Where The Devil Won't Go: A Lucas Peyroux Novel (6 page)

“So, it’s likely my daughter.”

“No, Momma.”

“Did she have any tattoos?” I asked.

Aponi and Cozy both shook their heads. Tears
drew to Cozy’s eyes. “She hated tattoos. She made me promise never to get one.
She said if I was in a room with six friends and they’re all tatted up and I’m
not, then who are the followers? I liked the idea of being a rebel by not
conforming.”

“Any scars?”

“I don’t know of any,” Aponi said.

“Me, either,” Cozy agreed. “She wasn’t a
risk-taker and my father never left her with anything but bruises and small
cuts.”

Aponi slowly turned her head to face her
daughter.

I broke the deadly silence. “Bodies have
been found with different identification on them before. It would help if we
could get her dental records and any personal items that might help us.”

“We have nothing left of Haley’s here. I
threw it all away.”

“You didn’t box anything up in case she
came back?”

“You kidding me?” Cozy interrupted.
“Momma was fixin’ to burn it all until I told her she’d have the fire
department out here.”

“I will not apologize.”

“Take me to her,” Cozy demanded. “I can
tell if it’s her.”

“We need more than a visual for this one.
I have photos, but they’re quite graphic.”

“I don’t need to see those.” Aponi never
faltered.

Cozy’s arm shot out like a Cobra strike
and peeked into the folder. Quickly, she ran out the back door with her hand
covering her mouth. Aponi’s entire face folded into an
exhausted,
disappointed look while following her daughter. I watched through the screen
while she held Cozy’s hair as she threw up into the bayou. Steam rose from the
boiling pot behind them. After several minutes, they came back inside and Cozy
disappeared into another room.

Aponi continued, “Haley don’t have any
dental records. She hadn’t seen a dentist in over five years.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait on
results from the hairbrush we found at her apartment.”

“Anything you find you can just throw
away.”

I made an effort to keep my voice even.
“Is there anything you can tell me about what she may have been into in New
Orleans?”

“It’s been over two years since she
left.”

“I know this must be really difficult for
you, but…”

She pushed the folder of pictures toward
me. “Haley made her choice and it wasn’t us.”

“Aponi.” I reached out to touch her arm
as Tara ventured back from the bathroom.

“I have to prepare supper. You’re welcome
to stay for the crab boil, Cozy would like that, but there will be no further talk
of Haley. Otherwise, please see yourself out.” She left quickly.

Tara leaned to me. “Stay for the boil?”

I collected the pictures, watching as she
returned to a large pot outside with a face of stone. The fact that she wasn’t
comforting her one remaining daughter shocked and saddened me.

“Go out to the car for a minute. Let me
check in on Cozy, see if she can offer anything else we can use without her
momma around,” I said.

Tara smiled and lightly slapped my face
with a squeeze. “I don’t know why Dobson was worried. You’re going to be
alright.”

“Tara.” I held her hands and leaned into
her ear. “I think I hear banjos.”

“Bitch.” She backed away to leave. “Good
luck with her.”

Watched by several gator heads, I entered
a short, dark hallway decorated with oil paintings and portraits. Soft crying
emanated from the back room, so I approached the doorway slowly. Cozy was lying
in the fetal position, her face wet.

“Cozy.” I waited a minute while she
sniffled and straightened herself. “That’s an interesting name. I wanted to ask
you about that at the hospital.”

She dabbed under her eyes and sat
upright, cross-legged on the bed. “My mom’s Native American. She said when I
was born; I looked cozy in the blanket. They went with it.”

“Are you okay? Your mom…”

“She may seem cold, but she doesn’t show
emotions…” Her blue-gray eyes found mine. “…
she
thinks
you swallow it down and continue on no matter how bad you’re hurting.”

“You sure she’s not Irish?” I took an
unobtrusive look around the room.

“I know, right? My father used to drink
like an Irishman.”

“I could tell from the pictures on your
wall that you and your sister loved each other.”

“Momma wanted to throw those pictures
out, but that was the last straw for me. I told her I’d leave if she did. I
threaten to leave a lot.” Cozy laughed through her tears. “Haley was all I had.
I feel so alone here. Everyone in town already calls me
snut
behind my back.”

“Snut?”

“Nut and slut. A couple years ago, I got
drunk at a party and was raped by three guys. I don’t remember it. Hell, if
they had dressed me and kept their mouths shut, I probably wouldn’t have been
sure about it. But the traumatic part for me was that they told everyone.”

