Chloe Babineaux Private Investigator

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  There sitting in the middle of the casket was a trunk. I couldn’t believe it. I was right. There was something buried. I was so shocked I couldn’t stand up. I went down to my knees looking down at it. Cody looked up at me grinning broadly and shaking his head in disbelief. There was talk all around me, but I wasn’t listening. There were pats on my shoulders with congratulations.

  I sat down and jumped in the casket this time. I wasn’t going to let anyone else do this. This was all mine.

  “Wait,” Sgt. LaCour said. “You can’t open it yet. You should bring it to the Sheriff’s Department before opening it.”

  I looked up at him with my mouth open and surprised. I could only shake my head. I wasn’t waiting any longer than I had to before seeing what was inside that trunk.

  “Dude!” I said wide eyed. “I’ve been almost blown up by an exploding propane tank. I’ve been shot in the head, well, grazed. I’ve been stalked, and I’ve been beaten up! Do you really think I’m waiting to open this trunk? I’m a citizen! What are you gonna do arrest me?”

  He looked at Lt. Anders shrugged his shoulders and said, “Get ready to take more photos. This could be interesting.”

  I lifted the trunk lid. On top was a dress. It might have been white at one time but was now brownish yellow. My hands were dirty, but I didn’t care. I handed the dress to Cody who was still standing beside me. Under the dress was more folded clothes, photos taken in what looked like the 1800’s and another wooden box. I lifted the box out. I was amazed. Inside were trinkets, small pieces of ivory carved dogs, kittens and angels. There were pieces of jewelry and gems. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and opals made into brooches, necklaces, and earrings. It looked very expensive, but what did I know? The jewelry was antique expensive, but not expensive in the way of high priced jewelry, nothing that was worth killing for. There wasn’t anything here that would set anyone up for life. On the bottom of the box was paper folded in fourths. I carefully opened it so it wouldn’t tear. Pieces of it tore but I could still see what it was. A letter written in old script, I didn’t open it all the way, I didn’t want to tear it more than it was. It was probably an old love letter. The trunk was most probably hidden from the northern aggression in the area. Hidden so it could be found later.

  I sat down in the casket holding the box, looking at the small pieces of jewelry and trinkets. Cody got out of the big hole and sat with his feet swinging down. I looked up at all the expectant faces. I don’t know what they thought I was going to say. I didn’t have anything to say. I found what I had been searching for. I found it and was completely astounded. Not disappointed just…

  I started to laugh. I was hysterically laughing. I looked up, Rick and Cody were looking at me like they didn’t know whether they should laugh with me. “Everything Frank did was for trinkets. He killed one man and wounded another for trinkets and photos. This is fool’s gold.”

  The men around me shook their heads. They were looking at me like I had gone out of my mind. And maybe I had. I looked down at the box in my hands and started crying. I started shaking and crying so hard I couldn’t lift my head. This could not be happening. There had to be more than this. But it wasn’t. It was just jewelry, clothes, photos and trinkets. Incredible.

  Someone called my name, “Chloe. Chloe lift up your arms, honey.” I didn’t look up I just lifted up my arms and hands on each side lifted me out of the hole.

  When my feet landed on solid ground I kept my eyes closed, I was turned toward someone, and I leaned my head on his chest. He put his arms around me, and I knew it was Rick. I became weak in my knees. He helped me down to the ground and sat me on his lap with his arms around me. I cried and said over and over, “He hurt me, Rick. He hurt me. Why did he hurt me and kill for this? It makes no sense...I was so scared…He hurt me, I thought he was gonna kill me. He wanted to rape me.” Rick was making soothing sounds. I heard him say, “honey,” and “baby” softly. His soothing sounds helped, but I was still crying hard. “He killed a man and shot a man because of me.” All the pain and sorrow of death came rushing out, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I didn’t want it to. I wasn’t crying for me but for the other poor soul that Frank had killed.

  “No, Chloe, baby, this isn’t your fault. You did nothing to make him do this,” Rick said running his fingers through my tangled hair.

  I swallowed, took a deep breath and said, “Why did he have to kill anyone. If all he wanted to do was beat and rape me, then he should have. He didn’t have to kill anyone.” I was crying so hard everything was blurry; it was like looking through a rain-streaked window. I could feel Rick’s arms holding me tight and knew other people were around us but I couldn’t focus. My throat tightened up, and it hurt to talk. That didn’t stop me I was still rambling.

  “It’s okay, honey, it’s over,” Cody said.

  “By the way, Cody, I’m dating your sister.”

  Oh, great. I looked up at Rick, and he was smiling at Cody. I looked at Cody, and he didn’t have a full on smile, it was only a half a smile, and he said, “I kind of thought you were. During the whole drive here to Shloe, you said, “I’m gonna kill that sonofabitch.’”

  “Cody, I was gonna tell you. I...I just...I…oh never mind.” I said defeated. What difference did it make now? I couldn’t get the words out. My head was a mess. I didn’t know what I was trying to say.

  “Good idea. Later,” Cody mumbled.

  I looked at Rick’s shirt and said, “Oh, no. I ruined your shirt. I got blood on you. I’m sorry.” There was blood on his shirt from where I laid my head on his chest crying.

  “There’s blood on my jacket too, but I’m not worried about that either.” He smiled. “I can get a new jacket, and I’m sure the blood will come out of my shirt. If not,” he shrugged, “I’ll get a new one.”

  “Your jacket?” I was surprised to see blood smeared on the jacket I was wearing. “Am I shot?”

  “No,” Cody answered, “that’s Frank’s blood.”

  I didn’t know what to think. I was confused. “How did…?”

  “Frank fell on you when Rick shot him,” Cody explained, “and while putting on the jacket blood smeared on it.”

  “Oh,” I said thinking back, “I remember hearing a gun shot. But I thought I was shot.”

  I remember thinking I was shot again and this time I was dead. Oh, well, as I said before sometimes I was wrong about things.

  The EMTs came up with a gurney and Cody said grimly, “Do you want to get off Rick’s lap so you can go to the hospital?”

  I looked at Rick; he smiled and said, “That would probably be a good idea. Going to the hospital, I mean.”

  “Yeah. You’re right. I’ll go to the hospital. I can cry there as well as here,” I said, holding my arms up so Cody could help me up. While I was so close to him, I hugged him and added, “Thanks, Cody. You saved my life.” I took a deep breath and added, “You all saved my life.” He hugged me tight and then let me go so I could get on the gurney. Actually, I looked at it and asked the woman EMT, “Wouldn’t it be easier for me to walk to the ambulance? This ground’s sort of rough.”

  “I don’t think you can walk that far,” she said smiling. “Besides, if the going gets rough, I can say I have to hold my kit and have one of these big strong men carry my end of the gurney back.”

  “I think you’re right.” I grimaced. “But then I’ll have to hear how heavy I am for the next forever.”

  “Come on, we’ll make it,” she said helping me onto the gurney.

  We made it to the ambulance with no real problems. She was a lot stronger than she looked. Rick and Cody said they had to stay to talk to the sheriff deputies and then would meet me at the hospital. This was becoming a very bad habit.