The Devil's Orchard (12 page)

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ronald’s eyes opened wider and his fingers straightened.

“Sure I do,” she said, louder than was necessary. “What is it, Ronald, a woman in tall leather spike heels with a whip to spank that bad little boy who loves to come out and play? Or perhaps a big bear of a man who does the same thing but with a butt plug the size of my fist? Come on, you don’t have to be ashamed of that, and I’m certainly not going to judge.”

“Shut up, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” he repeated.

She’d taken her shot and hit a major nerve. “Now I do,” she said softly as she turned and walked away, confident Katlin and Muriel would keep her safe from ambush. “All I have to do is find out what makes you sweat and show the world what kind of guy has a badge these days.”

*

“Stay alert out there and make sure you call for backup if you see anything out of the ordinary,” Detective Sept Savoie said to the group she was working with. New Orleans was at times a dangerous place outside the heavily traveled tourist spots, but the last few hours were beyond the norm. That dark side that seemed to thrive like cockroaches in the dilapidated sections of the city where the junkies and the dealers lived had delivered the deadliest day any cop she’d worked with could remember.

“You think crime will go down after this?” one of the guys asked.

“I know you all aren’t going to feel real warm and fuzzy about this, but it’s too big to ignore. The houses that were blown were bad enough, but this latest development has even the governor’s office involved. We need some leads, and the faster they come in, the better.”

“We have nothing so far?” Fiona asked.

The new detective with the flaming red hair was still an enigma to Sept; even though Fiona was new to town, she had a crush on one of their infamous citizens. During their limited exchanges, she had managed to bring up Cain Casey every time. At first Sept had attributed the interest to the fact that Fiona was living with Agent Shelby Phillips, but now she wasn’t so sure that’s where the obsession was coming from—and she did see it as obsession.

“The first thing we have to nail down is whose real estate got smoked last night, and the only thing we have is a rumor that it was remnants of Rodolfo Luis’s places. That I got from our friendly FBI office, since they’re working with us on this.” She’d received that tidbit from Joe Simmons, but he was leaving something out, in her opinion, so she was going to find whatever was missing on her own. “Right now I want you to treat that like a rumor. Don’t tell me anything unless you can back it up with evidence.”

“You want me to ride with you?” Fiona asked.

“Sure. My partner’s out with the flu, so I can show you around some.”
And I can find out what makes you tick
, she thought as they headed out to the car.

Her last stop was going to be the one place where she felt like she could trust the information she got. If Cain said it, she’d believe it. The only problem sometimes was getting her to start talking. They went to each location first and interviewed witnesses, but nothing shook loose.

“Where are we headed?” Fiona asked, her concentration like it had been so far, on the buildings outside, as if she was trying to memorize each route.

“Let’s go by Cain’s and see what she’s got on this. Her opinion is usually golden if, and only if, she’s in the mood to share it.”

“Cain Casey talks to you?” Suddenly Fiona didn’t seem too interested in the scenery.

“She and I graduated together, so she tolerates my visits better than most in our profession. Her father and mine were good friends.”

“Were? Did your dad finally figure out they’re nothing but killers?”

“Actually, Dalton Casey was gunned down by Big Gino Bracato, with the help of one of Cain’s cousins who turned on the family. At least that was the word on the street when it happened. Dalton’s case is still open and unresolved. My father was a pallbearer at his funeral and was proud to do it. Cain isn’t exactly clean, but you’re going to find out quickly there’s way worse than her.”

“I know my friend Shelby doesn’t blame her for her parents, but I can’t shake the feeling she had something to do with it. It’s going to take a lot to make me believe she isn’t anything but a thug that deserves to be caged.”

“Cain tells me all the time that the devil has a lot of faces, some more evil than others, so I had to accept it or not. I could try to destroy them all or not, but there’d be a price I might not want to pay.”

“You sound like my mother now. Why wouldn’t you want to crush them all?”

“Because you have a tendency to end up destroying yourself before you come even close to accomplishing that.” She stopped at the gate to Cain’s house and waved to the guard, who waved back and let her in. “If you don’t believe me, ask your friend Shelby about Barney Kyle and Anthony Curtis.”

“Sounds like you really like her.”

