Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law Mystery/Romance Series) (6 page)

“Made good time, Sheriff,” he said, then looked at Jadyn.

“This is Jadyn St. James,” Colt said. “She’s the new game warden.”

The man looked her up and down, then shook his head. “Don’t know what the world is coming to. Wouldn’t you rather be home having babies or something?”

Colt closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, probably waiting for the explosion he thought was coming. He was wrong. Jadyn knew this man. He existed in every small town across the nation. And nothing he said could ruffle her feathers.
 

“Would you rather be home having babies?” Jadyn asked.

“’Course not!”

“Then why do you assume I would? I got news for you, old-timer, a set of ovaries does not automatically make a woman desire the sound of screaming infants.”

Burton looked over at Colt. “Got a mouth on her, doesn’t she?”

Colt glanced at her firearm. “That’s not all she has on her. You might want to check a calendar. Women have been making a go of it on their own for quite a while now.”

“Don’t care if it’s been a thousand years,” Burton said. “I still ain’t got to like it.”

“How about you show us the boat,” Colt said, clearly trying to navigate away from the current conversation.

“This way. Hell.”

Jadyn didn’t bother to hold in her smile as they followed Burton down the bank. She stopped next to Colt where a small channel fed into the pond. About ten feet from the edge of the water she could see the top of something large and black, a couple of inches below the surface. It didn’t look anything like the top of the boats that Jadyn had seen, but it looked exactly like the top of a car.

“Can’t be that deep if we can see the top.”

“No,” Colt agreed, “but the water’s murky, so might take some time to inspect. And it’s good he found it now because in a couple of hours, the top won’t be visible from the surface. Something that heavy will sink fast in the mud. Suit up and let’s take a closer look. Mr. Foster, would you mind waiting here while we dive?”

Burton gave him a derisive look. “You never leave a man in the field.”

“Of course not.” Colt reached into his duffel bag for two underwater flashlights and handed one to Jadyn. “I’ll check inside. You check the rear for a license plate number.”

She wanted to argue. Wanted to tell him that she was perfectly capable of peering into that car even though it might mean finding Raissa inside. But she knew if she opened her mouth, he’d know she was lying. The truth was she was scared as hell about what might be inside that car. Scared as hell that she’d have to go back to the hotel and tell Mildred and Maryse that they’d never see their friend again. At least not alive.

“Okay,” she said and took the flashlight. She checked the pressure on her tank, and followed him to the edge of the pond where she drew up short. “What about alligators?”

He scanned the banks. “Always a possibility, but I don’t see any signs. They’re probably spooked out of the area for a while.”

She wanted to ask what the probability of “probably” was or the exact definition of “for a while” but knew it wouldn’t do any good. If Colt knew more, he would have said so and likely he would have insisted she wait on the bank. Not that she would have listened. Technically, the pond was her jurisdiction, and no way was she going to play the little woman and let the big, strong man handle her job. The state paid her to work and by God, that’s what she intended to do. Regardless of what the job entailed or how Burton Foster thought she ought to be spending her time.

She waded into the water with Colt as he felt down the side of the car.
 

“Looks like this is the back,” he said, pointing to the side closest to the bank.
 

“I’ll check the plate.” Jadyn placed the regulator in her mouth and took a test breath before sinking below the surface.
 

The water was so murky, it was impossible to see more than a foot in front of her even with the spotlight. She used the side of the car to guide her around the corner to the back, shining her light down the back bumper. When she got to the flat spot where the license plate should have been, only a black space stared back at her.

Damn.

She started to surface, but changed her mind. Maybe some form of identification existed inside the car. Colt was checking the car from the driver’s side so she swam around the back to the passenger’s side. As she approached the side windows, she could see the dim glow from Colt’s flashlight. She felt down the side of the car and realized the passenger side window was rolled down.

Her pulse ticked up a notch as she lifted the flashlight to shine it inside. The light illuminated the passenger seat and relief coursed through her when she saw it was empty. She slid through the window a bit to check the backseat and felt an uptick of hope when it was also clear.
 

Colt’s light had vanished when she went in the window and she glanced around, trying to figure out where he’d gone. Maybe he’d surfaced for some reason. She pushed back a bit and directed her light at the front dashboard. Maybe some paperwork was in the glove compartment. She pulled the compartment open and plastic packet from inside. Everything was probably soaked, but there was always a chance she’d be able to get something off of it.
 

Deciding she’d gained everything she could in her current position, she surfaced. Her mask fogged over as soon as her head popped out of the water and she reached up with her free hand to lift it. Colt was exiting the water and looked back as he heard her breach the surface.

She held up the packet. “The license plate was gone, but I pulled this out of the glove compartment. We might be able to get something off of the papers inside if they’re not completely soaked.”

“License plate?” Burton stared at her as if she’d just reported finding an alien spaceship in the pond.

“It’s not a boat,” Colt explained. “It’s a car. Someone probably wedged a stick into the accelerator then popped it in drive.”

Burton’s eyes widened. “What the hell?”
 

“I can’t tell you how relieved I was to see the car was empty,” Jadyn said as she stepped on the bank beside Colt.

He frowned. “We’re not in the clear yet. I was just going back to my truck for a crowbar.”

Jadyn froze and she sucked in a breath. The trunk. How could she have forgotten the trunk?

Because bodies in trunks are not something a degree in environmental science covers.

She watched as Colt retrieved a crowbar from the toolbox in the back of his truck and made his way back into the water.

