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Mo turned to him, "Okay, is there something going on that I don't know about? Is there an evil, dying slob in town whose final dastardly deed is to make sure everything I own is a hot mess? Is he passing the pig baton to me?" She waved her hands around her trashed room. "What the hell? I wasn't even gone that long!"
She began hurling things out of her path as she made her way to the dresser. Her clothes had been dumped on top and she used her arm to knock them off in an angry swipe. "Put the bags here!" After a deep breath she continued. "I'm sorry. Please put the bags here." She rubbed her sweaty forehead with a shaky hand.
"I'm calling Carter," Tony replied with a serious look and a slight crease between his brows.
She wanted to laugh, but then she might cry so she just plopped down on... well, the bathroom fixtures were the only thing intact except the dresser which now held her bags so she sat on the toilet seat. "Go ahead," she said with a wave of her hand.
It didn't take Carter long to arrive, and he raised his brows at Tony when he saw the mess and Mo sitting on the toilet.
"Welcome to the pigsty," she said sarcastically. "Oh, and this is meant seriously... thank you for scrapping my car. I appreciate the money. Can I pay you for gas?"
Carter's eyes met Tony's in a sideways glance, and Tony gave his head a slight shake. "Ida Belle would just make me give it back," Carter joked. When his back was turned to Mo, he raised a brow at Tony, who shrugged and gave a little smile.
Then he got down to business. "Is anything missing?"
"I think you'll have to wait for her to stop laughing before you get an answer," Tony said.
"Hey," Mo yelled from the bathroom. "Please, please tell me there's some place I can get a stiff belt, because I'm about to say a prayer and run toward the bayou and walk on the water."
Carter looked at Tony. "Is she okay?" he mumbled. "Maybe someone should tell her it wasn't Moses who walked on water."
"She fell out of the truck, but I don't think she hit her head." Tony seemed puzzled.
"I didn't hit my head," Mo said from directly behind him, making him jump. She looked at Carter. "Did you drive your police car?" He nodded, and she waved him off.
"You!" She grabbed Tony by the front of his shirt. "You're taking me to the nearest watering hole because I've had all I can take of this place." Mo let the screen door slam on her way out. "And I don't care if you drag me behind this truck as long as I know there's booze at the other end of the drive." She was an eyelash away from snapping.
Carter recognized the wild look in her eyes. He'd seen it too often in the Marines. She needed to decompress, or she would explode. He took her arm and marched her to the police car. "I'm not arresting you," he said at the look of astonishment on her face. "I'm also not going to watch you create a scene getting into that truck. We're going for a drink, and something to eat. Tony, you can ride with us, or you can follow in your truck."
Tony locked her motel room door, which sent her into nearly hysterical laughter. She giggled and wiped her eyes as Carter drove a short distance, but she didn't pay attention to the direction he took. When he stopped in front of a house, and Tony pulled up behind him in his truck Mo turned to Carter suspiciously. "This place serves booze?"
"Unofficially, it does. Tonight only, because technically I'm off duty."
She hopped out before the men and ran to the front door. "Hurry up," she hissed. "Before it's all gone." The front door opened, and her eyes bugged in surprise. "Gertie! I forgot you live here. Is that Ida Belle I hear?"
Gertie took a firm grip on her arm and pulled Mo into the house. She made the motion of holding a phone to her ear, and Carter nodded. Gertie would call when it was safe to pick up Mo and take her to the motel. In the meantime, he and Tony had some business to look into.