KEN MATTHEWS. REQUIEM IN SONG

By LEMORE ALLEN

Ex-Military Ken Matthews gets a troubling call from his former mentor and boss. Without a moment of hesitation, Ken heads to his hometown, New Orleans to do any and everything he can to help.

With less than a week to complete his mission, Ken navigates the streets of The French Quater using his

• Language: English
• Publisher: Firebrand Publishing
• Release date: Jul 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781941907351

LEMORE ALLEN

Lemore Allen II is a U.S. Marine and Retired Police Officer that is working on his Master of Social Work. Lemore Allen was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and currently lives in Acworth, Georgia. Lemore Allen II hopes that his story will inspire others to share their stories as he has been inspired to share his.

Book preview

Chapter One

Walking to New Orleans

Afew days have passed since Chief Warrant Officer Five Paul James called Ken to ask him for help finding his granddaughter. It was a shock for Ken to hear his voice, especially since he thought that his old mentor and friend was dead.

Ken had come to that conclusion after doing some research for a class assignment while in college. He found an obituary article stating that a Paul James had died a few years prior, in the same town that his mentor was from. Ken was devastated that he didn’t get to say goodbye to the man that had helped him become the person he is, and now this was his chance to thank him. So, after moving some things around and using all of his family time to take a few weeks off, Ken was finally on his way to New Orleans. His first stop, however, was going to be in Slidell, a city about an hour north of New Orleans.

It has been more than fifteen years since Ken was in his home city. Even longer since he had spoken with his old mentor, The Gunner as he was lovingly referred to by his team in the G-2 shop at 4 th Marine Aircraft Wing (4 th MAW), Ken’s first duty station. The first time Ken met CWO5 James, he was a young corporal and was immediately impressed that a man that old could be the toughest Marine he had ever met.

When The Gunner called Ken and told him that he needed help finding his granddaughter, who had already been missing for three days at the time, Ken couldn’t turn him down so he did everything he could to get to New Orleans as soon as possible.

It took Ken two days to get things worked out at home and on the road to New Orleans. All he could do was pray that the trail to The Gunner’s granddaughter hadn’t gone cold. Ken knew that finding a trail once cold was almost impossible, but he also knew that he used to be a damn good tracker and that he was one of the best at tracking down drug lords and other unsavory characters. He prayed that he was still that good.

Ken pulls up to what the GPS says is The Gunner’s house, puts his truck in park, then sits there and takes a deep breath. He remembers when he was a young Corporal at 4 th MAW and how The Gunner was the toughest old Marine that he had ever met. By that time, The Gunner had served two tours in Vietnam (1968-1970), then Desert Shield (1991) and Desert Storm (1991).

During the twenty years between wars, The Gunner had served as a Slidell police officer earning several commendations for service. When he and Ken first met, The Gunner had recently returned to active duty and was one of only a few Marines that had been promoted to the rank of CWO5 and that commanded a ton of respect in itself.

However, that was a long time ago and The Gunner would now be in his seventies. There’s no telling what Ken was going to see when The Gunner opens the door, but he’s family and it will be good to see the old man again. Ken gets out of his truck and walks up the stairs to The Gunner’s front porch and rings the doorbell. A few minutes pass and Ken begins to wonder if anyone is home, then an elderly woman answers the door.

Hello, may I help you?, she asks as she stands in the doorway protecting the entrance from Ken as if her small, frail frame could stop him or anyone from entering the house. Ken finds it amusing but understandable.

Hello, my name is Kenneth Matthews and I’m looking for Chief Warrant Officer Paul James. Does he still live here?, he asks.

She smiles at him with a look of relief. Hello, I am Anna, shee introduces herself as The Gunner’s wife. He has been expecting you. This way.

She directs Ken to follow her as she leads him through the house to the back porch where The Gunner is smoking a cigar and looking out on to the creek that runs behind his house.

When Ken steps through the back door, he calls out to The Gunner the way he did when he was a young Marine. Gunner James, you’ve been waiting on me?

Without even turning around, The Gunner yells out like he did when Ken worked for him. What the hell took you so long Sgt. Mathews?, Ken laughs under his breath as he realizes that time has had no effect on The Gunner. He’s as ornery as ever.

First off, I thought you were dead. You gruffy-ass old Marine. Second, you do know that those of us that still work don’t have time to sit around and wait for old people like you to call and give us orders, Ken responds and The Gunner turns around.

The two men stare each other down, then both men walk towards the other as if they are going to come to blows. Instead, they embrace the way two old war buddies do. It’s been a long time. How the hell have you been? The Gunner asks Ken.

Ken looks at his old friend and mentor. Better, now that I know you’re still alive and still giving people shit.

The men break their embrace and The Gunner motions for Ken to sit down at the table on the porch. Once seated, the two men talk about old times before they discuss the reason that Ken made the 344-mile trip from Birmingham Alabama to Slidell Louisiana. Okay, Gunner, tell me what happened to your granddaughter?

The Gunner looks at Ken with a steely glaze as he begins to tell the tale of his granddaughter.

She has been living with us since her parents were killed in a car wreck three years ago, and she was just starting to get back to her old self before this happened.

The Gunner pauses to pour Ken and himself each a shot of bourbon before he finishes the story.

She went to New Orleans with some friends about a week ago and never came home. The Gunner takes a sip of his drink and then continues, "Her friends say that they were walking down Bourbon Street and then they went into a bar that all of the kids go to called The Beach Cove Inn. There was a live band that night