Deadly Countdown

by Margaret Daley

  “You know everything?”

  He cocked a grin. “The rumor mill is alive and well. It only takes one person saying something to another and soon it’s all over town.”

  “I wish the rumor mill could point Remy to the killer.”

  “Does he have any good leads?”

  “Maybe. He texted me he was on to something, but I don’t know what.”

  “Good. We need this murder solved. Have you been able to see Remy much with all that’s going on?”

  “He’s staying at my house. He thinks I could still be in danger and doesn’t want to take any chances. I have strict orders not to take any risks. I told him I would only be going between my office, the marina, and the condos.”

  Adrien chuckled. “That sounds like Remy. When we were growing up, he was always the one who took charge. If the case isn’t solved, I wonder what he’ll do when his leave is up and he has to return to Dallas. He never liked loose ends.”

  “I hope he stays.”

  Adrien scrutinized her. “Is something more going on than him protecting you?”

  “Maybe. I never thought after Landry I would fall for another man.”

  Adrien’s eyebrows shot upward. “You’re in love with Remy?”

  She thought about his question and started to say no, but then she remembered their kisses yesterday. She couldn’t deny it any longer. She loved Remy—probably had all her life, but then Landry became interested in her and pursued her relentlessly. Remy didn’t try to stop Landry. “Yes. He’s my best friend and more.”

  The revelation of saying it out loud firmed it in her mind. After Landry, she didn’t think she would be capable of trusting a person enough to love him—marry him—but Remy was the one exception.

  * * *

  Remy found Adrien standing at the end of the pier, staring out over the water. Adrien must have heard him coming and pivoted as Remy approached him.

  Remy patted him on the back and faced the Gulf with Adrien. “What’s got you deep in thought? You don’t come out here unless you need to think. I wish I had some place like this in Dallas.”

  “Then why did you leave?”

  “I had my reasons.”

  “Landry?”

  Remy slanted a look at Adrien. “What are you getting at?”

  “Maybe you didn’t want to be around Landry and Allie since they got hitched. They weren’t married long before you pulled up stakes and left. I used to think you two would get together, but you never did.”

  Uncomfortable talking about the fragile situation between Allie and him right now, Remy said, “Landry got to her first. I need some information, and no one in town knows the bayou better than you do. Where did Jay Chauvin stay when he came back home? He didn’t stay with his family. Anthony thought maybe at a cabin he, Paul, and Bo used to go to when they were teens. I checked with Paul and he hasn’t been in the bayou in years other than right around here. He doesn’t remember how to get there. Bo had usually taken them except for a couple of times when Jay had volunteered.”

  “You think Jay killed Bo?”

  “Maybe, if there’s evidence he was in the area at the time Bo was murdered.”

  “There are two places possibly remote enough in an offshoot from the main bayou.” Adrien checked his watch. “If we’re gonna go and get back before dark, and I highly recommend that, we need to leave now. We can take the pirogue at my house, but we don’t have time to dally.”

  “You can go now?”

  “It’s as good a time as later. I imagine you want Bo’s case solved soon. We can take my truck to the house. My boat is at my dock on the bayou.”

  “Then let’s go.” If he found Jay, Remy had all he needed: his gun and a set of handcuffs to bring the man in for questioning. Most likely, Jay wouldn’t go willingly, even if he was innocent.

  He needed to rule out those places while the sheriff notified other parishes about Jay being a person of interest in a murder. As they pushed away from Adrien’s dock, Remy texted his grandfather to pick up Allie at four and stay with her until he arrived at her house. He’d rather not let Allie know he was going into the bayou to look for Jay. She would worry and didn’t need that now.

  * * *

  Allie gave the couple some alone time in the condo to talk about whether they would lease or not. She stepped outside on the balcony that faced the bayou. Great view from the upper floor. She could even glimpse the Gulf when she stood at one end. Leaning into the railing, she drank in the peaceful landscape and, for a few seconds, could forget what had happened recently in Port David.

