Resurrection in Mudbug

by Jana DeLeon

  “Oh.” He took another sip of his beer. “So tell me about the car.”

  “I was looking out the front window, hoping I’d see you returning, and that’s when I saw the car rolling down the street. Two men from the barbershop dashed into the street after it, so I ran outside and joined the chase.”

  “And you didn’t see anyone go into the building?”

  “How could I? I was running down the street, in the opposite direction, chasing a runaway car. Someone could have stampeded elephants down Main Street and I wouldn’t have known.”

  Colt sighed. “Shirley said as much, but I guess I was hoping for a long shot.”

  “You didn’t have time to look into the key, did you?”

  “Not even a minute. That was on my list for tomorrow, but it looks like the opportunity is gone.”

  Jadyn frowned. Leave it to Colt to go looking for the key a day early. She’d hoped they could get the key back in place before he noticed it was missing, but now things were a bit more complicated. If the key just popped back up in the drawer, Colt would know someone was playing him. But no way could she keep visiting cemeteries looking for a match. At this point, she was obstructing the investigation, not furthering it.

  “I asked Mildred about it,” Jadyn said. “I drew a picture as best I could remember. I wish I would have thought to take a picture before you took it.”

  “Me too. Did Mildred have any thoughts?”

  “Yeah, she said it looked like the key the cemetery caretaker has that unlocks the front gate.”

  Colt perked up a bit. “You know, I think she’s right.”

  “But why would Duke hide a key to a cemetery?”

  “I don’t know. I suppose someone could be trafficking cadavers, but I’m pretty sure Earl would have noticed if people were missing.”

  “Mildred said Earl’s a bit…um, strange?”

  “Yeah, that would be one way to describe him.”

  “Maybe we should talk to him.”

  Colt glanced around the bar and nodded. “Might as well do it now. I don’t think Junior’s going to show and if we hurry, we can catch Earl before it’s too late for calling on people.”

  “Does he live in town?”

  “You could say that. He lives in a house in the middle of the cemetery.”

  Great.

  Jadyn waved at Bill as they made their way out of the bar and glanced at her watch as they stepped outside. Almost nine o’clock and the sun had disappeared over the swamp, casting downtown in a dim glow of patchy moonlight and the weak streetlamps Helena complained about. The last thing Jadyn wanted to do was visit a cemetery in the dark, but then, the entire day had been filled with the last thing she ever wanted to do. What possible difference could one more thing make?

  They’d just made it across the street when Helena rushed out of the hotel wall and fell into step beside them. Jadyn clenched her jaw and shot daggers at Helena, who was changed back into the full lettuce dress and was beginning to wilt.

  “Save your dirty looks for Mildred,” Helena complained. “She’s the one making me follow you.”

  Jadyn took a deep breath and blew it out, praying that Helena didn’t go solid or steal a car or any of the million other things she was capable of. They walked in silence to the cemetery, Jadyn hoping the entire way that the main gate would be locked up for the night and they’d have to come back in daylight hours, preferably without Helena. Unfortunately, the gate was still standing wide open when they approached.

  “Oh, hell no!” Helena yelled. “No one said you were going to the cemetery.”

  “If he hasn’t locked up yet, where would he be?” Jadyn asked.

  Colt shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  Helena crossed her arms across her chest. “Probably mixing spells or cooking small children in that haunted cemetery house of his.”

  “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” Jadyn said, the thought of accidentally being locked inside the cemetery leaping to the forefront of her mind. “We should probably come back tomorrow.”

  “Damn straight,” Helena agreed.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Colt said, then his frown cleared and he got an excited look on his face. “But what if Earl has seen something?”

  “Earl hasn’t seen anything in a decade but the backside of one hundred and two,” Helena shouted.

  Jadyn cut her eyes at Helena then looked back at Colt. “Then he’ll be able to tell us tomorrow same as tonight.”

  “But it may be too late,” Colt said.

  “How do you figure?” Jadyn asked.

