The River Witches: Mississippi Magic

By Kevin T. McClain

Witchcraft, murder, and revenge come together in this heart-pounding novel. "The River Witches" tells the tale of three witches from the Italian Medici family who come to America by ship in the early nineteenth century. Witches, of course, can live to be over a thousand years old. In this book, the vessel transporting them to New Orleans is captured by the pirate, Jean Lafitte. He falls in love with one of the witches, Anna. But this is just the beginning of a chilling and dangerous journey filled with revenge, mystery, and death...

After Jean falls in love with Anna, a crew member is enraged, and swears vengeance. Anna and Jean wed, and their son marries the third witch, Avery. Now, with tension rising, the witches find themselves deeply involved with mere mortal men. Murder and mayhem follow. A quest is begun. Now, over two hundred years later, the witches face their biggest challenge, and greatest peril. Prepare yourselves for a fascination exploration of witchcraft and humanity as the road leads to thrill, crime, anger, and fatal fates. As the witches are positioned to pursue their centuries old quest, their impact is both subliminal and terrifying. A novel unlike any other, "The River Witches" is sure to grab hold of you, and never quite let go.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667827582

Kevin T. McClain

The author is an attorney with decades of law enforcement administrative experience. He also worked in the nuclear, environmental and criminal fields. McClain is married with four children who all graduated from the University of Notre Dame. He is a world traveler who used his life experiences to write the books. He is a Christian family man who loves dogs.

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The River Witches: Mississippi Magic

©2022 Kevin T. McClain

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Print ISBN: 978-1-66782-757-5

eBook ISBN: 978-1-66782-758-2

Dedicated to:

Michael F. McClain,

My Brother

Who has always been there for me and many others. He is the most giving man I have ever known.

And,

Linda S. McClain,

My Wife

My best friend and soul mate. Without her, I would be nothing.

Contents

PROLOGUE: EXODUS

PART I: ENTERING THE STREAM

Chapter 1 A Quest Begun

Chapter 2 Satan’s Landing-Present Day

Chapter 3 Mississippi Voodoo

Chapter 4 River Madness

Chapter 5 The Nature of the Beast

Chapter 6 Lost Hope

Chapter 7 The Special Alliance

Chapter 8 A Call to Action

Chapter 9 A Family Meeting

Chapter 10 Unwelcome Visitors

Chapter 11 Fake Reality

Chapter 12 Blood in the River

Chapter 13 Anna’s Deadly Test

Chapter 14 Miracle

PART II: NAVIGATING THE CURRENT

Chapter 15 A Late-Night Call

Chapter 16 The Ancient Knife

Chapter 17 The Key Maker

Chapter 18 Biblical

Chapter 19 Money to be Made

Chapter 20 Operation Peter Pan

PART III: DEEP AND UNCHARTED WATERS

Chapter 21 A New Ally

Chapter 22 Christian Gerut

Chapter 23 The Masked Man and Tonto

Chapter 24 The Back Door

Chapter 25 Dancing the Calypso

PART IV: STAY THE COURSE

Chapter 26 Witch Hunting in the French Quarter

Chapter 27 The Oldest Cold Case File in New Orleans

Chapter 28 242

Chapter 29 An Invitation to a Castle

Chapter 30 In the Crosshairs

Chapter 31 Caged like an Animal

Chapter 32 Absolute Panic

Chapter 33 A Shift in the Current

Chapter 34 Brothers in Arms

PART V: HARBOR LIGHTS

Chapter 35 Something for Nothing

Chapter 36 The Fairy Godmother

Chapter 37 Cleaning Up Old Files

Chapter 38 The Princess Palace

Chapter 39 The Starship Enterprise

Chapter 40 The Wolf’s Lair

Chapter 41 Molten Rain

Chapter 42 The Eye of the Hurricane

Chapter 43 The Champion

Chapter 44 The National Center for Abused and Missing Children

Chapter 45 The Reckoning

Chapter 46 The Christmas Massacre

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE

EXODUS

For I will go through the lands of Egypt on that night, and I will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute Judgment. And the Destroyer will smite with vengeance those without the Lamb’s blood on the lintel and doorposts, using The Sword of Righteousness to end the evil upon My People, and I shall rent a passage to their freedom. And the Destroyer’s sword shall forever after be an instrument of Life, and My Glory will be remembered forever. (Exodus 11:5)

It did so pass that the Sword of the Angel of Death freed the Israelites. And, as He promised, the Sword was never again used to take another life on earth. Thus, it was first provided to the line of Moses and later passed through the generations of his people. And then, according to scripture, the Holy Blade passed from prophets to kings, and then back to prophets again. From the hand of John the Baptist, it was thence passed into the hands of Peter the Rock. It was as written and prophesied.

