Booty Bones: A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery (28 page)

“Angela, if they knocked you on the head and took you, what makes you think they wouldn’t hurt you enough to convince you to talk?” Tinkie had been held prisoner more than once and knew what she was talking about.

“I wouldn’t tell them squat.”

“Until they hurt you badly enough. Then you’d squeal like a pig.” Tinkie was angry, and I didn’t blame her. “We need to collect the damn telescope and leave Dauphin Island. That storm won’t wait, and I for one don’t intend to drown.”

Silence filled the car as Tinkie pulled into the cottage, where Graf’s SUV remained just as we’d left it.

“I’m sorry,” Angela said. “You’re right. I’ll follow you off the island. It might be smart for me to book a room in New Orleans, just to be away from here.”

“What about your boat?” I asked.

“I’ll tie her off as best I can. It’s too late to do anything else for her.”

“Where’s your car?” Tinkie asked.

“Behind my house. There’s a place that’s hidden from view. I was afraid the house was being watched, and I was right. Could you take me to retrieve it? I need to grab a few photos and things, and then we can meet at the marina and leave the island together.”

I didn’t say it aloud, but I knew I’d rest easier if I was certain Angela was off the island. Leaving together sounded like a plan. “You’re welcome to ride with us, Angela.”

“It will be smarter to take my car. If the worst happens, I don’t want to leave it behind. I’ll just snatch a few personal items and be ready to evacuate.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“The fuzziness is fading.” She reached to her neck and rubbed. “I remember something stinging my neck.”

“Like an insect?” Tinkie asked.

“More like an injection.” She grimaced. “Maybe it’s just an overactive imagination. All I know is that one minute I was standing in my house confronting Chavis, and the next thing I knew, I was in that horrid apartment trying to remember what happened to me. But I’m fine now. And we can debate what happened in between once we’re inland.”

When we pulled up to Angela’s house, she got out and ran to the door. She waved to us before we turned around and went back to the cottage. “I hope Graf is ready to depart,” Tinkie said.

Something about the darkness of the rental cottage made me think otherwise. Graf wasn’t there.

“Get Sweetie and Pluto. I know they’re sick of the car, but let’s hustle. We’ll put them in the Caddy. Leave the keys to the SUV for Graf, and we’re on the road. You can leave a note.” Tinkie was more outdone with Graf than I was.

“Okay.” I didn’t have any argument left in me. Graf was making it painfully clear where his priorities lay. It wasn’t me, or the dog and cat. He’d abandoned Sweetie and Pluto, too. That added fuel to my fire.

I looked around the cabin. I’d loaded everything into the SUV already. There was nothing to do but walk out. Yet I hesitated. Stepping through the door would be saying good-bye to my dreams, and my feet dragged. I had to call and cancel the marriage officiator, but I could do that while we were on the road. In all likelihood, she would realize a beach wedding was a fantasy in a hurricane. Still, I made sure her number was in my cell phone.

I went to check the third-floor balcony one last time. Tinkie was busy downstairs throwing everything out of the refrigerator into a trash bag. We could dispose of it in New Orleans. When I opened the sliding glass door, the wind almost knocked me off my feet. I’d only thought it was powerful an hour before.

The wild sound of a horse neighing was blown to me, and I rushed outside to see if I could spot the animal. The gusts could have blown a tree down on a fence, freeing livestock. If so, I would have to catch the animal and contact Snill. He would likely know to whom a wandering horse belonged. As the former postmaster, he knew everyone on the island.

I scanned the high dunes around the cottage and thought I was hallucinating. Below me, two horses reared and pawed the wind. They were harnessed to a chariot.

Somewhere between Tinkie in the kitchen and the third floor, I had lost my mind.

“The Romans flogged me in the street and then raped my daughters.”

I whirled to confront a tall woman with long tawny curls that hung below her waist. She wore a multicolored tunic and cloak held with a big broach. “Who the hell are you?” I knew it was Jitty, but I didn’t know who she was pretending to be.

“Boudicca, queen of the Iceni. I bested legions of Roman soldiers and burned London to the ground.”

“Obviously a warrior-queen. Thank goodness you’ve given up the widow routine. You were about to send me into a terminal depression.” This was history I hadn’t a clue about. “Why are you here?”

