CHAPTER FIVE
Mama Matisse drew a long bony finger down her teacup as she sat at the kitchen table. Whitney asked me to come here today because of the maidsand because I was here, and worked with Regina Holloway, Mama Matisse explained.
You worked with her? Angela looked from Mama Matisse to Whitney.
Regina Holloway was very fond on my greatgrandmother, and believed in her wisdom, Whitney explained.
Mama Matisse nodded gravely. The maids will not come back in this house, Trini or Rene, she assured Angela. They are afraid. They have taken money from the senator to live on while they look for new positions. They need to keep working in this city, so if you were to try to call them and ask them questions, they would not come to you with a ghost story. They dont mind if I speak to you in their stead. If you question them, if the police question them again, they will not speak about the ghosts, and that is all that there is to it. But they have talked to me, and I dont believe they care that I talk to you.
Thank you, Angela said.
They are afraid that people will think that they are crazy, Mama Matisse said. Loco, as Trini says, she added.
My greatgrandmother is considered to be extremely wise, Whitney said. Many, many people come to her. Whether they are voodooists, Jewish, Buddhists, Christian or whatever.
I promise you, were not going to repeat anything that you say, Angela assured her.
Mama Matisse looked at her. If you were to repeat what I say on behalf of the maids, it wouldnt matter. I have said it, and not them.
Angela nodded. Mama Matisse did not easily trust people, but Whitney had asked her to come, and so here she was.
The women, both Rene and Trini, worked here the day that Mrs. Holloway died, Mama Matisse said.
Did they tell you that they saw something? Angela asked.
Yes, they saw a ghost. Or they thought they saw a ghost. He was in the hallway, Trini told me. They saw a man, and then he disappeared. They didnt tell Mrs. Holloway. She had said that she didnt believe in ghosts. And the man disappeared, so he couldnt have been real. Mrs. Holloway had told them that she was going to lie down. They later heard that she was dead, that she had killed herself, going over the balcony. They were very upset.
Of course, Angela murmured.
I didnt believe it, Mama Matisse said. I didnt believe it a minute when they said that she committed suicide. Neither did her maids. She was Catholic. She went to church every Sunday morning, and sometimes, during the week. Her faith was strong. To a Catholic, its a grave offense to God for us to take our own lives.
But she was very upset about the loss of her little boy, right?
She was sad, yes, Mama Matisse said. So sadI was here when the senator told his wife that they always wanted more children, and that they would try again, that they would have several. Mrs. Holloway told him that they couldnt replace Jacob. The senator said no, they would never try to replace him. But they had always wanted more children and they would try. And she said that yes, she loved children, and she loved him, and that she would fix up the house, and that one day, they would have a family. And they talked about all the needy children in the world, and maybe they would have a child, and adopt a child.
That doesnt sound like someone about to commit suicide, Jackson said from the doorway to the kitchen.
He had showered away the dust, and appeared clean, striking and confident as he came in to join them. He was casual, pausing to pour himself a cup of coffee before taking a seat across the table from Mama Matisse. She sounds like the nicest woman imaginable. What about the other people in their lives? Those closest to them? What about their daytoday lives?
I dont know about their daytoday lives, Mr. Crow, she said. Angela didnt remember that Jackson had ever introduced himself, but Mama Matisse knew who he was. I havent been here before on a daytoday basis. I can tell you thisMrs. Holloway had many friends. But she needed time to be alonebecause people kept telling her how sorry they were about her son.
We really need to speak with the maids, Jackson reminded.
Mama Matisse merely stared at him.
Im sorry. Im grateful that youre here.
The maids will not speak to you. They will not speak to anyone anymore. They talked to the police, and they have nothing more to say. They are afraid. They have their lives to live.
If this case ever goes to court Jackson began.
Do you think that everything is solved in a court, Jackson Crow? I think that you know differently, Mama Matisse said.
Jackson stared back at her. Angela was certain that he had reacted inwardly, but, as usual, she saw nothing change in his expression.