“What are you doing with that crowbar?” Burton stood at the edge of the pond, alternating staring at Colt and peering into the pond at the car.

“I need to pop the trunk. Make sure there’s nothing inside.”

Burton’s eyes widened. “You think someone’s in that trunk?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“You didn’t have to. What the hell is going on here? There’s something you ain’t telling me about all this.”

“Later,” Colt said and looked over Jadyn. “I’m going to need two hands for this. Can you light up the back?”

Jadyn nodded and tried to swallow, but the lump in her throat was so big it seemed to be choking her. She took a couple steps up the bank and placed the packet on the edge of a rock. As she made her way back down the bank, she pulled her mask on, popped her regulator in her mouth, then gave Colt a thumbs-up. He nodded and walked into the pond until he disappeared below the surface. Jadyn said a silent prayer and followed him into the murky depths.

As she approached the rear of the car, Colt’s spotlight created an eerie glow in the water surrounding her. Algae and who knew what else floated in tiny pieces around her, minnows darting away as she moved through the water. When she drew up next to Colt, she tapped his arm and he handed her his spotlight.
 

She directed the light at the center of the car’s rear and watched as Colt stuck the crowbar underneath the trunk. Her heartbeat pounded in her chest, then echoed through her ears with a whooshing sound. He shoved the crowbar down but the trunk didn’t budge. He turned a bit to the side for better leverage and shoved the crowbar down once more.
 

At first, Jadyn thought it was another failed attempt, then she realized the trunk lid had crept up an inch but was being held in place by the tide. As Colt reached for the lid, she tightened her grip on the spotlight until her hand ached. Every inch the trunk moved seemed to match a heartbeat until it was wide enough to peer inside. The very back appeared empty, so she moved closer to illuminate the far depths of the trunk.

When she saw nothing but water between her and the backseat of the car, she released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She sucked in air through the regulator, and the rush of oxygen made her dizzy for a couple of seconds. She felt Colt tap her shoulder and looked over to see him pointing up.

She nodded and pushed off the muddy bottom toward the surface, tearing the mask and regulator off as soon as she breached the surface.
 

“Anything?” Burton yelled from the bank.

“It’s empty,” Jadyn replied.

Burton’s relief was apparent. “Thank the Lord for that.”

Colt surfaced a second later. “Let’s see if we can get anything off those papers.”

“Crap,” Jadyn said as they walked up the bank. “I didn’t even think to look at the make of the car.”

“I did,” Colt said.

“And?”

“It’s a Cadillac DTS.”

She froze. “Like Raissa and Zach’s?”

Colt paused. “I don’t know Cadillacs very well, so I can’t be certain about the year, but yeah, it looks like theirs. There were also a couple bullet holes in the back windshield.”

Jadyn stared after him a couple of seconds before scrambling up the bank behind him. He stopped to talk with Burton, but she didn’t pay any attention to the conversation. She looked back at the pond, already unable to see the top of the car any longer.
 

Nothing made sense. Too many pieces were missing.

And the worst part was, she had to return to the hotel without a single answer.

Chapter Four

Colt hurried into the sheriff’s department, greeting Eugenia, the night dispatcher, without even slowing. Jadyn practically jogged behind him, trying to keep up, but he was too anxious to slow his pace. When he hurried into the restroom, Jadyn slid to a stop in front of the door. He pulled a blow-dryer out of the bathroom cabinet and motioned her to his office.
 

He plugged in the blow-dryer and shoved everything on his desk to one side, then motioned to Jadyn for the packet. He placed it in the middle of the desk and pointed the dryer at the flap. When the flap separated from the rest of the packet, he directed the air inside until he was able to shake the papers inside onto the desk.

He glanced up at Jadyn, who inched closer to the desk, then directed the dryer at the papers. A few minutes later, the papers started to curl a bit, separating from each other. He flipped the stack over and attacked it from the other side until he was able to pull the top paper away from the stack without damaging it.

They both leaned forward to see the blurry ink.

Coupons.
 

It was a discount coupon printed off a computer.

Colt worked on the remaining papers, but they were all sales ads or discount rates on common items like laptops or cameras. Not a single one of them indicated who might have printed them.

Jadyn stared at the document for several seconds, then sank into a chair. “So we still don’t know for sure.”

Colt shook his head. “Not for sure, but I’m willing to bet that’s Raissa’s car. Those tread marks through the swamp were recent and the car couldn’t have been there long or it would have sunk much lower. There were bullet holes in the back windshield. The odds are seriously against any other explanation.”

“Then what the hell is going on here?”

Colt shook his head. “I can’t put together a scenario that works with all the elements we’re aware of. Maybe Zach was hit by another vehicle while he was firing at their car, but if it was accidental, then why hasn’t the driver of the other vehicle come forward? And if they ditched the car, they either got what they wanted out of it or it wasn’t the car they were after in the first place. But what does someone want with Raissa?”

The even worse question in his mind was “what were they doing to her” but he didn’t even want to say the words out loud. He hoped to God that if someone was holding Raissa hostage, it was to use her as a bargaining chip, and that they understood that harming her would bring the FBI down on them like a hurricane.

“Zach wouldn’t have fired if Raissa was in the car, right?”

Colt considered this for a minute. “The shots were all concentrated on the driver’s side of the car. If he thought he could make the shot—take out the driver in order to stop the car—he might have tried it. If it had been someone I cared about in that car, I would have.”

“The passenger window was open. Is it possible…”