Swamp Team 3 (A Miss Fortune Mystery)

by DeLeon, Jana

  “Twelve years,” he replied. “When I went in at eighteen, things were pretty quiet. The first Gulf War was over, per se, and the second hadn’t fired up yet.”

  “How many tours in Iraq did you do?”

  “Four, but most days it felt like forty.”

  “I can’t imagine,” I said, even though I knew exactly what he was saying. Every mission I’d done seemed to play out in only two speeds—lightning fast and reverse. The actual takedown was usually only a matter of seconds. But the research and placement time leading up to that one shot could take months, even years.

  “I don’t think I could fathom it either if I hadn’t been there,” he said. “When I was a kid, some of the high school guys enlisted and served in the first Gulf War. I talked to several of them before enlisting myself. I heard the stories, and they tried to explain what it felt like, but words couldn’t do it justice. It wasn’t until my first tour that I understood exactly how insignificant their descriptions had been compared to the reality.”

  “What was your specialty?”

  “Nothing at first. I didn’t have a college education and no particular skill set, so I went over as infantry. Got promoted to rifleman after a while. I was good at it, so I stayed there.”

  Red lights began flashing in my mind. Riflemen were excellent shots but often also served as scouts. If Carter was a scout, he would be specifically trained to recognize other military personnel by movement and reaction, not just uniform. Which meant that if he ever saw me in action, he’d know I wasn’t the librarian, Sandy-Sue Morrow, I was pretending to be.

  The overwhelming feeling that agreeing to this dinner had been the biggest mistake I’d made since arriving in Sinful was something I could no longer ignore. With every bit of information I discovered about Carter, the possibility of him discovering my true identity ticked up several notches. When things were calm, I barely managed to portray an innocuous civilian. When things heated up—and they always seemed to—it was next to impossible to stop myself from my natural reactions to a threat.

  Carter’s cell phone rang and he checked the display and frowned. “What part of ‘night off’ did you miss in my instructions?”

  I heard a high-pitched female voice. It sounded somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t place it exactly.

  “What?” Carter’s voice hardened. “When? Yeah, tell Sheriff Lee I’m on my way.”

  I stiffened as I realized the voice was Myrtle Thibodeaux, the night dispatcher for the sheriff’s department and one of Ida Belle and Gertie’s cohorts in the Sinful Ladies Society, a group of older single women who controlled a good part of what happened in Sinful.

  He dropped his cell phone on the seat and gave me an apologetic look as he took the next exit off the highway. “I’m really sorry about this, but I’ve got to get back to Sinful.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a house fire that I need to check on, and I figure you’re going to want to come with me.”

  I sucked in a breath. “Gertie?”

  “That would make a hell of a lot more sense, but no. The fire is at Ally’s.”

  Chapter Two

  “Is Ally all right?” I asked, my voice increasing in octave and in volume.

  “Yeah,” Carter said. “She inhaled a bit of smoke, but the paramedics said she’s going to be fine. Still, I figured you’d want to make sure.”

  “Yes, of course. Thanks.” I clutched the door handle as Carter made a U-turn with minimal decrease in speed, then got back on the highway and pressed his accelerator to the floorboard.

  Ally was a waitress at Francine’s but was working on opening her own bakery. We met when I first arrived in town, and I’d found her honesty and kindness a breath of fresh air. She’d quickly become the first female friend I’d ever had in my age group. Unlike Ida Belle and Gertie, Ally had no idea that I wasn’t the real Sandy-Sue Morrow, and that’s the way I intended to keep things. It was safer for both of us that way.

  “How did the fire start?” I asked. The combined thoughts of Ally’s daily baking and Gertie’s grease fire all ran together, creating a viable reason for the tragedy.

  “They’re not sure yet. Hopefully the firemen will know more by the time we get there.”

  “I hope it’s not all gone.” I couldn’t even imagine losing everything I owned in a matter of minutes.

  Carter looked over at me and nodded. “Me, too.”

