Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law #5)(68)

She looked across the garage, silently willing Helena to stop stressing and make something happen. The instant the thought crossed her mind, the ghost stopped her whirlwind arm routine and looked her direction. Jadyn waved toward Maryse and Colt, hoping Helena would understand that she wanted her to abandon what wasn’t working and figure out some form of disruption now. A couple seconds later, Helena set off at a dead run. Jadyn prayed she had a plan but didn’t have much hope.

“I say we just kill them and get out of here,” Stepford said. “Every minute we’re in this town we risk exposure.”

“What about me?” Pickett said. “I’m not going to tell who you are—hell, I don’t even know who you are. What say you cut me loose and let me get back to work for the families?”

“No can do,” Ross said. “You’ve seen me and that makes you a threat. I don’t leave loose ends.”

Jadyn watched, helpless, as Ross leveled his gun at Pickett. Could she risk a shot now that Ross’s weapon wasn’t trained on Colt? She gripped her pistol and took aim through the tires, but no matter how she maneuvered the weapon, she didn’t have a clear shot at Ross. Too much of him was protected by the toolbox.

And then Helena struck.

The ghost managed to run—sorta—about halfway across the shop when her ankles and the pumps had a massive disagreement about gravity. Down she went in a fall so hard, Jadyn could practically feel it in her own bones. But the fall didn’t stop there. On her way down, she tipped over a box of parts and they spilled out, clanking in succession on the concrete floor. For her final parting shot, her right leg got tangled in power strip and she turned it on, activating a huge shop fan.

Things couldn’t have taken more than a couple of seconds, but to Jadyn, everything played in slow motion. Stepford set off in the direction of the noise. At the same time, Ross fired a shot at Pickett, who rolled to the side, narrowly missing being shot. Maryse ran for the back door as Colt sprang for a crowbar on the other side of the toolbox from Ross.

But he wasn’t going to make it.

Jadyn saw Ross’s pistol leveled at Colt, and she rushed around the side of the tires, but still didn’t have a clear shot. Desperate for anything to stop him from firing, she scanned the area surrounding Ross and zeroed in on a lift button on the wall. Without hesitating, she fired at the button.

The chain holding a car engine above Ross let go and the engine plummeted down, directly on top of Ross. Stepford turned around and spotted her, then started running in her direction. But the giant shop fan was his undoing. The wind current pushed the marbles from the gem bag across the floor in front of him. He took one step on the rolling glass, then another, and his legs flew out from under him.

He hit the ground as hard as Helena, but Stepford didn’t get up. He didn’t even move.

Jadyn ran around the tires and over to Stepford to relieve him of his pistol. Pickett still rolled around on the ground, screaming that he was shot. Colt gave him a glance before running behind the toolbox to check on Ross. When he walked back around, he looked at Jadyn and shook his head. She felt a bit of disappointment that Agent Ross wouldn’t answer for his crimes, but dead was just as effective. Stepford could answer for all their ills.

Sirens sounded close by as Maryse ran into the middle of the shop, sliding to a stop next to Pickett. “Is he all right?” she asked.

“The shot nicked him,” Colt said. “He’ll live.”

Maryse trotted up to Stepford and picked up his head then let it drop back down, his jaw smacking into the concrete. “Ooops. He slipped.”

“Uh-huh.” Jadyn grinned at Maryse.

“Sure,” Helena bitched. “Worry about everyone else while I’m tied up like a rodeo calf.”

Maryse coughed, covering her grin with her hand. Seconds later, the state police along with Colt’s deputies dashed in the back door.

As Colt doled out explanations and instructions, Maryse made her way over to Helena to untangle her from the cord. The last Jadyn saw of the ghost, she gave the cord the finger then stomped through the wall of the shop, probably headed straight to the hotel for cobbler and a hot shower.

“I’m innocent!” Pickett yelled as two paramedics lifted him from the floor. “I’m just a civilian caught in the middle. They have no proof.”

“We have video,” Maryse said.

Pickett whirled around to stare at her, his jaw dropped.

“Video of you going straight for the box on the gas tank and opening the bag inside,” Maryse said. “No jury in the world will believe it was an accident. I suggest you enjoy the last bit of freedom you’re ever going to have…in the hospital.”

Pickett’s shoulders slumped and he allowed the paramedics to lead him away. Two stunned FBI agents trailed behind. A couple of paramedics lifted a groggy Stepford onto a stretcher and hauled him out, along with the last two agents in Ross’s crew. They both looked shell-shocked, and Colt didn’t relish the questioning the agents would receive back at the bureau. Someone would have to answer for Ross’s ascension and their failure to notice that one of their own had been compromised.

Colt’s deputies stared down at Ross, shaking their heads.

“I can’t believe he was dirty,” Deputy Nelson said. “Did the engine just fall on him?”

Colt started to speak and Jadyn interrupted. “Yeah. It was weird, but really good timing.”