  But then the memory of Bo tied to a rope and coming to the surface when she yanked on it shoved away all tranquility. Her fingers clutched the wrought iron, her knuckles turning white.

  A movement in the distance on the bayou caught her attention. Wasn’t that Adrien’s dock? He didn’t say anything about going fishing or into the bayou when she had lunch with him. Who was with him? She squinted and wondered if it was Remy. The only glimpse she’d gotten of the man in the front of the pirogue was a white shirt before the boat went under some trees and blocked her view. If it was Remy, was he following a lead? She hoped so because she wanted her life back. Right now, everything was up in the air.

  “Mrs. Martin, we love the place and would like to start the paperwork to purchase rather than leasing it.”

  Their offer surprised her. Most people wanted to lease because the condo was used as a vacation home. “Great. Let’s go back to my office, and I’ll give you what we’ll need.”

  As she rode the elevator to the first floor, her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She removed it and checked her messages. A text from Remy.

  Going to check on a lead. Papere will pick you up.

  While walking toward the Sundowner’s headquarters, Allie replied to Remy’s text. Where are you going? Into the bayou? When are you coming back?

  She hoped he was still in cell phone range. Bo was murdered. She didn’t want anything else to happen to the people she knew, especially Remy.

  * * *

  An hour and half later, Remy sat in the front of the boat, scanning his surroundings.

  Adrien cut the engine and brought it up out of the water then stood to use the pole through the vegetation-covered water. “It’s up ahead. Not far.”

  A snake dropped from a branch, splashed into the swamp, then disappeared beneath the plants in the water. The play of sunlight and shadows danced among the cypress trees. “You’re right. This is far back, certainly off the beaten track. I appreciate you bringing me. When we get there, let me approach the shack.”

  “Good idea. I’ll stay with the boat. I wouldn’t want to have to walk out of here.”

  With what could be lying beneath the plants and water, Remy didn’t either. But what little he knew about Jay, this could be a place he would live. The more Remy remembered about the guy growing up, the more he could see Jay killing Bo, which meant that Allie was safe.

  Through the dense foliage, Remy glimpsed a wooden shack and a pier that had seen better days. The camp looked deserted. If this lead didn’t pan out, he would go back to Anthony. He might not get along with his older brother, but family was important in the bayou, and Anthony could be hiding him or know where he went.

  “There isn’t much of a pier. Be careful.” Adrien said in a low voice as he moved silently through the bayou toward the shack.

  When Adrien came alongside the dilapidated dock, Remy grabbed the nearest post and heaved himself up onto the old remaining planks. As he crept toward the shack, he withdrew his gun. The wooden hut gave him the creeps. How could someone prefer living in a remote camp like this? But there were some who did in the bayou.

  As he neared the door, he raised his gun, preparing himself for a confrontation. Although they were quiet, Jay could have been watching them the whole time and waiting behind the closed door.

  A shot split the air, echoing through the dense swamp. A bullet struck Remy’s back and threw him off bala
nce. Fiery pain spread through him as he toppled over into the bayou.

  Chapter Nine

  Murky water swallowed Remy, a burning sensation streaking down his arm and across his shoulder. In his fall from the pier, his gun had flown from his hand. Someone was shooting at him, and he was defenseless. He couldn’t surface in the open.

  Several more gunshots sounded. Had Adrien been hit too?

  Remy swam, kicking and using his good arm to feel for the pilings of the dock. He could hold his breath underwater for two minutes, but his lungs protested the lack of oxygen. Lightheadedness attacked him as his wound bloodied the bayou, possibly drawing a gator and giving his location away.

  He had to remain conscious. If he didn’t, he would be dead. He had Adrien bring him out here. He had to save him.

  His chest thrummed as if it were about to explode. But he had to focus on staying under until the last possible breath. Then when he couldn’t hold it any longer, he would surface beneath the part of the shack that sat over the swamp.

