8. Eight #2
I was about to point out I didn’t live in the 9th Ward, but she continued.
“You’re staying.” There was no give to her tone. She pointed at the table, where the iced tea awaited. “Now sit. I want to know what you saw today.”
I glanced at Knox to decide how I was supposed to feel, but he only shrugged.
If he was unhappy about me being invited to the barbecue he didn’t show it.
In fact, he seemed relaxed. When he was out and about, even at the bar the previous evening, he always seemed stiff and a little uncomfortable.
Here, in his mother’s house, he was at ease.
It made him look even more handsome, which shouldn’t have been possible.
“Barbecue sounds great,” I said, knowing there was nothing else I could say. It was time to get to business. Maybe I could fashion an escape after I’d gotten the information I’d come seeking. “Knox said something similar happened fifty years ago. What was he talking about?”
“First, I want to hear what happened.” Alice sipped her iced tea and focused on her son. “What did you see?”
“Not much,” Knox replied apologetically. “I waited for the crime scene team to leave, but then Freya’s team swooped in right after I managed to make it over the wall. They had a police detective with them.”
Surprise registered on Alice’s face. “You’re working with the police now?” There was no judgment in her tone, but I was embarrassed all the same. The police were not well-loved in the 9th Ward.
“I have new partners who have contacts in the police department,” I hedged.
“Yes, the chimera.” Alice nodded approvingly. “I’ve heard good things about her.”
I’d heard that word used to describe Charlie more than once. Unfortunately, I had no idea what it meant. Well, other than the very basic description I’d found online. I knew that wasn’t enough to actually explain what Charlie was at her core.
Rather than focus on Charlie, which felt somehow duplicitous, I launched into the tale of the murder. I didn’t have much, but I had a few details that I hoped would be helpful.
“That’s not quite as bad as what I heard at the meat market,” Alice said when I finished. “I heard the killer left the house wearing the dog’s head as a hat.”
I balked. That was horrifying, but it wasn’t surprising in New Orleans. Gossip spread faster than summer humidity rashes in this city.
“It was pretty bloody inside,” I added. “Really bloody.”
Alice said, “It’s always a tragedy when this happens.”
I narrowed my eyes. “How many times has this happened?”
“I have no idea. I know that 50 years ago five houses were hit. The killer followed the pathway set by the Axeman. Then that killer disappeared.”
I didn’t immediately respond. Instead, I took the information in and considered it. Alice wasn’t a liar, but I’d never heard anything like this. How was that possible if it was true?
“You were a child,” Knox said. “How can you be sure you’re remembering the story correctly?”
“I was eight,” Alice corrected. “I was a child, but not so young that the things happening around me didn’t make an impression. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. She told me this wasn’t the first time the Axeman had returned to take his vengeance.”
“What vengeance?” I asked. “What happened to the Axeman that he needed vengeance? Was there something going on with the first round that we don’t know about?”
Amusement had Alice’s nostrils flaring. “You are a righter of wrongs, aren’t you?”
I shook my head. “I’m just a private detective.”
“You are not just anything,” she replied firmly. “You’re … unique. You want to do the right thing because a wrong was done to your family. That does not make you like the Axeman.”
She sipped her iced tea and sat straighter. “I have no idea who the original Axeman was. I’m not saying his vengeance was earned, just that he perceived he deserved to have his vengeance.
“I don’t know if he was mentally ill or just a sadist,” she continued. “I also have no idea if what happened fifty years ago was tied to the original incident. No one knows who carried out those atrocities either.”
I leaned forward. “The original Axeman murders happened between 1918 and 1919. If the second round took place fifty years ago, I’d say it was almost an anniversary of sorts.”
“The years don’t quite line up,” Alice said.
“My friend Lex is a gator shifter. He was with me today. We both scented the crime scene. We didn’t detect another paranormal, or a human, for that matter. The victims smelled like humans. Obviously, the police and evidence teams roiled things up, but there was no unusual scent.”
“Do you think it’s a paranormal?” Alice asked. “Does that mean you think the original killings were perpetrated by a paranormal?”
I opted for honesty. “I don’t know. Today was the first day I allowed myself to consider that possibility. Most serial killers are human.”
“The ones who aren’t dealt with quietly are humans,” Alice countered. “Either way, what happened last night is a tragedy. And there will be other attacks.”
Her intensity made me uncomfortable. “Any idea on how we deal with it?”
“Something tells me you’re going to be the one dealing with it, not me.” She looked momentarily sad and cast a sidelong look to her son. “Sometimes destiny can’t be escaped.”
Something panged in my chest, and I got another flash of Knox and me together in bed. The images kept haunting me at the worst possible times. I ruthlessly pushed them back, but for a moment I wondered if Alice saw them, because she gave me a peculiar look.
She was too polite to comment on the situation. Her smile seemed a little wider when she stood. “We’ll talk about it some more,” she promised. “I need to sit on it a spell. You’ve given me some things to think about.”
I hadn’t given her anything, and yet she was pretending I had. “Well … .”
She kept talking and pretended I hadn’t been about to take my leave. “You should go into the backyard and help your father, Knox,” she said. “He’s about to start barbecuing.”
Alice’s eyes landed on me. “I bet you’re good at seasoning. Make sure he lets you add your input. He’s a bit of a bully when it comes to the grill.”
Her eyes told me there would be trouble if I tried to beg off, so I nodded meekly. “Of course. I’d love to help.”
And with that, we’d been dismissed. Alice returned to her preparations, and Knox led me out through the back door.