Resurrection in Mudbug (7 page)

Bart looked back at Tyler, whose expression moved from relaxed to perturbed. Obviously, Bart had a clear idea of who had tried to cut him out.

“Excuse me for a minute,” Bart said and jumped off his stool before strolling across the bar to where Junior sat.

Tyler slid off his stool but remained standing next to Jadyn. “If Junior’s the one who called for silence, this isn’t going to be pretty. He and Bart have a long-standing feud—the Hatfields and McCoys kind.”

“Really?” Jadyn perked up, feeling only slightly guilty that the prospect of the seemingly affable Bart stomping the clearly disturbed Junior into the floor until it splintered caused her a bit of excitement.

“Yep,” Tyler said. “Junior’s mom wasn’t exactly the kind of stuff housewives were made of. She set her sights on Bart’s dad almost as soon as Junior’s dad dragged her to Mudbug. One weekend, both of them disappeared and ain’t no one heard from either of them since.”

“Okay, that just sucks,” Jadyn said, feeling bad for Bart, trying to feel bad for Junior. After all, it wasn’t his fault his mom had turned out to be a husband-stealing slut. His obvious anger issues with women made a lot more sense now. 

“Yeah, it was one of the shittiest things I ever seen, and I seen a lot of shitty things.”

Suddenly, the guilt that had been pushed aside came creeping in, reminding Jadyn that she
was
a law enforcement officer, even if her authority didn’t extend to the bar.  

“Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything,” she said.

“It would have happened eventually, anyway. Bart may not get around to things as quickly as you do, but sooner or later, that same thought would have struck him. Besides, the ambulance can get to them easier here than in the swamp.”

Tyler downed a big gulp of beer, a smile hovering on his lips, and Jadyn realized he hadn’t stood up because he was worried he’d need to intervene—he was waiting for the first blows so that he could jump into the fight.

The voices at the end of the bar grew louder and Jadyn hopped off her stool. She’d started this mess and needed to end it before things got out of hand. As she walked toward the two yelling men, something pink moved in the corner of her eye. Apparently figuring something was up, Helena had left her corner to move toward the bar. With the way she teetered on the ridiculous heels she wore, Jadyn doubted she’d make it halfway across the bar before falling. 

“I don’t like what you’re accusing me of,” Junior said. He puffed his chest out, but it still didn’t reach farther than his stomach.

Bart didn’t appear any more impressed than Jadyn. “You don’t like it because I caught you being the sneaky bastard you are. Guess it’s in your genes.”

Junior turned beet red and clenched his fists. “I done told you it wasn’t me, and even if it was, what are you gonna do about it?”

“Gentlemen,” Jadyn said, even though she was fairly sure the moniker wasn’t applicable. “I can’t let you start a fight in here, so I’m going to ask you both to cool it.”

Junior snorted. “That’s big words considering you ain’t got the sheriff here to protect you this time.”

“The way I remember it, I didn’t need him last time.”

“You troublemaking bitch. All this is your fault.” Junior shoved Bart to the side and launched at Jadyn, who neatly sidestepped out of his path and sent him crashing into a table.

Junior struggled to get up from the floor, glaring at her the entire time. She had no doubt that as soon as he got upright, he was going for tackle number two. Jadyn shifted her weight to the left, ready to spin out of his way, but her right foot remained fixed in place. She glanced down and her pulse spiked.

Holy crap! 

Her heel was caught in one of the wide cracks in the plank floor and it wasn’t budging. If she’d been wearing pumps, she would have simply stepped out of them and completed her move, but the leather laces were wrapped firmly up her calf, keeping her foot firmly affixed to the shoe.   

So not good.

Chapter Eight

The door to the bar swung open and someone walked in, but Jadyn was too busy trying to work her heel out of the floorboard to worry about who was witnessing the spectacle. Helena had made it halfway across the bar and was huffing like a train. Of even more concern, she was picking up speed. 

Junior had made it up from the floor, and even worse, had seen Jadyn’s shoe caught in the crack. “You’re not getting away with it this time,” he said.

Bart and Tyler, who’d moved to stand on each side of Junior, both grabbed an arm to prevent him from charging, but the angry man’s adrenaline and hatred outweighed the two lighter men trying to hold him back. He shook them both off like rag dolls, lowered his head, and charged.

