Between Dusk and Dawn (38 page)

“
Wonder if she’ll break
that rule when we have a child,” LaShaun murmured. She wondered if
having bi-racial grandchildren would be more than Mrs. Broussard
could take.

Despite the noise Adrianna picked up
on her comment like she had special sensors. “Mr. Bruce might be
easy going, but he won’t stand for her going that far.” Then
Adrianna stopped in her tracks to stare at LaShaun.

“
What is it?”

“
Are you and Chase going to
make another announcement soon? A little Chase running around,
huh?” Adrianna launched into a string of Spanish.

“
Whoa, whoa, whoa,” LaShaun
put in quickly. “No, we definitely
do
not
have any such announcement to
make.”

Adrianna pouted. “Ahn, too bad. I
would love to see you give Miss Queen Bee another shock before the
wedding.”

“
You’re terrible, and I
kinda like it,” LaShaun said and they both giggled.

They walked into the kitchen chatting
about candy recipes and getting husbands to do the cooking. Chase’s
father was the only man present. He greeted LaShaun with genuine
warmth. The other women smiled a lot and made small talk, but
LaShaun could tell they weren’t entirely comfortable with her. Much
to her relief, Adrianna stayed close. The topics of discussion
remained light, but finally they couldn’t say anything more about
the weather or how delicious Mrs. Broussard’s Swedish meatballs
tasted. After twenty-five minutes, Adrianna rescued them all with a
suggestion that she show LaShaun all the games set up. Once they
went out LaShaun let go of a deep breath.

“
Whew, thanks for coming up
with a reason to leave,” LaShaun whispered as they went out to the
large patio.

“
No hay problema, mi
amigo,” Adrianna replied with good humor. “They’re not too bad
really, just trying to adjust to a brave new world. You
know?”

“
I’ll take your word for
it,” LaShaun retorted. “I’m not one to talk recipes, housecleaning
and whatever else they discuss.”

“
You did good,” Adrianna
said, and patted her on the hand. “Now let’s have fun with the
kids.”

Beyond the paved patio orange and
yellow paper lanterns were strung on poles and in the branches of
two small trees. After playing several games, Chase’s youngest
sister Sharon organized kids and adults to play Black Cat Treasure
Hunt.

“
Okay,” Sharon called out
loudly until the kids settled down. “This is how it works. There
are little kitty cats hidden all around with clues on them. Solve
the clues to find Jean Lafitte’s gold! Here is the first clue to
get you started.”

Bruce stepped forward and dropped his
voice low to sound mysterious as he read the first clue. When he
shouted “Go!” the crowd of kids scattered like mice looking for
cheese. Two or three adults helped the younger kids, having and had
fun as the children. LaShaun stood with Sharon and the others
watching the chase.

“
Jean Lafitte’s treasure?”
Chase said to Sharon laughing.

“
I found an old trunk and
filled it with those candies packaged in gold foil to look like
coins, and threw in some trinkets and toys. The kids can divide up
the loot, and take it home.” Sharon took a bow. “Yes, I’m a
genius.”

Jessi ran up to them pulling her
mother, Elaine, with her. “Thanks for the best party
yet!”

“
You’re welcome, sweetie,”
Sharon said and swept out an arm. “I must share the
credit.”

“
Thank you for coming, Miss
LaShaun. The kids wanted me to ask something.” Jessi nodded at
her.

“
Sure.” LaShaun grinned at
her.

“
Do you feel any spirits
roaming tonight, like some that might show up at my party?” Jessi
looked at her with eagerness, clearly hoping for an apparition to
make her party the talk of the town.

“
Jessi,” Chase said and
rolled his eyes. The other adults leaned forward as though they
wanted to know as well.

LaShaun affected a serious expression,
closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them. “I sense
spirits of fun, family love and friendship. Now go on before
someone else gets that treasure.”

“
Aw, couldn’t you stir up
at least one ghost for us?” Jessi’s eyes twinkled with
mischief.

