Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law Mystery/Romance Series) (24 page)

“Lately, there’s a lot of things going on in this town I couldn’t have imagined before.”

“I guess you’re right, but man…what do you want me to do about the cars?”

“Haul them into town and ask Marty to store them at his garage. Tell him no access and to keep this quiet. The last thing I need is the FBI confiscating these cars and exposing our dirty laundry.”

Deputy Nelson swallowed and nodded.

“Do you have the names of the other two car owners?”

Deputy Nelson pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Colt. “That’s the name, address, and phone number for all of them—at least, what’s on file with the state.”

“I’ve got to check on some things. See if you can get a diver for that last car, but don’t wait on it to start hauling them to town. Call Marty and get him to start moving them to the garage. Tell him to take the back roads in and cover the cars with tarps.”

“Yes, sir.”

As they started back to his truck, Colt handed Jadyn the paper with the names. “Notice whose name is on there? I think we should pay Mr. Pickett a visit. See what he or the police might know about his stolen car.”

They climbed into Colt’s truck and Jadyn looked over at him as he started the engine.
 

“I’ve been thinking,” she said.

“What about?”

“About how Tyler was ribbing Bart about not working, but Bart said he turned off his cell phone because he had work to do and didn’t want to be interrupted. He’s got that big shop and that enclosed trailer…wouldn’t a master welder be able to easily parcel out a car?”

Colt froze and stared out the windshield. He’d been so busy thinking about how the stolen cars tied into Raissa’s abduction that he hadn’t spent any time trying to pinpoint who was running the chop shop. But what Jadyn said made sense. Perfect sense.

He slammed his hand on the steering wheel and cursed. How many more criminals were living right under his nose?

“We should check out his shop on the way back,” she said. “Given those cars are dumped in the game preserve, I have probable cause to search. No waiting on a warrant.”

Colt put the truck in gear and pulled away. “Which means no alerting anyone else as to what we’re doing.”

“Exactly. And if we hurry, we may be able to get it done before Ross arrives.” She pulled her pistol from her holster and checked the magazine. “I hope he doesn’t give us any trouble.”

Colt nodded. He didn’t want to think about the possibility of shooting someone he’d known his entire life. But if it was Bart who’d shot at them the night before and had a hand in kidnapping Raissa, then he wouldn’t hesitate to do his job. There was plenty of time later for mourning the loss of his childhood home.

Chapter Fourteen

Bart’s truck and the enclosed trailer were gone when they pulled up in front of his house. Jadyn scanned the property, but didn’t see any sign of activity.
 

“Looks like he’s gone,” Colt said.

“You did tell him Agent Ross would be by. Maybe he’s looking to avoid that conversation.”

“Well, it’s not like you need permission to look around.”

They climbed out of the truck and made their way to the shop. The shop had a padlock on it but Colt made quick work of it with a pair of bolt cutters he carried. They pulled open the huge swinging doors and walked inside.
 

Jadyn was surprised to see how neat the inside of the shop was. Toolboxes and cabinets lined one wall and workbenches lined the other. The back wall contained windows that let in natural light, and the front of the shop contained a refrigerator and tiny table with chairs. The center of the shop was completely empty.

“Whatever he was working on is gone now,” Colt said.

Jadyn walked over to the workbenches and pulled out one of the plastic containers stored beneath. She pulled the lid off and whistled. It was piled high with car parts. Colt peered inside and pulled the lid of the next container, then another, and another until they’d opened all six containers.
 

They were all filled with car parts.

Colt stared into the container, not speaking. Jadyn had a good idea of the things roaming through his mind. She barely knew Bart but felt a sense of betrayal. The man had pursued her knowing he was committing a criminal offense on the very land she was paid to protect.
 

“Do you think he’s the one who shot at us?” she asked.

Colt’s jaw flexed. “I don’t want to think so, but I can’t help feeling all of this—the stolen cars, Raissa’s kidnapping—are all part of the same thing.”

She nodded. “I agree, but I can’t make any of the pieces fit.”

“Me either.” He put the lid back on the container and sighed. “Let’s put these back and pay Mr. Pickett a visit. Might as well collect another piece to our puzzle.”

###

Maryse and Mildred stood in the hotel room, their ears pressed to the wall. In the next room, Agent Ross yelled at Stepford and the other agents, blaming them for everything from failure to find Raissa first to the US inflation rate. Maryse was fairly certain when he was done, her face would remain frozen in a permanent grin. Mildred had been standing with her hand over her mouth for the last five minutes, and Maryse knew that as soon as they were back downstairs, the hotel owner would laugh until she cried.

Helena, as usual, wasn’t helping matters. Because no one in the next room could hear her, she had no problem chortling so hard that she fell off the edge of the bed and rolled across the bedroom floor.
 

Finally, the door opened and they heard the agents hurrying past in the hallway. Maryse signaled to Helena, who stuck her head through the wall, then popped back in and shook her head.

“Ross is still in there,” she said. “He’s pulling out his cell phone.”

“Then get back in there,” Maryse whispered, “and find out what he’s saying.”

Maryse put her ear back to the wall as Helena walked through it, but all she could hear was the faint rumble of Ross’s voice. Finally, she gave up and sat on the bed to wait on Helena. Mildred held in place for another thirty seconds and then joined her.

“It sounds like Raissa gave him the bare minimum,” Mildred whispered.

“I don’t think she had much more to give. She doesn’t know who took her or why. She wouldn’t even know she’d been held at Bart’s camp if Jadyn and Colt hadn’t recognized it from her description.”

