Sugar Doll's Hurricane Blues (26 page)

“Cool…listen Carla, I’m calling about something serious.” Sugar Doll interrupted.

“What’s the matter?” Carla became immediately alarmed.

“Well, I don’t know yet but no one has heard from Bertrand since the hurricane. He didn’t come to Big Ma’s funeral. That’s just not like him.”

“Yes, I heard about it. I’m sorry I couldn’t come either, funds were tight. I’m surprised about Bertrand. He loved Big Ma the most.” Carla said.

“So you haven’t heard from him either?” Sugar Doll asked feeling the disappointment seep into her toes.

“No girl, I can’t think of the last time I did talk to Bertie. I hope he’s all right. Let me know when you hear anything. This hurricane has everyone all mixed up and confused. He probably just evacuated to another city and hasn’t had time to call.” Carla offered.

“It’s just not like him. My mother said that he was supposed to pick me up down home but I ended up coming up with the Sheriff.” Sugar Doll sat down on the bed.

“Have you filed a missing person’s report?” Carla asked.

“My boyfriend did a few weeks back but they said that they were backed up and it was not possible to give an immediate response.” Sugar Doll’s voice cracked.

“Go check back and call me back this evening.” Carla said finally.

Sugar Doll hung up the phone feeling completely defeated.

“Sugar, let’s get out of here and get ready for tonight’s gig. That should cheer you up.” He walked to the closet and pulled out the beautiful gown he’d purchased for her.

“Oh Remy! How wonderful! I love this. No one has ever done this for me.” Sugar Doll jumped up with glee.

“Before we go do you think that we could go down to the sheriff’s office and just check? It would make me feel better.” Sugar Doll asked as she hugged the dress closely to her waist.

“I don’t see why not. Go and get dressed. Give those policemen something to think about. They’ll probably help you faster after seeing you in that dress, cher.” Remy gave her an affection kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah boss I’m right in front of the apartment. The girl is a real looker. They look like they are headed for the club.” Sid spoke into the tiny flip phone as he sipped his coffee. It was too bitter for his taste but it woke up his senses. This type of work was well beneath him but his boss had taken a personal interest. If it was personal for his boss, then it was personal for him. He slowly edged the black sedan away from the curb as he followed the light blue Cadillac the kid drove.

As Remy looked for parking around the Sheriff’s department he noticed the same black sedan that had passed the street three times. He assumed that the driver was looking for parking but there was an odd tugging feeling in his gut so he gave the car a direct look and made eye contact with the driver. The older man became flustered and drove off.

“The kid made me. They went into the police office. I don’t know boss, if they were holding stolen money they wouldn’t
go courting the police to my thinking.” Sid spoke into the phone.

“I don’t pay you to think. I pay you to find out information. I’ve got two cops down there on the payroll. Go to the Esplanade Mall in fifteen minutes and one of them will come to tell you what the kids were looking for in the first place.”

The sheriff of lower Plaquemines Parish scratched his head. The road block which separated the parish from onlookers was still in place. “If you ask me this whole thing is just a pain in the ass.” He spoke to his deputy who nodded silently in agreement. The clean-up was under way and there were construction crews coming in by the truck load.

“How in the hell are we supposed to tell the looters from the workers?” The Sheriff spoke mostly to himself.

“The bulldozers are easy to inspect but the rest of this crap… well, no disrespect but most of your lower parish was trailers anyway. There wasn’t really anything of value down there.” The deputy shrugged.

A large truck pulled to the side of the road right before the roadblock, “Excuse me your officers. I thought I should let you know that we found a floater down in the old Fort. We tried to call ya’ll but you know we have no signal down that way.”

“Damn!” Was all the sheriff muttered.

Mona packed her bags hurriedly. She left the funeral and headed straight for her house on Dauphine. She didn’t stop at the club
for fear that one of Marsala’s goons would be there. There was a knock at the door. She broke out in a cold sweat. The weather had been sweltering but her knees began to tremble. She looked out of the side window and saw Mr. Renair standing at the door.

She walked quickly to the door. She pulled him in as quickly as she could.

“I was surprised to see your car out front. I thought that you’d be staying someplace else.” Mr. Renair seemed surprised by her demeanor.

“I’m leaving. There’s trouble and I’ve got to go.” Mona spat out to her old friend.

“I know, that’s why I came over.” Mr. Renair said calmly.

“What do you mean?” Mona asked.

“I saw some of Tony’s men outside here earlier today. Don’t panic, they’ve gone, but they really looked the place over to see if you were here. From my guessing, they’ll be back, the dogs.” Mr. Renair said angrily.

Mona ran to the window to look out again but there was no one there.

“Go child. Go now.” Mr. Renair advised as he headed for the door.

The club was packed with customers. Many locals had come out to support the return to normalcy. All of the band members had returned to their posts. The jazz music which flowed out into the street gave everyone who passed a sense of hope. Sugar Doll climbed up the back stairs to her mother’s rooms. The door was locked. She knocked a few times before realizing that
no one was there. Perhaps her mother was coming from the Dauphine address. Her gown glimmered in the overhead light. Her caramel skin glowed in the shadows. As she descended the stairs Remy caught sight of her again. She was no longer the girl he had first met. She was truly a woman of great beauty. He felt his heart melt at the sight of her.

“Excuse me Tim, have you seen Mona this evening?”

“No Miss Mona, I haven’t seen her today at all.” Tim said wiping down the bar glasses. “It ain’t like her to miss the grand opening. Maybe ya’ll should go to her house to check on her. It’s gotten real dangerous around here since the hurricane. Folks is desperate.” He sighed and continued wiping down the glass.

“Remy, could you go down to the house for me? I’ll start the set and by the time you get back we can do the second set together.” Sugar Doll asked.

“Sure honey, anything for you.” He winked and walked out the door.

The sheriff stood at the riverbank as they pulled the large tugboat to the shore. He scratched his forehead as he looked out onto the widened mouth of the Mississippi. A lot of land had gotten eaten up in the hurricane.

“Sheriff, the body had a wallet on it. His name was Bertrand Boudreaux.” A younger man walked over to the sheriff as he studied the contents of the wallet.

“Bertrand Boudreaux, the owner of Beauchamp’s in the French Quarter” the sheriff said. “What in the hell was he doing down here on a damned tugboat I wonder.” The sheriff said mostly to himself.

“Maybe he was helping out sir.” The younger man offered.

“He was from down here alright but he was a piano man. He never did a bit of work in his life. Something’s fishy and it’s not just him.” The sheriff commented. The younger man laughed.

“I wasn’t trying to be funny son. A man is dead. That ups my body count and I don’t like it. Search the damned boat.” The sheriff barked.

“Right, right.” The younger man left his side and gladly joined the other officers and workmen who stood on side of the boat.