Showdown in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #3)(65)

Helena took a huge gulp of coffee and sighed with contentment. “You think he’s making a run for it.”

“It certainly looks that way.”

“But what’s he running from?”

Raissa shook her head. “If we had the answer to that, I think we’d blow this whole case wide open.”





Maryse looked up as the bells over Sabine’s shop door jangled, hoping it was Mildred or Raissa, but instead a petite, pretty blonde woman stepped hesitantly inside. The store had been swamped with business that morning, and the last customer had left only seconds before. Maryse had been hoping to return a call to Raissa, who’d sent her a text message earlier, but so far, there was no sign of a break in store traffic.

Maryse plastered on a smile and walked over to the woman. “Good morning. Can I help you find anything?”

The woman clutched her purse. “I hope so. Are you Maryse Robicheaux?”

Maryse studied the woman’s face, trying to figure out if she was supposed to know her, but absolutely nothing came to mind. “Yes, I’m Maryse.”

“My name is Lila.” She extended her hand. “We’ve never met, so don’t worry about offending me.”

Maryse shook her hand. “Was it that obvious?”

“You’re Southern. It’s sorta a given.”

“What can I help you with, Lila? If you’re interested in a reading, Sabine will be back next week.”

Lila’s expression grew serious. “I wanted to talk to you about Hank.”

“You know Hank?” Of all the things in the world Maryse figured the woman may want, information on Hank was the last thing that she would have thought of. “You don’t look like a bookie, loan shark, or cop.”

Lila blushed. “I’m not any of those things. I’m his boss.”

“I thought his boss was some guy named Chuck?”

“Chuck is the owner of the construction company, but I’m the owner of the clinic that’s being built. Hank’s building the cabinets.” Lila tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her hand shaking.

Maryse placed her hand on Lila’s arm. The woman was clearly distressed, and if it had anything to do with Hank Henry, she probably had good reason to be. “Let me put out the closed sign and we can talk in the break room. I have tea and coffee and might even be able to stir up something stronger.”

Lila gave her a grateful nod. “That would be great.”

Maryse flipped the sign in the front window and locked the door. She motioned to Lila and headed to the back of the store to the break room. “Have a seat,” Maryse said, and waved a hand at the tiny table and chairs squeezed into one corner of the room. “I’ll get us something to drink.”

“Oh, I don’t want to trouble you.” Lila said, and slipped onto a chair in the corner. She sat completely upright, and Maryse could see the stress on her face.

“It’s no trouble,” Maryse said. “I’d just put on a pot of coffee before you came in. Would you like some? If not, there’s soda, water, and tea. Anything stronger and I’d have to make a trip upstairs to Sabine’s apartment.”

“Coffee would be great.”

Maryse poured two cups of coffee and sat them on the table along with a caddy of creamer, artificial sweetener, and sugar. Lila opened a packet of artificial sweetener and added it to her coffee, then began to stir the life out of it.

“You said you wanted to talk about Hank,” Maryse prompted.

“Yes, but I really shouldn’t bother you. This was a mistake. I just thought…But now that I’ve met you, there’s no way…”

Maryse placed her hand on Lila’s arm. “No way, what? Is something wrong with Hank? Is he in some kind of trouble?”

“He’s missing,” Lila said, her voice barely a whisper.

“Oh, well,” Maryse struggled for the right words since it was clear that the woman was distraught. “Hank’s not exactly proven to be reliable in the showing-up-for-things category. In fact, you might say he made a professional career of coming up missing for a couple of years.”

Lila nodded. “I know about your relationship—how he ran off and left you to deal with everything alone.”

“Really? I didn’t know you could get that kind of information in a job interview.”

Lila blushed. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but I was Hank’s counselor when he was in rehab. Please don’t let anyone else know. It’s not ethical for me to talk about things he said to me at the center.”

Maryse leaned back in her chair, her mind trying to process what Lila had said. “Rehab? While I was hunting for him under every cypress tree on the bayou, he was in rehab?”

“Part of the time, yes, and I can tell you that he has a lot of guilt over what he put you through. He stated clearly from the first day of therapy that he was wrong, and you were a wonderful person who didn’t deserve to be saddled with someone like him. I know it’s hard to believe, given the way he treated you, but Hank has great respect for you. I think that’s part of the reason he couldn’t bring himself to contact you.”

“So it had nothing to do with all his gambling debts I got stuck with, huh? I find that hard to believe.”