Chapter Eleven
It was almost ten o’clock when Maryse finally called Mildred. She’d had Luc text the hotel owner hours ago that she was safe and at home, but Maryse knew Mildred wouldn’t sleep a wink unless she heard directly from Maryse. And although she had every right not to care, Maryse couldn’t help wondering if Helena had made it out of the swamp.
Mildred answered on the first ring. “It’s about time.”
“Sorry,” Maryse said. “I was held captive by that ass Ross for hours, then once Luc rescued me, I got a serious butt-chewing from him.”
“He’s been chewing you out for the past three hours?”
Maryse blushed. “Uh, not exactly.”
“I see. Well, I hope you enjoyed your marital activities while I sat here worried to death.”
Maryse smiled, knowing the hotel owner was joking. “I definitely enjoyed them. Might go for a second round later on.”
Mildred sighed. “Must you rub it in? Your daddy’s been dead a long time.”
“So find someone new. Do you really think he’d want you to sit around pining for him?”
“Maybe a little.”
“Ha. You’re probably right. Anyway, back to business.” She gave Mildred a rundown of her and Helena’s fallout with the FBI and her day with Stepford. “Did Helena make it back?”
“Yes, Jadyn and Colt found the boat drifting and out of gas. Once Colt realized the boat belonged to Ross, he decided to leave it, but he unknowingly hauled Helena back to shore.”
“Wow. I wonder how Jadyn made that work.”
“I can’t imagine and don’t trust a word Helena says. She always makes herself sound like a lot less trouble than she is.”
“You haven’t asked Jadyn?”
Mildred hesitated before answering and Maryse sobered, knowing something wasn’t right.
“The thing is,” Mildred said, “she hasn’t come back just yet.”
“What do you mean just yet? It’s been dark for over an hour. Did you call the sheriff’s department?”
“Of course, but Eugenia hasn’t heard from them, either. Deputy Nelson tried to raise him on the CB, but he’s not getting a response. So he went to other channels and asked the fishermen about them, but no one’s seen them since late this afternoon.”
Maryse clenched the phone. “Something’s wrong. No matter how involved they are in finding Raissa, they would have checked in by now.”
“You think I don’t know that? Deputy Nelson is going over the map Colt left and getting a plan together to send out a search party tonight.”
“Let me go talk to Luc.” She disconnected the call and hurried back into the bedroom to wake her sleeping husband, already knowing how unhappy he was going to be with this news.
And with the fact that she had every intention of joining the search party.
“Luc.” She shook his shoulder until he rolled over and opened one eye.
“You wore me out,” he said. “Let me sleep.”
“Jadyn and Colt haven’t returned.”
Luc popped up in bed. “You’re sure?”
She nodded and repeated her conversation with Mildred.
Luc rubbed his cheek. “That’s not good.”
“I know. If they ran into boat trouble, they would have used the CB. If they needed backup, they would have used the CB. So either the CB has been disabled, they can’t get to it, or they’re…”
“No. I refuse to believe that. Colt’s too sharp to let someone get the better of him in the swamp.”
“But Jadyn is new. What if she slowed him down, or distracted him? I think they might like each other…you know?”
Luc shook his head. “I don’t believe for a moment that sexual attraction is enough to reduce their concentration enough to become vulnerable. They’re professionals and they’re on the job.”
“Deputy Nelson is putting together a search party. They’re going out tonight.”
Luc studied her face for a while, then sighed. “And you want to go.”
“Do you blame me?”
He leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips. “Of course not. It’s one of the reasons I love you so much.” He jumped out of bed and grabbed his jeans. “Let me get dressed and make a couple of calls. I can probably get a couple more guys to join us.”
Relief washed over Maryse. “Thank you,” she said, then reached for her jeans and rubber boots.
Twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of the sheriff’s department to join the crowd of fifteen or so that gathered on the sidewalk. Deputy Nelson perked up a bit when Luc stepped out of his truck. This situation was probably the world’s worst nightmare for the young and mostly inexperienced deputy.
“I’m just assigning coverage,” the deputy said and showed Luc the map. “If we assume they stuck to the order listed here and continued on after dark, I figure they’ll be somewhere in this area. Would you mind taking the last part of it? It’s the deepest in the swamp and the hardest to traverse at night, but Maryse probably knows these channels better than anyone in Mudbug.”
“We’ll take it,” Maryse said then looked at Luc. “If that’s all right.”
He nodded. “I think it’s best.”
“Thank you,” Deputy Nelson said, looking more than a little relieved. “Does everyone know their coverage area? Set your CBs to channel 19. If you see anything odd, radio immediately with your location and a description of the situation before proceeding. We don’t want anyone else disappearing.”
“What if they’re injured?” one of the local fishermen asked.
“Radio in with an assessment and Eugenia will get either an ambulance or a helicopter to meet you at the dock.”
“So you want us to move them…I mean, if they’re injured?” another man asked.
Deputy Nelson nodded. “I want them out of the swamp. We’re traveling in teams of two and three so that we have the strength to carry someone who may be unconscious. Do whatever necessary to get them to the dock where they can be transported to the hospital.”
