Chapter Seven
“THAT WENT WELL.”
“You know, Gertie, it’s a little hard for me to take you seriously when you have fragments of cake and icing all over your person.” I blew out a long breath as I dropped into one of Gertie’s kitchen chairs. I was so far beyond exhausted that it was pathetic. Despite their advanced ages, I couldn’t keep up with either Aunt Ida Belle or Gertie, physically or mentally. “You’re a frightful mess.”
Gertie grinned. “Yeah, but you should have seen the other gals.”
I closed my eyes. Oh, I’d seen them all right. A vision of shower guests covered in bits of beautifully decorated cake, with their hair rumpled and their dresses askew, flashed through my mind in high definition technicolor. My picture-perfect shower had morphed into an out-and-out rumble.
Aunt Ida Belle snapped her fingers in front of my face. My eyes flew open. She didn’t look half as giddy as Gertie did, but neither did she look tired. Far from it.
“Cold beer?” She held a bottle out to me but I shook my head. She pulled out a chair and sat beside me. “Suit yourself.” She flipped the bottle cap off with a fork and took a long sip. When she was done, she set the half-empty bottle on the table and met my gaze. “Seems we scared your boyfriend away.”
I managed not to blurt out that Kase wasn’t my boyfriend, even though the disclaimer automatically sprang to my lips. “He said he was going to stop somewhere for a quick beer. He’ll be back to pick me up when he’s done.”
“Unless he’s hightailing it back to New Orleans about now,” Gertie suggested. “To file a report with the FBI about what happened at the Masters’.”
“About what happened at the Masters?” Fortune repeated, sounding every bit as incredulous as I felt. “Which part would he report? The part where Ida Belle pinned the tail on the ass, or the part where said ass turned into the hostess with a bionic arm who managed to slug three different women in an attempt to inflict damage on Ida Belle, her sworn mortal enemy?”
“What exactly happened between you two?” curiosity compelled me to ask. “Didn’t Lenora say it had to do with Walter?”
Aunt Ida Belle stared down at her beer bottle for a long moment. “Sort of.”
Fortune and I exchanged a knowing glance. When Aunt Ida Belle was being elusive, it meant there was a story there. We waited, but she didn’t elaborate.
“I’ll tell them,” Gertie offered.
“No.” Aunt Ida Belle set her drink on the table with a decided thud. “You’ll just screw it up with some imaginary romantic mumbo jumbo.”
I’d never seen my great-aunt look more uncomfortable. “Have you always been in love with Walter?” I asked.
Her frown was ferocious. “Who said I was in love with him?”
“There’s nothing wrong with being in love, Ida Belle,” Fortune said, her voice uncharacteristically gentle. “No one here would judge you if you admitted you loved Walter.”
“The only idiot who’s gone around mooning over Walter LeBlanc is Lenora Masters. She’s never even tried to hide it.” Aunt Ida Belle’s disgust was clear. “She embarrassed him and damn near humiliated herself in the process of trying to lure him into marriage.”
“Yet he managed to avoid her trap,” I said. “Because he was in love with you?”
“It’s all damn fool nonsense.” Ida Belle pushed away from the table and got to her feet without looking any one of us in the eye. “You want details? Fine. Lenora chased Walter. Walter ran. The cow blamed me. End of story.” She picked up her empty beer bottle. “Anyone else want another?”
When we demurred, she stomped into the kitchen. “And don’t talk about me behind my back. Gertie doesn’t know squat and you two don’t need to be knee deep in my personal business.”
Fortune leaned in toward me from across the table. “Let’s let this go for now. I’ll work on getting the story out of Walter and you work on Gertie.”
I nodded my agreement, although I would have much rather been tasked with speaking to Walter. At least he didn’t speak in concentric circles the way Gertie did.
Fortune leaned back in her chair as my great-aunt rejoined us. “So, that Donny Masters is a nasty piece of work, isn’t he?”
