Resurrection in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon Read Free Book Online Page B

details—like the fact that the killer was so close to Maryse.
    What if the person tied up with the money was someone else they’d known their entire lives? Someone else they liked and respected?
    “I’m really sorry,” Jadyn said. “I spent most of the afternoon reading online news reports because I didn’t want to ask you and Mildred to revisit bad times, but they didn’t mention anything like that.”
    Mildred nodded. “Everyone tried to keep the worst of the details out of the news. There was already too much focus on the town, and Maryse had enough to deal with. It’s one of those times you’re really happy to be part of a small community that still has that desire to insulate their own.”
    Jadyn checked her face and hair and dropped the mascara into her makeup bag. When she’d read the articles, she hadn’t considered the small-town workings that would come into play. That people would hedge the truth to protect what was left of their reputation or to provide a tiny amount of relief for the person who’d taken the brunt of it all. 
    From a personal standpoint, it was nice to know people would close ranks to protect you. From an investigative standpoint, it meant Jadyn was going to have to ask Maryse and Mildred to relive everything that had happened the year before. Somewhere in that complicated mess may be a clue to what was happening now. Asking these two nice women to relive the most horrifying time of their life was the last thing in the world Jadyn wanted to do, but given what Mildred had just revealed, she didn’t see another option.
    She fluffed her hair and pushed all thoughts of what would have to come out of her mind. It didn’t have to be dealt with now. Tonight already held enough challenges. She grabbed her shoes and began the lengthy process of winding the straps around her ankles. 
    “What do you think?” Jadyn asked as she strolled into the bedroom, then did a model turn.
    Maryse whistled and Mildred beamed. 
    “I would totally hit on you,” Maryse said. “In fact, please don’t ever dress like that around my husband.”
    Mildred laughed. “Luc is totally devoted to you and you know it.”
    “I know,” Maryse said, “but I don’t want him to get any ideas about how I should dress. You know I wouldn’t make it across the room in those shoes without breaking an ankle.”
    “There is that,” Mildred agreed. 
    “Don’t worry,” Jadyn said. “This is hardly going to become a habit, and it’s the only hooker outfit I own.”
    Maryse scrunched her brow. “You look great but I have to ask—why do you have even one hooker outfit?”
    Jadyn smiled. “Because men are already halfway to foolish just existing, but they get all the way there around a hot woman. If anyone at that bar knows something about the cash, they’ll be falling all over each other to tell me about it before the night is out. It’s worked before.”
    “Even though you’re the game warden?” Maryse asked.
    Mildred patted Maryse’s shoulder and gave her a motherly look. “Honey, they won’t be thinking about her profession—just what other abilities she may possess.”
    Maryse brightened. “I get it. Like how I walk around the house naked to get out of doing laundry. Luc never complains that it takes me weeks when I say I have to be naked because I have nothing to wear.”
    Jadyn grinned. With a little effort, her cousin could be quite a looker herself, but Maryse was every bit the nerdy scientist she claimed to be, spending most of her day in jeans and rubber boots. Even so, Jadyn could clearly see what had captured Luc’s attention.
    “Now you’re catching on,” Jadyn said. “Well, if you have no last-minute advice, I’m going to go get this over with.”
    “Helena!” Maryse jumped up from the bed and banged on the wall of the adjoining room. “Hurry up. It’s time to get this show on the road.”
    Jadyn held back a frown, still not completely adjusted to having a ghostly bodyguard,