Chapter 12
The woman, Lorianne, was placed in one of the police cars, and demanded to know if the car's camera was watching. When she was told it was, she asked to have it facing her, and then told the officer that she was going to tell him everything she knew about Remi Simoneaux, which was a lot, and wanted the video to be her confession. The officer transporting her was smart enough to remind her of her rights, to which she instructed him to read her those rights. Upon doing so, the officer asked her if she understood those rights and did she want a lawyer.
"I understand my rights, sir, and no, I don't want a lawyer. What I want is to make sure Remi Simoneaux faces a judge, both here and in front of God, the Good Lord willing," Lorianne said. "I know what he did, I know how he did it, and I may not be able to prove it, but I am a witness, and with God as my witness, I will testify."
"Understood," the officer said.
And she talked. She spoke about how Remi would initially approach the victims, how he found out about them, and what he did once they refused to have anything to do with him. She talked about moving two of the bodies, including Lieutenant Ryder, and the bizarre rituals that Remi had conducted. Upon being asked by the officer, she explained Remi had approached her after the funeral for her daughter, who had died as a result of a drive-by shooting at a birthday party she'd been at, along with some family. What had been even more frustrating was that the intended victim had walked away with a few scratches, while the bullets, all from automatic weapons, had punched through the flimsy fence like paper. And the shooters hadn't even cared, because they tried again three days later. This time one of them wound up in the morgue. The officer admitted to being familiar with the case, having heard about it through the NOPD grapevine. He said he'd gone home that day and hugged his own kids real tight.
As for Remi and Lorianne, Remi had promised to help Lorianne, who had been grieving, angry, and hurting, get her revenge against the gang members, and, if she did what he needed her to do, then he would help her get her daughter back from the dead.
"I was desperate, and he played on that, and eventually I felt like I was too far gone deep to back out. He threatened to have my daughter's soul sent to the deepest parts of hell, and to send me there too, if I didn't do what I was told," Lorianne confessed. "So I did whatever he wanted me to do, even if it meant getting blood on my hands."
"And now? Why now?" the officer asked.
"Because that woman, whoever she was, she knew. She knew about my baby girl and what she loved. I don't know how, and I don't care, but she knew, and she was right. She didn't even get mad at me. She just…" Lorianne shook her head. "How do you get mad at someone like her? She even gave me a hug and told me I would be okay, reminded me that the Holy Father never said it would be easy, only that it would be worth it. She had every right to be mad at me, for trying to hurt her like that, but instead…" Again Lorianne shook her head.
"Instead, she was nice to you," the officer said.
"People like her, no, no way am I gonna let Remi Simoneaux near her. They're the good in this world that we don't have enough of. Yeah, I know I'm probably facing some pretty serious jail time because of all this, but that's okay. I'll take it, I'll take my punishment, but I'll also make sure that Remi does not walk away from this," Lorianne said. "And if I die because of him, then I will do so gladly, because I know I'll see my baby girl again, I'll know I tried to do right by her."
"Lorianne confessed to everything she knew about Remi Simoneaux," Dwayne said, pausing the video they had been watching back at NCIS. NOPD had turned the video over to them as soon as the officer's commanding officer had been told about it, realizing very fast the kind of evidence they now had on hand. "We have him, we have Lorianne's confession, and we have two more of his friends, including Eric Cotter."
It was several hours later, after the search warrant had been executed on Remi Simoneaux's place, and said suspect had been arrested for attempted murder. His bolt gun had been taken to the labs and expedited for trace, along with everything else that had been found during the search.
NOPD, and Officer Gettys, a long-time friend of Detective Valdez, had arrived at Haddy's and were able to quickly apprehend the man that Suzy had seen hanging around the store. The man, who flatly refused to identify himself or provide identification, had been printed and run, only for the officers to find out he had several outstanding warrants out for him, including sexual assault. When asked about him by Lorianne, she admitted to knowing him, and knowing Remi used him for what he called sex magic, which she didn't understand, nor did she particularly want to understand.
Sebastian had shown up at Haddy's and gotten a rib-cracking hug from Suzy, who had been hiding in a backroom that promised to give anyone trouble if they tried attacking her in there.
