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FORTUNATELY FOR BULL, it didn’t come to that. Not only was he alive, he was swarming around us like a fly at a picnic as we settled Gertie into her room at Bayou Gardens. Talking her into staying had been no easy task. However, after far too much back and forth, Fortune and I agreed to play the Ida Belle card. Our call turned out to be a good one too, because as soon as we led Gertie to water, she drank.
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” she said, as she looked between us. She nodded sagely. “But you’re right. Ida Belle would be embarrassed at the idea of moving into an old folk’s home.”
Fortune, who sat at the end of Gertie’s bed, quickly agreed. “You know how people talk. She’d hate what they would say about her being old and infirm.”
I felt guilty for misleading Gertie but it was for her own good. Wasn’t it? I glanced at Fortune. What if she’d been wrong about Bull? What if what she thought she’d seen in his room hadn’t been a life insurance policy but something else? Something innocent?
She met my gaze and I was struck by the worry in her eyes. Suddenly, my doubts vaporized. Whatever threat Fortune perceived, it was real. “I’ll run home and get some things for you, Gertie. Carter said he’d keep an eye on your place, so there’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“I’ve got a couple of casseroles in the fridge that need to be eaten.”
Fortune waved away her concern. “We’ll eat some and take the rest to Marie’s house. If I’m not mistaken, it’s her turn to host bridge tomorrow night.” She got to her feet. “Looks like we’re all set. I’ll help you get dressed and you can sign your discharge papers while Stephanie gathers your things.”
Gertie nodded thoughtfully but stayed uncharacteristically silent.
“What is it?” I asked. Doubtless she was tired, and I imagined her heart hurt, but something else was clearly troubling her. Maybe she was having doubts about her choice in boyfriends. Better yet, maybe she’d remembered something about Bull that was incriminating. “Tell us what’s got you looking so worried.”
She clutched the blanket to her chest in a move that made her appear vulnerable. “This isn’t it, is it? I mean, Ida Belle and I aren’t going to spend forever sitting in rocking chairs at Bayou Gardens, are we?” Her eyes watered. “I thought we had decades yet before that would happen.”
I leaned in and hugged her. “Of course not. It’s only temporary while Aunt Ida Belle’s arm heals. I promise.”
Fortune laid a gentle hand on Gertie’s shoulder. “Don’t be crazy, Gertie. What would Sinful be like without you and Ida Belle keeping everyone in check? Oh, Lord, think of what havoc Celia would wreck if she thought you two were out of the picture. Yeah, not gonna happen.”
Gertie grinned. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Less than three hours later, both Aunt Ida Belle and Gertie were checked into Bayou Gardens. The place was not aptly named. Well, perhaps the bayou part. Heaven knew it smelled swampy enough. But the gardens? Hardly apropos unless the landscape architect was going for a jungle themed look, which I doubted. The place was just flat out run down and overrun with foliage.
I plopped into a plastic chair just outside of the entrance. “I’m exhausted.”
Fortune sat beside me. “It’s been a hell of a day, I’ll give you that. No offense, but your aunt is a pain in the ass when she’s mad.”
“I think that’s part of her charm.”
We laughed, which felt good because the gawd-awful worry about Gertie’s safety weighed heavily on us both. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing? What if Gertie being here only puts her more directly in the line of fire?”
“That’s a risk we’re taking, yes. But she’s safest if she’s being watched every moment. Ida Belle can do that here while we focus on Bull.”
The idea of focusing on Bull turned my stomach. “Why can’t we just kidnap him and torture the truth out of him?”
“Don’t think I’m not tempted but there’s a little thing called the law standing in our way.” She slapped her hands on her knees and stood. “Let’s get to work.”
I stood but I literally didn’t know which direction to turn. “Are we going back in or heading somewhere else?” If there was a game plan, I hadn’t seen it.
“You’re going in as my cover.” She stretched and flexed. “What I need you to do is be your most annoying self—” she broke off when I raised an eyebrow “—sorry, I meant your most prim and proper self to create a distraction with the front desk staff and the manager while I nose around the property.”
I decided to ignore her inaccurate assessment of my disposition. After all, it had been a long day and we were a team now, however mismatched. “Wouldn’t it be better if I stayed with Gertie?”
She shook her head. “Ida Belle’s on it. Trust me, she needs something to do or she’ll jump out of her skin. She knows not to let Gertie take a single pill or eat a bite of food unless we provide it.”
I nodded. To anyone else the idea might sound ludicrous, but I knew that even with only one functioning arm, Aunt Ida Belle could keep trouble at bay. What I felt less sure about was what Fortune and I were going to do on our part to nail Bull.
Fortune pointed to the entrance. “It’s show time, Stephanie.”
***
“I’M TELLING YOU IT was a RAT.” I threw my arms wide and didn’t try to modulate my faux-panicked tone. After all, panic was a perfectly legitimate response in the event of a rodent sighting. “We’re talking a New York City sewer-size rat.”
“Ma’am, if you could please try to calm yourself, it would be best for the residents.” The front desk attendant reluctantly lowered the soap opera magazine she’d been engrossed in before I came rushing up. “There are no rats at Bayou Gardens.”