  ###

  The fire was nothing more than a smoke trail leading into the clouds once we arrived, and I was relieved to see the house still standing. The firemen appeared to be congregated around one corner at the back of the house. I saw Ally on the sidewalk, talking with a large woman in workout clothes, who held a leash with one of those small, yappy dogs on the other end. As I jumped out of the truck, the woman gave Ally a quick hug and headed across the street, I assumed to her home.

  Ally glanced over as I hurried up and her face crumpled as she launched into me, throwing her arms around my neck.

  “I can’t believe it,” she said, her voice raspy.

  I lifted my arms to encircle her, feeling more awkward at that moment than I had in Carter’s truck.

  “I’ve never been so scared,” she said.

  I gave her a squeeze. “All that matters is that you’re safe,” I said.

  She sniffed and released me, taking a tiny step backward. Her eyes were red and a single tear rolled down her cheek. My entire life, I’d never wished more than at that moment that my mom had lived longer. A normal woman would have been able to handle this without even thinking about it. A woman who’d been raised by a father who was a cross between James Bond and Rambo didn’t stand a chance of understanding normal emotions.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  She wiped the tear off her cheek and shook her head. “I don’t know. I’d been testing a new layer cake recipe and the layers needed to cool, so I headed upstairs for a shower. I had just turned off the water when the smoke detectors went off. I swear I almost had a heart attack right there. It took me a couple of seconds to even register what the noise was.”

  I nodded. I’d had a few of those unexpected jolts of noise since I’d arrived in Sinful, but at least since mine had happened when I was sleeping, I hadn’t had to stop and consider clothes.

  “I didn’t take time to dry off,” Ally continued. “Just pulled on yoga pants and a T-shirt and ran downstairs. I could see fire creeping toward the stairwell, and the smoke was already billowing up to the second floor. I didn’t even think to grab a wet towel to cover my mouth. Stupid.”

  “You’re not stupid. Your house was on fire. Flight is a perfectly reasonable response.”

  She gave me a grateful look. “I probably shouldn’t have taken the time to dress.”

  “In this case, I don’t think a handful of seconds made a huge difference, although it would have been much more dramatic if you’d run out of your front door naked. That’s probably one people around here don’t see all that often.”

  “You’d be surprised.”

  Ida Belle’s voice sounded behind me and I spun around to see her and Gertie standing there.

  “Are you okay?” Gertie asked Ally. “Shouldn’t you be sitting? Someone bring her a chair, for Christ’s sake! What’s wrong with you people?”

  I grinned as Gertie clenched Ally’s arm and studied her as if her medical prognosis were written on her forehead. Ida Belle rolled her eyes at all the dramatics.

  “I’m fine,” Ally assured her. “Just a little raspy from the smoke.”

  Gertie frowned, clearly not believing her assessment, and yelled again. “Where’s the damn chair?”

  A cute young fireman walked up with a plastic lawn chair and placed it next to Ally, casting nervous glances at Gertie as he moved away.

  Six foot two, muscular, midtwenties. No perceivable flaws. Threat level medium if unarmed.

  He headed back toward a group of firemen standing near the front of the house, so I turned my
attention back to Ally.

  Ally took Gertie’s hands in hers and looked her straight in the eyes. “I swear to you, I’m fine.”

  Ida Belle flopped into the chair. “Then you won’t mind if I sit down. All this drama looks like it might take a while, and my bunions are killing me.”

  Gertie frowned down at her. “You should have those removed.”

  “Tell you what,” Ida Belle said. “I’ll have them removed when you get new glasses.”

  “Anyway,” I interrupted, not about to listen to that age-old argument again. “So what do you think happened?”

  Ally shook her head. “I have no idea. I shut everything down in the kitchen before I went to shower. Mrs. Parker, the lady I was talking to when you drove up, was walking her dog and saw smoke coming out of the window. She called the fire department right before the smoke detectors went off.”

