“You hear somethin’?” Raspy lifted his lantern in Luc’s direction. Unable to dematerialize completely, he halted behind the thick trunk of a live oak.
“Where?” Nasal asked and swung his lantern up as well. His head swiveled on his very short neck. “I don’t see nothin’.”
“I heard somethin’. I swear. Like footsteps, runnin’,” Raspy murmured.
“That’s just the wind knockin’ tree branches around.”
“I don’ think so. Was too reg’lar a sound.”
Silence indicated the intruders might be listening.
“Well,” Nasal said. “Whatever you think you heard, it ain’t there now.”
He was right, sort of. Luc used the opportunity of their listening pause to creep closer to the two men, standing near the brush bordering the lane. “I don’ like it.” Raspy’s voice shook, as did his lantern. Lowering the light, he moved into the brush as if to search.
Luc blended into the taller bushes to avoid discovery.
“Y’all’re bein’ stupid,” Nasal said. He crowded in beside Raspy. “You didn’t hear nothin’ strange. Ain’t nothin’ to find.”
“I did hear someone runnin’. In fact, I’m pretty sure I caught a glimpse. He was moving real fast.”
“If you saw anything, you saw swamp gas.” Nasal followed Raspy deeper into the brush.
“Did not. We ain’t seen no swamp gas so far.” The man’s voice shook.
An owl hooted and he jumped.
“And we ain’t been this close to the bayou. Everybody knows swamp gas lingers near the bayou.” Nasal scolded.
“Well, that’s true.” Raspy’s voice steadied. “I guess whoever ran past us is long gone.” Still he lifted his lantern searching in all directions.
Bushes and trees loomed, threatening and dangerous in the dark.
“Good. Now stop this nonsense about hearing stuff, and get goin,’” Nasal groused. “Moon’s almost set, and we’re wastin’ time. Boss says, the Thibodaux woman gets up early. I want to be gone before that happens.”
“We won’t be able to search much tonight. Why’d you make us wait so long to come out here?” Raspy’s pace was halting and tentative.
“Because the woman and her dogs had to be sound asleep. ’Sides, I found a few places to search when we were here to install her phone. Now hurry up.”
“I still think…”
They continued to argue about how best to search the house without waking anyone.
“We have to get inside. I say we go in through the porte-cochèr stairs and start with the first floor,” Nasal said as they approached the point in the drive where it curved in a large circle before the house.
“I don’ know,” Raspy replied. “Someone wakes up, we got farther to run.”
Luc used the time to observe, keeping a psychic ear open for Grace.
Psychic vision informed him that the men wore black kerchiefs to cover their faces. Black hats covered their heads and made making out their eye-color nearly impossible. Their clothing was also black, from neck to gloves and boots. “We won’ have to run, if we can slice their throats first.” Nasal patted the hilt of a large knife attached to his belt.
“I don’ like killing anyone,” Raspy protested, stopping in the middle of the lane.
“It’d be self-defense. You did bring your pig-sticker?” Nasal turned. “Get your ass moving.”
“Yeah. I guess self-defense is okay.” The other man fell into step beside his companion.
“We better hurry.” Nasal increased his pace.
