Bones to Ashes

“Harry found Bones to Ashes, Obéline. I know Évangéline wrote those poems. Some of them as recently as 2001.”

Her eyes darted past me to the window.

“I know about O’Connor House. I’m tracking the purchase order. I’ll bet Virginie LeBlanc will turn out to be you or Évangéline.”

“You stole from me.” She spoke without bringing her eyes back to mine.

“I hate to break it to you, but what you and your husband have done is infinitely worse than pinching a book.”

“You misjudge us, and make hurtful accusations that are untrue.”

“What happened to Évangéline?”

“This is none of your business.”

“Was that the reason? Business? What the hell, the kid works for Daddy. It’s not in the job description, but I’ll strip her, tie her with ropes, and take a few shots. She’s young and poor, needs the work. She won’t rat me out.”

“That’s not how it was.”

I slapped the table so hard Obéline flinched. “Then tell me. How was it?”

She spun to face me.

“It was my father-in-law’s business manager.” Tears wet the gnarled flesh. “He forced Évangéline to do it.”

“Mr. Evil No Name.” I wasn’t buying it. If there was such a person, Obéline had to know who he was.

“David fired him the day of his father’s death. I only found out about the pictures later.”

“What happened to Évangéline?” I’d keep hammering the question as long as I had to.

She stared at me, lips trembling.

“What happened to Évangéline?”

“Why can’t you leave well enough alone?”

“Well enough? Who’s well enough? Évangéline?”

“Please.”

“What happened to Évangéline?”

A sob rose from her throat.

“Did your husband kill her?”

“Don’t be crazy. Why do you say this?”

“One of his henchmen?”

“David would never let anyone hurt her! He loves her!”

Obéline’s hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes widened in horror.

As before, I felt a coldness spread through me.

“She’s alive,” I said quietly.

“No.” Desperate. “David loves her memory. Her poetry. My sister was a beautiful person.”

“Where is she?”

“Bourreau! Leave her alone.”

“I’m the bully?”

“You will only cause her pain. You will only hurt her.”

“Is she with this man?”

I remembered Obéline’s words from earlier. How had she put it? David and this man needed each other.

“She won’t want to see you.”

“He’s hiding her, isn’t he?”

“Pour l’amour du bon Dieu!”

“What? Did hubby swap your sister for Claudine? Needed a newer model?”

Obéline’s face tightened into a mask of fury. When she answered her voice had gone harder than mine.

“J’vas t’arracher le gorgoton!” I’ll pull out your windpipe!

We locked glares, but I looked away first. Was I feeling a touch of uncertainty? A motor sound drifted in from outside. Grew louder. Stopped. Shortly, the front door opened. Closed. Footsteps ticked up the hall, then Ryan strode into the dining room.

“Ready to roll?”

“Definitely.”

If my vehemence surprised Ryan, he didn’t let on.

“What about Claudine?” I asked, scooping my notes and phone into my purse.

“Social Services is right behind me.”

“Bastarache?”

“Handed him off to the Trois-Rivières SQ. They’ll stay on him. Looks like he’s heading to Montreal.”

“Hippo?”

“Flying to Tracadie later today. Plans to squeeze Mulally and Babin, check out some things that turned up in Bastarache’s files.”

I turned to Obéline.

“Last chance.”

She offered nothing.

I put all the menace I could into my parting words.

“Mark this, Obéline. I won’t stop until I find your sister. And I’ll do everything I can to see that your husband is prosecuted for kidnapping, child exploitation, child endangerment, and anything else we can think to pin to his sorry ass.”

Obéline spoke softly and with an air of sadness.

“I know you want to do good, Tempe, but you will cause harm instead. You will harm the people you are trying to protect and those who have helped them. Poor Cecile finds happiness here. Social Services will be a nightmare for her. And if you find Évangéline, it will cause her pain. May God bless you and forgive you.”

The quiet force of Obéline’s words pushed away my anger. I was pleading now.

“Please, Obéline, please tell me what I must know to bring the man who hurt Évangéline and Cecile to justice. Please do this.”

“I can say no more,” Obéline murmured, not raising her gaze to mine.

39

A S WE SPED ACROSS ÎLE D’ORLÉANS I RECOUNTED MY CONVERSATIONS with Claudine and Obéline.

“Double-barreled ambush.” Ryan sounded impressed. “Your husband’s a smut bandit. Your sister did bondage.”

“Obéline claims David is innocent of all the things of which I suspect him, and, in fact, helped some of the girls. Remember our conversation with Kelly Sicard.”

“Where does she lay the blame?”

“On a former employee of her father-in-law.”

“Who?”

“She didn’t know, or wouldn’t reveal his name. Says David fired him in 1980. The fact is that someone murdered several girls and the only link we have is Bastarache. I can’t ignore that.”

Ryan veered onto an entrance ramp. There was a short descent, a deceleration, then the Impala lunged forward and we were on the twenty. I fell silent, allowing Ryan to focus on driving.