A Father's Duty

“What do you see in the revelations?”

“The first time she had her hands and feet tied, but last night she was in a swamp. She’s running. I think someone must be chasing her but I only see the young woman.”

“She’s calling out to you.”

“Then why aren’t things clearer?”

“It’s the way of the gift. It only shows what it wants to show. When did the visions start to appear?”

“A few nights ago. I’d gone to the hospital to see a prostitute who’d been assaulted. She died while I was there.”

“So you think the images are tied to the victim?”

“I’m not sure. The first time they appeared was when I talked to the man who claimed he had found her and called an ambulance.”

“You sound as if you don’t believe him.”

“I don’t know what to believe. I saw him again a few days later and the images returned.”

“Do the images only materialize when you’re with this man?”

“No. Last night…” Her voice trailed off as the images shadowed her mind.

“What happened last night?”

“I had a nightmare. I was running through a swamp and when I woke my heart was pounding so I was afraid I might have a stroke or a heart attack.”

“You are experiencing her fear.”

“So what do I do to make the images stop?”

“Find a way to help the woman.”

“How can I? I don’t know who she is or where she is.”

“Go back to the man and tell him what you see. Demand that he tell you the truth.”

“I can’t do that, Momma. I’m a junior prosecutor. I can’t go around telling people about visions. They’ll think I’m …”

“Crazy as me?” Isabella reached over and put her hands on top of Georgette’s. “If I could have, I would have spared you this anguish, Georgette, but withholding the gift isn’t within my power. You have it. You must learn to live with it.”

The teakettle started to whistle. Isabella went to the range and poured the water over the two tea bags. Her long skirt swayed with her hips and the charms dangling from at least a dozen bracelets jingled with every movement of her arms.

Isabella was fifty-one, eighteen years older than Georgette, but she could have passed for mid-forties. She was striking, with dark eyes and thick black lashes that set off her soft brown eyes. She possessed all the beauty traits Creole women were famous for, and yet Georgette knew her mother never saw herself as pretty.

Not that she saw herself as ugly. It was just that Isabella lived on a different plane. She saw things no one else saw, but she never saw herself. She just took her looks the way she took life, as if it were in control and she was there to do its bidding.

Isabella set the teapot on the table and settled back in her chair. “Maybe you’re not giving the visions a chance, Georgette. You can’t fight them or try to push them away. That only thwarts the power that lies inside you and keeps you from seeing things clearly.”

“I don’t want to see any more, Momma. I want you to tell me how to make them stop.”

“And what about the young woman?”

“She’s not my responsibility. I didn’t ask for any of this. I refuse to let it claim my life.”

“It’s not so simple, my sweet one. You can’t choose when the gift shows itself or when it goes, but you must listen to it.”

“Why? Why do I have to pay attention to something that has no place in my life?”

Isabella took her hands in hers. “Look at me, Georgette. Look into my eyes and listen carefully to what I say. If you deny the gift and ignore the images you may be sentencing this woman to death. And if you do that, her blood will be on your hands and it will never go away. Never.”

Isabella put her hands in front of her, staring at them as if she could actually see blood running between her fingers and dripping onto the floor.

The room grew icy cold and Georgette longed to bolt and run away, but something held her. “Did you ignore the gift and let someone die, Momma?”

“It doesn’t matter. The past can never be undone. Tell me about this man who first caused the images to appear.”

“His name is Tanner Harrison. He’s a truck driver, I think. He doesn’t have a criminal record. I checked. But I have this feeling that he’s not leveling with me.”

“You must be careful, Georgette. Be very, very careful.”

“Then you think he’s dangerous.”

“All I know is that sometimes when the images are so strong that they won’t let you go, the danger can reach out for you, too.”

“What should I do, Momma? Please. You must tell me.”

“Talk to this man. Spend time with him, and go where the images lead you.”

“Are you saying I should go into a swamp and look for her?”

“It might help. All I know for certain is that you must let the visions guide you. Follow them, but don’t let your guard down. Not for a second.”

The tiny kitchen seemed to be closing in on Georgette, and she hated that she was here, that she was talking of spells and curses and psychic visions. Hated that her insides were tumbling around and making her nauseated. Hated that she’d been sucked back into a life she’d tried so desperately to escape. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“You’re right. I’ve probably said enough for now.”

Even Isabella seemed relieved to let the subject drop. Georgette drank her tea, then said a hurried goodbye. If she were half-smart, she’d go back to her office, bury herself in her work and not give any more thought to the blond woman in the swamp. She’d pretty much convinced herself to do just that when she turned on the radio and heard the latest news.

A young woman’s body had been pulled from the Mississippi River in Plaquemine Parish. She’d been identified as Simone Billings, a prostitute who’d been listed by her friends as missing a month ago.

…her blood will be on your hands.

Isabella’s warning echoed in Georgette’s mind as a new plan formed in her mind. Swerving into a U-turn, she headed toward Tchoupitoulas Street and another visit with Tanner Harrison.

Chapter Four

Tanner had spent half the night searching for leads, and he was bone-tired when he got the message that Georgette Delacroix was in the front office of Crescent City Transports and asking to see him—again. For some reason the news didn’t surprise him, maybe because the exotic beauty with the strange habit of blacking out on him had been on his mind far too often since she’d swayed against him in the conference room.