Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law #5)(47)
“Do you blame me?”
He leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips. “Of course not. It’s one of the reasons I love you so much.” He jumped out of bed and grabbed his jeans. “Let me get dressed and make a couple of calls. I can probably get a couple more guys to join us.”
Relief washed over Maryse. “Thank you,” she said, then reached for her jeans and rubber boots.
Twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of the sheriff’s department to join the crowd of fifteen or so that gathered on the sidewalk. Deputy Nelson perked up a bit when Luc stepped out of his truck. This situation was probably the world’s worst nightmare for the young and mostly inexperienced deputy.
“I’m just assigning coverage,” the deputy said and showed Luc the map. “If we assume they stuck to the order listed here and continued on after dark, I figure they’ll be somewhere in this area. Would you mind taking the last part of it? It’s the deepest in the swamp and the hardest to traverse at night, but Maryse probably knows these channels better than anyone in Mudbug.”
“We’ll take it,” Maryse said then looked at Luc. “If that’s all right.”
He nodded. “I think it’s best.”
“Thank you,” Deputy Nelson said, looking more than a little relieved. “Does everyone know their coverage area? Set your CBs to channel 19. If you see anything odd, radio immediately with your location and a description of the situation before proceeding. We don’t want anyone else disappearing.”
“What if they’re injured?” one of the local fishermen asked.
“Radio in with an assessment and Eugenia will get either an ambulance or a helicopter to meet you at the dock.”
“So you want us to move them…I mean, if they’re injured?” another man asked.
Deputy Nelson nodded. “I want them out of the swamp. We’re traveling in teams of two and three so that we have the strength to carry someone who may be unconscious. Do whatever necessary to get them to the dock where they can be transported to the hospital.”
Everyone dispersed, heading in different directions to collect their boats and head out. Maryse was happy no one asked what to do if they found that Colt and Jadyn hadn’t made it. Probably no one wanted to consider that possibility. She certainly didn’t.
“My boat is docked behind the sheriff’s department,” she said.
Luc looked surprised. “Why isn’t it at your lab?”
Maryse shrugged. “When you asked me to stay out of the swamp, I figured it was better to move it into town. I’ve never had any problems at the lab, but you never know.” Her last four words had never been more true.
“I didn’t realize you were actually trying to do what I’d asked,” Luc said.
“If it hadn’t been Raissa, I wouldn’t have gone into the swamp. I would have continued to bitch and whine to everyone who would listen, but I wouldn’t have gone there until you said it was safe. I’m not a complete butthole.”
Luc grinned. “Then I guess I owe you an apology.”
“I don’t even care anymore. I just want to find Jadyn and Colt.” She jumped into her boat as Luc untied it from the dock, then pushed them off.
“Me too,” he said as Maryse flipped on the running lights.
“Do you want me to drive?” she asked.
“If you don’t mind. I’d like to study things as we go.”
Maryse nodded and pulled away from the dock. Luc’s Native American heritage provided him with a skill set most men didn’t possess. Her husband had a connection with nature and the land that defied explanation. He simply knew things—felt them in his bones. Unfortunately, he also saw things, including Helena Henry. Seeing dead people was the thing Luc liked the least about his gift. Seeing Helena made him wish he wasn’t gifted at all.
As anxious as she was to get to their section, Maryse curbed her desire to fly across the bayou, letting her husband study the bank. Occasionally, he reached over the side of the boat and let his hand glide just over the surface of the water. Other times, he sniffed the night air. If such a thing as reincarnation existed, she would have bet money her husband had been a wolf in a previous life. His ability to track in the dark was uncanny.
She didn’t want to interrupt his process by talking, so she kept her eye on the channel in front of her, making sure the boat was squarely in the middle, which was the safest area to travel. The night air was thick with humidity and dark clouds rolled across the sky, eclipsing the moon except for a few precious seconds at a time.
The running lights from her boat cast an eerie yellow glow on the water and she felt a chill run through her, despite the summer heat. What could have possibly happened to Colt and Jadyn that prevented them from getting home? She couldn’t come up with a single answer that she liked. The bottom line was both her cousin and the sheriff were highly capable of handling most situations that could arise. Whatever detained them wasn’t your garden-variety trouble.
She checked the landmarks and guided the boat down a narrow channel on the left. They were moving deep into the swamp now. The camps in this remote area could only be reached by boat, and none of them had electricity, except for the kind created by generators. The strip of camps they would check first was located on a channel that dead-ended into a bank. From talking with locals, Maryse knew that no decent fishing spots were located on the channel, so if Colt and Jadyn had run into trouble in that area, the likelihood of getting help from a passing fisherman was slim to none.