by Jana DeLeon
She looked back up at Colt, expecting to see a look of disapproval, but only the barest hint of curiosity showed on his face. Jadyn, who was still perched on the window ledge, hadn’t changed expressions at all during the entire exchange. Taylor decided right then and there that when she grew up, she wanted to have the composure of Jadyn St. James.
Finally Colt spoke. “Ms. Beaumont is a professional and I’m sure, not interested in holding grudges. Please tell us what is so important that it had you driving here in the middle of the night.”
Sophia took a deep breath and began. “I understand why, despite no evidence to the contrary, you don’t feel your missing fisherman is my missing husband, but I think the odds are far higher than you think. You see, this wouldn’t be the first time my husband disappeared into the water and never returned.”
“According to the reports,” Colt said, “your husband either died in the explosion or drowned and was swept into the Mississippi River.”
Sophia leaned forward in her chair and nodded. “That’s exactly what the police report said. But if my husband died in that explosion, then who removed two million dollars from our joint bank account the next day?”
Taylor whipped her head around to stare at Sophia. It took a couple of seconds to realize her mouth was hanging open, and she clamped it shut and looked at Colt. He glanced over at Jadyn, who raised an eyebrow but was otherwise still as cool as a cucumber.
“Who had access to your accounts?” Colt asked.
“My accountants control many of my accounts, but this one was our personal checking. No one had the ability to transfer money except Samuel and me.”
“Was the bank able to trace the money?”
“As far as Brazil, and then they lost it.”
“And you made the police aware of this?”
“Yes, of course. But given my family’s um…status in the community, only two detectives knew the entire story and they were sworn to secrecy. We were poised to acquire a competitor, and a scandal, particularly one concerning money, could have cost us the deal.”
Colt nodded. “Our missing fisherman’s standard of living is meager at best. Hardly indicative of a large pool of funds at his disposal.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Sophia said. “Working with my father was an enormous amount of stress. Samuel had developed a bit of a gambling problem and before the explosion, I’d noticed changes in his behavior. He was forgetful and seemed to easily lose focus when working on a project. I found several mistakes in the last software conversion he worked on.”
“Drugs?” Colt asked.
“Maybe. He was running through quite a bit of cash at the time with nothing to show for it. I suppose anything is possible.”
“It seems a big stretch,” Taylor interjected, “to go from tech genius at the top of a major corporation to bayou fisherman.”
Sophia looked excited. “But you see, that’s exactly why I think the man you’re looking for is my husband. He was working construction when I met him, but he’d worked the family business before that. His entire family are fishermen.”
Taylor looked at Colt, who frowned. She could tell he wanted to continue to believe Clifton Vines was not Sophia’s long-lost husband, but everything Sophia had told them leaned more toward that likelihood rather than away from it.
Colt looked straight at Sophia. “Someone took a shot at Jadyn at Clifton Vines’s house. Was your husband a violent man?”
Sophia pursed her lips before replying. “At one time I would have said it was impossible. But the investigators never determined the cause of the explosion. I’ve often wondered…”
Colt glanced at Jadyn, then back at Sophia. “I see.”
Sophia nodded. “I think you actually do. Can you imagine the difficulty of living all these years without answers? Wondering if my husband not only stole from me but caused the explosion that killed my father? The guilt crippled me for years. After all, I brought him into my family—lied to do it even.” She sniffed as tears began to form. “And damn it, the worst part is that I still care for him. How does that make any sense?”
Taylor assumed the question was a rhetorical one, which was a good thing. Because she had zero idea why Sophia would still care for the man she’d described. Taylor was fairly certain that if a man had put her through all of that, the only thing she’d care about was throttling him to death.
“I appreciate your taking the time to come here and explain your situation in person,” Colt said. “If we locate Mr. Vines, I will place him in custody until his background can be sorted out. If he is your husband, then he’ll be turned over to the New Orleans police so that they can conduct an investigation.”
“Thank you,” Sophia said. “And I would appreciate your discretion in this matter. If this Clifton Vines is my husband, it will all come out soon enough.”
“Of course,” Colt said and rose from his desk. “Unless you have anything else, Jadyn and I need to coordinate the search parties.”
Sophia rose. “I don’t suppose I could tag along?”
“No, ma’am,” Colt said. “We’re not going on a vacation tour. No offense, but you’d only be in the way.”
“I understand,” Sophia said, but Taylor could tell she was disappointed. “I don’t feel like driving back to New Orleans, so I think I’ll get a room at the hotel. Maybe I’ll be able to get some rest.”
Colt nodded. “If we find out anything, I’ll contact you there.”
Sophia looked at Taylor. “I’m sorry for not telling you everything in the beginning. I was afraid I’d sound even crazier than I already did. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll walk back to the hotel. I’d like some time to process all of this.”
“Sure,” Taylor said and watched as she walked out of Colt’s office. When she heard the front door of the sheriff’s department close, she looked at Colt. “I’m so sorry. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have called her last night.”
