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anything else you re not telling me?
Remy looked suspiciously at him.  Well...if there
is, I m still not telling you...at least not until I think
of it. She grinned suddenly at his ferocious scowl.
Cork changed the subject.  After we eat, let s go
change the statue to the other side of the house for
the morning sun.
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 Good, I want to go with you, Perly said. She
had kind of a sad smile on her face, and Remy was
sure she was remembering her Grandmother.  It s
been a long time.
Remy disappeared into her bedroom while Cork
was gathering flashlights and setting up a cot near
Pierre s loveseat bed. He had given Perly and
Raymond his bedroom.
Finally, they all went out the back door and
headed down the path single file, Cork hoping they
had no more ghostly visitors for the evening. Old
Joe led the way, his enormous tail flipping back and
forth in front of the procession, his tongue lolling
out as if happy to be headed to the shanty.
When they arrived, Perly stood and looked for a
moment as if gathering her strength together, then
she pushed the door open and Remy followed her
inside. Raymond and Cork went to move the statue.
Inside, Perly lit the lanterns that Cork had
refilled with lamp oil and then she slowly looked
around the room. It was much as she had left it,
and she could feel her Gramma s presence like a
warm blanket, enveloping her and soothing her.
Remy shivered slightly although it wasn t cold.
She wasn t sure how much of all this she believed,
she just knew it was very spooky to be seeing
appearances of her great grandmother all over the
place. It didn t seem as foreign a concept as she
might have thought at one time, though, perhaps
she was getting used to it!  Mother, do you really
believe in all this voodoo magic? She asked
curiously, watching her mother run her hand
lovingly along the books in the fireplace.
Perly looked at Remy.  I believe that you can
make things happen through your own faith,
Remy, she replied finally.  If voodoo is what you
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believe in, then yes...it can be magic. If it s
something else you believe in, then that can work
for you too. It just depends on what you choose to
have faith in.
She picked up one of the books on gris-gris and
love potions.  Gramma believed devoutly in voodoo
magic. I always found it fascinating, and she taught
me a lot of things that most people would not
believe possible today. So yes, I believe in it too. Or
perhaps you could say I wanted to believe in it.
She smiled nostalgically.  At least it helped me win
Charlie s heart.
 You really loved him? Remy tried to put herself
in her mother s shoes. Tried to understand and
grasp that Raymond wasn t her father. So far she
had tried to not think about it, wanting to put it
aside and think about it later...when she was alone.
She rubbed her hands up the back of her arms,
rather forlornly.
Perly came to stand in front of her daughter, a
sad smile on her face.  Yes, I really loved him, she
replied gently.  You have his eyes, you know.
Remy laughed painfully.  I thought I had great
Gramma s eyes. A throwback, I think you said.
 I m sorry, darling; I didn t mean to hurt you.
Perly ran her finger gently down the side of Remy s
cheek.  I never wanted to lose you, and I was afraid
I would if the Montaines found out you were
Charlie s. They had a lot more money than I did and
I couldn t fight them. So I ran.
 Were you ever going to tell me?
 I planned to...someday, Perly answered
honestly.  I just didn t know when someday would
come.
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Remy changed the subject.  Do you suppose
Great Gramma meant for you to find her treasure
before this?
 Probably. I don t really know. She s been gone
for twenty years, and I probably never would have
if it hadn t been for you. I never wanted to come
back here.
 Well, maybe it was meant to be that I would
find the map instead, ventured Remy thoughtfully.
 That is...if you believe in voodoo magic. Great
Gramma seemed to know who I was anyway;
maybe she planned it this way.
Perly smiled and hugged her daughter.  You
would have loved her, Remy. She was wonderful.
 Gramma didn t believe in voodoo, did she?
 No, darling. Mama never believed in it at all,
and she and Gramma never got along very well
because of it. Perly wandered over to a basket of
dried herbs.  As a result, Mama and I never were
close either because of my belief in Gramma and
her magic. Something Mother never approved of.
She looked around wistfully.  I always knew
Gramma loved me deeply, and we had many
wonderful hours together when I was growing up.
I ve missed her and I hated not being here for her
funeral, but I couldn t take the risk of coming back.
There was too much at stake. You...Raymond...I
just wanted to let sleeping dogs lie.
 Speaking of dogs, where does Old Joe fit in?
Remy asked curiously.  Is he supposed to be the
reincarnation of Argonaut? The one you told me
about?
Perly laughed.  Well, he does look exactly like
Argonaut. And Gramma always said she d find a
way to bring him back to guard over her island. But
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I think she was just trying to spook people into
staying away and leaving her alone.
 It s weird, but he didn t bark when I played the
flute for him, said Remy.  Although I ended up
dropping it in the leech bed.
Perly s eyes twinkled.  That was a tale Gramma
started just for the fun of it. She liked to mess with
people s overactive imagination. It don t take much
to spook some people, and she rather enjoyed it.
 Sooo..it has no basis in fact?
 I didn t say that, replied Perly mysteriously.  I
wouldn t put it past Gramma to have put a spell on
Argonaut and try to reincarnate him. Whether it
worked or not, is anybody s guess. But that dog
does look just as I remember him.
Remy shivered.  You re giving me goose
bumps!
Perly laughed delightedly.  See? It s easy to
creep someone out, isn t it?
Remy jumped when the door opened and Cork
and Raymond came inside.  You two having a good
chat? Cork s eyes gleamed at Remy, unconsciously
looking for tear trails. She had had a shock earlier,
and he could feel for her. Seeing none, he relaxed.
Perhaps she was stronger than he thought.
 Yes, we were just talking about Argonaut,
replied Perly.
 Argonaut?
 Old Joe, supplied Remy helpfully.
They chatted for a few more minutes about the
likeness of Old Joe and the Argonaut Perly
remembered.
 We need to get headed back, said Cork,
glancing at his watch.  It s after 9:00pm, and Dad
will be getting here soon. I locked the cabin this
time.
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Raymond and Perly nodded in agreement. Cork
had already explained about the thefts and the
gunshot. They were about halfway there when
several things happened at once. Old Joe let out a
bellow and began running towards the cabin, a loud
blaring music filled the air, and gunshots rang out
from the cabin.
They all broke into a run, Cork leading the way.
The music, or so called music, was deafening to
their ears as they ran towards the open front door
where light was spilling out and two figures were
wrestling in the yard. A figure dressed totally in
black punched the other one, then jumped up and
ran into the swamp, Old Joe hot on his trail. The
other figure was Pierre, and he got up slowly
rubbing his jaw and grinning ruefully.  I think he
got away.
 Are you all right, Dad? Asked Cork, his ears
ringing as he helped Pierre up.
Remy ran inside the house and into the bedroom
to turn off her stereo. Then she checked to see that [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]