“I tell you, I saw a rat. It had a tail as long as—” I clutched the front desk as I faked a swoon because I really didn’t know what a rat’s tail looked like. Nor did I ever hope to find out. “Someone call for help.” I was pleased when a small crowd of residents congregated around me. “I demand to see the manager. Or the owner.” Still, the front desk attendant didn’t move. She simply stared at me. “Call the State Board. They’ll shut this place down if they know you’re infested with rodents.”
Apparently, the magic words were ‘State Board’ because that threat drew the manager from his back office. He bustled out into the lobby. “Hold on, hold on, there’s nothing to worry about. Certainly nothing worthy of making any phones calls about.” His eyes scanned those assembled until they locked in on me, the presumed source of hysteria. “Come back here into my office, young lady, and we’ll sort this out.”
I made a quick assessment of the man I believed to be Harold Lisieux. My best guess was that he was in his late fifties, had a penchant for nachos and beer if his paunch was to be explained, and he valued peace and quiet above all else. Which made him an easy mark.
“I most certainly will not,” I cried. “Someone has to do something.”
He held up his hands. “Right, yes, of course.” He looked around the lobby. “Let’s fan out and search the premises until we find—”
“No.” My voice jumped several octaves. “Not that.” Certainly not that, I didn’t want anyone finding Fortune where she shouldn’t be, doing something she shouldn’t be doing.
Harold Lisieux spun around to face me. “Why not?”
Why not indeed? For a split second I wondered if it would be better to be in Fortune’s place, but one look at my kitten heeled sandals reminded me that I wasn’t dressed for whatever hijinks she was up to. “We’re safer sticking together. Safety in numbers, and all that. Besides, we don’t know how dangerous that rat might be. Right everyone?”
The chorus of agreement, no doubt inspired by sheer boredom on the part of the residents, was rousing and it encouraged me to keep going. “Who votes we call the State Board of Health? Don’t you think the good folks in Baton Rouge would want to know what conditions you’re being subjected to?”
I might have gone just a bit too far if the look on Mr. Lisieux’s face was any indication. He slipped his hand under my elbow and attempted to pull me in the direction of his office but I dug my heels in and refused to budge. My mind raced as I tried to think what would Fortune do under the same circumstances. She wouldn’t go willingly, that much I knew. Then neither would I. I jerked my arm free of his grasp and held both hands up in the air. “Can anyone act as a witness to this treatment? I’m being manhandled while a rat is running amok through this facility.”
The expression on the manager’s face left me with little doubt that he’d happily strangle me if he thought he could get away with it. “Now, that’s just enough of that young lady,” he thundered. “You’ll need to come quietly to my office or I’ll have security throw you out.”
“Security ought to be rat hunting,” a male voice called from the back of the crowd.
Chants of ‘vermin, vermin’ grew increasingly louder. I scanned the room, sensing a new energy from the crowd. I wouldn’t mind coming back here to teach an etiquette class or two when this was all over. Not that I’d likely be welcome. Not with the manager threatening to call the sheriff’s department on me.
“I wish you would,” I retorted. “I’m certain Deputy LeBlanc would be very interested in living conditions here.” What Carter would really think, I could only imagine. Maybe he’d think I was channeling Gertie. When it came to creating scenes like these, I’d learned from the best.
“There you are.” I whirled around to find Fortune by my side. She turned a contrite face to the manager. “I apologize for my friend’s behavior. She tends to overact, she’s quite excitable.”
“You call whipping the residents into hysteria, ‘excitable’?” His face went red and he looked like he was just warming to the topic of what a horrendous human being I was.
“I’m sure she only saw a dust bunny,” Fortune called out as she dragged me toward the door. “No one’s going to report anything to anyone, but I’d better get her out of here before she really gets going.”
We were out the front door before Harold Lisieux managed to compose a response. We were almost to the highway before Fortune turned to look at me. “Well, that was quite the scene.”
“Thank you,” I said in what I hoped was a humble manner. “I was just warming to my audience when you arrived.”
“Oh. My. God. I cannot believe you and Ida Belle are actually related.” She shook her head and hit the accelerator. “I think I’m going to buy one of those spit-in-the-tube DNA tests to double check.”
I watched the vegetation whiz by me in a green blur. Frankly, I’d thought Fortune was going to be proud of me. Had she done much better? I asked her.
“Heck, yeah, I found something. I also spent a minute with Ida Belle to give her an idea of what to listen for tomorrow. Hopefully we can get them out of there within a few days.”
I waited but she didn’t offer any further details. Details to which I felt entitled to hear. “Did you find out something about Bull?”
She shook her head. “Not yet, but I will if he’s connected to this whole thing.”
“What whole thing?” I was truly lost.
“Trafficking.”
I let this sink in for a moment. Good heavens, not again. “More drugs?” We’d just been through the wedding from hell that ended up busting a local drug ring.
“Nope, not drugs.” She looked sideways at me. “Worse.”
I frowned. What was worse than drug trafficking? I gasped. But no, that couldn’t be. “You don’t mean human trafficking?”
She nodded somberly.
I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes. What in heaven’s name had Gertie gotten herself into?