“Stop or I’ll shoot!” Jadyn heard Colt’s voice sound from the doorway, but Junior didn’t hear anything but his own rage. 

“Knife!” Jadyn yelled at the bartender, who pulled a pocketknife from his jeans and tossed it to her. She opened the knife, sliced the laces from her ankles, and dived to the left side just in time to miss the charging Junior.

Colt stepped forward at the same time, probably in an attempt to stop the charge, and ended up in the worst place possible. Helena, who’d long since lost control of her legs or her momentum, ran full speed toward Colt. Jadyn expected her to pass right through, but instead, the ghost hit the sheriff with a thud and launched him forward, right into Junior’s path. 

Junior ran square into Colt, knocking him to the ground and flinging the handcuffs he’d been holding in one hand into the air. Junior dove for the handcuffs, completely flattening Helena as he went, then rolled over and attempted to handcuff the sheriff with his own cuffs. Unfortunately, Helena was still in the middle of the mix and although Jadyn was certain neither man could see her, she still held some sort of solid form. Invisible, but solid.

Junior slapped the cuffs at what he thought was Colt’s wrist, but instead, the cuff clicked into place on Helena. The ghost managed to wriggle out from under the fighting men and jumped up from the floor. 

“What the hell?” Junior stared at the handcuffs dangling in front of him and Jadyn jumped in front of Colt to block his view. All around her, men fled the bar, not wanting to be any part of a fight involving the sheriff. Helena ran right out the front door along with them. 

So much for security detail.

###

Mildred and Maryse were on their second round of gin rummy when they heard yelling across the street. They both jumped up to peek out the front window of the hotel, and stared as men came running out of the bar and tore away in their vehicles. At the end of the pack came a burst of pink, racing right past the hotel. The shoes were gone, but the spandex was still intact…with an addition.

A pair of handcuffs dangled from Helena’s wrist.

Maryse looked over at Mildred. “This can’t be good.”

###

Colt took advantage of Junior’s momentary loss of concentration and clocked him square in the jaw. Between Colt’s punch and the amount of beer Junior had consumed, the troublemaker fell straight back onto the hardwood floor and didn’t move so much as a finger.

“Nice punch,” Jadyn said and tossed the pocketknife back to the bartender. “Thanks.”

The bartender nodded and put two beers on the counter. “I figure you both earned these, even though you cleared out my customers.”

Colt looked over at the bartender. “Damn it, Bill, why didn’t you break that up before it got out of control?”

The bartender grinned and shrugged. “’Cause Junior Thibodeaux’s an asshole who needs a butt-whooping.”  

Colt sighed, but Jadyn noticed he didn’t argue. He glanced around the floor, then threw his hands up in the air. “Where the hell are my handcuffs?”

“They must have gotten taken in the stampede,” Jadyn said.

“I don’t even have spares on me. I was planning on having a beer, not breaking up a bar fight.”

“Here ya go.” Bill tossed Colt a piece of rope. “It’ll rub his wrists something awful if he starts struggling, but I figure that’s a plus.”

Colt flipped the lifeless Junior over and secured his hands behind his back. He was just finishing up when Maryse and Mildred burst into the bar. Jadyn took one look at them and couldn’t hold in a laugh.

Maryse had a purple lamp from the hotel lobby and held it over her shoulder like a batter ready to swing. Mildred clutched a phone book.

“Is everything okay?” Maryse asked, scanning the bar.

Colt took one look at them and grinned. “And if it wasn’t, what the heck did you two plan on doing—illuminating the fight and calling for pizza?”

Maryse lowered the lamp and Mildred dropped the phone book on a table. “We were playing cards over at the hotel when we heard the commotion,” Mildred explained. “We were afraid Jadyn might be in trouble so we grabbed the nearest items and hauled it over here.”

Colt raised one eyebrow. “And why would you automatically assume Jadyn was mixed up in that mess?”

“Because we saw how she was dressed when she left the hotel,” Maryse said.

Bill starting laughing. “God love you, Maryse. You have a way of seeing the gem in the shit. You should come in more often.”

Suddenly Maryse froze and the lamp slipped from her hand and crashed to the floor. Her eyes widened and all the color rushed from her face.

“Oh no,” Mildred wrapped her arm to steady her. “Take a deep breath, honey. It’s just a building.”

