Hello, thanks for your reviews! It's always so nice to read them!
Unfortunately I'm a little bit busy at the moment, but now the next chapter is ready! I hope you'll like it.
35. Chapter
Soon later they arrived at the street, which the bus had to take to town. Prue stopped the car and Cole watched intently the passing by cars. The traffic wasn't very heavy and it was easy for them to make out every single car.
"How does the bus look like?" Amy wanted to know from the back seat.
"Rather big in a camouflage paint green and without any writing." Prue told her and looked out of the window again. They watched the street for a while and just when Cole wanted to suggest to drive into the opposite direction, a green bus passed by.
"There it is!" he said immediately and pointed at the bus.
"I know." Prue started the car and tried to follow the bus inconspicuously. That wasn't a problem, because the bus went in a
leisurely pace to New Orleans and it seemed as if the driver didn't notice his chasers.
"Are there any zombies in the bus?" Amy asked after a while.
Prue shook her head. "No, it is empty."
"Mm, and why do we chase it?" Amy wanted to know.
"We'd like to know whom the driver will pick up." Cole said and told Amy about Kirk Landon and the peanuts. "If we are lucky, he'll call us tomorrow."
"Or even later." Prue supposed. "Finally we don't know, when he'll manage to find a phone."
"Oh, the bus turns right." Amy suddenly noticed. "And we haven't reached the town, yet. Perhaps the zombies are working here somewhere." she said and looked around curiously.
The bus drove to an industrial estate and stopped in front of a small office building. Prue reduced the speed and passed by the building slowly. "No plate." she found out and stopped in the next street.
Meanwhile Cole looked into the rear-view mirror. "A man is coming out of the house and walks towards the bus. He holds a briefcase in his hand." he informed the others. "Now the bus driver opens the door and the man gets in"
The doors were closed again and the driver turned around the bus on the opposite site, to go back to the highway. Prue followed the bus back to the street to New Orleans and was hard on the busses heals when they reached the outskirts of the town. Now it became a little more difficult to follow the bus, but Prue managed not to lose sight of the bus in the hurly-burly of the city. They drove downtown, until the bus finally turned into a side street and stopped there.
Cole looked around thoughtfully. "We are quite close to the courthouse." he found out in surprise. "But whom do they want to pick up here, zombies?" he gave them a sceptical look.
"We'll find out soon." Prue said optimistically, when she saw a parking space behind the bus. She stopped the car and watched the man, whom the bus has picked up in the industrial estate, got off. She turned around to Amy quickly. "Amy, you'll stay in the car, while we'll follow this guy there." Prue got off the car without waiting for an answer.
"And what shall I do here all the time?" Amy wondered sighing.
"You'll watch the bus." Cole explained and added grinning. "Who knows, perhaps you'll even see some real zombies"
"I already had this pleasure." Amy said in frustration, she really didn't look forward to another endless wait, but she didn't say anything else and watched Prue and Cole disappearing behind the next block. She leaned back with a sigh and watched the bus completely bored, when suddenly the door was opened and a young man got off the bus to sit down on the bench at the roadside.
Meanwhile Prue and Cole followed the man from the bus. He was wearing a plain suit and literally ran through the streets with the briefcase under his arm. Soon later they reached the courthouse.
"The court, I thought as much. But he can't meet any zombies here, can he?" Cole gave Prue a sceptical look.
"Maybe they are in the cleaning crew." Prue suggested and looked at herself in one of the store windows. "Oh God, how do I look like, I don't think they'll let me inside of the court." she explained horrified and tried to disentangle her desperately tousled hair with her fingers. "Do you have a comb with you?"
"No, unfortunately not." Cole explained amused.
Prue looked around and found out angrily, that he was still looking as if he had sitten in his office all day. "Is it because of your demonical genes or why did this adventure leave no trace on you?"
"It's because I've chosen the right path." he told her satisfied.
"You're right. I had nearly forgotten, that you've sent us through the wilderness." Prue reminded and tried to smarten herself up a little again.
