Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law Mystery/Romance Series) (7 page)

“I don’t think she could have been thrown out when the car hit the water if that’s what you mean, but it’s possible that the body was dumped before that.”

“But there’s no good reason to dump the body separately from the car, is there?”

“Not that I can think of.”

“Then I’m going to keep believing that Raissa is alive somewhere.”

Colt nodded, trying not to think about all the things that could be happening to her as he sat at his desk, without a clue as to where to start looking. “Agent Ross and a couple of his men took rooms at the hotel. We better head down there and tell them what we found.”

“What about the car?”

“Technically, it’s their jurisdiction now. The feds have better equipment than us. Let them get it out. There’s nothing to see anyway.”

Nothing he hadn’t already seen.

###

Agent Ross had cropped hair and the stiff posture that Jadyn recognized as former military. With her, Colt, Ross, and two other FBI agents all standing in Ross’s hotel room, the combination of the men and the testosterone level made Jadyn felt a bit claustrophobic. On the positive side, Ross didn’t so much as blink when Colt introduced her as the game warden and that was definitely points in his favor.

“Why didn’t you notify me immediately when you got the call from this Burton?” Ross asked, looking slightly perturbed.

“Notify you that a fisherman reported a sunken boat? Do you know how many times a week that happens here?”

Ross’s jaw flexed. He knew Colt had skirted the fed’s jurisdiction, but there wasn’t a thing he could do about it given the circumstances. “You should have called me in as soon as you realized it was a car.”

“Maybe, but if there had been anything of value to retrieve, it might have been damaged by the time you arrived, and likely, the gators that usually occupy that pond would have made their way back. Things are rarely black and white in the swamps. I’ve got more to consider than jurisdiction.”

A flush crept up Ross’s face and Jadyn inwardly cringed, wondering how much their failure to contact the agent in the beginning was going to affect what they could do in the future.

“Fine,” Ross said finally, “but from now on, you stay out of the swamps. Stick to your jurisdiction. I don’t want to hear that either of you were anywhere near that pond again. Are we clear?”

“No sir, we are not,” Jadyn said. “You’re free to tell the sheriff anything you’d like, but you have no right to tell me I can’t do my job. And my job is these swamps…all of the swamps. If I’ve got cause to be in the area, you can bet I will be.”

Ross’s eyes widened and he glared at her. “If you insist on pushing, I can take this to the state.”

“Then I suggest you start now. As efficient as they are, you can expect a return call from my superiors in a week or so.”

“Fine. Is that all you have for me?” Ross asked, clearly done with the conversation.

Colt handed him a piece of paper. “That’s directions to the pond. You may be able to get a tow truck down the bank using some support planks.”

Ross snatched the paper from Colt’s hand and opened the door. Jadyn and Colt trailed out without so much as a good-bye. Ross slammed the door behind them.

“I thought you said he was okay,” Jadyn said as they headed down the hallway.

“He was before, but this was bound to happen sooner or later,” Colt said. “I’m sure his boss is coming down on him, especially since the dogs didn’t find anything today. Emotions are running high, and if Ross gets them answers, he’ll probably get a big promotion out of it.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

He shook his head. “He better be happy with the job he has now.”

“Are all the law enforcement agencies that brutal?”

“The ones I’m familiar with, it’s pretty standard.”

“I wonder how Luc handles it. He seems well adjusted.”

“According to the rumor mill, Luc is pretty much a legend in the DEA. He doesn’t ever talk about his work, but the conviction rate on his cases is double the agency average.”

“You think he’ll be running the DEA one day?”

“Doubt it. I think Luc likes what he does. Sitting behind a desk would be a slow death.”

“I get that,” Jadyn said as they stepped into the lobby.

Mildred was at the front desk and gave them a quick nod before hustling off down the hall. Jadyn briefly wondered what was that pressing at 9:00 p.m. but figured she’d find out soon enough.

“So what now?” she asked.

Colt ran one hand through his hair, looking incredibly frustrated. “Despite the edict from Ross, I think we should search the area.”

“You think someone’s holding her nearby?”

“She’s somewhere. Might as well start looking where we know they were. There’s any number of fishing camps—shacks mostly—that someone could hole up in if they were looking to.”

“What time?”

“Sun’s up at six. I want to be in the bayou before Ross gets there, so say five thirty.”

“I’ll meet you at the dock. Anything special I need to bring?”

“Binoculars, and plenty of extra ammo…just in case.”

Jadyn nodded.
Just in case.

Colt exited the hotel and she watched him through the plate-glass front as he walked down the sidewalk. The maps of the bayous that she’d started on last week all rolled through her mind as she tried to place the location of the car in relation to the channels she’d already charted.

“You’re thinking awfully deep there,” Mildred’s voice sounded behind her.

She turned around to face the hotel owner and sighed. “I have a lot to think about.”

Mildred nodded. “We all do. I just put on a pot of coffee. Shirley called and told me about the car. You want to bring me up to speed on everything else?”

“Of course,” Jadyn said, immediately feeling guilty. She’d been so focused on the events of the day and the plans for tomorrow that she’d completely forgotten she hadn’t had a chance to fill Mildred and Maryse in on anything. They were probably both ready to explode.
 

“Can we call Maryse?” Jadyn asked as she trailed behind Mildred to her office.

“Ha,” Mildred said. “If we don’t she might shoot us. She’s probably been staring at her phone all day.”

Jadyn took a seat in Mildred’s office and the hotel owner returned a minute later with a coffeepot and a tray of cups and sweetener. Jadyn had just finished pouring two cups when Helena popped through the wall and took a seat next to Jadyn.

Mildred gave her a disapproving look. “Where have you been all day?”