  “If the key is important enough to steal from the sheriff’s department then it must be hiding something big, right?”

  “That’s the theory.”

  “I figure if he stole the key, he’s going to collect whatever is stashed as soon as possible.”

  Jadyn held in a groan. Given the circumstances, she could see exactly where Colt was headed, and she couldn’t blame him. If the situation were reversed, she’d think the same thing—that such a bold move as stealing the key from the sheriff’s department in broad daylight meant a fixed timetable.

  “If the stash is in the cemetery,” Colt continued, “then we may be able to catch him when he shows up for it.”

  “You see what you started,” Helena said. “I told you it was a bad idea to steal that key.”

  Jadyn clenched her hands at her sides. Stealing the key had been Helena’s idea, not hers, but since she was the only living body that could be held responsible, it was a moot point.

  She racked her brain for any reason to shoot down Colt’s plan, but given his incomplete scope of knowledge, what he suggested was exactly what they ought to do. If she backed out, she’d look cowardly and suspicious, and she couldn’t afford either. But she had to come up with some logical reason to change his plan; otherwise, she saw a long night of wandering around the cemetery in her future.

  “Okay,” she said, “but let’s head straight to Earl’s house and wait for him if he’s not there. Combing the cemetery is not a smart thing for me right now given that someone’s gunning for me.”

  The excitement fled from Colt’s face. “Damn it. I should have thought about that. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so callous.”

  Great. Now you’ve made him feel bad and you’re the one lying.

  “You’re just trying to catch this guy,” Jadyn said.

  “Yeah, but I can’t put you at risk that way. I’ll walk you back to the hotel then come back to talk to Earl myself.”

  “Damn skippy,” Helena agreed.

  Jadyn held in a sigh, all plans for a hot shower and a fluffy bed sailing out the window, but her next move might seal Colt’s opinion of her as a law enforcement officer. “So that you can be the only one at risk? I’m not leaving you to do this alone. We’re both safer with backup, and I want this guy as badly as you do. The last thing I want to do is spend every minute of the day looking over my shoulder.”

  “What’s wrong with looking over your shoulder?” Helena argued. “You’re young and in good shape. Take up yoga or something. You young people are so lazy.”

  Colt stared at her for a while, and she could tell his mind was warring with the option for backup, which was desperately needed, and the white-knight syndrome of keeping the fair maiden safe.

  “Okay,” he said finally. “We go straight to Earl’s house and talk to him. If he hasn’t seen anything out of the ordinary, then we head home.”

  “And if he’s seen something?”

  “We’ll decide how to handle it based on what he’s seen.”

  Jadyn nodded and walked through the entrance behind Colt.

  “I’m not going in there,” Helena said as she stomped to a stop at the entry.

  Jadyn waved at Helena behind her back and fell into step beside Colt as he started down a path right through the center of the cemetery. Whatever they might find inside the gates couldn’t be as bad as the vegetable-clad ghost lurking just o
utside of them. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for Jadyn to change her mind on that one.

  At first, the cemetery grounds were fairly open, but the farther toward the back they walked, the closer the trees grew together, making the path even dimmer. Despite the annoyance level, Jadyn found herself wishing Helena had come along. She was beyond obnoxious, but she was also an extra set of eyes that the bad guy couldn’t see.

  Finally, the trees came so close together that they blocked off most of the moonlight. She was just about to call a halt to the entire charade and insist they turn back when Colt pointed to a dim glimmer about twenty yards through the trees.

  “That must be coming from the house,” he said.

  “Great. Now let’s hope he’s home.”

  They increased their pace and seconds later, Colt knocked on the front door of the tiny house. He’d barely lowered his hand when the door flew open and the oldest man Jadyn had ever seen in her life glared out at them.

  To say he was skin and bones was an understatement. Skin hung loose on his gaunt face, and combined with his sunken eyes and wild silver hair that hung down his back. Good God, that “Crypt Keeper” description had been dead on. No wonder kids were scared of him. Hell, she was scared of him.

  “Whadda ya want?” he barked out at them.