Thereafter, it came to be that the Holy Sword was delivered to the Medici queen of France by her papal brethren and Holy See, and from her it passed to her Medici heirs, with whom it remained for centuries. Finally, this Sword of the Righteousness passed from one to another in her line, until it came to Genevieve Medici, and then, with her, it was taken to America.

PART I

ENTERING THE STREAM

Chapter 1

A Quest Begun

Anna Catherine Medici left the Tiber River before she reached the age of one hundred. She, her mother, and cousin were the first Medici witches to leave Europe after centuries of prosperity and power. They boarded the East Indiaman vessel Queen in the year of 1799. As supreme river witches with great powers from the ancient and powerful Arno and Tiber Rivers, Anna and cousin Avery maintained the exquisite beauty of youth, while Genevieve, well over three hundred years of earthly age, was still a vision to behold at the perceived age of forty human years. The trio was famous in the aristocratic circles of Europe for their dazzling looks and rare allure.

The ship of passage was chosen for its reputation and strength. It was pierced with 40 cannons and a crew of 417, including 342 men of arms. Genevieve brought with them untold items of wealth, including rare art, the works and inventions of Europe’s greatest minds, and priceless relics from the Vatican. Within the ship’s hold, the witches had filled several large cabins with over eighty trunks of jewelry, gold, and precious gems. They brought the first piano ever invented, built by Bartolomeo in 1720, as well as the 1609 telescope invented by Galilei Galileo. The bounty included the original flying machine—the ornithopter—and the original self-propelled cart invented by Leonardo da Vinci. Beautiful sculptures given to her family by Michelangelo, including the original Pieta and David, were carefully draped in luxurious rugs from the Orient.

The treasure trove also included ancient artifacts from around the world that the family acquired through its involvement in worldwide governmental and religious affairs. They had the Staff of Moses, which was transformed into a snake and separated the Red Sea. They also brought Gideon’s Fleece, the Crown of David, and the Angel’s Passover Sword, which was used by God’s Angel of Death to free the Jews from their bondage by Egypt. Spells and sorcery concealed most of the items, but some items, created with God’s own hand, could not be altered by witchcraft.

Anna and Avery loved the sea voyage to America. Genevieve stayed below deck. The younger witches relished the experience of being with the crew and captain during the voyage. They withstood violent and treacherous hurricane seas and were thrilled by the threat of being capsized. As the frothing seas cascaded high above the main, thrashing angrily against the ship’s mast, they stood fast together, roped to the belaying pin.

After fifty days of ocean travel, they entered the emerald waters of the Caribbean Sea.

The late morning solitude was broken by the ship’s lookout in the crow’s mast.

Ship Ahoy.

The captain of the Queen summoned all hands on deck and peered aft towards the distant vessel, unable to discern whether the ship was friend or foe. The sea was moderate in its push, and the wind favorable to the large ship.

✴✴✴

Captain Jean Lafitte spotted the topsails of the East Indiaman vessel on the horizon.

Dominique, shouted Lafitte to his fellow French countryman and second-in-command. Come about and raise the sails, stand by the jib, and keep the prow steady.

Aye, aye, Captain.

Fly the flag of Cartagena.

To his first mate, Three Fingers Mordecai Jones, Lafitte gave the command, Mordecai. Avast ye. No prey. No pay. All hands on deck. We have booty in our realm.

Jones called the men to gather for the attack.

Lafitte’s privateers had already taken three ships and crews during the voyage. The riches on board were immense and Lafitte knew his men were anxious to enjoy the spoils of plunder. They were a loyal and gifted crew, and brave and expert fighters. No other captain matched the wits, daring, and cunning of Lafitte. His bravado and aggressiveness captivated the men. Under his leadership, victory was certain. Lafitte’s sailors were a rich and happy lot of pirates.