To this, I could agree whole-heartedly. He’d been in a foul temper when he’d slammed into his step-mother’s house. Then he’d caught sight of Kase and me kissing, or pretending to kiss, although it certainly had felt real to me... I shook my head. Focus, Stephanie. The sight of us together had only served to further anger Lenora’s step-son. Donny had demanded to know who we were but to his credit, Kase didn’t turn around and go off on when Donny called him a Neanderthal. That amount of self-restraint either spoke well of Kase’s FBI training or of his inner strength and ability to control himself. I, however, hadn’t been able to hold my tongue, and I gave Donny Masters more than an earful about the respectful way to enter a home and greet his step-mother’s guests. Finally, Donny had grown disgusted and ordered us to leave.
“He’s definitely a piece of work,” Aunt Ida Belle said. “But the whole family is whacked in the head if you want my opinion.”
“Word,” Gertie agreed.
“What I can’t figure out is why Kase was so anxious for Donny to not see his face.” I slipped off my heels and rubbed my tired feet. “Unless they’ve met before?”
Fortune shook her head. “I doubt it’s that. But think about it, Stephanie, if Donny is the mastermind behind the drug running, he’d be wary of anyone he finds hanging around his turf, right?”
I nodded as if this had occurred to me already. It hadn’t.
“Between your boyfriend’s size, distinctive tattoo, and the way he carries himself, it would be easy for Donny to ask around about him.”
“The man’s a hunky hulk.” Gertie rubbed her hands together. “Hubba hubba.”
Fortune rolled her eyes. “As opposed to these two,” she motioned to Aunt Ida Belle and Gertie with her head. “Two old women can fly under the radar because, well, they’re two old women.”
“Bite me,” Aunt Ida Belle growled.
“All I’m saying is that a man like Donny Masters is likely to underestimate two intelligent women like you simply because of your age and gender.”
I nodded. I could see that. In the short amount of time I spoke with him I found him to be imperious, condescending, demanding, and ill-mannered. “So, you think he’s the mastermind?”
Fortune shrugged. “He could be. Or he could just be a total jerk-off, hard to tell.”
“What about his son?”
“The kid uses.” Something on my face must have indicated I wasn’t following her. “Drugs,” she clarified. “He’s got a drug problem. Not to mention a serious attitude problem. The little punk wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was absolutely determined to get his hand up my skirt. I almost had to break his wrist.”
I flinched at her casual tone. These women weren’t playing. Which made it all the more important that we get to the bottom of this before someone got hurt. “What about Donny’s ex-wife? Did any of you get a chance to talk to Kitty?”
“I thought that you were going to do that.”
“I tried, Aunt Ida Belle. But Kitty’s terrified of her own shadow. She’d barely make eye contact, let alone small talk. I think we can safely cross her off our list.”
The other women exchanged one of their “Stephanie is clueless” looks.
“You can’t take everyone at face value, kid.” Aunt Ida Belle clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Either the woman is a mouse or she’s a lion who wants you to think she’s a mouse.”
“What about Carmen, then?” Was I supposed to think she was weak or meek because it was the opposite of the strong, tough image she projected?
“She’s interesting,” Fortune said. “She comes across as a real ball-buster—”
I flinched at her choice of words.
“—but she also strikes me as intelligent. I wouldn’t underestimate her.”
Aun
t Ida Belle nodded. “She strikes me as a bit of a caricature with that accent. Hard to believe it’s real.”
“Her boobs sure aren’t,” Gertie chuckled. “What about the daughter?”
“Surely you don’t suspect Cassandra?” Astonished, I looked between them. “But she’s the bride.”
“Which means what exactly? She’s incapable of committing a crime because she’s making wedding plans?”
I bristled at Fortune’s tone. “What bride would jeopardize her wedding with illegal activities?”
“One who stood to make high six figures in a single night.”
I shrugged and looked away. Where was Kase? I found that I was craving his company. He was the most normal person in Sinful, and right about now normal sounded heavenly. “So basically, even after all of the nonsense we endured today, not to mention all the money and time we spent making plans, we’re no closer to discovering anything than we were before the shower?” What a depressing thought.
“Depends on what your boyfriend might have uncovered.” Fortune glanced at her watch. “Wonder what’s keeping him? I’m surprised he’s not here taking us to task for how things went down.”