Meanwhile Cole watched her in detail and wondered, how long he would have to watch her face until it would become boring. In his eyes she looked extremely seductive. "Well in my point of view you look beautiful." He finally explained and pulled a dry branch out of her hair.
"Do you need glasses?" Prue asked cynically and looked at him. But when she saw the admiring look in his eyes, she had to smile against her will. She looked into the pane of the store window again and explained in a satisfied voice. "Mm, you are right. And finally everybody has the right to enter the court, no matter how he or she looks like."
"That's it. And I'd like to see, what will happen, if somebody dares to stop you at the entrance." He said grinning.
"Just wait and you'll see." Prue explained with a satisfied smile.
They rushed to the building, where a lot of people were lined up for getting into the building. The man with the briefcase had nearly reached the admission, when Prue and Cole got in line.
"Hopefully we'll have a chance to find him in the building." Prue thought, when he passed the metal detector and disappeared from their field of vision.
"If he's running around with some zombies, it'll be impossible to overlook him." Cole said optimistically.
They waited patiently until they could enter the building five minutes later. As supposed, the court official didn't care about Prue's outfit. But when they entered the court hall, it was rather crowded there.
Friday afternoon a lot of judges closed their hearings earlier than usually to withdraw to their well-deserved week-end. Therefore a lot of lawyers and their clients as well as visitors and other onlookers were standing in the hall, talking with each other or setting off for home. It was impossible to find the inconspicuous man in his plain suit among all these people.
"Great." Prue said in frustration. "And what shall we do now?"
Cole looked around. "Let's go into the second floor." he suggested. "Here downstairs there is really no place where he could go. Maybe we can find him somewhere upstairs."
They rushed up the wide stairway as fast as possible and looked into the corridors, which led to the courtrooms and offices of the judges.
"Nothing." Prue said frustrated, while she looked into one of the corridors."There isn't anyone here anymore."
"Oh no, I can't believe my eyes, there is our good old friend Edward." Cole explained meanwhile and pointed to the right corridor, shaking his head.
Prue looked into his direction and recognized Wingrove, who stood in front of a water dispenser to drink some water. To Prue's annoyance Cole made no move to hide from him, but gave him a gloomy look.
When Edward Wingrove looked up and saw Cole, he froze with fear. "But Morgan has locked him up, hasn't he." he whispered silently, turned on his heel instantaneously and ran along the corridor.
"Just great!" Cole said angrily. "He simply runs away."
"Did you expect anything else of this coward Wingrove?" Prue asked cynically.
They rushed behind Wingrove. "Sometimes I'd like to have Piper's power." Prue cursed, after Wingrove turned to the next corridor.
"You'd like to blow him up right away?" Cole asked with a satisfied grin, this was a wonderful picture. "But it would be enough for the moment, when you could smash him against the wall." He suggested.
"It's tempting." Prue said out of breath. "But I just thought about Piper's power to freeze him up."
"Oh, what a pity." Cole let out disappointed.
"But you are right." Prue supposed and pushed with a gesture a visitors chair in Wingrove's way. It happened so fast, that Edward Wingrove had no time to evade. He crashed into the chair and fell flat on his face.
"What do you say now!" Prue wanted to know with a satisfied grin and walked towards Wingrove briskly.
"You are my hero." Cole joked.
"Thank you." Prue said, rather satisfied with herself. Then she gave Wingrove her hand to help him standing up.
He looked at Cole completely horrified. "What do you want from me? Did Morgan send you to kill me?"
"Let me think about it." Cole looked at the ceiling. "Yes, perhaps." He finally explained with relish.
"It all depends whether you like to cooperate with us, or not." Prue said and looked around. "Okay, where can we talk in peace for a while? We have some questions for you."
Wingrove looked at Prue asking. "Do you know, who he is?" He wanted to know with a slight nod at Cole.
