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.“Arrest us, Sheriff Como,” she said.“Put us behind bars.” Her strange canine laugh came again.“The only folks you can keep in your jail are children.”“Go home!” Michael pointed a finger toward the street.“Get out of my yard, Bernadette Matthews, before I press charges.”From behind him came an anguished scream that made the hair on the back of his neck stand.Several men in the crowd cowered and retreated.Colista rushed out of the house, pushing between Michael and Joe.She ran into the crowd, struggling against the human wall of resistance, until finally the men stepped aside and let her pass.Michael watched, momentarily stunned, thinking of how the Red Sea had been parted for Moses.“Sweet Jesus!”Joe’s breathless comment drew Michael’s attention, and he turned to find the sheriff staring at the open doorway where Adele Hebert stood, her wild eyes roving over the crowd of men and settling on her sister.“Get her!” someone in the crowd shouted.The mob lurched forward, and Michael ran down the steps, raising the gun as he went.Before he could fire, the crowd was on him.Someone slugged him hard on the side of the head, and he felt himself falling but was caught by the hands of the mob, his body an effective block against the tide of angry humans.The gun was pulled from his grasp.Raymond saw the priest pulled into the angry mob.Adele stood in the doorway, an expression of confusion on her face.She reached out a hand toward her sister.Her mouth moved, her words indistinguishable in the roar of the mob.The sheriff made a grab for the priest’s cassock and missed.Unable to assist the priest, Joe pushed back, trying to force Adele inside the house.“Get inside!” Joe screamed at Adele as hands reached from the mob and grabbed him.Adele didn’t move.Her gaze was locked with Bernadette ‘s.“Kill her!” Bernadette’s voice rang over the roar.“Kill her now!” Bernadette raised a pistol from her side.She held it with both hands, pointing at Adele.Raymond pushed against the crowd without success.The press of bodies held him at the edge of the mob.Bernadette meant to kill Adele.Had always meant that she would die.It was the only way to guarantee Adele would take the blame.“No!” He screamed the word.“No!”Amid the uproar of the crowd, Raymond heard the cry of a hawk.He glanced into the cloudless sky, searching for the red tail feathers and open wings.The blue vista was unbroken.He thought of Antoine, the brother he hadn’t protected.He brought the pistol up and squeezed the trigger in one smooth action.The loud report of the gunshot confused the mob.They churned forward, then fell back, their mouths moving but no sound coming out.Bernadette clutched her chest and staggered.She turned to face him, disbelief touching her features before she fell, disappearing in the mob.Raymond stood with the gun raised.The sheriff scooped Adele into his arms and stepped inside the house.The door slammed, and suddenly Raymond was engulfed in a stampede of men pushing to get away from the priest’s house.They scattered in all directions, and Raymond was left alone with Bernadette.She lay on the grass on her side, her back to him.He walked forward, stopping when he was only inches from her.He knelt and rolled her onto her back.Her sightless eyes gazed into the sun, as if she, too, sought to catch a glimpse of a hawk.31RAYMOND stood outside the bedroom he’d occupied only two days before.Doc Fletcher was with Adele.Had been with her for most of the afternoon and evening.He wouldn’t leave her side—except to consult with other doctors on the phone.He’d ordered everyone except his wife from the room.A small, screened porch offered Raymond a place to sit in privacy, and he eased his body into an old rocking chair.The pain in his back was constant, a grinding of bone.He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.He’d found Marguerite’s car and determined that the tires matched the tread marks he’d found in Madame’s yard.He couldn’t be certain now whether Bernadette or Marguerite had paid a visit to Adele at Madame’s and slipped her more of the fungus-laden bread.Unless Adele came to her senses, he’d never know.Not that it mattered to anyone but him.He’d been waiting for hours for word on Adele.John had rushed to Baton Rouge with the grass, bread, and jar of meal.He’d twisted arms at the university, calling in favors from colleagues, and had called back to report that the fungus was indeed ergot, common enough in grasses and grains in the Dakotas but also found in Southern states.Severe hallucinations, and a few other unpleasant side effects, occurred when it was ingested.Deadly in cattle if eaten for long periods, the effects in humans hadn’t been studied.There might be the possibility of recurring episodes.Blood vessel constriction might cause a form of gangrene.The best anyone could say was that if Adele lived long enough the effects might wear off.Might.The coroner had collected Bernadette’s body.There would be no autopsy for her.The Bastion boys were on the way to the home of their Mandeville relatives in New Orleans.Joe had packed them off posthaste, and Raymond suppressed a smile as he thought of a refined New Orleans family attempting to deal with their lawlessness
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