“When my husband, King Prasutagus, died, he left the kingdom to be shared between Rome and me and our daughters. There was no male heir, and we had willingly joined the Roman Empire. Yet we were treated as a conquered nation. Not the smartest move. I am not a woman to accept a public flogging nor the abuse of my daughters. I fought back.”

“Jitty, just tell me why you’re here as a warrior-queen. Please. I’m too tired to try to figure this out.”

“Some say I died by my own hand rather than be taken as a slave. Others believe I died of illness or wounds sustained in battle.” She shrugged. “Does it matter? I never lived a day as a slave to any man or to Rome.”

“I’m not a slave to Graf. I don’t want to go to war. I want to go home to Zinnia. I want to teach our children to ride and to plant the land and to dance the twist.” My voice held a spark of anger. “I don’t want to drive off and leave Graf, but I won’t stay and fight. Waging war won’t make him love me.”

I gripped the balcony railing and gazed out at the tumultuous Gulf. The chariot and horses were gone. Jitty stood beside me.

“Listen to me, missy. This ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings, and I don’t hear no music. Get yourself together and drag that man to New Orleans. Don’t look back. That’s not the word from the Great Beyond; that’s the word from me, Jitty the haint.”

She lifted her hand, and I thought I felt the sensation of warmth on my cheek. “Fight for him, Sarah Booth. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that if you don’t fight with everything in you, regret will be your companion for the rest of your days.”

Her words exhausted me, and I closed my eyes for five seconds. When I opened them, Jitty was gone.

Footsteps thudded on the stairs, and I prayed that Graf had returned. It wasn’t him, though. It was my partner.

“Sarah Booth, let’s go.” Tinkie signaled me from the doorway. “The weather is only getting worse. I left a note on the counter for Graf telling him we’re stopping by the marina on our way off the island and to New Orleans. He can come or not. At this point, if he wants to shack up with his honey and blow out to sea, it’s his choice.”

“I know.” I took my cell phone charger and the few cosmetics I’d left in the bathroom. “My dress!” I pulled the carefully wrapped ball gown from the closet. I’d almost forgotten about it. I grabbed Graf’s tux, too. “I’m ready now.”

With Sweetie and Pluto at my heels, we scurried down the stairs and into the car.

22

Arley McCain’s navy slicker immediately caught my eye when we pulled up at the marina. Angela, looking like a bedraggled, drowned rat, struggled beside him as the two of them hauled at thick ropes, trying valiantly to tie the
Miss Adventure
from three angles in the hopes of keeping her from crashing into the dock.

“Pull the slack out and tighten the ropes,” Arley instructed.

“I’m trying.” Angela’s jaw was clenched with the effort as she threw her slight weight against the lurching ship.

Tinkie and I jumped out to help. I left the car door wide, allowing Sweetie and Pluto on the dock to watch. The clouds hovered low in the sky, making me think of the Delta when a thunderstorm covered the horizon. As a child, I used to think that God was angry with us when gray overwhelmed the horizon. I knew better now, but the building mass of gray still seemed filled with celestial wrath.

“Lend a hand,” Tinkie said, shaking me out of my inertia.

I assisted Angela while Tinkie grabbed the end of Arley’s rope that he’d wrapped around the docking post for leverage. The boat was like a bucking bronco, one that weighed several tons. Whenever we made a foot of progress, the sea would pitch the vessel against us and snatch back the ground we’d gained. The boat’s hull thrashed, only inches from the solid pilings.

“This is never going to work,” I said.

“If we don’t secure this boat, she’ll batter herself to death against the dock pilings.” Arley was grim in his prediction.

“We need more muscle.” I was strong, but I wasn’t freaking Hercules.

“Well, conjure it up, little missy,” he grunted.

If only I had that power. I felt a tug on the rope behind me and turned to find Sweetie Pie holding the rope in her teeth. She threw all eighty pounds of her weight into the fight.

“Well, I’ll be,” Arley said, a little in awe of my hound. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s almost as if the dog knew what you were saying.”

“Almost as if,” I said, giving Sweetie a wink. When I glanced at Pluto, he was cleaning one back leg. It stuck high in the air as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Pluto, too, understood what we were doing, but he simply wasn’t going to trouble himself about helping. Typical cat.

The wind calmed, and Arley and I managed to take up the slack on our line and tie it off. Then we rushed around the dock to help Angela and Tinkie.

