Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law #5)(20)

“Yes, sir.”

Some days, there was just no winning.





[page]Chapter Five


Jadyn pulled Mildred’s sedan into the parking lot of Ted’s Diner next to three Harley-Davidson motorcycles and looked over at Mildred and Helena. “Does everyone understand the plan?”

Helena rolled her eyes. “You’ve been rattling about it ad nauseam the entire drive.”

Jadyn turned around and looked directly at her. “So you mean even the dead have heard me.”

“Low blow,” Helena said and stepped through the side of the car.

Jadyn and Mildred climbed out and made their way to the front door. “Scan the room first,” Jadyn reminded her, “and if you see anyone who knows you, switch to plan B. I’ll follow your lead.”

Mildred nodded. “I hope we find out something that helps.”

“Me, too.”

Jadyn pushed open the door and they walked inside. Where the café in Mudbug was bright and had a homey feel, the diner was dim and the furniture was run-down, giving the whole place a dingy look. Three beefy tattooed men—the only other patrons—looked up from a table toward the back when they walked inside but then went back to their conversation.

Jadyn was happy to see the bar counter at the front of the restaurant with the serving window directly behind it. It was something she’d hoped to find, as this way, the kitchen staff would be able to hear their conversation. If the kitchen staff started talking among themselves, Helena would be on point to listen in on the conversation.

A red-haired woman who looked fifty but probably wasn’t a day over forty walked up to them, a bored expression on her face. “Help you?” she asked.

“Yes, two coffees please,” Jadyn said, making a note of her name tag that said “Dee.”

As Dee reached for the coffeepot behind her, a head popped up in the food service window and Jadyn did a double take. The person was wearing what could only be construed as a Batgirl mask. Jadyn glanced over at Mildred, who was staring at the masked person, her jaw dropped slightly.

“Helena?” Mildred mouthed.

Given that Dee was inches away from the masked kitchen bandit and hadn’t even uttered a peep, Jadyn was certain it was Helena. Either that or Ted hired the oddest set of cooks she’d ever seen. Before Jadyn could reply, the masked bandit gave Jadyn a thumbs-up and a second later, a basket of butter disappeared from the window.

Definitely Helena.

Dee turned around and placed two cups of coffee in front of them. “I ain’t seen you before. You passing through?” she asked as she poured.

Mildred glanced at Jadyn, then looked back at the Dee. “Not exactly. We live in Mudbug but we were hoping you could help us with something.”

Dee’s expression shifted from bored to guarded. “You cops?”

Mildred laughed. “Not hardly.”

Dee didn’t look completely convinced. “We had enough cops around here today to last a lifetime. Rude, too.”

Jadyn laughed. “You and I probably talked to the same person.”

Dee narrowed her eyes at Jadyn. “You involved with that missing woman?”

“Not involved,” Jadyn said. “Related. She’s my cousin. Mildred here is our aunt.”

“Oh.” Dee’s expression softened a bit. “I’m sorry to hear that. You must be really worried.”

Mildred sniffed and rubbed her nose with a napkin. “Haven’t thought of anything else since I found out this morning. I just can’t help thinking what those people may be doing to her and I…”

Mildred’s voice broke and Jadyn put her arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “She’s going to be fine, Auntie. We have to stay positive.”

Dee’s face crumpled and Jadyn knew they had roped her in.

Mildred sniffed again and nodded. “I know, but it’s so hard when you have to just sit there when you feel like you ought to be doing something.”

“I know,” Jadyn said and looked back at Dee. “That’s why we’re here. The cops won’t tell us much, so we thought we’d try to get some answers ourselves. We couldn’t take sitting in that living room staring at each other any longer.”

“Of course not,” Dee said.

“A friend told us this diner was up the road from where they think my cousin was kidnapped, so we figured we’d ask if anyone had seen anything. I know it probably seems foolish, but we had to do something.”

Dee put her hand on Mildred’s. “It’s not stupid at all. If it was my family, I’d be raising heaven and hell to get them back.”

“Were you working last night?” Jadyn asked.

Dee nodded. “Five ’til one is my usual shift. I saw your cousin last night. Seen her a couple times before.”

Jadyn straightened on her stool and Mildred stared at Dee, her eyes wide. Despite her hopes, Jadyn hadn’t expected that Zach and Raissa had actually been in the diner.

“You’re sure it was her?” Mildred asked.

“Yeah,” Dee said. “The cops showed me a picture of them. She’s a looker and had polish you don’t usually see in here. It was her. They said they found the man but he was hurt.”

Mildred nodded. “He’s in a coma and it’s touch and go, so he’s not able to give us any information.”