Free Murder in the Marsh by Ramsey Coutta Page B

well, but ah tink with Ms. Rachel’s help we can move him.”
    “If you run into any trouble, call 911. They may not have anyone who can respond, but at least they will be aware of your situation. Rachel, I need to get your cell phone number and home number. I’ll have my cell phone with me, but doubt the signal will reach as far out as I’m going.”
    She gave him both numbers, as well as Adele’s home number. They also agreed he would have his marine radio set on the same channel as Claude.
    Daniel knew that he was rushing. He realized this could be fatal if he forgot something important, but he felt like he didn’t have any choice. At last he was ready to go.
    Rachel moved closer to him, “I’d like to pray for you.”
    “Sure. Okay,” Daniel responded, though doubtful that a prayer would do anything to help the situation.
    She took his hands in hers as they stood in the living room and she prayed for him, Claude, Adele and the children, and also for herself. Adele bowed with them, and little Michelle, who was watching from her brother’s bedroom door, placed her hands together in prayer as well.
    Rachel reached up and hugged Daniel and told him to be safe. He assured her he would. He picked up his food and water and headed toward the boat.

Fifteen
     
    As Daniel pulled away from the LeBlanc home, he noticed for the first time bands of gray clouds traversing the sky. The long thin clouds pushed toward the north as they rotated from the southeast to the northwest. Blue sky could still be seen in-between, as they remained relatively sparse.
                  The clouds must be the feeder bands for Hurricane Katrina, he thought. Streaking out from the extreme edges of a hurricane, feeder bands supply moisture from the ocean to the growing storm within. He knew thicker, swiftly rotating masses of clouds would soon follow. These would be so dense and dark that the sky couldn’t be seen. Day would become like night, and heavy rain showers would begin to fall. The wind would pick up to the point it would be difficult to even walk upright. The water would become too rough for a craft his size to safely operate. He began to wonder whether he would have as much time as he thought.
                  Daniel sped through Grand Bayou village much faster than he normally would. He had a long way to go and didn’t have time to worry about the speed limit within the village confines. He flipped on his GPS chart plotting instrumentation, which provided him a clear image of all the canals, bays, and bayous in his immediate area. He needed to continue for approximately a mile due south on Grand Bayou Canal. Then he would veer off onto the similarly large Socola Canal and head southwest until he hit Bay Sansbois. After crossing Bay Sansbois, he would cut through the narrower Bayou Dulac and then to Bay Batiste. Working in the coastal marshes for the past ten years had taught him the importance of using caution through the canals and bays. A boater could easily damage his vessel on underwater obstructions such as oil and gas pipelines, submerged dams, abandoned shrimp nets, sunken vessels, oyster beds, derelict pilings, and a sundry of other dangerous objects. Running into one of these could bust, crack, or split the hull of his boat, as well as permanently damage a propeller blade or entangle it in the prop. He needed to move swiftly, but he also needed to avoid an untimely collision.
                  On a normal day, Daniel would be concerned about colliding with other boaters. Seeing around one canal into another was difficult, because of the marsh grass and shrubbery that lined the shore. Boaters frequently experienced near misses as they rounded the curves. Recently a man and his wife had been killed when another boat slammed into theirs as it emerged from an intersecting canal. Daniel didn’t think he would have a problem with other boaters today, but he would keep an eye out just in