miss fortune mystery (ff) - hiding in the bayou by riley blake Read Free Book Online Page B

digging up marked graves in a cemetery, we might have a problem. For now, we’re following a lead before alarming anyone. I’ve heard rumors about this place for years. No one else was willing to dig for the truth.”
    “Wonder why?” I slowly rotated to my right in a clockwise fashion taking in our surroundings again. Tipsy Tailgates was a junkyard that likely earned its name due to the way they stacked the cars at a slanted angle. “Aren’t you afraid the scrap metal will fall like dominoes once we start moving dirt around?”
    Ida Belle glanced up. “If I go out this way, it’s meant to be. I’ve lived a long and enjoyable life and I’m willing to go when it’s my time.”
    “I’m sure the man upstairs appreciates your compliance.” I wasn’t as optimistic about facing death.
    “Don’t worry, Fortune. I have a good eye for this stuff. That’s why I parked over there.” She nodded at her prized possession. “Stay on this side of the car and we’ll be just fine.”
    “If you say so,” I said, vaguely aware of the barking dogs in the distance. “Since we’re out here digging for dead people, do you mind telling me who we’re looking for?”
    “It’s not who, Fortune. It’s what.” Ida Belle stuck her shovel in the ground first. “And Peanut’s threat wasn’t what triggered a thought. It provoked a memory.”
    “Okay so what are we looking for exactly?”
    “Bones are inevitable,” she said, tossing a few of them over her shoulder. “Sinful folks used to drive out here and bury their beloved pets. That was before Tipsy bought the property.”
    “And Tipsy would be?”
    Ida Belle tossed more dirt over her shoulder. “Tipsy Senior was Peanut’s father.”
    “Was?”
    “He died last year.”
    “Who runs the business now?”
    “Peanut’s brother, Tipsy Junior.”
    “So the plot thickens.” I scanned the layers of cars. “Place looks like a gold mine.” Big profits were made in the junkyard business.
    Ida Belle struck something. She jabbed it a few times and then hooked her shovel underneath and pulled at leather straps. “The gold isn’t in the business, Fortune, but in what lies beneath it.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Eight
     
    “I remember the day I first met you,” Carter said, not at all pleased to see us. We hadn’t phoned ahead and it was approaching the midnight hour when we pulled in his driveway. “I knew you were trouble right then.”
    “Look at the bright side,” Ida Belle reasoned. “We didn’t try our hand at breaking and entering.”
    “She means we could’ve picked the locks.”
    “Don’t ever break in my house,” Carter said firmly, moving aside. “Since you’re here…”
    Ida Belle marched inside, rolling two suitcases behind her. I followed suit, dropping a large tote at Carter’s door. “We have a few more outside.”
    “More?” He frowned at the bags and followed me to Ida Belle’s car. “I’ll regret asking this later, but what is all this?”
    “You’ll see,” I said, grabbing a couple of leather bags and leaving the last two for the good deputy.
    Once settled inside Carter’s living room, Ida Belle blurted, “Go on. Open one.”
    He hesitated. “Before I do, want to tell me where you found these?”
    “Tipsy Tailgates.”
    His eyes widened. “Ida Belle, are you out of your mind?”
    “There had to be a motive, Carter. Now, we know what it is.”
    “I knew what it was from the very beginning!” He yanked one bag open and then another, grimacing at the sight of cash. “What have you done?” He stared at Ida Belle in disbelief. “Tipsy will be looking for this money, Ida Belle.”
    “And we’ll give it to him. Just as soon as Peanut confesses to murder and tells us who blackmailed her.”
    “You think she was blackmailed?”
    “We’re certain of