Shattered Mirror (Eve Duncan #23)(86)
Then she was out of the study and running down the hall toward the staircase.
It was done.
Now all she could do was wait for Kaskov or for some other opportunity to present itself …
CHAPTER
15
LOST CYPRESS BAYOU
PIERRE LADEAU SWAMP TOURS
FEED THE ALLIGATORS
Eve gazed up at the crudely painted sign nailed to an ancient oak tree. And then looked at the broken-down shack several yards away. “Not exactly a high-class operation. What are we doing here, Jock?”
“I have no idea.” His gaze went to the dock, where an airboat and two motorboats were anchored. “But those boats are in good condition. And this is where Donal Macvey had those Home Depot supplies delivered. It’s obvious that they weren’t used here, and Ladeau isn’t trying to hide.” He gazed out at the dark waters of the bayou that stretched into the distance, then turned and headed for the shack. “Let’s see if we can find this Pierre Ladeau and ask him.”
“Ask me what?” A stocky man with curly dark hair and round face stepped out of the trees a few yards away. He was thirtysomething and wearing jeans and a red short-sleeved tee shirt with an alligator on the front. He smiled cheerfully. “You want to go on a tour?” His Cajun accent was as broad as that smile. “It’s a little late in the day, but I can set you up for tomorrow.” His voice lowered dramatically. “Or if you pay me extra, I’ll think about a night tour. Did you know that the alligator eyes show up as pure red in the dark? It’s something to tell your kids when you get home.”
“No tour,” Joe said. “You took delivery of a shipment of supplies from Home Depot a few weeks ago. It was purchased by a Donal Macvey, but you accepted the merchandise a few days later. Tell us about it.”
Ladeau’s smile faded. “No tour?” He looked at them in disappointment. “Are you cops or something? I thought that guy was a little shady.” He added quickly, “Not that I did anything illegal. Strictly business, you understand.”
“No, we don’t understand,” Jock said. “Make us understand. Tell us about him.”
He shrugged. “This Macvey just showed up one day and said that he’d pay top dollar if I’d accept a delivery for him and rent him my airboat to transport the shipment into the bayou. What could I say? It wasn’t as if I was accepting drugs or anything like that. It was Home Depot for God’s sake.”
“Where did he take those supplies?”
“How do I know? I helped him load, but I didn’t go with him.” He frowned. “And maybe you don’t have any right to question me anyway. Show me your ID.”
“We have the right,” Eve took a step closer to him, and said fiercely, “It’s you who don’t have the right to say no to us, Ladeau. You’re helping to protect a monster. I want to know where Macvey went in the bayou that day. You will tell me.”
Ladeau looked taken aback, but he managed to smile at her. “I don’t have to tell you anything pretty lady. My cousin, Philip, is a lawyer on Canal Street, and all I have to do is give him a call and—”
“That’s assuming that you have fingers left to punch in his number.” Jock was suddenly between him and Eve. “Look at me. What do you think your chances are that will be true if you don’t tell me what I need to know?”
“Threats? My cousin says that’s—” He broke off as he met Jock’s eyes. He moistened his lips. “You’re no cop.”
“I never said I was. I’m someone who needs information. Where did Macvey go?”
“I don’t know. An island on one of the swamps out there, I guess. Why else would he need all that wood? But how could I know which one? Do you know how many bayous can be reached from this point? That’s why I set up my business here. Some of them are pure wilderness, nothing but winding waterways, alligators, and snakes. You can start off going into one bayou and end up in another.”
“Where?” Joe repeated.
He hesitated, then pointed to the west. “But it won’t do you any good. Like I said, he could have doubled back and around before he brought my boat back.”
“But you’d probably know all the ways he could do it,” Jock said. “And if we take you with us, you’ll be able to show us all that you know.”
He swallowed. “Maybe.”
“No maybe. You’ll do it.”
“Not likely. Macvey said that someone might be showing up and he told me—” He suddenly ducked back into the trees from where he’d appeared. “Screw you!”
A shot!
“Down!” Jock was next to Eve, and he was pulling her to the ground as another shot rang out. She felt Jock flinch, then he was on top of her.
“Eve?” Joe said as he pulled his gun.
“She’s okay,” Jock said. “Get him. The shot came from those trees. He must have had a rifle stashed there.”
“Watch her!” The next instant, Joe had disappeared into the thick shrubbery.
“Get off me,” Eve said as she pushed Jock away. “Go with him.”
He shook his head as he shifted to the side. “No way. I believe Ladeau might have been firing wildly to discourage us from following, but he might also have been told to get rid of you if you showed up. That second bullet came close to you, Eve.”