Showdown in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #3)(45)

“By the way, if you do something like that again, I’ll kill you myself.”

Maryse rubbed the back of her head. “Don’t worry. From now on, I’m leaving all the Jane Bond stuff up to you.”

Zach smiled. It was hard not to like a spunky woman, even if she had electrocuted him. And was lying.

“You did a great job,” Raissa said as she flipped through the photos.

“Do you recognize him?” Zach asked, leaning over to view the photographs with Raissa.

“I think so, but I’m not certain. He looks sorta like the son of one of Sonny’s guys. But the last time I saw him, he was a teenager, so I can’t be sure.”

Zach pulled out one of the photos that offered a clean view of the man’s face. “I’ll take this one and run it through the database.”

“Don’t you need a reason to do that?”

“I’ll make something up.” He tucked the photo in his shirt pocket. “I’m more concerned about getting you two back to Mudbug. There’s a lot of long stretches of road between here and there.” He nodded at Raissa. “If your car has a tracking bug on it, Maryse’s may, too. Anything can happen on your way there.”

“Don’t worry,” Maryse said. “I’ve got that part covered.”

Zach looked at Maryse, trying to hide his amusement. “Do you, Ms. Bond? And just what do you have in mind?”

“I talked to Carolyn, the lady who owns the seafood restaurant in Mudbug, before you got here. She’s expecting a delivery of seafood this evening. Fred, the seafood-truck driver, always makes Mudbug his last stop because he lives there. He’s agreed to park behind this restaurant and give us a lift.”

“You trust these people?” Zach asked.

“With my life,” Maryse said, “or I would never have asked.” She looked a bit guilty, then looked at Raissa. “There is one little catch, though.”

“Uh-oh,” Raissa said. “I don’t like that look.”

“The cab of the truck was modified for Fred’s paperwork. There’s only room for the driver, so we’ll have to ride in the back.”

Raissa’s eyes widened. “With the fish?”

Zach chuckled, unable to hold it in. “Well, it’s the safest form of sleeping with the fishes that you two could have. You probably shouldn’t complain.”

Raissa looked over at him and raised one eyebrow. “I’m so glad our predicament amuses you. Keep in mind, if you were planning any more midnight visits to the hotel, that the back of that truck is refrigerated. It could take days for me to thaw out.”

Zach ceased chuckling, but Maryse took over for him.

“If you could see the look on your face,” Maryse teased. “Don’t worry. I’ll put her in a hot shower as soon as we get to the hotel. Trust me, Mildred will insist on it, or the whole place will smell like the shrimp house.”

A vision of Raissa in the shower flashed through Zach’s mind, and suddenly the restaurant felt overwhelmingly hot. He was really going to have to do something about his feelings for Raissa, but the one thing that came to mind was probably the worst thing, given their situation. Then, on the other hand, he was already lying to his boss and harboring a fugitive. Having sex with her wasn’t exactly a stretch.

Zach looked over at Maryse. “So, if I happen to show up for a midnight visit, you’re not planning on electrocuting me again, are you?”

Maryse gave him a sly wink. “Not unless you want me to.”

Zach laughed. “I have to ask, what does your husband do for a living?”

“He’s an investigator with the DEQ.”

“The Department of Environmental Quality, no shit? That’s great. And an investigator. He must love your side activities. They’re somewhat unusual for a scientist.”

Maryse reached over and patted Zach on the arm. “When all this is over, I’ll tell you the story of how Luc and I met. Or you could run me through the police system when you run that photo. A little light reading while you’re waiting.” She grinned at Raissa, who smiled.

Lord help him, now his curiosity was in overdrive. On the other hand, if Maryse had a police record, it might give him an idea of what she and Raissa were hiding. If not, he planned on getting it out of Raissa later that night. Through whatever means he deemed necessary.





It was close to midnight before Zach managed to get away from the police station. The captain had been understandably unhappy over his take on Susannah Franco, and Zach hadn’t even told him about the conversation with Dr. Spencer. He couldn’t figure out a way to get around to it without revealing his contact with Raissa.

The captain had considered everything Zach had given him, and they’d tossed around a couple of outlandish thoughts, but neither of them had been willing to commit to anything more than checking into the mayor’s past and keeping a closer watch on the movements of all the immediate family members. Zach was tasked with doing the digging. The captain would tap some other discreet detectives for the closer-watch detail.

Zach turned onto the highway and headed toward Mudbug. He’d been relieved when he wasn’t placed on watch detail. There was no way he could have continued his investigating with Raissa if he’d been parked in a fake cable installer’s van outside the mayor’s house. He also needed to be extraordinarily careful about being seen with Raissa from this point forward. Questioning Jennifer yesterday had been a big risk, and he wasn’t certain what they’d gotten from the girl had been worth it, except for the help Raissa had managed to provide her.