“You didn’t mention neighbors.” Mia shoved extra jeans and tees into one of the backpacks. “I’m fine with the idea of sending a murderer into a snake-and-alligator-infested swamp, but the boy next door, not so much.”
Opening his shirt, Ryder accepted the twinges of pain as a good thing. He examined the bandage Mia had wound around his torso. No sign of blood so far. “Next door’s over a mile away,” he told her. “It wasn’t a neighbor.” He buttoned and tucked. “We can’t leave food behind. Pack any excess clothing and shoes in your suitcase, and I’ll come back for them when you’re home and safe.”
A doubtful, “Hmm,” was all he got from her.
He accepted that as well and counted himself fortunate that she hadn’t pushed the bullet in deeper instead of pulling it out.
“Ready.” She snapped the lock on her case, tucked it into the closet and hoisted a bulging pack onto her shoulder. “Did you get the treads back on?”
“Yeah.” His lips quirked. “I went down to the dock afterward. Boat’s there, killer’s not.”
“That you could see.”
“Don’t worry, he’s gone.” Ryder picked up the food, hissing in a breath when a jar bumped his wound. “He took our boat instead of his.”
“He took…? Okay, that’s it.” She dropped her pack. “I’m staying here.”
“Mia, he didn’t rig it to blow.”
“And you know that because?”
“I went over it, stem to stern. Not an explosive device in sight. Besides, his boat’s no more seaworthy than the one we used.”
“You’re just full of good news today, aren’t you?” She scanned the room for missed items. “Fine. Next question. Where are we going?”
He picked up her pack. “Back,” he said simply. “To New Orleans.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“Because my great-aunt and grandmother are dead, and you’re not. I want to keep it that way.” Amusement almost kindled at her doubtful expression. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe. Is this sudden turnabout payback for that?” She pointed to his injured side.
“Nope.” He settled the wide strap on her shoulder. “It’s me trying to unscrew what I screwed up.”
“That’s—Hmm.”
“Yeah, you said that before. As long as we’re making a list, there’s also this.” Catching her chin, he lifted her mouth to his and kissed her until a warning bell went off in his head. He reluctantly pulled away. “I want this guy, Mia, but I want you safe more. Grogan really is the best in the business.”
Smiling for the first time since—Ryder couldn’t remember when—Mia stepped up, took his face in her hands and set her mouth on his.
If he’d reacted before, he damn near melted down now. She was still smiling when she drew back and tapped a finger to his lips.
“Best is a highly subjective word, Lieutenant, with numerous applications. In my opinion, there are some areas where Agent ‘Rogue’ Grogan would probably fall painfully short.”
Right. Grogan. Ryder had to ram his thoughts in order and reset his priorities. Getting Mia to New Orleans in one living, breathing piece topped the list.
Beginning with a boat that wasn’t theirs and the fervent hope that when he started the motor, it wouldn’t blow both of them the rest of the way to hell.
* * *
“Ricky brought you back here from all the way deep in the swamp and didn’t go chasing after the bad bastard who killed his grandmother and great-aunt?” Desdemona regarded Mia with a blend of astonishment and delight. “Well, ain’t that a kick in the head?”
“Like the song says,” Mia agreed. “But I’m still not sure how it would have gone if he hadn’t gotten shot.”
“Because him communing with the dark side of himself gave you an opportunity to explore and discover.”
“Why didn’t you tell me your friend was his great-aunt? Or that she was the first victim in this nightmare?”
“It wasn’t my place to reveal such things.” Desdemona led the way through her cluttered shop. “Ricky had a plan. Whether I agreed with it or not, I knew what he was trying to do.” She regarded Mia over her shoulder. “He loved Madeleine, but Helene was the most important and special woman in his life until you came along.”
“I understand that, Desdemona. My grandmother—” She broke off, backtracked. “Until I came along?”
“Boy has feelings for you.”
“He told you that?”
“Didn’t need to tell me. I got eyes. I can see.”
So could Mia, and right then, what she saw was complete confusion in her mind…And no Billy in his chair.
She stopped short. “Desdemona?”
“Boy’s got feelings. That’s all I’m gonna say. You want more, you ask the horse’s mouth.”
Mia made a visual sweep. “The rocking chair’s empty.” She stared at it. “Why is the rocking chair empty? Where’s Billy?”
Desdemona flapped a dismissing hand. “Oh that Billy, he left on some adventure or other a few days back.”
Only Mia’s eyes rose. “Billy’s a doll. How could he leave?”
“How could I have one son who’s slick as spit and two others who don’t got a single slick thought between them? Life’s got its funny ways.”