“Well, the good news is that we’re all still invited to the wedding.” Gertie looked inordinately proud of that fact. “Lenora didn’t revoke our invitations.”
“Yet.” I got to my feet. “Shall I make sandwiches for everyone?”
They readily agreed. I didn’t doubt they were hungry, seeing as how they’d been too busy flinging cake to actually eat any. As for myself, I was happy to have a quiet moment alone to think. The other ladies didn’t seem especially discouraged, but I felt like we’d wasted an entire day, not to mention that we’d made an absolute spectacle out of ourselves. Poor Cassandra.
We ate in relative silence. I refused their offers to help me wash up because I knew there was a basketball game on TV that they wanted to watch. As kind as the ladies had been to me, and there was no denying they’d welcomed me when I’d needed a place to hide, I didn’t fit in here. I belonged back in Boston. As soon as Kase finished up with his investigation and didn’t need me to pretend to be his girlfriend, it would be time for Priscilla and me to head back to Massachusetts. I put away the last glass and wiped my hands on a dish towel, feeling strangely disquieted by how unsettling the thought of leaving was, even though I thought that was what I wanted.
The doorbell sounded as I re-entered the living room. “I’ll get it.” Their eyes were glued to the ballgame, so no one put up an argument. I was relieved to know that Kase was back. He felt like an ally, if only because we were both Sinful outsiders.
Except that when I opened the front door, it wasn’t Agent Mayeux who stood on Gertie’s doorstep. It was Carter.
“Where’s Kase?” he asked without preamble.
“In town having a beer. Why?”
“Where exactly? Did he say?”
His pensive expression unnerved me. I touched my strand of pearls. “Carter, what’s wrong?”
“There’s been a report of an attempted murder.”
Chapter Eight
ATTEMPTED MURDER? MY knees sagged and I grabbed on to the door for support. I must have cried out because within seconds Aunt Ida Belle was right behind me. She put a comforting arm around my shoulders.
“What’s going on, Carter?” she demanded. “You’d better have a good excuse for upsetting my niece.”
“Someone tried to kill Donny Masters tonight.”
“That’s as good a reason as any, I suppose.” She gently drew me back inside and motioned for Carter to come through. “Come in and tell us what you know.”
“Why are you so anxious to locate Kase?” I asked, as I dropped onto the couch. “Is he in danger?”
By this time, Gertie had turned off the television. Fortune crossed to stand beside Carter, her hand on the small of his back.
“Who called it in?” Fortune asked.
“His wife. Ex-wife actually.” He slipped an arm around her waist. “Kitty Masters. She’s the one who found him. To say she was freaked out would be the understatement of the century.”
“Was he shot?” Gertie asked. “Or did someone try to feed him to a gator?”
Carter nodded. “Shot at, or so he claims.”
“What do you mean by that?” Aunt Ida Belle demanded. “Was he shot at or wasn’t he?”
Carter looked tired. He rubbed his eyes. “That’s what he claims. Deputy Breaux is over there now digging a bullet out of the boat house.”
“Why are you asking where Kase is? Do you have reason to believe he’s in danger?” And then, as the words left my lips, another thought occurred to me. Did Carter suspect that Kase had somehow been involved in the shooting? I clenched my hands.
“I don’t think he’s in danger,” Carter answered. But I grew increasingly uncomfortable when he didn’t say more.
“Well, what do you want to talk to him about then?” Gertie demanded.
Bless her, the woman tap-danced where angels didn’t dare tip-toe.
Carter didn’t try to hide his exasperation. “That’s between Mayeux and me,” he all but snapped. “I swear the fact there’s four of you now is keeping me up nights.”
Under other circumstances I would have been quite flattered to have been counted in as one of the “gang”, but I still wasn’t completely satisfied as to why Carter felt a pressing need to speak with Kase. Therefore, I was neither going to be flattered nor share any information.
“We’ll, he’s not here.” I stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to head back to my great-aunt’s house and get some sleep.”
My pronouncement effectively broke up our little meeting. Carter returned to the Masters, Gertie and Fortune decided to heat up a casserole, and Aunt Ida Belle wanted to stay and join them. I insisted that I was going to walk home.
