Between Dusk and Dawn (32 page)

Verlena looked at LaShaun with her
head tilted to one side for a few minutes. “You shocked that I’m so
blunt. About the only thing I’ll claim from Orin Young is being
direct. Took me long enough to figure out how to stand up for
myself.”

“
You’re father is trying to
do his best for your nephew,” LaShaun replied.

Verlena’s hands gripped both arms of
the recliner, her fingers making deep pits in the fabric. “My
friend says I should trust you, but I’m not so sure if you’re set
on helping daddy.”

“
I’m trying to find out the
truth, and maybe help some families find out what happened to their
missing relatives.”

Verlena’s face went pale. “Them poor
folks not knowing is the worst part. Made me sick to see that one
lady on television crying her eyes out.”

I didn’t promise to help Manny be
released or to cover up anything.” LaShaun watched as Verlena
studied her as though looking for a sign to help her
judge.

“
You know what it’s like to
have folks look down at you,” Verlena said finally.

“
Well, hmm, yes. Mostly
because of...”

“
I heard all about the
Rousselles.” Verlena nodded. “So you know how it is to feel like a
freak, like everywhere you go there’s some kind of shadow hanging
over you.”

LaShaun did not have to pretend to be
intrigued, and baffled at the sharp turn their conversation took.
“I heard you and your sisters had friends, and you even worked on
the high school paper. Your sister Diane sang in the choir
and...”

“
Sure, we put on a good
front,” Verlena said, continuing her trend of interrupting LaShaun.
“I still felt like a freak. Pretending to be something I wasn’t,
nerves on edge cause you just know somehow the truth will come
out.”

“
Your mother mentioned
there were problems at home,” LaShaun said carefully.

“
Humph, is that what she
called it? Problems?” Verlena’s gray blue eyes so like her father’s
sparkled with anger.

“
She didn’t give me any
details.”

“
Now I know for sure you
talked to her,” Verlena said with a harsh laugh that like sandpaper
had rubbed her throat raw. “Never talk, that’s what she preached to
us. Don’t tell anybody. When I finally did say something my high
school guidance counselor helped me get the hell out. Thank God for
her, and for my husband. I went to Kaplan College here in town, got
a degree in medical coding. I tried to get Diane to listen and go
to school. She left with the first man that offered her a ride out
of town.”

“
How is she doing?” LaShaun
knew the question would keep Verlena focused on the story of their
lives.

“
Diane doesn’t keep in
touch with me and my other sister. Too much we don’t want to
remember or talk about. She’s had a couple of nervous breakdowns so
maybe it’s for the best.” Verlena swallowed hard.

“
I’m sorry,” LaShaun said
softly.

Verlena let go of the chair arms and
flexed the fingers of both hands. “Anyway, you came here to get the
real story. You sure you want to turn over that particular
rock?”

“
If it’s too hard for you
to talk about I understand. Manny seems to sincerely feel bad for
Miss Flora Lee. He misses you, your sister and his
grandmother.”

Verlena’s expression softened for the
first time. Her bottom lip trembled again, and then she seemed to
shake herself back to being strong. “He’s not totally to blame what
he turned into. Me and my sisters tried, but daddy had too strong a
hold on him. No different from the way he had a hold on the rest of
us.”

“
Manny was like your baby
brother,” LaShaun offered. She was guessing that Orin Young was the
villain.

Verlena balled up a corner
of the oversized sweater she wore over her jeans. “Manny wasn’t our
like our baby brother. He
is
our baby brother.”

“
Wait a minute. Repeat
that,” LaShaun said and leaned forward.

“
In the spring of 1979
daddy brought home this girl. I guess me and Diane didn’t give him
enough variety.” Verlena spoke as though the words tasted sour on
her tongue as they came out. She stopped talking. Her body became
stiff and straight in the chair. “Daddy introduced her as my
brother Ethan’s wife. They shared her until daddy decided he wanted
her all to himself. By that time Ethan had fallen in love with
Karla. Him and daddy got into it. Karla was hooked on drugs, and
daddy kept her supplied. Naturally she chose him over Ethan. That’s
when Ethan’s drinking and drugging got bad. He just took off one
day in 1980. Karla moved to New Iberia, and daddy would go see
about his daughter-in-law. One day a year later he showed up with
the baby.”