“
Sorry, I think there’s too
much happiness around here. Ghosts like gloomy places,” LaShaun
joked and pinched her rosy cheek.

“
Get on out there and hunt
for gold, girl,” her Uncle Bruce said with a chuckle.

“
Hey, I found one!” a
childish voice full of triumph squealed.

“
Oh no you don’t! It’s my
party, and I get the treasure!” Jessi shouted in protest and dashed
off across the backyard.

The adults stood around jokingly
taking bets on who would find the treasure first. Then they all
exchanged memories of their childhood fun at Halloween and other
parties. LaShaun began to feel at ease, even though Chase’s mother
made sure to keep her distance. The other older women kept her
company. They didn’t seem as eager to get to know LaShaun better
either. Fifteen minutes later two exhausted adult staggered back
with their four and five year olds.

“
Thank God Sharon hid some
mini prizes for our little ones,” Jackie, another of the many
cousins, said. Her three year old son clutched a toy action figure.
“Now excuse us while we go collapse on the sofas.” She left with
another cousin who carried her three year old son.

The others laughed as the two women
huffed and puffed their way along. Chase pulled LaShaun to him. “We
better get started before we’re too old to run after
babies.”

“
Stop,” LaShaun whispered
close to his ear.

She could only hope no one else had
heard him, especially Adrianna. Chase winked at her like one more
mischievous kid at the party. LaShaun leaned into his embrace when
he gently rested his arm around her shoulders. The younger
generation didn’t notice, but LaShaun glanced up to find Chase’s
mother staring at them. Her pink lipstick lips pressed together in
a thin line.

For another hour or so the children
seemed more than happy to keep the party going until they all
dropped from exhaustion. The parents had no such plans since it was
a school night. At six thirty Elaine, her husband and Jessi’s baby
sister performed the honor of rolling out Jessi’s big cake. The
birthday girl clapped her hands with delight. The decorations on it
were from a popular television show about a girls club. Jessi cut
the first few slices, and then her mother took over. Soon Mrs.
Broussard and several of her middle-aged female relatives were
busily wiping up gobs of butter cream frosting, and melted ice
cream. The children, now fueled by more treats, began another
spirited game of hide and seek. By seven thirty the adults were
more than ready to round them up and head home. Elaine stood and
got everyone’s attention.

“
Everett and I want to
thank you guys for helping us with Jessi’s party. I know some of
y’all took off from work early, and we appreciate you.” Elaine
beamed. “We’ve got the best family around.”

“
You betcha,” Bruce, Jr.
chimed in. “Now we got to get our little revved up motors settled
down.”

“
Lord yes. I’m about to
round up my crew. Look at ‘em running around like crazy outside,”
Sharon said and laughed.

A male cousin yawned and rubbed the
back of his neck. “I wish I could suck up some of that
energy.”

The rest of the adults laughed. The
group split into those helping clear the table, and those who went
outside to gather up the children. The orange and yellow lanterns
against the darkness gave the back yard a warm glow. LaShaun,
Sharon and Adrianna were in the den laughing at Mr. Broussard’s
jokes when Elaine came in with one of their cousins,
Debra.

“
We can’t find Melanie,”
Debra said, and twisted her hands together. Her husband walked
in.

“
Come on, Deb. You know
Melanie likes to explore. She’s probably in one of the rooms in
this big old house.”

“
No, she was outside with
the other kids. And she does like to wander off.” Debra glanced out
to the darkness. “Maybe she went into the woods.”

“
I’m sure she wouldn’t do
that. Little five year olds are afraid of the dark,” Sharon said
and rubbed her shoulders.

“
No she’s not. Melanie
likes adventures, and the dark doesn’t scare her.” Deb looked
around at her husband who nodded agreement. He stepped forward and
took his wife’s had.

“
Adrianna and I will look
in the house, starting with the back rooms,” Elaine
said.

“
Yeah, Deb. We’ll find her
in no time,” Adrianna said with a reassuring smile that Debra
didn’t return.