Maryse blew out the breath with a whoosh and sucked another in so rapidly Jadyn was afraid she’d hyperventilate.

“Oh man,” Bill said and hurried from behind the bar over to Maryse. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think about…look, I ain’t got no words for what my cousin did ’cause there ain’t none that makes sense of it, but I ain’t him and I aim to turn this bar into something useful again.”

Maryse nodded as she took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. “I know, Bill. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

“Hell, don’t apologize to me. You ain’t got nothing to apologize for.”

“I think I better go,” Maryse said. 

Bill squeezed her shoulder. “The bar’s closed on Sundays, but I’m here doing the books. If you want to come in and sit with it all for a spell, just knock on the door. My granny always said everything could be fixed by sitting with it.”

“Thanks,” Maryse said and gave Jadyn a nod before allowing Mildred to guide her out of the bar.

Colt watched them leave, then downed a big gulp of beer. “Am I to assume you started this mess?” he asked Jadyn.

Jadyn took in his somewhat aggrieved expression and felt her irritation grow. “I did nothing of the sort. All I wanted to do was have a beer and relax, maybe get the local gossip.”

Colt shook his head. “You were flashing your goods at the locals and trying to find out who got to that pond first.”

“I was doing nothing of the sort,” she said, not sounding the least bit convincing.

“You can’t do this kind of thing in Mudbug,” Colt continued, completely ignoring her denial. “The men here aren’t used to this kind of play. You’ll end up causing a fight every time, and likely leave with nothing but a wasted night and a few more enemies in the end.”

“Maybe a few fans,” Bill said and winked at Jadyn. “Why didn’t you tell me you were looking for information on the pond? I could have told you anything that’s been passed around the bar.”

“Because I don’t know you?” Jadyn suggested.

Bill stroked his chin. “I guess there is that, but I bet Colt here was coming in to do the same thing, despite all his claims of peaceful beer-drinking.”

Jadyn narrowed her eyes at him. “I see. So it’s okay for you to come in here and ask questions but not for me to do so, even though I’m in charge.”

Bill whistled and leaned back against the bar, ready for the show.

“Look,” Colt said, “it’s not about who’s in charge. It’s about how things get done in small towns. Men in places like Mudbug are not ready for women in charge who look like you—especially not dressed like that. It clouds their minds and then they do stupid things.”

“Ha,” Jadyn said. “I’ll bet a million dollars Junior has been doing stupid things since birth. The way I’m dressed didn’t have a thing to do with it.”

“She’s got a point,” Bill said.

Colt glared at the bar owner. “Whose side are you on?”

Bill grinned. “Do you have to ask?”

Colt threw his hands in the air. “Fine, keep dressing like you’re going to a city club and stirring up the locals, but the next time, I’m not wading into the fray.”

“Who asked you to?” Jadyn shot back. “I was doing fine on my own.”

“Didn’t look like it from where I stood. Speaking of which, who pushed me into that freight train Junior?”

Jadyn shrugged. “Someone with a warrant? Got to be a few of those in this town.”

Bill nodded. “More than a few, I’d imagine. Anyway, if the two of you would stop running your mouth for a minute, I’ll tell you what you came for. Might as well shut down early and watch
Saturday Night Live
since you ran off all my customers.”

Jadyn and Colt took seats at the bar in front of Bill, and Jadyn took a drink of her beer. “So you know who was first to find the money in the pond?”

“Maybe.”

Jadyn snapped her fingers. “
SNL
is waiting. Talk.”

Bill grinned. “Bossy. I like that.” He leaned forward and placed his hands on the bar. “It wasn’t Junior that found the money. He broadcast to his friends, but I could hear people yelling in the background when he sent out the call. I figure they was already at the pond.”

“So how did Junior find out?” Jadyn asked.

“He says a call went out on Marty’s channel that bass was biting big at the pond.”

“Marty?” Colt shook his head. “That can’t be right.”

Jadyn stared. “Marty, as in the guy who owns the garage? The garage where we left the boat last night? The same boat that had no evidence as to origin or ownership when we searched it this morning?” 

Colt frowned. “Marty was at the garage yesterday morning. I bought a set of spark plugs from him. He couldn’t have transmitted from the pond and if he’d known about the money, he would have closed the garage and been in the middle of the fray with them.”