Fever Moon by Carolyn Haines

Louiselle. “Who fathered Adele’s twins?”
    “She gave herself freely. Perhaps one of the men she slept with bit her and made her believe she was the
loup-garou
. Adele was simple. Men influenced her in bad ways.” Bernadette leaned forward. “That doesn’t mean she’d kill a man, especially not Henri Bastion. She used to work for him.”
    “Do you know what man she was seeing?” He brought his notepad and pen from his pocket.
    Bernadette took a breath. “My sister slept with lots of men. When she worked for Henri Bastion, she was fired because she couldn’t stay away from one of the prisoners leased to Henri. A prisoner! She couldn’t find a decent man who would marry her, so she took up with a convicted murderer.”
    The practice of leasing prisoners from the state penitentiary at Angola had once been accepted all over the state. Now it was a special arrangement. The leaser provided food and shelter lowering the cost of incarceration to the state. Henri Bastion had been working a crew since before the war. “Do you know this man’s name?”
    “Armand Dugas. Adele spoke of him sometimes.”
    “And he was a murderer?”
    “So I’ve been told. Maybe he killed Henri and fixed it to look like Adele did it.”
    “Where is your husband, Mrs. Matthews?”
    The change in subject took her by surprise. “What business is that of yours?”
    “It would be helpful if you answered the question.” He didn’t want to threaten her, but her evasiveness made him suspect she might be abandoned. The cabin held small luxuries, though, and a single woman could never afford such things.
    “Bodine is hunting with Clifton. They took a rich man from Shreveport into the swamp to hunt the wild hogs.” She snorted. “This rich man wants adventure. Perhaps he would pay big dollars to hunt the
loup-garou
. We could turn my sister loose and let him track her through the swamps. Imagine her head on the wall of his Shreveport home.” Tears sprang from her eyes, and she dashed them angrily away with her fists. “Why must Adele do these things to shame me?”
    Raymond put his hands on his knees and leaned forward. “Tell me about Rosa.”
    “What can I say?” She shrugged, gaining control of her tears. “On her knees from morning to night, praying, crying out for God’s mercy. It was horrible to watch.”
    “Did you see her hands bleed?”
    She stepped toward him. “I saw the blood, and I saw the wounds on her hands.” Her mouth hardened. “In her room, I found the hammer and spike, too. There was blood on the spike. What would a lawman call that? Evidence, maybe?”
    “You’re saying Rosa hammered a spike into her own hands?”
    “I’m only telling you what I found.”
    “Why would she want to do something like that?” A greater point was that she would have had to have help. She couldn’t hold the spike and hammer it, too.
    Bernadette shrugged. “Rosa was Papa’s favorite. When he died, she said she saw him standing in the yard, beckoning her. She believed she was destined to die soon, and when she didn’t, she believed God had a special purpose for her.”
    “And Adele?”
    “She always walked on the dark side, her. She was wild and willful, always running out at night. She told stories that scared us to death. She told my mother one time that she could fly. Mama believed Adele had special powers. It’s true Adele got around the parish. She’d be at one place dancing and then before the night was over at Breauxbridge or St. Martinsville.”
    Raymond could clearly read the jealousy in Bernadette’s face. They were alike, physically. The difference was in their expressions. Even burning with fever, Adele’s face had more softness. “Do you believe Adele’s possessed?”
    “Only by a need to be the princess, all eyes on her.”
    “What’s your relationship with the Bastion family?”
    “I work there some, when Mrs. Bastion needs me. I took Adele’s place when she was fired. They pay