Life With A Werewolf

New Business Ventures Part 3

          Much of Elouise’s house was still in boxes. There was furniture, but much of it was Ikea by way of Goodwill. Scratched and water-ringed particle board masterpieces in several shades of mismatched brown surrounded by boxes of clothing and other items. It was as if she had packed and unpacked in a hurry. Like she was running from something.

          She heard out my plan, with Crash behind me nodding and adding input whenever she needed. All questions were answered to the best of our ability. I could tell she was nervous, not just by how her hand shook when she held her coffee cup, or by the way she kept looking down. It was as if she was trying to hold herself together on that old threadbare torn up couch. Trying to hold herself together and hold out the world.

          “I just don’t think dat’s a good idea,” she stared down at her shoes as she spoke. “You see, they’s a reason why Marissa and Tarissa are so mad at me.”

          “Mad enough to kill,” Crash asked.

         She tapped her mug and stared down at her coffee. It had long since grown cold in her hands. Finally, she nodded.

         “Then it’s my job,” Crash began.

         “Your job is to protect them,” she said nodding towards me. “I’ll take care of myself.”

         “Don’t tell me what my job is Rogarou, I’ve been doing this a long time!”

         The volume at which Crash screamed that surprised both me and her. The only other time I’ve seen him that upset was with that thing with The Nobility. I looked up at him, expecting to see fur sprouting and a tail, but no. There was the beginnings of it on his face, sprinkled. It thickened his beard a bit, but no major fur. No tail. “Now talk.”

         Something about our previous encounter at the restaurant grabbed my attention just then. It had been nagging at me the way Marissa had said something like ‘the meth was your idea, not ours.’ I looked to Elouise, with as much concern in my voice and face and said “everyone makes mistakes. If you messed up in Louisiana, that has nothing to do with here. But if they’re dealing meth or murdering people or something, we need to know. Crash’s job isn’t just to protect humans, it’s to protect you as well.”

         She smiled at that for a moment, then closed her eyes as if she was building up courage. “I need,” she said, then took a long shuddering breath. “I need a moment.” She exhaled everything, staring down at the cold coffee, and set it down finally on a coffee table covered in boxes and packing material. “I…”

         “Anything from Louisiana, I won’t hold against you,” Crash said. “Even murder.”

         She nodded. “Okay,” she said. “I didn’t mean to kill him. And technically, I didn’t. Not directly. But, Marissa was right. The meth was my idea. I figured a little hillbilly heroin was going to be easy pickins you know? Cops don’t mess with us Rougarou, and guys like you,” she nodded in Crash’s direction, “is hard to come by down in the bayou. So, everyone like us tends to do what we need to as long as you follow the rule. Don’t hurt the little folk, and stay out each other’s way.”

         She looked back up at me first. “You see, he’d been a longtime user. I had begun using as well. You know meth for us a little don’t do as much as it does for you. I had to kick it up a notch. So, I began to try and figure ways to make it stronger. I found one. Me and this human, the man I had a crush on, sank a few boats. My heart raced, and I got the giggles for a moment. I think I was just so happy I got it right. His heart raced. Then exploded. I panicked.”

         She sighed, then stared up at the ceiling. “He loved to call me his lizard woman, heh. I’m sorry Beau, I’m sorry.” There was a tear in her eye as she looked back down, staring more at our feet than our faces. “It was my fault. I buried the body out back behind the old trailer where we did those things. Then I ran. Left Marissa, Tarissa and Garett down there with the mess. Finally got this place up here. Been clean ninety days, thank goodness, and I’m staying clean for the rest of my life.”

         “So, it’s not meth,” I said.

         Elouise shrugged. “Probably not. I figured they probably want revenge on me for leaving them with a body, a trailer full of drugs, and the cops.”

         “Cops?” Me and Crash asked in unison, we looked at each other, then back at Elouise.

         She seemed to shrink into the couch. “I might have made an anonymous tip.”

         “So,” I said, standing up. I began to pace around the room. “What we have is a trio of Rougarou who are pissed at our poor girl here,” I nodded in her direction, “a body, an old trailer full of meth, and drugs.”

         “Don’t forget the blood in the restaurant,” Crash said. “And the money.”

         I looked at Crash. “Money?”

         He looked at Elouise. “How much?”

         “I dunno,” she said, “maybe, seven.”

         I walked over to Elouise. “Can I get some clarity here? Seven what?”

         “Seven hundred thousand dollars.” Crash said. “I’d say that’s a bit more than a little. I’d say that’s a lot. I’d also say that’s a big reason to have someone pissed at you.”

         Elouise nodded and held a pillow in her lap. When she shifted, she was honestly larger than Crash. She came close to him in height. But at that moment, Elouise looked tiny, like a scared little girl alone at a train station.

         “What we got,” I said, “is a whole lot of trouble.”