“I wish I could let it go,” Vince said, dropping his head slightly. “But we didn’t get the right guy. And I have the proof. Or at least enough to start a new investigation. And apparently that’s starting to piss some people off.”
“Look, man,” Jimmy said. “I love you like a brother, and we all worked our tails off on that case. It is what it is, and I’m telling you to leave it alone.”
I held my breath. The tone had changed and the atmosphere in the room was heavy.
“Where’d you get proof?” Bruce asked.
“Charlie always had a feeling things were off with that case,” Vince said. “I never believed him. I told him to drop it, just like you just did to me. But there was something that never settled right in Charlie’s gut about that case. Even after he retired he kept files and was still working the investigation on his own. I found his notes. And then I found the key.”
“Key to what?” Jimmy asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning in slightly.
“A storage locker,” Vince said. “And I hit pay dirt. I called you here because y’all worked the case with me and Charlie all those years ago, and I don’t know who else to trust. I can’t turn this over to the cops.”
“Why not?” Bruce asked.
“Because Carmen de Salva had arms of his operation everywhere. Including the police department.”
Bruce whistled. “You think the cops are dirty?” He and Jimmy shared a look.
“Somebody is,” Vince said. “So will you help me?”
“Sure,” Jimmy said, shrugging. “Where’s this storage locker you found?”
“Whiskey Bayou,” Vince told him.
“Then I guess we’d better go get it,” Bruce said, squeezing Vince on the shoulder.
I saw the quick flash of steel and knew Bruce had blocked Vince from seeing Jimmy pull his weapon.
Jimmy pistol-whipped Vince in the back of the head, and I watched in horror as my stepdad dropped like a sack of potatoes.
“He won’t stay out long,” Jimmy said. “He always did have a head like a rock. I’ve got zip ties in my trunk.”
Jimmy and Bruce bent down and lifted Vince off the ground, and Jimmy threw him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. I stayed low, but I needed to get as close as I could to the front of the house so I could at least get a license plate number.
I made my move as they were struggling to get Vince to the door, and I eyed the overgrown moss and grass a couple of feet from my stilt. I leapt without thinking, and my feet hit their target. It was short lived as the deceptive marsh gave way beneath my feet and I went down into the freezing water.
It turns out I didn’t need Google after all. I figured out what a flotant was all on my own. Apparently, grass can grow like a lawn right on top of the marsh and it won’t hold the weight of a grown woman. Who knew?
Chapter Sixteen
I came up out of the water with a whoosh, and I slapped a hand over my mouth so I wouldn’t scream. The water was freezing, and I had no idea if they’d heard me. I couldn’t even think about what might be in the water with me.
“What was that?” Jimmy asked.
“Probably an alligator,” Bruce answered. “They’re all over the place. Especially now that the weather is warming up.”
I whimpered and used the stilts to pull myself toward the front of the house, keeping everything below my nose submerged in water so they wouldn’t see me.
I watched them toss Vince into the trunk of a gray Buick and slam the lid shut, and I prayed I could get out and get help before they put a bullet in him.
A branch snapped from somewhere on the other side of the house and Jimmy whirled around and shot twice into the trees.
“Holy crap, Jimmy,” Bruce said. “Could you be more of a city boy? It’s damned embarrassing. Now hurry up and get in the car before the gators come for you.”
I waited until they’d driven off the levy and were out of sight down the road before I sloshed myself up onto solid ground. I couldn’t stop shivering and I was covered in slime and moss.
Then I heard another crack of branches coming from the area just ahead of me, and the trees and bushes started to move. Something huge and horrendous came out of the trees, and I must’ve hit the breaking point for what I could handle, because I went down like a ton of bricks.
“Addison,” someone said.
Part of me wondered if it was God, but then I decided there was no way God would sound like Aunt Scarlet. Maybe I was in hell.
“Addison,” the voice said again, and this time it was accompanied by a couple of pats on the cheek.
The cold came back in a rush and my body seized and my eyes snapped open to see two giant sets of eyes staring at me. I screamed and tried to back away, but none of my extremities were cooperating.
“She’s lost her mind,” Rosemarie said.
“She’s a Holmes,” Scarlet said. “It happens.”
“What the hell is wrong with you people?” I screamed.
They were barely recognizable. Their clothes looked like they’d rolled in mud, and they’d smeared mud on their faces so only their eyes were visible. Moss and twigs hung from their bodies from head to toe.
“We’re in camouflage,” Rosemarie said, beaming. “And it worked real good too. Those fellas didn’t even see us when Scarlet fell out of the tree, and you didn’t recognize us. I’m thinking I should cater my wedding business more toward the hunting and fishing crowd. I could camo the whole church.”
“That’s a real good idea,” Scarlet said. “Those people have loads of money. They spend thousands of dollars on fake
