Chapter Sixteen

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Chapter Sixteen

 

Sunday

New Orleans, LA

 

Jhonnette Deveaux entered the Presidential Suite at the New Orleans Sheraton. A large, burly bodyguard ushered her through the door into an expansive sitting room.

Randy Lafitte stood to greet her. “Glad you could make it on such short notice,” he said, looking her up and down appreciatively. “I’m sure you hear this often, but you look just like your mother. My sincerest condolences for your loss. I imagine it hasn’t been easy for you.”

“Thank you,” she replied demurely, ignoring his outstretched hand. As she took a seat across from him, her eyes were drawn to Lafitte’s bald, freckled head. He used to have a movie star coif, but the brain malignancy had taken care of that. She wondered why he hadn’t grown his hair back like so many other cancer survivors.

Still, he looked a whole lot better than the last time she’d seen him this close…

* * * * *

It was June 1994, and Jhonnette had just passed her six-month anniversary working as a nurse at the Oschner Cancer Center in New Orleans. One afternoon, she and her colleagues learned they would be receiving a VIP—the recently elected Governor of Louisiana. He was coming in for a series of tests to see if his brain cancer was spreading.

Curious, Jhonnette took a peek at the Governor’s chart. It certainly looked like Lafitte’s term was going to be cut drastically short. He had a malignant tumor the size of a plum in the pineal region at the base of his brain—one of the worst regions for a brain tumor. The pineal gland not only controls the body’s hormonal systems, it also regulates the sleep-wake cycle. As the body’s internal clock, its timer was rapidly counting down to zero for Randy Lafitte.

He was receiving a debilitating amount of pain medication for the vicious headaches associated with his condition, as well as meds to help him get some semblance of regular sleep. Jhonnette was covering for a fellow nurse the next evening when her curiosity got the best of her again. After all, Lafitte’s story was famous. He’d lost both his parents as a young man and his only son had been killed the same year Jhonnette had buried her mother. Her heart ached for the suffering he’d endured, and since she knew she could make him more comfortable, she cautiously entered his room.

As a young girl, Jhonnette learned she was an amplifier, blessed with the ability to magnify the unconscious thoughts of others and manifest their deepest, darkest secrets. She could also boost the body’s curative capabilities, a trick that always worked to endear her to whomever was blessed with her healing. Having the Governor as an ally could come in handy down the line.

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