Resurrection in Mudbug (9 page)

Still, this was the first time in years that she’d donned that kind of getup to attract the attention of a man. The last time had been such a disaster, she hadn’t felt like revisiting it. Come to think of it, tonight hadn’t exactly been a roaring success.

She turned on the television, shrugged off her yoga pants and climbed into bed. A feature on wildlife was playing, which normally would have interested her, but for some reason, she couldn’t get into the program.

Finally, she clicked the television off and sighed. Colt wasn’t the only one who’d paid attention to how other people looked. With his worn jeans, T-shirt, and hiking boots, Colt had clearly been dressing for comfort, but even his obvious aggravation with his ruined night didn’t deduct from how sexy he looked. He had a slow, smooth way about him—like everything was under control—that made him even more attractive. 

Like James Bond on the bayou.

She shook her head. Good God, she needed to get a life, and some hobbies, or hobbies and a life. Whatever. But the one thing she would not do was sit in her bedroom for the next fifty years, turning regular small-town sheriffs into action heroes. Sighing, she sank down into the bed and pulled the covers over her shoulders. 

More than anything, she wished she’d gotten to finish her beer.

###

It was 6:00 a.m. and Colt hadn’t even poured his first cup of coffee when Eugenia yelled at him from the front desk. He put down the coffee mug and hustled to the front of the building where Eugenia sat perched in her office chair, one hand on her headset and one pressing the mute button on the receiver.

“It’s Leroy Pendarvis, and he’s in a bad way. Best I can figure, something bad happened at Duke Leger’s house. Leroy’s been wailing and mumbling. I’ve tried to calm him down so I can understand better, but nothing’s getting through to him.”

“Shit.” Colt shoved his pistol in his waistband and grabbed his truck keys. “Call for an ambulance…just in case.”

Eugenia gave him a nod and he hurried out the door and tore off down Main Street. Colt had known Leroy since he was a boy. Leroy was a lot of things…a poacher, a cheater, and a liar, but the one thing he wasn’t was weak. If something had upset Leroy to the extent Eugenia described, then it was bad.

Duke’s residence, which could charitably be referred to as a shack, rested on a thin strip of land between two channels. Colt pushed his truck down the narrow, bumpy dirt path as quickly as possibly, growing more and more tense with each passing mile. Mudbug wasn’t New Orleans, and he’d had his share of panicked calls from dispatch, but this one felt different.

This time, he had a really bad feeling.

He made the drive to Duke’s house in twenty minutes flat, which was probably a record of some sort. He wasn’t sure what he expected to find, maybe Leroy standing out front waving a knife or a pistol or maybe even a semiautomatic weapon—he’d seen both before. But instead, he found something he never expected.

Leroy sat on the front porch steps, staring at him as he climbed out of his truck. The older shrimper didn’t move, not even so much as a blink. Colt walked up to him and shook his shoulder, then waved his hand in front of Leroy’s face, but the other man never gave any indication that he was aware Colt was there.

He’s in shock.

Colt looked past Leroy to the cabin. The front door stood open but he didn’t see any movement inside. He pulled out his pistol anyway and started up the steps. He paused at the doorway and peered inside. 

His hand dropped to his side and he had to force himself to grip the pistol before it slid out of his hand and onto the rotted wooden porch. He clutched the doorway with his other hand and closed his eyes, trying to push away the dizziness and nausea that coursed through him. 

Of all the things he’d seen during his time with the New Orleans Police Department, he’d come all the way back home to see the worst.

Chapter Ten

The sound of screeching woke Jadyn up at dawn. She bolted upright, momentarily startled with the unfamiliar surroundings. It took a moment for her to remember she was in the Mudbug Hotel, but that didn’t explain the racket. It took her a while to realize the howling had a pattern and a failed attempt at carrying a tune. Then she placed the loud, tenor voice as Helena. A second later, she realized the shower was running in Helena’s room. 

How the hell did a ghost take a shower?

Since sleep was obviously a thing of the past, she threw the covers back and tossed on jeans, a T-shirt, and tennis shoes before heading downstairs. If there was a God, Mildred would be up and have a pot of that paint-stripping coffee of hers brewing. 

