Mischief in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #2)(17)

“What the hell are you waiting for?” Helena yelled, her voice booming right next to Sabine.

Sabine floored the car and squealed away from the curb. She glanced in her rearview mirror just in time to see the cops chasing the hotdog stand onto the other side of the street. Barely slowing, she rounded the corner and accelerated onto the highway from the service road. She’d driven at least a mile down the road before she took a breath and looked over at the passenger seat.

A hotdog hovered just inches from her face. “Want one?” Helena asked.

Sabine pushed the hotdog away. “No, I don’t want one. What the hell is the matter with you? You stole something from that police station, didn’t you? All those cops were looking for you…but I don’t understand why or how.”

A chunk of the hotdog disappeared and Helena said, “Me eifer.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full. Jesus, I would think someone of your upbringing would have some manners.”

“What’s the point? No one to see them but you and Maryse.”

Sabine lowered her window a bit, grabbed the remainder of the hotdog and tossed it out onto the highway.

“Hey! What did you do that for?” Helena yelled.

“Two can play at the no manners game. And why in the world are you eating? You’re—”

“Don’t say it. I know I’m dead. I’m eating for the normal reason—I’m hungry.”

“How can you be hungry?” Sabine shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t even want to know. You’ve completely negated an entire lifetime of studying ghosts. Cone bras, eating hotdogs. It’s simply too weird for me to process.”

“If it’s too weird for you, then I must be the anomaly of ghosts. Not for nothing, Sabine, but you’re not exactly running with the normal crowd.”

Sabine sighed, not even wanting to think about the irony of that statement at this very moment. “Start answering questions, Helena. Why were all those cops trying to find you and what’s in that bag?”

“Just a police file that I thought might come in handy.”

“You stole a file from that police station? Oh God. No wonder they were looking for you.”

“I know. I guess maybe that barcode strip thingie set off the alarm.”

“Are you crazy?” Sabine asked. “No. Never mind. You don’t need to answer that.”

“I don’t know why you’re getting all huffy. This would have been a lot harder before when I couldn’t touch things. Remember, Maryse had to break into the hospital for those medical records herself.”

Sabine rubbed her forehead with one hand, not even wanting to recall Maryse’s foray into breaking and entering into the hospital’s medical records room. It was one of those things Sabine still couldn’t quite believe her straitlaced scientist friend had gotten roped into. Until now. She stared at the highway, a flashback of the runaway hotdog cart still vivid in her mind. At the moment, Maryse’s actions didn’t seem near as strange since Sabine was currently making a getaway with stolen police records and pilfered hotdogs.

Sabine stared at the bag once more but couldn’t hold the question in any longer. “What file did you steal, Helena?”

The bag on the floor rustled a bit and a manila folder appeared to float out of it. The file spun in midair so that Sabine could see the typed words on the side. She took one look at the lettering and groaned. “You stole the police file from my parents’ wreck? What were you thinking? As soon as they figure out what file is missing, they’re coming straight to my door.”

Helena laughed. The mailbag flipped upside down, dumping a stack of manila folders and two more hotdogs onto the floorboard. “They’d have to figure out exactly which one I was after first.”





[page]Chapter Five




Sabine gave Maryse a smile as she slid into the booth across from Sabine at Carolyn’s Catfish Kitchen. “You’re late…but why is that not a surprise?”

“Hey,” Maryse protested. “You’re the one that’s always late, not me.”

“Not since you’ve got a hunky DEA agent in your bed. You’ve ceased to be the morning person you used to be and it’s almost noon. In fact, you’re not much of a night person anymore either.”

A light blush crept over Maryse’s face. “Luc’s next assignment is going to take him out of town, probably for a month or better. I’m making sure he doesn’t forget what he’s got waiting back home.”

Sabine laughed. “Okay, I would sorta get that except that it’s so obvious that Luc is over the top in love with you. I don’t think he’s going to forget a single square inch of you.” She reached across the table and placed her hand on Maryse’s. “I am so happy for you, Maryse. Seeing you and Luc together makes me believe there’s hope for me, too. If I make it that long, that is.”

Maryse squeezed Sabine’s hand. “Do not think that way. There is no way in hell I’m letting you leave me here alone with Helena. And besides, as my best friend, you owe it to me to wear some tacky pink taffeta dress for my wedding.”

“Pink?”

Maryse grinned. “Fuchsia. Glowing so bright you could see it from space. Maybe with a lime green bow.”