Page 59 of Gator

“I’m tellin’ ya, Worm, I saw him!” Donut said.

Worm rolled his eyes and groaned. “You didn’t see the ghost of Reginald Hicks.”

“How do you know?” Braveheart challenged, glaring at Worm. “Were you there?”

“Donut,” Juju sighed. “The ghost of Reginald Hicks does not haunt the bar. Bossman had me sage the entire place right before Devlyn showed up.”

“Excuse me?” I said, piping up as I glared at Wade.

“Did ya have to say that?” Wade moaned. “Now my woman’s gonna be bitchin’ an’ complainin’ all day, thinkin’ I thought she was a bad omen or somethin’.”

The room fell silent for a fleeting moment, the kind of stillness that only sharpens the chaos to come. Orion banged his tiny fists on the tray of his highchair, his giggles now morphing into triumphant squeals, as if he were the ringleader of this circus.

I leaned against the counter, cocking my head at Wade with a smirk that could rival the Devil himself. “A bad omen, huh?” I teased before looking around the kitchen at everyone. “Someone want to tell me who this Reginald Hicks is and why Donut swears he saw him in the bar?”

Wade scratched the back of his neck, his gaze darting to the floor as if it might open up and swallow him whole. “Well,” he began, his drawl slower than usual. “Reginald Hicks was—uh—let’s just say, he was a bit of an infamous figure around these parts.”

Donut, emboldened by Wade’s hesitation, leaned forward, his eyes wide with excitement. “Infamous? Try downright legendary! As the story goes, this Hicks fella was travelin’ on a ship and captured by the famous pirate Jean Lafitte.”

Thore nodded. “Yep, and this Hicks dude fell in love with a French Creole girl, Marie somethin’.”

“Marie Angel Beauchamp,” Juju groaned, picking up the story. “Legend has it that Hicks knocked up Marie and had to marry her.”

“Only, there was a war goin’ on,” Braveheart interrupted as Donut furiously nodded, snagging a cookie and eating it,enraptured with the story. “Can’t remember, but I think it was the War of the Northern Aggression.”

Wade rolled his eyes. “It was the War of 1812, you idiot.” He turned to me and continued, “As the story goes, Hicks and Marie were married by an old German Priest who was a prisoner in an Old Parish Prison, and Hicks was never heard from again. Some say he died during the war, leaving Marie a widow.”

“That’s so sad,” Henley muttered.

“But what does that have to do with the ghost Donut saw?” I asked.

Wade smirked. “The alley behind The Bourbon Bar is part of Pirate’s Alley. It’s believed to be haunted.”

“Oh, it’s haunted all right,” Donut quickly added. “I’ve heard the laughter. So has Braveheart.”

The big man simply nodded.

“Laughter?” I asked, my brow furrowing. “What kind of laughter?”

“The kind that makes your skin crawl,” Thore replied, his voice dropping to a whisper, as if the mere act of speaking about it might summon the ghost. “It’s light, almost playful, but it’s got this... edge to it, like it knows somethin’ you don’t.”

Donut wiped crumbs from his chin, staring off into the middle distance. “And sometimes, if you’re really quiet, you can hear the sound of footsteps. Not boots or shoes, but barefoot, like someone’s sneakin’ up behind you.”

Worm gave a snort of disbelief. “Oh, come on. Footsteps? Laughter? All of you have been spending too much time drinking at the Bar. There are no such things as ghosts.”

Juju shivered despite the warmth of the room. “I don’t know, Worm. My uncle used to say Pirate’s Alley is where unsettled souls gather.”

Henley’s eyes widened. “Unsettled souls? Like... Marie’s? Do you think she’s still searching for Hicks?”

Juju shrugged, his smirk fading into something more thoughtful. “Could be. Folks say love that strong don’ just vanish, even when the people do.”

Looking at Wade, I asked, “Do you believe in this malarkey?”

“Can’t grow up in the bayou and not believe in ghosts,Chèr.”

I didn’t know what I believed, and I really didn’t have an opinion on ghosts or whatnot, but I was pretty damn sure I didn’t want to meet one.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

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