Adele, you completely undo me.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “I really appreciate the thought, more than you can ever know, but I can’t imagine a detective agency would care about a case that seems nonexistent.”
“This one will. An old friend of mine who died years ago had a daughter who just opened a detective agency in Vodoun with her husband. They specialize in things the police won’t bother with. I think they’ll take your situation seriously.”
A tiny sliver of hope ran through Josie for the first time in days. “If you think they can help, then I’d like to try.”
Adele nodded. “I’ll call the daughter, Alex, as soon as I get home and explain things. She’ll want to talk to you, I’m sure, to get more particulars.”
“Of course. Have her call me at home.”
Adele patted her arm. “Don’t you worry, honey. We’re going to fix this.” She crossed the street and climbed into an ancient Cadillac.
Josie lifted a hand to wave at her as Adele drove off.
What in the world had she just agreed to?
TANNER LEDOUX STOOD ON the dock, staring at his two half brothers, certain they’d lost their minds. “Absolutely not,” he said.
“You said you were interested in working for the detective agency,” argued Holt, the oldest of the three brothers.
Tanner shook his head. “Not if it means going back into the Honey Island Swamp. I left there when the last day of high school was over and have no intention of returning. Not now. Not ever.”
Max, the middle brother, jumped into the fray. “Look, I get it. I wasn’t happy about my first case, either, but it turned out fine.”
Tanner laughed. “You ended up back in your hometown and acquired a wife. I call that a living nightmare, not fine.”
Max shrugged. “Before now I would have, too. Things change and this time it was for the better.”
“The bottom line,” Holt said, “is that we need you. I’m already committed to another case that’s keeping me hopping. I have two cases in the pipeline, but you are the most qualified to handle this one. Max is a good tracker, but he’s not you.”
Tanner looked over at Max, expecting his brother to launch an argument on that assessment, as he had done since they were kids, but he just nodded.
Well, didn’t that just beat all?
Tanner shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, trying to come up with a reason for refusing that sounded even remotely sane. He wasn’t about to tell them the truth. The two men standing in front of him had their lives together. The more difficult the task, the more excited they’d be about it. They couldn’t possibly understand the baggage he carried around with him that he was unable to release.
Finally, he sighed. “You really think I’m the best person for the job?”
“You’re the only man for the job,” Holt said. “This case is time-sensitive and we can’t afford to lose even a day.”
“Fine,” Tanner said, “I’ll do it.”
Holt and Max both broke out in grins.
“That’s great,” Max said.
Tanner wished he could share his brother’s enthusiasm. “So, are you going to tell me what I’m tracking?”
The grins vanished from their faces and Holt glanced at Max, who looked off down the bayou. A bad feeling washed over Tanner. What in the world had he just agreed to?
“It’s not a what,” Holt said. “It’s a who, maybe.”
“You don’t know what I’m tracking? You said this was a vandalism case. It shouldn’t be hard to determine animal from human destruction.”
“This case isn’t that cut-and-dried.”
Tanner felt his frustration with the stalling increasing. “Just spit it out, already.”
“The eyewitnesses saw something that matches the description of the Honey Island Swamp Monster.”
Tanner stared at his brother. “You have lost your mind. I suspected it earlier, but now I know for sure.”
Holt held up a hand. “I know how it sounds, but the vandalism is real and the witnesses are credible, especially the one who hired us. Whether it’s a man trying to scare her or a real monster, we need to know and we need the vandalism to stop.”
“Her? The client is a woman?”
“Josette Bettencourt. She inherited her family’s plantation when her dad died and is turning it into a bed-and-breakfast. Do you know her?”
Tanner nodded, afraid the flood of emotion that coursed through him would filter out if he spoke. Yeah, he knew her, all right.
She was one of the main reasons he’d vowed never to return to the Honey Island Swamp.
Chapter Two
Tanner stood at the threshold of the massive front doors of the Bettencourt family home and wondered what the hell he’d let his brothers talk him into. Of all the things in the world he’d never wanted to do, returning to the town of Miel and the Honey Island Swamp was number two on the list. Seeing Josie Bettencourt again was number one.
He lifted his hand to ring the doorbell, then dropped it again and glanced around. No one had seen him drive up. There was still time to leave and tell Holt he’d made a mistake. Max could take the case. He was a decent tracker.
Before he could cement his decision, the front door flew open and Josie Bettencourt jumped back with a startled cry.
Tanner stared, at a complete loss for words. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, and that was saying a lot. Her long auburn hair fell in waves across her shoulders, and the morning sun reflected off her light green eyes. She was taller than he remembered, but still had a body that was both athletic and feminine at the same time.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t hear the doorbell.”
“I just got here,” he said, angry at himself for fumbling for words. “I hadn’t rung it yet.”
“Are you from the detective agency?”
“Yes. I’m Tanner LeDoux.”
He studied her face to see if the name registered with her. Granted, when he was old enough to make the decision, he’d dropped his father’s last name and taken his mother’s name like his half brothers, and no one had called him by his first name, William, in years. But he’d wondered if his appearance would create a spark of recognition with her.
She smiled pleasantly and extended her hand. “Josie Bettencourt. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He shook her hand, not sure whether to be relieved she didn’t recognize him or disappointed that
