Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law Mystery/Romance Series) by Jana DeLeon Read Free Book Online Page A

alive.
    “Okay,” she said and took the flashlight. She checked the pressure on her tank, and followed him to the edge of the pond where she drew up short. “What about alligators?”
    He scanned the banks. “Always a possibility, but I don’t see any signs. They’re probably spooked out of the area for a while.”
    She wanted to ask what the probability of “probably” was or the exact definition of “for a while” but knew it wouldn’t do any good. If Colt knew more, he would have said so and likely he would have insisted she wait on the bank. Not that she would have listened. Technically, the pond was her jurisdiction, and no way was she going to play the little woman and let the big, strong man handle her job. The state paid her to work and by God, that’s what she intended to do. Regardless of what the job entailed or how Burton Foster thought she ought to be spending her time.
    She waded into the water with Colt as he felt down the side of the car.  
    “Looks like this is the back,” he said, pointing to the side closest to the bank.  
    “I’ll check the plate.” Jadyn placed the regulator in her mouth and took a test breath before sinking below the surface.  
    The water was so murky, it was impossible to see more than a foot in front of her even with the spotlight. She used the side of the car to guide her around the corner to the back, shining her light down the back bumper. When she got to the flat spot where the license plate should have been, only a black space stared back at her.
    Damn.
    She started to surface, but changed her mind. Maybe some form of identification existed inside the car. Colt was checking the car from the driver’s side so she swam around the back to the passenger’s side. As she approached the side windows, she could see the dim glow from Colt’s flashlight. She felt down the side of the car and realized the passenger side window was rolled down.
    Her pulse ticked up a notch as she lifted the flashlight to shine it inside. The light illuminated the passenger seat and relief coursed through her when she saw it was empty. She slid through the window a bit to check the backseat and felt an uptick of hope when it was also clear.  
    Colt’s light had vanished when she went in the window and she glanced around, trying to figure out where he’d gone. Maybe he’d surfaced for some reason. She pushed back a bit and directed her light at the front dashboard. Maybe some paperwork was in the glove compartment. She pulled the compartment open and plastic packet from inside. Everything was probably soaked, but there was always a chance she’d be able to get something off of it.  
    Deciding she’d gained everything she could in her current position, she surfaced. Her mask fogged over as soon as her head popped out of the water and she reached up with her free hand to lift it. Colt was exiting the water and looked back as he heard her breach the surface.
    She held up the packet. “The license plate was gone, but I pulled this out of the glove compartment. We might be able to get something off of the papers inside if they’re not completely soaked.”
    “License plate?” Burton stared at her as if she’d just reported finding an alien spaceship in the pond.
    “It’s not a boat,” Colt explained. “It’s a car. Someone probably wedged a stick into the accelerator then popped it in drive.”
    Burton’s eyes widened. “What the hell?”  
    “I can’t tell you how relieved I was to see the car was empty,” Jadyn said as she stepped on the bank beside Colt.
    He frowned. “We’re not in the clear yet. I was just going back to my truck for a crowbar.”
    Jadyn froze and she sucked in a breath. The trunk. How could she have forgotten the trunk?
    Because bodies in trunks are not something a degree in environmental science covers.
    She watched as Colt retrieved a crowbar from the toolbox in the back of his truck and made his way back into the water.
    “What are you doing