Showdown in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #3)(10)

Based on Mildred’s greeting, an explanation wasn’t necessary. Which meant that Helena must have talked to Sabine or Maryse, or both, and they were waiting at the hotel to come up with a plan. At the end of the hall, she stepped through an open doorway and into Mildred’s office. The hotel owner was perched in a huge office chair behind her desk, eating a muffin and playing cards. Even more disturbing was her opponent.

Helena Henry sat across the desk from Mildred, grumbling about her hand. “I see you three doughnut holes and raise you one muffin.” Helena was dressed in a long, flowing, pink gown made of some type of gauzy material. On her head sat a wide floppy hat in the same shade of pink as the dress, with a ring of white and red roses around the top.

Mildred looked up at Raissa and smiled. “I’m making Helena earn her breakfast.”

Raissa stared for a couple of seconds, not sure what to even think—way beyond having anything to say. “You can see Helena?” she asked Mildred.

“Oh, yeah. She turned up like a bad penny right after my car wreck.” Mildred motioned to Raissa to take the seat next to Helena. “Already poured you a cup of coffee. Might as well have a seat and drink a bit.”

Raissa slid into the chair, still a bit numb. “And you’re okay with this? I mean, I always got the impression you didn’t go in for anything remotely out of this world.”

“Absolutely right, but what the heck was I supposed to do? You can’t exactly refute the evidence, especially when it’s loud and eating you out of hotel and home.” She disposed of two cards and pushed some doughnut holes and a minimuffin into the stack of food in the middle of the desk. “Call.”

Raissa looked over at Helena, who studied Mildred’s face, most certainly trying to determine if her doughnut holes and muffin were now at risk. “What in the world are you wearing, Helena? Yesterday you just had on jeans and a T-shirt.”

Helena waved a hand in dismissal. “I take Mondays off.”

“Off from what?”

“From my wardrobe-through-the-ages adventures. Oh, it sounds like fun when you start, but it’s actually a lot harder than you think to come up with something creative every day. Last month, I did music through the ages MTV-style. This month is classic movies through the ages.”

Raissa started to understand, and wasn’t sure whether that made her feel better or more confused. “So this is…”

“Gone with the Wind,” Mildred supplied. “My suggestion. I wasn’t about to allow her in my hotel with what she had on before. I don’t care if no one else can see her. I can, and that’s enough.”

Raissa looked over at Helena. “What movie were you dressed like before?”

“Boogie Nights,” Helena replied.

Raissa laughed. “Boogie Nights is a classic?”

Helena huffed. “It is if you’ve watched the last scene.”

Raissa grinned and looked over at Mildred, who was frowning at Helena. “I can see where the problem might have come in.”

“So,” Helena went on, “that’s why I’m wearing the pink flying-nun dress. I wouldn’t want to offend Mildred’s delicate sensibilities, even though those traveling salesmen she rents rooms to watch stuff that make Boogie Nights look like Scooby-Doo.”

Mildred shook her head. “Well, since I’m not walking through walls and spying on customers when they darned well think they’re alone, I don’t have issues with what they do in their rooms, as long as I don’t know about it. Sophia bleaches the sheets when people leave anyway.”

“Gross,” Raissa said. “I think I’d rather talk about my impending doom.”

Mildred laid down her cards and nodded. “That’s why we asked you here. I’ve spoken to Sabine and Maryse. They both had other obligations that kept them from being here this morning, but we all agree—you’ve got trouble coming. No one sees Helena who doesn’t live to regret it, but the good news is, so far, everyone’s lived.”

Raissa sat back in her chair and sighed. “Only by the skin of their teeth. You were all very lucky.”

“Yes, that’s true, but we also heeded the warning—the Helena kind—and we took care to know that something serious was in the making, even if none of us could understand it all at the time.”

“I know you took precautions,” Raissa agreed, “but the reality is, if someone wants to kill you, they most likely will. The only way to stop that train is to either eliminate the killer or the reason he wants you dead.”

Mildred nodded. “Exactly. So that’s what we’re gonna do. With Sabine and Maryse, it was harder to pin down because they weren’t even aware of some of the things they’d gotten into. So we were off looking for an enemy without a clear view of the situation from the beginning.”

Raissa looked at Mildred. “And you think somehow that’s different with me?”

“Well, yeah. At least that’s what we’re hoping. I mean, after everything that happened last month and your involvement with it all, Maryse, Sabine, and I thought maybe Helena should shadow you for a bit and make sure you couldn’t see her. We were just starting to think we’d gotten it all wrong when someone shoved you in front of a bus.”

“And then I could see Helena,” Raissa finished.