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  “Right to the point, eh? I like it,” Labadie said, the good-humor radiating from him.

  “Emanuel Young’s new lawyers intend to argue that his grandfather or someone in his grandfather’s gang did the killings,” Hazelton said, just as direct.

  “They haven’t come out and said as much, but based on comments they’ve made so far…” Josh added and looked to his boss.

  “That’s where they’re headed. Neal Montgomery is one of the top defense attorneys in this state, in the country even. He teaches part-time at Tulane Law School and started the True Justice Project. He selects six students from the top two percent of the class.” Hazelton’s dark eyebrows went up. “And that’s saying something, because all the students at Tulane are top notch.”

  “Full disclosure, sir. You’re a Tulane alum,” Josh quipped. “I’m from LSU. We hold our own.”

  Hazelton’s grave expression cracked for a second when one corner of his mouth lifted. Then he grew serious again. “Back to the reason you’re here, Ms. Rousselle. Montgomery has you on a list of potential witnesses. I know you visited Young at the forensic facility twice. Tell me what you discussed.”

  LaShaun glanced at Chase. His dark Cajun eyes gave no clue as he sat across from her. Still, she felt a wave of protectiveness from him. The DA and his assistant glanced between them as though trying to read body language.

  “Your exchange isn’t covered by any kind of professional privilege,” Josh said quietly. When Chase shot a sharp look at him, the young attorney cleared his throat. “In case you’re wondering.”

  “I know that, and I want to help. I sure don’t think Manny should be out, or even in a minimum security setting,” LaShaun replied with a frown.

  “How did you know that he’s…” Josh’s voice trailed off. He turned to his boss.

  Hazelton continued to gaze steadily at LaShaun. “Ms. Rousselle?”

  “We didn’t talk about his conviction. Mostly we talked about his family, a little about his childhood. I’m surprised he would go for an appeal. He mentioned that he knew the evidence against him was solid. He even implied that he needed to be locked up.” LaShaun shook her head. “Then there’s the other side of him.”

  Hazelton sat forward on the edge of his chair. “Tell me more.”

  LaShaun thought back to the lightening quick change Manny could make. She switched off from her surroundings as she relived sitting across from the serial killer. “Manny can be charming, even look totally harmless. But he’s a cunning, ruthless predator. He enjoys the physical sensation of overpowering his victim. Emotionally he feeds off their struggle to survive, like a psychic vampire. Manny even likes the taste of his victims.”

  “He’s a cannibal?” Josh asked, eyes wide with repulsion.

  “No, not eating their raw flesh, though I suspect he bit several of them. He likes licking their sweat. The flavor excites him sexually.” LaShaun’s stomach lurched as she pushed against making a telepathic connection to the monster. Her skin tingled and itched so intensely that she rubbed her arms hard. “I don’t think bringing Manny outside for court is a good idea. At all. He’s a master manipulator.”

  “Baby, calm down. Manny ain’t even in the parish. I promise you,” Chase said quickly and put an arm around the back of her chair as he moved closer.

  “He’s at Feliciana Forensic Hospital, ma’am,” Hazelton said.

  “But he’s been watching the hearing using video conference equipment we set up,” Josh added. “His attorney insisted. Look, is it true he’s got some kind of paranormal abilities?”

  “We’re not going down that mumbo jumbo path,” Hazelton clipped back before LaShaun could react. “I don’t give a damn what some crew of boogey-man chasers say. Manny is a sadistic killer. Human evil exists. I’ve seen enough of it to know.”

  “We don’t want to sensationalize this case anymore than it’s already going to be. Manny lured his victims in and murdered them. Plain and simple,” Chase added in his deep, firm voice as he gazed at the assistant DA.

  “Sure. I was just asking,” Josh replied and sat back in his chair. He avoided the stony look from his boss. “So, any clues from his childhood with Orin Young?”

  “Manny was abused physically and emotionally by his father,” LaShaun replied carefully.

  Josh flipped open a soft leather briefcase and took out a folder. “Ethan Young disappeared years ago. He had an arrest history, mostly drugs. But he did have a couple of simple battery charges.”

