Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law #5)(55)

Jadyn rolled that piece of information over in her mind. Could the likable Bart be part of something so insidious?

“I talked to him night before last in Bill’s Bar,” Jadyn said. “He asked a lot of questions about Ross and the investigation. I didn’t really think anything of it because it seems a normal thing to do, but I suppose it could have been more than that.”

Colt frowned. “After the last couple of weeks, I’m beginning to think that anything is possible.”

“Deputy Nelson said Tyler didn’t know where Bart was—is that unusual? I mean, they aren’t roommates or anything, are they?”

“No. Bart inherited his parents’ place after his dad died. His mom died of cancer years ago. About two years ago, Tyler bought an old soybean farm ten miles west of downtown. The swamp had already swallowed up the fields. If you didn’t know what it was before, you’d never guess.”

“What about—” Jadyn cut off as her cell phone rang. She pulled the phone from her pocket and frowned, not recognizing the number. “Hello,” she answered.

“Is this Jadyn?” a woman asked.

Her voice sounded familiar, but Jadyn couldn’t quite place it. “Yes, this is Jadyn.”

“Hi, this is Dee, the waitress at Ted’s Diner.”

Suddenly, the voice clicked. “Yes, Dee, I remember.”

“You said to call if I heard anything.”

Jadyn tightened her grip on her phone. “And have you?”

“It may be nothing, but I had to cover for Annette on the early shift and something just happened that I think is strange. Anyway, there was this guy, Gordon Pickett, who had a heart attack in the diner last week. They hauled him off in an ambulance, and when I left early the next morning, there was a black Caddy parked right up front. I figure it had to be his.”

“Makes sense.”

“So a couple of days later, it was gone. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I mean, I guess I figured friends or family had picked it up for him, or maybe he wasn’t that bad off and had picked it up himself. But I didn’t think anything was odd about it.”

“But now you do.”

“Yes ma’am. Gordon showed up about an hour ago to collect his car.”

“Was he confused? Maybe he’d sent someone and forgot.”

“I thought that at first. My great-aunt Elise had a stroke and was never quite the same. But he insisted that he didn’t have any close family or friends to send.”

“Did you call the cops and report it?”

“Oh yeah. Took forever and they weren’t overly polite, insisting that Gordon had probably picked up his own car and due to his heart attack, had forgotten.”

“But you don’t think so?”

“No. We were really slow, so I talked to him for an hour the night before he had the heart attack, and I’ve waited on him several times before. Except for the fact that he looked like absolute hell, I didn’t notice anything different about him conversation-wise. And trust me, working the night shift, people acting different is something I pay attention to.”

“That’s smart.”

“So anyway, I don’t know that it means anything at all, but I thought it was strange, two black Caddies both disappearing from around here. I can’t even remember the last time a car was stolen in this town, except for kids joyriding, of course.”

“I agree. Something definitely feels wrong about all of this. I don’t suppose you know how to find Gordon?”

“Sure. He gave me his phone number, in case I heard anything. Let me dig it out of my purse.”

Jadyn heard some shuffling, then Dee hopped back on the line and gave her the number.

“I really appreciate this,” Jadyn said as she jotted the number on the back of a business card.

“No problem, and hey, when y’all find that missing woman, would you let me know? I been thinking about her a lot lately. I mean, she was just sitting at my counter, chatting and happy, and then she disappeared. It’s the kind of thing a girl’s nightmares are made of, know what I mean?”

“I know exactly what you mean, and I’m happy to tell you that you don’t have to worry any longer. Raissa was found last night. She’s been knocked around a little, but she’ll be fine.”

“Oh wow! That’s great. Did someone steal her car with her in it?”

“The FBI isn’t giving out any information about the case, but I’m sure they won’t care if we let people know she’s all right.”

“I’m really happy about that, especially for her aunt. Older people tend to take things so much harder. Well, I best get back to it. I’m behind busing tables after messing with Gordon and his hysterics.”

“Thanks again,” Jadyn said before disconnecting the call.

She slipped the cell phone into her jeans pocket and stared out the window.

“What’s wrong?” Colt asked.

She repeated the conversation. “That’s three black sedans stolen within the last ten days. Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”

“Definitely. A place this small usually doesn’t average one auto theft a year, not if you discount kids, domestic disputes, and the like.” He blew out a breath. “I think we need to get that car we ran up on yesterday out of the channel, and see if there are any more with it.”