The Levee
Colin Douglas, 63, is a true crime writer. Lately he has been besieged by dreams of the spring of 1959 when, as a high school freshman, he and his friends camped on the Mississippi River levee south of Baton Rouge and a terrible thing occurred. Finally, he decides he must return to the place where it happened and confront his demons.
They were camped on the levee five miles south of town. In those days, the winding old River Road is still gravel, dotted with a scatter of shotgun shacks. But there are other structures: Bergeron's General Store, owned by kindly old Alcide Bergeron; the shack of the vicious overseer, Rufus Sikes; and, set back in all its ancient, ruined grandeur, Windsong Plantation, property of the Droods.
The core group consisted of Stan Chandler, Toby Hobbs, and Colin, all of whom attended University High, five miles upriver. They were joined from time to time by Blaize St. Martin, a newcomer to their school. That Saturday night Colin, Toby and Stan make camp and then Toby, who alone owned a car, left them to drive into town to look for girls.
By the early morning hours, when Toby hadn't returned, Colin and Stan went looking for him. Using flashlights and swatting mosquitoes, they managed to make their way across the borrow pit and headed up to the top of the levee, but there was no sign of Toby's car. Then, far down the River Road, near the old cemetery of Windsong Plantation, they saw a light blink and went to investigate. They were almost to where a trail led to the cemetery from the River Road when a car sped away.
Colin left Stan at the foot of the levee and started down the track alone. Halfway there, a figure rose up, swathed in white. Colin fled back to the levee and found Stan asleep. Afraid to appear foolish, he said nothing of what he saw.
The next day they found out that their beautiful young Spanish teacher, Senorita Gloria, had been found murdered near the old cemetery. And though they would like to suspect Rufus Sikes, much evidence seemed to point to Stan’s father, a successful doctor.
The remainder of the book deals with suspicions and blame, and how they have lingered with Colin for almost half a century. It is only when he finally comes home and finds Blaize that he learns the truth.
211 p. Academy Chicago, paperback, $16.95.
ISBN: 9780897335836