“I’ll clean him up and give him right back, I promise. We’ll be just over here. Not far.” The nurse eased the babe from his hands. “Congratulations, Dad.”

  “Thanks.” Luke could barely speak. Tears rolled down his face, and he felt dizzy as he staggered to the closest chair.

  “You okay, Uncle Luke?” asked Rowanne. “You’re pale.”

  “Never better,” said Luke. As soon as he was able to stand, he walked over to Misty and kissed her. “Fantastic job, Mist. He’s beautiful.”

  “How would I know? I haven’t seen him yet,” said Misty.

  “He looks like me,” said Josiah, hovering over the birthing bed. “He’ll be powerful, handsome, and charming like all the LeJeune men.”

  “And modest?” asked Claire.

  The nurse stepped back from the little care station and presented the baby to his family. Clad in a tiny blue sleeper, and wrapped up like a sausage in a blue blanket, she laid him across Misty’s chest. “Nine pounds, eleven ounces. A perfect size for a new mother to handle.”

  Doctor Maynard straightened from dealing with things at the bottom of the birthing bed. “If I could ask everybody except Dad to leave for a few moments, I’ll wrap everything up.”

  The room emptied, and Luke asked. “Is everything okay?”

  “Umm… there was some bleeding because of the baby’s size, but nothing to be concerned about. We’ll send Misty upstairs until tomorrow. A day of rest is all she needs.”

  “Okay.” Luke blew out a breath, wondering when he’d felt this unsteady on his feet.

  “As soon as she’s settled in a room,” said the doctor, “the family can visit for a few minutes more. Then I’m going to call it. I want Mom resting for the rest of the day.”

  Luke nodded his head. “Got it.”

  Seventeen Saint Gillian Street.

  Oscar came back in an hour with two men and a load of equipment for rat removal.

  “Hellfires, boss. Never seen such an infestation.”

  Oscar grinned. “Yep, be a good while getting rid of these babies. Probably whole colonies of young ones in the walls.”

  Fern let out a little squeal. “No, not in the walls.”

  “Yep. Gonna take some time.” Oscar grinned again. “You take what you need and wander yonder to my place, Ferny. Have to ask you to leave for today.”

  “I’ll take my laptop,” she said. “How long will this take?”

  “Couple hours, but then… just plan on the whole day out of the house.”

  “I guess I’ll have to.” She picked up her laptop and headed for the front door.

  “We should call the Guinness people, boss. This many rats in one house… gotta be a record-breaker.”

  Oscar seemed pleased. “Be good publicity for the company if we could get into the book.”

  “I don’t want my house in the Guinness book,” said Fern. “Just get rid of the fuckin rats.”

  Oscar chuckled. “Fern can be testy, boys. Watch out.”

  “Didn’t know you had a hot squeeze, boss. You never mentioned her.”

  “Private things are best kept private, right, babe?” He winked at her.

  “Whatever you say, Oscar. Is your house unlocked?”

  “Uh-huh. Coffee is on too. Cream in the fridge.”

  “You thought of everything.”

  He smiled. “I’m a man who takes care of my woman.”

  Hope I’m not your woman for long.

  New Orleans Hospital.

  Luke sat next to Misty’s bed, holding his baby boy. He’d fallen asleep the moment he picked him up and was taking a peaceful nap after all the effort of being born. “He’s perfect, Mist.”

  Misty smiled at them while Rowanne darted around the room, taking pictures on Luke’s phone.

  “All right, family. Now that we see him let’s give him a name. I want something with power and meaning. He’s a child of the goddess. He possesses great gifts. I want him to understand his heritage and embrace the beauty of the natural world. What do we call him?”

  Ben raised his hand, but then realized everyone was looking at him and pulled it back down.

  Misty smiled and waved him toward the bed. “Don’t be shy, sugar. If you have a suggestion, I want to hear it?”

  Ben strode over and looked down at the baby in Luke’s arms. “I don’t know wizard names, but you said power and meaning and nature. To me, that is the forest. The forest is home and shelter. It’s wild and powerful. It provides food and clean air. Forest is nature.”

