Bones on the Bayou: A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Short Story by Carolyn Haines

Author:Carolyn Haines
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery, Short Stories, novella, short story, Thriller & Suspense, One Hour (33-43 Pages), Women Sleuths, Bones, Sarah Booth Delaney, Southern fiction, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: KaliOka Press
Published: 2014-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

Harold followed Wildene, and I slipped around to the back of the café to prevail on Millie to give me and the critters a ride back to Dahlia House. She deposited us at the front steps with a warning to honor my word to Coleman, and then hurried back to the café to beat the afternoon crowds.

Two choices lay before me. I could search for Tinkie and Oscar, or I could focus on Enzo. I didn’t have to flip a coin to know which one to pursue. Talking to Coleman was out of the question. He’d know I was hiding something.

I drove to The Club and went to the kitchen entrance. The staff knew me as Tinkie’s friend, and I was welcomed into the vast room where at least six chefs worked in the wonderfully steamy heat.

Bart Julianno took a moment to chat with me. The head chef had ties to Shaw and had taken an interest in Enzo’s visit to The Club.

“I saw him leave,” Bart said. “He was with the beautiful woman who shops for people and Mrs. Bellcase’s husband.”

“Did you see the vehicle?”

“A black Land Rover. I believe it belongs to Mr. Richmond.”

I nodded. “And do you know where they went?”

Bart hesitated.

“What is it?”

“I’m not certain Mr. Aceto wanted to go with the two of them. I didn’t have a clear view, but I saw them pushing him into the back of the vehicle. He looked like he might be sick. I couldn’t tell for certain, but he appeared to struggle. It occurred to me they were taking him to the hospital, but now I heard he’s disappeared.” He frowned. “Many people disliked Mr. Aceto. He made trouble for a lot of relationships.”

“Yes, he seemed to take pleasure in breaking couples apart.” This wasn’t good news. It went along with my fear Oscar had been involved in his abduction. “

“Did you happen to notice anything else?”

He thought. “Yes, another vehicle pulled up by the SUV. There was an argument between the shopper woman and the new woman. A big argument. Mr. Richmond tried to break it up, and I thought for a minute the two women would turn on him.”

“Could you hear anything that was said?”

“They kept pointing to the backseat where Mr. Aceto had slumped down. Then they got in their vehicles and drove away. The second woman followed Mr. Richmond’s SUV.”

“Can you describe her?”

“She was driving a silver Infinity. She was average height, but she may have been wearing heels, I couldn’t tell. She had chestnut hair, about the color of yours. Slender. Mature. Maybe in her late thirties or early forties. She was familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on who she was.”

I had no idea who the new suspect might be. The problem was that in the two weeks Enzo had been in town, he’d been involved with at least two-dozen women. The man was a horn dog for sure.

“Can you remember anything else?”

“Oh, the car had a special tag. One for members of the Mississippi House of Representatives.

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