LaShaun drove out of town with at least a half dozen questions buzzing around in her head. She had called Rita from her cell on the drive home. As it turned out Rita was already back at Momon Odette’s. LaShaun parked the Chevy Trailblazer, crossed the back porch and went inside. She followed the sound of voices, faint but distinct. She went down the longer hallway to the den. Rita and her cousin Azalei talked with their heads together. Azalei saw LaShaun first. Her feline smile of satisfaction flashed, a sure sign of trouble.
“Well, hello LaShaun. Sorry I haven’t been by sooner to welcome you home.” Azalei’s voice flowed out like honey laced with poison.
LaShaun matched her phony façade with her own smarmy grin. “Don’t you worry about that. You’re here now, aren’t you? How have you been, girl?”
“Doing fine. Worried about our grandmother.” Azalei affected a concerned expression that lacked authenticity.
“She’s doing pretty good considering. I’m glad you’re prospering.” LaShaun glanced at the large polished gold hoop earrings and her cousin’s fancy clothes. “Love that BMW.”
“Thank you. You’ re doing well in California I hear. Working at a major museum, got you a big time degree. Momon showed us those articles about you putting on exhibits about Louisiana Creole history and voodoo. Impressive.”
“Thanks.” LaShaun waited for more.
“We haven’t been doing anything quite that exciting, just real estate and investments.” Azalei lifted a hand to brush her thick braids. The eight carat smoky quartz ring she wore sparkled.
“Congratulations on your success. Seems our Momon’s assets have been exploited to advantage,” LaShaun crossed into the room and sat down on a dark red leather lounger.
Azalei’s expression clouded over for a second then she smiled again. “We’ve been careful caretakers while you were away.”
“Humph.” LaShaun looked at Rita. One more question was added to her mind. When did Rita and Azalei become pals? Rita avoided her gaze.
“Y’all want something to drink? I made some of my raspberry lemonade. I’ll be back with some.” Rita sprang up and scurried out before either woman could respond.
“So LaShaun,” Azalei said and gazed at her.
LaShaun crossed her legs. “Azalei. You have something to say to me.”
“What makes you think that?” Azalei looked cool as ice water. Maybe it was her success that had given her poise. She used to be jumpy and defensive around LaShaun.
“Call it intuition,” LaShaun replied. “Well?”
“You might want to influence our grandmother to be more, equitable with our family holdings.” Azalei stopped smiling and became all business.
“And why might I want to do that? Assuming Momon hasn’t been equitable that is.”
Azalei sighed and shook her head. “You know how mama is. She’s very angry and we know how she gets.”
“Yeah, we all know Aunt Leah.” LaShaun spoke calmly. She suppressed a smile at the evil gleam in Azalei’s eyes.
“Mama just wants what is best for the family, LaShaun,” Azalei hissed. “Maybe if you thought about somebody other than yourself you’d realize that.”
“Oh really,” LaShaun drawled.
“Yes, really. Then the one person you need to avoid is the one person you ride down Main Street with?” Azalei’s voice rose as she vented.
“Wow, word travels fast. Oh, right. Text messaging.” LaShaun nodded at the slim cell phone clipped to Azalei’s fancy leather purse.
Azalei started, glanced at the phone as if it had given something away. “What do you expect? We have to live here after you fly off to LA, you know.”
“What do you care? Y’all got all kinds of money.” LaShaun started to say more then stopped. A light went off in her head. “This about you and Aunt Leah trying to climb the social ladder.”
“This has nothing to do with me pledging AKA or— ”
LaShaun hoot of hysterical laughter drowned out the rest of Azalei’s words. She had tears streaming down her face and her stomach hurt. LaShaun gasped for air. Rita came back in with a tray and three glasses of lemonade.
“I’m glad y’all having a good time. Now give me a clue about the joke.” Rita smiled at LaShaun. Her smile faded when she glanced at Azalei.
LaShaun gasped for air. “I can hardly breathe. Wo-wee. The Rousselles trying to show up in the society pages.”
“At least we’re trying to advance this family. After years of being looked down on, treated like trash. Worse, treated like demons and devil worshipers.” Azalei scowled as though the words tasted bitter. “Thanks to Momon and the rest of those old people.”
“ Our infamous ancestors made your lifestyle possible,” LaShaun said dryly.
“My father— ”
“Didn’t have a pot to pee in before he married Aunt Leah. Momon helped him start his business. Same for Uncle Albert and Uncle Leo.” LaShaun stood. “I’ve had my laugh for today now get out.”
“You can’t— ”
LaShaun reached up and removed her pierced earrings. “Let me see, it’s been over ten years since I whipped your behind. But it’s like riding a bicycle- you never forget.”
“Maybe you better go, Azalei. Just for the sake of peace,” Rita said in a strained voice. She held the tray like it was a protective shield.
