Madelyn Bennett Edwards [Edwards - Sissy

Justice Comes to Jean Ville Through

SISSY

Madelyn Bennett Edwards

Copyright 2018 by Madelyn Bennett Edwards

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Madelyn Bennett Edwards

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the authors imagination or used in a fictional manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.

The point of view of Sissy Burton, used in the first person throughout this book as narrator, has no reference or relation to the author and is purely a fictional character.

The town of Jean Ville, Louisiana is similar to the town where the author grew up, Marksville, Louisiana; but most of the specific places such as the Quarters, St. Matthews Church, Assumption Catholic School, and other areas, streets, and places are all fictional.

Printers Amazon KDP and IngramSpark

Book design by Mark Reid and Lorna Reid at AuthorPackages.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Edwards, Madelyn Bennett, author

ISBN: 978-1-7333800-0-3

Subjects: Mystery, crime, coming of age, romance, race relations, Louisiana, Cajun

Manufactured in the United States of America

First Edition. Copyrighted Material

Other Books by Madelyn Bennett Edwards

Catfish

A Novel

Lilly

Sequel to Catfish

Table of Contents

Dedication

For Billy

A brother and supporter like no other

***

IT WAS THE wedding that should never have happenedat least not in Jean Ville, Louisiana in 1984. More than four hundred guests responded to the two hundred invitations sent to announce the nuptials of Susanna Burton and Rodney Thibault at St. Alphonse's Catholic Church on June 30. Most of the people in the congregation were natives of Toussaint Parish and had never seen a mixed-race couple, especially one so blatantly willing to expose their relationship in public.

Whispers filtered through the crowd as Senator Robert James Burton escorted his daughter down the aisle, then shook hands with Major Thibault, who'd recently retired from the US Army JAG Corps after ten years of service. The retired state senator took his seat behind his estranged wife, Anne Baylor Burton, who sat on the first pew with her escort from Houston.

Normally an article about such a high-profile wedding would include a description of the bride's gown, which was a white, floor-length, full-skirted, and full-sleeved version of Lara's attire in Dr. Zhivago , a popular movie from the 1960s. This narrative should also mention that the bridesmaids were the couple's daughter, Lilly Franklin, sixteen, the bride's half-sister, Marianne Massey, and full sister, Abigail Burton who all wore floor-length fuchsia taffeta gowns, also with full sleeves, a la Lara. Miss Franklin was unescorted. Miss Massey was escorted by Thibault's brother, Jeffrey, a local attorney, and Ms. Burton by Joseph Franklin, Miss Franklin's adoptive father who resides in New York City.

The names of those in the wedding party, and the abundance of lilies that filled the air with a sweet perfume would be important details in a high-profile wedding such as this one, but that's not the case here.

It's what happened after the couple said, "I do," and kissed, in front of a mostly white crowd, that is the real story.

When Major Thibault and the daughter of Senator Burton walked through the double doors of the church into the hot and humid sunny day just after 1:00 in the afternoon, shots rang out. Two shots, to be exact, according to those who witnessed an old, blue, pickup truck speed away with two men allegedly in the cab.

Interviews with those willing to discuss the shooting indicate that both shots hit the major as he fell on top of Susie Burton-Thibault in an effort to protect her from the bullets.

"It was as though he had a premonition," said Jeffrey Thibault, who was just behind Lilly Franklin as the wedding party marched out of the church. Miss Franklin was too disturbed to answer questions.

Confusion was the order of the day as Miss Massey, a registered nurse who works at Jean Ville Hospital, summoned Dr. David Switzer from the church to attend the victims. Blood poured from Thibault onto his wife in such a way that no one could tell who was bleeding, or whether they both were, as Susie's long, red hair matted to the concrete.

The bride seemed to gasp for air, then made an effort at slow, easy breaths to calm herself. The groom lay very still on top of his wife. Not a muscle moved, but in those first few minutes, witnesses said they knew he was alive because there was a slight rise and fall of his back. It was not evident whether Susie was breathing until the two groomsmen rolled the major off his wife and she gasped, taking in a deep breath.

Senator Burton and Mrs. Anne Burton, who'd stood over the couple like immovable statues, inhaled deeply when their daughter took that breath, then began to retch and vomit on the concrete.

Sirens, piercing and loud, burned through the air outside the church as anxious guests strained to see what was happening. Gurneys appeared and the victims were strapped on and transported to the two waiting emergency vehicles parked in front of the church.

Dr. Switzer climbed into the back of one of the ambulances with Major Thibault while Marianne Massey and Lilly Franklin accompanied Susanna Burton-Thibault in the second unit. City and parish police officers and firemen were at the scene and milled around talking to the attendees, asking questions, taking notes.

One of the two ambulances took Burton-Thibault to Jean Ville Hospital. Major Thibault was driven to Alexandria Regional Hospital; however, due to the serious nature of his condition, he was airlifted to Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans.

There are no reports as to the condition of either of the victims.

The Crime

***

I WISH I didn't have to tell this part of the story.

Susie was in an ambulance, being whizzed off to the nearest emergency room, her head cracked open and bleeding all over her white wedding gown. Marianne might have been a logical choice as storyteller because she and Susie go back further than Susie and I do, but Marianne was awfully busy trying to save our sister's life.

So it falls to me to tell what happened.

I'm Susie's younger sister, Abigail Burton, but everyone calls me Sissy.

*

This is what I witnessed that day, and in the months that followed the wedding.

The sanctuary was filled with guests. On the groom's side were all the brown and black folks, and mulattoes, like Rodney. On Susie's side were the white class who curried favor from our dad, Bob Burton, ex-mayor and former senator who still wielded power and influence throughout Toussaint Parish.

Daddy showed up at the last minute and walked Susie down the aisle, which shocked everyone because he had been against the relationship between Susie and Rodney from the beginning. In fact he had organized an old-fashioned posse of guys with guns and ropes to hunt Rodney down in the early 70s when he attempted to move to New York to marry Susie.

Daddy wore a black tuxedo, and since I was one of the bridesmaids, I was close enough to see him fur his brow and sneer when he shook hands with Rodney at the altar. Marianne was also a bridesmaid, and her face turned scarlet because she was embarrassed by Daddy's presence so close to her. She is our half-sister whom Daddy fathered with Tootsie, our help. Lilly was the third bridesmaid and she didn't notice anything amiss. She just stared lovingly at her parents, so proud that they were getting married to each other.