“Cain is my friend, but I’m not stupid to who and what Cain is. No one is all bad all the time. Keep that in mind.”

Hayden and Hannah were outside playing with a man Sept now knew was Emma’s father, Ross. She found it humorous that her mother had come over here on numerous occasions to share gardening tips with Ross, who’d been a farmer and dairyman by trade, but the Southern climate had thrown him a bit. For a guy who owned a very large share of a profitable casino, he liked to work with his hands. That tidbit she’d keep to herself, since Fiona was already prejudiced against the Caseys.

“Good afternoon, Sept,” Ross said as the children jogged over to give her a hug. If they were recording this from the van across the street, her FBI file was probably as thick as Cain’s.

“Hey, guys, how was baseball today?” she asked, since Hayden still had his dirty jersey on with a pair of shorts. “How’d you do?”

“Hayden won,” Hannah said loudly, “and he hit the ball over the fence.” Her sisterly pride was hard to miss.

“Congratulations, buddy,” she said as she hugged him again. “Is your mom around? We need to talk to her.”

“You people have harassed her enough today,” Hayden said, uncharacteristically cold and disrespectful.

“Hayden, your mom can take care of herself, so apologize,” Ross said.

“No worries.” Sept waved him off. “Somebody came by already?”

“Two guys hassled her at my game,” Hayden said, his face on Fiona, who was again in studying mode, looking around as if there’d be a test on the layout of the grounds when they left.

“Wasn’t us. You know if I show up at a game, and I’ve made a few, I’m there to watch you play, not give your mom a hard time. Gray suits might not play by my rules.”

“Sorry,” he said, and pointed toward the yard. “Mom’s out back. We were barbecuing and needed some stuff from Grandpa’s garden.”

Cain and Emma sat by the pool watching Merrick move around in the water with a woman Sept didn’t recognize. Some of the kitchen staff stood around a large pit watching whatever was cooking. “Got enough for everyone?” she asked to announce their arrival.

“Sure. Since the city pays you peanuts, you need to bum a meal whenever the opportunity presents itself. Can I get you a beer, or do you take that on-duty thing seriously?” Cain asked.

“We’re not some damn joke,” Fiona said sharply.

“You’re in the Big Easy now, Detective O’Brannigan. You need to learn to relax or the stress will eat you alive.” Cain laughed in a way that warned her that she’d needle Fiona until she resembled a rabid dog. “I’m surprised you haven’t explained a few things to her, Sept.”

“I got a whole bunch of dead people that the mayor and governor want to know what happened to, so Fiona’s education hasn’t been a priority.” She followed Cain to a more private table by the deep end of the pool after she’d kissed Emma’s cheek in greeting. “I’m sure you’ve heard about that, right?”

“The Feds have already come sniffing around like I hold the key to the big chest full of secrets.”

“You mean you don’t?” she asked, and laughed.

“It sounds drug-related, and you know better than that.”

“When it comes to you, sure, so I drove all this way for some great barbecue and that’s all?”

“It’s always about something, old friend, and I’m no cop, but has anyone considered Hector Delarosa? The guy lives like two blocks from here, and
Time
magazine named him an up-and-comer in the drug trade.” Cain accepted a beer from Carmen, and Sept smiled and shook her head when Carmen pointed to the bottle, offering her one. “No national publication has ever said I’m an up-and-comer in the bar business, but if you’d like, I’ll ask around and see what pops up.”

“You’re not bullshitting me, are you? I find it hard to believe something like this happened and you don’t know what, why, and who.” From past experience, Cain was only this quiet when her fingers were sticky from involvement. This time it didn’t make sense to her, only because it was drug-related.

“Give me a few days. There really isn’t a good jungle-drum system working in New Orleans, and if there is, I don’t have a subscription.”

“We’ll get out of here and let you eat in peace, then.” Sept stood and sighed when Fiona stayed put. She understood Fiona’s relationship with Shelby, but from what she’d heard outside of her talks with Fiona, Shelby didn’t really blame Cain for her parents.

“Unless you’re running down some more pressing leads, stay. Maybe if your friend here sees me eat and realizes that my kids aren’t afraid they’re on the menu, she’ll figure out I’m not the monster she’s built up in her mind.”