  “Orin Young was just as vicious to his family as he was to the strangers he killed,” LaShaun said with force. Her rage at the agony one man inflicted flooded her veins like fire. She slapped the surface of the table.

  “Damn,” Josh mumbled and blinked at his boss.

  “Look, we’re pretty sure Manny’s legal team is going to say he was abused. They’re more than likely also going to say he was controlled by his grandfather and his father,” Hazelton said.

  Josh glanced at his smart phone. “We’ve got about five minutes left of this break.”

  “Did Manny mention his grandfather or his father leading him to become a killer? Was Orin or Ethan Young with Manny when he killed any victims?” Hazelton said, getting to the point.

  LaShaun glanced at Chase and then back at Hazelton. “Manny never mentioned them being together.”

  “Which doesn’t mean they weren’t,” Hazelton answered and stared at her hard as though willing her to remember more.

  LaShaun shook her head. “But he didn’t talk to me about the murders.”

  “Okay then. That’s good.” Hazelton stood and smoothed down his dark green silk tie. He buttoned the deep blue jacket of his suit and nodded to his assistant. Josh rose and hastily stuffed the folder back into his briefcase. Chase and LaShaun stood as well.

  LaShaun looked at Hazelton in surprise. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Manny’s lawyers are probably hoping you can tell a gruesome tale of how Orin forced his poor grandson to witness a bloodbath,” Chase answered for the two prosecutors.

  “Deputy Broussard has been down this road before,” Hazelton said with a tight smile.

  “Nothing pisses me off more than the ‘Poor me’ defense,” Chase grumbled.

  “Manny’s sister told me Ethan and Orin beat him when he was a kid. He suffered psychological abuse as well.” LaShaun stopped short of saying how learning he was a product of incest had twisted Manny’s mind even more.

  “More reason he needs to stay locked up. That makes him less likely to respond to short-term therapy,” Josh put in.

  “Which makes him a threat to public safety; that fact along with the physical evidence linking him to the murders means the jury got it right the first time. The death penalty was made for guys like Emanuel Young,” Hazelton said.

  “Sounds like you’ve got your closing argument halfway finished,” Chase said with a half grin.

  “Just about,” Hazelton answered. “Judge Barrow is known to lean toward extenuating circumstances and the bad childhood argument.”

  “Crap, Patricia Barrow is your judge?” Chase rubbed his forehead.

  “What’s wrong?” LaShaun asked and tapped Chase’s arm.

  “Judge Patricia Barrow isn’t exactly a fan of law enforcement procedures. She views some of our routine practices as going over the line to trap suspects.” Chase scowled as he spoke.

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Josh said. “Judge Barrow has handed down her share of convictions in bench trials.”

  “Mostly in trials of misdemeanor cases though. She also thinks the system is stacked against minority defendants.” Hazelton shook his head.

  “I happen to agree with her,” LaShaun said more sharply than she probably should have. “And more than a few studies back that up.” The three men grew quiet for several seconds. A knock on the door broke the silence.

  A court deputy stuck his head in the door. “Court is about to be called back in session, guys.”

  “Thanks.” Ha
zelton nodded at him. “Well, the issue of bias on the basis of race won’t come up with Manny anyway. That’s something. Look, Ms. Rousselle, I realize you came to feel a certain empathy with his family, maybe even for him.”

  “I know exactly who and what Manny is, Mr. Hazelton.” LaShaun spoke calmly as they walked out of the old court building and toward the more modern version. “He needs to stay in a secure setting for a long, long time.”

  “LaShaun doesn’t have any ammunition that’s going to blow apart the case against Manny,” Chase said.

  “What about you, Deputy Broussard?” Hazelton shot back. “You were at those interviews, and you brought in Orin Young.”

  “And the rest of his gang, too,” Josh added with a serious expression on his fresh, young face.

  Chase grunted. “His lawyers sure as hell won’t get any traction from anything I have to say. Manny may be nuts, but he knew exactly what he was doing; same goes for his granddaddy. They killed because they liked it. Nothing supernatural about that.”

