Ida Belle’s face was flushed red. She was more than a little aggravated with Carter and wasn’t about to cut him any slack, wounded ego and broken heart or no. Ida Belle was a soldier first and always. She would always side with protecting the mission and the agent. Collateral damage was an accepted part of the job, even if it was someone you liked.
Still, I couldn’t blame him for his anger. Certainly, I had every reason to keep my cover a secret and if I had it to do all over again, I still wouldn’t reveal my true identity to Carter. But if I had a do-over, I wouldn’t get involved with him, either. That was 100 percent on me. I had let overwhelming, unfamiliar feelings lead me to choices I would never have made before I came to Sinful, and I was paying for them now. Unfortunately, so was Carter.
“It’s not his fault,” I said. “If he gives Celia a reason to fire him, then she wins. And that’s exactly what she’s hoping for. She doesn’t think for a minute that I’m behind this.”
“I just need something for my report,” Carter said.
“Then I’ll make this easy,” I said. “Did any of these victims chat with this money-grubbing Romeo while I was in New Orleans handling that situation?”
He nodded. “Two of them had contact during that time frame.”
“Then it’s simple. Put in your report that I was in the custody of the police in New Orleans. It’s not exactly a lie—the FBI and CIA are sort of police—and that should shut her up. Someone in police custody couldn’t possible have been chatting online.”
“And what exactly should I say you were in custody for?”
“Jaywalking? Public intoxication? Walking naked down Bourbon Street?”
Gertie shook her head. “None of those would even get you a second look in New Orleans, much less arrested.”
“Fine, then I picked a fight with two guys in a club and lit the bar on fire.”
Gertie gave me an approving nod. “That sounds like a good time. I’m glad we were there with you.”
Ida Belle, who had gone oddly quiet during our exchange and had been studying Carter, crossed her arms and cocked her head to one side. “I wonder why it is that Celia is the one making the accusation. Surely only a victim could accuse someone of a crime.”
Carter stared at her for a moment, and that hesitation was all we needed to know the truth.
“I knew it!” Ida Belle said. “That stupid woman got taken by this guy.”
“I never said that,” Carter said.
“You didn’t have to,” Ida Belle said. “It all makes perfect sense now, and I have to say, pleases me to no end. In fact, it tickles me so much I can almost forgive you for coming here and questioning Fortune. Almost.”
Carter’s dismay was so apparent that I felt a little sorry for him. If Celia found out he’d let the cat out of the bag, she’d make his life miserable. And secrets in Sinful always seemed to find a way to surface.
“Don’t worry,” Gertie said, trying to reassure him. “We’re not going to tell anyone. We’re just going to have a bit of champagne with dinner is all.”
I could tell he didn’t buy that for a minute.
“Is that all you need from me?” I asked.
I knew I sounded terse. Based on the way Carter’s eyes widened ever so slightly, I knew he thought so too. And while I could appreciate Ida Belle’s delight at finding out their nemesis had been foolish enough to fall for the catfish, being in the same space with Carter was so uncomfortable that I was starting to feel my chest contract. I wasn’t ready to see him, much less be this close. And I certainly wasn’t ready to be accused of criminal activity simply because I was an outsider and a Yankee.
“Yeah, that’s it,” he said, then narrowed his eyes at us. “In case you’ve got any ideas, I’m telling the three of you right now, don’t get in the middle of this.”
“I’m sure we don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gertie said.
“We’re not interested in helping Celia,” Ida Belle added.
“I mean it,” he said. “If I even think that you’re interfering with this case, I will arrest you and you’ll all spend two weeks in jail while I take my time processing the paperwork.”
He whirled around and stormed out of the house, slamming the front door shut behind him.
“What the hell was that about?” Gertie asked. “Carter has always been annoyed with us, but I’ve never seen him that angry.”
“He’s frustrated,” Ida Belle said. “And hurt. When he was enamored with Fortune and they were doing the dance of romance, he intentionally glossed over things we did that he felt were harmless. My guess is that most of his anger back then was because he was afraid for our safety.”
“And now that he knows we’re not a bunch of helpless females, he feels played all over again,” I said.
“Just because we’ve had the occasion to kill a person or two doesn’t mean he has to get all belligerent,” Gertie huffed.
“No,” Ida Belle agreed. “He doesn’t have to, but I suppose it makes him feel better.”
“To hell with him,” I said.