CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“2025 is not starting out to be a good year ,” said the newsman. “ Since midnight, New Orleans has recorded six murders, and police suspect they are all related.”

“Six? There are nine! Nine, you fools! Do I need to do your jobs for you as well? Nine people, none of whom deserved to live. I took care of that for you. Now, you have to take care of things for me.”

Moving around the small home, he pushed one of the bodies to the side and knew he’d have to dump that one soon, or it would begin to smell. A man who propositioned a young woman in a bar shouldn’t be allowed to just walk the streets without consequences. No, he would need to be taught right from wrong. Which is what he had the courage to do.

Sitting at the kitchen table, he looked at the multiple live images on the screen showing different parts of the city, street corners, bars, restaurants, all of it. The New Year’s debauchery had long since been going on. It was almost worse than Mardi Gras.

“So much to do. So much to do,” he sang.

Grabbing the ankles of the dead man, he dragged him down the steps and into the garage. With great effort, he dumped the body into the trunk of his car, securing it once again.

Back inside, he opened the closet to see the horrified face of a woman staring back at him.

“Oh, don’t worry. This will all be over with soon enough. You really shouldn’t have been out there tonight. I mean, a married woman having fun without her husband.” The woman sobbed, the gag in her mouth preventing her from crying out loud.

“Shush, shush, now. I’ll be back soon, and we can party together. Be back soon,” he said, closing the closet door again. As he pulled the car out of the driveway, he began singing as loud as he could.

“Should auld acquaintance be forgotten…”

He ignored the news on the radio, instead turning to a music channel and blasting at full volume. There were so many opportunities to get his hands on more victims it was an absolutely thrilling feeling.

The likelihood of him being caught was fifty-fifty in his mind. He’d been able to evade everyone thus far, but soon, it would become harder and harder. He turned onto the side road that led to the dark bars of the bayou. There was one in particular that he really wanted to visit and find what he wanted. He just knew it would be there.

“Oh, this is going to be a record night! Then, off to Mexico, get some tweaks to this handsome face, and I’ll be back for more. Exciting, exciting, exciting!”

“Hey, Jonas where are you headed?” asked Garr, walking toward him with a few other couples.

“Nowhere,” he frowned.

“Aren’t you doing New Year’s Eve with Khloe?” asked Clark. Nell stared at the man, wondering why he had distanced himself from their beautiful new doctor.

“No. I don’t think so,” he said, shaking his head.

“Well, that’s a shame,” said Nell. “We’re headed to The Well, which is where she went with a bunch of others. Pretty woman like that won’t last long in a place like that.”

The group moved to one of the boats, boarding as slowly as possible, hoping that the stubborn Jonas would get the hint. Just as they were about to pull away from the dock, he leaped onto the boat and took a seat. No one said a word, just grinning behind their hands.

The Well was always busy, but on New Year’s Eve, it was insane. They easily spotted their group on the top deck and moved through the crowds to join them. Sure enough, Khloe was sitting with Ajei, Luke, Kennedy, JT, Lucinda, and Irish.

He immediately noticed the beautiful silver satin of her blouse and the silver sequined jeans. She looked like a gorgeous ornament. Her hair was piled loosely on her head, and the bright red of her lipstick made his dick hurt.

Turning toward the new group, Khloe smiled at Jonas, hoping to get one in return. If he didn’t, she would move on. She thought there was a half-smile, but it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

“Excuse me, would you like to dance?” asked the man. Khloe looked up at him in the darkness. She could see that he was older but was reasonably handsome. He was wearing dark jeans and a sweater with dirty running shoes. She looked back at Jonas and then at the man again.

“Sure. I’d like that,” she said. She took his hand, and he squeezed it a little too hard, pulling her toward the dance floor. This was going to be a quick dance, for sure.

Jonas stared at the couple, then felt the others staring at him.

“What? She can dance with whoever she likes.”

“Brother, whatever is eating at you, figure it the fuck out. She’s a keeper all the way. You need to make sure of it,” said JT.

“It’s complicated.”

“It always is,” laughed Moose. Jonas felt someone tap his shoulder and turned to see U-Jin pointing at the dance floor.

“It looks as if she does not want to dance with him any longer. You might want to let him know that is not correct.”

Jonas turned to see the man tugging on Khloe’s hand, pulling her toward the steps to the docks. He immediately pushed his way through the crowd and instinctively knew that the others were moving to block the man as well.

“Let me go!” yelled Khloe above the music.

“You’re a sinner! A whore and a sinner!” said the man.

“God, let me go,” she cried again.

“God won’t help you now.”

“No, but I will,” said Jonas. He grabbed the man’s elbow, wrenching it upwards, forcing him to release his grip on Khloe. She fell backwards, and U-Jin and Moose immediately helped her up and pushed her toward the other medical team members.

“Are you alright, honey?” asked Ajei.

“My hand,” she sniffed. “I think he broke my hand.”

“Fucker, you better have a good reason for trying to take that girl,” said Jonas, staring at the man. He was hiding his face, downturned so no one could see him in the light. He continued to back up toward the steps when JT gripped the ball cap the man was wearing and tossed it.

“Reverend Sizemore, or should we say Morley Standard,” growled Luke.

Sizemore pulled his weapon, pointing it at the crowd. In his other hand, he had a grenade with the pin pulled, dangling from his finger. The crowd panicked, screaming and running toward the other side of the decks, giving Sizemore the advantage.

“Get everyone to safety,” said Luke. “Follow him!”

“Luke, we need a boat to get Khloe back to the hospital. I think her hand is broken,” said Ajei.

Luke stared at the man racing his small bateau out of the bayou and then back at their new doctor. Instead of risking lives in the dark, he called his father to notify him of what had happened.

Sizemore was in their neck of the woods and didn’t even know it. It wouldn’t matter. He’d be removed permanently, one way or another.