  They reached the entrance to the courthouse. Another court deputy checked LaShaun’s purse. He also made sure Chase wasn’t carrying his service hand gun before he let them go to Court Room B. More than three dozen spectators were seated on the two rows of long wooden benches. LaShaun guessed at least a third of those were reporters. Hazelton and his assistant strode down the center aisle and took their places at a table. The court officials were separated from the audience section by a three-foot-tall solid wood gate with little swinging doors at both ends. A tall man with jet black hair stood talking to a woman.

  “That’s Neal Montgomery.” Chase was about to go on when he let out a hiss. “Oh hell, look who’s here.”

  James Schaffer waved to LaShaun when she glanced around. She ignored him and went back to studying Neal Montgomery. He stood at least six feet tall. His skin had the olive tone that implied he had Italian ancestry mixed in with the Irish, but it was his intense violet blue eyes that made Montgomery stand out. Suddenly, he turned from talking to the woman next to him. He gazed directly at LaShaun without looking around at anyone else. He smiled and nodded a greeting to her as though they’d met. LaShaun’s heart beat fast. Something was wrong.

  “You know the guy?” Chase asked with a frown.

  “Never met him before,” LaShaun said.

  “Well I already don’t like him,” Chase muttered and stared back at Montgomery. The tall man gave a nod and went back to his conversation. “What the hell was that about?”

  “I have a feeling Mr. Montgomery knows all about us right down to the size of our shoes,” LaShaun whispered.

  The police officer on duty pointed them to a bench close to the front that had space that he’d reserved, right behind the prosecution table. “Y’all come up to this front bench. How you doin’, Sheriff Broussard?”

  Chase gave him a collegial clap on the shoulder. “Not yet, but keep a good thought on that, Danny. This is my fiancée.”

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am.” The man gave a respectful nod then went back to his duties. He studied the audience before going back to stand against the wall to the right of the judge’s bench.

  LaShaun sat next to Chase. She waited to see if Montgomery would look at her again. She intended to do her own research about the striking man. He gave off a different kind of aura than she’d expected. Yet LaShaun couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was or why it felt so odd.

  Chase leaned close and spoke softly. “You got a funny feeling about Manny’s lawyer. I can tell.”

  “Yes, but…” LaShaun sighed. “Maybe it’s nothing. Some people are so strong-willed they affect me that way. It doesn’t happen often though.”

  “So did I knock you back a few steps?” Chase grinned at her.

  “Yes, you did, Deputy Broussard. And in a very good way,” LaShaun quipped with a grin. Before she or Chase could continue flirting, the bailiff’s voice broke in.

  “All rise. Court is now in session. The Honorable Patricia Robertson Barrow,” Danny boomed.

  “Thank you, officer. You may be seated,” Judge Barrow said without looking at the audience after she sat down. “Mr. Montgomery, the court has taken your request for a new trial into consideration. I find no evidence to suggest the first conviction would have been different had the jury known about Mr. Young’s history of childhood abuse. Further, none of the facts surrounding the investigation of his grandfather’s crimes show evidence that Orin Young committed these crimes. Therefore, your request for a new trial is denied.”

  “Yes!” Josh blurted out. He winced when the judge glared at him.

  “Your honor, we wanted to question a witness. Ms. Rousselle might have shed some light on the entire facts surrounding the murders Mr. Young’s grandfather is alleged to have committed. At the very least he seems to have instigated them. Those would constitute mitigating circumstances that might change his death sentence, or support the need for a new trial.”

  “Mr. Montgomery, I read your arguments and your petition. According to the records, Mr. Emanuel Young never implicated his grandfather. Mr. Orin Young never confessed to the earlier string of murders. Request for a new trial denied,” Judge Barrow spoke sharply as though her patience was being sorely tested. She banged her gavel as a symbolic and emphatic end to Montgomery’s attempts to debate.

