The next day, Sinful was buzzing with the news, and a second wave of shock passed over the town as they reveled in Carter’s exposure and takedown of the most diabolical criminal Sinful had ever seen. Francine’s Café had people waiting outside on the sidewalk and residents were packed shoulder to shoulder in the General Store. Main Street was so crowded with people trying to get the news that Carter finally closed the street down to through traffic.
I chose to remain out of the fray. It wasn’t a difficult decision. Crowds of people weren’t the kind of frays that I took interest in. Gertie and Ida Belle, on the other hand, were down in the thick of it along with Marie, everyone exclaiming over how lucky they were that Nolan hadn’t killed them as well. Clearly, the general population didn’t understand the mechanics of the professional criminal.
I spent my morning updating a disbelieving Harrison on my latest brush with death and figuring out how to work the gas grill, in case I decided to splurge and cook a burger. I was just about to grab a book and climb into my hammock when my phone sent me a signal that the GPS tracker on Brandon’s truck had activated. I picked up my phone and checked. Sure enough, the dot was moving on the screen. I had no idea what had caused the tracker to fail the day before, but it appeared to be working fine now.
I grabbed my keys and dashed out to my Jeep. Brandon was our only unresolved item, and I really felt like starting tomorrow with a clean slate. I dialed Ida Belle’s number as I drove.
“Meet me at the far end of Main Street,” I said when she answered. “Brandon is on the move.”
They were waiting for me about a block from Main Street at the intersection where the downtown traffic was being rerouted. Ida Belle helped boost Gertie into the passenger seat, then climbed in the back. They both looked excited and confused. I handed Ida Belle my phone and told her to navigate.
“You put a tracker on his truck?” Ida Belle asked. “That’s what you were doing that night at his house.”
“Is there anything else you haven’t told us?” Gertie asked.
“I think that’s it,” I said, then remembered that I’d never told them about my conversation with Carter and his reasons why he couldn’t be with me. I made a quick decision to let my original answer stand. I wasn’t sure yet what I thought about that conversation. I definitely wasn’t ready to discuss it with anyone else.
A couple miles up the highway, Ida Belle directed me onto a narrow dirt road that led straight into the swamp. No more than a half mile in, cypress trees closed in around us, blocking out a majority of the sunlight.
“Do you know where this goes?” I asked as I slowed for a set of deep holes.
“Yeah,” Ida Belle said and grabbed the roll bar to brace herself as the Jeep bounced. “There was an old fishing pier back here. But it collapsed years ago.”
“Let me know when we get close to the end of the road,” I said. “I don’t want him to see us coming.”
Ida Belle pointed to a rotted tree up ahead. “Park somewhere near that fallen tree. The road turns left and dead-ends where the pier used to be about fifty yards ahead.”
The fallen tree was located in a small clearing, so I pulled off the dirt path and parked next to it. I looked over at Gertie. “Can you make a fifty-yard walk?”
“Heck yeah,” she said. “If we need to run, I might be in trouble.”
“I think being armed preempts having to run,” I said. “I assume we’re all packing.”
Ida Belle patted her waist. Gertie hefted her purse up in the air. I noticed it took both hands to manage it.
Ida Belle shook her head. “Gertie’s probably carrying enough to arm a small country.”
“Then we’re good,” I said.
We climbed out of the Jeep and started down the road. My cell phone showed the dot flashing in one spot, directly ahead. Gertie was limping a bit, so Ida Belle and I put her in between us and bolstered her up a bit on our shoulders to increase pace. Otherwise, Brandon would have been filing for Social Security by the time we got there.
We got to the last bend in the road and stopped. I peered through the brush and could see Brandon sitting in the cab of his truck, windows rolled down. He was looking down and I could see the top ridge of a laptop just over the doorframe.
“What’s the plan?” Gertie asked.
“Simple,” I said. “We walk up to the truck and ask him what he’s doing.”
Ida Belle nodded. “Why the hell not.”
I put my hand at my back, ready to draw if needed, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be necessary. Brandon was so engrossed with whatever he was doing that he didn’t even hear us approach. It wasn’t until we stepped up to the window that I realized he had earbuds in and was listening to music.
“Hi, Brandon,” Ida Belle called out.
“Holy shit!” He jumped and yanked the earbuds out as his head swiveled around to face us. “You scared the crap out of me. What are you doing?”
“We were about to ask you the same thing,” I said. I held out my hand. “I’m Fortune, by the way. We haven’t met, but I know your wife.”