  “You don’t have a smoke detector in the kitchen?” Gertie asked.

  Ally gave her a sheepish look. “I disabled it. I set it off so many times trying new recipes that I was afraid my neighbors would have me arrested for disturbing the peace.”

  “So it probably started in the kitchen,” I said.

  “I guess.” Ally frowned. “But I don’t see how. I know I turned everything off before I went upstairs. I’ve been paranoid about that sort of thing ever since my dad caught our pergola on fire while barbecuing when I was a kid.”

  “I remember that,” Ida Belle said. “Flames shot up a good twenty feet in the air.”

  Ally nodded. “That’s because dad’s first mistake was painting it with lacquer instead of varnish. I’m pretty sure Momma was still complaining about it at his funeral.”

  “Having known your mother her entire life,” Ida Belle said, “I’m sure you’re right.”

  “But if you turned everything off,” I asked, “then how could it have started?”

  “Gas leak?” Gertie asked.

  “Something still has to ignite the gas,” I said.

  Ally shook her head. “I would have noticed the smell of gas.”

  I looked over at the house and saw Carter standing on the front porch, talking to the fireman who’d brought over the lawn chair. He shook the man’s hand, then came down the sidewalk toward us. He nodded at Gertie and Ida Belle, then focused on Ally.

  “The firemen have assured me that the house looks worse than it really is, but it’s not safe for you to stay there. It will take hours for the smoke to die down completely and there’s no way to secure the house well enough for you to live in until things cool down. Even then, I wouldn’t recommend it until the worst of the ash and soot has been cleaned.”

  Ally’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow. How long will that take?”

  “I’m not sure,” Carter said. “A lot depends on how quickly your insurance company moves and whether a cleaning crew is available. There are specialized crews for this sort of work.”

  Ally stared at the house and bit her lip. “What about everything inside? I mean, if you can’t secure it…”

  “Once it cools down, David Leger, the fireman I was just talking to, offered to cover the damage to the exterior walls with plywood. That should avoid any potential tragedies from the nosy among us.”

  Ida Belle looked over at David and narrowed her eyes. “Is that Edith Leger’s grandson?”

  Carter nodded. “He just moved here from Lake Charles last week when the job opened up.”

  “Doesn’t look at all like his grandfather,” Ida Belle said. “Gilbert was a total toad.”

  Gertie shook her head in dismay. “Well, really.”

  Ida Belle waved a hand at her. “Don’t go acting all pious. You faked mono for an entire six weeks to get out of being partnered with him for square dancing in gym class.”

  “That was because I don’t like to dance,” Gertie argued.

  “You have an entire shelf of DVDs on break dancing,” Ida Belle said. “I have no idea why, since the only thing you’re likely to break is a hip.”

  “Ladies,” Carter interrupted. “All discussions of toads and break dancing aside, our biggest concern at the moment is that Ally stay somewhere safe.”

  Ally nodded, still looking a bit dazed by everything. It would probably take some time before the full weight of what had happened hit her. “Can I go in to get my purse and some clothes?” she asked.

  Carter nodded. “The stairwell is stable, but I’d still prefer one of the firemen go with you.” He whistled and motioned to David. “Can you please escort Ally upstairs so that she can pack some clothes?”

  “Of course,” David said.

  Ally gave him a huge smile, and I saw a blush creep up his neck as they headed toward the house. Carter stared after them and frowned.

  “You gonna tell us what’s eating at you?” Ida Belle asked. “Or are you just going to stand there staring?”

  Carter turned back to face us, a worried look on his face. “Telling the three of you this goes against all my better judgment, but I need your help.”

  A feeling of dread came over me as Ida Belle jumped up from the chair to stand beside me. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  Carter took a step closer to us and leaned in. “The chief said it looked like the fire was deliberate.”

  “What?”

  “No way!”

  “That’s impossible!”