“What do you care? Seemed you guys wanted me scarce this morning, so I got scarce.”

“No,” Mildred corrected, “we wanted you to stop stealing food, and that’s not the reason you fled. Later on, you and I are going to have a talk about the cat and Maryse’s daddy’s ashes.”

Helena’s eyes widened, probably putting together the gunfire and broken urn. “Uh-oh.”

“You got that right,” Mildred said. “A long, unpleasant talk. The only reason I haven’t been looking for you sooner is because we’ve got a bigger emergency than you.”

Helena sobered. “I heard about Zach and Raissa down at the beauty shop. I hitched a ride with a trucker and waited for the search team to return to their cars. I know they didn’t find anything. And I heard you guys talking to that Agent Ross. What an ass he is.”

“I didn’t see you,” Jadyn said.
 

“I was hiding in the bathroom. I heard you and Colt coming up the stairs and thought you were finally going to get some of that hot action, but then you went up another flight, so I followed you.”

Jadyn studied Helena for a minute. “I don’t suppose you thought to stick around after Colt and I left to see what the agents said?”

“Of course I did. Do you take me for a fool?”

“I’m not touching that,” Jadyn said. “What did they say?”

“That Ross did some cussing and stomping, talking about how Colt was a jackass and you were a stone bitch. How his entire career was riding on this case and he wasn’t about to let two small-town amateurs blow it for him.”

“That’s exactly what Colt figured his problem was,” Jadyn said.

“Don’t worry,” Helena said. “I put shampoo in his contact lens solution.”

Mildred coughed and Jadyn could tell she was holding in a laugh. She didn’t even bother to hold back her grin. “Normally,” she said, “I would say that wasn’t nice, but in this case, I heartily approve.”

Helena brightened. “I could do more. There’s this trick with Preparation H—”

“No!” Mildred and Jadyn both sounded off at once.

“But it would be very helpful,” Jadyn said, “if you would find out what their plans are for tomorrow.”

“I already know. They’re going to get a tow truck down to the pond and pull the car out, then their forensics team is going to go over every inch of it, because no way could you and Colt have done a thorough job with it submerged in the pond.”

“In theory,” Jadyn said, “I’d agree with him, but the fact is, the car’s empty. And it’s not like they’re going to get any DNA evidence out of it now. But whatever. At least they’ll get the VIN and we’ll know for certain it’s Raissa’s. And if Ross is distracted with the car, he won’t notice what Colt and I are doing.”

“Good point,” Mildred said. “Are you ready to call Maryse?”

Jadyn nodded.

Mildred pointed a finger at Helena. “You need to stick around and listen to this. I don’t want to have to update you later on.”

“I don’t suppose you could whip up a quick banana pudding?” Helena asked.

“No, I can not.” Mildred put the phone on speaker and dialed Maryse, who answered before the first ring even finished.

Jadyn proceeded to recap everything that had happened that day. She figured they’d already heard some of it through the Mudbug grapevine, but all three women listened without interruption. Mildred’s worried expression, however, told Jadyn everything the older woman was thinking.
 

“You’re going to start checking camps tomorrow morning?” Maryse asked.

“Yes,” Jadyn said. “Colt thinks if someone’s holding Raissa nearby, one of the camps is the most likely location.”

“I agree,” Maryse said, “but there’s so many.”

“Can we cover them all in a day?”

“No way. Not every one in the game preserve, anyway. You might be able to cover three-quarters. If you move fast and work the channels efficiently.”

“Then that will have to do,” Jadyn said. “We’ll cover the rest the next day.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Mildred asked. “I feel so useless and guilty just sitting here, but for the life of me, I can’t think of anything I could do to help.”

“Helena can help by shadowing the FBI, particularly Agent Ross.”

Helena shook her head. “I was married to an asshole for over three decades. I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime.”

Jadyn narrowed her eyes at Helena. “Mildred told me all about your husband, so I know you could have paid him to go away but were too cheap or stubborn to purchase a better life. But the point is, this isn’t about you. It’s about finding Raissa and you owing Maryse huge…enormously, as a matter of fact. So you’ll follow Ross, even into the restroom, just in case he says something that the FBI has been keeping from us.”

Helena slumped down in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Guess I can see how you and Maryse are related. You’re both rude.”

“Never claimed otherwise.”

“I suppose I could have the rooms bugged,” Mildred said, “but with the rate things get done in this town, Ross would be retired before I got anyone out here to do it.”

“For a change,” Jadyn said, “I’d like to try to stay on the right side of the law. I’m all for bending the ever-living hell out of it, but I don’t think our own personal Watergate is a good move at this point. It’s not like anyone can prosecute us for having a ghost spy on them.”

“True,” Mildred agreed, “but surely there’s something I can do besides sit here and worry. It’s giving me wrinkles and I’ve already eaten an entire bag of Oreos this afternoon.”

“You had Oreos?” Helena asked.

“Forget the Oreos.” Jadyn waved a hand at the ghost. “There
is
the diner up the highway from where Zach was found. Colt figured the feds would be all over it today, but we were going to hit it tomorrow on the off chance that someone says something.”
 

“I know the place,” Maryse said. “Lots of truckers and shrimpers. A little rough but the chicken-fried steak is decent.”

“I like chicken-fried steak,” Helena said.

Jadyn counted to three, then looked at Mildred. “Colt and I will be in the swamp all day tomorrow, but there’s nothing stopping us from going to the diner tonight.”

“But we’re not cops,” Maryse said. “We don’t have any right to question people.”

“No, but we’re friends of the victim, and people may be more willing to talk to us than to the police.”

“She’s right,” Mildred said. “Play up the worried friend angle to the hilt and lips tend to loosen a bit.”