Chapter Seventeen

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Chapter Seventeen

 

Sunday

New Orleans, LA

 

Randy positioned himself in front of Jhonnette Deveaux. With his guards gone, he could get started. He was desperate for answers he was certain this woman possessed.

Even though he’d removed the needle a long time ago, she still sat with her eyes clenched shut. He felt a familiarity with this woman that extended beyond the resemblance to her mother, but couldn’t place where he might know her from. Slapping her face lightly, he said, “Open your eyes.”

She complied.

“Where is my daughter? Where is Karen?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

Already off to a bad start.

“Who has my daughter?”

She replied without hesitation. “Amir Barber.”

“Who is he?”

“Panama X’s son.”

Randy suspected Panama X was behind this, but it was good to have confirmation. “Where is he keeping her?”

“I don’t know.”

Randy swallowed his frustration. “What has he done to her?”

“She is a vessel.”

“A vessel? What kind of vessel?”

“A vessel for the baka,” she replied.

Randy was more confused than ever. This woman was speaking gibberish. But he had to persist—she was his only hope. “What is a baka?”

“A very powerful, evil spirit. It usually manifests in the form of an animal, but can also appear as a human.”

So Panama X and this Amir person are trying to curse me? What do they expect to accomplish by doing that?

“What is this baka supposed to do to me?”

The woman had been responding with her eyes half open, but they suddenly widened. “The baka will destroy you and your family.”

We’ll see about that. “How do I stop it?”

“You can’t.”

“Who can?”

“Only Panama X is strong enough to control the baka.”

A new question occurred to Randy. “How does Lincoln Baker fit into all this?”

The woman started to speak, and then purposely bit down on her tongue. All that escaped was a pained wail.

Randy repeated himself. “Tell me what Lincoln Baker has to do with this kidnapping.”

“He…He is Juanita’s son. Panama X promised to find him.”

She had to be talking about Juanita Simmons. Randy hadn’t heard that name in years. And this Baker thug was her son? Impossible.

The next question rolled off his tongue, propelled by the flood of resurrected memories. “Is Lincoln…my son?”

Her pained expression vanished. She tried to look away.

Randy held her face in his hands and screamed, “Answer me!”

“Possibly.”

Randy quelled his temptation to choke the life out of her. He collected himself and asked, “If I kill him, will the spirits be satisfied?”

“I don’t know if anything will satisfy them this time,” she said slowly.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Looks…are deceiving.”

Randy paced around the suite. So far all she’d given him was a name and some bullshit about bakas and spirits. He needed something more tangible to corroborate her claims. “How are you involved in all this?”

“Snake Roberts.”

Randy flinched. Snake has betrayed me? Motherfucking double-crossing bastard!

Yet, it made sense. Snake was the inside man. How else could the kidnappers have known the details of Karen’s schedule and routine? Snake had positioned himself to profit off both sides of this little plot.

Randy took a deep breath. He had to stay calm. Anger wouldn’t help him stop whatever Panama X and Snake had planned. “What is Snake’s plan?” he asked.

“Snake will go to the prison to get Lincoln. Then he will bring Lincoln to you so Lincoln can kill you, if the baka doesn’t get to you first.”

Now that Randy had the answers he needed, he knew what he had to do. First, he called his men back into the room and told them to dispose of Jhonnette Deveaux. Then he called Bill Edwards in Lake City.

“Bill,” he said when his friend picked up. “Tell me more about these discrete FBI guys.”

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