The strong aroma of Mildred’s special brew hit her as soon as she started down the stairs and she smiled. Mildred was in the small kitchen in the back room of the hotel and had just lifted the pot from the coffeemaker when Jadyn walked in. 

“I’ll give you a year’s salary for a cup of that,” Jadyn said.

“As I know what you make, I have to say, you’re not offering much.” Mildred smiled and grabbed two mugs from the shelf above the coffeepot. 

Jadyn gratefully took the mug of steaming coffee from Mildred and sat at the small table in the corner. She held the container of sugar over her cup, and then the sound of Helena’s screeching blared through the air registry above her. She dumped twice as much sugar into her coffee as usual, but figured at this point, it didn’t matter. The morning was already ruined.

Mildred looked up at the ceiling and scowled. “What in the world is she doing up there?”

“I think she’s singing in the shower. Is that even possible?”

Mildred shook her head and took a seat across from Jadyn. “Heck if I know. Helena didn’t exactly come with an instruction manual.”

“I never really thought much about ghosts and the like before. I mean, I guess I always figured it was possible, but I never thought about what actually happened after the transition. It would have never occurred to me that a ghost wouldn’t know how to do ghost things. Does that make sense?”

“Sure, and that’s the entire rub. Even though Helena and her shenanigans make me want to up and move to Canada, or worse, a part of me still feels a little sorry for her.”

“Why is that? Not to be rude, but based on what I’ve seen, she doesn’t seem like the kind of person that would inspire much empathy.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. When she was alive, Helena Henry was the biggest bitch that ever walked the sidewalks of Mudbug. I suppose she had her reasons, although I’d like to think I wouldn’t have chosen the same path had it been me in her shoes.”

Mildred sighed. “Regardless, she didn’t deserve to be murdered, and she had no choice in getting stuck in some kind of limbo with no idea how to navigate it. Helena was born into money and had people serving her everything she needed her entire life. Then she died and no one could help her, even though we wanted to.”

The full force of Helena’s predicament slammed into Jadyn, and she tried to imagine the confusion, hurt, and bewilderment the woman must have felt when she awakened into some sort of nonliving nightmare. 

“That must have been awful,” Jadyn said. “What about her immediate family? I mean, why appear to Maryse, when she’s only related by marriage? Is that why you think she appears to those in danger?”

“That’s part of it,” Mildred said. “Helena didn’t have any family to speak of except her husband, who tried to kill both her and Maryse but was too stupid to get it right. And back then, Hank was hardly the stuff good sons were made of. Helena’s parents both died when she was a child, but they never loved her. They never loved anything but money.”

Jadyn’s heart clenched at Mildred’s words. She understood that situation far too well for comfort. “I can’t imagine carrying all that around. It’s like something out of a bad horror movie.”

“It is, although she managed to hide it all behind insults and bad choices, which we tolerated then, given the situation. But this time is a little different.”

“How’s that?”

“This time she brought it on herself—claims she pissed off God and got thrown out of heaven. Now, I ask you, what kind of person finds something so wrong with the ever-after that they get banished?”

Jadyn shook her head. “It sorta boggles the mind.”

“Most things with Helena do.” Mildred took a sip of her coffee, then studied Jadyn for several seconds. “I have to say, though, you’re taking this a lot better than Maryse and I expected.”

Jadyn shrugged. “What are my options? Don’t get me wrong, my first inclination was to throw my duffel bag in my truck and leave.”

“Then why didn’t you? If your seeing Helena has anything to do with the mess with the boat full of money, that problem would disappear for you if you left Mudbug.”

Jadyn paused before answering, trying to come up with something that was truthful but didn’t delve into her issues with her mother. 

“You may be right,” she said finally, “but who’s to say I wouldn’t run into the same or an even bigger problem at my next job? What if I’m simply scheduled to face something like this? Here, I have the advantage of you and Maryse and a ghost that assaults sheriffs and steals handcuffs.”

Mildred smiled. “Well, I don’t know how much of an advantage some of us are, but I’m certain we’re all doing our best.”

“Maybe it would be better if Helena did a bit less than her best.”

Mildred laughed. “Definitely.”