The evening air, while not exactly cool, was at least fresh, and it felt good on my face as I headed back to Aunt Ida Belle’s house. I was about half way home when my skin prickled as an uneasy sensation came over me. I glanced over my shoulder, but I didn’t see anything besides the usual shadows cast by streetlights. Still, I hastened my steps.
I’d covered another block and just passed a wide oak tree when a dark shadow loomed in front of me. I barely had time to gasp before the shadow wrapped a thick arm around me. A hand covered my mouth as I was lifted off the ground.
“Don’t scream,” the voice intoned to ward off what was the most natural of reactions under these circumstances. “For cryin’ out loud, Stephanie, it’s me.”
Kase? My relief quickly gave way to anger and I struggled harder, which didn’t help me break free of his hold. I bit one of the fingers he had clamped over my mouth. Kase yelped and loosened his hold just enough that I managed to get my two feet planted on solid ground. I whirled around and stared up at him. “Kase Mayeux, what is the matter with you?” My voice shook with anger. “How dare you sneak up and grab me like that?”
He opened his mouth to respond, whether to apologize or justify his behavior, I didn’t give him an opportunity to say. I was still flooded with adrenaline. “To grab an unsuspecting lady, in the dark, is the very height of ill manners.” What else could I say? That covered it. Rather than wait for a response, I set out in the direction of my great-aunt’s house.
It took no effort on his part to catch up with me. He had to slow his steps so that he didn’t outpace me. Whatever. I wasn’t the least bit sympathetic. My heart was still hammering in my chest.
“I’m sorry, Stephanie, forgive me,” he said. “But I wanted to catch you.”
I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see it in the dark. “I believe that you could have done that with a loud whisper, a telephone call, or a text.” I picked up my pace.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. But I wanted to—”
“Catch me, so you said.”
He stopped walking and laid a hand on my arm. “Hear me out. Please.”
I stoppe
d. What was I going to do? It wasn’t like I could out-run him. And, truthfully, a little part of me was curious about the cloak and dagger routine. Was something going on? Or had the good agent simply been in town long enough to start showing signs of the ‘Sinful crazies’?
“Talk fast.”
“How would you feel about going on a stake-out tonight?”
This was the last thing I’d expected to hear. “A stake-out?”
He nodded. “There’s been some action over at the Masters’ mansion. I want to go over there and see if anything else is going to happen tonight.”
“But surely Carter’s deputies will be there?”
Kase shook his head. “Nope, LeBlanc doesn’t have the manpower. Come with me.”
I cocked my head and considered his request. I had to admit the idea intrigued me. I’d been to tea parties, polo matches, garden weddings, and classical concerts in the park on lovely summer evenings, but never on a stake-out. “Why are you so anxious for me to accompany you?”
“Having you along provides me with cover.” He must have sensed that I didn’t fully understand. “If someone comes across the two of us sitting in my truck out in the middle of nowhere, they’ll assume we’re up to, well, you know.”
“Quite.” It made sense. In a Sinful sort of way. And then a thought occurred to me. “But why are you sneaking around like this? Why not just call me? I’ve already agreed to play my part as your girlfriend this week.”
“Because I want you. Not your family and friends. I’ve had enough crazy for today.”
“You’ll get no argument from me on that.” I thought a moment. “Okay. I need to go back to Aunt Ida Belle’s house so that I can feed Priscilla. I’ll change and leave a note that we’ve gone to Mudbug.”
“You think they’ll buy that?”
I shrugged. “It’s worth a try to send them in the wrong direction in case they decide to follow us.”
We made short work of checking on the world’s most precious Persian. I swiftly changed into a pair of white denim capris. Was white a smart color choice for a stakeout? I supposed so. It wasn’t like we were going on a trek, at least I hoped not. I paired the capris with a red and white gingham top with puffed sleeves that I’d picked up in New Orleans on Gertie’s urging. Although what possessed me to take fashion advice from her, I can’t explain. But Kase’s appreciative expression when I rushed downstairs was gratifying. I left a note that Kase and I were going to Mudbug and I might be home late.
A Bayou Wedding Page 5