Brave men and patriots of the sea, hear me. I know many of you yearn for the pleasures of the punch-house ladies and the warmth of the bumboo ale at our home in Barataria.

The men acknowledged with soft ayes.

I know we are the greatest crew that the sea has ever known, and the ships of kings have never defeated us. We have sailed to the Seychelles and Mauritius. On this voyage we have won every battle, taken every prize, and loaded our holds with so much gold and silver that we will have difficulty spending it in a year or two.

Not so.

Lafitte laughed heartily. We are the scourge of the Caribbean, the ship that rides with the devil and the masters of the oceans. They cannot defeat us. They cannot catch us. They cannot outrun us. There is no ship or crew who can stand in our way.

The men listened intently—their leader hypnotic. I ask you, brave soldiers, after we sold our captured ships in Mauritius and bought this Great Lady for new exploits, do we say it’s enough and wave goodbye to the prize we see so near in our ocean?

No! they shouted.

Are we not now and forever to be known as the greatest privateer warship on the open seas?

Aye!

Do we look to the east and see the prospect of more gold, but, tired, rich, and lazy, do we stop and run to the skirts of women for glancing moments of pleasure and miss the glory of taking that ship for our own?

He pointed at the Queen, Fate has reached out and graced us with another gift. If God is the tempter, we’ll be the sinners. I say let’s pursue it with full sails. We are the hungry wolves who live to take the lambs at sea. What say you men? Do we feast on her?

Aye! they chanted, filling the air with calls for plunder and victory. The men were feverish with desire, shouting: Kill the scallywags. Take the booty. The prize is ours.

Then listen to the orders, men. Have your cutlasses ready. Don your Jack Tar and monkey suits. It is glory and riches that we seek, and a great fortune we’ll take. Keep on the true course. We be the gods of this ocean and they will pay us to enter our waters.

The men raised their arms, waving their hats and cutlasses, cheering in anticipation.

Lafitte directed La Confiance towards her new foe. His ship, bearing 26 guns and over 220 men, tore through the waters like she had fins. Lafitte was not intimidated by the size or power of the Queen. By midday, as they drew near, Lafitte stalled his vessel. He let it bob sleepily with no visible sign of resistance—a fake anchor dropped over the stern.

On the Queen, Anna Catherine stood erect and hidden at starboard near the bulwarks. All that had happened had been revealed to her previously in a vision. The flag flown above the foreign mast was unknown, but it was plainly not a Jolly Roger. The Queen bore down recklessly with the expectation of a quick and overwhelming assault. Once within range, the captain ordered the Queen to fire broadside into the bow of the smaller ship.

On his vessel, Lafitte knew his men were battle tested and experienced. The pirate crew lay flat on the deck to minimize casualties from the initial cannon fire. They awaited their captain’s orders, concealed from the enemy. The Queen approached without reservation or caution.

The twenty-cannon assault inflicted very little damage. Most of the cannon balls flew above the mizzen head. As the Queen drew broadside, its men made ready to board. Lafitte let out a piercing whistle. The signal set in motion a chain of events. The camouflaged cannons exploded defiantly into the Queen. The larger East Indiaman shuddered from the brutal onslaught, clearly injured by the force of the close bombardment. Reacting to the smoke and the splintering damage, the men of the Queen were confused. Men on the deck of La Confiance threw grappling hooks on the Queen and began pulling it towards her. Lafitte’s full complement of men rose and stood erect on the deck, guns and blades ready to take the fight forward.

Hoist the colors! yelled Lafitte. The Jolly Roger flew up the mast.

Into the tops and onto the yards, men, he ordered as two dozen men emerged from under the sails. They opened fire from their muskets on the disoriented Queen sailors, who were caught by surprise on the open deck.

Give ’em all you got, men! Lafitte ordered his crew. Bombs , hand grenades, and stinkpots were tossed into the forecastle of the Queen while the roar of muskets and blunderbuss thundered like the fury of hell had come to earth.

Bring out the swivel guns.

The surprise and ferocity of the attack was horrible to the Queen’s sailors. Men on both sides were met with flying grapeshot and deadly shrapnel. Plumes of smoke covered the decks. The smell of gunpowder overtook the senses. Men screamed as their limbs were blown away. The explosions in the midst of men vaulted them into the air. There was blood everywhere. The deck was instantly crimson with the blood of dozens of maimed and killed men.