Jadyn heard the bells jangling on the front door of the hotel, and seconds later, Maryse strolled into the kitchen, looking every bit the woman who’d spent a satisfying night with a hot man. A ripple of jealousy ran through Jadyn and she squashed it down. She was genuinely happy for her cousin, but part of her knew that what Maryse had with Luc was rare. Even if Jadyn lowered her guard enough to allow a man in, her chances of finding a match as Maryse had were slim to none.

“Good morning,” Maryse said, fairly singing out the words as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

“Hmmpff.” Mildred raised one eyebrow. “Apparently, everyone’s morning isn’t as good as yours.”

Maryse grinned and took a seat at the table. “I have no complaints.”

Helena’s voice boomed through the air registry and Maryse cringed.

“Until now,” Maryse said. “What is she doing up there—killing cats?”

Jadyn shook her head. “Best I can figure, singing in the shower.”

“I don’t even want to know.” Maryse took a sip of coffee. “I have a ton of work to get to, but I wanted to see if there’s anything I can help with first.”

Maryse reached into the back waistband of her jeans, pulled out a container of Mace and placed it on the table in front of Jadyn. “And I wanted to bring this. I know the game warden office has a set of shotguns and rifles, but I figured you could use something smaller and less deadly given the propensity of the locals to take a swing at you.”

Jadyn picked up the Mace and smiled. “So you want me to start spraying men like Junior with Mace?”

“Heck yeah. In fact, I can provide you with a list of targets if you’re interested.”

“I don’t think I’ll have any trouble finding my own.”

“Probably not,” Maryse agreed. “That shoots a hard, steady stream. I carry the same one.”

Jadyn smiled. “Yet you came to rescue me at the bar holding a lamp.”

“I panic in those sort of situations, which is exactly why I carry Mace and not a pistol. A rifle gives me time to think about what I’m doing.”

“That makes sense. Thanks.”

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Maryse said, “but if possible, take Helena with you if you leave downtown today. She’s a horrible pain, but she will try to help.” Maryse glanced up at the ceiling. “I’d never let her hear me say this or she’d use it against me forever, but the truth is, she saved my life. If she hadn’t sent Luc after me, I would have died in the alley right behind this hotel.”

Jadyn felt her heart tug at everything that had happened to her cousin. The news reports didn’t even scratch the surface of the real horror she’d lived through. “If I leave downtown, I promise to take her with me—assuming she will go. But I will not listen to her singing the whole time.”

“No argument there,” Maryse said.

Jadyn’s cell phone rang and she frowned. As it was Sunday, technically, she was off from work, and her mother never rose before 10:00 a.m., insisting on her beauty sleep. One glance at the display and she felt her pulse tick up a notch.

The sheriff’s department.

“Ms. St. James?” the dispatcher asked.

“Speaking.”

“Sheriff Bertrand has a situation at Duke Leger’s house, and he’s requesting you for backup.”

Jadyn clenched the phone. The last time Colt had requested help with a “situation,” a bunch of fools were jumping in alligator-infested water to steal questionable money. But this time, the dispatcher’s tone wasn’t frantic like it was two days earlier. 

This time, the woman sounded scared.

###

The dispatcher’s directions led Jadyn down a narrow trail into the swamp. Giant cypress trees ran along each side of the road, their limbs so large that they formed a canopy over the dirt path that served as a road. Normally, Jadyn wasn’t subject to flights of fancy, but the dim pathway felt ominous, as if the darkness were closing in around her.

Clearly bored, Helena sat in the passenger seat, drumming her fingers on the armrest and driving Jadyn to the brink of insanity. Despite at least twenty minutes of showering, Helena popped downstairs completely dry when Mildred summoned her. Unfortunately, she was wearing a plaid pleated miniskirt, vest sans undershirt, and high-topped, bright purple tennis shoes. She even had gray pigtails. Helena claimed it was a Britney Spears homage, but Jadyn was fairly certain if the real Britney got a glimpse of her, she’d ask Helena to skip the tribute. 

Jadyn had taken one look at Helena and claimed she didn’t need protection detail for this jaunt. After all, she was on her way to meet the sheriff. But Mildred had looked so worried that Jadyn had finally acquiesced to the older woman. It seemed a small price to pay to give the hotel owner a little peace of mind.