And then he wouldn’t think for a second that Rene knew anything.
He could use Charles’s arrogance against him in this case.
If he could get them off the island.
“Do you have letterhead back at the house?” Sylvie asked. “We should get it done as soon as possible. I’ll make the switch since I’ll have to come back later this afternoon and check on the families out here. You need to be seen back at the office as soon as possible. Call him from there so he knows exactly where you are.”
“I would rather come with you.”
She shook her head. “I’ll have one of the deputies with me. I do this after every big storm. It’s part of being the mayor, and it would be odd if you were with me. Now let’s get our stories straight about where we’ve been.”
“Have I told you how sexy you are when you’re being ruthless?” His leg wasn’t aching now. It was an entirely different part of his body that wanted attention.
“Am I? You know I love a good plan,” she said, her voice going low.
That was when he heard the sound of an outboard motor approaching. He wasn’t going to have time to play.
Sylvie frowned. “Can you see who it is?”
Rene stood up as the sheriff’s boat docked. “It’s Armie.”
Armie LaVigne was in his khakis, his hat on his head. “Hey, Rene, are you okay? Your boat’s floating about half a mile back. Almost gave me a heart attack. Do you think I want to go and tell Marcelle Martine her daughter is missing?”
Sylvie moved beside him and waved. “You don’t have to tell her a thing, Sheriff. I’ll handle my momma. Now, who all knows you came out here?”
Armie started to walk up the dock as Sylvie laid out her plans.
* * *
* * *
Sylvie was still thinking about the situation two hours later as they were making their way home.
When she thought about it, it wasn’t that different than that time when she had to figure out which of the senator’s team members was leaking information to the opposing party. The trouble this time was she didn’t want to scare the spy off. She needed to control the narrative. She needed everyone to believe the story they’d concocted, and she could see a weak link in their chain. She hoped she didn’t offend her husband.
The key to a good cover-up was ensuring that all parties knew their role. And that meant she had to decide which parties couldn’t be trusted with a role at all. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Cricket Darois had her son’s best interests at heart. It was that Cricket sometimes forgot what she was or wasn’t supposed to say.
“So the only people who are going to know anything at all are you and me and Armie,” Rene said as he made the turn that put them on the long driveway to Darois House. “I think that’s a good idea. I trust Armie. He’s solid.”
“Armie is perfectly happy saying he found us on one of the smaller islands after our boat motor died.” She was warm and happy again since Lisa Guidry had been kind enough to let her and Rene use the small shower in the apartment above Guidry’s. She and her husband owned the restaurant and the marina and boat shop attached. She and Remy had been there early this morning getting ready for the lunch crowd. Lisa had seen Armie bring them in, towing Rene’s boat behind the county vehicle. She’d run down to the marina, offering the apartment to them if they wanted to clean up.
And she’d brought them coffee and breakfast. Sylvie had needed the coffee so much.
Lisa would also start putting out the story they wanted everyone to believe. She would call her mother-in-law to let her know that Sylvie was fine but had suffered through a terrible night out in the wild. Delphine would probably already know because Armie had gotten on his radio to let the station know he’d found them and that his deputy should call and let Cricket and Marcelle know their kids were all right. But Delphine would tell the story to Dixie, and she would tell two people, and so on and so on. It was the gossip grapevine, and it could work in her favor this time.
“If my mother questions me too hard, you should know I’ll wilt like a hothouse flower,” Sylvie admitted.
“Your mother is excellent at keeping a secret. I’m not