Page 15 of Death in the New Year

“I’m not sure that it’s supposed to,” said Luc. The doors of the church opened, and Mama Irene and Ruby walked in.

“Mama? What are you doing here?” asked Luc.

“Oh, there you are! I knew you’d be here somewhere. Ruby and me were doin’ some things in town and ran across someone needin’ help. A woman and her little girl. She’s in one of those electric wheelchairs, and it’s busted.” JT’s head popped up, staring at the older woman.

“Busted? Probably not busted,” he said quietly. “Those things can be a bit temperamental.”

“You sound like a man that knows about these things,” said Ruby.

“A little. Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, then get up,” said Irene, waving at him. “I don’t have all day, and it’s dark and cold outside. We need to get that woman and her child home.”

“Oh. Yes, ma’am,” he said, standing. He downed the rest of the coffee, handing the cup to Luc. “Thanks for the talk, fellas. I actually feel better.”

As JT followed Ruby out the doors of the church, Luc grabbed his mother’s hand, pulling her back.

“Mama, you wanna tell me what the hell that’s all about?” he asked.

“Luc Robicheaux, you are in the house of God. Don’t use curse words. That’s just a man helpin’ a woman and her child. That’s all. We happened to be in the neighborhood, and we happened to see her stuck on the side of the road. Craziest thing ever. The wheelchair was movin’ along just fine, and then it suddenly stopped.”

“Mmmhmm. It just suddenly stopped in front of a church where we were and that man who had two children in wheelchairs at one time,” he frowned. Wilson broke out in laughter, kissing Irene’s cheek.

“You’re something else, Irene. Something else.”

CHAPTER TEN

The last Luc and Wilson saw of JT and the woman with the child, he was walking them home. A home which happened to be two blocks from the church. One block from JT’s own studio apartment. He promised to check on them the next day to be sure everything was okay with the chair, and she promised to have hot coffee and food ready for him.

“Do you think your mama and Ruby knew about all that?” Wilson asked Luc.

“Brother, I don’t doubt it for a minute. I don’t know how. I don’t know when. But somehow, they knew, and there they were. What other explanation is there?”

“None,” laughed Wilson. “That’s sort of the point. Makes me wonder why they couldn’t just tell us who might be committing these murders.”

“Oh, no,” laughed Luc. “That would be way to easy, and Mama doesn’t like to make anything easy for us. She says it builds character. I got enough character for a hundred men. I wish she or Pops would just help us out a bit. Then again, maybe us doing all the work is what shapes us into the men we are.”

“Like you said, that would make things too easy.” As they pulled the truck from the curb, both men saw the reverend leaving the church in his sweatpants and running shoes.

“Looks like the reverend needs to clear his head after the sermon,” said Luc.

“I can’t imagine what this must be like for him. He devotes his entire life to helping all these people, addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, and then suddenly, he has two deaths on his doorstep. I know he’s not married, but I wonder if he was ever engaged. Divorced?”

“We’ll have Sly and Code check it out,” said Luc. “He seems to know a lot about relationships and their complexities.”

“Let’s go,” smirked Wilson. “If we beat your mama home, maybe we can snoop around and see if we can find the fairy dust.”

“Dude, you are not getting me into trouble. Besides, there is no way that woman is a fairy. She’s too sneaky.”

“Isn’t that what fairies are? Sneaky, small, cunning, clever?”

“Damn. You’re right. Let’s go.”

Neither was surprised to find that Irene and Ruby had beaten them home. Dinner was in the big cafeteria, and all the babies were crying at once, begging to be fed.

“What the hell?” muttered Luc. “Are they all on the same schedule?”

“It gets that way sometimes,” smirked Wilson. “Sort of like your sisters.”

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