You are right. You cant always force the truth in court, Jackson agreed. So, please, tell me, who was closest to them. Tell me what you can. David Holloway is a politician, so his life is full of people, but tell me what you know about his relationships.
Let me think about those around himThere is Mr. DuPre, and Senator Holloways secretary, Lisa Drummond. Lisa Drummond protects the senator at his office. Martin DuPre tries very hard to be the gobetween. He protects the senators time. The senator still appears to be reeling from what has happened. He is dependent on those around him. He must have an aide. He is proud of Mr. DuPre, and thinks that one day he will step into politics on his own.
Actually, Im curious. The government is in Baton Rouge. Why was the senator so determined to have a wonderful home in which to entertain in New Orleans, do you know? Jackson asked.
Mama Matisse smiled. That is no mystery. New Orleans is their home. There need be no other explanation. They had an apartment in Baton Rouge, of course, she said.
Jackson said, Well, of course. Im sorry. Of course. And Baton Rouge isnt so far, right?
Its just eighty miles, Mama Matisse said. But thats why Senator Holloway has a chauffeur. He works in the car when he drives there and back.
But he must have stayed over in Baton Rouge often enough, Jackson said.
Yes, I suppose so.
Did Mrs. Holloway stay here alone when he was gone? Jackson asked.
Yes, many times. Of course, the senator was home a lot. The first week they moved in, the state legislature wasnt in session, the old woman told him. You must understand, while I knew Mrs. Holloway I was not her spiritual adviser. She had her priest, but she did have me do a banishing spell.
A banishing spell? Jackson asked.
Yes, as a precaution against all evil, Mama Matisse said. But you must remember that Regina Holloway clung strongly to her own faith. Father Adair came and blessed the house. However, this is New Orleans, and she was part of the fabric of the city. A banishing spell is not black magic. Black magic is when you wish someone ill.
Whitney cleared her throat and told them, My greatgrandmother does banishing spells often. And when you do a spell, it has to be done the right way. You are always careful not to wish anyone ill. If you wish a ghost to leave, you wish that the ghost finds peace, and you hope that leaving is what will bring the ghost peace.
Mama Matisse nodded solemnly.
I see, Jackson said.
Angela wasnt sure that he really saw anything, but she didnt say so. Instead, she asked, So, she wasnt afraid of the house?
Mama Matisse shook her head slightly. No, I do not believe that she was afraid of her own house.
What about the chauffeur, Grable Haines? Is he still with the senator, and did he drive for Mrs. Holloway as well? Jackson asked.
To the best of my knowledge, Mama Matisse said, Mrs. Holloway never drove, and she only got into a car when she was going someplace with the senator. Friends picked her up sometimes, but otherwise, she did everything in the French Quarter. She liked a hat shop on Royal StreetShe bought groceries just down on Royal, too. She liked to walk to Jackson Square, and go sit in the cathedral. She didnt like to leave the areaShe hated cars.
Because her son was killed in a car? Angela asked.
Mama Matisse lifted her hands with a shrug. So one might think. She didnt own a car. She just rode with the senator when he wanted her with him. So, that means, if she had to go somewhere, she went with the senatorand Grable Haines. Oh, I believe she liked Grable. Everyone likes him. He is a handsome man, Mama Matisse said. She leaned closer across the table toward Jackson. But, sometimes, a man can be too handsome. Too many things in the world come too easily to him.
I understand, Jackson said.
Mama Matisse smiled. You understand, but you dont accept many things, she said.
Jackson smiled at her; they were challenging one another, Angela thought, and yet, it also seemed that they respected each other innately.
Do you think that a ghost killed Regina Holloway? Angela asked.
Jackson flashed Angela a quick look. Im asking, she said quietly. Just asking. Do you think that a ghost might have killed her?
I told you, I wasnt here the day she died, Mama Matisse said.
But what do you think? Jackson persisted.
This is what they told meRene yelled for Trini. She was in the laundry room. She pointed. The laundry room was a small area next to the kitchen, but the two rooms didnt attach. Trini said that she came quickly, and she thought she saw a man, vanishing into thin air. She made a cross on her chest and they both prayed to the Virgin and came into the kitchen, but there was nothing in here then.