Facing such mutilation and slaughter, the Queen crew withdrew.

Lafitte took advantage. The two ships were adjacent to one another. Mordecai! The deck is yours. Take her.

Come on, men, Mordecai Jones ordered his forty handpicked boarders. They jumped from above on ropes tied to the masts and swung to the deck of the Queen. Surprised by the new attack, the soldiers fell back in retreat.

Stand to arms, men, shouted Captain Craig. The swords to the whores. Run ’em through without mercy, the bastards. We have the numbers.

With flintlock pistols in hand and daggers between clenched teeth, the first wave of Lafitte’s men rushed the deck. Bedlam and panic diminished as the wild-eyed crew of the Queen formed a defensive alignment. Stand fast, Craig ordered. We have the advantage now.

The fighting pitted desperate men against one another in hand-to-hand combat. Once at the steerage, the valiant Queen crew formed a unified front and retaliated. Three Fingers Jones was at the head of the attackers, holding a cutlass with a three-finger hilt designed just for him. He slashed left and parried forth, sending his blade into the stomachs and groins of all in his path. Entrails and eyeballs, hearts and livers, his blade took no notice as it flashed bloody red in the bright summer sun. The sharp weapons and axes exacted a mighty toll on the flesh for both sides, but the pirates continued to advance and maneuvered the Queen’s crew into a tighter, more compact bunch. Yet, the brave men defended the Queen and fought fanatically without yielding. The wall of men stymied the attack of the privateers.

Lafitte whistled and led the second wave of pirates aboard the ship. Still, the stubborn men of the large vessel remained at post against the assailants. Men, thrusting their swords forward, slipped on the bloody deck, missing their targets. The battle went back and forth with neither side conceding. Lafitte slashed men without a second of hesitation. For over two hours the combat ensued. Eventually, the men on both sides were exhausted, and the intensity of the battle waned to a standstill. The world seemed to stop in time. After six hours of fighting, those who were still alive stared in shock at the carnage around them.

Lafitte was angered by the ignorance and stubbornness of his opponent. He decided to finish it with one final overwhelming attack. He called his men back to the deck of La Confiance and ordered the cannoneers to load two large swivel cannons with grape and canister. Then he aimed two more cannons at the men on the Queen. Lafitte raised his arm in the air.

"Men of the Queen, you have fought bravely. The battle is over, and you have lost. Your ship is vanquished. It is mine to scuttle or keep if I choose. I bear no ill will towards you. I have taken many ships with booty and commandeered all that I have found favor with. But I have never killed fine men without reason or purpose. Now you are half of what you were today before our encounter. I can and will end all of your lives if you do not submit to me. Yield and surrender or all of you shall die and be thrown into the sea."

Captain Craig stood behind his men, holding a sword in his blood-drenched hand. He was severely maimed in the face and shoulder.

Your men fight soundly for a pirate crew. I was told your lot were cowards and brigands. I was misled. May I ask whom it is that I address from this bloody deck so far from my home port in Portugal?

Lafitte bowed, an etiquette he learned as a French youth growing up on St. Milo Island.

My name is Jean Lafitte, a man without a country. A former soldier under Emperor Bonaparte. Born of noblemen, raised a gentleman, and now a seeker of fortune and fame.

Do you give me your word as a gentleman and a nobleman to spare my men and this ship if we surrender? Craig asked.

You are hardly in the position to negotiate, Captain, but I also respect the bravery you have shown today. The ship is no longer yours. It is mine. Decide if you wish to live or die this very day.

Will you spare the lives of my men?

I give you my word. If you surrender now, your men will be spared.

Captain, we have an agreement, and you shall have my ship and sword. But we have women on board. As a soldier and a gentleman, do I have your word that they will be given safe passage and asylum.

Granted.

Lafitte’s men, who suffered grave losses and witnessed the injuries of mates, cried for vengeance.

Make him dance the hempen jig, one shouted.

We will not hang these brave adversaries. However, we will divide the spoils. The gold and silver, the silks and jewels we will take with us.

The pirates cheered.

Now, Craig said to the defeated men of the Queen, throw down your arms as your leader has conceded defeat. You will not be murdered.

The crew of the Queen tossed down their weapons.

