Sugar Doll's Hurricane Blues (28 page)

“When will I tell her?” The attorney questioned this tactic.

“When it’s necessary. I can’t go back there and I probably won’t be around here for long either. You know as well as I do that the Marsalas cartel will try to hang me just for the thought of my being involved even though I’m innocent.” She spoke to the attorney urgently.

“Isn’t your daughter exposed and in danger?” He asked more worried for the girl than for the feisty Mona he had come to know.

“No, they won’t touch her. If you’ve been watching the news the focus has been on the murders that took place. They would be asking for investigation if they were to try to harm a local celebrity in that way.” She felt satisfied with this answer.

Late in the afternoon Sugar Doll sat in the empty club when the phone rang.

“Hello, may I speak to Mona Bouvier?” Came the prim voice of an older woman.

“I’m sorry ma’am but she has been gone for several weeks now. She left me in charge, I am her daughter Precious Bouvier, can I help you with anything?”

“Why yes, it’s pertaining to your father and a few unpaid commitments on his part. Your mother was the next person I was to call.” The woman spoke as though Sugar Doll’s father had just recently died when in fact he’d passed away over twenty years ago.

“I see, and this is?” Sugar Doll asked politely.

“Sister May Ellen McKeckney of St. Francis’s School for Girls. I apologize for calling you at such a terrible time as your father’s death but you see he donated quite a bit to the school on your behalf and then there was a promised sum of ten thousand dollars which we already had allocated into our budget for the coming year. You mother did tell us of your father’s recent death but she said that she would honor the commitment at least for this year.” The voice trailed off.

“Recent death,” was still resounding in Sugar Doll’s head.

“Ma’am are you sure that you are calling the right student? My father Karl Bouvier has been deceased for over twenty years. I was on scholarship at your school during my time there.” Sugar Doll responded even though her heart rate had increased.

“Oh, I see.” Was all the woman could manage. Sugar Doll heard the phone disconnect and the accompanying dial tone that went with it. She hung up the phone as well and rubbed her temples. Remy had not called in a few hours and since the incident she was worried about him. In her heart all of the questions came rolling back. She looked out of the open window and could smell the orange spray paint that the neighboring store
had recently used for their renovations. The scent was as strong now as when they had first done the job in the morning. The aerosol cans were lined up neatly on the side of the building. “That stuff’s giving me a headache” she said mostly to herself. The owners were too cheap to buy real paint but the affect was the same on the old building. It did spruce it up a bit.

Sugar Doll decided to take a walk by the river to clear her head. It was still early evening. The street was humming with activity. The nightmare of the hurricane was over and many had returned to the Quarters. After all of the heartache that the city had endured it was difficult to believe that things would ever get back to normal but this day seemed like it had. Everything was normal but the news that she had just received.

“There you go making up lies again.” Sugar Doll winced at the memory of other children teasing her for not being black again. They taunted her. The only one who had always defended her was Bertrand. When children made comments about her hair or her hazel eyes he would fight them or push them away. He was the only one who seemed to believe her. The older people in her family blamed it on a recessive gene from the “slave days”. Some would cluck behind her back but they were too afraid to say anything in front of Big Ma.

The nun had not given her a name for the father but Sugar Doll knew who she was talking about and had been afraid to say his name. The walk was refreshing and she let her mind wander to Tony. He was a handsome man. As she thought of him she tried to see any resemblance. Had she mistaken his flirting for fatherly love? She’d felt mildly repulsed when he wanted to hug her. She had seen him on his final day. Now she was determined to find out the truth. She thought angrily of Mona now. How dare she leave all of this on her shoulders
without once hinting at any answers. She thought of her real father. She recalled that he loved her. He died trying to shield her. Would he do that for a child that wasn’t his? She didn’t know what to think anymore. She knew what she had to do.

Sugar Doll was just standing on St. Charles Avenue in front of the beautiful house that looked more like a mansion to her. “Big Ma, I know that this is forbidden but I’ve got to do it. I’ve got to find out the truth.” She spoke softly up toward the sky. She crossed the median where the trolley regularly passed. She knew that once she crossed that line she would not be able to turn back. The fact that the woman she was visiting was probably her sister did not deter her. Her hazel green eyes and golden colored locks suggested something far different than being the daughter of the kind dark skinned man she had always thought of as her father. She held her breath and knocked on the beautiful carvings on the door. She was so nervous that she hit it wrong and her knuckle burned. She saw the door knocker after that and laughed to herself. She needed a little comic relief.

“Hello,” a very young girl answered the door and appraised Sugar Doll carefully. She was no more than seven. “You look just like Auntie Celeste the girl smiled. She had never seen Celeste before but had heard of her. She was much older than Sugar Doll perhaps by ten years. She also was Tony’s only daughter.

“Who’s at that door, Heather?” A voice came from inside the cavernous house.

“A pretty lady.” Heather yelled back. She smiled at Sugar Doll then.

“C’mon in…” Heather opened the door wider.

