Mrs. Terrebonne looked back towards the house for a brief moment then in a low voice, "Je l'ai assassine(I murdered) him." She finally looked up into Sheriff Herbert's dark eyes with the dullest and saddest brown eyes Sheriff Herbert had ever seen. "Il me battait(He beat me) for years. I could take it no more."

Marie rushed toward her mother and grabbed her arm. "No, mama you know you did not kill dat bastard. Why you say dat?" Marie screamed.

Sheriff Herbert was stunned for a moment. He had not expected a confession. Now suddenly everything had changed. "I will have to take you in Mrs. Terrebonne, I'm sorry." Sheriff Herbert reached back for his handcuffs.

"No, you cannot lock my mama up. She not done it." Marie moaned as she lurched forward grabbing for the sheriffs hands.

"Stand back Marie, I don't want to take you to jail, too." Sheriff Herbert pushed Marie's hands away and took the defensive stance with legs spread apart that he had learned in police academy. The thought quickly flashed that maybe he had been foolish coming so far back in these swamps alone.

"Marie, lacher les mains du sherif. (Let go of the Sheriff's hands)" Mrs. Terrebonne said in a firm voice forgetting her sparse English in the excitement.

"I did it, Bon Dieu (good Lord), I did it. I'll tell you everything, just let my mama go." Marie pleaded. "Mama could never hurt anythang, please let her go." Marie fell to the ground like a rag doll with tears rolling down her grime spotted cheeks.

The Sheriff wasn't surprised that Marie had stood up for her mother. It was natural for kin to defend each other. He had a gut feeling... that just maybe Marie was telling the truth. He would at least listen to what she had to say. "Okay, Miss Marie tell me what happened. You know that everything you say can be held against you in a court of law." Sheriff Herbert proceeded to read Marie her rights.

"Mais, I'll tell the truth on my mama's bible." Marie held up her right hand in a swearing gesture.

Minutes later the sheriff, Sarah Terrebonne and Marie sat at an ancient rough Cyprus table. Dim light filtered down from the only window in the sparsely furnished cabin. Rough worn bare floors, a smoke charred fireplace, and three simple rooms was all there was to this place. On the walls the sheriff noticed various fishing and trapping gear. In the corner an old metal bed frame with multiple pee stained ragged and mended quilts on the sagging mattress. An assortment of faded clothes hung from nails on the rough walls. The musty smell of unwashed bodies, bacon fat, and urine assaulted the sheriff's nose. Sheriff Herbert thought this must be the saddest place I've ever visited. There is nothing of beauty here.

"Vous les enfants git!" (You kids git!) Sarah made a scooting sweep with her hands.

Four little shaggy dark haired children and one old mangy yellow dog came out of hiding. The old dog stopped in front of the table and began biting and scratching with his hind leg. The smallest little girl smiled at Sheriff Herbert ...pulled the old dog by his ear and scampered out the open screen less door.

"You have some joli (beautiful) children Mrs. Terrebonne."

"Merci Sheriff."(Thank you) Mrs. Terrebonne smiled for the first time. "Puis-je vous offrir une tasse de cafe? (Can I offer you some coffee?)

"Non merci (no thank you).I'm fine."Sheriff turned back to the table and began writing on a very legal looking document the date:August 8, 1942 and time 13:00 at the top of the page. "Okay Miss Marie, I now need your statement for the record." You begin whenever you feel like it." Sheriff Herbert held his pen close to the paper. "Start with stating your name, where you were born and your age for the record. Then just tell me what happened in your own words."

"My name is Marie Ruth Blanche. I was born in Lafourche parish sixteen years ago." She hesitated for a moment, "I don't know where to begin?"

"Just begin at the beginning." Sheriff Herbert said reassuringly.

"My papa was a good man and he loved mama and us. People have told me I'm like him. Dey say I have his black hair and blue eyes and his bahbin (pouting facial expression), too. But he never laid a hand on us. Like I said he was a good man. He died of the tuberculose (TB) when I was four years old and left my two year old fr¢¿½re (brother) Alex, my mama and me with nothing but dis cabine de poisson (fish cabin). My papa's people have lived on dis land ever since the le Grand Derangement (the deportation of the Acadians from Nova Scotia). Dey was run out of dare and settled on dis land, I guess, no one tried to run dem out of dis swamp. After papa died choses (things) got pretty hard, some days we didn't have much to eat. I don blame my mama for marryin' Mr. Terrebonne; she didn't have any other way to feed us. He was a very bad man but mama didn't know dat at first. Dat is until the beatings begun. "

