Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law #5)(7)

Jadyn blew out a breath. She’d been slowly exploring the swamps and drafting maps of the bayous and channels, but it was like a mass of spiderwebs. With a boat, you could quite literally go from Mudbug to Minnesota.

“So if we determine that she’s somewhere in the swamp, I can search for Raissa, and the FBI can’t stop me,” she said finally. “That would be more helpful if I had a clue about these swamps, but with my limited knowledge of the area, I won’t be of much use, and even though she’d normally be the best person to ask, I don’t think Maryse should take on such a task right now.”

“No, but you could hire a contractor—you know, a temporary employee to help you get things sorted out from the lapse when Mudbug didn’t have a game warden.”

“I see,” she said, starting to catch on to where Colt was headed. “And I don’t suppose you know of someone who’d be interested in such a temporary job?”

“It so happens that I have a bunch of accrued vacation. And I’ve been stomping around those swamps since I was a boy…”

Jadyn felt her pulse quicken. It was an ideal plan, except for the part where she was alone in the swamp all day with Colt Bertrand. Sure, they’d faced death together, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to completely relax around him.

It’s because you’re attracted to him and don’t like to admit it.

“Let me see what’s required as far as paperwork goes,” she said, brushing her thought aside. “I’ll give you a call later as soon as I figure it all out.”

“Great. Search-and-rescue will have the hounds out today. If Raissa is anywhere in the area, they’ll be able to track her unless she crossed water.”

“And if they drove off with her in the car?”

Colt locked his eyes on hers. “Then we’ve got an even bigger problem. This highway dead-ends in Mudbug, so if they were moving west, there’s only one place they were headed.”

“And if they went east, they could be anywhere.”

“Yeah. First thing we need to try to do is narrow things down. I’ll hit up the FBI search party and pitch my local knowledge—see if they’ll let me tag along. If they don’t find her, at least we’ll have a better idea of where to start looking.”

“Sounds good.”

“There’s a diner about thirty minutes down the highway from where Zach was found. It’s a long shot and the feds will probably be all over it today, but I might head over there tomorrow and see if anyone saw anything.”

“The day staff isn’t likely to be the same as the night.”

“Yeah, but they’ll know who the night staff were and where they live. I’ll give you a call tomorrow if you’re interested in going.”

“Okay.”

Luc motioned to Colt and he gave her a nod before heading back across the lobby. Jadyn’s mind worked to process all the information she had about Raissa’s disappearance, but no matter where she started, the result was never good for Raissa. The fact that they’d struck Zach with a vehicle and left him for dead told her they had no compunction about killing people.

Jadyn hoped Raissa had escaped somewhere in the swamp, but if she had, she was either still running or had collapsed somewhere. If Raissa had been abducted by the people who’d run down Zach, things were much worse. Statistics said if her abductors hadn’t killed her already, they would soon. Jadyn figured they had forty-eight hours—max—and that was only if the kidnappers thought Raissa had something they needed.

And if she didn’t, Jadyn hoped to God Raissa was creative enough to make it up.

[page]###

Colt climbed into his truck and watched as Jadyn guided a distraught Mildred and Maryse to Maryse’s truck. Both women were pale and not even bothering to disguise their immense worry for Raissa. Jadyn glanced at him before slipping into the driver’s seat, her concern no less obvious but masked with a look of determination.

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Colt started his truck. He had no doubts about Jadyn’s determination to find Raissa. In the short time she’d been in Mudbug, she’d formed hard and fast bonds with Maryse and Mildred. No doubt, she’d do anything to protect those women and that included trying to save someone she’d never even met.

No, he wasn’t worried at all about her commitment to the investigation, but he did have doubts about her qualifications to set foot into something like this. Colt had seen sordid and dirty, and the recent happenings in Mudbug had made him seriously question his decision to return to his hometown. He’d thought leaving New Orleans would mean leaving all the worst of criminal offenses behind him, but he’d been wrong. Dead wrong.

But this—the potential kidnapping of a federal agent, attempting to murder another—this was a level of callousness and ego that he’d never believed could exist in such a small place, even after everything that had gone down weeks before. He squeezed the steering wheel, looking out at the sun rising over the line of cypress trees behind the hospital.

What was happening to his town?

He put his truck in drive and headed to the place where Luc had found Zach. With any luck, he wouldn’t run into agency politics, and they’d let him stick around.

Colt counted at least fifteen federal vehicles, including two K9 units, lining both sides of Mill Highway as he parked behind one of the vans. He stepped out onto the weedy side of the road and made his way down to where a group of men were gathered. One of the dog handlers was the first man he came upon.