by Jana DeLeon
“That’s understandable. But your arrangement is to both your and the deputy’s liking?”
“Oh yeah. We’re both completely happy with the way things are.” I tried not to make a face but I had to admit this line of talk seemed odd coming from Big. Why in the world would he care about my romantic entanglements? Of course, people didn’t ask Big questions. He did all the asking. But then, I wasn’t normal people, so I figured he couldn’t hold me to normal standards.
“Why all the questions about my love life?” I asked. “I didn’t take you for a romantic.”
He smiled. “See—this is why I like you. Direct. You challenge what I ask rather than dancing around and hoping to provide the answer you think I’m looking for.”
“I don’t dance.”
He laughed. “I don’t imagine you do.” He glanced over at Mannie, then looked back at me. “Let’s just say that sometimes the things I think about would surprise you. And I believe good relationships make for strong, happy people. Single people are more of a wild card.”
And then it hit me—Big was fishing around to see if I was available to get involved with Mannie.
Big noticed my expression and grinned as he leaned forward and lowered his voice. “You’ve figured me out. Ah well, forgive an old fool for wanting to see those important to him settled. Mannie is like a son to me and if I ever had a daughter, I’d want her to be just like you.”
“I’m sure Mannie is perfectly capable of finding a lady friend if he decides he’s in the market. Look at all the women walking by here and staring.”
“Yes. But they don’t hold his interest. I’m afraid the local fare might be too tame for him.”
“Maybe tame is what he needs.”
Big wagged his finger at me. “And I would likely agree with you on that point, but if Mannie doesn’t think so, then it can never happen.”
I smiled. “You’re a good man. But don’t spend too much energy worrying about Mannie. I have no doubt that when he’s ready, he’ll acquire a woman as efficiently as he does a target.”
Big laughed. “I have no doubt you’re right. And while I’m enjoying our conversation and the fact that I managed to make you just a tiny bit uncomfortable, I see your deputy across the street giving us the eye. Don’t let me keep you any longer. But thank you for stopping by to chat with me.”
“Of course. If I’m not wrapped up with a case next week, I might drop by your office just to shoot the breeze. Maybe tell you about some of my interesting missing cat cases. If you’re going to be around, that is.”
“I’m always around and you’re always welcome. I look forward to our visit.”
I said goodbye to Little and headed across the street where Carter was leaning against a light pole.
“Checking up on me?” I asked as I approached.
He shook his head. “As much as I’d prefer you weren’t tight with the local mob connection, I don’t think he’d do anything to get you into trouble. Not intentionally, anyway.”
“Ha! Then you’re giving him more credit than I do.”
Carter smiled. “I think it would take someone far craftier than Big Hebert to get something over on you. And he’s pretty crafty. So what’s he up to this time?”
“Nothing that I could tell. He’s enjoying the parade and wanted to make sure I wasn’t bored with my new lot in life. He’s afraid I’ll leave. Apparently, he likes me and wants me to stick around.”
“Can’t fault the man for having good taste. So what did you tell him?”
“That I’m enjoying my new job. What it lacks in the physical aspects of my previous work, it makes up for in the mental portion. Even the simplest of cases still require poking around. I’ve learned that I’m naturally nosy and can’t stand when I don’t know the answer to things. Which is interesting, when you consider that before, I took a directive and made it happen.”
He nodded. “Our service to our country was mostly as a weapon, not as a person. I sometimes struggle with that. But the reality is, there has to be people like us, with our ability to carry out jobs that most couldn’t. But the longer you’re out of the mindset, the harder it is to understand how you were ever there. You’re a very intelligent woman. Sooner or later, you would have become unsatisfied with your job just like I did.”
“I think I was already headed that way. If I hadn’t been, then Sinful could have never grabbed hold of me like it did.”
“You needed more than action. So did I. Finding lost cats and wayward husbands isn’t the most exhilarating work, any more so than chasing down drunks and poachers, but it takes more out of us to do what appears to be less work even though it’s not. And in so many ways, it’s more satisfying.”
He grinned. “Plus, I get to spend some nights with you, catching up on that physical activity thing.”
I laughed. “That’s definitely a high point of the career change. The food here is a close second, though. Just so you don’t get an ego about things.”
“I have no problem barely edging out Sinful cooking.”
“Excuse me for interrupting.” Mannie’s voice sounded behind us and we turned around.
“If I could speak to the two of you for a moment?” He glanced around. “Maybe away from the crowd.”
I frowned. Something was up. Mannie would never ask for a private conversation, especially with Carter and me both, unless something was wrong. Was there a problem with Big or Little? I hoped not. We headed to the far end of the street, some distance from the parade crowd.
“A former comrade of mine made contact this morning,” Mannie said. “He overheard a bit of conversation between some superiors. Someone is conducting a discreet inquiry about Fortune. Quiet and not through official channels, but he suspects it’s internal.”
I immediately shifted into alert mode and Carter’s expression went from curious to worried.
“Did he say what the inquiries entailed?” Carter asked.