“
And you all told everybody
that Manny was Ethan’s baby.” LaShaun gazed at her, feeling the
vileness of what she was saying.

“
We did as we was told like
always,” Verlena said quietly, her voice husky with
emotion.

“
Your daddy sexually
molested you and Diane?” LaShaun said as gently as she
could.

Verlena nodded and let out a ragged
breath. “After all these years it’s still hard to come out and say
sometimes. I went through therapy. Diane wouldn’t. We managed to
protect our baby sister. I brought her with me when I got married.
She lives in Austin now, but don’t tell nobody,” Verlena said
quickly. “I don’t want daddy to know where she is.”

“
Oh God.” LaShaun began to
see glimpses of the damage one man had done.

“
Daddy thought of us as his
possessions to do with as he liked. It stopped only because we
escaped. Mama just pretended she didn’t see. She was just as much a
prisoner in some ways I guess. But she should have done something,
anything to protect her children.”

“
I’m so sorry for all
you’ve been through,” LaShaun said after a few minutes of
silence.

“
I don’t see how this makes
a difference to anything.” Verlena stared at LaShaun waiting for an
answer.

“
I don’t know either. Manny
seems to be connected. And no, law enforcement doesn’t think so,”
LaShaun added quickly when Verlena started to speak.

Verlena rocked the chair back and
forth. “Manny is locked up, and that’s exactly where he needs to
stay. Is daddy in the house by himself?”

“
What?” LaShaun blinked in
surprise at another sharp turn in their conversation.

“
Daddy likes having
somebody to control and manipulate. We’re all gone now, so who’s he
ruling over? No, I’ll bet he’s got him somebody. Lord, I hope it’s
not a child.” Verlena placed a hand over her heart.

LaShaun cleared her throat. “I got the
impression one of the nurses at Shady Grove had a thing for your
daddy.”

“
I’m sure she’s doing more
than sweet talk with him. But if she’s an older lady, that’s just
for show. Daddy likes ‘em young.” Verlena rubbed her chin. “He
enjoys slapping women around, and he’s even meaner if he’s
drinking. But I don’t know about killing people the way it was
described in the news.”

“
Did you think Manny would
become a serial killer?” LaShaun asked the question in a soft tone
to blunt the blow.

Verlena flinched and her eyes filled
with tears. “He was a sweet baby, but as he got older he acted
strange. Daddy would hit him, said it would toughen him up because
life was hard. Ethan hated the sight of Manny, and let him know it.
He’d knock Manny around if daddy wasn’t there to stop him. When he
got to be about twelve, daddy started taking him on ‘outings’. Lord
only knows what he taught that boy. By that time Diane and me was
trying to have our own lives with high school
activities.”

“
You did your best,”
LaShaun said.

Verlena looked away through the sheer
curtains covering one window. Tears rolled down her face. She
didn’t wipe them away. Soon her face was wet. “Maybe, maybe not.
Manny might be blaming me like I blame mama.”

“
I don’t think so at all.
Manny expressed affection toward you and Miss Flora Lee. Where’s
the bathroom?”

“
Down that hall to your
right,” Verlena whispered. She covered her face with both hands and
sobbed.

LaShaun followed her directions and
grabbed a box of tissues. She went back and handed them to Verlena.
For a long time the woman continued to cry, not paying attention to
the box or LaShaun standing next to her. Soon she was wailing as
though all of the agony caused by Orin Young coursed through her
body. LaShaun put an arm around her and let her weep. After several
minutes Verlena quieted. She grabbed a handful of tissues and
pressed them to her face. Then she blew her nose.

“
I’m sorry for breaking
down,” she said hoarsely. She breathed in and out a few times then
sat straight. “Thought for sure I was all cried out about that part
of my life.”

“
No need to apologize.”
LaShaun sat across from her. “I’m stirring up heartache, and I’m
not sure if it even matters. I apologize for making you talk about
these things.”