Lafitte climbed to the bridge of the Queen to begin managing the prisoners and organizing the plunder.

She stood in the golden rays of the setting sun. Her hair and body were illuminated, and her beauty was beyond his comprehension. Anna Catherine Medici took his breath away. With one look at her, Lafitte was spellbound and fell instantly in love. Like lightning to thunder, he knew their hearts would be paired for life.

✴✴✴

Once Jean Lafitte laid his eyes on Anna Catherine Medici, he would never love another woman. After three months of spirited courtship, they were married in the most lavish wedding New Orleans had ever held. Great merriment ensued at the renowned Ormond Plantation following the ceremony. Dominique, Lafitte’s longtime friend attended, but Mordecai Jones was absent. He and Lafitte had had a row after the capture of the Queen. Lafitte had decided to allow the Medicis to keep their immense fortune, and Jones was livid.

It is not our way. There is a pirate’s promise. The prize is ours, Jones screamed.

Three Fingers, I have made my decision.

Your decision is against our law, Jones persisted, unable to control his rage. He fingered the hilt of his sword.

Jones was chosen to lead the charges on deck for a reason. He was a bloodthirsty, fearless killer. With the exception of Lafitte, he was considered the best swordsman in New Orleans. The men feared and disliked Jones and did not favor his brutish leadership. Yet, Jones had led many a deck charge and killed dozens of men for the ample booty they received. He was the ugliest man any had ever seen, and women avoided contact with him at great lengths. Some said he had more scars than whiskers, and none who saw him disagreed.

As the fervor of the bitter quarrel escalated between Jones and Lafitte, the Medicis and the pirates wondered if it would come to blows.

Lafitte waited for Jones to pull his sword, but Jones backed off.

Curse you, Lafitte. You are a woman’s dog to be pulled along by her rope. Someday, I will have my due. You and your women can enjoy it for now, but someday I will take my share. I am done with your weak spirit and scallywag ways. I will start my own ship.

As Jones turned to leave, several of Lafitte’s loyal men grabbed their scabbards to attack Jones, but Lafitte restrained them. Twelve months later, Anna gave birth to a brown-haired boy, whom they named Pierre.

After Pierre was born, Lafitte still continued his seafaring ways, while Anna, Avery, and his mother-in-law raised the boy. Lafitte wanted his son to be a gentleman and accepted in the aristocratic circles of New Orleans. Pierre never sailed with his father as a privateer. He stayed onshore and learned how to read and write and give speeches about the values and importance of living in the United States.

The Medici women trained Pierre in the skills of self-defense. But, Genevieve was not impressed. Even though he became accomplished in the use of pistol and sword, Pierre did not possess the Medici ilk for the kill. Avery took an interest in him as he grew into manhood. Before long, the two seemed inseparable. Finally, to silence the rumors that Pierre was becoming involved with his own flesh and blood, Genevieve fabricated a tale that Avery was not blood related. She had been a homeless child after her father died. Genevieve insisted she took Avery into her home as one of her own. When the time came that Pierre beseeched Genevieve for the honor to marry Avery, all were in favor.

Three Fingers Jones never stopped watching the Lafitte family, and his rotting, bitter desire for revenge grew over the passing years. When it was announced that Avery and Pierre would have a child of their own, he hatched his plot.

Two years after the daughter of Avery and Pierre was born, Jones kidnapped the small child for ransom. He demanded one thousand pieces of gold and ten thousand pieces of silver—a king’s ransom. The demand letter, written in jagged cork dust, specified the payment be made in two days, or the child would be killed. Blood was smeared upon the parchment.

We give them the treasure, but do not rest until it is recovered and Jones is killed, and all his men with him, Lafitte ordered. His son and daughter-in-law were too shocked to object. Anna and Genevieve silently nodded in consent. The delivery and exchange were scheduled in the bayou one mile from New Orleans.

Lafitte’s son, Pierre, accompanied the three men chosen by Lafitte to deliver the ransom to the emissaries of Jones. They arrived at a sugar mill on Sugarmill Road. Jones led the contingent from his ship, all vagabonds and sea dogs, greedy for Lafitte’s gold.

Lafitte spoke first. Where is the scoundrel and thief that took my child for ransom?

Well, well… if it isn’t the tit sucker all grown up and manly, Jones rebuked. Didn’t your father teach you that the lot of us would as soon stick you as spit on you?

