Chapter Thirteen
Jadyn followed Colt out of the hospital, mulling over the information Raissa had given them. “So what do you think?” she asked as they climbed into his truck.
He pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward Mudbug. “I’m wondering how three men Raissa has never seen before know where Bart’s camp is. It’s not like it’s a well-traveled area.”
“True. But if you’re planning on talking to Bart, you better hurry. As soon as Ross finds out where she was held, he’ll be all over that angle.”
Colt pressed the accelerator down a bit more. “The tests they’re doing on Raissa should stall Ross long enough for us to question Bart, assuming we can find him, that is.”
“What do you mean?”
“I asked Deputy Nelson for a list of the people he called last night to join the search party. Bart was called but wasn’t in the party, which I thought was odd, given that he’s usually the first to help with that sort of thing. When I asked Deputy Nelson about it, he said the call went straight to voice mail and that Tyler didn’t know where he was.”
Jadyn rolled that piece of information over in her mind. Could the likable Bart be part of something so insidious?
“I talked to him night before last in Bill’s Bar,” Jadyn said. “He asked a lot of questions about Ross and the investigation. I didn’t really think anything of it because it seems a normal thing to do, but I suppose it could have been more than that.”
Colt frowned. “After the last couple of weeks, I’m beginning to think that anything is possible.”
“Deputy Nelson said Tyler didn’t know where Bart was—is that unusual? I mean, they aren’t roommates or anything, are they?”
“No. Bart inherited his parents’ place after his dad died. His mom died of cancer years ago. About two years ago, Tyler bought an old soybean farm ten miles west of downtown. The swamp had already swallowed up the fields. If you didn’t know what it was before, you’d never guess.”
“What about—” Jadyn cut off as her cell phone rang. She pulled the phone from her pocket and frowned, not recognizing the number. “Hello,” she answered.
“Is this Jadyn?” a woman asked.
Her voice sounded familiar, but Jadyn couldn’t quite place it. “Yes, this is Jadyn.”
“Hi, this is Dee, the waitress at Ted’s Diner.”
Suddenly, the voice clicked. “Yes, Dee, I remember.”
“You said to call if I heard anything.”
Jadyn tightened her grip on her phone. “And have you?”
“It may be nothing, but I had to cover for Annette on the early shift and something just happened that I think is strange. Anyway, there was this guy, Gordon Pickett, who had a heart attack in the diner last week. They hauled him off in an ambulance, and when I left early the next morning, there was a black Caddy parked right up front. I figure it had to be his.”
“Makes sense.”
“So a couple of days later, it was gone. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I mean, I guess I figured friends or family had picked it up for him, or maybe he wasn’t that bad off and had picked it up himself. But I didn’t think anything was odd about it.”
“But now you do.”
“Yes ma’am. Gordon showed up about an hour ago to collect his car.”
“Was he confused? Maybe he’d sent someone and forgot.”
“I thought that at first. My great-aunt Elise had a stroke and was never quite the same. But he insisted that he didn’t have any close family or friends to send.”
“Did you call the cops and report it?”
“Oh yeah. Took forever and they weren’t overly polite, insisting that Gordon had probably picked up his own car and due to his heart attack, had forgotten.”
“But you don’t think so?”
“No. We were really slow, so I talked to him for an hour the night before he had the heart attack, and I’ve waited on him several times before. Except for the fact that he looked like absolute hell, I didn’t notice anything different about him conversation-wise. And trust me, working the night shift, people acting different is something I pay attention to.”
“That’s smart.”
“So anyway, I don’t know that it means anything at all, but I thought it was strange, two black Caddies both disappearing from around here. I can’t even remember the last time a car was stolen in this town, except for kids joyriding, of course.”
“I agree. Something definitely feels wrong about all of this. I don’t suppose you know how to find Gordon?”
“Sure. He gave me his phone number, in case I heard anything. Let me dig it out of my purse.”
Jadyn heard some shuffling, then Dee hopped back on the line and gave her the number.
“I really appreciate this,” Jadyn said as she jotted the number on the back of a business card.
“No problem, and hey, when y’all find that missing woman, would you let me know? I been thinking about her a lot lately. I mean, she was just sitting at my counter, chatting and happy, and then she disappeared. It’s the kind of thing a girl’s nightmares are made of, know what I mean?”
“I know exactly what you mean, and I’m happy to tell you that you don’t have to worry any longer. Raissa was found last night. She’s been knocked around a little, but she’ll be fine.”
“Oh wow! That’s great. Did someone steal her car with her in it?”
“The FBI isn’t giving out any information about the case, but I’m sure they won’t care if we let people know she’s all right.”
“I’m really happy about that, especially for her aunt. Older people tend to take things so much harder. Well, I best get back to it. I’m behind busing tables after messing with Gordon and his hysterics.”
“Thanks again,” Jadyn said before disconnecting the call.
She slipped the cell phone into her jeans pocket and stared out the window.
“What’s wrong?” Colt asked.
She repeated the conversation. “That’s three black sedans stolen within the last ten days. Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”
“Definitely. A place this small usually doesn’t average one auto theft a year, not if you discount kids, domestic disputes, and the like.” He blew out a breath. “I think we need to get that car we ran up on yesterday out of the channel, and see if there are any more with it.”
He pulled out his cell phone and called Deputy Nelson, then instructed him to draft whoever and whatever was necessary to drag the cars out of the channel. When he was done explaining himself three times, he disconnected and sighed.
