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As the boys began to walk back up the dock, they stopped cold, staring at the shadowy figures behind Tolbert.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Get that shit on board!”
“Maybe they don’t want to put that shit on board,” said Nine.
Tolbert turned quickly, staring at the two men behind him. He would never be able to outrun them. His was portly and suffering from gout. The boys attempted to turn and run, but at the other end of the dock were a dozen men with fierce expressions, weapons, and size that told the boys they would swallow them whole.
“Set the shit down,” said Miller.
The boys obeyed, obviously having no choice whatsoever. Miller zip tied each one as Luc and Antoine led them back toward the waiting vans. They lined the boys up, forcing them to take a seat in the empty cargo holds where the sheriff would soon find his own loot.
“What are you gonna do?” asked Tolbert. “Kill me like you did my brother.”
“Your brother deserved to die. Come to think of it, so do you. You’ve destroyed these boys’ lives while you were benefitting from what they stole,” said Gaspar.
“We were only stealing stuff cause you all give all them boys at the home everything!” yelled one boy.
“What are you talking about?” asked Angel.
“The boys at the home and those kids with no parents. You give them everything. We don’t have anything. Most of us don’t have a mama or a daddy, but nobody gives us shit. We don’t get enough food. We don’t have places to sleep, but ain’t nobody worried about us.”
Angel stared at the boy, then back at Nine and Gaspar. The boy was right. There were hundreds of kids in their part of Louisiana who had nothing or little to nothing. But how do you provide for everyone? How do you spread your wealth in a way that does the most good to the maximum number of people?
“Pops will know,” whispered Gaspar. “Pops will have an answer to this.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Miller and Angel placed the charges on the old sailing vessel. Angel stared at it, shaking his head.
“It’s a shame, you know. Sinking a beautiful thing like this. Imagine the places she’s been and the things she’s seen. It’s really sad.”
“It won’t sink all the way,” said Miller. “Besides, we left some of the merchandise on board for the sheriff to see what was there. The rest is stacked by the vans for him to find along with the kids and Tolbert.”
When the red and blue lights of law enforcement appeared, the men hid on their own vessel, waiting to be sure all was good. The sheriff knew every detail that had transpired, but they weren’t sure if his deputies could be trusted or not.
As the sheriff and his men arrived, the vessel was splintered into a million pieces, scattering five hundred yards in every direction. What was left was the hull, showing some of the merchandise that had been stashed.
By the time they were back to Belle Fleur, Marcel had loosened up considerably. Already learning some of the slang familiar to the men, he was feeling a part of a team for the first time in decades. When he stepped onto Belle Fleur property, he wept.
“Hello, cousin,” smiled Martha. “We have much to catch up on.” Martha and Marcel disappeared with the other spirits, the team laughing at the group.
“We might be the only people in the whole world that have a bunch of ghosts who help us catch bad guys, raise our children, and warn us of danger,” smirked Angel.
“I’d like to think we’re the only ones,” smiled Nine, “but damn if stranger things haven’t happened. I like him, though. Maybe because he was a sailor, I have to believe that man would have made one helluva SEAL.”
“Please,” huffed Gaspar. “He’s a Robicheaux Ranger all the way.”
As the men made their way back to their cabins and own personal little island, they prayed that the wives were asleep. Although it seemed highly suspect, not one of them moved when they crawled into bed. Nine was almost worried that Erin might gut him in his sleep.
The next morning, each wife kissed her husband and then went off on one of the boats to Belle Fleur for breakfast.
“Anyone suspicious of that behavior?” frowned Alec.
“I damn sure am,” said Antoine. “Do you think they know?”
“Not sure how. Come on. We need to see the finished houses and make sure that the security is up and running.”
While one group of men continued to Halo Island, attempting to finish their woodworking and toy building, another went to the motorcycle shop to work on some things there, and another went to visit Ray and the others.