  When no one said anything, Ben looked around. “Is that wrong?”

  Misty looked at Luke, and he nodded. “I like Forest.”

  She held out a hand for Ben and hugged him when he came to her. “Thank you, Ben. That’s a wonderful name. Everyone meet Forest Josiah LeJeune-Hyslop.”

  After Luke finally gave up baby Forest, Claire and Rowanne got their turns. “Do you want to hold him, Ben?” asked Misty.

  Ben nodded. “I’ll be careful.” He sat down, and Rowanne put the baby into his arms. Ben was all smiles as he held the baby like he was made of glass. “Hello, little Forest.”

  Rowanne teared up watching him.

  Misty’s nurse came in and put a halt to the baby party. She put the baby into the bed in the corner of the room and shooed everyone out. “Time for Mom and baby to sleep. You can come get them in the morning and take them home.”

  Hesitant to leave her, Luke leaned down and kissed Misty once more. “I love you so much.”

  Nine Saint Gillian Street.

  As soon as they arrived home, everyone talked at once to Angelique bringing her up to speed. Luke showed her all the pictures of Forest on his phone. And everyone praised Ben for coming up with the name.

  “I’ll pick them up first thing in the morning. Is everything ready upstairs?”

  “The nursery has been ready for weeks,” said Claire. “The girls are in there every day fussing over it and making it perfect. They will be so excited when they see him.”

  “Tomorrow will be his big introduction to the girls,” said Luke. “Mist will be tired when she gets home. I don’t want them fussing over him too much until she feels better.”

  Luke was exhausted from early start and all the adrenaline pumping through his veins during the birth of his son. Still, there was little time to rest.

  The next thing he had to deal with was Sam.

  Luke trudged upstairs to his room and sat down at his desk to sort it out. How should he handle it? He couldn’t say his brother was killed by a bear because that would involve Rowanne and Ben. He didn’t want Ben being questioned by the police about what had happened in the forest. The kid was sweet but sometimes sounded… unreliable?

  Should he report Sam as a missing person?

  Could he hold a funeral without a death certificate?

  And then there’s Lynn. Luke blew out a breath, wondering what to tell her.

  I shouldn’t tell her anything until things are settled.

  He’d talk it over with Rowanne after he had lunch and a beer.” Luke washed his face, brushed his teeth, and wondered when he’d felt so drained.

  Downstairs, he ate without really paying attention to what Angelique put in front of him and downed a cold Miller. After that, he felt slightly better. He stuck his head in the sitting room, looking for Ben. “Hey, Ben, why don’t you show me where you saw the people burying the body last night?”

  Ben hopped up, and the dogs were right behind him. Hoodoo and Nixa stuck to Ben like hounds to a fox. He ran out the back door and headed for the back gate faster than Luke could keep up. “Slow down a little bit and wait for this old guy,” hollered Luke.

  Seventeen Saint Gillian Street.

  Ben waited for Luke in the laneway on the other side of the fence, his arm extended, pointing down the lane. As soon as Luke caught up, they jogged together down the narrow strip of dirt behind the row of huge old houses. Wide enough for one vehicle, the easement belonged to all the residents on that side of the street. Some had garages, and others didn’t.

  Ben stopped behind number seventeen and pointed over the fallen down fence. The large yard was a victim of neglect—overgrown with weeds and dead grass—but there was a plot of earth freshly dug up under the apple tree.

  Luke peered over the fence and nodded. “Definitely big enough spot to bury a body, Ben.

  “What are those mask men doing?” asked Ben. Men came out the back door and ran around the side of the house, doing something at the basement windows.

  “Hmm… they look like they might be exterminators.” Luke smiled. “Misty’s spell is working.”

  “I want to see the spell working,” said Ben.

  “No, we can’t see. We have to enjoy it from out here in the laneway.”

  “What about the lady in the orange pajamas?” asked Luke.

  “Pardon?” Luke cranked his head around to hear the new information. Sometimes Ben’s thoughts were fragmented. “The body was a lady wearing orange pajamas?”

  “I can see in the dark, you know.”

