Landweir House Chapter 20 - Tony Lane's Blog

Landweir House

Chapter 20

Carlton Landweir

1860s New Orleans

Carlton Landweir was as good of a man as the city of New Orleans could have produced. He had married the right woman, as society had dictated, and she had given him a beautiful daughter. Or so it had seemed. The fact that his daughter was not his but belonged to another man and that his wife loved that other man was constantly put into his mind by that damned locket that she had chained to her neck. She had it permanently attached to herself with the photo of her lover inside and Carlton knew it. When asked, she would tell people that it contained a picture of her one true love and they would assume that she meant Carlton but she did not. She hated him and he hated her but society also dictated that they be wed in order to secure business dealings between their two families. Luckily for Carlton, society had no problem with him taking a lover of his own and so while he was passing through the less affluent portion of the French Quarter he had opportunity to meet and become better acquainted with a free woman of color by the name of Marie Turnow. She was a healer who worked to bring comfort to the poor people of the city. She was also beautiful and soon Carlton was in love with her and helping to fund her efforts. While the war was being fought Carlton felt that things were too unsettled to create further scandal but when it ended he announce to his wife that he would be raising his son, born of Marie, in Landweir House. His wife was not understanding of this arraignment and in fact grew quite violent with him at the very prospect of having this child in her house. Once, he told her that he would be on an extended business trip while in reality he was staying with Marie for a few days. His wife took the occasion of his absence to visit with Marie. Carlton had hidden himself in a back room when his wife came in to Marie’s shop and he had overheard her rants. That night Marie handed Carlton an ornate lock box and explained that inside was a gris-gris bag and when the time came for Carlton’s death, the gris-gris would hold his soul until it was needed again. She also gave him a second gris-gris bag and made him promise that when she died, he would place it in her hands and bury her with it. He promised but didn’t realize how soon this would all come to pass. The very next day Emily Landweir came to Marie and stabbed her with a knife. She then went and killed Carlton’s son. When Carlton found Marie, with her last words, she made him remember the gris-gris bags and what it was that he must now do. He buried her in his rose garden under the cover of night and then he killed his wife by slitting her throat and then he did the same to Clarisse, her daughter. Just as his wife had done to his son. When he buried them he put his son between his wife and her daughter in order to torment his wife forever.

Carlton then met with a business associate, Miller Terhune. Carlton knew that Miller was about to wed and offered Landweir House to him as long as Terhune would grant one last very unusual favor. Landweir, it seemed, wanted to be walled up in the library into a hidden room that he had designed. Landweir promised that he would end his own life once this had been accomplished. He also made Terhune promise to never dig up the rose garden. If he did he would lose any happiness at Landweir House forever.

Once Carlton Landweir was safely sealed into the secret room by a wall, with his lock box at his side, he pressed a colt revolver to his head and ended his worldly strife.

****

2005 New Orleans

“Dr. Jacobs, where did you put the things that were removed from the graves that were in my rose garden?” Lisa Marie asked.

“They are right over there on my desk. Why do you want to see them?” he asked as started to look through the mail that had been delivered to him.

“They are from a time when my house was new. I just want to have a look.” She said as she started for the desk.

“They belong to you more than they do to anyone else. Help yourself.” He said as he looked over the top of his reading glasses at her.

Lisa Marie opened the gris-gris bag and scooped out a key that was held inside it. She held it tight in her hand. Dr. Jacobs had been distracted by a call on his cell phone and he paid no attention to what she had done.

“That was Terry,” Dr. Jacobs said, “he said that the sonic device had identified a hidden room in your library. We are to return immediately.”

The two of them left the warehouse and got back into the HGTV van and headed back to Landweir House.

“For an Historian, a secret room that has not been opened is like finding King Tut’s tomb. Anything could be on the other side of the wall. It’s very exciting.” Jacobs was chattering like a kid on Christmas morning but Lisa Marie was quiet and smiled as she looked out the window at her city.