Missing in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law Mystery/Romance Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

around.”
    “I’d be asking the same if it was my friend out there.”
    Ross whistled and waved a hand at the men that were milling around. “I want you to split into two groups. Each group will take a dog and proceed in opposite directions along the edge of the highway. Agent Thompson, do you have the clothing?”
    “Yes, sir.” A young agent standing nearby held up two Baggies with garments inside.
    “You’re positive the garments belong to Agent Bordeaux and not Agent Blanchard?”
    “Unless Agent Blanchard wears women’s undergarments, I’m sure.”
    Ross smiled. “Seems a safe bet. Let the dog take the lead. I want everyone but the handler to case the edges of the swamp, looking for any sign of passage.”
    One of the men raised a hand. “How far down do we go before circling back?”
    “How far is Mudbug?” Ross asked Colt.
    “About ten miles to the city limits from here.”
    Ross nodded. “My team will cover ten miles moving west. Going east, the nearest structure is a diner that’s about thirty minutes’ drive. I doubt Agent Blanchard chased a car thirty miles, so cover ten miles east then circle around and cover the other side of the highway on the way back until the teams meet up.”
    “Should we check the swamp?” one of the men asked.
    “Yes, but not deeply. If you get an indication from the dog, call me and wait for me to arrive with the other dog before pursuing the lead. Does everyone understand your directive?”
    They all nodded.
    “I don’t think I need to remind any of you that this one is personal. I know we all give 100 percent to our jobs every day, but today, I’m asking you all to double that.” He hoisted a backpack over his shoulders. “Let’s get to it.”
    Colt fell in step beside Ross, moving west down the side of the highway. Ross spoke briefly to the dog handler, then headed for the tree line behind the other men. “If you don’t mind,” he said, “I’d like us to step inside about ten feet. The ground looks softer where the sun doesn’t reach. Might be easier to see footprints.”
    “If there are any,” Colt said.
    Ross nodded and stepped into the brush. “You got any thoughts about this?”
    “Me? Raissa and Zach never talked about their cases.”
    Ross paused for a second, pinning his gaze on Colt’s. “Home office doesn’t think this has anything to do with a case.”
    “They’re sure?”
    “Seem to be,” Ross said and started walking again. “Agents Bordeaux and Blanchard have been working the same case for the last four months. I wasn’t involved and can’t provide you any details of what I was told, but I will say that the men they were after are safely locked away awaiting federal indictment.”
    “No fringe elements seeking revenge?”
    “It was a small operation and everyone went down in the bust.”
    Colt rolled that information over in his mind, trying to make sense of it. He’d assumed since he talked to Luc at the hospital that whatever had happened to Zach and Raissa was tied to their work at the bureau, but Ross was telling him straight-out that wasn’t the case. It hadn’t even crossed his mind that the problem could be a local one, and now that it was front and center, he was even more disturbed than ever.
    Realizing he’d never responded to Ross’s original question, he shook his head. “If this isn’t about the case they were working, I have no idea what to think.”
    “You got no problem around here with carjackings, that sort of thing?”
    “This isn’t New Orleans. We’ve had more than our share of unusual crime in the past year, but nothing like that. Besides which, who would carjack a six-year-old Cadillac? Hell, most every truck in the parish is worth more than that. Some of the bass boats cost half as much as my house.”
    “So two federal agents just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when a brand-new criminal decided to launch his business?”
    Colt’s jaw flexed involuntarily. He knew