Was that supposed to be an answer? Mia looked back down at the empty rocker. “I saw…I thought I saw Billy’s face, in a mirror, in Madeleine’s shack, in the swamp.”
Desdemona nodded. “Billy, he likes swamps. Snakes don’t scare him none, though he’s a bit more cautious when it comes to alligators.”
“Desdemona, Billy is a doll. Dolls don’t just get up and walk out of a shop.”
“Most dolls don’t,” she agreed. “Take Lila over there. She’s the little lady with the green bow in her hair. Now she couldn’t walk if someone lit fire to her dress. And to be truthful, I can’t say Billy actually walked himself out of here. Most likely, he got transported.”
“You mean someone took him out?”
“In a sense, yes, you could say someone took him. Me, I prefer the word ‘transported.’”
“It’s the same thing…” Mia gave her head a slow shake. “It isn’t the same, is it?”
Desdemona gave her a meaningful wink. “That would depend on who did the transporting.”
Definite Twilight Zone moment, Mia decided and shook her head again. “This is the most confusing conversation I’ve ever had. And it would be about a missing doll.”
A doll whose face she’d glimpsed three times in a mirror, in a dead woman’s shack.
Not going there again, she promised herself. Billy was gone, and Desdemona was spooky. There’d been spooky people in Bayou Mystère where she’d grown up, and she hadn’t given their quirks a second thought. Tipping her lips into a smile, she asked, “Where’s Ryder?”
“Out back, making a phone call. To a man he called Pig. No, no.” Desdemona pressed a finger to her mouth. “Hogg. That was it. Deputy Sheriff Hogg.”
“From-the-diner Hogg?” Mia considered that. “Well, Ryder did leave his truck there.” Along with the tracking device Despar had attached to it in New Orleans, she sincerely hoped. “The killer found us at Madeleine’s shack, though,” she said. “He might have followed us visually, but then again…” Her eyes traveled past Desdemona to the rear of the shop. “Maybe he didn’t.” She blew out an aggravated breath. “Damn. Why do I make any assumptions where that man’s concerned?”
“Love’s a tricky business, for sure.” Taking Mia’s chin in her hand, Desdemona inspected her face. “I see storm clouds in those pretty eyes of yours. You’re as befuddled inside as he is. Could be that’s partly why Billy up and left.”
Mia’s brain was starting to hurt. “Billy the doll left your shop because Ryder and I are befuddled? Is that supposed to make sense?”
The older woman pinched her chin, before releasing it with a jingle of bracelets. “Can’t say as I know most times what’s in Billy’s head, but I know how the person whose hands, heart and mind made him used to think.”
As hot and muggy as it was, a chill crawled over Mia’s flesh. “You didn’t make him?”
When Desdemona chuckled, the chill chased itself to the base of Mia’s spine. “Lordy, no,” she said. “I made Lila. Billy, he was born right after Madeleine first came to understand she had the sight. It was Madeleine gave Billy life, Mia. And you can bet yours, his leaving’s got something to do with taking care of whatever it was ended hers.”
* * *
“She’s not crazy.” Ryder boosted Mia into Deputy Sheriff Hogg’s truck. “Opinionated, stubborn and off-the-wall, yes, but she’s sane enough.”
“The ridiculous thing is, I believe you. And her.” Mia buckled up. She waited for him to climb in before she asked, “Why did you call Hogg?”
For an answer, he swept his gaze around the truck’s interior.
“I realize this is his vehicle, Ryder, but I saw your face when you came to get me in the antique store. Tension’s practically oozing from your pores, and it smells like cop tension to me.”
“If I told you it was and asked you to trust me, would you?”
“I might.” And slanting him a sideways look, she left it at that.
He drove in a straight line this time, back toward the diner, but pulled over before they got there near a road marked with a faded out sign that read Okee Waters.
“Sounds like a country singer,” Mia remarked.
“They were from Oklahoma,” Ryder said.
“Who were?”
“Bud and Tina.”
“We want to find Bud and Tina?”
“If we can, yeah. Hogg said they were heading this way when they drove through town. That was after the thieves had been arrested and we’d left. He hasn’t seen them since.”
“Why would he have seen them?” Mia tugged off her jacket to combat the swiftly rising temperature. “They’re on vacation in a camper. They were just passing through. Bud admitted to us that they were lost.”
“My guess is, after they left the diner, they wanted to get a lot more lost.”
“If it’s any consolation, I’m totally lost.” She laid her jacket on the backseat, straightened her purple top. “Why do we care where they went after the diner? Unless you’re thinking the killer hitched a ride with them.”
“Not hitched a ride.” He swung the truck onto the rutted side road. “But it’s a good bet he followed them.”