A beautiful woman came around the corner dressed elegantly in a red tight fitting dress that looked to be designer. Her blond hair was pulled up in a French roll and had the retro look of the forties. Her make-up was impeccable and she was lovely. She was a tall woman and had the figure of a model.

“Well, hello, can I help you honey? I’m awfully busy, things are really demanding at the boutique and I just came home to drop off my niece Heather here. How can I help you honey?

Sugar Doll felt suddenly faint and speechless. The woman did look a great deal like her. Her knees grew weak. The older woman sensing that something was wrong grabbed her by the arm and brought her over to the hallway chair.

“Heather go and get her some water. It’s awfully hot outside. Honey please tell me that you are not doing door to door in this heat.” The woman chuckled amused at her little joke.

Sugar Doll recovered herself.

“I’m sorry; I don’t know what to say. Today has been a bit difficult.” She managed to say.

Heather returned with the water. “Here you go ma’am”

“Thank you very much.” Sugar Doll managed and drank the water quickly. She was ready to go.

“Um, I’m sorry to disturb you but there’s been a mistake.” Sugar Doll rose to leave.

“Wait a minute honey. There’s no mistake. I recognize you now.” Celeste said decisively.

“You know me?” Sugar Doll gulped.

“Sure, you are the reason my parents never married. Oh the shame of it.” She said playfully and winked.

“So when did you find out?” Celeste smiled benevolently.

“Today, I guess, I figured it out.” Sugar Doll answered.

“Nothing like a hurricane to stir up the truth dahling.” Celeste stood up straight.

“I’ve always wanted to meet you but I was forbidden by my mother.” Celeste went on grabbing the other chair in the hallway.

“Your mother knew?” Sugar Doll asked surprised.

“Sure she did. They weren’t married or anything. She just got, how do you say, “caught”? Well, she’s from old money and they wanted nothing to do with that gangster gang over there so they sent her away for awhile and then she came back a war widow…except the soldier wasn’t a soldier and he wasn’t a husband. People accepted it because I was so pretty. I felt sort of sorry for you though. I figured that you wouldn’t have all of the luxuries I had being black and all. You don’t look black at all. How did you manage being around them for so long?” Celeste asked sincerely.

“Well, my mother is black. It wasn’t a chore and I see now that Tony did take pretty good care of me, considering the times. Did he ever come to see you?” Sugar Doll asked.

“Now and again, when I was a teenager he came quite regularly as a family friend, but I knew. Just like I know that you are my half sister.”

“Have you seen photos of me or something?” Sugar Doll asked.

“No, not until recently when you started singing in the French Quarters. You look like him, more than I do.” She said appreciatively.

“He had blue eyes.” Sugar Doll winced at the comparison.

“Everybody else in his family had green or hazel eyes, like ours. See.” She grabbed Sugar Doll by the elbow and took her to a mirror. The resemblance was striking. The only difference was Sugar Doll’s tawny complexion.

“Well, thank you so much for your kindness. I won’t bother you any longer.” Sugar Doll prepared to leave. She was embarrassed and needed to see Remy terribly.

“No bother, I’m just surprised that you didn’t know. How did your mother manage that?” Celeste asked.

“My father died when I was young and I lived with my grandmother most of the time.” Sugar Doll said.

“Well Darling, we can’t help where we come from. I’m a bit older than you but let me give you some sisterly advice. Don’t go trying to connect with the Marsalas family, they are bad news and dangerous. You seem to have quite a following from what I’ve been told. I say stick to your own way and you’ll be fine. I’m sorry if I sounded a bit racist back a minute ago. I didn’t mean it. Now that we know about each other come by sometime and let’s chat. If you ever need anything let me know. My mother left me pretty well off.” She smiled kindly at Sugar Doll.

“Thank you, Celeste.” Sugar Doll smiled back.

“Heather’s right, you are pretty, just like me.” Celeste winked.

Sugar Doll left the house feeling disconcerted. Did everyone know? She felt like a fool.

Chapter Twenty-One

The bartender from Iowa received the phone call in his neutral accent. The voice on the other end was immediately recognizable. He hung up after listening to instructions. He gave no response. He looked around but no one was paying him any attention. His job was to watch and report. He wanted to take action but knew that he would only mess things up for everyone involved. There was no sign of Remy. He knew the boy’s habits by now and this was not like him.

The FBI was so close to breaking up the Marsalas cartel that it seemed a shame that it was already in danger of imploding. As Tommy wiped down the bar the phone rang again. He grimaced knowing that this phone call wouldn’t be about business.

“I know honey; I do want to get married. A lot of things are going on right now. I hate it here, the humidity is horrible. Please be patient. I promise that I’ll make you my wife by springtime. He grimaced to himself knowing that the fellas back at the bureau were going to razz him for this. Giving Marla this number had definitely been a mistake. He never knew how much she whined until the teasing had become unbearable. He loved her in spite of this and took the teasing as a rite of passage.