But this crime scene couldn’t be pigeon-holed by stereotypes and law of averages. Something different is happening here, Laskey thought, something more sinister than a marital disagreement.
“What kind of madness do you think is going on in there, Newt?”
Laskey turned and looked at agent Brubaker. “I don’t know, Kevin. But I intend to find out.”
The deputy returned to them moments later. “Sheriff Tubbs welcomes your help. Follow me, gentlemen. I’ll take you to him.”
Laskey followed the Iberville Parish deputy toward the house and the cadre of law enforcement officers huddled behind an extended cab pickup truck. Agent Grant and agent Brubaker trailed close behind Laskey like sons shadowing their father.
Sheriff Tubbs saw Laskey and his men approach and broke away from the others to meet him. “Serendipity must’ve brought you here, Newton. I don’t remember calling your office,” Tubbs drawled in his trademark southern twang.
Laskey did a double-take when he heard Lester Tubbs use the word “serendipity.” The big word sounded odd coming from the portly lawman’s lips. “Serendipity, luck, or fate, whatever you want to call it, we’re here to help any way we can, Sheriff.”
“I accept your help, Newton. But we need to stop meeting like this. Wasn’t it a little over three years ago when we worked a case involving Jon and Annie Rafter?”
“It does seem like déjà vu. But Annie wasn’t married to Jon then,” Laskey said as he looked over the small assembly of lawmen that included deputies and detectives from the sheriff’s office and the police chief of Copeland, as well as two U.S. Marshals. “I do wish Jon and Annie didn’t feel obligated to rid Louisiana of all her worst criminals,” Laskey added.
“We’re not sure who the perpetrator is, Newton. At this point everyone in the house is a suspect. But my gut tells me it’s Jon Rafter,” Tubbs declared. A wad of chewing tobacco big enough to make any MLB player envious, hid behind his lower lip.
Laskey fought the urge to roll his eyes. “What points you toward Jon as the shooter and hostage taker?”
Tubbs sighed and directed his gaze toward the plantation house. “It just rubs me the wrong way that Jon shot and killed two members of the Boudreaux clan awhile back. And then he promptly gets put into witness protection and never gets charged with anything. He’s a violent man. And he’s capable of killing again.”
“If Rafter didn’t shoot the Boudreauxs, Gabby Witherspoon and Annie would’ve drowned in the storm surge. They wouldn’t be here today. You know that, Sheriff,” Laskey said firmly. “Jon Rafter is the most virtuous man I know. He would never do anything like this. And he was put into witness protection for something that happened to him in New York, when he was a policeman. It didn’t have anything to do with the Boudreauxs.”
Special Agent Otis Grant piped in. “I worked with Annie for three years, Sheriff. No one has a nose for spotting a shady character like Annie. She would never marry a man with a criminal bent.”
Tubbs shrugged his fat shoulders and sighed dismissively. He spat tobacco juice onto the ground and looked at Laskey. “This case shapes up to be a classic example of domestic violence. Only in this case it turned deadly,” he said. “I know you think Rafter is a stand-up guy, but you’ve worked law enforcement for almost as long as me, Newton. So you must know there is a dark river that runs through the heart of every man, woman, and child. Most of the time we’re able to keep the dark river inside its banks, but every so often in a moment of weakness a person will snap, and the dark river overflows its banks. And then, like now, we have a tragedy to deal with.”
Laskey fought to remain calm. Although Tubbs’s statements about a dark river were profound, it didn’t change the fact that Tubbs was a buffoon. Laskey would never figure out how the man continued to get reelected. “Do we know who all is in the house? Has the hostage taker made any demands? Do we have a SWAT team on the way?”
Tubbs nodded. “A SWAT team from Bedford is headed in this direction. We haven’t been able to contact anyone on the inside by phone. But we do have a handle on who might be inside.”
“Good, how many people total are inside the house?”
“Six that we’re certain of, but there could be more.”
Laskey nodded approvingly. “I’d like to have a list of names, Sheriff.”
“Newton, I agreed to have you help me out, not to take over the case.”
“Point taken, Sheriff, I’ll hang in the background. But if one of your detectives could fill me in with pertinent details, I would appreciate it.”
“Sure thing, Newton,” Tubbs said. He placed a meaty hand on plain-clothed man standing nearby. “Detective Casey here will tell you everything you want to know. Won’t you, Jack?”
Chapter 36
Josiah Barrett opened his eyes. Once he had figured out where in heaven the angel was taking him, Barrett closed them. Barrett now stood on a crystal floor as clear as glass, his position near the white throne, his angel escort standing next to him.
Angels filled the throne room—some possessing six wings. Eyes covered each wing on these angels, and their fluttering wings sounded like a roaring ocean in Barrett’s ears. Similar to the angels, Barrett saw four strange-looking creatures who also possessed six wings. Eyes covered each creature, front and back. Together, the angels and the four creatures worshipped the man sitting on the throne and sang these words continuously, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”
Overwhelmed by the holy scene, Barrett dropped to his knees and elbows and bowed his head.
“Josiah, don’t be frightened. Condemnation has fled you. You are welcome here,” Jesus said, holding out his hands, hands scarred with a hole in each palm.
Barrett lifted his eyes and looked at Jesus. White hairs covered his head and chin, matching his shimmering white clothes. “I don’t deserve to be here with you.”
Jesus smiled. “Of course you belong here, Josiah. I pardoned you. My death on the cross and resurrection commuted your death sentence. And now you are my brother.”
“I asked you to forgive my sins and allow me to live with you. And that was enough?”
“My grace is sufficient for you, Josiah. I search all hearts and examine the thoughts of all mankind. I determined your repentance to be pure.”
Barrett looked at the throne Jesus sat on. The throne matched Jesus’s hair and clothes. The dazzling white throne looked like it was hewn from a giant piece of polished marble. But Barrett could tell that the marble had never been quarried from the ground. Dirt could’ve never touched its unblemished surface. Out of the corner of Barrett’s eye he could see another throne next to the one Jesus sat on. Intense flames engulfed this throne and the one sitting on it. Josiah trembled.
“Keep your focus on me, Josiah. No one can look at God’s face and live. But when you look at me you see God in the flesh.”
“I wasted the life you gave me while on earth, Lord. I’m so sorry.”
Jesus nodded. “You grieved my spirit in many ways, Josiah. But when I walked the earth I also faced temptations. I know how sly and treacherous the enemy is.”
“I was so blind to you and your love. I could only think of money and how to acquire more and more of it.”
“I once preached a sermon on this very subject when I lived on earth. One day the crowds were large and pressed in on me. I retreated to a mountainside to be with my Father. On the mountainside I spoke to my disciples. I told them, ‘Do not store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’”