  Another thirty seconds, and he had to surface.

  The dull thud of footsteps sounded above Remy. Another couple of bullets hit the water where he’d gone in. Sucking in a gulp of air, he ducked under again.

  Lord, help me.

  * * *

  Remy’s grandfather appeared at the entrance to Allie’s office. “Are you ready to call it a day?”

  She looked up and smiled. “Yes. My body is screaming because my two days off were not restful.” After withdrawing her purse from a drawer, she rose, glad to be leaving. She was going to bed early tonight, just as soon as Remy showed up. “Have you heard from Remy? I texted him about where he was going but didn’t hear back.”

  “If he’s in the bayou, that doesn’t surprise me.”

  “I thought I saw him leaving with Adrien in his boat, but I couldn’t tell for sure. Can we stop by the marina office and see if anyone knows where Adrien is?”

  “Sure.”

  As they left the headquarters and neared the marina, Allie spied Remy’s SUV in the parking lot. “Remy must be back.” She increased her pace.

  When she entered the marina office, she came to a halt. Adrien stood with a captain talking. Where was Remy? She approached the pair with Tom right next to her.

  Adrien shook the captain’s hand, and the man left. The harbormaster wrote something on a piece of paper then turned to Allie. “It’s always good to see you. What brings you here?”

  “Do you know where Remy is? Have you seen him today?”

  “I saw him early this afternoon. He was trying to find Jay Chauvin. I haven’t seen Jay around lately. I heard he’s living around Lake Ponchartrain?”

  “Where?” If he went looking for Jay there, then why was his vehicle in the parking lot?

  “I don’t know exactly where. I got the feeling the guy moved around a lot.”

  “You weren’t here this afternoon. Where did cha go?” Tom asked.

  Adrien’s forehead wrinkled. “I went to Houma to get some supplies. What’s this about?”

  Allie clasped Tom’s hand to keep him from saying anything. “We’re just looking for Remy. We didn’t know when to have dinner ready tonight, and he isn’t answering my texts or phone calls.”

  “I imagine he’s following a lead. You know how single-minded he is when he’s onto something.” Adrien kneaded his shoulder. “I’m sorry I can’t help you more. When he walked me to my truck before driving to Houma, I got the impression Remy was talking to a lot of folks in town. Maybe check with Anthony. He might know something.”

  Allie forced a smile. Something was wrong. She hadn’t seen the other person in Adrien’s boat well, but she was positive it had been Adrien in the back. So why was he lying?

  When Allie and Tom left the marina office, she waited until they were in the parking lot before she said, “He’s lying. I saw Adrien in his boat.”

  “But maybe the other person wasn’t Remy. Let’s give my grandson another hour or so. We can call Sheriff Guice and see if he’s heard from Remy. Adrien is right about Remy forgetting everything but what he’s working on. In the text to me, he thought he’d be back by dark.”

  “Maybe, but it doesn’t explain why Adrien lied.”

  Tom walked toward his pickup parked in front of the Sundowner’s headquarters. “First, let’s check with Anthony and then call the sheriff.”

  “Okay, but if Remy isn’t here soon, we’ve got to do something.” What, she wasn’t sure. But she couldn’t sit around waiting to see if he would come home. A knot solidified in her stomach.

  * * *

  At Aunt Evelina’s, Allie paced the length of the front gallery. “We need to do something, Tom. I can’t sit around doing nothing.”

  “What? We have no idea where Remy went. The sheriff can’t locate him with his phone. They’re searching the tower area where the last ping from his cell was received.”

  She couldn’t explain the anxiety that held her in a chokehold ever since she talked with Adrien. Remy was in trouble. Was this what a loved one of an officer went through each day? When Remy was in Dallas, she didn’t know his day-to-day schedule, but since he had his accident in the line of duty, the tension had been there in the back of her mind. Now it was front and center, gripping every part of her.

