Only By Moonlight (38 page)

Thirty minutes later, the reception was in
full swing. The band had the crowd up on their feet dancing like
crazy to popular rhythm and blues songs. LaShaun and Chase finally
took a break after doing the Cajun two-step through three Zydeco
tunes. They playfully staggered to the large reception tent. The
band played in one corner as wedding guests circled the tables
laden with food and drinks. They sat at a long table reserved for
the bridal party.

“Well, well, well. Thought I’d never see the
day when this serious fella would be having so much fun. And at his
wedding at that.” Retired Sheriff Triche grinned down at them. He
held a plate piled high with food from the buffet.

“Have a seat, Sheriff. You seem to be
carrying a load,” LaShaun quipped.

The old sheriff looked around guiltily.
“Yeah, I’m hiding out from my wife cause I know what she’s gonna
say. Thank goodness y’all got a good crowd here keepin’ her
distracted while I stuff my face.”

“I should go find her. She’s trying to keep
you healthy,” LaShaun replied and poked his arm with a finger.

“If I can’t treat myself every once in a
while, then life ain’t worth livin’. Hmmm, whoever did these little
meatballs has a true gift. Once I polish this off I’m gonna get a
slice of each one of those cakes.” He nodded toward the rapidly
disappearing white wedding cake, and the large chocolate groom’s
cake.

“Have yourself a good time, boss,” Chase
quipped. He stretched an arm around LaShaun’s shoulders and smiled
at the crowd.

“You two deserve to have a good time more
than me after the hell you’ve gone through.” The older man put his
plate down and wiped his mouth. “Any of them crazy cult folks
talkin’?”

Chase shook his head slowly. “Nope. Neal
Montgomery managed to slip away in all the confusion. Not that we
could charge him with anything more than trespassing. Even the
kidnapping would be hard to prosecute based on what happened. I
don’t remember a lot of that night, and the Saunders couple claim
we drank too much.”

“What about the murder? He had to have been
part of that Graham woman shooting her husband twelve times. Dang,
she really wanted him dead.” Former Sheriff Triche let out a
whistle.

“No evidence he was there or that he ever met
Allison or her husband,” Chase said, laying out the facts like a
law officer. “We would like to question him, but he’s
disappeared.”

“Well least the DA is gonna charge them other
fools. Of course after tangling with you two, they’re the ones with
all the bruises and black eyes.” Former Sheriff Triche let out a
hearty laugh. “I coulda told ‘em not to mess with your missus.”

“She’s amazing.” Chase kissed LaShaun on the
forehead.

Miss Rose and the twins approached. All three
had plates and held glasses of champagne. Miss Rose looked around
at the crowd. She shook her shoulders in time to the music. Justine
and Pauline chattered away about who they recognized.

“How ya’ll ladies doin’. I-- oh-oh. My wife
is lookin’ for me. Excuse me. I’ll be back later.” Former Sheriff
Triche nimbly slipped from his seat to blend with the crowd. He
moved away from his wife and toward the dessert buffet.

“Mrs. Triche is gonna have his hide when she
finds him,” Miss Rose said with a grin. She sat down in his now
empty chair. “You children are a beautiful sight together.”

“Your dress is a masterpiece, LaShaun,”
Justine added.

“Not to mention that fabulous wedding ring.
Almost makes a body want to get married again,” Pauline said. Then
the twins turned to each other in tandem. “Not even close,” they
tittered in unison.

“I’ll be right back, honey. Excuse me
ladies.” Chase made his way around the room, stopping to chat with
several guests.

“He’s going to talk to his mama,” Justine
said with certainty.

“I’m surprised she showed up. Mrs. Broussard
hasn’t spoken to him for over three months.” LaShaun felt the
brightness of the day dim a little.

Miss Rose patted her hand. “Don’t you worry,
cher. She’ll have to come around. Being hard-headed won’t get her
anywhere.”

LaShaun turned to the three older women.
“Speaking of hard heads, what in the world were you thinking
showing up in the woods that night? Dressed up in cloaks and
everything. And how did you manage to get away when the cops showed
up?”

Pauline and Justine giggled like naughty
kids. They glanced at Miss Rose to explain as they stuffed cake in
their mouths. Miss Rose shrugged. She stopped in the act of biting
into a spicy chicken wing.

“I’m not a helpless old lady. I used to
kick-box back in the day. Oh yes I did,” Miss Rose added at
LaShaun’s open-mouthed expression.

“You needed back-up no matter what you said,”
Pauline said. She sipped champagne. A handsome gray-haired
gentleman at the next table smiled at her. She lost interest in the
conversation.

“Exactly,” Justine replied. She daintily
dabbed frosting from her lips. “We knew you could handle yourself,
but we decided to even up the odds. Good thing we did, too. We knew
they’d be cloaked. Most of the old cults favor that get up.”

“Yes, Lord,” Miss Rose said. “The twins came
over that afternoon you left my house. We formed a circle and could
see dark cloaks moving among trees. We knew what it meant, that
they were in your woods.”