“He couldn’t hold position long enough to hear much,” Mannie said. “There’s some questions about Fortune’s current location. That’s all he managed to get. But he knows that I have contact with Fortune and he didn’t like the way the exchange looked or was being handled, so he passed on the information.”
Carter nodded. We both understood exactly what Mannie was saying. The intelligence community sensed something was off as if it were lit up in neon.
“He’s going to keep his ears tuned,” Mannie said. “If he hears anything else, he’ll let me know. But I thought you might want to make some inquiries with your own connections.”
“Definitely,” Carter said. “Thank you for letting us know.”
Mannie gave us a nod and headed off. I shook my head as he walked away.
“A former comrade, huh?” Carter said. “What do you think Mannie’s previous employment consisted of?”
“Similar to yours except with the navy.”
“I figured as much. Which means the information is credible.”
“Would you be happier if it had come from dubious sources?”
“Hell, yeah. You know what this means as well as I do.”
“Someone’s trying to determine if I’m still active.”
“I find the timing particularly suspect given the situation with your father.”
“Yeah, that’s no coincidence.”
“I’m going to make some calls tomorrow. Touch base with a couple of guys who might be able to add some more information to our tiny pile.”
“And I’ll check in with Morrow again.”
“I know I don’t have to tell you to watch your back.”
“I’m not sure I know how to function without doing so.” I blew out a breath. “I think I’m going to tell Mannie about my father.”
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“You mean can I trust him? Yeah. And if he understands what’s going on, he’ll know better what information to go looking for. Rest assured, he’s not going to leave this at that phone call from his
comrade any more than you and I are.”
Carter gave me a small smile. “You inspire loyalty in people like no one I’ve ever met before. If you’d been military, you’d be running the Pentagon.”
“Ha! I’m too honest to be political.”
“There is that.” He leaned over and gave me a kiss. “Let’s table this for tonight. There’s nothing to be done right now but I hear there’s a parade to enjoy. Maybe this one will manage to occur without incident.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Okay, without anyone getting seriously hurt,” he said.
“Probably a safer bet.”
I left Carter to handle his deputy business and located Ida Belle and Gertie in the place they’d pointed out to meet up for the parade. They were surrounded by members of the Sinful Ladies Society, some of whom I was told had been squatting in that spot since lunchtime. I thanked them for their dedication, but most were so jolly on cough syrup that they probably wouldn’t even remember having spoken to me the next day.
Gertie had retrieved a backpack at some point during our separation, and I gave it the serious side-eye as she pulled it in front of her lawn chair and went for the zipper. I looked over at Ida Belle, who nodded.
“I inspected it before we left the house,” Ida Belle said.
“The trust among us is epic,” Gertie said.
“Trust and verify,” I said.
Gertie shook her head. “We all worked for the government for too long.”
Ida Belle snorted. “No. We’ve known you for too long.”
“I haven’t known her that long,” I said. “I’m just a quick study.”
Gertie pulled a pair of kneepads from the backpack, followed by elbow pads, and looked up at me. “Are these okay with you?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “Why do you need them?”
“Because you have to be a bit aggressive to get beads,” Gertie said.
“Can’t you just buy a bag of them?” I asked.
“Sure, just like you can buy a bag of candy for Halloween instead of going trick-or-treating, but what’s the fun in that?”
“Not risking a situation that calls for kneepads?” I suggested.
Gertie waved a hand in dismissal. “They’re just a precaution. I’ll be fine.”
Ida Belle shook her head. “Ask her about last year.”
“That was a fluke,” Gertie said.
“Everything with you is a fluke,” Ida Belle said. “I’m convinced you don’t know the definition of the word.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask,” I said.
“The long and short,” Ida Belle said, “is there was a scramble for beads that Gertie had no business being in the middle of, and the end result was a totaled truck, the glass window broken out of the General Store, and one Mardi Gras gown up in flames.”
“We got her out before it burned past her knees,” Gertie said. “I don’t know why everyone makes a big deal out of it.”
“I assume the gown didn’t belong to Celia then?” I asked.
Ida Belle shook her head. “Not sure people would have helped her out of it. The woman in question is a former resident. She decided Sinful was too dangerous and retired to Florida.”
Gertie grinned. “Where she got struck by lightning her first trip to the beach.”
“It’s really disturbing the things that bring you joy,” Ida Belle said.
Gertie waved a hand in dismissal. “All she lost was a couple inches of hair. And she was a miserable cow anyway. Fortune, you would have hated her. If Celia had an evil twin, that would have been her.”
“Well, it does seem as if Satan keeps trying to bring her back into the fold with all that firepower directed her way,” I said.
A foghorn sounded and I tensed. Ida Belle put her hand on my arm.
“It’s signaling the start of the parade,” she said.
I relaxed. “I hope I stop this reactionary thing at some point.”
“I don’t,” Ida Belle said. “Not until we’re sure everything is good.”
“Speaking of which, I’m having a sleepover with Carter tonight but we need to meet tomorrow morning,” I said.
Ida Belle raised one eyebrow. “A sleepover? Is that what it’s called now?”
