Fallout (Joshua Stokes Mysteries Book 2) (23 page)

A warm, southern wind blew into Joshua’s face as he got out of his patrol car in front of Vivian’s Victorian Village home. He had decided to take her photo album back to her before something happened that put him in a predicament where he could not return it. He had placed the photos he had copied back into her album before he left the courthouse. If he had died when the lightning struck him, she probably would not have gotten them returned to her. He knew she would be devastated if something happened to them.

When Vivian opened the door, she seemed surprised to see him standing there, but did not drop anything this time.

“Joshua, what a pleasant surprise,” she said. “Won’t you come in?”

“I can’t stay,” he replied. “I need to get back to the courthouse,” he said as he handed her the photo album. “I appreciate you letting me borrow it.”

“What a shame,” Vivian replied. “I wanted to talk to you about your mother and see if you had found out any more on her disappearance.”

“Not much at all,” Joshua replied. “Just a few things I didn’t already know,” he said. He was not lying but he was not exactly truthful either. He felt he needed some space, some time to himself. He did not want to be tied up visiting. He wanted to wait until his mind was not so boggled with information to visit with her. “I will call again, real soon, I promise. Then we can sit and talk a while.”

“Well, I reckon that will have to suffice until another time,” Vivian said graciously. Joshua said his goodbyes, turned and walked to his parked car. Vivian stood watching as he drove off. He also saw the curtain pulled slightly back in another room along the front of the house. He wondered if it was Georgia or someone else that was watching. He did not know and had no way of knowing for sure. He drove out of the village, through the tunnel, and emerged on the Causeway. About halfway across, the aroma of cooking seafood bombarded his senses causing his stomach to rumble. He pulled into the parking lot of the Blue Gill Seafood Restaurant, parked, got out, and walked in.

The dimly lit restaurant was about half-f, it was not yet noon. He asked the hostess for a corner booth near the jukebox. She led him to a booth in the corner, handed him a menu, and asked what he wanted to drink. He placed his drink order and sat with his back in the corner, his legs laid out along the bench-seat listening to the music playing softly from the jukebox. His legs protruded past the end of the seat, but he did not care if they were in someone’s way or not, he was comfortable. He had just lit a cigarette when a different waitress brought his drink to the table.

“Hi, my name is Debbie, I will be your server today,” she said stiffly. She blushed and said, “As you can probably tell, I’m new at this, so please bear with me.”

Joshua smiled and said that everyone has to start somewhere. She smiled her appreciation as she took a pad and pen from her pocket. He ordered the lunch platter that was half a dozen fried oysters, half a dozen butterfly shrimp, and one flounder filet. He ordered an appetizer of sautéed crawfish tails. When the music stopped and no one went to the jukebox to play more songs, he got up, dropped a few quarters in, picked a few songs, then sat back and stretched his legs out again.

A few minutes later, Debbie brought the sautéed crawfish tails he ordered, but he did not notice. The ‘Time in a Bottle’ song was playing and he was staring across the bay at a sailboat that at first appeared small. As it got nearer, it grew in size.

It had been years since Joshua had gone out into the bay. As he sat there, he wondered why it had been so long. He loved the feel of an ocean breeze as it caressed his body and tickled the hair on his arms and legs. He loved the smell of salt in the air.

“It would be nice to be out there, wouldn’t it,” he heard a voice say.

“Yes, it would. It’s been years…”

“My husband used to take me sailing in the bay. We would sail out past the forts to the barrier islands, which were way out there, and then we would turn and come back. We always said that one day we would just keep going and see where we wound up.”

Joshua turned to see an older woman, somewhere between his and Vivian’s age, in the booth next to his. She had spoken with a refined southern accent. Her olive complexion, thick, dark, slightly graying hair and other features suggested Spanish or Indian descent. He thought the hostess must have seated her while he was choosing songs on the jukebox. He knew she was not there when he got up to go to the jukebox. He just did not know why he had not seen her when he sat back down.

“I like the song that just played on the Victrola,” said the woman. “It is so philosophical… the singer draws you into his world as he sings.”

“Yes, Ma’am, he does. I like it too; very much so,” Joshua replied.

“I don’t mean to be so bold, but do you mind if I join you? I hate to eat alone, and I do that so often these days.” Joshua was surprised, but not offended. And for some reason he did not understand, he actually wanted her to join him.

