Chapter 5 #2
He nodded. “We’ve reached that time of the year where most people with the option stay inside and hibernate until September.”
“Sane people, you mean? Gertie went fishing.”
He grinned. “And you went for an airboat ride with Ida Belle. Even if it was seventy degrees and clear skies, that doesn’t put you on the sane list.”
“True. Anyway, we almost got run over by a dude from Wildlife and Fisheries.” I told Carter about the incident and his grin vanished, replaced with a frown.
“You’re sure he was from the state?”
“It was on the side of the boat.”
“Dark brown hair? Short man’s syndrome?”
“That’s definitely the guy. Was Ida Belle right? Did he really think we were poachers?”
“Maybe, but we’ve crossed paths a time or two. More likely he was pissed for being called out for his crap driving and was looking for another reason to cite you.”
“I’ve never seen a game warden around before, just random like that, but then I don’t spend all my time on the water. Is it normal?”
Carter slowly shook his head. “The state doesn’t ever show up just because.”
“You think they got wind of the poacher?”
“Given that no one contacted me that they’d have a warden in the area, probably.”
“And now they’re hacked off that they didn’t hear it from you.”
“Or they think I could be the poacher.”
“What? Seriously?”
He nodded. “It wouldn’t be the first or last time that the local law enforcement was the head of a poaching ring.
Still, I’m hoping they’re just angry over lack of notification.
If I were going to poach, it wouldn’t be small gators.
I would hope even the state knows that much. Where did you run into him?”
I described the location, and he narrowed his eyes at me. “That’s close to where Hank was when he got shot at. Why would you go all the way down those narrow bayous when there’s a great big lake where you can get all the wind in your face that you need?”
“We were looking for Gertie,” I said, throwing out the first thing I could think of that might make sense. “Ida Belle said she liked to fish in that area. I guess a lot of people do.”
I was totally firing in the dark. I had no idea if people liked fishing in that area. I only knew Hank and Gertie claimed to fish there and two hardly made it a fact, but I must have hit a bull’s-eye because Carter’s eyes returned to normal size.
“It’s a fairly popular area for fishing,” he finally admitted.
“Then it doesn’t seem like it would be a very good one for poaching if a lot of people are around.”
“That’s just it. They’re not around right now. Only a handful of amateur fishermen bother this time of year. The rest eat frozen dinners and complain a lot about summer.”
“Oh! The heat.” Suddenly, it all made a lot more sense.
If the fishing was good, then that meant alligators had plenty to eat, which meant more alligators.
And since the fishermen were mostly inside enjoying a cold beer and AC, then the poacher didn’t have as much risk now as he would in cooler weather.
I held up my spoon, a thought coming to me. “Hey, Gertie said she saw someone boating naked. That would be cooler, right?”
Carter grimaced. “And illegal and definitely not how you’d want to be outfitted to pull an alligator into a boat.”
“Yeah, probably not.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Okay, definitely not. But you can’t blame me for suggesting it. This place isn’t exactly normal.”
“And you’re the authority on what normal living looks like?”
“Touché.”
“Can we move on to more pleasant topics than Maisey Jackson’s frightening boating habits?”
I couldn’t help the grin.
Carter had just finished the last bite of dessert when someone knocked on my door. I frowned. Ida Belle, Gertie, and Ally knew I had a date and wouldn’t interrupt unless it was an emergency. And if it was an emergency, they would have barged in.
Or maybe not.
I sighed. If they thought I was getting lucky, they might resort to actually knocking.
“You expecting anyone?” Carter asked.
“Who would I be expecting? My friends know I’m having dinner with you, and no one else wants to see me.”
I headed to the front door and was surprised to see Deputy Breaux standing there. Then I panicked.
“Is someone hurt? Did Ida Belle wreck that devil SUV of hers? Did Gertie blow something up? Did either one of them shoot Celia?”
Deputy Breaux held his hands up. “None of those things happened, and God willing, they won’t. Well, except maybe the last one, but you never heard me say that. I heard Carter was here. I need to talk to him.”
I flung open the screen door. “Then why didn’t you say so? He’s in the kitchen.”
Deputy Breaux followed me back to the kitchen where Carter was putting the dishes in the dishwasher. He looked up when we entered the room and frowned when he saw the deputy.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your dinner,” Deputy Breaux said, “but we’ve got a problem. Shrimpers found two gator skins in their nets.”
“What size?”
“Small. They’d guess about six feet or so.”
“Where did the shrimpers find them?”
“They were pushing in the lake.”
Carter blew out a breath. “Which means the skins could have emptied there from a hundred different bayous.”
“They were on the south side,” Deputy Breaux said, “and the skins still had a bit of meat on them. They hadn’t been in the water too long or they’d have been stripped bare.”
Carter looked out the kitchen window. “It’s not even dark yet. What kind of fool skins an illegally killed alligator on the bayou and in broad daylight?”
Deputy Breaux shook his head. “I guess if his boat was deep enough, people might not be able to see, but it’s a big risk.”
“Yeah, even bigger since I’ve found out that Wildlife and Fisheries is cruising the bayous here.”
Deputy Breaux’s eyes widened. “You’re sure?”
“He almost ran Ida Belle and me over this afternoon,” I said. “Real piece of work, that guy.”
“But how did they find out?” Deputy Breaux asked. “We didn’t even know until a couple days ago. Why would someone report it to the state without telling us?”
“Because they’re friends with Celia?” I suggested.
“We can’t blame everything bad that happens in Sinful on Celia,” Carter said.
“Why not?”
Deputy Breaux and I sounded off in unison.
“Because as much aggravation as the woman is responsible for, she doesn’t know everything. When was the last time you saw Celia on a boat, or even near water? Or talking to a shrimper or a fisherman, or quite frankly, anyone she considered beneath her, which is most of the town?”
“That’s true,” I said. “Besides, if Celia had called the state, she’d have been down at the sheriff’s department gloating about it.”
Carter sighed. “I guess I better take a look at the lake before it gets dark.”
“Scooter’s rebuilding the carburetor on the department boat. He said it will be at least another two hours before he’s done.”
“In two hours, it will be dark,” Carter said. He looked out my kitchen window, then back at me. “I don’t suppose you’d let me borrow your boat.”
“Sure,” I said, “as long as I go with you.”
He shook his head. “I can’t authorize that. It could be dangerous.”
“It could be more dangerous taking my boat and leaving me here.”
Deputy Breaux looked completely confused, but I knew my statement wasn’t lost on Carter.
“If I don’t go with you,” I said, “all those leftovers might evaporate into the night. That would be a shame. All that étouffée and dessert gone just like that.”
Carter looked pained. “You wouldn’t.”
I smiled. “You know better.”
He sighed. “Fine. But you’re wearing a life jacket, and you don’t move out of the boat unless I say so.”
I held up one hand. “I will not exit the boat unless we’re back on shore or it’s on fire.”
“Could you not say that so loud?”