Chase came in. “What’s up?”

“
Melanie wandered off to
explore, and we’re going to find her. I’m sure she just found a
great place to hide and then drifted off to sleep,” Mr. Broussard
said.

The adults started off in different
directions calling her name. After twenty minutes the children
joined them in the search for little Melanie. Chase and LaShaun
were in the front yard when Elaine found them.

“
Have you seen Jessi?”
Elaine’s face had lines of worry making her look ten years
older.

“
She’s with the other kids
in the backyard, right?” Chase said.

“
We can’t find her either.”
Elaine grabbed his arm. “She’s gone and so is Melanie.”

LaShaun felt the tingle that signaled
trouble. “Maybe they’re somewhere hiding together and thinking how
much fun that we’re all looking. You go back the house. We’ll take
outside.”

Elaine nodded. She seemed eager to
think the best. “Okay, you’re right. I’ll bet they’re playing hide
and seek, and they don’t realize the game’s over.” She rushed back
into the house.

When a long howl echoed in the
distance LaShaun put a hand on Chase’s shoulder to stop him.
“Listen.”

Chase shook his head. “I don’t hear
the kids.”

“
I’m not talking about the
kids. I...”

Bruce, Jr. came out to the front
porch. “Guys, we got a problem.”

Inside the children sat around looking
scared, and the adults stood in a huddle. When Chase and LaShaun
approached, Mr. Broussard left them and walked up to
Chase.

“
We found the hair ribbon
Melanie was wearing snagged on one of the shrubs,” he said low. “We
haven’t mentioned this to Deb yet. She’s on the verge of hysteria
as it is.”

“
Jessi saw Melanie
wandering off and went to get her back,” LaShaun
murmured.

Mrs. Broussard joined them in time to
hear her. “So you know about this, huh? You carry trouble with you
everywhere you go. If you--”

“
Stop,” Mr. Broussard said
as he frowned at his wife. “This isn’t the time to talk about evil
spirits. Do you want Debra to have a complete meltdown,
Liz?”

“
Dad’s right, mama. Let’s
focus on what’s real,” Chase said, reverting to law officer mode.
“Since we haven’t found them anywhere inside the house or the
immediate area outside, and the ribbon was on a bush, then it’s a
logical conclusion that they’ve gone farther than we
thought.”

“
I think we should to call
the sheriff’s office to help us look,” Mr. Broussard said to Chase
quietly.

“
I agree, but we’re short
so only two deputies are likely on duty. And they could be miles
away on the other side of the parish.” Chase rubbed his chin. “If
we don’t find her in the next thirty or forty minutes, I’ll call
the guys on duty and all off duty deputies as well. They’ll have
big spot lights we can use in the dark.”

“
That’s a plan,” Mr.
Broussard agreed.

“
We’ll let the some of the
ladies keep the kids occupied. Then we’ll split up in two or three
person teams to search the woods. We’ll need as many flashlights as
we can find,” Chase said. He and his father stood apart to discuss
the search plan.

“
You brought this on us.”
Mrs. Broussard spun around and stomped across the porch. Her
footsteps rang out on the wooden surface until she yanked open the
front door and let the screen door slap shut behind her.

“
I’ll get the others up to
speed and organized.” Mr. Broussard followed his wife into the
house.

“
Honey, I’ve got two big
flashlights in my truck. Better get my gun, too. I didn’t want to
say that in front of the folks.” Chase strode to his Ford F-10 with
LaShaun taking long strides to keep up with him. He handed a
flashlight to LaShaun. “We’ll use these snake lights cause you can
bend the handle around your neck so the light shines in front of
you. That frees up your hands.”

“
Great.” LaShaun positioned
it so that the lamp rested on her chest. Then she pulled the silver
knife and a derringer from the sleeve in her jacket and put both in
an outer pocket.

“
We’re searching for two
little girls, not going to battle.” Chase stopped to stare at her.
“Don’t tell me...”