"Yes, I know. And therefore you should do everything, he wants." She suggested him with a friendly smile.
Edward Wingrove submitted to his fate and led them along the corridor until they reached an empty room. Cole closed the door and stopped in front of it, while Prue and Wingrove sat down at a table in the middle of the room.
"Well." Prue started without further ado. "What do you have to do with David Morgan and his mother?"
"They threaten my family." He explained shortly.
"Oh, I see. But how?" Prue asked, less convinced.
Edward Wingrove ran nervously his fingers through his hair. "I always thought that it's just a legend." He said and sighed. "But obviously Belva's family cursed my family centuries ago."
"A curse?" Prue wanted to know in surprise.
Wingrove nodded. "Yes, as you probably know my ancestors were the owners of a plantation. And at that time it was quite common to own slaves, who were working there. Belva's ancestor was one of them. And she had put a curse on my family. But I don't know further particulars." He explained quickly, although it was obvious that he knew exactly, what happened long ago. Nobody doubted, that it was a retold family anecdote.
"Which kind of curse is it?" Prue wanted to know.
Wingrove sighed. "It shall make the descendants of my family murder their husbands until they finally wouldn't be able to stop murdering anymore." He explained in a low voice and looked down depressed. "And exactly the same happened to Amy."
Cole gave him a surprised look. "Do you still believe that Amy has murdered Adam Boucher?"
"Of course!" Wingrove shook his head sadly. "I had no idea, how you had found the alleged murderer, but I knew immediately, that he's made it up." He explained and gave Cole a look of disapproval. "And now I can imagine how you could have done it. But Amy is dangerous, she is a threat for everybody and it would be better, if she was locked up in prison. But somebody like you don't care about this danger."
"Oh I understand. But a philanthropist like you, of course." Cole said sarcastically and added with a cold smile. "But you are wrong, Amy hasn't murdered Adam Boucher. Your friend Morgan has led you up the garden path."
Wingrove gave Prue a surprised look. "But it all adds up." He whispered.
"No, it doesn't." Prue shook her head, now she knew at least, why Edward Wingrove had told Amy's mother this rubbish, that their daughter felt the urge to kill. But she still didn't know, what Morgan and his mother had to do with it. "Amy is no murderer, but it seems as if it's in David Morgan's interest that Amy would stay in prison. Do you know why?"
"David just wanted to win his case, nothing else. And my request to convince Shelly to accept a deal with him was just what he needed." Wingrove explained, but he had his mind on other things. He still couldn't believe, that Amy should be innocent, so he stared at Prue in disbelief. "But Amy and ...the curse?"
"But what gives you the idea that the curse only gets at Amy and not at your other daughters?" Cole wanted to know angrily.
"Because I've brought them to Belva's mother, when they were babies." He sighed, because he didn't like to confine his family secrets to these strange persons. "I've paid her to take the curse away from them." He finally admitted. "We've done it for generations. And we never had any problems with it. But when Belva's mother died, it went off course." He shook his head in frustration.
"Belva didn't want to help you anymore." Prue concluded, when she remembered, what Zadie had told her about Belva and her hate for the white upper class.
"No, but that wasn't the only reason." Wingrove explained. "I didn't know that Amy is my daughter and when I found out about it, it was too late. Belva's mother was dead and I didn't want to inform Belva about my illegitimate daughter. Then she would have had a lever against me."
"So you didn't do anything?" Prue wondered, this coward Wingrove was driving her spare.
"Of course I've done something." He informed her. "Although I never really believed the story about the curse, I brought Amy to a so-called witch." He explained disparaging. "And she has told me, that she has taken some powers from Amy. I thought it would be all over and done with it, but obviously it wasn't."
Prue looked at the ceiling annoyed and wondered, what she should do with Edward Wingrove. Finally she sighed pointed and asked. "What do you know about Morgan and his plans?"
"Nothing." He explained and raised his hand in a defensive reaction. "I don't know anything about Voodoo, it's completely new to me."