  “Uh-huh, that’s handy. You think it was a lady?”

  “Girl clothes.”

  “Okay, girl clothes. A good indicator. We better call the police and have them take over.”

  “I want to watch them dig her up,” said Ben. He pointed again and whispered. “She’s under the dirt.”

  Luke smiled. “Perhaps you’ll get that chance. I wouldn’t mind watching them myself. Let’s go call them.”

  Fifteen Saint Gillian Street.

  Fern happened to be in Oscar’s kitchen, refilling her coffee mug when she noticed two guys in the back lane, looking at Marigold’s grave.

  “Aw, Jeeze. Don’t tell me that fuckin cop is nosing around my yard. Now I’ll have to move Mari as soon as it’s dark unless I can get Oscar to do it sooner.”

  Fern set her mug down and ran next door to her own house. She stuck her head in the front door and spotted Oscar doing his exterminator thing. She gave him a wave, and he stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind him.

  “What? I told you to stay at my house, Ferny.”

  “Emergency.”

  “What kind?”

  “I saw two guys in the lane looking at Marigold’s grave.”

  “So what? Let them look. They can’t come on private property and start digging.”

  “Even if they’re cops?”

  “Were they cops?”

  “One was a Texas Ranger.”

  “Fuck that.”

  “What should we do?”

  “Umm… I can’t do anything right now,” said Oscar, “I’m in mid-extermination mode. How about tonight, after dark?”

  “Sure. After dark is good.”

  Nine Saint Gillian Street.

  Luke and Ben came in the back door to find Charlotte, Diana, and Michele had arrived to start preparing for the trick-or-treaters who would be coming as soon as it was dark.

  Angelique had a pot of taffy boiling on the stove, and the girls were skewering apples, dipping them, and setting them out on sheets of waxed paper to harden.

  “Man, I love candy apples,” Luke said, eyeing up their handiwork. “Gran used to make them for me. Save me one.”

  Ben made a face. He wasn’t much of a fruit eater, although on occasion he would try something new.

  “These are yummy, Ben,” said Rowanne. “I’ll let you take a bite of mine to see if you like it.”

  He picked up an apple and a stick. “I want to make one, but I don’t want to eat it.”

  Luke nodded. “Perfect, you can make one for me, and I’ll eat it later.” Luke headed into the front parlor to make his call. He asked for homicide and was put on hold twice before he was able to speak with a detective.

  “Detective Rislow speaking.”

  Shit, Rislow. He’s the jerk from Leo’s case.

  “This is Ranger Luke Hyslop, of Violent Crime in Texas. I believe one of my neighbors here in N’Orlean has a body buried in her yard.”

  “Ranger Hyslop? I believe we’ve spoken before regarding the Pinoit case.”

  “That’s correct, and I may have further information on that case as well.”

  “Body in the yard on Hallowe’en. Uh-huh. I’m pretty busy this afternoon, but I’ll send a uniform to your address to get your statement.”

  Luke was pissed but tried not to show it. “Number nine, Saint Gillian Street.”

  “Squad should be along in a while.”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  Thanks for nothing was more like it.

  Claire changed into her long black cloak at dusk and let her dark hair hang loose around her shoulders. She stepped out onto the front porch and supervised as the girls lit candles in all the Jack-O-Lanterns they’d carved.

  “Don’t they look gorgeous?” squealed Diana. “I wish Casey was here to see them.”

  “Take pictures on your phone and send them,” said Rowanne. “He’ll want to see them, for sure.”

  “What are those for?” asked Ben.

  “Just for fun,” said Rowanne. “Keep away the evil spirits and welcome the good ones. We give treats to the good ones who wear a costume.”

  “Like the dead lady in the orange pajamas?”

  Rowanne stared at him. “I don’t know who that is, Ben.”

  A big grin spread across Ben’s face. “Luke and me are gonna watch when they dig her up.”

  Rowanne shrugged. “You boys have fun with that.”

  Little ghosts and goblins rang the front doorbell every few minutes while Luke tried to talk to the uniformed officer in the front parlor. Ben sat quietly beside Luke, terrified of the uniform. Luke tried to answer most of the questions for Ben.

