“Madam, you should stay here with Bastian and Evangeline,” Simon said. “Joe will keep you safe.”
“And who will keep you safe?” the Voodoo queen asked.
Simon let out a deep breath. “We’ll be careful and ask for help if we need it from my team. And we’ll get back up from the sheriff’s department if things blow out of proportion.”
Madam Gautier approached Simon. She reached around her neck and untied a leather strap with a small red velvet bag attached. “You must take this gris-gris bag. It will protect you and bring you luck.”
Simon took the gift. “I don’t need luck,” he said. “Holly should wear this.” He held the gris-gris bag out to Holly.
She shook her head. “She gave it to you.”
“But I already have a lucky charm.” He pulled the rabbit’s foot out of his pocket. “A very good friend gave it to me. I’ve kept it with me since.” He didn’t tell them that the lucky rabbit’s foot hadn’t proved lucky for his friend. They didn’t need to know that. And he didn’t believe a gris-gris back or a lucky rabbit’s foot really provided any luck.
Madam Gautier stared at him for a long moment, her eyes narrowed. “You aren’t ready to believe.” She nodded to Holly. “Wear it. It will keep you safe.”
“Yes, Mémère.” Holly turned around so that Simon could tie the necklace around her neck. When he was finished, he leaned close and whispered, “Think you can get us back to the houseboat without your grandmother’s help?”
She smiled up at him. “Yes.”
He straightened and said, “We’ll get going. I’d like to check out the Jeffries’ place at night, though we’ll likely not try to make contact until daylight. I don’t want to risk being shot for intruding in the middle of the night.”
“You won’t be staying at the houseboat, will you?” Madam Gautier asked.
“No, we’ll sleep at the boarding house,” Holly said. She hugged her mother and father. “I’m still angry that you let me believe you were dead, but I’m happy that you aren’t. I love you both so much.”
“And we love you, too.” Her mother kissed her cheek.
“Love you, baby girl,” her father said and kissed her forehead. “I hope we can put this all behind us soon and live a normal life.” He slipped an arm around his wife’s waist.
Joe walked them through the corridor and out onto the dock. “I’ll keep them safe.”
“Keep them here, even if you have to sit on them,” Holly said.
Simon shook Joe’s hand. “Thank you.”
Simon stepped into the boat and held out a hand to help Holly in. Simon sat on the bench in the middle.
Holly took the seat at the rear, pulled the cord to start the little engine and waited while the fake island hill parted, and starlight shone down on the dark water.
She drove the little boat into the weeping willow branches and out the other side.
“Did that just happen?” Holly said softly, though loud enough to be heard over the engine.
Simon glanced back. “Your parents are alive.”
She nodded, starlight reflecting off the tears in her eyes. “How can I be so happy and so mad at the same time?” She gave a laugh that sounded more like a sob.
“Be happy, Holly. They were only trying to protect you.”
“Yeah. I get that. I just hate that I spent so many months grieving when I could’ve helped.”
“Can’t change the past. But we can help them now.”
She nodded and focused on the channels ahead.
Simon’s head was on a swivel, maintaining a three-hundred-sixty-degree vigil. The revelations exposed in Joe’s bunker were staggering. The people involved, if caught, had a lot to lose, financially and politically. If Holly or her parents were caught, they had even more to lose. They could lose their lives.
Simon was beginning to think he needed to ask Remy for that backup. He’d do that as soon as he got back to shore. They’d go straight to the boat factory and hope Remy was still there. If not, they’d go to Remy’s house.