“No,” Colt said, “calling her was the right thing to do. If she hadn’t shown up, we would be treating Vines as an innocent victim. Now we know there’s a possibility he could be dangerous. We’ll be better prepared for anything that might occur.”
A wave of relief washed over Taylor. “I appreciate it, but I still feel silly for not questioning her more in the beginning. I had a feeling she wasn’t telling me everything but I didn’t pursue it.” She sighed.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Jadyn said, finally breaking her silence. “If you thought something was off after your initial interview, you have good instincts. Learning to trust them and the actions to take because of them are things that come with experience.”
Colt nodded. “She’s absolutely right.”
“Thank you both,” Taylor said. “I want so badly to be good at this. I study investigative techniques all the time, but I guess there’s no replacement for experience. I would offer to help with the search, but I know I’d just be in the way as well. If there’s anything I can do here, please let me know.”
“I think keeping an eye on Sophia is the best thing for you to do for now,” Jadyn said. “I don’t want her getting any ideas about renting a boat or chartering a fisherman to take her around.”
“Oh, I hadn’t even thought of that,” Taylor said. “You’re right. I’ll get back to the hotel and watch her like a hawk. And thanks again.”
She headed out of the sheriff’s department and hopped in her car. She could see Sophia ahead of her entering the café. Breakfast sounded like a good idea. Coffee sounded even better.
And both allowed her to keep an eye on her less-than-forthcoming client.
Chapter Sixteen
Maryse bolted out of bed and stood in the middle of the bedroom, trying to figure out what had caused her to leap out of bed, wide-awake. She glanced at the clock and groaned. Six a.m. She was convinced the entire world was conspiring to keep her from sleeping.
The next-door neighbors had bought one of those giant bouncy jumpy castle thingies f
or their kids and installed it the day before. The entire evening and night—going well past midnight—all she could hear was the sound of kids screaming and screeching. She would have given darn near anything for a pair of noise-canceling headphones.
Finally, the parents had ended the fun and after much whining and griping, the outside returned to its normal state of quiet. She’d fallen asleep almost immediately, only to be awakened an hour and a half later when Luc received a work call. Maybe it was being in the house alone at night, or the attempted attack on Jadyn, or maybe she was on edge from all the noise she’d listened to that day, but for whatever reason it had taken her hours to get back to sleep. And now, she was wide-awake again and with no idea why.
The sound of glass breaking outside drew her back into the moment and she peered out between the blinds, scanning their backyard to find the source of the noise. It couldn’t be a window. Their alarm system would have gone off, and Luc set it before he left. It had to be something outside, but the yard appeared clear from the back of the house all the way to the fence.
The shed had small windows on each side, but the side she could see showed no sign of damage. She reached for the nightstand and pulled out her nine-millimeter.
You should call the police.
She shook her head. It would end up being a raccoon and she’d look like one of those hysterical, incompetent women. It would take her family three generations to live it down and since she wasn’t sold on the idea of kids, that meant she’d get the brunt of it forever. Besides, it was daylight. A person wouldn’t be stupid enough to break into her shed in daylight.
She headed to the kitchen and looked out the back door window. Still nothing.
Before she could change her mind, she punched in the code to disarm the alarm and slipped out the back door, clutching her pistol. She paused on the back porch and listened, but only the sound of morning insects surrounded her.
“Helena?” she called out. “That better not be you.”
Nothing.
She took a deep breath and took one step down from the porch, then another, until she made it to the lawn. She’d just lifted her foot for the next step when a voice boomed behind her.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Maryse screamed and tried to spin around, but her foot lodged in a hole and she twisted her ankle and lurched sideways. Her flailing about caused her to fire her pistol and a second later, she crashed to the ground.
She rolled over to see a raccoon shoot out from behind the shed and Luc staring down at her as if she’d lost her mind. And if she was so wound up that she hadn’t even recognized her own husband’s voice, then maybe she had.
“I heard something in the shed,” she said, “so I came outside…”
Suddenly she heard a loud hiss and stopped talking. “Oh my God. Is that a snake?”
Luc glanced around, then reached down and pulled her up from the ground. “Inside and make it fast.”
He held on to her hand and practically jogged into the house, dragging her behind him. Once inside, he shut the door and peeked out the blinds.
“What the hell!” Maryse heard her neighbor yelling from his yard.
“It’s a snake, isn’t it?” Maryse asked. “It’s the mother of all water moccasins. I need a bigger gun.”
Luc looked over at her, his lips quivering for a second before he broke into a grin. “You shot the neighbors’ jumping castle.”
“Really?” Maryse perked up. “Do you think it can be patched?”
Please say no. Please say no.
“Probably. But maybe we can list our house and move before they get it done.”
Maryse smiled. “You’re not going to yell at me for shooting it?”
Luc shook his head. “I’m not overly pleased you accidentally discharged a weapon. You could have killed someone or even yourself. But I’m not about to complain about the unintended target in this matter. In fact, you’ve given me an idea for the future.”
“Maybe it would be safer to move.”
Luc grabbed Maryse and pulled her in for a kiss. When he released her, his grin was even bigger than before. “Besides, nothing can upset me this morning.”
