A Storm Does This Way Come by J. C. Fields

Author:J. C. Fields [Fields, J. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Paperback Press
Published: 2023-07-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

New Orleans

The majority of neighbors surrounding the house owned by Bayou Global were blue-collar workers who labored through the daylight hours and buried themselves inside at night. Peter Khan’s frustration at finding no one home in the neighborhood increased with each unanswered inquiry.

Until he knocked on the door of an elderly woman. She answered the door cautiously, the security chain still attached. “Yes?”

Khan, dressed in khaki slacks and a shirt with the parish emblem on the left breast offered ID claiming him to be an assessor from the parish. “I’m sorry to bother you, ma’am. Do you have a few moments?”

“What’s this about…” She scrutinized the offered ID. “Mr. North?”

“I’ve been trying to contact the owners of the house across the street, but I can never find anyone at home. Do you have any information about them?”

“Oh yes.” She unhooked the security chain and stepped out onto the front porch. “Indeed I do.”

“Is anyone ever home?”

“A blight on our neighborhood if ever I saw one. No one’s lived there since Ms. Thibodeau sold it two years ago. Poor thing. Her husband died working on the oil rigs in the Gulf and left her with those two boys. She sold the house, packed up, and, last I knew, had moved back to Houston. She has kinfolk there.”

Finally, Khan sensed he had found the neighborhood watchdog. “I see. Do you have an address for her?”

“Sorry. I didn’t speak to her very often. Those boys were a handful. Always in trouble, they were.”

“Do you know who bought the place?”

She shook her head. “One day the For Sale sign disappeared, but no one moved in. Whoever bought it must be using it for a tax dodge or something. Not helping our property values at all, if you ask me. Never seen anyone over there fixing up anything.”

Khan held his clipboard and made a few notes. “You say that was two years ago?”

“That’s what I said. Try to listen closer, sonny.”

“Sorry. The parish records show a company called Bayou Global bought it. Have you ever heard of that company?”

A shake of her head became her first silent answer.

“Thank you, Ms…”

“Mrs. Violette Gaudet, I hate the term Ms. A lady is either a Miss or a Mrs. By the way, there’s only one T in the last name. Husband’s been dead now close to ten years.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Don’t be. He was a scoundrel.”

Khan had a hard time keeping a straight face. He asked his final question. “Mrs. Gaudet, have you ever seen anyone visit the property at night?”

“Hmmm.” She trained her attention to the house and put her hands on her hips. “Only once. Just the other night. They drove by slowly, parked down the street, and then snooped around back. Whoever it was only stayed a few minutes then left.”

“Do you know what time that was?”

“Yeah, around ten. The local news was on.”

“How did you know they were there?”

She touched her temple. “I’m Cajun. I know things.”

He smiled. “Thank you for your time, Mrs.

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