“Do you think it will hold her?” Angela asked Arley as she looked at her hands, where the rope had torn blisters and flesh.

“Margene is down to a Cat One. It just depends on the tide, which side the wind comes from. I won’t lie to you; this ship should have gone inland or to the west. She’s a valuable boat, Angela. You could have sold her and made a nice profit. But no one will want her if she’s broken up or at the bottom of the marina.”

I thought he was being a little hard on Angela, especially in light of the fact she’d been abducted and drugged, or at least whacked on the head. I started to say so, but Tinkie frowned and shook her head.

“Let’s just hope she survives,” Angela said.

We all stopped as a car pulled into the parking lot. Phyllis Norris jumped out and hurried over to us. “Angela, I’ve been worried sick! Where have you been? Why didn’t you return my calls? I was afraid something terrible had happened.”

“Angela was detained, and not by her own choice.” I had to speak up.

“I never wanted to push you, Angela, but if the boat survives the storm, you should sell her.” Arley wiped his palms on his jeans, and I realized his hands were shaking. “I’m too old to endure this stress.”

Angela lifted her chin. “I’m sorry, Arley. And I’m sorry I worried you, Phyllis. When this storm is over, I’ll list Dad’s boat. I want to take her out one more time after Margene has blown through.”

“You haven’t taken her out in I can’t remember when,” Phyllis said. “What’s going on?”

“Just a farewell sail.” Angela bent to tie her shoe. “I realize I don’t have the skill or the wherewithal to keep her in tip-top shape. She should belong to someone who will love her as much as Dad did.”

“At last you’re talking like someone with good sense.” Phyllis had calmed down a bit, and the color receded from her cheeks. “Why don’t we all go grab a bite to eat over at Bobo’s? He always cooks a great gumbo when storms threaten. We can get over the bridge and be there before the winds pick up for the duration. Behind these feeder bands, there’s a constant seventy-five-mile-an-hour blow. After we eat, we can move on to our various destinations.”

I looked at Tinkie and shrugged.

“I need to pack a few mementos,” Angela said. “Maybe I’ll meet you later.”

I started to point out that we’d left her at her house to do exactly that, but I kept my mouth shut. If Angela wanted Phyllis to think she was packing, she had a reason.

“Make it quick, Angela. The east end of the island is usually safe, but you don’t want to be stranded.” Phyllis gave her a hug. “Maybe after the storm has passed through, we’ll get together to share a meal and some wine.”

“I would love that, Phyllis.”

“Anther time, then.” Phyllis started to leave and then turned back. “Has anyone seen Randy Chavis? I’ve been calling him all day and can’t get an answer.”

Arley thought for a moment. “Last I saw him, he was going to Angela’s house. Did you talk with him?”

“No,” Angela said, glancing at me and Tinkie to be sure we’d back her up. “I didn’t. What did he want with me?”

“Well, he was all fired up about talking to you. Said he’d figured something out and needed to tell you.” Arley pulled his slicker down as the wind caught it. “He sure sounded like it was life-or-death. Bunch of drama queens. I’m tired of all of it.” He stalked off toward the marina office.

Phyllis followed him to her car. In a moment, they were both gone.

“What are you hanging around here for?” Tinkie asked Angela.

“I won’t leave without the telescope, and I couldn’t very well get it with everyone standing out here.”

“It’s on the boat?” I asked.

“In a very safe place. My father had a lot of hidey-holes on the
Miss Adventure
.”

“If that spyglass is on the boat, get it now. It could end up at the bottom of the ocean.” Tinkie was shocked.

“I didn’t say it was there.” Angela looked all around. “I don’t want to pull you two any deeper into this. By the way, I have tried to call Randy. He’s not answering.”

“Missing or hiding?” I asked.

Angela shrugged. “Go on to New Orleans. Please. You need to be off the island before the roads get too congested.”

Angela was certainly edgy about something. “I wouldn’t think there would be mass evacuation for this storm. Just folks in low-lying areas and along the coast.”

“You never know. You need to hit the road. Really, ladies, you’ve done so much for me. Leave before you get hurt.”

Tinkie and I exchanged a look. Angela wasn’t worried about the storm. Something else had greatly unsettled her.

“Sure, we’re gone. We’ll talk tomorrow or Sunday.” Tinkie gave Angela a hug, and I followed suit.