“Makes sense,” Gertie said. “When it’s over, they sleep.”
I laughed and even Ida Belle grinned.
“Woman,” Ida Belle said to Gertie, “you are going to be the death of me.”
“Probably,” Gertie said. “But I promise to wear something sensible to your funeral.”
“It would be the first time,” Ida Belle said.
I heard the sound of big truck engines firing and soon, I could hear the crowd roaring up the street. We were positioned at the end of the route. Gertie had explained that this was a strategic decision. Most of the parade participants tended to scrimp early on with the bead flinging, but apparently, when they got close to the end and realized they had plenty of stock, they really let the goodies fly.
I have to admit, the parade was interesting. Of course, we’d recently survived Gertie and her parrot Francis taking down the house at the Christmas gala, so the bar had been set rather high. But from just a regional interest sort of perspective, I thought Sinful was rather creative.
I’d figured there would be a line of four-wheelers with scantily clad women on deer racks, a couple of pickups with a passel of drunks in the bed, and maybe a few flatbed trailers decorated up with some streamers. But Sinful went a whole different direction.
There was the occasional pickup of drunks, but most had elected to pull their bass boats. And they were beyond festive. Decorations ranged from simple green, gold, and purple streamers to elaborate drapes that covered the sides of the boats and the seats. The people were all in various degrees of costume—some with beautifully sequined gowns and others opting for a T-shirt in Mardi Gras colors and a mask. Some were representing local businesses and others were just individuals who wanted to get in on the fun.
All of them were throwing doubloons and beads.
Which had Gertie and every other citizen of Sinful except me, Ida Belle, and the sheriff’s department employees scrambling into the street, racing for the goods.
Unfortunately, Gertie wasn’t the only one who’d figured out the end-of-the-line strategy, and a hefty crowd was gathered around us. When the first beads hit the air, the rush to grab them had me ducking and moving back. I jumped up onto a bench and watched as grown men and women moved like NFL linebackers, scrambling for a fumble. A couple seconds later, Ida Belle hopped up beside me. Gertie rushed in for a clump of beads near the curb and caught an elbow to the side. She countered by leaping headfirst toward him and catching him in the face with her backpack. He stumbled sideways, taking out two women, four men, a trash can, and the nun. Gertie practically dived for the beads and came up triumphant, holding her wares above her head, gloating.
“Maybe she should have worn a helmet,” I said.
“She’d have been arrested for spearing,” Ida Belle said.
“That’s illegal?”
“It is during the Mardi Gras parade and weddings.”
I stared. “There’s spearing at weddings?”
“Catching the bouquet is serious business in a place like Sinful.”
“I’ll remember to be in the restroom when we get to that part of your wedding.”
“Gertie will be there with her crab net and a gun. No one will stand a chance.”
“Gertie doesn’t want to get married.”
“No. She just hates to lose.”
Shouting began down the street and I strained to see what was going on.
“That should be the king and queen,” Ida Belle said.
“Awesome!” I pulled out my cell phone so I could get a pic of Ally and Deputy Breaux.
A couple minutes later, their float came into full view. It was the only flatbed trailer that I’d seen so far, but it made sense that a boat wouldn’t have worked for this o
ne. The trailer was completely decked out in gold, purple, and green streamers and drapes and had a platform with fancy thrones on it in the center.
Ally and Deputy Breaux sat on their thrones, both grinning and waving at the crowd. They looked great. Deputy Breaux had on a black tux and didn’t at all resemble the rumpled, somewhat shy cop that was his norm. Ally was simply gorgeous. Her gown was mermaid style and completely covered with green lace and sequins. It sparkled like gemstones and Ally was radiant.
“She’s so pretty!” I said as I took pictures.
Ida Belle nodded as she snapped her own shots. “She was the prettiest baby. Managed to hold on to that. A lot don’t.”
Ally spotted Ida Belle and me on the park bench and gave us a huge grin and wave. She poked Deputy Breaux and he looked over and gave us a big smile and a thumbs-up.
“They make a cute couple,” Ida Belle said.
I stiffened slightly. “You don’t think…”
“What? No. Not that kind of couple. Deputy Breaux wouldn’t make it a day with someone like Ally.”
“Why not? I mean, I don’t see them as a match either, but they’re both super nice.”
“Exactly. Put them together and it’s so much sweet we’d all have a toothache. Deputy Breaux is a good guy but I have a feeling that Ally will end up with a man who’s not afraid to poke the bear.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because she took up with you. I think she likes the excitement, but she’s not the sort of person to go looking for it herself.”
“So you’re saying she wants a man she has to worry about?”
“Just a little. Makes things exciting.”
“I suppose there’s plenty to worry about with Sinful men, but most of it doesn’t fall into the exciting realm.”
Ida Belle nodded. “Mostly, the worry is over having enough money for beer and the electric bill.”
A battle cry went up toward the beginning of the street again, but this one sounded more frantic and intense than the cheering for the king and queen.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Must be the float for the Swamp Bar. Some of their doubloons have a stamp for a free beer on them.”