The team were able to get more of an idea about what the man, identified as Eric Cotter, was doing there when Patton dumped his phone and discovered a number of calls to and from a very familiar number.
"He was part of Remi Simoneaux's little clique," Patton said, throwing up the man's mugshot on the flatscreen. "I'm finding numbers for at least four more, thanks to Lorianne. NOPD's rounding them up as we speak."
"How's Suzy?" Tammy asked. Sebastina was back at the labs, plowing through what he swore was a year's worth of blood and body evidence.
"Safe. Officer Gettys is staying with her and Ray while we deal with all this," Dwayne said. "Right now, though, we have a problem. We need Remi Simoneaux to talk."
"Too bad we can't get Ray in to scare the hell out of him," Tammy mused thoughtfully.
"We are going to need to be careful with her and him," Dwayne said. He told them what had happened at the house.
"That is some seriously weird shit," Tammy said, eyes wide. "If she keeps hanging around, is this going to be a regular occurrence?"
"From what Ray has said, it's part of her life, one she tries to keep hidden as much as she can," Dwayne admitted.
"Why?" Chris asked.
"Her mother. Seems she was abusive towards Ray when it was discovered she was showing the same talents as her grandmother, Gemma," Dwayne admitted, having gotten the story from Ray during their trip. "First time she tried to tell her mother about the strange man in the church, the one no one else could see and who always wore what she thought was a black dress, her mother slapped her. She was five. Turns out that was Father Martin, who died about a hundred years before Ray was born."
"Wow," Sebastian said.
"She also knows about the man in Trutone, before it was Trutone and you were calling it CFA," Loretta said, joining them. "He likes to hang around the back bar area and said he was burned, like from an explosion. Said she could still see the scars on the building, even though you did a really nice job of the place. She also knows you cut the fingers off of one of Avery Walker's associates in the patio area, because she kept seeing a man in tactical gear holding his hand and screaming, and the man was missing his fingers. She calls that an echo, and says it's different than the man at the Trutone, because the echo is a form of a memory, an echo of an event that happened that left a mark on the land." She looked at Chris and smiled. "Your girlfriend has some very unique talents, but she's also been hurt badly by others who either tried to use her for their own gains, or weren't willing to try and understand that she has no control over these abilities."
Which is what she meant when she said she hasn't had much luck with guys, Chris realized, feeling his protective instincts surging. "What about what she said to Lorianne?"
"I did some checking; Lorianne did have a daughter by the name of Rosaleen, who was killed in a drive-by shooting about a year ago," Dwayne admitted. "The one picture I was able to find showed her wearing a Dora the Explorer shirt."
"And the gang thing?" Tammy asked.
"Andros Dilbert is currently serving time for involuntary manslaughter and attempted first degree murder," Dwayne said. "According to the prosecutor I spoke to, what didn't help Andros' case was that he showed absolutely no remorse for his victims, calling them a casualty of war. The judge hit him with the stiffest sentence he could, and the prosecutor was cursing because he didn't think he'd had enough evidence to hit Andros Dilbert with felony murder." Dwayne sighed heavily. "Anyway, the question is, knowing what we know about Remi Simoneaux, is it worth it trying to get his confession, or do we turn our evidence over to the prosecutor and go from there?"
"The guy is a classic narcissist," Tammy said. "He wants what he wants, regardless of whether or not what he wants gets someone hurt. And if someone gets in his way, then he takes them out of his way by any means possible, even if that means murder."
"And what does he want?" Hannah asked.
"Power and control," Tammy said. "If we take that away from him, especially on the religious side, then that might rock him," she continued thoughtfully. "He gets his power and his control from being what he thinks is a powerful sorcerer, and that means a lot of followers, just like those sorry excuses of priests and cult leaders."
"His strength is based on his followers," Hannah realized.
"Exactly. You can't be a leader if you don't have followers. No followers, no leader. No leader, no power. No power, no control," Tammy said.
"Well, we already have the start of that crack in his power with Lorianne," Chris said. "Plus there's that business with Dana Brown."
