up a minor spirit. I mean, he’s evil enough. Loves chaos
and causing trouble, but I didn’t think...” LaShaun’s voice trailed
off as the full weight of their assertion sunk in.

“When you call on any spirit, even God’s
angels, there are consequences, child,” Miss Rose said quietly.

“That’s why we use our ability sparingly,”
Justine added, and looked at her sister.

“Yes, we’re careful to keep a low profile.
Folks from miles around would show up on our doorstep wanting us to
contact their dearly departed.” Pauline sighed.

“For good or questionable reasons. Sometimes
you can’t tell the difference because people lie,” Justine said.
“We’re not telepathic that way, so we can’t sort out motives.”

“Only a few know what we can do. We’ve
learned through the years that’s best,” Miss Rose explained, and
the twins nodded with her in agreement. “Back to the business at
hand.”

“LaLa was a strong woman, so she might be
still connected to this world,” Justine replied. “But she may not
want to communicate. Spirits can be moody.”

“Tell me about it,” LaShaun retorted. “It’s
no fun having them bust in on your life uninvited.”

“Rose explained what’s happening. We’ve been
watching the news. I don’t like what I’m seeing.” Pauline looked at
her sister.

“Pauline can see connections and patterns in
events,” Justine explained.

LaShaun glanced at Miss Rose. “See? That’s
what I was trying to explain. Wait a minute. If Satan has taken an
interest in this, then there is a plan. Oh Lord.”

“What?” The twins said in unison and both
leaned forward.

“This is going to sound crazy, but what if
someone wanted to get serial killers released to start even more
chaos?” LaShaun looked around the three older women.

“Pooh-ya, child,” Miss Rose blurted out.
“They got enough lowdown criminals running loose. Satan doesn’t
have to recruit.”

Pauline studied LaShaun for a few moments.
“Most are wicked, that’s true. But they aren’t all that special, or
smart come to that. What are you thinking?”

“Manny is all three. He’s smart, wicked and
special. He has paranormal abilities,” LaShaun said quietly. “What
he can do is limited because he’s cut off from society. And they
keep him on medication to control his rages.”

“Okay,” Miss Rose and the twins exchanged
glances. All three shrugged.

“What if the rest of the cases Montgomery
works on are the same? Serial killers with paranormal skills?” The
tiny pricks along LaShaun’s arms confirmed she was on the right
track.

The twins made the sign of the cross while
Miss Rose murmured, “My oh my.”

“If you’re right, then that settles it. We
need to call in reinforcements,” Justine pronounced solemnly.

Pauline and Justine rose as one. They moved
the candles around to fit some shape they wanted. Justine pulled
out matches from her pocket and lit the wicks. Her sister whispered
as they both moved.

Miss Rose stood back and watched them. “You
need me to do anything?”

“We brought what we need.” Justine pulled a
large wooden cross and a Bible from her floral tote.

“Just like that you’ve decided we should
try?” LaShaun watched them in fascination. She’d never had contact
with any others with “the gifts”, only her grandmother and Miss
Rose. Then she shuddered. And Manny Young.

“This is the most serious situation we ever
been called on,” Pauline said and looked at her sister.

“Yes, now let’s get started. Stand up, dear,”
her sister said.

She and Pauline joined hands and walked in a
circle around the table. As the sisters walked, the flames of the
candles danced. They called Monmon Odette’s full name as they
recited prayers asking for divine guidance and permission to
communicate with her. LaShaun was startled at a touch on her
shoulder.

Miss Rose handed LaShaun a knit shawl. “Wrap
up, cher. It’s going to get cold in here.”

LaShaun did as instructed. Sure enough ten
seconds later the warm cozy room took on a distinct chill. Not
knowing what to expect, LaShaun waited for one of the twins to
start speaking in her grandmother’s voice. Instead they continued
walking in a circle repeating prayers in perfect sync. Pauline
would start one and they’d end it at the same time. Then Justine
would start up and they’d repeat the process. Ten minutes went by.
LaShaun felt no shift in the atmosphere. Not one of Miss Rose’s
many knick-knacks moved. Only the flames wavered. Suddenly the
twins stood still in identical listening poses.

“What the--” LaShaun stopped when Miss Rose
pressed a finger to her lips.

“You’ll know soon,” Miss Rose whispered ever
so softly close to LaShaun’s ear.

The antique clock in the hall chimed ten
times. After a while the tick-tock coming from it seemed amplified
throughout the house. This is dragging on way too long, LaShaun
thought. Ten minutes and still the only thing moving in the house
seemed to be the hands on the clock. Another sound of chimes
signaled fifteen minutes had gone by. LaShaun started to express
impatience that nothing had happened. Before she opened her lips to
speak, the twins shushed her.

Pauline gestured, moving her hand in a
circle. “Turn around, and keep going,” she whispered.

“But...” LaShaun stopped when three pairs of
dark eyes gazed back in reproach. “I hope Monmon Odette shows up
sometime this decade.”

LaShaun followed instructions. After a few
seconds the walls spun past like she was on a merry-go-round.
Suddenly she saw flowers everywhere framed by blue skies. Shades of
pink, white and violet azaleas bloomed. A warm breeze brushed
through her hair. She heard humming, a song Monmon Odette loved to
sing. Shading her eyes against the bright sunlight, LaShaun saw a
straw hat floating above the leaves. She followed it until she came
to a clearing.

“Humph, took you long enough to get here,
girl.” The voice to her right had a playful lilt to it that LaShaun
recognized. Her grandmother stood fanning herself with the straw
hat. She wore denim overalls and a red shirt. Her hair was swept up
in a blue and white bandanna, but flowed into a thick ponytail.

“Monmon Odette,” LaShaun said, her voice
shaking. She put a hand over her mouth as tears fell.

“Now none of that. Do I look like I’m
suffering?” Monmon Odette waved a hand as if dismissing her sorrow.
“I wouldn’t come back to earth for nothing. Just look at my
garden.”

In spite of her tears LaShaun burst out
laughing. “You could at least pretend to miss me, you rascal.”

“Ah, just like the living. It’s all about
you,” Monmon Odette quipped. Then she winked at LaShaun, which made
her laugh again.

“Okay, Monmon. You got me on that one.”
LaShaun ran to her grandmother and hugged her tightly. “I thought
you’d tell me we couldn’t touch or maybe I’d be grabbing at
air.”

Monmon Odette kissed LaShaun’s cheek and then
stepped away. “Just this once, cher. But after...”

“I won’t be able to speak to you and touch
you again, will I?” LaShaun gazed at her in wonder.

“Oui. Most don’t get that much. So you best
have a good reason for waking the dead,” Monmon Odette teased, then
laughed hard at her own joke.

LaShaun felt a bit disoriented. At once
Monmon Odette seemed both close and far away. The colors
surrounding sharpened as though lit from within. A sense of urgency
pushed LaShaun forward.