“You’re going to ruin Shelby’s life, and you probably think it’s a joke. I know your kind. You’re no different than the scum that run the gangs in LA. Their whole life revolves around killing, crime, and totally disregarding human decency,” Fiona said in one long breath. Sept watched Cain’s face as Fiona threw the verbal daggers at her and came close to defending Cain, but figured she wouldn’t appreciate it.

Throughout their friendship she’d always had a hard time reconciling herself to Cain’s bad side. Judging by her father’s stories of Dalton and his reign as the head of the Casey Clan, Cain had actually civilized the business. Long gone were the days of having to fight for territory and business opportunities by leaving a trail of dead bodies of those who’d gone against Dalton, yesterday being the exception.

Cain was forceful when she needed to be, but she reminded Sept of her uncle’s old dog that mostly sat on his porch. The old boy was docile until her uncle said
seek
. Then whoever had stepped in his yard and didn’t belong there would be missing a limb. It would be a sad day in her life when Cain no longer considered her a safe visitor because now, even though they were on different sides of the law, Cain would kill to keep her safe. There’d be no question or hesitation about it, of that she was as sure as her mother’s love.

“If you’re going to stay here, you’ve got to learn to decide who your real enemies are, Detective,” Cain said calmly. She glanced at Sept and continued when Sept simply shrugged. “In a shark tank some know what their prey is and some will take a swipe at whatever swims by. If you don’t know the difference, then don’t swim in these waters. Because even the shark that knows its food source can be provoked into biting the head off an annoyance.”

“Am I supposed to fall at your feet and beg you for mercy now? If you’re waiting for that, you can fuck off.”

“If you want to act and sound like an uneducated piece of trash, get out of my house, and don’t make the mistake of coming back. No one comes in here and talks like that in front of my wife and children.” Cain stood and leaned over so she trapped Fiona in her seat. “Good luck solving anything with this one,” she said to Sept, and laughed.

“Mom, you hungry?” Hannah screamed from close by. The sight of Hannah’s table manners always made Sept smile. She wasn’t at all a picky eater and crammed food down her mouth with the same gusto she played and lived her life with.

“Set two more places. Aunt Sept and her friend are staying.” Cain hadn’t gotten too upset yet, but if Fiona rebuffed the hug Hannah was offering, she’d beat the idiot no matter the consequences.

“Thank you, Hannah,” Fiona said, brushing Hannah’s hair back gently.

Hannah was an affectionate child, even with people Cain felt didn’t deserve it. “Go ahead and pick a seat, and try to control your language,” Cain said to Fiona, but sat back down at the table with Sept. When left alone she looked at her old friend and raised one eyebrow. “What are you hearing about this?”

“The Feds told us it was the Luis family, so you popped up on their radar. Before you slug me, I’m not here to lay blame, but I do want your help.” Sept ran her hand through her hair and appeared frustrated. “I know how you feel about the Luis family, but this isn’t a good thing. What happened throws everything and everyone out of balance. You and I both know that’s when innocent people get hurt.”

“I know that, and that it makes your job harder, but I can’t build up enough sympathy for those scumbags or the police. After what that animal did to Emma, no one but you gave a damn. Not Shelby, not her fellow agents, and not her boss Annabel. Not one of them came here and said anything about the fact that a member of their team helped Juan snatch Emma and shoot Merrick in the head.” Cain’s chest tightened and her stomach clenched like it had the first time she’d seen that car and realized Emma was gone. “That threw our lives out of balance, and no one gave a damn.”

“So you aren’t going to try too hard because of who’s involved?”

“It’s you who’s asking, so I’ll do my best,” she said sincerely, but felt a twinge of guilt because she wasn’t done with the Luis family. The police would have to accept that this tempest would rage and then die away just as fast. “You know I’ll do anything to make you look good, even though you bring obnoxious people to my house.”

“Kiss my ass,” Sept said, and laughed harder when Emma put her arms around her neck from behind.

“You’ll have to go through me for that.” Emma kissed Sept’s cheek. “What’s with your friend?”

“She’s rooming with Shelby, so I’m sure she’s gotten a complete rundown on your partner. Give me some time and I’ll set her straight.”