“Why? You’re usually not this enthused when you get called into work in the middle of the night. What…did something happen with Rico?”
“Something happened all right. He got into a mess with some Colombians and there was a shoot-out in Florida. Rico and six of his top men are all dead.”
Relief flooded through Maryse so powerfully that she felt dizzy and her legs felt weak. “So it’s over. I mean, my life can go back to normal?”
“Yes.” He leaned down and kissed her again. “Whatever normal is.”
###
Jadyn hopped off the window ledge as Taylor exited Colt’s office. “That was weird,” she said.
“Oh yeah.”
“She’s still not telling us everything.”
Colt frowned. “I know. But is she leaving out something we need to know, or something embarrassing that she wants to keep a secret?”
“I’m hoping it’s the latter if she wants us to bring her husband back, assuming he is her husband.”
“It would be nice if we could get that information up front.”
“You thinking of lifting a print from his cabin?”
“Yeah, but everything has to be by the book. If he stole the money and caused that explosion, we can’t give a defense attorney any reason to get the case thrown out.”
“How soon can you get a search warrant?”
“Probably by this afternoon. I’ll stop on the way out and have Shirley get the warrant over to Judge Miller. Once it’s executed Deputy Nelson can get the prints.”
Jadyn nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
Colt shook his head. “If you’d told me two days ago that these two cases might be related, I would have called you crazy.”
“But now you think they might be?”
“As incredible as it sounds, I do. And you know what cinched it for me?”
Jadyn shook her head.
“The name of his boat.”
“Oh!” Jadyn gave a single laugh. “The Houdini.”
“Master escape artist.”
“I thought it was an odd name for a boat, but in this context, it would make perfect sense. I guess all that remains is proving it out.” She glanced out the window again. “The search parties are all waiting at the dock. We best get moving.”
Jadyn headed out of the sheriff’s department and around back to the dock. Sophia’s revelation had been unexpected and more than a little strange, but neither that nor the impending search was what worried Jadyn. Instead, what kept playing through her mind was the e-mail she’d read.
Colt hadn’t had a chance to read it yet and probably wouldn’t until tonight, so his behavior toward her hadn’t changed. But what about after he read it? It sounded to her as though Maria was offering him everything he’d always wanted, and at a time when he was frustrated with the way things were going in his hometown. And that was just the job part. The second part of her offer worried Jadyn even more. Was there really a man alive who could refuse a woman who looked like Maria? If so, Jadyn wasn’t sure she’d met him yet.
If only she’d seen the e-mail before she’d slept with him. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel as if someone were stabbing her in the heart. And she could have escaped with a little dignity and self-respect. But now…if Colt left for the job in New Orleans, she’d be the woman he’d left in his wake. Someone to be pitied.
And that sucked.
Even worse, she had to spend an entire day in the boat alone with him, trying to pretend everything was normal when absolutely nothing was normal anymore. Not her life. Not her future. Not even the Clifton Vines investigation.
It was going to be a very long day.
As she approached the dock, she caught sight of a man fiddling with his cell phone and drew up short.
“What’s wrong?” Colt stepped
up beside her and followed her gaze. “Do you know him?”
“Yeah. That’s Peter Vincent.”
Colt’s jaw twitched. “I thought he didn’t recognize Clifton’s boat.”
“That’s what he said.”
“Then let’s go find out why he’s here.
They walked toward the dock, Jadyn watching Peter the entire time. As they drew closer, he looked up from his phone and his gaze locked on Jadyn’s.
“Mr. Vincent,” Jadyn said as they stepped in front of him. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
“Some of the fishermen were talking yesterday about the search party. Finances prevent some of them from helping, but I don’t have the same restrictions. Bobby’s handling things back at the shrimp house.”
“I didn’t think you knew Clifton,” Jadyn said.
“I don’t. I mean, I checked the records and we’ve bought from him before, but I don’t know him by sight. Still, I make a good living off the hard work of these men. I don’t like to think about one of them stranded somewhere in the swamp.”
“It’s nice of you to help,” Jadyn said and waved a hand at Colt. “This is Colt Bertrand. He’s the sheriff here.”
Peter’s eyes widened just a tick. If Jadyn hadn’t been watching him closely, she wouldn’t have caught it. Colt shook Peter’s hand, and Jadyn could tell the two men were sizing each other up.
“Thanks for volunteering,” Colt said. “We can use all the help we can get. The knowledgeable kind, anyway.”
Peter nodded. “The swamp is no place for the inexperienced.”
“I’m going to get this started,” Colt said. “Since you’re probably not overly familiar with the area, I can pair you up with one of the locals.”
“Nah, that’s all right. Just give me a rudimentary map and I can find my way around most places.”
“All right then.” Colt headed to the dock where most of the volunteers had gathered. Peter set off behind him as Jadyn hung back and watched. Peter was lying. Jadyn hadn’t liked the feeling she got from him at his shrimp house, and she liked it even less now. No doubt he knew Clifton Vines. The question was, why lie about it?