“Is Deputy Nelson confused?” Jadyn asked.
Colt snorted. “You could say that, and the damned shame of it is, he’s the more capable of my two deputies. I inherited Deputy Simon, and have been trying to figure out a kind way to relieve him of his duties ever since.”
“I might be able to help with that one. The other day, I overheard someone say they saw Deputy Simon smoking weed with the kids behind the high school.”
Colt stared at her in obvious dismay. “Who said that?”
“I didn’t recognize him,” Jadyn hedged. “But now that you’ve busted the mayor’s son, I bet you can get some others to talk. It might not stick in court, but it would probably be enough for Deputy Simon to gladly resign if you let it go.”
“Jeez Louise. This town is going to hell in a handbasket.”
“All problems with questionable personnel aside, can Deputy Nelson handle the car extraction?”
“Oh yeah. They’ve both had to haul things out of the bayou and know whom to contact for equipment and the like. My guess is Deputy Nelson is wondering why I’m so worried about some trash in the bayou when the mayor’s son is still locked up in the jail.”
A flash of the mayor and his obscenely young girlfriend raced across Jadyn’s mind and she grimaced. “I guess the mayor is lying low and letting his son hang out to dry?”
“As it currently stands. Serves the little moron right.”
Jadyn nodded. “So are you going to call Bart or are we just going to show up?”
“I prefer just showing up. That way, people don’t have time to plan things. And as of this morning, I’m officially back from vacation, so no issues with my being in a professional capacity.”
“I guess since we found Raissa in the swamp, I can claim jurisdiction. That gives us both the right to question Bart, even though I doubt Agent Ross will see things that way.”
Colt slowed his speed as he pulled through downtown Mudbug, then accelerated again once they’d left the last building behind. “Ross dug his own grave over the car situation. He overreacted and now he’s paying for it.”
Jadyn nodded. “Is Bart’s house far?”
“No,” he said as he made a turn on a one-lane road. “It’s about a half mile. The road dead-ends right into his place. Nothing else back here.”
Minutes later, they pulled up in front of a two-story home. The clapboard siding dated the house, but it had a fresh coat of paint on it and after seeing the state of his camp, Jadyn was surprised that the lawn and building were neatly kept. A large metal shop stood about thirty feet to the side of the house with Bart’s truck and an enclosed trailer parked nearby.
As they climbed out of the truck, the door to the shop opened and Bart stepped outside. He stopped short and his eyes widened, then he quickly recovered and headed their way. “You two are out and about early. You still looking for Raissa?”
“No,” Colt said. “We found her last night. She’s a little banged up but will be all right.”
Bart brightened. “Ah man, that’s great news. Was she in the swamp?”
“Yes. We found her collapsed on a bank after she’d escaped from her captor. She was being held in one of the remote camps.”
Bart nodded. “Probably the least occupied given the heat right now.”
“She was held in your camp,” Colt said.
Bart’s eyes widened and he looked back and forth between Jadyn and Colt. “No! That’s not possible. I mean, I guess it’s possible, but…” A flash of fear washed over his face. “You don’t think I had anything to do with her kidnapping, do you? I haven’t been to that camp in months, maybe half a year. I swear to you!”
Colt studied him for several seconds. “Someone shot at Jadyn and me last night when we went to leave your camp. Sank my boat and left us stranded.”
Beads of sweat began to form on Bart’s brow. “Probably someone hunting out of season.”
Colt raised an eyebrow. “At night? Deputy Nelson put together a search party last night. He says he called you but your phone went straight to voice mail.”
Bart stuck his hand in his jeans pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He fumbled a moment with the power. “I was working on a job last night. I turned it off so I wouldn’t be interrupted and must have forgotten to turn it back on.”
“Have you loaned your camp out to anyone recently?” Colt asked.
“No. I mean, everyone in Mudbug probably knows it’s unlocked, but then most of the camps are.”
Colt nodded. “What kind of job?”
“Huh?”
“You said you were working on a job last night. I thought all your work was in New Orleans.”
“Oh…ah, sometimes I can do some prep work here. Cuts down on the time I have to be on the job site.”
“Makes sense,” Colt said. “Thanks for your time, and if you recall anyone who might have been using your camp, give me a call. I’m sure the FBI will close it off as a crime scene. Check with an Agent Ross to see when you can get back in.”
“All right.”
“Oh, and I’d expect Ross and his agents to be around here sometime soon.”
Bart’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Yeah, of course. Thanks for letting me know.”
“No problem.”
Jadyn walked back to the truck with Colt, trying to assess Bart’s expressions, what was said, and what was possibly left unsaid. As she climbed into the cab, she looked over at the welder and saw him making a call.
“So what do you think?” she asked.
Colt looked over at Bart and frowned. “Seemed nervous.”
“Definitely,” she agreed. “I’m sure anyone would be if their property was used for a crime, but it seemed to me that his nerves were beyond just that.”
“Yeah.” Colt blew out a breath and pulled away from Bart’s house. “But is it because of Raissa or something else entirely?”
“Wouldn’t Raissa have recognized him if he was one of the kidnappers?”
“Yeah, but any number of people can be involved in moving car parts.”
“He’d have to have connections somewhere else, right? Probably New Orleans?”
Colt nodded. “That would make the most sense. At least as much as any of it does.”