LaShaun gazed at Azalei through narrowed eyes. “Yeah, for the sake of keeping me from taking a piece out of you.”
“I’ll be back and you won’t be laughing when we’re through with you. Tell her, Ree.” grabbed her purse and stomped out. Moments later the front door slammed.
“Azalei isn’t the enemy, LaShaun. Neither is Aunt Leah, Uncle Leo or Uncle Albert.” Rita finally put the tray down on a long table against one wall.
“We’ll talk about them later. Tell me about Quentin Trosclair.” LaShaun crossed her arms.
“Quentin Trosclair,” Rita repeated. She blinked hard and twisted her hands together.
“As you probably already know, along with half of Vermillion Parish, I talked to him today.” LaShaun walked up to Rita until they stood only three feet apart. “He said I should ask you why I’ll have to deal with him. What did he mean?”
“He bought some land from Momon back when you and him were… seeing each other”
“I know that. So?” LaShaun prodded.
“Well, actually it turns the sale was contingent on that chemical plan being built and the environmental activist got the permit pulled.” Rita’s gaze skittered around the room.
“Go on.” LaShaun concealed her surprise. She thought that Claude Trosclair had paid Momon Odette for the property.
“Well, our uncles borrowed heavily based on that sale. To keep from losing everything we leased the mineral rights to sixty percent of our land. To Trosclair, Inc.”
“Momon agreed to this?” LaShaun snapped.
“As manager of the trust I could make decisions.”
“Why would you do that?” LaShaun glared at Rita. She felt betrayed by the one cousin she trusted.
“We needed the money. Momon shouldn’t have agreed to that contingency clause,” Rita shot back.
“So you’ve been scheming with them behind our backs all this time?” LaShaun’s palm itched with the urge to slap Rita hard.
“Uncle Leo said— ”
“He’s not even our uncle,” LaShaun shot back. “He’s a distant cousin’s child Momon took in and raised as her own. So don’t quote him to me.”
“That’s nasty, but then I’m not surprised. Momon always treated you like you were above the rest of us. Aunt Leah is right. It’s always you, you. You.” Rita did not seem afraid now, only bitter and angry.
“Momon has treated you good all your life. She made you one of the trust administrators even,” LaShaun protested.
“Sure, after I worked on her for months and months. You were out in LA, not givin’ a damn about the mess you left behind. Still she wanted to leave everything in your hands. Well I wasn’t gonna let it go down like that. Not this time.”
“You better follow Azalei out the door, Re. Now while I’ve still got some control over my temper,” LaShaun snapped. She felt as thought the air had tightened around her.
“Like Azalei said, we’re not scared little girls anymore. Read those trust papers. I had my lawyer make sure I controlled more than you. Not that it will matter soon. We’re going to court to have Momon declared unfit mentally. I’ll be appointed as her guardian.”
LaShaun blinked away the red haze of rage that almost blinded her. “Like hell. She might have been sick, but her mind is clear.”
“Don’t be so sure. We’ve got plenty of evidence to show different.”
“Get out. Now.” LaShaun controlled her breathing in an effort to calm down.
“ Rita turned to leave then faced LaShaun again. “You won’t win this time.”
LaShaun did not remember what happened next. In what seemed only a second later Rita was on her knees moaning. LaShaun had her by the hair with one hand, the other one twisted Rita’s right arm behind her back. The bones of Rita’s shoulder popped ominously.
“That’s right,” a voice rasped low near LaShaun’s ear. “Show her who’s dominant. Make her suffer.”
“You’re gonna break my arm,” Rita rasped, her eyes wide with terror.
Momon advanced into the room using the heavy cane. “LaShaun, control yourself, girl!”
Slowly the rest of the room came into focus again. LaShaun felt and heard the voice loosen its hold on her will, allowing her to push down the desire to hurt Rita. Then LaShaun gasped as though suddenly awakening from a bad dream. She let go of Rita then backed away.
“You best leave quick, child,” Momon Odette said to Rita.
“She’s crazy. You both are.” Rita shook as she croaked out the words. Then she ran.
LaShaun’s legs felt shaky. She went to the tray and picked up one of the tumblers filled with lemonade. After drinking down half of it, LaShaun touched the cool glass to her forehead.
“You got to practice controlling the gift, cher. You been away from the source of power too long,” Momon Odette said quietly. She turned and went back to her room. “We’ll talk later. I’m tired.”
“Momon,” she called out. Her grandmother paused but did not turn back to face LaShaun. “This is a curse. One that I will find a way to defeat.”
Momon Odette did not answer. She shuffled slowly down the hallway. LaShaun put the tumbler back on the tray. Part of her wanted to follow her grandmother, to make the old woman tell her how to be free for good.
Episode 10