“You know them?”

“Yeah, Tray, Joe, and Eric.” She rolled
her eyes.

“Are there pictures or video?” I sat on
her bed with a few feet between us.

“Not that I know of, and believe me, I’d
know. They’re too stupid to keep that under wraps.”

“If you can prove anything, get any witnesses,
the statute of limitations hasn’t ended on it yet.”

“I can’t prove it. I can’t even be sure I
didn’t start it all. I always got a little touchy-feely when I drank, but I’ve
never blacked out before. It’s really just my word against theirs and everyone
at the party says I was dancing with Tray.” Her eyes waited as if searching for
something poignant from me.

“At this point, it would be a tough case
to win, but at least you would have a moral victory.”

“Moral victory? Get real. I’d get labeled
a liar and have to live under the stares and accusations of these hypocritical
Catholics who judge me despite living under God’s rule of ‘thou shall not judge’.”

“Those kinds of people are ignorant.”

“Thanks, but they’re my people.”

I got up, indicating I’ve stayed long
enough. “Anyway, I’ll help you if you ever want to go forward with that.”

“Maybe one day. You still feel guilty
about shooting me?”

I sucked in a breath, choosing not to
answer. “Your mother is pretty stubborn about Haley.”

“Yeah, things were weird between them
even before Haley left. She doesn’t believe that my father used to beat her.
Did she invite you to stay for the boil?”

“Yeah, she did.”

“Manners and appearances are very
important to her. Even out here.” Cozy broke down again and buried her face in
her hands. “I’m sorry.”

“I was hoping you could give me a recent
picture of her.”

She regained composure and opened her
dresser where a picture presented itself. She handed it to me with a slight
smile.

“Can I get one of Ash, too?” I pointed to
one.

“Sure. Why?”

“We’re going to question him and want to
scan it for the file.”

“You’re lying, Detective Lucas.” She
wiped under her nose.

“I think you can just call me Lucas.” I
leaned against the
door frame
.

“Lucas.” She almost smiled. “I know Ash has
nothing to do with this.”

“We have to check so we can say so in
court.” I slipped the pictures into the folder.

“What’s going to happen to her body?”

“If it turns out to be Haley and she
isn’t claimed, she’ll be cremated and put in storage.”

“I’ll talk to momma about bringing her
back here. Was she wearing an alligator pendant when you found her?”

“No. No jewelry or clothes.” A
half-second too late, I cringed at my mistake.

“No clothes? She was naked? So, where was
her phone?”

She was quick. I swallowed hard and felt
the room become pressurized, or maybe it was my head. “You don’t want to know.”

“Oh. Oh, my God.” A fresh stream of tears
cascaded down her cheeks. “That’s sadistic.”

“We think she may have done it herself,
so she could be identified. That would make her very smart.”

“That’s her, pretty smart.”

“We kept that fact from the press because
it helps us weed out the crackpots who claim they have information.”

 
“Can I follow you to her apartment? I can collect her
things.” Cozy stood with renewed vigor.

“Sure. It’s near the station. I can drive
your car and Tara can follow us.”

“Okay, but it’s a piece of crap Civic
from the stone age.”

“That’s fine. What about your mother?”

“She wouldn’t want to come.”

“No, I mean will she let you go?”

She looked to the side as if she could
see through the wall. “She won’t want me to go, but she knows she can’t stop
me. Wait for me outside.”

Cozy was seventeen and didn’t need her
mother’s permission, so I waited on the porch as she instructed. Ashton
Bergeron, who I remembered meeting for a brief second from the hospital, could
wait to be questioned. Bringing Cozy to Haley’s apartment seemed like a much
better idea at this point.

Chapter 9

My partner extended a fair amount of trust
in letting me handle Cozy, but maybe that was the plan to get me over the hump.
Tara also understood that Cozy was more likely to open up to me than anyone
else. We drove out of the bayou and into Kenner as if changing a channel. The
unremarkable city turned seamlessly into Metairie until passing over the
beautiful Metairie Cemetery and the New Orleans skyline came into view. We
switched cars at Headquarters in order to drop Tara off, and Cozy followed me into
the French Quarter.