Marie paused for a moment as if in deep thought with both her fists balled in a tight clench.
"He battre (beat) my mama for years 'til there was no vie (life) left in her eyes. He bucher my brother and me, too. Mama tried to fight him away from us but it weren't no use. He was too strong and mean. He would laugh and beat her bloody den start on us again. He killed my brother; choked him to death right out dare on dat porch." Marie points to the front porch tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "He was ten years old and not nearly big enough to help mama but he tried and he got killed. Mama and I buried him out by the woodpile with da other two babies she birthed dead. It weren't no reason for dem babies to be born dead except dey were beat to death inside mama's belly. "

Marie suddenly stopped telling her story and Sheriff Herbert could see tears falling down her cheeks.

"It's okay Marie just take it slow" Sheriff Herbert reached out to touch Marie's hand. Marie jerked back like she had been shocked.

"I be okay...I dun cried my tears 'til I ain't got any left." Marie replied wiping her face with her hand. . "Git your pen I finish dis story." "Mama said she killed dat bastard Terrebonne but she lied. She lied for me." Marie droned on.

Sheriff Herbert sat for a moment in his own thoughts, My God what more can this child tell me?

Marie placed her finger on the paper the sheriff was writing on and began her story again. "Write dis down." Marie's voice brought the Sheriff back to the business at hand. "It hoppened when I heard Sally Mae groan and moan in da night. She's my baby sister only 4 years old. I knew dat sound. He dun got tired of me and now was going after her. I guess I dun got too old for him. I weren't goin' to let it hoppen to her like it had me. He come in from the bayou all whiskey drunk and stinking like the b¢¿½te puante (skunk). He was mean all da time but even meaner when he drunk. I decided right den. I weren't going to take no beatin' tonight and no one in my family was goin' to get hurt. He thought he was foolin' me by going to bed early... that ecrevisse (crawfish). He had plans for Sally and he meant to do dirty business. Not tonight! I said to myself. I got a butcher knife from the drawer and stuck it under my mattress. Mais (well), the tree (three) boys they sleep here in the front room and Sally and me we have da back room. Sally sleeps over in the corner on dat old mattress dat used to belong to my brother Alex. I must have fell asleep; at first I could not see 'nuthin but I smelled da bastard. My eyes got used to da dark and dass (that is) when I saw him slop (slap) his filthy paws across Sally's mouth. When he got on top of her with his smelly couchon (pig) body... I stabbed him. I meant to stick dat knife into dat fat belly 'til he screamed like the hog that he was. It only hit his shoulder and he come up like a raging bull 'gator after me. He grobb me by da neck and was chokin' the life out of me. I thaught he done killed me for sure. I got my arm loose and I stabbed him again and dis time it went to dat pig belly. He looked at me kindda funny den he just fell over dead. I wrapped him in Sally's quilt and I drugged him all by myself to da water. Dare was no body that holped me. I swear. I hooked a trolling line to him and my pirogue and dragged him down da bayou a long ways. I stopped when I saw a bunch of them red demon gator eyes looking out at me from da water. Dare I leave him for 'gator bait. Served him good...he was a demon himself. I'm not sorry. Not one bit. Dat is all I have to say." With that last statement Marie pushed her cane chair back very hard and stood up defiantly.

"It's okay Marie; I think I understand what happened. Thank you for telling me your story. It looks to me like self-defense. I will need you to sign this statement then I'll take it back to the station."

Marie reached over and signed the paper in a large childish scrawl.

"If I need any more information, I'll come see you again. Take care of your mother and siblings." Sheriff Herbert stood up from the table and placed his pen back in his pocket. "Good bye Mrs. Terrebonne. Don't worry, everything will be okay." Sheriff Herbert nodded at Mrs. Terrebonne and started his way back to his boat.

The children were obviously around but hidden in the trees around the house. Sheriff Herbert felt a deep sadness as he walked down to where his boat was tied on an old stump. How could this land display such beauty in the trees, foliage, and animals but yet, such human cruelty as these children and wife had experienced. He looked at Mrs. Terrebonne standing on the porch watching him leave. Then he did something he had never done before in his thirty-two years of living...he broke the law. He took his pen and marked "Case Closed." Smiling he thought to himself ... Alex Terrebonne's death will be declared an unsolved case and will end up in some dusty file cabinet where no one will have to worry about that bastard ever again. I'll see to that. I don't think anyone will miss him or even care. Just another devil got his due.