  Allie continued her trek from one end of the porch to the other. “I don’t know, but we should be out there looking for him too.”

  Tom stepped into her path. “You don’t think this is tearing me up inside? If I knew of a place to search, I would be there”—he snapped his fingers—“instantly. He’s my only grandson, and I went through enough after his motorcycle accident.”

  “Maybe we can come up with where he might have gone. Remember what Anthony said about his earlier conversation with Remy. What about the shack where Paul, Bo, and Jay used to hang out? We need to talk to Paul. He could know where it is.”

  “It’s nearly dark. Even if we knew the area where the shack was, it will be hard to find. Remy was armed. He knows what he’s doing.”

  “How can you be so calm about this?” Allie skirted Tom and kept walking.

  He pivoted and held out his shaking hands. “Even with me continually telling myself that he’s in God’s hands, would you call this calm? But I know if we end up in trouble what Remy would say. My job is to protect you while he’s gone.”

  “Good. Then you’ll go where I go, and I’m searching for that shack.” Allie went inside and grabbed her purse. “Aunt Evelina, Tom and I are going to Paul’s.”

  She came to the doorway into the kitchen. “I’m coming with y’all.”

  “Please stay here. If Remy does return, have him call me on my cell.”

  Her aunt hesitated.

  “Please.” I don’t want anything happening to you.

  Aunt Evelina pressed her lips together and gave her a nod.

  Allie hurried to her and kissed her cheek. “I love you,” Allie said. Then she left.

  As Tom followed her down the stairs to ground level, he said, “I’m driving. Are you sure we can trust Paul?”

  “No, but I’ve got to start somewhere and put my faith in the Lord. He’ll protect us.”

  * * *

  Weak, Remy clung to the pier post and searched the growing darkness for any sign of an alligator. After resting, he would try again to pull himself from the water onto what was left of the dock. If he stayed much longer, he would become gator bait. It was only a matter of time.

  Although it was warm, he shivered, cold and wet. At least with his upper body out of the water, the wound in his shoulder had clotted. He fought the urge to close his eyes and surrender to sleep, but his eyelids kept sagging.

  A deep rumbling sound chilled him to the core. He’d heard it enough. He checked the water near him for the reptilian beast of the bayou.

  He thought of Allie. He had to get back to Port David. The person behind all of this had to be Adrien. What if he went after Allie? Remy loved her and had promised her he
would protect her.

  He leaned his head back and looked at the dock above him. Please, Lord, help. I can’t do it without You.

  Another growl, closer, reverberated through the humid air. Remy dug for the will to shimmy up the post—only four feet. Inch by inch, he scooted upward, pain radiating from his shoulder. He gritted his teeth. He had to make it. He pictured Allie on the pier above him, her hand held out for him to grasp if only he moved a little more.

  * * *

  Allie knocked on Landry’s mother’s door. Paul had told her he didn’t remember how to get to the shack, but Belle Martin might know where it was because the shack used to belong to Landry’s grandfather, who was married to a Fayard. Bo was usually the one who took them to the hut.

  When Belle let Allie and Tom into the house, she told her mother-in-law the reason they were there.

  Belle thought for a long moment, rubbing her hand along her jaw. “It seems to me I have a map Papa Martin drew for Bo, Landry, and Adrien.

  “Adrien?”

  “Papa Martin was Adrien’s uncle, and the boy was fascinated with the bayous around here at that time. Landry’s grandfather didn’t want any of them getting lost, so he made a crude map for each one and then showed them where the cabin was. Landry left the map here when you two married. He liked to fish, but he didn’t care about exploring. He never showed any interest in it like Bo did.”

  “Have you been to the shack, Belle?” Allie asked, trying to remember if Landry and Adrien ever talked about a camp deep in the bayou.

  “A couple of times when I was a young’un. It was in poor condition then. I can’t imagine what it’s like now.”

  Tom glanced out the window at the darkness. “Can ya get to it at night?”