When Debbie came to see if the appetizer was to his liking, he asked her to hold his lunch order until they filled the woman’s order. The waitress agreed, took her order and then left the table.

“I’m sorry,” Joshua apologized “but I don’t know your name.”

“Nor do I know yours,” she smiled.

“My name is Joshua Stokes.”

“Nice to meet you, Joshua Stokes,” she said, reaching a delicate hand cross the table. “My name is Carolyn de Iberville.” She smiled, showing a glimpse of youth. A dimple in her right cheek and sparkling brown eyes alluded to a life of happiness.

“If I may ask, you said that your husband use to take you sailing; has he passed?”

“No, honey. He left me twenty years ago for a woman half my age,” Carolyn said with a small chuckle. “I tried to hate him, but failed miserably. To every thing, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens… I will always care for him, Mr. Stokes. He afforded me a life that otherwise I would not have known. C'est la vie, c'est la vie. Et par de jure, j'ai reçu la moitié de sa fortune.”

The only word Joshua understood in her last sentence was fortune. If he had to guess, it sounded French. He smiled.

“That’s life, Joshua Stokes. By law, because I was married to him for thirty years, I received half his fortune in the divorce settlement. I do miss some of the things about my life with him, like the sailing. That was before he hit his middle-aged crazies. After that, I was not a very happy person, and I
deserve
to be happy.
Everyone
deserves to be happy, even Biella de Iberville.”

The song, ‘Simple Man’ by the group Lynyrd Skynyrd began playing. Carolyn became quiet as she listened - she smiled sadly. “This is another one of those profoundly deep songs. It requires thoughtful study and experience in the quintessential meaning of life to produce lyrics such as these that result in true meaning. These singers and songwriters must have an essential wisdom that exceeds their years… Judging from the lyrics of many of these songs, the songwriters have experienced the core of life in its purest form. They could write one heck of a novel if they set their mind to it. Don’t you think so, Joshua,” she asked seriously.

“I really haven’t ever given it much thought, Carolyn,” Joshua replied thoughtfully. “I do know that some songs will touch a special place inside you that gives pause to think, to feel, to wonder how they knew what you were feeling when they wrote the song. Sometimes, I will hear a song that feels as if it was written just for me.”

“Maybe it was.” Carolyn’s tone was sincere. “Several years ago a couple of biologists discovered that we are all connected by a thin thread of material present in a specific molecules in our bodies called ‘deoxy’ something or other, DNA for short -- so far, everyone tested is different. It shows that to some degree everyone is related-but different. This molecular structure is different even in identical twins. We inherit it from our parents who inherited it from their parents and so on all the way back to Adam and Eve who were the mother and father of us human creations. I have read that if it were broken down to its most miniscule component, the scientist would discover that we are all related through ancestral blood - white, black, yellow, brown, and red - to Adam and Eve.

If
God made us in his image, and Jesus Christ
was
God in the flesh, then we would all be related. Maybe this genetic code is a ‘marker’ so that God can identify us from all others. It is believed that it holds everything we have ever done, thought, or said within its tightly woven threads. Who’s to say that Adam and Eve did not carry God’s blood in their veins? According to God’s word, we are all washed in the blood of the lamb. We were sanctified the day they nailed Jesus Christ to the cross and crucified him. He became our salvation; our ‘get out of Hell’ free card, if you will.”

Debbie brought their platters over to the table, placing each item just so before she left them to wait on other customers.

“I try to be a connoisseur of life, Joshua,” Carolyn said as she picked up her fork. “I read and I research while I write. I have written on many topics, however, my personal favorite thing to write is a novel based on my life experiences. Everyone we meet has a story to tell; I can only imagine what yours would be. However, I will take this luncheon you and I am sharing, and turn it into a story that readers will want to read.”

“Hmm,” Joshua said and then popped an oyster into his mouth.

“Strangers who meet at a small out of the way restaurant near the bay, who share a meal and end up falling in love, only to be swept away by a storm that swoops in out of the Gulf of Mexico and carries them away from each other…” Carolyn stopped to take a bite of fish and a sip of wine. When she glanced up at him, Joshua looked deeply into the dark pools that were her eyes.

“I could see that happening,” he said softly.

“What I wouldn’t give to be twenty years younger, Joshua Stokes!” Carolyn exclaimed before she took another sip of wine. “I think I would call it ‘Time in a Bottle’ like that first song we listened to,” she said before taking another bite of her lunch.