  The audience in the courtroom set up a growing buzz of conversation. The officer on duty firmly invited people to find the nearest exit or keep quiet. His expression clearly communicated he’d help them find the doors if they didn’t comply. Chase gave him a wave. He and LaShaun followed the two prosecutors out through a side door and into a side hallway.

  “Put one in the win column for the good guys,” Chase said and gave a sigh of relief.

  Hazelton tucked a large expanding folder under his right arm. “Judge Barrow surprised me.”

  “Surprised? I about broke my jaw when it hit the floor,” Josh put in.

  “I’m just happy LaShaun didn’t have to testify,” Chase said. His relaxed smile was back.

  LaShaun started to answer him when Montgomery pushed through the doors. His female colleague came right behind him. She had dark red hair that contrasted with her strikingly pale skin. She followed Montgomery’s gaze and studied LaShaun. The woman nodded at LaShaun before they strode off, hand in hand. Both seemed to say they would meet again on their terms.

  “This issue isn’t over,” LaShaun said, her voice cutting off the conversation between Chase and the two men.

  “Sure. It’s routine for lawyers to file an appeal, but we have a solid argument, especially if even liberal Judge Barrow didn’t buy their attempt at a new trial,” Hazelton replied with confidence.

  “Yes, and the important thing is Manny will stay locked up for years while they fight a losing battle,” Josh added.

  “Even more good news,” Chase said. Still he glanced at LaShaun. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  LaShaun watched the handsome couple stride down the hallway and turn a corner. Both left behind traces of their strong auras, two powerful personalities not easily discouraged from a path once chosen. Their efforts on Manny’s behalf weren’t over. LaShaun somehow sensed that it went beyond the court case.

  “This isn’t over,” she repeated softly.

  Chapter 5

  Two days later, LaShaun sat in the den off her large kitchen enjoying a second cup of strong Louisiana coffee. In her lap was a book of legends, but the morning news had distracted her. The election campaign had turned hectic. Between his duties as a chief investigator and visiting with civic groups, LaShaun had not seen Chase since they’d been in court. All she’d had of his time were a few telephone conversations and one video chat. For a mostly rural parish with a relatively small population, folks in Vermilion Parish seemed up to a lot of no-good deeds lately. LaShaun tried not to believe there was more to it than the usual rowdy, randy and stupid human nature.

  Chase’s opponent hardly let a chance slip
by to mention the latest crime wave, and hint that a lack of proper leadership was the problem. Dave Godchaux was giving an interview to the leggy blonde host of a local television morning show. This was his third appearance in the last five months. Supposedly, Godchaux was there to talk about a Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast fundraiser. LaShaun frowned at the TV screen when good old Dave talked about the importance of good family values.

  “We believe that our program to mentor young men has an affect not only on their lives, but on the lives of others. We save one young man, and quite possibly we save someone from becoming the victim of a crime.”

  “So true, Deputy Godchaux,” the host said. Then she beamed at the camera. “Once again, the breakfast will be held on March 22nd at the Our Lady of Lourdes Recreational Center. For information on tickets call the number on our screen.”

  “That’s right, folks. Come out and help us help our community,” Dave intoned. He gave off the right mixture of caring and determination to do good works.

  “On to a less pleasant topic, tell us about the crime statistics in Vermilion Parish. I hear that we’ve had a slight decrease in burglaries, but a sharp increase in murders.” The blonde tried to look like a tough journalist and failed. Maybe it was because she spent most of her time interviewing garden club members about roses and giggling over cute pet videos.

  Dave’s expression grew somber. “Sadly we’ve experienced a string of brutal crimes. The good people of this parish can rest assured that your Sheriff’s Department is ready to respond and protect our citizens. We could use more resources, which is why I’ve helped our legislative delegation draft several bills that help tighten certain laws.”

  LaShaun tapped a button and switched to another station. “Stick a pancake in it, Dave.”

  When the doorbell rang, LaShaun went to her front door. LaShaun gazed through the peephole. She didn’t recognize the nut brown woman standing on her porch. The woman glanced around as though examining her surroundings. When LaShaun swung open the front door, but not the storm door the woman jumped. Only then did LaShaun see the man standing beside her.