“I guess that’s true, but I’m still glad he had to wait for us before he could talk to her. I haven’t liked the man since he walked into my hotel and rented the rooms.”

“That’s because you have good taste.”

Mildred smiled. “I’m so happy Raissa is safe. Now, if Zach would wake up, everything could go back to normal.”

Maryse nodded. She was definitely thrilled about Raissa, but no matter how happy she got, Luc’s worries about her safety crept through the joy and reminded her that nothing would be normal for her until the man gunning for Luc was behind bars.
 

The door to the next room slammed shut and a second later, footsteps hurried past on the hallway and down the stairs. Helena popped back through the wall, her eyes wide.
 

“Ross was on the phone with his boss,” she said. “He said he’d inspected the car they pulled out of the pond, and it belonged to Raissa. They checked some number.”

“The VIN number,” Maryse said.

“Yeah, that’s it. Then Ross said he’d spoken to Raissa but she didn’t know her kidnappers. She’s going to look at some books—I guess with pictures of criminals—and work with a sketch artist. They’re sending him to the hospital.”

“That’s good,” Mildred said.

Helena nodded. “His boss screamed at him so loud that I could hear him like he was standing right next to me. He said that things were out of control and he better make them right. He said Ross’s future depended on it.”

“Good,” Maryse said. “Maybe he’ll be relegated to a desk from now on. God knows, he shouldn’t be allowed to work around the general public.”

“Maybe he needs a rabies shot,” Helena said and started laughing again. “Then Ross told his boss that if he did a better job choosing personnel he wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Seriously? He’s blaming his staff? What a douche bag.”

“Totally,” Helena agreed.

“So Ross sent his men to search Bart’s camp…what does he plan on doing?”

“He told his boss he was going to sit on Bart until he got what he wanted.”

“Poor Bart,” Mildred said. “He can’t be one of guys Ross is looking for. Raissa didn’t recognize any of them, and she knows Bart well enough.”

“I’m sure Bart will have no trouble handling Agent Ross,” Maryse said. “In fact, I kinda wish I could be there to see it.”

“Are you going to call Jadyn and tell her what Ross is up to?” Helena asked.

Maryse nodded. “I’ll call in a minute.”

Mildred checked her watch and rose from the bed. “We best get moving. Visiting time starts in an hour.”

“You promised I could go this time,” Helena said.

Mildred sighed. “Lord help me. I did.”

“Hey,” Helena said, “maybe we should pick up a blackberry cobbler to bring to Raissa. I could sit in the back and hold it…maybe with some dinnerware just in case she wants to share?”

###

Gordon Pickett was a short man with a bald head and a red face. Colt put him in his midfifties, and his round belly left little question as to what precipitated his heart problem.
 

“I’m Sheriff Colt Bertrand from Mudbug,” Colt said when he answered the door. “I’m here about your car.”

Pickett’s eyes widened and he pulled open the door and waved them inside. “Mudbug? That’s an hour from here. Did you find it? Is it okay?”

“We did find it, but I’m afraid it’s a total loss.” He explained to Pickett the condition of the car and where it had been found.

Pickett’s face turned several shades darker and Colt wondered if he was going to have another heart attack. “What is wrong with people—stealing a man’s car while he’s in the hospital and then driving it into a bayou? I don’t know what our world is coming to with the way kids are behaving these days.”

“I don’t think it was kids,” Colt said. “The car had been dismantled.”

“Why in the world would someone dismantle my car?”
 

“I believe your car was stolen by someone running a chop shop.”

Pickett stared back and forth between them without saying a word. Finally, he found his voice again. “Well, I’ll be damned. You say it was completely stripped?”

Colt nodded. “Everything with a hinge, the wheels and tires, and the engine are gone.”

Pickett threw his hands in the air. “Well, what are you going to do? If you’ll give me an address for wherever you’re holding the car, I’ll send someone to tow it here for the insurance adjustor to see.”

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that right now. The car is evidence in an ongoing investigation.”

“You can’t just keep my car,” Pickett said, sounding agitated. “I’m the victim here. Insurance won’t give me a dime until they see that car.”

“I understand. My deputy is locating a secure facility to store the car as we speak. As soon as I know the location, I’ll give you a call and we can work something out with your insurance agent to get him access.”

“Sometime this afternoon?”

“I doubt I’ll have time to make arrangements for this afternoon. My entire department is busy on a couple of investigations. It might take a couple of days before we can work something out.”

Pickett glared at him a bit. “If that’s the best you can do.”

“It is.” He pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it to Pickett. “Give me a call if you have any more questions. Thank you for your time.”

“Sure,” Pickett said and let them out, slamming the door behind them.

Jadyn glanced back. “I think you pissed him off.”

Colt nodded as they climbed into his truck. “I meant to.”

“Why?”

Colt stared at the house and frowned. “Something about him seemed off.”

“The man did just have a heart attack, or something to that effect.”

“Maybe.” He pulled out his cell phone and called Shirley.

“I need you to run a check on someone for me,” he said. “Name’s Gordon Pickett. If your cousin’s still volunteering at the hospital, ask her if she knows anything about him being brought in last week with heart problems. Then run a general check on the name, and get back to me when you have both. Thanks.”

Jadyn raised her eyebrows. “You think Pickett’s lying about the heart attack?”

“He’s hiding something. He was too nervous…too agitated…but working hard to control both. They just finally got the better of him the more I stalled on the car issue.” He sighed. “Maybe I’m reaching. Maybe this thing with Bart is making me think everyone is a suspect.”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

He put the truck in gear and pulled away, unable to shake the feeling that everything was coming to a head. He just hoped when the dust cleared, that the casualties were something everyone could live with.