  Carter glanced around and motioned for us to quiet down. “They’re going to send an arson investigator to be certain. But until I can sort all this out, I need to know that Ally is somewhere safe and not back in that house.”

  I felt the blood rush from my face. “You think someone tried to kill her?”

  “Lord help,” Gertie mumbled and dropped into the lawn chair, her face as pale as the white lace on her collar.

  “I don’t know what to think yet,” Carter said. “But I can do my job better if I don’t have to worry about Ally.”

  “She can stay with me,” I said.

  “Are you sure?” Ida Belle said. “Gertie and I are better prepared to handle guests.”

  I knew exactly what Ida Belle was implying. Because Ally didn’t know anything about the real me, her living with me opened up opportunities for discovery. But it was a risk I was willing to take. While I didn’t doubt for a moment that Ida Belle and Gertie would defend Ally to the death, neither was as qualified or as paranoid as I was. If Carter wanted her safe, then the best place for her to be was with me.

  “I’m sure,” I said. “It will be like a long girls’ weekend.” I’d heard that phrase on one of the sitcoms I’d watched the night before. I still had no idea what a “girls’ weekend” entailed, but the women on the show had acted all excited about it.

  “You just want her for her baked goods,” Ida Belle said and gave me a barely imperceptible nod.

  “Naturally,” I said.

  Carter smiled. “I’ll probably have to drop by often and check on her.”

  I looked over at the house as Ally stepped outside and smiled at David before hurrying toward us.

  “Here she comes,” I said. “I don’t think we should say anything about this to her until we know something for sure.”

  “I agree,” Carter said.

  Ida Belle and Gertie both nodded and everyone tried to force a normal expression as Ally walked up.

  “I’m sure I’ve forgotten something,” Ally said, clearly flustered. “I can’t even think straight.”

  “Anything important,” Carter said, “let me know and I’ll get you an escort back inside.”

  “And anything else,” Ida Belle chimed in, “you can get at the General Store.”

  “You’re right,” Ally said. “I’ve got work clothes for a couple of days and anything else can wait.” She reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. “I didn’t even think to check this thing and make sure the smoke didn’t damage it. I need to call Aunt Celia and let her know I’ll be staying with her for a bit.”

  “No,” I said and put my hand on her arm.
“You can stay with me.”

  Ally’s expression softened. “Oh, Fortune, that’s so nice of you, but I don’t want to put you out. Aunt Celia’s family. Putting family out is totally acceptable.”

  “You wouldn’t be putting me out,” I said. “And besides, staying with Celia is more likely to put you out than her.”

  “True that,” Gertie said.

  Ally bit her lower lip and looked back and forth from Gertie to me. “Okay, if you insist.”

  “I insist.”

  Ally smiled. “I really appreciate this.”

  I felt a blush creep up my neck. “You could probably repay me with some blueberry muffins.”

  She laughed. “I’ll have to check your kitchen for equipment first. I think Marge liked cooking as much as you.”

  “I’ll put together some supplies from my house,” Ida Belle said.

  I stared at her.

  She put her hands on her hips. “What? I like blueberry muffins, too. And mine never turn out as good as Ally’s.”

  I was momentarily confused by Ida Belle’s comment, because her blueberry muffins were every bit as good as Ally’s, but then I saw Ally’s expression and realized Ida Belle’s compliment was meant to shift her thinking away from her house and make her feel better.

  Ally laughed. “You guys are going to make me blush.”

  “You’re going to make me hungry,” Carter said.

  “Oh no!” Ally said. “You had to cancel your date.”

  “Dinner,” I corrected. “We were having dinner. Not dating.”

  Carter gave me an amused look. “No worries,” he said to Ally. “We’ll reschedule our dinner. And I have leftover chicken potpie at home.”

  “You cook?” I asked.

  He raised one eyebrow. “Would you be interested in dating if I did?”

  “I’d have to try your food first.”

  He shook his head. “Ladies,” he said to Ida Belle and Gertie, “would you please give these two a ride home while I get back to work?”