“Why didn’t you stay to tell the police what
happened though?” LaShaun gazed at them with new admiration.

Miss Rose smiled slyly. “And how would we
explain being there? We don’t advertise our gifts, cher. We’ve had
to do more than a few spiritual rescue missions over the years. By
the way, we made sure your sacred knife was safely returned to its
resting place. So no worries on that front.”

Justine leaned forward and lowered her voice.
“We may need it again someday.”

“This time we didn’t need more of us.” Miss
Rose continued on enjoying the food on the plate, but LaShaun
placed a hand on her arm.

“This time?” LaShaun asked.

Miss Rose shook her head. “We’re scattered
around the state, country and the whole world. A network of those
who fight evil.” Her expression grew solemn. “I’m afraid we’re
going to hear more from Montgomery and his crew.”

“We’ve alerted the network. Our group will
track him when he pops up on the radar,” Justine said.

“Tell me more,” LaShaun started to ask a
question, but Miss Rose cut her off.

“No, cher. Let’s not talk about a gloomy
subject on this day of happiness. Good will win,” Miss Rose said
with a gentle smile.

“I didn’t kill Abiku,” LaShaun replied.

“No, you only destroyed the vessel that kept
him anchored to this world. He’s been forced back into one of the
deeper levels of hell. I imagine Lucifer is very displeased with
him.” Justine’s voice took on an ethereal tone as she spoke. Then
she seemed to snap back to her sunny mood. She noticed her sister
was chatting up the gray-haired man. “You’d think Pauline would
have learned after three husbands.”

“I want more wings,” Miss Rose announced.

“And cake,” Justine agreed. The two women
stood at the same time. “I’m enjoying your wedding almost as much
as I enjoyed my own!”

“We have such beautiful weather, too. As if
the angels are smiling down on you,” Miss Rose exclaimed.

LaShaun accepted hugs from the women and
watched them drift away. Chase made his way back to the table, but
smiled without mentioning his mother. He took her hand and laced
his long fingers through hers. LaShaun studied his face and spoke
to him softly.

“Everything okay?” She asked.

“Perfect,” Chase replied without a trace of
upset or anger.

LaShaun sighed and leaned against him,
shoulder to shoulder. Seconds later Dave Godchaux walked over. Dave
nodded to the crowd. Some gaped at him in surprise. Several of
LaShaun’s extended family members squinted at him to show their
displeasure at his presence. Chase rose to greet him and shook his
hand.

“Sorry, I’m late you two. Here’s to your
happiness.” Dave lifted a goblet of champagne.

“Thanks, Dave. The better man won,” Chase
said with a wide grin.

“We ran a good race, Broussard. No
mudslinging or below the belt jabs. We’ll work together to make
sure Vermilion Parish is safe,” Dave said, ever the politician even
after the election.

“No argument here,” Chase replied.

“I’m going to say hello to a few of these
good people.” Looking every inch the man in charge, Dave strode
off. In minutes he was working the crowd with smiles and
handshakes.

When Chase sat down again LaShaun leaned
against him. “You’re not upset about losing the election,” she
said. LaShaun knew the answer so it wasn’t a question.

“Nope. I’m no politician, and that’s what the
job is mostly about. I enjoy the action out in the field. All in
all, things worked out for the best. Dave made it clear we would be
a team. I’ll still be chief of criminal investigations. M.J. will
head up the property crimes and traffic division. Dave gets to rub
elbows with big dogs.” Chase laughed. “Yep, I’m thinking I got the
best job in the world.”

“I’m happy you’re happy.” LaShaun winked at
him.

“And now I’ve got the best woman in the world
by my side,” Chase said and pressed his lips to the back of her
hand. His deep brown eyes clouded over. “Thank you for saving my
life. Is it finally over? I don’t want to be a danger to you or
anyone. If I thought...”

LaShaun pressed her finger tips to his mouth.
“You’re free, baby.”

“But that didn’t answer my question
completely. Is that thing and the cult that follows him
destroyed?”

“No, but at least they’re scattered to the
winds. That’s the best we can do, beat back evil before it takes
root,” LaShaun said quietly.

“Yeah, like being a law officer. We’ll never
get rid of crime, but we can control how much it spreads and the
damage crooks do.” Chase sighed and smiled. “At least for today we
kicked evil in the butt and sent it packing. That’s good enough for
me. Now come on and dance with your husband, Mrs. Broussard.”

“I’d be delighted, Mr. Broussard,” she
replied with a grin.

LaShaun allowed him to pull her to her feet.
A slow tempo song played as Chase took her into his arms. They
swayed to the music as a spring breeze brought the sweet scent of
magnolias in bloom. Laughter floated around them. Chase hummed, his
rich baritone voice soothing to her ears. She relaxed fully into is
embrace. Yet a flutter of anxiety rose up out of nowhere. LaShaun
held Chase closer as if to shield the precious life growing within
her. And she tried not to hear echoes of Miss Rose’s warning that
evil might stretch its icy skeleton fingers toward their child.

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