Cozy and I arrived at Haley’s apartment
located three blocks off the infamous Bourbon Street. I let Cozy dial in Haley’s
four-digit code to enter the confines of the gated courtyard, inundated with
plants and uneven bricked walkways. I lugged Cozy’s empty suitcase up a rickety
wooden staircase that hugged a brick wall with bad tuck-pointing. The short,
damp hallway leading to her door smelled of mildew.

“Here it is,” I said.

Cozy’s hands trembled as she inhaled. She
nodded to indicate she was ready, and we entered a room that appeared meager
and abandoned. Worn, outdated furniture depressed the ambiance, but no personal
touches made it feel like someone’s home. Her rigid body remained still like a
statue just two feet inside the doorway. I put my arm around her shoulders to gently
guide her further inside.

“There’s still a chance she’s alive,
right? She wasn’t killed here, right?” Her voice was thin as a worn thread.

“This isn’t a crime scene, but you have
to prepare yourself when the results come in. All the evidence points to Haley.”

“I know.” She wiped hard at her face as
if mad. “I don’t know where to start.”

“Just look around.”

“I guess you’ve already been through her
stuff,” she said.

“Yes, but it was messy like this when we
arrived. We took her hairbrush to compare DNA. There’s also a storage area on
the first floor, but all she has in there is a really old computer monitor, a
vacuum cleaner and a few other items. Nothing of real value.”

“I’m surprised she has a vacuum cleaner.
She was always a slob.” She gave a shaky laugh, touching a lampshade.

“We didn’t find anything we needed to
take as evidence.”

“I wish I could tell you something. Being
apart for two years kind of dulls the memories.”

“Take your time.”

Cozy crossed the floor as if it hid
landmines. “Except for her clothes, I can’t spot anything that says Haley. It
might as well be a stranger’s apartment.” She floated about, randomly touching
things. “She must have been so lonely. So, if she’s not dead, she’s at least
missing.”

“I’m sorry you had to see those
pictures.”

“I’ve seen what water can do to dead
animals.”

“I guess you have.” We stood for a moment
in an awkward pause. “And then with your father. I’m so sorry about all that. Child
abuse is the one thing that gets a cop right down here in the gut.” I touched
my stomach, feeling it churn inside me.

Her expression never changed. “The last
time I saw my father alive, he had grabbed his belt and went after Haley. I grabbed
the shotgun. The very last time I saw him alive, he was bleeding to death.
Long before that day.
Long before I pulled the trigger, I
imagined doing it.”

“You planned it?”

Her eyes snapped to mine. “Of course,
not.” She turned and wiped her hand under her nose. “What makes me sad is what
Haley was thinking in her final moments. How scared she must have felt. I wonder
if she thought of momma and me.”

“I’m sure she did.” I took a seat on the
arm of the sofa.

“I’m glad it was you who told us about
Haley. I could tell you were uncomfortable. You’ve been sweet.”

“Not a word that usually describes the
NOPD.”

“I guess if you hadn’t found Haley, I’d
still be chasing you down, huh.”

Cozy slid between my legs and wrapped her
arms around me into a deep hug that lasted longer than normal. Her body heaved
and bucked as the side of her head snuggled into my neck. Every noise possible
escaped her nose and mouth. I gave her minute, then I stood and my hands found
her elbows as I stepped away.

She wiped her face with her shirt and
cleared her throat. “I guess you have to go. Go on, then. You don’t have to
hang around. Maybe I’ll see you again after my momma dies.”

“Cozy, this isn’t the time to discuss
that night.”

“When is? When do I get to talk to you?”

“Let’s get through this first and I
promise we’ll talk.
Just you and me over a cup of coffee.
I promise.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. You’re right, though. I think
you should do this alone, but I’ll wait in my car downstairs in case you need
me.”

“Don’t make me feel bad about wasting
your time. Just go home to your family. Just remember your promise.”

I pretended to acquiesce. “Okay. You have
my number. Call for anything.”

“I will.”

I sat in my car with a beer outside of
the apartment. Cozy’s hug had seeped all the way to my bones, like a hot
shower. I can’t remember the last time Alicia had embraced me in a genuine
moment like that. A nice memory of Alicia sleeping on my chest after watching a
late movie came to mind and I relaxed.

Twenty minutes later, Cozy came out with
the suitcase and spotted me. She waved with no surprise, as if knowing I had
lied about going home. I felt for the girl… Smart, charming, resilient. It
seemed the poor thing couldn’t catch a break.