Everyone dispersed, heading in different directions to collect their boats and head out. Maryse was happy no one asked what to do if they found that Colt and Jadyn hadn’t made it. Probably no one wanted to consider that possibility. She certainly didn’t.
“My boat is docked behind the sheriff’s department,” she said.
Luc looked surprised. “Why isn’t it at your lab?”
Maryse shrugged. “When you asked me to stay out of the swamp, I figured it was better to move it into town. I’ve never had any problems at the lab, but you never know.” Her last four words had never been more true.
“I didn’t realize you were actually trying to do what I’d asked,” Luc said.
“If it hadn’t been Raissa, I wouldn’t have gone into the swamp. I would have continued to bitch and whine to everyone who would listen, but I wouldn’t have gone there until you said it was safe. I’m not a complete butthole.”
Luc grinned. “Then I guess I owe you an apology.”
“I don’t even care anymore. I just want to find Jadyn and Colt.” She jumped into her boat as Luc untied it from the dock, then pushed them off.
“Me too,” he said as Maryse flipped on the running lights.
“Do you want me to drive?” she asked.
“If you don’t mind. I’d like to study things as we go.”
Maryse nodded and pulled away from the dock. Luc’s Native American heritage provided him with a skill set most men didn’t possess. Her husband had a connection with nature and the land that defied explanation. He simply knew things—felt them in his bones. Unfortunately, he also saw things, including Helena Henry. Seeing dead people was the thing Luc liked the least about his gift. Seeing Helena made him wish he wasn’t gifted at all.
As anxious as she was to get to their section, Maryse curbed her desire to fly across the bayou, letting her husband study the bank. Occasionally, he reached over the side of the boat and let his hand glide just over the surface of the water. Other times, he sniffed the night air. If such a thing as reincarnation existed, she would have bet money her husband had been a wolf in a previous life. His ability to track in the dark was uncanny.
She didn’t want to interrupt his process by talking, so she kept her eye on the channel in front of her, making sure the boat was squarely in the middle, which was the safest area to travel. The night air was thick with humidity and dark clouds rolled across the sky, eclipsing the moon except for a few precious seconds at a time.
The running lights from her boat cast an eerie yellow glow on the water and she felt a chill run through her, despite the summer heat. What could have possibly happened to Colt and Jadyn that prevented them from getting home? She couldn’t come up with a single answer that she liked. The bottom line was both her cousin and the sheriff were highly capable of handling most situations that could arise. Whatever detained them wasn’t your garden-variety trouble.
She checked the landmarks and guided the boat down a narrow channel on the left. They were moving deep into the swamp now. The camps in this remote area could only be reached by boat, and none of them had electricity, except for the kind created by generators. The strip of camps they would check first was located on a channel that dead-ended into a bank. From talking with locals, Maryse knew that no decent fishing spots were located on the channel, so if Colt and Jadyn had run into trouble in that area, the likelihood of getting help from a passing fisherman was slim to none.
Maybe it was as simple as that. Maybe they’d gotten stranded somewhere with boat problems and the CB was also broken.
She blew out a breath. The odds of a boat owned by the sheriff’s department having both engine and CB malfunctions at the same time were so low they were almost nonexistent. Maryse knew Colt kept his boat in prime condition.
“Wait,” Luc said, putting his hand up. “Cut the engine.”
She dropped the acceleration to nothing and turned the key to kill the engine. “What is it?”
He scanned the banks on each side of the boat, then looked up at the moon just as it slipped from behind a cloud. The moonlight swept across the swamp and his gaze followed it until he locked in on something in a channel to their right.
“There,” he said. “In the shadows of the bank.”
She squinted into the darkness, but all she could make out was the faint outline of cypress roots. “I don’t see anything.”
“He’s there. I can feel him.”
“Friend or foe?”
“His presence here isn’t good, but I have no way of knowing if that’s because of Colt and Jadyn.”
“Could be a poacher?”
Luc nodded. “Let’s start at the last camp on the channel and work our way back up. I’ll watch and see if our friend follows us.”
Maryse started the boat and glanced back as she pulled away. She still couldn’t see anyone but now she could feel him, watching them. But why?
It took another five minutes of fairly slow travel to reach the end of the channel. She scanned the banks along with Luc, ready to make a quick stop if they saw any sign of Colt’s boat. At the end of the channel, she turned the boat around, trying to contain her disappointment. Maybe it had been foolish to hope they’d find Colt and Jadyn on the first channel they searched, but she wasn’t about to apologize for being a fool.
As she swung the boat around close to the bank, Luc grabbed her arm and pointed. She cut the engine and picked up a spotlight, directing it at the pier Luc indicated. As the light hit the running lights of the sheriff’s boat, she sucked in a breath. Those lights were the only thing visible above the surface. The rest of the boat was sunken in the water and mud next to the pier.
She peered up toward the camp, unable to make out the structure in the inky black. “Do you think they’re inside?”
“The logical answer is yes. The real question is, are they alone?”