Lafitte’s man Mendoza, who was from the Philippines, interrupted the two angry men.

Captain Lafitte ordered us to give you the chest after we have the child.

Ah, Mendoza, said Jones. Is that what he told you, half breed? Who do you think is in charge here? Your captain? Or me? Mordecai Jones. Tell me, you bastard, or your bones will bleach where they lay and I’ll use your testes to feed the catfish. Tell me now.

Mendoza, visibly shaken, stammered, At least show us the child.

After you show me the gold.

While they were speaking, Jones’s men circled around Lafitte’s group like a pack of wolves.

Still attempting to appear in control and in charge, Pierre ordered, Show them their lawless booty.

Jones exploded,

Lawless booty, says you. This is me loot, not yours or your thieving father and mother. I earned it and it’s all mine. Jones was breathing hard and he was shaking with rage. I should kill you now.

Pierre’s men walked forward and laid the treasure chest down. One of Jones’s men quickly approached the chest to check its contents.

Is it there?

Aye, Captain.

Good, Jones called out. Bring the child.

A gypsy with a bandana wrapped around her black hair and sporting a jagged scar on her cheek emerged from the bush. She carried a small three-foot bundle in her arms.

Give it to him. He paid for it.

She tossed the bundle on the ground in front of Pierre. It didn’t move. Pierre immediately bent over the parcel and feverishly unfolded the contents. His dead daughter was white as snow.

You killed her! he screamed.

Nah, lad. She just had an accident. She met me. Jones’s men laughed out loud.

Pierre grabbed his rapier and pulled it from its scabbard. You’re an animal.

Jones’s eyes narrowed like a serpent watching a mouse.

So you want to fight me, you son of a whore, is that it? Are you sure you don’t want to run home to your papa and cry first?

Never. I want satisfaction, you bastard. I want your blood.

Is that so, you piss ant? You want my blood? Are you asking me for a duel, young tit sucker of a whore? Are you demanding a duel?

Pierre hesitated. Draw your sword, Jones. I want to kill you now.

And let them say I outnumbered you and murdered you so I hang from the yardarms? Is that what you’re saying?

No, just—

No, says I. Jones walked over to the only child of Jean Lafitte, pushed Pierre’s sword aside, and pulled a hard leather glove from under his black belt. With an exultant voice, he announced his sinister intent.

I accept your demand for a duel. Jones whipped the glove into the cheek and mouth of Pierre, smashing his lips and ripping a gash in his jaw. Pierre staggered sideways from the blow.

I’ll have my second contact your second, Jones jeered. As a gentleman should. He smiled, sweeping his arm gallantly. His men laughed.

But it won’t be this half breed, he added, looking at Mendoza. Jones pulled a pistol from his belt and pointed the barrel straight at Mendoza’s face. I require a gentleman, he sneered and pulled the trigger. The flintlock musket ball exploded into the face of the loyal Lafitte man. He collapsed into a lifeless heap.

I’ll see you soon, laddy. That is if you have the balls to show up. Let’s go, men. We have gold to split.

The cutthroats left Pierre standing in the clearing by the Mississippi bayou with his lifeless daughter, a dead comrade, and two men who witnessed his complete humiliation. The son of Jean and Anna Lafitte dropped his weapon to the ground and bent down to lift his dead daughter’s body into his face, sobbing pitifully.

✴✴✴

The creeping bayou mists hovered close to the ground as the half dozen horse-drawn carriages emerged like phantoms through the swirling milky vapors. They left-behind floating trails of sinewy fog that dissipated into ribbons like wisps of brume in the stagnant air. The Lafittes were formally dressed in black, with matching silk hats and elegant soft white lace jabots, sporting polished silver-ornamented walnut walking canes. Already waiting in the opaque early morning light was the arrogant and impatient dueler, Mordecai Jones. His second was a bare-chested Creole named Andre, who carried a short dagger on one hip and a long sword-filled scabbard on the other.

Three days earlier, when Pierre brought home the mangled remains of his daughter, Avery had collapsed and slipped into a stupor. Genevieve and Anna Catherine reacted much differently, with great anger. Their great-granddaughter and granddaughter had been stabbed numerous times all over her tiny body. Sadistic blows had been delivered upon her face and into her