  Colt must have figured he’d have better luck going the official route, because he pulled out his badge and showed it to Earl. “I’m Sheriff Bertrand and this is Jadyn St. James, the game warden. We’re investigating a crime and thought you might be able to help us.”

  “You’re letting the air out and bugs in,” he said and waved them inside.

  Colt motioned to Jadyn and she hesitated for a second before stepping inside. Colt had barely cleared the door before Earl slammed it shut. Jadyn glanced around the room that served as kitchenette, breakfast area, and living room and was surprised to see that it looked completely normal. Then she chastised herself for letting Helena’s ranting get to her. Earl was probably a perfectly normal man who just looked scary as hell.

  “I was just getting ready to close up the cemetery for the night,” Earl said. “Wouldn’t want any of the spirits getting out.”

  Okay, maybe not perfectly normal.

  Colt frowned. “We were wondering if you’d seen anything out of the ordinary in the cemetery.”

  Earl looked confused. “’Course I have. It’s full of dead people. You think they’re up to anything normal?”

  Colt’s eyes widened. “I, uh…well, I guess I thought since they were dead they weren’t up to anything at all.”

  Earl shook his head. “You young people don’t know anything.”

  Colt glanced at Jadyn and she shrugged. A week ago, she would have thought Earl was crazy as a loon, but a week ago, she hadn’t met Helena.

  “Okay,” Colt said, “so have you seen anything outside of the ordinary stuff?”

  “Like what?”

  “More visitors to the cemetery, or maybe people you don’t know. Basically, more activity, possibly at night?”

  Earl narrowed his eyes. “You think there’s funny business going on in the cemetery? That’s ridiculous. And no, I haven’t seen no strangers wandering around here, no illegal drug deals, no prostitution…although that one might be interesting.”

  Colt frowned. “Do you mind showing us the key to the front gate?”

  Earl let out a long-suffering sigh, pulled open a drawer in the kitchen, and dragged out a ring of keys with several large black iron ones like the one she’d found at Duke. He held the ring up and pointed to a key on the end. “This one’s to the gate.”

  “Are the rest of them spares?”

  “Why would I keep my spares on the same ring as the original? If I lost one, I’d lose them all. The rest open crypts.”

  Jadyn sucked in a breath. It made perfect sense. A crypt was the perfect hiding spot for illegal merchandise.

  “How many crypts are in this cemetery?” Jadyn asked.

  “Six, but most of ’em hadn’t been used in years ’cept for me doing a regular check. Four of the families ain’t got no living relatives in Mudbug and haven’t in years.”

  “And you haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary around the crypts?” Colt asked.

  “No. Should I?”

  Colt pointed to the ring of keys. “Can I take a closer look at those?”

  Earl handed him the ring and Colt motioned to her. “These are all slightly different on the top. Do you recognize the key you found?”

  Jadyn studied the keys, then pointed to one with a wide top that dipped in the middle, almost forming a heart. “I think it looked like that one, but I can’t be certain.”

  Colt held up the key. “Which crypt does this open?”

  Earl squinted. “That’s to the Monroe family crypt.”

  “Do you have a map of the cemetery? Can you show me where the crypt is located?”

  Earl threw his hands in the air. “Why on earth would I have a map? I’ve lived here since I was born. I’m pretty sure I can find everything.”

  “I need to see this crypt tonight. Can you point me in the right direction? And if you have some flashlights we could borrow, that would be great.”

  “Don’t got any use for flashlights. Kerosene lanterns is what my daddy used and that’s fine by me. The Monroe crypt is about fifty yards directly behind my house. Just stay on the path. It’s the one with a heart and twisted vines on the door.”

  “Sounds easy enough. If you have two lanterns you can spare, that would be great.”

  “Don’t know as I can spare ’em, but if you don’t bring ’em back, I guess I know where to find you.”

  As Colt slipped the Monroe crypt key off the ring, Earl opened a coat closet in the living room and pulled out two lanterns. “I keep ’em filled.”

