Trouble in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #1)(46)

He made the last turn and stared in shock. Her home was gone, completely leveled. It looked like something you saw in war footage. He scanned the patch of land for any sign of life, or a body, but couldn’t make out a thing. As he zoomed closer to the bank, all hope disappeared. There was simply no way anyone could have survived that blast. No way.

He was reaching for his cell phone when Maryse’s boat came around from the back side of the island. He held his breath as he stared at the driver and was relieved and surprised to see Maryse driving the boat. He cut his throttle and yelled at her and she guided her boat over to his. As she drew closer, he could see tiny cuts on her arms and a couple of nicks on her neck.

She came to a stop next to him and he reached over for her arm. “Are you all right? What happened?”

She looked at him, the anger on her face clear as day, but Luc knew that even though she was moving, driving a boat, she had to be in shock. He glanced over at the leveled cabin. No damn wonder. “Maryse,” he said, and gently shook her, “are you all right? Are you hurt?”

Maryse blinked and seemed to recover a bit of herself. “What? No, I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t feel hurt.” She gave him a frightened look. “Unless you see something I don’t. I’m in shock, right? I might not feel anything.”

Luc gave her a quick once-over. “I don’t see anything life threatening, although you should definitely be checked out. What happened? Do you know?”

Maryse looked back at her cabin, her face flushed, her jaw tight. “It just exploded. I was pulling up to the dock and it exploded.”

She was lying. Luc knew it, but whether it was about something important or something stupid, he could only imagine. “Did you see anyone near the island?”

Maryse shook her head, but Luc could tell she was holding back again.

“There wasn’t anyone but me,” she said.

Luc flipped open his cell phone and dialed the police. “The first thing we’re going to do is call the police. They need to get someone to look at this. Then we’re getting you to a hospital, just to be sure.” He held his hand out to Maryse. “Why don’t you step over into my boat? I can tow yours back to the office.”

Maryse hesitated for a moment, but he was relieved when she took his hand with no argument and stepped over into his boat. She kept looking back at the island—not at the demolished cabin, but scanning the entire area. What in the world was she looking for? Had there been another person there?

Luc got Maryse seated, then secured her boat behind his with a tie line. He was just about to pull away when Maryse yelled.

“Jasper!” Maryse pointed to the island at something moving around a clump of cypress trees. She spun around and looked at Luc. “That’s my cat, Jasper. I was afraid he was in the cabin. We have to go get him.”

Luc looked over at the small speck of yellow and smiled. “Of course we do.” He slowly turned the boat and crept towards the bank. “I’m going slow so I don’t spook him,” he said. “The poor thing is probably already stressed enough.”

Maryse nodded. “Thanks.”


It took them a minute to get to the bank, and before he could even assist, Maryse scrambled up the side and called the cat. Luc looked over the embankment in time to see the old tom wrap himself around Maryse’s legs and allow her to pick him up. She smiled and kissed the top of his head, then headed back to the boat, passing Luc the cat so she could get in.

Luc reached for the cat, who didn’t even protest at being in a stranger’s arms. Then again, animals usually had an instinct about when people were trying to help them. He rubbed the cat behind his one ear and passed the animal to Maryse after she took her seat. “He’s a little rough around the edges, huh?”

Maryse nodded. “Yeah. He’s definitely a fighter. I think that’s why I like him so much.”

Luc smiled. “Well, let’s get back to the office and drop Jasper off there. Then we can take a trip to the hospital. I want to make sure that head injury from your car wreck wasn’t aggravated by being so close to the blast.”

Maryse shrugged. “Whatever you think.”

Luc looked over at her as he pulled away from the island. She clutched the cat to her chest and stared straight ahead. Her face was drawn, her neck stilled flushed with red. Luc had absolutely no idea what the hell had just happened, but he’d bet his last dollar that Maryse knew something. Something she wasn’t about to tell.

And from where Luc stood, that something was going to get her killed.


It took them about forty-five minutes to dock, secure the cat, and make the drive to the hospital. Maryse called Sabine on the way—one, because she knew Sabine and Mildred were bound to hear about her cabin soon and she didn’t want them panicking, and two, because she was going to need a place to stay and something to wear if she planned on showering again. She figured Mildred would give her a room at the hotel and Sabine would come up with something temporary for her clothes-wise.

After reassuring her friend that she was unhurt, Maryse flipped her cell phone shut and leaned her head back against the seat, closing her eyes. She was doing her best to hold everything in, but she was still so angry with Helena that she knew Luc was suspicious about what was going on. Like she could tell him even if she wanted to. Hey, Luc, it’s no big deal. I’m just being haunted by my dead mother-in-law who left me a bunch of land full of oil that now apparently people are trying to kill me for. Yeah, that would work. That was believable.