Youre still not telling me what you think, Jackson said, smiling.
I think that evil can exist, thats what I think, Mama Matisse said. I can only tell you what they said to me. If its true or not, I dont know. But, soon after this happened, it was time for them to leave for the day. Mrs. Holloway came to the door with them, and they left. They were very frightened. Thats why they talked to me.
They never told Regina Holloway about the ghost? Jackson asked.
She said that she didnt believe in ghoststhe maids would not have told her that they had seen one, Mama Matisse said flatly, staring at Jackson.
What about the alarm? Jackson asked.
They heard her set the alarm. She was always careful when she was alone. Mama Matisse hesitated. Butshe didnt like the basement. She never went there when she was alone. She locked the door that led down to the basement.
Jackson looked at Angela. She kept staring at Mama Matisse.
Did she say why she was scared of the basement? he asked.
Mama Matisse shook her head. She just said that basementsand atticswere inherently strange places. They were like depositories for the past, and she just didnt like them.
Jackson mulled that information over for a moment.
She did believe, Im sure, that she and the senator lived with a certain amount of danger and uncertainty because he was a politician.
Yes.
Jackson then asked her, Tell me about Senator Holloways bodyguard, Blake Conroy.
Mama Matisse sniffed.
He should have been guarding Mrs. Holloway, maybe, Mama Matisse said. The girls told me that he was always eating. Making a big mess in the kitchen, and thinking that he could make a big mess anywhere that he went. He is a big man, she added.
Was he mean, or rude? Jackson asked.
Its rude to make a mess of a clean kitchen.
Angela smiled; she saw that Jackson did, too.
Did Mr. Holloway have a bodyguard just because he was a politician? Jackson asked.
Well, there are some peopleand some groupswho dont like the senator, Mama Matisse said.
Do you know who? Can you tell me about them? Jackson coaxed. He apologized. You see, we love New Orleans, but you know so much more than we do.
Senator Holloway said all people did was fight when what they needed to do was figure out a solution. To live in our world, we had to learn to compromise. Senator Holloway likes to give speeches. He says that he believes in New Orleans and the state of Louisianaits a place for everyone to live, and to live together, and to remember the past so that we never repeat it, Mama Matisse said.
You dont sound as if you believe all that, Jackson said.
Angela was surprised; she hadnt heard anything out of the ordinary in Mama Matisses voice.
She shrugged. He is a politician.
So, who disliked him? Who would want to hurt him? Jackson asked.
The Aryans, for one, she said.
Have they become a political group in this town? Jackson asked.
They are bigots, thats what they are, Jake Mallory, who had been leaned against the counter, said irritably.
Theyre Louisiana based, but theyre an offshoot of a group that formed up in North Dakota. Most people around here ignore them, Jake said. They could make Archie Bunker look like a bleedingheart liberal.
Archie Bunker? Whitney murmured.
Hey, dont you ever watch TV? Jake asked her. Archie Bunker, All in the Family, a major television show in its social honesty, reflecting the changing times.
Hey, we can do television history at another time, Jackson mimicked.
Right. The Aryans do hate Senator Holloway, Whitney said. She was next to Jake, and she lifted a hand dismissively. They have a campaign against interracial marriage. Ridiculous. She made a face. Id be a poster child for what not to do! They are convinced that weve diluted America, and that all mixed babies should be aborted.
They sound charming, Angela said dryly.
Theres another group, too, Mama Matisse said. The Church of Christ Arisen.
Jackson waited, and Whitney explained, They are like the Baptists, the Catholics and the Presbyterians all rolled into one.
Jake sniffed. That insults the Baptists, the Catholics and the Presbyterians!
They dont believe in anything but early to rise, early to bed. No dancing, no drinking, no sex before marriage. Adultery means youre banished from the church, Whitney explained. They believed that Haiti got what it receivedjust like New Orleanswhen nature swept in and killed people. That was God taking vengeance on sinners. They campaign against Senator Holloway because hes a huge believer in social reform. He opened a home for unwed mothers. They were horrified.