Chapter Ten

To Julia’s delight, the parish council chambers bulged with her supporters, thanks to many phone calls made by her, Jane, and Celine. Patty Broussard and Pammy Vice sat amid the members of the Historic District Committee. In one of life’s delicious ironies, Remy’s grandmother chaired that group. Two very elderly women, one with shoeshine black hair, and the other with thin locks dyed flaming red, going by the names of Miss Lolly and Miss Maxie, represented the Live Oak Preservation Society. Peppered among her ladies were forbidding, unshaven men wearing jeans, boots, and tight black tees. One thin guy in a dirty white T-shirt and missing his front teeth appeared to belong to no group.

Remy had taken a place directly behind Julia and sat beside a sinister fellow with a greasy ducktail and bulky biceps. She regretted wearing her hair up for this occasion as the guy’s hot, beery breath bore down on her naked neck like a stalking predator about to grip her nape with his fangs. Not a man she’d like to meet in a dark parking lot.

With the help of Todd and Office Depot, she’d run more reports for this larger body and had her intern practice with the smooth setting up of the easel. She noticed the parish courthouse had electronic voting, and several members fiddled with smart phones and computer tablets. Behind them, the stern portraits of former parish presidents lined the walls, and a videographer recorded the event. This was the big league who made the county-wide decisions. Julia remained quietly poised as the minutia of parish business passed and stood when called upon. Todd set up the easel and mounted the board flawlessly this time. She went into the same pitch she’d performed the previous night.

The youngest councilman who had spent the entire time enraptured with his iPhone, watching baseball or playing a game Julia thought, raised eyes delineated by heavy black frames. “I’m against new taxes, raising existing taxes, or dumping money into foolish public projects like the proposed campground.”

Sounded like his campaign platform. Julia scanned his nameplate, Darin Duke. “Councilman Duke, as I am sure you heard, we are not asking for money, simply the written support of the parish government to help us obtain historic designation and grants to save the Bayou Queen which is a hotel, not a campground. The hotel will generate taxes, not raise them. It’s all laid out for you in the handout.”

He shrugged. “Words are cheap. Send your proposal as an attachment to my parish email account.” And went back to studying his phone

As she finished, Remy stood and asked to speak to the question. He distributed his professional brochures again and did his spiel. The chairman of the council asked if anyone else wished to comment—and his grandmother, wearing a frilly, floral dress she thought still fit even though she’d had to pin the top over her bulging breasts shut with a large antique broach, barged to the front of room. To Julia’s delight, Remy winced.

“As the wife of the former mayor of Chapelle and current head of the Historic District Committee, our group lends its support to saving the Bayou Queen, part of our noble heritage.”

“It’s an eyesore and needs to be torn down,” a councilman said, another Broussard, this one with the forename of Hulin. Was there no end to them, Julia wondered?

Miss Patty’s soaring blood pressure turned her face an alarming red at the disrespect. Julia dove in to save her. “An eyesore that could become a sight for sore eyes. We thank you for the committee’s support.”

“Her committee has no power here. Barely does in the town except to hassle incoming businesses to death about their facades. They can’t prosecute anyone or levy fines,” Hulin gloated.

“Thanks to our work, the Subway and the Starbucks have not defaced Main Street with modern exteriors. I am proud to say my son, standing right there, did the work on the coffee shop. He could do the same for the Queen. And Huey, I’m telling my husband about the way you treated me.”

Hulin Broussard didn’t seem overly concerned by the threat. Remy took his mother’s arm. “Thank you for the vote of confidence. I’ll be sure to make Black Diamonds a beautiful development you can be proud of. Let me escort you back to your seat.”

“But, Remy!” Despite the protest, he steered his grandmother away from the action.

“Does anyone else have something to say before we entertain a motion?” the stone-faced chairman asked.

The elderly women rose just as Remy deposited his grandmother into her seat. They held out arms as thin as chicken bones but latched onto his with the talons of raptors. “If you could lend us a hand, Remy.”

Unable to do anything else, he helped them totter forward to address the council. “Our concern is for the two-hundred-year-old oaks adorning the property where the Queen sits,” the red-haired Miss Maxie quavered. “Those trees were on the property when the hotel was built. Heavy equipment will destroy their fragile root systems, and who knows how many trees will be hewn down in the name of progress.”

“I don’t plan to destroy any of the oaks. Well, maybe a couple will have to go to make space for the project, but—”

“There you have it!” Black-haired Miss Lolly came alive. “When that big box store came to the parish, they chopped down the oaks surrounding the property and put up their gas station and parking lot. Yes, they landscaped, but if you kill fifty-year-old oak trees what will you have left in a hundred years? I recall when those trees were planted and how beautifully they grew.”

The youngest councilman raised his eyes again. “I am sure you remember when the oaks at the Queen were planted too, witch.”

Miss Lolly cupped her hand to her ear. “What did you call me? Bitch or witch?” Her frail body shook more with outrage than age.

Duke smirked. “I didn’t finish. Which means we’ve heard enough about oak trees. Why don’t you sit down before you fall down? We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

The chamber grew quiet as all held their breath after this appalling breech of respect for the elderly. Miss Lolly leveled a knobby finger ending in a red-painted nail at Darin Duke. “Your first term will be your last, young man.”

Her target appeared to pale beneath his olive skin, but he held his hard line. “Sit down—please.”