  “Thanks.” Colt took the lanterns and headed out the door. “You can stay here if you’re not okay with this,” he said as he handed her a lantern.

  “Stay here with the Crypt Keeper? Pass.”

  Colt chuckled. “I kept trying to figure out who he looked like. You nailed it.”

  “You mean I nailed it.” Helena’s voice sounded behind Jadyn. “I never get credit for anything around here.”

  Jadyn clenched her jaw to keep from answering. She could think of all sorts of things Helena got credit for, and none of them were good.

  “I got bored at the gate, and I didn’t see any spooks, so I decided to come inside. So where are we going?” Helena asked, as if Jadyn could just pop out a reply. Unfortunately, Jadyn knew Helena wouldn’t shut up until she had an answer.

  “Do you think we’ll find something at the Monroe family crypt?” Jadyn asked, hoping Helena would catch the hint.

  “I hope so,” Colt said.

  “A crypt?” Helena’s voice rose several octaves. “Have you lost your mind?”

  It was a loaded question, so just as well that Jadyn couldn’t answer it. Instead, she tried to wave Helena away when Colt was scanning the brush to his right.

  “Oh, hell no!” Helena protested. “I can’t see in the dark and you’ve dragged me into the pit of hell back here. I might get lost and kidnapped by spooks. I could be held here against my will for centuries, forced to cook and perform sexual favors.”

  Jadyn held in a sigh. It was quite possible that she’d finally met someone even more high-maintenance than her own mother, and with a much more vivid imagination.

  “That must be it.” Colt held up his lantern, casting a dim glow on the marble facing. “A heart with a twisted vine.”

  Jadyn stepped up to the crypt and lifted her lantern up to increase visibility. “The keyhole is lower down on the right. A piece of vine is starting to grow over it.”

  Colt pushed the vine out of the way and turned the key in the hole. It stuck for a moment, then Jadyn heard a click and the giant marble door began to creak open. They both took hesitant steps inside the doorway, holding their lanterns in front of them.

 
“I’m not going in there!” Helena shouted from the opening. It was all Jadyn could do to keep from shouting back “good.”

  The center walkway of the crypt was fairly large—probably twelve feet wide and thirty feet long. The walls were lined with engraved plaques, indicating who resided behind them. Otherwise, the crypt was empty.

  Jadyn stepped closer to one of the plaques and gave it a little shove. It didn’t budge. “You don’t think anyone went to the trouble…”

  “Of hiding something inside the walls? I wouldn’t think so. If we’re right, this was only temporary storage for whatever that boatload of money was purchasing. It’s not like someone was sequestering the family jewels or a treasure map.”

  “Then I guess we got nothing,” Jadyn said.

  Colt blew out a breath. “Looks like. Sorry I wasted your time.”

  “It wasn’t a waste of time. I think we’re on the right track, just the wrong cemetery.”

  “This is the only cemetery in Mudbug.”

  The information about Helena’s family cemetery was on the tip of her tongue, and she really wanted to let it out, but knew that she couldn’t. Not yet. Tomorrow she could claim she asked Mildred, and the hotel owner knew about the other cemetery. But there was no good reason for Jadyn to have that knowledge now.

  “Then we’ll start looking in nearby towns,” Jadyn said.

  “I suppose so,” Colt said, sounding as frustrated as she felt. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

  She stepped outside of the crypt and something whizzed by her ear. For a split second, she thought the rumor about south Louisiana mosquitoes having to file flight paths with the FAA wasn’t an exaggeration, but when the bullet struck the side of the crypt and sent tiny shards of concrete scattering, she bolted back inside, dropping her lantern and almost shoving a startled Colt to the ground.

  Chapter Twenty

  “The shooter,” Jadyn managed before another bullet ricocheted off the inside wall of the crypt.

  Colt pushed her to the far side of the crypt, grabbed the edge of the door, and started pulling it closed. Jadyn tried to get her initial panic under control, but the thought of being trapped inside the crypt was sending it into overdrive.