"Well but it seems as if your daughter knows all about it." Cole pointed out and looked at Prue. "Finally she wanted to kill Prue with a Voodoo curse."
Edward shook his head sadly. "Vivian has acted without thinking. But it wasn't necessary to frighten her to death."
"Well I think it was. And be happy that I've controlled myself." Cole explained in a threatening low voice. "Prue nearly died."
Edward Wingrove looked at Prue in excuse. "Please accept my apology and believe me, Vivian takes it to heart."
"Oh really?" Prue couldn't believe it, but she didn't say anything, but asked instead. "Why did you say that Morgan has threatened your family? Out with it!"
"It began a year ago. Morgan demanded money of me and if I paid, my client would be acquitted. Of course I didn't accept it, but Morgan was hopping mad. He has told me, that I would regret it." Wingrove sighed. "My client has got the maximum penalty, although the evidences weren't indisputable. First I didn't think about Morgan, but then it happened again and again. I was getting nervous and I've talked to him."
"Has he always been the public prosecutor?" Prue wanted to know.
"No, he wasn't involved in every case. But nevertheless he was able to have an effect on the verdict. First I thought that he has bribed the jury, but I couldn't prove it. Therefore I had to pay him every month, because I couldn't allow that all my work goes up in smoke." He explained as if it was perfectly normal to pay. "But when Amy was accused of murder, I feared, that there could be more in Voodoo than I've always thought. And I'm sure this was his method."
"He used Voodoo to find your clients guilty?" Cole asked in a sceptical voice.
"You're asking me?" Wingrove wanted to know in surprise. "Isn't it you, who is able to vanish into thin air or to threaten people with burning balls."
You like to forget, that your friend Morgan wanted to transform me into a zombie." Cole reminded him coldly.
"No, I don't do it. I still have nightmares about it." He told him firmly.
"I'm sure, you only have nightmares because you were such a coward and handed me over to him, haven't you?" Cole wanted to know sarcastically.
"Someone like you can't accuse me of anything." Wingrove justified himself and looked at Prue.
"Oh you should be happy, that it was someone like Cole." Prue said coldly. "Because if it had been an innocent person, he would be dead right now and you would be responsible for it."
Wingrove stood up and raised his hands in defence. "I don't want to be involved in things like that. I'm a respectable citizen and I've nothing to do with this dealings."
Just when Cole wanted to give him the right answer, somebody banged the doorhandle in his back. He stepped aside angrily and a cleaning lady was standing in the door.
"Oh, I didn't know, that somebody is here." She excused immediately. "Then I'll pass by later again." She offered and wanted to close the door again, when Edward Wingrove seized the opportunity to escape.
He rushed to the door and passed the cleaning woman in a hurry. "You don't have to wait, I have to go anyway." He explained nervously and disappeared in the corridor.
The cleaning woman looked in surprise at Prue, who stood up with a sigh. "It certainly looks like our meeting is over." She said and walked towards Cole. They left the room together and looked around searching. But Edward Wingrove was gone.
Prue shrugged her shoulders. "So what? I can't imagine, that he knows something else."
"And even if, he won't tell us anything else." Cole said firmly. "So let's go and see if this guy and his zombies turns up again."
While Cole and Prue were in court, Amy watched the young man intently. He was sitting on the bench with his outstretched arms on the back rest. He tried to sun himself, but he didn't succeed because of the shadows of the buildings around. After a while he sighed and took a cigarette packet out of his inside pocket.
Amy took heart and opened the door resolutely to get off. She had to pluck up courage, she urged herself and took a deep breath. Nothing could happen, this guy was just the driver of the bus and no zombie. She opened the bag with the pretzel sticks clumsy and started to nibble at one of it, while she walked slowly towards the man. She never had approached on a stranger ever before, she even didn't ask for the way, but preferred to make a detour. But this time she had to try it and if she would lose heart, she could pass by easily, she decided to calm herself down.
