American Heroes Series - 03 - Purgatory (29 page)

Elliot lifted an eyebrow. “That’s
a pleasant thought.”

Dr. Clarke grinned. “It’s just
the way it was back then,” she insisted. “This entire area was very lawless, so
it wasn’t unusual at all. Murder, rape, all of those things that we today considered
uncivilized were considered common occurrences back then.  People struggled to
survive any way they could.”

Elliot shrugged. “I guess that
makes sense,” she said. “So what do we know about the family of Louis-Michel
Aury and Sophie? Nash says that their children are buried down in that crypt.”

Dr. Clarke nodded. “Here’s where
it gets interesting,” she said. “I had a friend of mine at the University of
New Orleans Department of Regional Studies do some research on the life of
Louis-Michel and Sophie and she came up with some interesting things based on
documents from the time from other plantations such as Destrehan and Mary. 
These were plantations also known to have association with pirates,
particularly Destrehan.  Destrehan was owned by the same family for
generations, but the second owner, a man by the name of Nicholas Destrehan,
married a woman by the name of Louise de Navarre. Mrs. Destrehan kept a
meticulous journal, which today is a huge help in our understanding of the
plantation way of life.  Anyway, it would seem that one of her journal entries
included information about Sophie MacGregor, Louis-Michel’s mistress.”

Elliot was completely hooked on
the story. “What did she say about her?”

Dr. Clarke continued, her manner
serious. “Apparently, the rumor was that Ms. Sophie, despondent over the
evident death of Louis-Michel because the man had not returned to Purgatory in
years, went mad and poisoned her children.  At least, that was the rumor that
Ms. Louise heard.  She wrote about how she could not understand why Sophie
would do such a thing because she clearly adored her children, but because
Purgatory and the area surrounding it was so lawless and wild, Mr. Destrehan
would not allow his wife to travel north to see her friend.  Louise writes that
she later heard that Ms. Sophie killed herself after the death of her children
and since we have never found Sophie’s crypt, we don’t know for certain if that
rumor is true.”

Elliot was staring at the woman
in increasing horror. “But…,” she swallowed hard and continued. “They were just
babies. The oldest is seventeen and the youngest one is only eight years old.”

Dr. Clarke nodded sadly. “I
know,” she said quietly. “But mental illness was unknown and untreatable back
then. Who’s to say what happened? Perhaps when we excavate the crypts below,
we’ll know for sure.”

Elliot nodded, still caught up in
the shockingly tragic story of Sophie and her children. “Then if all of the
children were murdered by their mother, who does Nash descend from?”

“The eldest boy, Paul-Michel,”
Dr. Clarke told her. “He was married the year a before to a local girl by the
name of Julia Loreau. They had one son, the only child that carried on the Aury
blood lines.”

Stunned by the deep and tragic
tale, Elliot couldn’t think of anything else to say. She thanked Dr. Clarke
and, forgetting why she had come downstairs in the first place, wandered back
upstairs feeling increasingly despondent. She simply couldn’t understand how a
mother, any mother, could kill her own children. 

It was the worst thing she had
ever heard. 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

It was after seven in the evening
by the time Nash was headed back to Purgatory.  An impromptu Ascension Parish
Council meeting had held him up and even though he had called Elliot to let her
know, still, he felt the disappointment of not seeing her right away.  He was
anxious to get home to her.

As he drove the Airline Highway
south, his cell phone rang.  His father’s number came up on caller I.D. and he
answered.

“Hey, Dad,” he greeted. “How are you
doing?”

Camp Aury sounded gruff and
irritated. “My prostate is too big, my bunions are killing me, and the doctor
wants to remove a few big moles from my back,” he grumped. “Other than that,
I’m living, son. I’m living.”

Nash tried not to laugh, mostly
because he knew his father was serious. The man was as tough as nails but a
notorious hypochondriac.  It was an odd combination.

“Sorry to hear about your
troubles,” he said. “Other than that, how’s everything? I haven’t talked to you
in awhile.”

Camp grunted. “That’s because
you’ve been busy, from what I’ve been told,” he said. “I saw your brother this
weekend. What’s this I hear, you have a girlfriend?”

Nash laughed softly. “Well,” he
began, wondering how and where to start. “It happened kind of fast, so don’t be
upset that you didn’t know.  Nobody knows, except Beau, and that’s because he’s
been working on Purgatory.”

“That’s another thing he told
me,” Camp grumbled. “You’re in love with the woman who bought Purgatory.”

Nash’s smile faded. “Dad, don’t
jump to any conclusions,” he said. “There’s no ulterior motive or whatever you
might be thinking. I met her when I went to go collect the remains of Mamaw’s
junk and fell in love with her, pure and simple. She’s a wonderful woman and I
know you and Mom are going to love her.”

On the other end of the phone,
Camp just shook his head. “Nash, you were always my level-headed kid,” he said.
“You can do no wrong. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you falling in love
with a woman in a whirlwind romance.  Love takes time, son, you know that.”

Nash thought of the petite blond
he was so crazy about. “You may not be comfortable with it but I’m asking that
you respect it,” he said quietly. “You know I’m not given to whims.  But what
happened... it was right from the beginning, Dad.  I’ve never felt this way
about anyone, ever, and I’ve never been so happy in my entire life.  Can you at
least support me even if you don’t agree?”

The phone was silent for a few
seconds. “I’ll always support you, son, you know that,” he said, less gruff and
more understanding. “I just don’t want to see you hurt, that’s all.”

Nash’s smile was returning. “I’m
a big boy,” he said. “I can take care of myself. What did Beau say about her?”

Camp was back to grunting.
“That’s she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen and if you weren’t
already with her, he was going to leave his wife for her,” he teased, then
turned serious. “He says you have his blessing. I guess that should be good
enough for me.”