Hannah's phone rang and she quickly answered it. It was Sebastian calling with preliminary results. She quickly switched on the video camera.
"Okay, we have blood evidence," Sebastian said, quickly bringing up images. "DNA is still coming, but one sample we got matched Jeanie Straite, and the chances of that are very, very good, because she had a rare blood type; type AB-negative, which covers about point six of the population of the United States."
"What about the bolt gun?" Hannah asked.
"Blood spray confirmed on it and one blood type matches Lieutenant Ryder. DNA is going to take a little longer, but Remi Simoneaux's prints are all over the thing, and it matches the wound on the back of Lieutenant Ryder's head," Sebastian said. "Plus with the video of him and the lieutenant's car, that's quite a bit of evidence there."
"And the Horror Room?" Tammy asked.
"Lots of blood evidence," Sebastian admitted. "In fact, with what we have right now, we could probably get him charged."
"I don't want probably," Hannah said. "I want without a doubt. This guy is about power, and we need to take that power away from him. For good."
"Then I'm going to need more time, a lot more time. I'm focusing on Lieutenant Ryder right now, because he's our current victim, but I'm also running DNA from Dana Brown. I need a DNA sample from him though."
"And that won't be easy," Tammy said. "The whole power thing."
"Not if Ray punches him," Chris said thoughtfully. "The whole power thing? What if one of Remi Simoneaux's victims were to stand up to him? Call him out or whatever?"
"Do you think she'd be comfortable with that?" Dwayne asked. "It's a big risk, not one I would normally ask of someone."
"Maybe not, but as you said, Ray's not your average would-be victim," Tammy said. "She converted one of his followers just by being nice to her."
"And that shows you the size of her heart," Loretta said. "Do you have Ray's DNA on file?" she asked Sebastian.
"No, but I do have her prints; they were on file from her history with City Hall," Sebastian admitted. "Plus, she was arrested when she was seventeen."
"For what?" Chris asked.
"For punching out her gym teacher," Sebastian said. "Teacher pressed charges to teach her a lesson, but the charges were later dropped. Doesn't say why."
"Because the jerk put his hand up my skirt, so I put my fist on his nose, that's why," Ray said, when they FaceTimed her.
"Good girl," Chris said proudly.
"I wasn't the first girl he'd done that to, and Sheriff MacCabee made damn sure I was the last. That's how he got the charges dropped," Ray said. "Small town rumors can be nasty little things."
"That they can," Loretta said, nodding.
"Anyway, as much as I'm loving this little chitty-chat thing, what can I do for you?" Ray asked, doing something in the store kitchen.
"We need DNA evidence from Remi Simoneaux and the chances of him willingly giving it to us are pretty much non-existent," Hannah said.
"Court order?" Ray asked, stirring something.
"Too much time, and Remi's likely to fight, which he can later claim as police brutality, which results in the DNA being thrown out," Hannah said.
"And any lawyer with half a brain can do that in their sleep, especially with all the police brutality stories going around these days," Ray said thoughtfully. "Hey Sebastian, you there?" she called.
"I am," Sebastian said.
"Which do you prefer; leather gloves or a ring?" Ray asked, heading for something in the store.
"Rings; I can hold them better when I'm extracting DNA evidence," he said promptly.
"In that case, I know just the thing," she said, holding up an art deco sterling amethyst marcasite ring that glittered in the artificial light. "Big, wide, flashy, and lots of surfaces. And if I wear gloves underneath, you guys can't honestly say it was me that hit him," she said thoughtfully, trying the ring on her right hand; it was fairly loose.
"Aim for the mouth," Sebastian advised. "He's got facial hair there."
"And if he cries foul?" Ray asked.
"Then we classify you as a consultant and convince the judge to let you off lightly due to emotional stress, seeing as how you were one of Remi's would-be victims," Dwayne said.
"But you get one punch, and one punch only, so make it count," Hannah warned.
"Give me a bit, and that'll be one sucker punch coming up," Ray said cheerfully. "Of course, I may have a bit of a race with Suzy, who's looking for an excuse to punch out Remi, herself." And with that, she signed off.