Meanwhile the man had conjured up a lighter and just wanted to light his cigarette, when Amy reached the bench. If she went on, she would have to climb over his long legs, he had stretched out. Therefore Amy stopped courageously and held the pretzel sticks out for him. "You should better eat one of this pretzels." She said in a trembling voice.
The young man looked up in surprise and started to grin. "Hello, who are you?" He wanted to know, while he watched her very interested. "Are you one of this militant non-smokers?"
"No, no. Not really." Amy let out and looked down nervously. "I just care about your health." She finally explained, while she looked at the slim tanned hand of the young man.
"That's nice!" he said and moved up a bit. "Sit down." He offered her. "I'm Josh."
"Amy." Amy sat down on the bench beside him and held the pretzel sticks under his nose again. "So do you want one?"
Josh grinned. "Okay, for your sake." He said and put his cigarette back into the cigarette packet. Then he took one of Amy's pretzel sticks.
Amy watched him curiously. She would say that he was in his mid-twenties, he had a slim face and light brown hair, which was short but nevertheless it stood away wilfully in all directions. He was wearing sun glasses, so that Amy couldn't look into his eyes.
Amy looked at him eating the salted pretzel, she was exited what would happen now, but nothing happened. If it meant, that he wasn't a zombie or that Cole's theory was wrong, she wondered. As a precaution she held the bag out again. "You should take another one." She invited him.
Josh grinned and took off his sun glasses to put it into his inside pocket. He looked at her with his narrow dark eyes. "Your pretzels are very good, but unfortunately they can't compete with cigarettes." He told her with a sigh and ate a second pretzel stick.
When again nothing happened, Amy leaned back in relief. Now she was sure, that he wasn't a zombie and she didn't need to take a close look of his heart. "And, what are you doing here?"
"Have a break." Josh answered and pointed with his head at the bus. "I'm a bus driver, I know it isn't a very cool job, but what shall I do?" He shrugged is shoulders. "Basically I'm playing in a band and one day we'll be famous and then I'll chuck this job in."
Amy nodded, she wasn't interested in his music career at the moment, his current job as a driver of Morgan's zombies was more important for her. Therefore she asked. "And what kind of passengers do you have? Tourists?"
"No, prisoners." Josh explained grinning, while Amy looked at him with her mouth wide open. "But don't worry, they are only little crooks, basically they are harmless, petty criminals. They usually don't stay longer than one year."
"Oh, and ... and what are they doing here?" Amy asked rather confused and looked around thoughtfully.
"They are in court, it's right over there." Josh explained. "Hearing procedures, or whatever."
Amy gave him a sceptical look. "But I thought, they are already condemned, so what are they doing in court?"
"I've no idea!" Josh said rather uninterested and looked at Amy. "Are you really interested in it? I mean someone like you will never have anything to do with prison or court in all his life."
Amy gave him a knowing smile and looked down. "You never know." She whispered and said in a loud voice. "Perhaps that's precisely why I'm interested in it."
"A short trip to the under classes." Josh supposed in a cynical voice.
Amy gave him a surprised look. "Even rich people can be sent to prison." She informed him firmly.
Josh laughed. "Rubbish, they can engage such a priggish lawyer, who'll get them free, no matter what they have done."
"But that's wrong." Amy contradicted indignantly and preferred not to think about her own arrest. "And besides I'm not rich."
Now Josh looked at her in surprise. "I don't believe you." He explained rather convinced. "Where are you parents living?"
When Amy told him that her parents were living in the 'Garden District', she had to endure a derisive look of Josh. "But I don't live there anymore." She explained. "My step-father is rich, that's all."
"Oh, I see." Josh answered grinning.
Just in this minute, Prue and Cole turned around the corner. When Prue saw Amy sitting on the bench, she stopped in surprise. "Whom is Amy talking to?"
"The zombie driver." Cole said. "But don't worry, I'll settle that." He explained and rushed at them. Prue looked after him and decided to wait at the car.
