Free Kent Conwell - Tony Boudreaux 15 - The Mona Lisa Murders by Kent Conwell Page B

‘Gator. You gots to find your dinner somewhere else.’
    Despite the hot morning sun, I shivered and curled my nose at the stench rising from the flooded city. I would have paid a hundred bucks for a shower to wash off the gunk and slime that still clung to my jeans.
    The somber little Melungeon poured us some coffee from his thermos. Back south of us, a search and rescue craft turned our way.
    Edmund quickly pulled out a can of paint and sprayed an orange X on the outside wall of the terminal. In the bottom V of the X, he sprayed a zero, indicating no bodies inside. One of the men in the oncoming boat waved, and it swerved down a flooded street to the first house.
    ‘Them, they think we search station for survivors.’
    Latasha frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’
    ‘The X, that mean building, it has been searched. That there be no dead ones inside.’ He started the engine. ‘Now we go.’
    I frowned at him. ‘Go where?’
    He nodded to Latasha. ‘Little cher , she say she have key at her hotel. Oui ? We go there.’
    I indicated the tool chest. ‘With the right tools, maybe I could break into the locker.’
    ‘Too long,’ he said, backing the Marlin around. ‘Stay here too long, we draw attention. Best we go to Metairie.’
    ‘But the mailboxes are on the first floor. It’s flooded.’
    Edmund shrugged. ‘Us, we don’t know nothing for sure until we see it. That be right?’
    I looked at her. She gave me a lopsided grin. ‘I suppose so.’
    He laid a gnarled hand on the console of the rescue craft. ‘Us, we got transportation and time. Carl, he wait for us with car. Don’t worry.’ He reached under the console and pulled out a bottle of Old Crow whiskey and chugged several swallows. When he finished, he wiped the back of his hand across his lips. ‘Me, I finish what I start, and I start out this morning to pick up that package and take you to meet my brother, Carl. That’s what I plan to do.’
    He offered me the Old Crow. I hesitated, then shrugged. Why not? We had a long day ahead of us.
    He lit a cigarette and offered one to Latasha.
    She glanced at the devastation around us, then snatched the cigarette and grabbed the bottle from me. ‘I need both.’
     
    We headed north on Jefferson Parkway then turned west on Ramirez Boulevard. I had a fair idea of our location for I could see the skyline of the city off to the southwest, but Edmund knew exactly where he was heading.
    Numerous search and rescue craft plied the flooded streets, loading stranded citizens into their small craft and transporting them to various refugee centers around the city. We were in an alien world, one beyond comprehension. We rode in silence, transfixed by the massive destruction around us, destruction so overwhelming that the object of our goal paled in comparison.
    Latasha must have felt the same for she laid a hand on her cousin’s arm. ‘Edmund. Can’t we do something to help these poor people? Take some of them to a refugee center or something.’
    I understood her feelings, but we were still in danger ourselves. With the hundreds of rescue boats criss-crossing paths, there was no way to know which one or ones might hold the bozos who had been pursuing us.
    Edmund glanced at me, then smiled at her. In a soothing tone, he said. ‘Look, little cher, me, I know how you feel. But you gots to understand we don’t got the time.’
    We continued west on Ramirez, running slowly to keep from making waves. Most of the homes and businesses were deserted, but from time to time, a face appeared, hands waved.
    Edmund stood stoically at the console, his eyes fastened on the watery path ahead. We were approaching the Harbor Navigation Canal when Latasha shouted. ‘Stop! Stop!’
    I glanced in the direction she pointed.
    A woman with a baby in her arms sat on a rooftop. Two small boys crouched at her side.
    Her eyes filled with compassion, she said. ‘We can’t leave them up there.’
    Edmund and I locked eyes. A faint grin curled