Body on the Bayou Read Online Free PDF Page B

waiting on a delivery of feed for our chickens. Maggie, could you drive Ginger over to Bertrand’s so she can hear his diagnosis?”
    “Of course.”
    Tug smiled reassuringly at Ginger and her employees. “Not to worry, we’ll make sure everything’s taken care of. And we’ll take responsibility for any damage.”
    Tug turned away. As soon as his back was to the visitors, Maggie saw his smile fade. She headed back to the manor house with her father. As they walked, she noted the pristine, decomposed granite drive, packed hard as cement, under their feet. There wasn’t a loose stone anywhere to be seen.
    “Oh, one other thing,” Ginger called to them. “I noticed that one of your back steps is loose. I thought I should tell you. You certainly wouldn’t want guests to fall and hurt themselves.”
    “Thank you. I appreciate that,” Tug called back, then muttered to Maggie, “I rebuilt those steps right before you came home. They’re tight as a tick.”
    Maggie nodded but said nothing. All she could think about was Vanessa’s ominous text warning: “Watch Ginger on stairs.”
    *
    Bertrand’s tow truck arrived within half an hour and carted the SUV off to the repair shop. Maggie chauffeured Ginger and Trent over to the shop; Bibi chose to stay behind. By the time they reached Bertrand’s Gas and Auto Repair, the owner, Leontel “Lee” Bertrand, already had the car up on a lift. Lee was a tough ex-Marine in his mideighties whose energy defied his age. He and a sandy-haired man in his early twenties, whom Maggie didn’t recognize, were examining the car’s undercarriage. Maggie and Lee exchanged hellos.“I don’t think you’ve met my great-nephew, Chretien,” Lee said. “Chret for short.”
    Chret moved forward to shake Maggie’s hand. She noticed that he walked with a limp. “Hello, ma’am,” he said shyly. As he took her hand, she felt a tremor in his.
    “Chret’s back from a couple of tours in Afghanistan,” his uncle said with pride. “He’s a Marine. Took some shrapnel in the leg, so he got an honorable discharge. Since none of my kids or grandkids is interested, I’m teaching him the business.”
    “Nice to meet you, Chret,” Maggie said with a warm smile. “Welcome to town.”
    Chret gave a small nod, then returned to work. Maggie saw Ginger and Trent staring at the young war vet and whispering to each other. She glared at them, and they looked away. “So what’s going on with the car, Lee?”
    “There’s a crack in the oil pan.” Lee pointed to it. “That’s where the leak is.”
    “Oh. I guess Ginger was right. She must have driven over something in our driveway.”
    Lee shook his head. “No one drove over nuthin’,” he said, keeping his voice low so Ginger and Trent wouldn’t hear. “This car sits too high up. And see that? It’s epoxy. This pan’s been damaged before and someone tried a cheap fix.”
    Maggie examined the oil pan and saw that Lee was right. “We can’t confront Ginger about this,” she said, her voice equally low. “For one thing, she’s our guest, and it would be bad form to accuse her of scamming us. But also, and Ihate to say this, I don’t really trust her. I feel like she might get back at us some way.”
    Lee nodded. “Revenge reviews. As a businessman, I can tell you that there’s few things worse than a customer posting nasty comments on some dang online site.”
    Maggie nodded. While Crozat had managed to stay on the positive side of Internet travel sites, she’d heard horror stories from other hoteliers forced to mop up the online mess created by a terrible review. “We have to pick up the tab for Ginger’s car repairs,” she told Lee.
    “I’ll give you the best price I can, but parts for this make and model are expensive. At best, we’re looking at a grand, easy.”
    “What?” Maggie yelped. “A grand? ”
    “I should be charging twice that. That’s just for parts. I’m waiving the labor charge. Anyway, should be ready