When Cole reached the bench, the only words he said were. "Come Amy!"
Amy looked up in surprise. "Oh, Cole, that's the bus driver, Josh." She explained with an embarrassed smile.
"I thought as much." He said and couldn't resist to ask. "But what the devil are you doing here?"
"We've eaten some pretzel sticks and I thought if a z... stranger passed by, I could also offer him some pretzel sticks." Amy explained quickly, while Josh gave her a sceptical look.
"Wonderful idea, Amy, but unfortunately the bag is empty." Cole informed her cynically.
"Oh," Amy looked at the bag in her hand, she hadn't noticed that she had eaten all of the pretzel sticks for nervousness. "I didn't want it." She said in a low voice.
When Josh heard this, he started to laugh in disbelief. "Oh come on, we just ate some pretzel sticks. It's nothing to worry about." He looked at Cole angrily and tried to size him up. "Even a poor bus driver like me, is able to buy them, so it won't be a problem for you."
Cole didn't pay him any attention, but turned to Amy again. "Come on Amy, let's go."
"Who are you? Her father?" Josh wanted to know in a challenging voice.
Cole gave him a weary smile. "Surely you don't think, that I look like her father, do you?" He wanted to know and didn't wait for an answer, but turned around to go back to the car.
Amy jumped up immediately and turned to Josh once again. "It was very nice to meet you." She said with a smile, before she rushed after Cole. Josh looked after her, he shook his head and took out a cigarette secretly.
When Amy and Cole finally got in, Prue wanted to know. "What's going on? It's rather strange, that you are so quiet."
"It's nothing. I just have some problems with Amy's new boyfriend." Cole informed her sarcastically and turned to Amy. "I can understand, that you don't want to fall in love with a priest again, but nevertheless you don't have to look around in the criminal records."
"I didn't do that. And I just talked to him. Besides he isn't a criminal." Amy said indignantly. "He was quite nice."
"Nice? He drives around with Morgan's zombies." Cole reminded her.
"But he doesn't know it. He thinks that they are just prisoners." Amy defended him.
"Oh, he doesn't get it?" Prue wondered thoughtfully and looked back to the young man, who was still sitting on the bench. "Well I can't imagine that he is as unsuspecting as he told you. Otherwise he must be rather naive."
"He isn't, but he is just the driver and he has only noticed, that they are harmless. Therefore he thinks that they are petty criminals who have only short prison sentences. He has even told me, that nobody stays longer than one year." Amy explained.
Cole laughed softly. "And do you know why? Because zombies can't stand more than a year."
"I know exactly, why you are so angry. Because he has asked you, if you are my father. But that was a joke." Amy tried to explain. "Nobody would think that you are so old."
Now it was Prue's turn to laugh. "Oh Amy, don't worry. He could even be your great great great grandfather." She said in amusement and cast a quick look at Cole.
Cole looked back at her. "Thanks Prue, but that wasn't the point." he said not very amused.
But Prue interrupted him and pointed straight on to the sidewalk. "Look, this guy is coming back." She said excited.
They looked through the window and could see the man with the briefcase and a group of men and women coming back to the bus. They walked towards the bus like machines, as the zombies on the plantation. When Josh saw them, he jumped up immediately, he threw away his cigarette and opened the door. The passengers got in without any trace of pushing or shoving. At the end the man and Josh got in. Josh closed the door and started the bus.
"It wouldn't help us along to follow them again." Prue decided. "They'll go back to the camp." She started the car and got off home.
"What did this guy do in court?" Amy wanted to know.
Cole shrugged his shoulders. "We've no idea, we have lost him in the crowd." he admitted.
"Oh, well. Josh has told me at least, that the prisoners are in court." Amy explained rather satisfied.
"But he didn't tell you, what they are doing there, did he?" Prue asked.
"No." Amy said and didn't tell her anything about Josh's assumption, the prisoners were at a hearing. Otherwise Prue and Cole would only tell her again, that Josh has no idea of anything.