Showdown in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #3)(68)

Zach narrowed his eyes at her. “You aren’t thinking about questioning Spencer yourself, are you? Because that would be the dumbest thing in the world to do.”

Raissa blushed, as it had crossed her mind that Spencer’s office was only a couple of blocks from the café. “No, I’m not thinking about doing that.”

Zach stared at her.

“Okay, so I thought about it, but I can’t come up with a good enough excuse to do it. I promise I’ll go straight to Mudbug.”

“And call me when you get there.”

“I promise.”

“I mean it, Raissa.” Zach rose from the booth and leaned over to kiss her hard on the mouth. “You’re already taking enough risks. I want you around to see the end.”

“The end is what I’m afraid of. We’re running out of time.”

“We know more now than the FBI ever did. I know it’s a jumbled mess, but I’m just as certain that it’s all relevant. We’ll make sense of it in time to catch them.”

Raissa watched him through the plate-glass window of the café until he drove away, then reached for her wallet, tossed some bills on the table, and left. The only good thing so far was that between the stress and giving all her sweets to Helena, she’d lost a couple of pounds.

She’d just gotten in Mildred’s car when her cell phone began ringing. She looked at the display. Zach? She flipped open the phone and answered.

“Are you still at the café?”

“No. I just got in my car, why?”

“We have a huge problem.”

“What happened?”

“I just got a call—homicide.”

Raissa felt the blood rush from her face. “Oh, no. Not Hank.”

“No. Dr. Spencer.”

Shit. Raissa banged one hand on the steering wheel. “There goes our best lead.”

“That’s not the half of it. His body’s in your store. I’m headed over there now. I know you don’t want to run into Fields, and I can’t promise you they won’t ask me to hold you in custody until they figure this out, but I think you should get over there.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.” She started the car and pulled onto the street, tires squealing. What the hell was Spencer doing in her shop? Who had killed him? And how? The questions outweighed the answers by a mile. It seemed that the closer they got to the truth, the more convoluted everything became.

The usually calm street was filled with vehicles, most of them with flashing lights. Raissa parked a block away and started up the sidewalk to her shop. A patrolman stopped her at the end of the block. “This is a crime scene, ma’am. No one’s allowed past at this time.”

Raissa pulled out her license to show the patrolman. “Your crime scene is in my shop. I got a call from a Detective Blanchard.”

The patrolman checked her license and nodded. “Right this way, Ms. Bordeaux. I’ll take you to the detective.”

The patrolman waved at another officer to take his position and escorted her to her shop. There was a crowd of people outside, and as they stepped to the door, the paramedics came out, pulling the gurney. The body was completely covered.

“Wait,” she said and stopped the paramedics. “May I?” She motioned to the body.

The patrolman nodded, and the paramedic pulled back the sheet to expose Dr. Spencer, with a clean bullet hole in the middle of his forehead.

The paramedic pulled the sheet back over Spencer’s body and wheeled it onto the ambulance. The ambulance driver turned off the lights and they pulled away. No sense in hurrying on this one. Raissa turned and followed the patrolman into her store.

Zach stood next to the counter, talking to a member of the forensics team. He saw her come in and broke off his conversation to walk over. He thanked the patrolman, then pulled her to the back of the store to a section with the shape of a body taped on the floor. “He had a screwdriver, so we figure he was trying to open this door. That’s the stairs to your apartment, right?”

“Yeah.” Raissa shook her head. “But what was the point? Why come after me? You’re the police. I’m just the nut who owns the psychic shop.”

“Yeah, but you were with me when I questioned him, so he knows you’re involved, and that’s not all. We found his car in the parking garage behind his office. A black Cadillac.”

Raissa stared at him. “No way. It’s Sonny’s guys following me. We know that. And besides, Spencer’s name wasn’t on the DMV list.”

“It’s registered to his wife.” Zach glanced around and leaned his head toward her. “It has a bullet hole in the trunk,” he whispered.

Raissa didn’t know what to think. “Dr. Spencer tried to run me off the road? How did he even know to find me in Mudbug? He doesn’t know any of my friends. He’d never know to look for me there.”

“That is a damned good question, unless it was Spencer who put the tracking device on your car.”

“But why? We questioned him after he tried to run me off the road. After I’d already figured out the trace was installed.”

Zach shook his head. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t like it. It smacks of a professional hit, which smacks of your friends the Heberts. Maybe you’re wrong about Sonny being involved. Or maybe some of Sonny’s family is into business he doesn’t know about. All I know is that witnesses said the shot was fired from the driver’s side of a black Cadillac driving down the street. Now, how many people do you know who can land a bullet right between a guy’s eyes while driving?”