Joshua could envision what Carolyn was saying, even the hurricane sweeping in out of the gulf and separating them. He could see himself reaching out, their fingertips almost touching before the wind changed directions and blew him the other way. “How about Winds of Change,” he suggested.

“You do get it, don’t you, Joshua.”

“Yes, I do, Carolyn,” he replied, watching her wine glass travel to her lips. A desire to kiss her filled his senses. She was a beautiful, mature woman. He felt a strong physical attraction to her.

“Where will you go when you leave here?” he asked.

“That depends on you, Joshua. Where do you want me to go when I leave here?”

“To my bed,” he replied honestly.

Creedence Clearwater Revival’s song ‘Fortunate Son’ blared through the speakers as Joshua crossed Polecat Bay headed back toward Mobile. He had left Carolyn’s antebellum style home that backed up to the property surrounding the historic old Fort Blakeley just before dawn broke. When he left her house, a faint lightening in the east signaled that the sun was about to start its westward climb. When he reached the bay, he had parked at Lookout Point and watched it rise above South Alabama like a vast magician’s wand that spread and swirled a colorful rainbow across the bay. At first, the skies were a purplish blue, with golden yellow, pink, and orange waves of color. They then proceeded to turn lighter as the sun rose higher until the sky was pure blue with streaks of white wispy clouds floating effortlessly across it.

As he traveled west on the Causeway he saw the moon, it appeared to be rising. He had always heard that if you saw the moon rising in the west while the sun was rising in the east, it was a bad moon, a bad omen. It meant that very soon bad things would begin to happen, usually when the sun lowered in the western sky.

Joshua did not know where the saying came from, however he had seen it happen. A day would start out beautifully and then by the end of the day, you would be left wondering
what the hell
happened. He thought that was where John Fogerty had come up with the lyrics of his song ‘Bad Moon Rising.’ However, he was not privy to Fogerty’s thoughts; it was just a guess on his part. After such a great day the day before and a lovely night spent in the arms of a gracious and beautiful woman, both slow dancing to Hank Williams Jr. and slow explorations of each others bodies, Joshua hated for anything to spoil his good mood. He had not felt so relaxed and carefree in quite a while.

Carolyn was beautiful in every essence of the word. She was physically beautiful; her black hair falling softly over the white lace of the negligee she wore… she looked like an older version of Jessi Colter. She was also brilliant of mind and a wonderful conversationalist. In addition to those qualities, she was lover like none other he had ever had the privilege of bedding. Carolyn had said that he had a story to tell and he hoped he had given her the inspiration she needed to tell it.

Joshua lit a cigarette and took a long draw. The closer he got to the tunnel entrance to Mobile proper, the more his good mood began to dissipate. He did not want to stop at the Sheriff’s Office. His home had always been his haven, but he did not want to go there either. He figured that Emma would probably be sitting there waiting on him like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse.

Once he made it onto Springhill Avenue, he put the hammer down and headed toward Semmes. As he passed Semmes Nursery, he began to slow down. He was glad to see Hook’s pickup parked in front of the Hickory Pit; he parked, got out, and went inside.

Hook was sidled up to the bar with one leg thrown over a barstool talking to Sim Maples. He walked up and slapped James on the shoulder. Sim grinned and said, “Mornin’ Sheriff.”

“Morning Sim, Hook.” Joshua said to them.

James turned around and looked back at him. Their eyes met and locked for a moment.

“Good talking to you, Sim,” James said. “We’ll catch up later,” he said as he turned and ushered Joshua to a table. “Hey, Jeanne, bring me and the Sheriff a cup of coffee over here,” he called over his shoulder. “Now, you had better tell me what’s up with you, Joshua Stokes. I have not seen you look this refreshed in a long time. Something has happened that has changed you or at least caused you to relax, which is a good thing, but damn it, Hoss, it has stirred up my curiosity!”

Joshua could not help but smile, however, he was not sure he wanted to tell Hook
everything
that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours. Some things were just
that
personal. Sharing them seemed to spoil the decency of them. The time he had spent with Carolyn was just that, it was decent, it was pure, and it was honest. There was nothing about their time together that made him feel as if he had done anything wrong, like it was with Emma because of her age. He also knew that if he and Kathy had slept together, he would have felt bad afterward, because even though her husband spent most of his time in the loony bin, she was still married to him.

