Gator Bait (17 page)

“Maybe if she needs you and you’re sleeping, you should have her call your cell phone.”

I nodded. It actually wasn’t a bad idea. Ally had narrowly escaped my misdirected attacks on several occasions.
 

Thinking about narrow escapes flashed me back to my eventful relay with Tiny. That was a sticky one. I had no intention of telling Carter I’d been inside his house—ever, if I could avoid it. But Riker, Mitchell, Sheriff Lee, and Walter all knew Ida Belle and I had been on location for the dog-running, burro-climbing festivities. I doubted Sheriff Lee or Walter would call Carter about the incident while he was in the hospital, but I was certain he’d hear about it as soon as he was released.

“There was a sorta…um, incident at your house earlier today.”

“What kind of incident?”

“I’m not really sure about all the particulars. Ida Belle and I were talking a walk, mulling everything over, and when we rounded the corner to your block Tiny was loose and running down the sidewalk.”

“How did he get out?”

“I have no idea.” I went on to tell him about Riker and company being there, and on to the glorious conclusion with the burro atop Riker’s car.
 

At first, he stared at me as if I were joking, but when I kept going, he realized it had happened exactly as I was describing. He started to grin, then chuckle, and by the time I got to the part when the burro climbed onto Riker’s car, he was laughing so hard he was clutching his injured side. I glanced at the monitors, worried that any moment an alarm was going to go off and the medical staff would rush in thinking Carter was having a seizure.

Now that I thought about it, it sorta looked as if he was having a seizure.

“Are you all right?” I asked and rose from my chair.

He nodded and waved a hand at me before downing half his water. “I would have given anything to see that.”

“Oh, you can see most of it. Ida Belle filmed it with her phone.”

“Nothing fazes that woman, does it?”

“Not that I’ve seen so far. It’s kinda scary.”

“No shit,” Carter said. “I bet Riker was fit to be tied.”

“Oh yeah. He was completely apoplectic. So mad I thought he’d burst into flames.”

“So how did you get the burro off the car?”

“We didn’t. Far as I know, he’s still up there.”

Carter’s mouth dropped open and he stared at me. I tried, but I couldn’t keep my poker face on more than a couple of seconds and my grin broke through.

“You’re joking,” he said.

“Yeah, but for a couple of seconds, I had you.” I went on to explain Walter’s arrival and procurement of the angry Tiny and the dismounting of Riker’s car.
 

Carter chuckled some more, then shook his head. “What was Riker doing at my house, anyway? He knows where I am.”

“This is another one of those things that’s going to make you mad, but he had a warrant to search your house. Sheriff Lee was there to make his access legal. Riker was going to break down the door but Walter said he’d let him in so you didn’t have to return home from the hospital and worry about fixing your front door.”

“You called Riker right with that douche bag label.”

“I’ve met enough of the type. He’s hardly original. Anyway, I have no idea what happened after that because Ida Belle remembered she needed to vote and we figured it was best to hightail it out of there before Riker could find something to blame us for besides witnessing his less-than-manly response to a dog and a burro.”

“Smart. So I guess Riker doesn’t believe my lost memory claim.”

I shrugged. “Or he does believe it and hopes you made notes somewhere about what you went looking for.”

Carter frowned. “I guess I could have…I wish I could remember. All of this would go away if I could just remember.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be as simple as that. Whatever is going on, someone shot a law enforcement officer and left you to drown. And if whatever happened involves the ATF, it must be something big. Even once you remember, my guess is there’s still a lot that has to happen before the ATF would move on the shooter.”

“True.” He smiled at me. “You’re pretty sharp for a librarian. I would tell you to consider a job in law enforcement, but then you’d be allowed to tote a gun around all the time.”

“What difference would it make in this town? Everyone here seems to be packing. Heck, Gertie carries more weapons around in that huge purse of hers than they probably have down at the pawnshop.”

A monitor behind Carter beeped and I saw his blood pressure shoot up. Ooops.

“I really didn’t need to know that,” he said.

“Know what?” I put on my best innocent face.

He reached his hand out toward me and I placed my hand in his. He winced as he squeezed my hand. “Do you need one of those pain medicine shots?” I asked.

He shook his head. “But I’m pretty sure a kiss would make me feel better.”

“I can call the nurse back in, but I doubt your PPO is going to cover the charges for kissing.”

“I had something a little less clinical in mind.”

He tugged on my hand and I stepped closer to the bed, but as I began to lean over to kiss him, the door opened and Emmaline walked in. I planted a frozen smile on my face, feeling like a kid who’d just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Fortunately, Emmaline didn’t seem to notice she’d almost interrupted our medical attempt at reviving Carter.

“Mom,” Carter said, “I thought you were going to get some rest.”

She waved a hand in dismissal. “I tried, but every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was you lying here with those awful bruises. Then I’d get mad all over again. I finally gave up. When I get tired enough, nothing will keep me from it.”

She placed a brown paper bag on the table. “This is from Francine.”

The smell of chicken and dumplings wafted past me and my stomach grumbled. I suddenly realized I hadn’t had anything to eat except for croissants that Gertie had thrown together for our ride to the hospital.
 

Carter laughed. “Sounds like you can use it worse than me.”

“No, you go ahead,” I said. “Unlike you, I can go get refills.”

Carter looked at Emmaline. “Did you check my television?”

She nodded. “The History channel.”

“Was anyone at my house when you stopped by?”

“No, and it’s a good thing. The place is a mess. I swear I raised you better than that.”

Carter stiffened. “Assholes.”

“Good Lord.” Emmaline’s eyes widened. “What in the world has gotten into you?”