  The officer, Sergeant Plummer, stared at Ben and asked, “Tell me what you saw, son.”

  “The tall mean lady had a shovel. The man carried the fat lady with the orange pajamas and threw her in the hole. Then the tall mean lady covered her up with dirt.”

  “Uh-huh. And you saw all this in the dark? Can I ask what you were doing in the back lane in the middle of the night?”

  Luke jumped in. “Ben has trouble sleeping in the city. He’s used to the quiet of nature. He often goes out at night.”

  Ben nodded his head.

  “This middle of the night burial occurred at number seventeen, you say?”

  “That’s right,” said Luke. “Down the street at number seventeen.”

  “What’s your full name, son. I need it for the report.”

  “Ben.”

  “Ben, what?”

  Ben shrugged.

  “Ben Hyslop.” Luke spelled it, and the officer wrote it down in his notepad.

  “I’ll speak to the homeowner and see what they have to say,” said Sergeant Plummer.

  Luke stood up and shook the sergeant’s hand. “Thanks for coming, sir.”

  Plummer gave Ben the once over and said. “Sometimes, things look different at night.”

  Seventeen Saint Gillian Street.

  Fern and Oscar were sweeping the last of the rat bodies into garbage bags when the doorbell rang.

  “Don’t let anybody in,” snapped Fern. “The house is a total rat dump.”

  “We’re almost finished,” said Oscar. “It ain’t that bad. Maybe it’s more kids wanting candy.”

  “With the rat crisis and Marigold screwing me over dying in the middle of it, I didn’t even have time to buy candy or remember it was Hallowe’en.”

  “Your sister had on her Hallowe’en pajamas,” said Oscar. “Looked good on her too. She filled them out nice.”

  Fern’s lip curled as she gave Oscar the stink-eye. He was even turned on by dead women.

  The doorbell rang again. “I’ll get rid of them.” Oscar opened the door a little to see who it was. “Yes, officer, guess you ain’t trick or treating, are you?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Help you with something?” Oscar opened the door wider.

  The officer held up his badge. “I’m Sergeant Plummer from NOPD, and I’d like to come in and speak to y’all about a report I received.”

  “What report?” Fern asked, joining them at the door.

  “One of your neighbors says he saw you burying a body in your backyard. Mind if I take a look?”

  “Don’t you need a warrant to look around on private property?” asked Fern.

  Sergeant Plummer pushed his way into the foyer and zeroed in on the garbage bags. Two or three dead rats lay beside the bags. “What are those bags? Are they filled with rats?”

  “I’m an exterminator, sir,” said Oscar. “Dead rats are what you see here, thanks to O.T. Extermination and Control.”

  “Looks like you had a huge rat infestation,” said Sergeant Plummer. “Again, the back yard. Mind if I take a look?”

  “Yes, I do,” said Fern. “I’ve been having trouble with my neighbors, especially number nine, if that’s where the report originated. I’ll have to ask you to get a warrant and come back later.”

  “Yes, ma’am. That’s exactly what I’ll do.”

  “Thank you, Sergeant. Nice meeting you.”

  As soon as he left, Fern panicked. “We have to move Mari’s body, Oscar. You have to help me.”

  Oscar grinned. “Where do you suggest we take her?”

  “The last place they’ll look,” said Fern. “We’ll move her to a graveyard somewhere in the city.”

  “Do you know one?” asked Oscar.

  “No, but I can Google one. I’ll do it right now.”

  “Do it while I finish getting the rats into the bags. We’ll need something to put her in.”

  “Do you have a tarp or something like that?”

  “Yeah, I don’t want her getting my truck all dirty. Let me look in my garage.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Friday, November 1st.

  Seventeen Saint Gillian Street.

  Fern gazed up at the moon. “Not especially dark for midnight,” she said. “There are a lot of trees at the old graveyard I picked, and no one will be around this time of night. Let’s do it.”

  Oscar stuck his shovel into the soft earth and poked the end of it around, hoping to hit Marigold.

 

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