Nash’s smile broadened. “Good,”
he said. “Anyway, that’s not why I called earlier. I called because I wanted to
pick your brain about something.”

“What?”

Nash was entering the city limits
of Sorrento as he spoke. “What do you know about Louis-Michel and Sophie’s
children?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, do you know the history on
them? When and how they lived, and how they died?”

Camp stretched out in his
armchair and kicked up his feet, getting comfortable for the conversation.
“Well,” he said thoughtfully. “The oldest boy, Paul-Michel, was my grandfather
several times over. Yours, too.  He died very young, from what I recall.”

“How?”

Camp scratched his chin. “From
what I remember, his mother killed him.  Him and his siblings.  The story
passed down through Mamaw was that Sophie thought she was poisoning Louis-Michel
and ended up feeding the kids whatever she intended to feed him.  At least,
that’s what Mamaw told me.  I don’t know if it’s true or not. Didn’t I tell you
that before?”

In those few, brief sentences
from his father, Nash was feeling sick and apprehensive.  “If you did, I didn’t
remember,” he said. “So she killed the kids?”

“That’s what I was told. Killed
them and threw them in the bayou, because no bodies or graves were ever found.
Why do you ask?”

Nash debated about telling him
because Camp could get very worked up over things. Still, he decided to do it. 
His father knew everything about the family history and needed to hear it.

“Because we found a crypt
underneath the house yesterday,” he said. “It had four coffins in it, those of
all four of Louis-Michel and Sophie’s children. The date of death was the same
for all of them, Dad – the year 1830.  They all died so young and I couldn’t
recall hearing anything about why they all died at once. I thought it might
have been Yellow Fever.”

“What?” Camp burst. “You found a
crypt under the
house
?”

Nash nodded. “We sure did,” he
replied. “The access was hidden by a secret door in the wall of the dining
room.”

“My God!” Camp hissed. “I… I
don’t even know what to say. I’d never heard anything like that about the
house, not ever. How in the hell did you find it?”

“It was by accident, trust me.
But the State of Louisiana is out there examining the crypt.  Do you want to
come over and see it?”

“Hell, yes!” Camp shouted. “Your
mom and I will be out there tomorrow!”

Nash grinned. “You’ll get to meet
Ellie.”

“Ellie?” he repeated, initially
puzzled. “Oh, yes. Your girlfriend. Well, at least she’s got a good Southern
name.”

Nash laughed. “Her name is
Elliot, but everyone calls her Ellie. She’s from California.”

“Elliot?” Camp didn’t like it.
“What kind of Yankee name is that? Well, we’ll see about her. We’ll just see.”

Nash was laughing softly. “She’s
a little bundle of fire, Dad. I wouldn’t test her if I were you. You might come
away missing an eye.”

Camp started to grump at him but
ended up laughing. “Then you deserve her,” he said. “Maybe she can keep you in
line.”

Snorting, Nash said good-bye to
his father and hung up just as he neared the turnoff for Purgatory.  Shortly,
he was in the crunchy gravel driveway, pulling up the long, tree lined avenue
until he reached the massive house at the end.  His brother’s truck was still
there, as were the cars from the State of Louisiana people.  He got out of the
car and went to the house.

The front door was unlocked and
he entered.  It was relatively quiet as he walked back towards the central hall
and the winding staircase, but he could see light coming from the dining room,
kitchen and ballroom. 

Entering the kitchen with its mix
of new appliances and old counters, he caught sight of Elliot sitting at the
breakfast table with Beau.  His heart warmed as he gaze fell on her as she
talked quietly with his brother. It was what he had wanted from the beginning
with her – coming home to her sweet face every night. 

When Elliot caught movement from
the corner of her eye and saw Nash, she smiled brightly and stood up.

“Hi,” she said. “How was your
day?”

What sweet words
, he thought. He’d been waiting
to hear words like that his entire life.  He smiled at her and wrapped his arms
around her, kissing her sweetly.

“Long,” he said truthfully. “How
was yours?”

Elliot’s smile faded somewhat.
“Interesting,” she said. “Are you hungry?”

“Don’t go to any trouble.”

“That’s not an answer.  I already
have dinner for you if you want it.”

He smiled. “Then I’m hungry.”

She had him sit down with Beau,
who had apparently waited to eat with his brother.  Elliot pulled a bunch of
asparagus out from the refrigerator and put them under the broiler along with
the plates of chicken and rice she had heating in the oven.  As she busied
herself with preparing dinner, Nash pulled off his sport coat and slung it
across the back of one of the chairs.

“Where are the kids?” he asked
her, looking around. “It seems kind of quiet around here.”

Elliot began mixing something in
a saucepan. “Alec found movie theaters about twenty miles from here, so he and
Penny went to see a movie.”

“Good for them,” he commented as
he sat down and rubbed his eyes. “Man, what a day.”

Beau had a half-empty beer in his
hand. “No rest for the wicked, eh?”

Nash shook his head. “My office
has been investigating corruption charges against one of the parish councilmen
and now the FBI is involved.”

Beau took a drink of his beer as
Elliot brought one over to Nash and popped off the top.  He stroked her fingers
when she handed it to him, smiling gratefully.

“Thanks, honey,” he said to her.

She winked at him and returned to
the stove. Beau watched the exchange between the two, how absolutely enamored
they were with each other, as he took another drink.

“Have you been directly involved
in the investigation?” he asked his brother.

Nash took a long drink of beer
and shook his head. “No,” he smacked his lips. “I’ve been informed at every
step, but my detectives have it pretty well in-hand. It’s going to take awhile
because this guy is so buried in corruption; it’s all over the place.”

Beau shook his head. “Must be a
mess,” he said. “Well, at least you won’t have to worry about it when you take
the job at the capital.”