Resigned, Mia let her head fall onto the seat rest. “I swear to God, my life has descended into a state of total chaos. Any time you want to lose the riddles and explain, please feel free.”
He hit a large dip and slowed the truck to a crawl. “Do you remember stopping for gas after we left the diner?”
“Yes.”
“I found another tracking device while I was filling the tank.”
Her head shot up. “Where?”
“Under the front fender, my side. Bud gave the tire a slap, said something pointless about the tread. I thought about it, decided to stop and—pay dirt.”
She ticked a considering finger. “So Bud was working for…Ah, no, the killer made him do it.”
“We know he got out of the swamp alive. He was probably holding a gun on Tina. Bud either planted the device or the killer was going to plant Tina. Six feet under.”
“But you believe he let them go.”
“I do, yeah.”
“And after he did, you think they came here. To Okee Waters.”
“I’m playing a hunch, Mia. Some people believe familiar is safe. Okee Waters is a town with a familiar sound to it. A safe-sounding town might have seemed like a safe haven to Bud.”
“You’d also think a state trooper was a haven of sorts, but as we’ve discovered, that’s not necessarily the case.” Pushing forward, she peered through the brush. “There’s a vehicle in the trees. Take that road, the one on your left.”
“Mia, what we’re on can barely be called a road.” The rear tires slammed into a deep hole. “What you’re talking about is a wagon trail.”
But he slowed and eased onto it. A hundred bone-jarring yards later, they bounced to a halt behind a sprawling live oak.
“Okay, that wasn’t fun.” Mia pried her fingers from the dash. “Calling Hogg’s got my vote, but I know it’s not an option, so—guns? And, fine, you lead the way.” At his narrowed look, she shrugged. “Scary isn’t it, how good I’m getting at this cloak-and-dagger stuff?”
“Very.”
Faster than she could blink, his mouth was on hers, robbing thought, stealing breath and making her wish quite badly that daylight would give way to twilight; the fireflies would come out and they could strip down and make hot, sweaty love in the cab of the old Dodge truck.
Unfortunately…
Releasing her slowly, Ryder slid his thumb under her lower lip. She supposed he was smiling at her bemused expression. Or maybe because she hadn’t slapped him.
God help her, slapping him was the furthest thing from Mia’s mind right then. Unfortunately, life was all about timing, and there were no fireflies to enhance the moment.
That didn’t mean the swamp was silent. Insects, birds and reptiles buzzed, sang and croaked all around them. The air was steamy and smelled like stagnant water. Nothing of civilization lived here. Clamping down on her jumbled feelings, Mia hopped out carefully and watched for snakes.
“If hell has chambers, this is where the bugs come to feed.” Ryder made sure she stayed behind him. “No wonder you moved to New Orleans.” He gestured with his Glock. “Rear door’s ajar.”
It was Bud and Tina’s camper, though. She recognized the Oklahoma plates. She nudged Ryder’s back. “Why are we creeping? The killer won’t be hanging out inside.”
“And we know that because?”
“It would be stupid and pointless and…hmm.” She rethought the remark. “I suppose he could have been injured in last night’s fall. But why would he come looking for Bud and Tina? Why would he think we’d come looking for them?”
“Mia, we are looking for them.”
“Yes, but he’d be playing an awfully wild hunch thinking that.”
“Remind me to give you a lesson in criminal logic sometime. No eye witnesses, remember? For now,” he said, holding her back with his good arm, “stand clear while I get the door.”
On three, he kicked it open and brought his gun down.
She didn’t know what to expect, but nothing happened. No shots rang out. No one screamed. Bud didn’t shout, and if Tina was whimpering, she was doing so in silence.
“Bud?” Ryder called. “Tina?”
No one answered.
Mia searched the clearing. “Maybe they’re—” She stopped short. “Uh, Ryder?”
“I’ll check inside. You wait here.”
Catching his shirt firmly in her fingers, she directed his eyes down. “There. Look right there, and please tell me that isn’t the toe of a man’s sneaker.”
Ryder’s curse killed that small hope and had Mia’s heart sinking into her stomach. “This guy’s sick,” she whispered. “He’s totally sick.”
Crouching, Ryder flattened the coarse grass with the barrel of his gun. “They’re both here. I’d say they’ve been dead for a few days. He let them go so he could kill them where they wouldn’t be found in a hurry. Wind’s blowing the wrong way, otherwise we’d have smelled them.”
She fought the nausea that rolled through her. “We need to contact Hogg.”
“Yeah. We also need to get the hell out of here.” Standing upright, Ryder grabbed her hand. “Something’s moving, Mia, and it isn’t Bud or Tina.”
Mia glanced back as they ran. Less than a foot from where she’d been standing, a thick, spiny tail disappeared under the van.