“
You’re the first one I
told about Manny. In fact I don’t think anyone else knows.” Verlena
shrugged.

LaShaun felt a tingle up her spine.
She leaned forward. “Does Manny know?”

Verlena’s eyes became haunted again.
“When Manny turned thirteen Ethan got drunk. He started pushing
Manny around. Manny screamed that he was a sorry excuse for a
daddy. Ethan said, “Then you don’t need to worry, you little
bastard, cause I ain’t your daddy’.”

“
What a horrible way to
find out,” LaShaun murmured.

“
Daddy beat hell out of
Ethan, and the next day he was gone. After that daddy shrugged it
off, said it was no big deal and told Manny to quit crying like a
punk. Manny started to act as cold as daddy and Ethan after that.”
Verlena squinted at LaShaun. “Manny is locked up, so he couldn’t
have killed those folks in the last few months. “

“
I’m not saying your father
killed them either if that’s what you’re thinking,” LaShaun
replied.

“
Honey, don’t hold your
breath waiting for
me
to defend Orin Young.”

They sat talking about Verlena’s
current life and her family. LaShaun wanted to give Verlena a
chance to recover from the ordeal of talking about her past. As she
looked around at pictures of a teenage boy and little girl, LaShaun
felt bad about bringing darkness to the life Verlena had built. She
knew the smiles on the face in the pictures were genuine. There
were no traces of a haunting secret on the faces of Verlena’s
children. Verlena had built a new family of friends. Scenes of
church picnics and of her son’s softball team were lined up on the
mantle.

“
This seems like a nice
quiet neighborhood,” LaShaun said finally. “You have a beautiful
family. I’m sorry if I’ve stirred up awful memories.”

Verlena waved a hand dismissing her
concerns. “Don’t worry about me. I survived. A couple of hours
talking about it won’t spoil my life. God brought me through it,
and you’re right. My life is good here. I love Beaumont now, but
living in a big city was an adjustment after living out in the
country. At least we had lots of land to run around in. Sometimes I
could pretend I was in another world.”

LaShaun started to reply then blinked
at her. She heard Willie Dupuis’s voice in her head talking about a
house, and Orin Young bragging about all the land he owned. The
familiar tingle raced up her spine and down her arms.” Verlena,
does your family own property on Black Bayou?”

“
Sure did. Why?” Verlena
replied.

“
Where exactly, and was
there a house? I mean other than the one y’all lived in. I need to
know where it is. It could be important.” LaShaun’s pounding heart,
sweaty palms and the insistent tingle told her she’d found a
link.

Verlena wore a grim expression as she
stood. “I’ll be right back.”

LaShaun heard scraping and a thump.
After ten minutes ticked by LaShaun ventured through the house. The
kitchen had a bright airy feel to it. The back door led to an open
garage. A light blue Ford Focus was parked there. Another space
stood empty with a grease spot on the concrete floor, no doubt
where Verlena’s husband parked his vehicle. Sounds from inside the
house and footsteps caused LaShaun to return to the living room.
She was seated again when Verlena came back holding a
shoebox.

“
Daddy married mama because
her people owned property. Here’s a picture of a house daddy built
years ago. One night he took me, Diane and Ethan there. He said we
was going to a party.” Verlena held a shoebox out in front of her.
She stared at it but didn’t remove the lid.

LaShaun felt excitement coursing
through her nerves like electricity. She had a feeling that house
had seen more than a few parties. Willie Dupuis had been to them,
and maybe Patsy. Then she realized Verlena stood holding the box
with trembling hands. She walked over to her.

“
You don’t have to look,”
LaShaun gently and pulled the box from Verlena’s stiff
fingers.

“
I’ve kept it all these
years. You know why? I’m hoping that daddy drops dead one day, and
we get it all. No, it would be better if
he
ends up in a nursing home. Then
he’d have to watch me sell off everything he’s got.” Verlena
breathed hard, and her eyes sparkled with wrath. “I’ll put some
money away for my kids to attend college. I’ll send some to Diane,
though she’ll probably send it back. We earned every cent he has in
this world, and I intend to get it one day.”