Half an hour later, Ray was tugging black latex gloves over her hands, with the costume ring in her hand, having been coached by Tammy and Hannah on what to say.
"His power is your fear. No fear, no power. He will say whatever it takes to make you feel afraid. If you're not afraid of him, he has no control over you," Hannah said.
"If you treat him like he's a joke, then that undermines him," Tammy said. "He's the kind of person who doesn't like being laughed at."
"And the whole religion thing?" Ray asked.
"Do you believe in it?" Tammy asked.
"No," Ray said.
"Problem solved," Tammy said. "If you don't believe in the very thing Remi uses as a source of power, then that power has no hold over you."
"Sounds like me and the Catholic Church," Ray muttered before heading for the room, knowing she would be watched by Chris, Hannah, and Tammy, who had put a bug in her ear.
Suzy had elected to come with Ray, with the store being closed for the day and wanting to meet the cool people Ray had mentioned, in addition to wanting an explanation as to why Remi Simoneaux tried to send his buddies after her, specifically a known sexual predator.
This time she wore a red Lolita blouse with puffed sleeves and a high collar, a knee-length black button skirt with suspenders, white pantyhose, and cute black kitty face mary janes. She was carrying a black lace parsole and a cute black lace purse that matched her outfit, and her hair, done in curls, bounced as she looked around the building, eyes wide with fascination.
"This place is so cool!" she enthused. "Is it true that it used to be a carriage house at one point?"
"You know your history," Chris said, grinning at her.
"I know New Orleans," Suzy said. "I was born and raised here, and even a hurricane can't send me running."
"In that case, allow me to show you some of the more interesting parts of this place," Dwayne said, smiling widely.
Chris studied his girlfriend, who was looking a bit tired. "Are you sure you're up for this?" he asked.
"No, but you need DNA evidence, and the faster you guys get this loony lunatic off the streets and behind bars, the better," Ray said.
"You're one gusty lady," Chris said, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.
And now Ray was entering the interrogation room, where Remi Simoneaux sat, handcuffed, head bowed, and chanting quietly.
"Y'know, a church full of guys and gals doing a Gregorian chant sound way better than you do," Ray said, hoping on to the table and crossing her arms.
"And you are, child?" Remi asked, staring at her coldly.
"Who me? What, you don't recognize my adorable baby blue eyes?" she asked, pretending to be insulted. She pouted, then smiled widely. "I'm the girl whose brains you tried to turn to mush with that pretty little toy of yours, just to get at said eyes." She clicked her tongue. "That football tackle through the wall was hilarious. Wonder how hard you bounced that thick skull of yours off the floor."
"Your words mean nothing, child," Remi hissed at her. "Your eyes will belong to me, one way or another, and I shall have power over all the spirits. I shall see them as you do, and they shall be mine to command, as will your soul, and any soul who dares to defy me."
Ray grinned widely at him. "Your elevator don't go all the way to the top floor, do it?" she asked sweetly. She clicked her tongue. "Bless your heart. You know, I'll bet you're one of those dandies that thinks the sun comes up just to hear you crow." When he glared at her, she smiled widely, flashing her teeth at him. "Whatsa matter, Remi, old boy? You got a burr in your saddle? You want to know what I think?" Remi opened his mouth to say something, but Ray didn't let him get in a word. "I think you can be very charming when you want to be, and that can be a useful skill, but instead, you decided to use it to manipulate people. That's not being smart, that's being stupid, and it seems to me you're so damn stupid that if you tried to throw yourself over the railing, you'd still miss the ground. You and your hokey religion thing don't scare me one teeny, tiny little bit. Your followers, meh, there's some cause for concern, being religious fanatics and all that, but you, nah. You're a walking joke. Always have been. Always will be. You're never getting my baby blues, because these beautiful blue eyes of mine can see right through your sorry sack of skin." She bounced off the edge of the table and tugged on her gloves. "That feels better." And then she swung, catching Remi full on in the mouth with her fist, sending him tumbling backwards. "But not nearly as good as that. Have a nice day." And with that, she sauntered out, humming Dancin', Shaggin' on the Boulevard, leaving a stunned Remi Simoneaux on the floor.
