Chapter 3

Oh, no, sometimes it's not good to find out about your friend's history.

“I can’t believe this horseshit,” Charon said in the truck with Lucille sitting in next to him with Stanely resting in her lap. They had been riding around right outside of New Orleans for the last four days looking for Miss Hades’s people. Azrael told them to find a restaurant called ‘The Copper Coins,’ but as of every stop they made, no one seemed to know where the place was and if they did know then they didn’t want to tell them. It was starting to get old, but Charon owed a lot to Miss Hades. He wasn’t going to let her down. He would keep looking until the end of time if he must as he put the top of the bottle to his lips to drink some more beer.

                “We’ll find it,” Lucille said.

                “We will,” he agreed, “I’m just going to complain about it until we do.”

                “Sound about right,” she said a bit tried from the endless driving. It was a long way from the circus and sleep had been a bit difficult for her, but she wasn’t going to give up. She yawned almost at the same time Stanely did, and Charon glanced over at them.

                It was getting late, and it might have been a good time to call it for the day. He pulled the truck over into a hotel with tiny houses to rent and parked the truck. Lucille looked around with Stanely jumping from her lap and onto the dashboard. He was looking out the window in awe with Charon opening the crying door of the truck.

                “I’ll get us a room,” he said, “and maybe, something to eat.”

                “Oh, please,” she said smiling at him and he nodded at her. “Charon?”

                “Yes, Clown?” he asked, looking back at her still chewing on his cigar.

                “What kind of person would take someone’s bones?”

                “A cruel one.”

                “It’s kind of scary,” she said, and he grinned stepping away from the truck.

                “Not as scary as us,” Charon said shutting the door and strolling into the main office to find an old man sitting behind the desk reading a newspaper three days out of date. He didn’t lower his paper with Charon strolling up to the desk and looking around to see there was a kitchen with the lovely smell of food leaking out. There were the sounds of someone humming to themselves into the kitchen while an old fan above Charon’s head spun in deep agony.

                Charon turned back to the newspaper, sighed, and dropped his long hand on the bell on the counter. The bitter ring made the old man with one bad eye drop the paper, grunted to himself before he climbed to up to his weary feet. His knees hurt while he strolled over to Charon growling to himself and Charon liked this old man.

                He felt this poor man’s pain the whole time.

                “Four dollars at night,” he said opening the book of names.

                “Just need one room for the night,” Charon said pulling out a ten-dollar bill, “and about this so we don’t have to write names down.”

                The old man locked his one good eye on Charon and moved his jaw back and froth the way all people of such age seem to do. He huffed, taking the ten-bill to put it in his pocket making Charon smiled.

                “If the law come knockin’,” the old man said, “I ain’t goin’ to the grave or jail for ya.”

                “The law won’t come knocking,” Charon said nodding at the man. “You got anything good cooking?”

                “Everything we cook is good.” He shouted, “Diasy.”

                A young girl, not as young as Lucille, but somewhere around the age of twenty, and she came rushing out of the kitchen with a bright smile on her lovely face. She was a mixed girl with her skin the hue of caramel, and she was wearing a necklace with an old saint on it. She smiled at Charon before stopping at the counter. Then Charon saw the saint on her necklace, he saw it was meant to be Joan of Arc, but there was something else near Jona. Something darker and from the depths of the dark swamps.

                “What can I get for ya, sir?” She asked.

                “Two plates,” he said, “of anything good. My daughter is waiting in the truck, and we have a cat who can eat a whole cow.”

                “Oh, I think, I got somethin’ good for you two,” she said almost dashing from the counter, but Charon’s question stopped her.

                “You tow wouldn’t know where I can find the Copper Coins?”

                The young thing looked back at her grandfather who eyed her before turning back to him. He stared hard at Charon and then shook his head no.

                “Go ahead, Diasy gets the man his food,” he ordered, and she did as she was told. “You don’ want to find those folks, sir.”

                “I’m afaird I need to,” Charon said.

                “Tood damn bad,” he said, “they are bad Voodoo, and no one in these parts will have anythin’ to do with them. Enjoy your stay, eat your food, and then get the Hell out of here before Hell comes lookin’ for ya.” He placed a key on the counter. “Diasy will brin’ your food to ya, got it?”        

                “Sure do, sir,” Charon said taking the key. “Thanks for the help.”

                He stuck the key into his pocket strolling out to find Lucille walking around the place with Stanely following her like a dog. He watched her for a moment hearing the odd girl with a bitter past sing to herself and he was glad she had come into his life. He was a bitter man with a hard heart, but Lucille was the only clown to make him laugh.

                He let her walk around before he climbed in the truck pulling it in front of the small cabin with him getting their things out of the bed and she came walking up to him.

                “Food should be coming soon,” he said as he unlocked the door, and they went crawling in. It took about forty minutes before there was a soft knock on the door and Charon found Diasy standing there with hot plate.

                Before he could take the plates, she asked, “Why’re ya’ll looking for the Copper Coins?”

                “Our friend,” Lucille said from the bed, she was sitting on her knees and reading a book of poems, “Miss Hades is in trouble. She told us to find her people.”

                Diasy dropped the plates gasping at the name while Charon groan at the food being lost and Stanely went hiding behind Lucille before peeking back out.

                “Emelina Hades?”

                “Yes,” Lucille said watching the girl whisper a prayer before crossing her chest.

                “She’s cruse,” Diasy said.

                “Well, she’s in trouble,” Charon said. “Someone took her son’s bones.”

                Daisy’s eyes went wide with shock before she started to cry and dropping to her knees. She covered her face as she weeps, “No, my poor, poor, Jermey, what has he done to ya?”