“Nothing’s happened, Hook. I think that close call with the lightning strike and the long hours of sleep I got in the hospital gave me a new lease on life, that’s all.”

“Nah, I know there is more to it than that. Damn it, Hoss, you look like the cat that ate the canary, tail feathers and all!”

“I had a good day
and
a good night. I just got away by myself for a night.”

“Bullshit!” James exclaimed. “You might run that bullshit by someone that don’t know you like I do, but you ain’t fooling me, Joshua Stokes. You are up to something or you done got into something. And if I had to guess, I’d say that it involves a woman.”

“Honestly, Hook, I had a good night, that’s all. And yes, it may involve a woman, but it’s not something I want to share, at least not yet. Let me enjoy it on my own for a little while first, then I might share.”

“Was it Emma - that young thang is gonna wear you slap out, Hoss!”

Joshua chuckled, “No, it wasn’t Emma. But you’re right, Hook, that girl is going to wear me out if I stay there, but I am not going to let her run me out of my own house. I need to try to figure out a way to get her out of there. I just hate to be mean and make her leave. I think the main reason she likes it there is because she feels safe, but I am beginning to feel stifled. I can’t even walk around naked anymore. If I did, she’d be on me like a duck on a junebug!”

“I hate to break it to you, but you just might have to get mean and kick her ass out. You can’t let her run you out of your own home, Hoss. I feel for you, not! I think I’d like to have a young thing wanting to sex me up all the time,” James chuckled.

“Ilene may have a thing or two to say about that,” Joshua joked. Then his tone turned serious. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, Hook. Don’t ever give up what you have there at home for a roll in the hay with a younger woman; it wouldn’t be worth it.”

“Yeah, I know you’re right, Hoss, but I’m beginning to feel old. It don’t hurt to dream once in a while. I reckon I will just have to live vicariously through you. Which reminds me, I know you’re still hiding something from me, and I’ll be biding my time til you tell me all about it?”

Joshua laughed and lit a cigarette. Jeanne had brought their coffee and coffee was best drunk with a good friend and a cigarette.

“Not meaning to change the subject,” Joshua said, “But I saw the moon rising in the west this morning while the sun was rising in the east. Isn’t there some old saying about a bad moon rising?”

“Yeah, I heard the old folks a saying that it meant something bad was coming from that direction. Usually, if you see it rising in the south, it means a hurricane’s a coming. The west can signal tornadoes, the north is usually cold weather related, etcetera, but sometimes it can mean trouble in another form can be coming from that direction. Hell, Hoss, you know how those old wives tales are, you have to take 'em with a grain of salt.” They both heard the bell on the door jingle and each looked to see who walked in; it was Deputy Cook. He stopped and gazed around a moment, when he saw them, he came directly to their table.

“What’s up, Cookie?” Joshua asked, noticing the serious look on his deputy’s face.

“Sheriff, John Metcalf is trying to get a hold of you. That FBI feller done called and said that they’re sure that Mexican killed a woman in Hattiesburg a couple of days ago. He wanted to let y’all know that he might be headed back in this direction,” Cook said excitedly.

Joshua could tell that Deputy Cook was chomping at the bit over the expectation of the killer coming back into Mobile County; however, it was the last thing Joshua wanted to hear. He had hoped the dude would just ride the rails on into Mexico and disappear.

James gave Joshua a serious look as he lit a smoke. Joshua lit another and nodded his head. They were both thinking the same thing - Hattiesburg lay to the west of Mobile. Maybe that was what the moon was warning him of that morning.

When they walked out of the diner to their respective vehicles, both James and Joshua looked to the skies. The sun was about nine o’clock in the eastern sky and the moon was high, about three o’clock, in the western sky.

“Yep, it’s a bad moon alright” James said. “We had better watch our p’s and q’s. Be careful, Hoss,” he said as Joshua got behind the wheel of his patrol car.

“You do the same, Hook,” Joshua replied as he cranked his vehicle and drove out of the parking lot.

Joshua did not know why he dreaded going home, other than the fact that Emma was still in his house. The closer he got to the cabin the more he dreaded it. He was not frightened of her; he just did not want to hurt her feelings. She had already gone through more in her short life than many face in a lifetime.

When he pulled up to the front of the cabin, he saw that her moped was parked where she usually parked it. He sat there a minute before he opened the door to get out. When he did, he heard a piercing scream!