Page 52 of Scammed

“That’s right,” he smiled. “So, kill me. Kill me, and I’ll just come back to life to haunt you.”

“No. I think we know how to stop this,” said Marcel.

The sky suddenly darkened, a canopy of black above them as the rains became louder. Except it wasn’t a canopy of darkness. It was the canopy of a parachute, and the jumper fell directly on the body of Jacques Couvillion.

“Woohee, that was fun!”

“Get off me, you cow!” yelled Couvillion.

“Cow? Boy, you best watch your tone,” said Ruby. She grabbed the necklace around his throat and pulled it off, stepping back from his body with it securely in her hand.

“Give me that! Give me the fucking necklace, old woman, or I’ll kill you!”

“Kill me? Boy, a ninety-year-old woman just landed on you, jumping from a moving plane. I doubt you can kill me.” She nodded at the others, smiling. “Hey, boys. That was somethin’ else. I shoulda done that years ago.”

“Um, Ruby, why are you here?” asked Gaspar.

“Well, now. See, his beautiful wife was doin’ some research on Couvillion here. He’s a sad case. A sad boy.”

“Shut up,” he snapped, then gasped for air as a massive hand closed around his throat.

“You’d best be using your manners around Miss Ruby,” said Tailor. “She’s like a mama to me, and I don’t take kindly to rudeness.”

“Thank you, baby. Make sure he can breathe. I need him to hear this before you kill him.” She cleared her throat, straightening the jumpsuit as she unhooked the parachute. “Alright, where was I? Oh, yes. You murdering piece of shit. Our beautiful Amy found out you were an orphan. Sold by your daddy as a cabin boy on a ship ‘cause he was dyin’.”

“He wasn’t dying! He was a coward and unfit to raise a son.”

“He was dyin’, boy. I said don’t interrupt me again.” Couvillion seemed silenced by the woman’s words, and the others just stared at her. “Now, I ‘spect you didn’t have a good life on that ship, but that don’t give you the right to lie, cheat, steal, rape, and kill. You did your fill of it, that’s for sure.

“When you couldn’t best our man, Marcel, you sought help from a witch. She was a witch on a plantation not far from Belle Fleur, in fact. She’d brought her old-school abilities from Africa and knew how to mix a powerful potion. And she did. Placing it in this necklace. She used her own hair to braid the rope holding it around your neck.”

“It can’t be broken,” grinned Couvillion. “I was assured by the witch.”

“You didn’t listen, boy,” snarled Ruby. “It can’t be broken except by her own hands. I am her great-great-great-great granddaughter, and through my hands she lives.” She held the necklace above her head and pulled, snapping it in two.

“No! No, she promised!” he cried.

“You will never come alive again, Jacques Couvillion. You are dead by my hand for killin’ my ancestor. You are nothin’ but a man. Flesh and blood.”

“His magic is done?” asked Marcel.

“It’s done, baby. Kill the man, and let’s get home. I need to get back to my Sven and explain how exciting that jump was. I got some ideas for the bedroom.”

“She’s mad. She’s completely crazy!” said Couvillion.

“Perhaps,” said Marcel, “but you will not haunt me or my family any longer.”

“Just let me see the jewels. Please! I’ve come all this way. Let me see them,” he begged.

“Even if I could, I would not. The jewels are on their way back to Spain as a gift from the Robicheaux family.”

Couvillion howled as if in pain, attempting to run. He found himself surrounded at every turn by men who looked identical to Marcel or were identical in size. He was the one going mad. When he turned to charge Marcel, the man was ready, ramming his fist into his nose.

Cartilage and bone cracked, leaving him in agony as he fell to the jungle floor. From his waist, he pulled his dagger. The pistol was nice, but it was loud. He was going to use the dagger his father had given him to kill the man who had plagued their family for centuries.

“I hope you meet the witch in the afterlife, Couvillion. You deserve what she delivers.”

“Miss Ruby, I heard you got dropped in by Chipper,” smiled Evie as the old woman climbed aboard the chopper. “Did you have a good ride?”

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