And neither of them looked back.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Rock watched Henri cross the street in the middle and head for the park. He'd been waiting outside Suzette's apartment ever since Isa told him Henri spent all his evenings there, but never slept over. After two hours, his patience had paid off as he watched his brother disappear in the shadows of the cypress trees.
He quickened his step and soon he spotted Henri taking the path near the lake. He sped up and he could tell by the way Henri walked faster that he knew someone was behind him. Rock would bet the fucking wimp was second-guessing his decision to take the shortcut through the park. He was probably beginning to sweat, his blood pumping through his veins as he wondered if he should make a run for it. I want you to feel fear the way Maman did, you motherfucker. Rock clomped his boots loudly on the pavement just to make Henri shit his pants.
Henri whirled around, his eyes bulging and his chest heaving up and down. "What do you want-" He stopped short, then recognition spread over his face and he let out a long breath. "It's you. What a relief. I thought it was someone who wanted to mug me."
You're going to wish it were after I'm done with you. "Oh yeah? I was just in the area and thought I'd walk by the lake on the way to my bike. What're you doing in the park?"
"Suzette lives close to here, so I usually take a shortcut home. I live on the other side. Most of the time I drive, but she wanted to walk from my place to hers earlier today, so that's how I'm here."
Rock nodded. "Let's go by the lake. Remember how we used to throw stones at the lake near us? Maman would always collect just the right size of flat stones so we could skip them easier. Do you remember that?"
Henri shoved his hands in his pocket. "Yeah. I always wondered how we had so many rocks on our dresser. For the longest time I thought there was a rock fairy. I haven't thought about that in years."
I wonder if you thought about it as you and Armand plunged the knife in Maman's neck over and over. "She always thought about us. She was a great mom."
"She was." Henri stopped by the edge of the lake and bent over as if searching for something. "Let's skip a few rocks in memory of Maman."
Rock growled, hate riding up his spine. He stood behind Henri. "Why did you kill her?" he said in a low, hard voice.
Henri straightened up and spun around. "Kill who?"
Rock saw the fear and deceit in his brother's eyes, and he wanted to rip them out so they'd stop mocking him. "Maman." His voice was barely a whisper.
"Are you fucking drunk or stoned? I didn't kill Maman, Pa did. You know all this. I have to get home." He started to walk away but Rock blocked his path.
"You're not going anywhere until you tell me how you could kill our mother." A steel edge had crept into his voice.
"I can't believe you'd think I'd kill Maman! I was in St. Martin that night. Don't you remember? I was watching the traps Pa had set up. I'd thought it was unfair that I had to waste another weekend at the bayou while you had fun at your senior party, but I went. Don't you remember how fucking mad Pa was when I told him I didn't want to go? You have to remember that. I'd never do anything like that to Maman. How could you think such a thing? I was just as shocked as you were that Pa had killed her. You weren't the only one who loved her." Henri rambled on without taking a breath, and Rock just stood there holding back his urge to break his brother's neck. When he stopped to inhale, Rock said, "Are you finished?"
"You have to believe me, I-"
"That's where the problem is. I don't believe a fuckin' thing you're saying. I know you did it, so that's not what I'm asking you. What I've been asking is why you did it. That's what I wanna know. I'm real curious about that."
Henri slumped his shoulders. "Madame Vincennes told you, didn't she? I'd told Armand she'd be trouble, but he didn't listen to me. The asshole always thinks he knows everything."
"It wasn't Madame Vincennes. I guess you killed her for nothing."
"Armand offed her. I had nothing to do with that. If it wasn't her, then who told you?"
"It's none of your fuckin' business."
Henri nodded. "It doesn't matter anyway. Do Isa and Lille know?"
"Isa knows Pa was innocent. I haven't told her yet. I wanted to know why you did it. Frederick Blair has been arrested, as well as Armand. How in the fuck did you end up with Armand? He hated our family. He thought he was better than us."
"I know. Greed is an evil seducer. He was involved with Frederick, selling the land in the bayou for him. Frederick paid him well for each sale. Everyone was more than eager to sell their land for big bucks except for Maman. She held out. You know Pa wanted her to sell, that they fought about it all the time. I'd told Pa how much we could've made, and he tried to convince her, but she was a stubborn woman."
"Armand knew Frederick before his father died? Clotille said he didn't know them until after her father died and left them broke."
"Armand has known Blair for a long time, just acted like he didn't. He fixed it up so his sister would meet him. Blair had seen Clotille and wanted her. Armand basically gave her to him in exchange for a fat monthly stipend. Like I said, greed clouds all loyalties."
"You killed Maman for money?"
"Stop asking me these questions. Yes, I did, but it was her fault. If only she would've sold the land none of this would've happened. But she was selfish. Even if she didn't want money for herself, she should've thought about us. We deserved a better life. She wanted to be poor. I didn't."
Rock tackled Henri and pinned him down on his back. Straddling him, he pummeled his face over and over. "You fucking sonofabitch! You killed Maman! You took the one person away from me who loved me unconditionally. I wanted to give her a better life and you fuckin' took that away from me. You kept her from seeing Isa grow and have kids, from Lille becoming a young woman. You took her from us!" He panted heavily between his words as he continued to beat Henri senseless at the edge of the lake.
The scent of dirt wafted around him as he raised his arm to strike his brother yet another time. But he couldn't bring his arm down; it was like something was holding it back. Then the aroma of magnolias and passion flowers overwhelmed him, and he felt his mother's presence in the breeze, the rippling lake, the trees, the earth, and the flowers. He looked down and realized Henri was unconscious, his face bloodied and beginning to swell. Rock placed two fingers on the pulse in his neck and felt the strong beats.
He moved off Henri and sat on the ground, staring at the water as it reflected the moonlight. The lump in his throat grew larger until he rested his head on his bent knees and cried for the first time since he'd found his mother's butchered body. His whole body shook as the sobs ripped through his bones, muscles, and gut, the sound of them filling the spaces between the leaves on the trees, the soft moonlight caressing the ground as it shone above amid the shimmering stars.
* * *
Poor Isa had been in shock ever since Rock had told her what really happened to their mother. He'd called the badges after he'd reached his bike and told them where they could find Henri. After being released from the hospital, Henri was formally charged. Rock doubted if he'd stay loyal to Frederick and Armand. He gave him a week or less before he squealed.
"You'll be back for the trial?" Isa said.
She had dark circles under her eyes. It hurt him to see her suffering like she was. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Yeah. I'll be back if there's a trial." He squeezed her hand. "Now that I've seen Aline and Michael, I'll be coming back more often for a visit."
Her eyes shimmered. "I'd like that. What about your son?" He darted his eyes to hers. "Clotille told me everything. She's feeling awful about how everything turned out."
"She should be. Hawk's old lady is a lawyer. I'll talk to her when I get back home to see about visitation."
"Clotille won't keep you from seeing him. She wants to bring him to Lafayette so I can meet him. She's trying to make up for all the mistakes she's made over the years. Can't you give her a chance to do it? As a woman, I can understand to what lengths a mother will go to protect her child and give him a good life. You know, she loves you."