“Remy!” The old women summoned him again, and using his support, returned to the rear.

“Anyone else?” the chairman inquired with a weary sigh as if hoping there wouldn’t be more clamor.

“I’d like a few words,” a heavy voice said.

Julia hadn’t met the man, but from local sources she gleaned this was Jane Tauzin’s husband, Crazy Merlin, though it didn’t say that on his nameplate. A big man with a long, unshaven jaw, he did have electric blue eyes that flashed, Don’t mess with me. Jane adored him. “Y’all know the Bayou Queen is one of my wife’s causes. Hi, there, honey babe.” He nodded toward Jane in the audience and drew a smatter of laughter. “Because of this, I must recuse myself from any vote on the matter—as should Huey since he’s related to Remy Broussard. You might get away with that at the city council, not here.” Merlin Tauzin drilled the councilman sitting opposite him with his hard lapis gaze.

The pause was brief before Hulin Broussard answered, “Yeah, I guess I recuse myself too.”

“Other than that,” Tauzin continued in his deliberate, deep voice, “I was taught to respect my heritage and listen to my elders, not make fun of them.” His scary gaze shifted to Darin Duke who slouched and kept his own myopic eyes on his phone as if working some difficult equation. “The Bayou Queen deserves our support. I hope all y’all will give it.” His eyes scanned each council member one by one and stopped at the black woman, Norma Bell, short, dark, plump, and wearing her hair in a knot on top of her head. Merlin gave her an almost friendly showing of his teeth. “I’m done.”

“Thanks, Blue Eyes,” Jane shouted to the amazement of Julia. She shrugged. “It’s our thing.”

Norma Bell immediately moved, “That the Ste. Jeanne d’Arc Parish Council supports having the Bayou Queen designated as an historic landmark building and being renovated to serve as a hotel again.” She got a rapid second to her motion.

Having sat through most of the meeting, Julia suspected Norma Bell enjoyed putting Duke on the spot as he’d earlier proposed another delay to the building of a new library in her poor district by saying no one used libraries anymore since everyone had the internet, and a study should be done before proceeding. Because her motion cost nothing and made for good PR, it passed with the support of most of the council minus the votes of Duke and his cronies. But until that historic designation came through, Remy could proceed as he wanted. The fight wasn’t nearly over.

Again, Julia took time to thank Bell and Tauzin and shake hands. Hers practically disappeared in Merlin’s big grip. She herded her ladies out in a large group and stuffed the most feeble into a larger, better elevator to the ground floor. Jane, who had given her husband a little finger wave on the way out, and gotten one of those almost smiles in return, took the stairs along with Julia and Celine while Todd followed toting the easel and board. By the time they got to the parking lot, Miss Lolly and Miss Maxie had sailed off in their big boat of an ancient Lincoln Continental and Patty in her Mercedes.

“What did you think of my husband?” Jane asked, clearly proud as could be.

“He’s, um, very impressive.”

“He’s scary, but he wouldn’t swat a mosquito—most times, unless the mosquito was a really annoying bloodsucker.”

“Good to know.”

The women put their heads together to plan for tomorrow now that they had an endorsement from the parish to add to their plea for an historic designation. Remy in the company of the duck-tailed bruiser passed nearby. The preservationists strained to hear their conversation.

“You better set that bitch straight, Cuz. That pissant idiot, Duke, was worthless tonight, and we paid for his campaign. He got the ladies all wound up. The old man don’t like that kind of thing. Miss Lolly taught him in third grade, and he has a soft spot for her. I think the old dame is right. He won’t get another term unless he finds other backing.” Remy and his cousin kept right on walking.

“He called you a bitch,” said the outraged Jane.

“It’s a name I’ve been called before when I’ve taken a stand to save a building. I don’t care about that—most of the time.”

Celine wore a troubled expression. “I’m more worried about the implied threat that Remy should do something about you. I think we were meant to overhear that and consider it a warning. I can lend you one of our family’s bodyguards. He’s sitting in the car right over there waiting to see me home as usual.”

“I’ll protect Ms. Rossi!” Todd said. The offer would have been more effective if his long legs hadn’t tangled in those of the easel in that moment and sent him tumbling into the side of the truck.

Julia offered a hand and set him upright again. “Remy won’t hurt me, Todd. Never fear.”

“Glad you understand that,” said the man himself who had approached during the minor chaos. “Julia, we do need to talk. Don’t evade me this time. Come sit with me, and let’s hash things out. I’ll see you get back to Alleman.”

“Why not?” She turned her keys over to Todd. “Don’t wreck it.”

“Ms. Rossi, should I call the police if you don’t come back by a certain time?”

“No! And don’t tell my uncles where I am. I’m sure I won’t be long as there isn’t much to discuss.”

She walked away with Remy and left the others goggling at the sight. He helped her into the cab of his truck, took his seat, and turned on the engine. “We need the air-conditioning.” Except he locked the doors and pulled out of the lot too.

“Where are you taking me? I thought we’d talk here.”

“Back to Alleman eventually, the long way around. I can speak and drive at the same time.”

Julia had made a big mistake and knew it. Outside of beating her fists against the window and making a scene, she would go along for the ride and simply must trust Remy. Still, the manner in which he drove swiftly out of town and onto the back roads gave her the feeling of being abducted—kind of thrilling in its way since she believed herself absolutely safe with him.