A Bad Boy is Good to Find - By Jennifer Lewis Page 0,66
at her exposed toes. Her hair snagged, and she wrenched it loose.
“There it is.”
Just through the thicket, they emerged on the bank of a river. The mud oozed thicker, closing over her toes, but Con didn’t seem to notice as he pulled her right to the edge. Murky blackish water gleamed in the midday sun. Lizzie shivered, despite the heat. Con gripped her hand with force, no hint of tenderness.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Beautiful? No. Strange and terrifying. All that glittering dark water looked like a bottomless chasm. An abyss that held at least one skeleton.
“Look, a heron.”
He pointed with his free hand as a huge, Wedgewood-blue bird took flight from a branch high above their heads. Lizzie flinched as it dove like a movie-screen pterodactyl, menacing in its great size and eerie color. Its beak cleaved the shining water, then with a massive flapping and splashing, it soared up again to the treetops.
“I haven’t seen one of those in years. I spent hours studying their fishing technique, trying to figure out how to do that. Great way to get wet and come up empty-handed.” He stared up at the now empty sky. “I always wished I could fly like a bird.”
How could he be so calm? Carry on a normal conversation as if he hadn’t just declared himself—on camera—to be witness to a murder? It was a burden he’d lived with and carefully hidden. Had spared her—until now.
She bit back tears that threatened.
Angry speech and rustling in the undergrowth heralded the arrival of Dino and Maisie.
“We didn’t know where you went,” hissed Maisie. “Why didn’t you wait for the camera?”
“Didn’t think of it. Sorry,” said Con. Cool as the rippling water. “I was showing Lizzie my home. This is where I really lived, out here on the bayou.”
“Are there alligators in it?” asked Maisie, wriggling her way into the shot.
“Sure.” Con flashed an alligator smile.
Lizzie searched the undergrowth anxiously, her skin prickling. He softened his grip on her hand, gave it a gentle squeeze. “You can never be quite sure what to expect around here.”
Lizzie swallowed, took in a deep breath.
“Want to see how Mudbug Flats got its name?”
“Yes,” said Maisie. “I can see it’s flat. And mudbug is a colloquialism for crayfish, isn’t it?”
Con flashed another gator grin. “That’s right. A colloquialism.” His heavy emphasis on the word made it sound ridiculous.
He dropped Lizzie’s hand and moved a couple of feet along the bank. He crouched down and reached right into the mud. Pulled his hand back with a wriggling thing in it.
“Here.”
Lizzie cringed as he held it out to her, all flailing claws and spikes. He looked at her, waiting for her to take it.
“You got to watch out for the claws. They’ll give you quite a pinch.”
It was a challenge, and she knew it, but she couldn’t bring herself to touch the nasty greenish-brown lobster-y thing.
“May I?” Maisie held out her slim hand.
Con placed the creature gently in it, and Maisie closed her hand around its tail. Beady black eyes surveyed the humans and claws waved.
“The tail meat is delicieux. You can boil ’em in salt water, or just eat ’em raw if you’re really hungry.”
“Raw?” Maisie sounded curious. Lizzie’s stomach curdled. Was Maisie going to snap its head off and eat sushi right there? “I’ll ask the chef to procure some. Perhaps we can eat them for dinner tonight.” She handed it back to Con, casual as if it was a handkerchief she’d borrowed.
“I can procure some right now, if you like.” He said, expressionless, holding the squirming creature. “They’re all around us. Easy to spot if you know what to look for.”
“I think we have bigger fish to fry,” said Maisie softly.
Con swallowed. “Yeah, I guess we do.” He put the crayfish back in its burrow and wiped his hand on his pants. “I guess we do.”
Chapter 16
Con pulled the Jeep up in front of the nice-looking place with the yellow flowers outside and jumped out, palms sweating. He waited for Dino to get his camera going, then climbed the steps to the front door. Lizzie hung back until prompting from Maisie pushed her into the shot too. He had no idea who lived here, but there was one good way to find out.
He knocked.
“Coming.” A woman’s voice. The door opened to reveal a pretty girl with a baby on her hip and a perplexed expression on her face. She glanced behind Con and Lizzie to the camera, and her hand flew to her mouth.