Carter’s jaw flexed and I could tell he was steaming mad. I explained to Emmaline about the ATF and the search warrant.

“You mean those rude men are the ones who made a mess in your home?” Emmaline asked. “Is that even legal?”

“Probably,” I said. “I think if someone isn’t a suspect then they’re supposed to be more considerate. I had a friend whose apartment got searched because the police had the wrong address. They broke two pieces of her deceased mother’s china. She came unglued on them and waylaid one of the cops with a lamp.”

“I like your friend,” Emmaline said. “But I suppose she got arrested for the lamp stunt.”

“Yeah, but the department had been running into some bad publicity at the time so they dropped the charges and wrote her a big check for the damage to keep it out of the newspapers. She’s still mad, though, and that was a good ten years ago.”

Emmaline put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Well, I just think it’s a shame that we pay our taxes and follow the rules and this is how we’re treated. You can bet that someone at the ATF will be hearing from me.”

I grinned. I’d pay to hear that conversation.

Chapter Eleven

With Emmaline back on guard at the hospital, I wasn’t needed any longer. I could tell Carter wanted me to stay but wouldn’t ask. I hesitated for a bit, wanting to stay a little longer myself, but I needed to check in with Ida Belle about our plans for tonight. She’d said she’d handle it, but walking into things blind with Ida Belle and Gertie was never a good idea.
 

Besides, my stomach had a reason to protest and my leg and shoulder muscles could do with another round of ointment. If I planned on going through with the storage facility break-in, I needed to be in the best shape possible. Sore muscles reacted slower. The more I could loosen them before tonight, the better my reflexes would be,

Downtown was still a mess, filled with voters and random fighting. I saw Deputy Breaux trying to break up a fight between two women with strollers. He looked as if he was ready to resign right there on the spot. I couldn’t imagine how aggravating his job was right now. If I were there, I’d turn the fire department hose on the entire street, which was probably why it was a good thing that I didn’t work with the general public.

I made a left turn and skirted downtown to get to my street. At least my house was far enough from the fray that it hadn’t spilled over here. I pulled into the garage and headed inside, mentally running through the options in my refrigerator. There was leftover meatloaf and at least one piece of apple pie. I could do a lot worse than a meatloaf sandwich.

As soon as I opened the garage door and entered the house, the smell of barbeque wafted over me and I felt my knees buckle. I hurried into the kitchen and saw Ally opening up a huge tray of barbeque brisket.
 

“Emmaline told me you were at the hospital when she stopped by the diner,” Ally said. “I figured you probably skipped lunch and would be starving.”

“Ally?” I’d officially made up my mind.

“Yeah?”

“Will you marry me?”
 

She smiled. “How sad is it that you’re the first person to ever ask?”

“Very, very sad. Because that means that all men are morons.”

“You’re great for a girl’s ego. Sit down before you pass out. You’re practically salivating.”

She didn’t have to ask me twice. I dropped into a chair like a death row prisoner presented with my last meal. Ally placed two plates on the table and another container that proved to be mashed potatoes. One last tray held garlic bread, and she topped the entire thing off with a jug of sweet tea.

Ally had barely slid into her seat before I’d heaped a pile of brisket on my plate and reached for the potatoes. “I owe you forever,” I said. “I have no idea how I’ll pay you back, but I’ll figure out something.”

“You’re letting me live in your house. That’s payment enough.”

I shrugged. “It’s not like it’s my real house. Heck, I’m not even paying the bills. The estate is.”

“The estate that you inherited,” Ally pointed out. “You’re still paying the bills, just not directly.”

“I guess you’re right.” At least, she would be right if I were the real Sandy-Sue Morrow. “But still. It’s hardly an inconvenience. In fact, my quality of life has increased quite a bit since you moved in, at least where food is concerned.”

I stabbed a hunk of the brisket with my fork and practically inhaled it. An explosion of sweet and tangy with a touch of heat tantalized my taste buds. I didn’t dare open my mouth to comment, but the brisket was too good to go without compliment, so I pointed to my lips and nodded.

Ally laughed. “Francine’s secret BBQ sauce is almost as big a mystery as her banana pudding recipe. She’s actually had people break into the café at night trying to find her recipe book.”

I shook my head. Francine wasn’t foolish enough to write her recipes down. I’d bet anything they were all stored safely in her head, and when she died, they would go with her.
 

“How’s Carter doing?” Ally asked.

I swallowed the brisket and chugged down some sweet tea. “Better physically, but his memory is still blank from Saturday night on, except for a couple of minutes.”

Ally’s eyes widened. “He forgot your date?”

“No. He remembers all that and going home, showering, and turning on the television, but after that, it’s all gone until he woke up in the hospital.”

“That sucks.”

“In a million different ways,” I agreed and scooped up a helping of mashed potatoes.

“Walter told me he had to let the ATF in to search Carter’s house. He was mad enough to spit when he came into the café. Said they made a right mess of Carter’s place and talked to him like he was an idiot.”

“That sounds about right. He should have let Tiny loose on them.”

“He was tempted, but he was afraid the cowards would shoot the dog.”

“Also sounds about right. Did he figure out how Tiny got out?”

“Yeah, there’s a section of the fence that’s broken. Best he could figure, Tiny was trying to get at something behind the fence line and broke it out.” She frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s probably nothing, but I wondered if maybe it was some
one
Tiny was trying to get at.”

“Could be, but don’t people walk along the bayou all the time?”

“Yeah, you’re right. It was probably an extra smelly rabbit or something equally as enticing to a big dumb dog. He told me about the burro incident. I haven’t laughed that hard in years.”