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HOURS LATER, CARTER and I sat on my front porch handing out the last of our candy bar treats. We were dressed as a cop and robber. It was Gertie’s idea. After she realized I hadn’t thought about costumes, she brought over a black and white jumpsuit and ordered Carter to stay in his deputy uniform. The kids loved it but I felt ridiculous, particularly after a miniature Bonnie and Clyde stole away with our first bowl of candy.
“You’re quiet tonight. Want to tell me what’s eating at you?” Carter popped a bite-size chocolate piece in his mouth.
I leaned back on my elbow. “Why’d our guy kill the fellow in the bayou?”
“We may never know.”
“But I need to know.”
Carter scoffed. “Fortune, I can’t interfere with Wasteland’s investigations just because my girlfriend is curious.”
I squirmed.
“Still don’t want the title?”
“It’s not the title that bothers me.”
“What is it then?”
“Titles mess things up.”
“Do they?” He removed another candy wrapper. “We’ll agree to disagree.”
“You of all people should know how inconvenient titles can be, Deputy LeBlanc.”
“Says the former CIA assassin.”
I froze.
“Ah and now she’s stunned into silence.”
“How long have you known? Since I stepped off the bus?”
“You just answered your own question.” He stood and stuck out his hand. “I have a long day tomorrow. Let’s call it a night.”
“I’ll sit here for a while.”
“Watching for goblins?”
“Gertie and Ida Belle have been called a lot of things but goblins?”
“Fine. We’ll go with Geritol Mafia. They like that better anyway.”
I laughed. “If we didn’t have Ida Belle and Gertie, what would we do?”
He entered the house. Before he closed the door, he said, “As long as I have you, everything else will always work itself out.”
“Goodnight, Deputy Charming.”
“Don’t stay out too late. I don’t want the real ghosts and goblins to come for you.”
Halloween creatures didn’t scare me. It was the past that haunted me. And the past had a way of catching up with everyone, even former CIA assassins.
Gertie and Ida Belle made their way across my lawn and I couldn’t help but feel that price tag slip away from my head. Ahmad’s men had ten million reasons to hunt me down like a criminal but Gertie and Ida Belle only needed one to protect me—friendship. And I liked the sound of that.
Thank you for reading Bayou Halloween. If you enjoyed this fanfiction installment, please leave a review and let your friends know about the Miss Fortune world stories available at all third party retailers and J&R Fan Fiction. If you tweet, please follow me @RileyBlakeBooks. I’d love to stay in touch!
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A sample from Bayou Christmas follows below
BAYOU CHRISTMAS
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“WASTELAND SOUNDS LIKE a real magical place.”
Agent Ben Harrison and I exchanged glances. His stern look was one of warning while mine meant something else altogether.
Brace for it, Harrison.
He beat me to the punch. “You’re serious.” It wasn’t a question.
Agent Pretty, also known as Senior Special Agent Carly Nichols, often said what she thought others wanted to hear.
“Of course. The place sounds divine!” The recently transferred agent batted her mascara-laden eyelashes. “Do they have alligator rides and cotton candy stands, too?”
“Sure. They’re located right next to the outhouses and cow patties.” Harrison jiggled the ice cubes in his plastic cup. “Fortune will show you around.”
“No.” I ignored Harrison and glared at Director Morrow. Don’t do this to me.
Mental telepathy didn’t work. I squinted, trying harder the second go around.
Nothing.
Director Morrow emptied several sugar packets in his coffee and slowly stirred. “You won’t even know she’s here.”
“I’ll know.” Gertie and Ida Belle wouldn’t let me forget it. “She’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”
Agent Pretty made a show of stuffing her blonde locks inside the crooked Santa hat topping her head. She then stood to check her reflection in the window.
“Good grief.” I gasped upon viewing her full outfit. The skirt was shorter than Daisy Duke-style denim shorts.
“Is there a problem?” she asked.
“Not with me.” I thought about what to say next before blurting, “No one in Sinful wears a Christmas tree skirt as casual wear. They don’t sell that stuff at discount stores.”
“Oh hush,” she said, waving her hand and blushing. “I made it myself.”
“I never would’ve guessed.” Super. She undoubtedly took the insult as a compliment.
I sighed. Where would Agent Pretty fit exactly? Celia came to mind but she didn’t count. She was like a red bull in a china shop.
“Wasteland is a tight-knit community. Most of the residents are related. How will you convince them that you want to live there?”
“I liked the television show,” Agent Pretty said. “If that counts.” She fiddled with her blouse and flashed more cleavage. “And from what I hear, Wasteland is a good place to settle down and start a family.”
“Shouldn’t have any trouble there,” I mumbled.
“And I hear the neighborhoods are quaint and quiet.”
Harrison grunted. “As long as Machine Gun Grannies aren’t called to a fight, I guess you could say that.”
“I also heard folks have a neighborly way about them.”
“Before you decide Wasteland is akin to Disney World, I’ll point out that there are only eighteen current residents. They gained three after the shooting, two reporters and a photographer.”
“Soon they can add one more,” she said in a sing-song voice.
“Will you park your reindeer and sleigh near the only street light in town or is that reserved for your driveway?” I didn’t wait for answer. Instead, I glared at Director Morrow. “She can’t live with me.”
Morrow squinted. “Now that you’ve mentioned it, maybe it’s not a bad idea.”
“I’ll quit.”
“That would be an answer to a decade’s worth of prayers but you and I both know that’s not going to happen.” He turned to Harrison. “Agent Nichols will stay in Wasteland for the time being.”
“Terrific. If there’s trouble in town, she’ll be first in line at the alligator sanctuary.”
“And where is that located?”
“The bayou,” I said, popping a tater tot in my mouth.
Other titles available from J&R Fanfiction and Riley Blake
Bayou Valentine
Bayou Halloween
Bayou Christmas
Christmas in the Bayou
Stiletto Scandal
Hiding in the Bayou
Bayou Babes