miss fortune mystery (ff) - bubba dub dub (2 page)

The cabin where we’d found my father several days earlier looked exactly as I remembered it. The windows were dark behind closed curtains, the yellow bike still rested against the big cypress tree, and the place looked empty.

However, it had also looked empty when Felonius Chance had been hiding out there.

Cal scanned the area carefully as I headed for the door. He reached out and touched my arm before I could try the knob. “Considering the people who are after your dad, I think we should be careful entering this cabin.”

I grimaced. “We’re much more likely to bump up against a couple of juvenile gators in this cabin than any Russian mobsters.” I glanced around. “Besides, there are no other cars here.”

He gave me his trademark,
you’re really not very smart, are you?
look. “You don’t think the Russians are smart enough to park down the road?”

I scanned a look at the rented Jeep sitting right in front of the cabin and peaked a brow in silent derision.

Cal glared at me. “Just stand back for a minute and let me check this out first.”

I motioned toward the door then crossed my arms and counted to ten. I half hoped the gators jumped out and gave his kneecaps a love bite when he opened the door.

But I soon forgot my pique when Cal pulled a small, silver pistol from under his shirt. “Why Cal Amity—“

“Shhh!”

I slammed my lips closed and glared at him as he stood to the side of the door and turned the knob. I’d expected it to be locked, but it swung open at his touch. Cal looked at me, jerking his head to indicate he wanted me to step farther away. I considered holding my ground just because he was being so bossy. In the end, however, I decided it made more sense to be alive than a rebel.

He shoved the door into the dark interior and peered inside for a beat before moving through, gun pointing toward the ceiling.

I gave him a minute to scan the two small rooms before following him inside.

Cal was just coming out of the bedroom when I stepped into the warm, mustiness of the Bayou cabin.

I looked at him hopefully. “Anything?”

Shaking his head, Cal peered into the small bathroom. “Empty.”

I nodded. “Good. I’ll start with the bedroom.”

“I’ll take the kitchen. What exactly are we looking for?” he asked me.

“I’m not sure. Some kind of message.”

He opened the refrigerator and stuck his head inside. “Like,
Felly I’m in
n’awlins, written in catsup?”

“No. Really?”

He chuckled and I realized he’d been teasing. “Jerk.”

The dark bedroom was just about big enough for a queen-sized bed and a nightstand and not much else. I flipped the wall switch just inside the door and nothing happened. I swore to myself, wishing I’d thought to bring a flashlight. My gaze scanned to the single, small window on the front wall. It was covered in dark curtains that must have been lined because only the barest ribbon of light showed around their edges. Moving carefully across the room, I reached up and tugged on the heavy fabric and then sneezed as dust bloomed on the air.

Sun blared through the dirty glass, bathing me and the room in stifling heat. Sneezing again, I looked around at the mess that had been my father’s bedroom. Drawers had been yanked open and their contents strewn over the floor. The bedding had been ripped back and a large X cut into the mattress. Stuffing puffed along the floor when my movements created a draft.

As I watched in horror, the surface of the mattress shifted and a tiny, brown head peeked out. The mouse took one look at me and dove back into its hidey hole.

I shuddered, not a fan of rodents. “I guess I’m not searching the mattress,” I murmured. Instead, I contented myself with dropping to my knees and carefully looking under the bed. All I saw was a pile of clothes I assumed was laundry.

My father had never been the tidiest person.

“Anything?”

I yelped at the sound of Cal’s deep voice and jumped, slamming my head against the bed frame. “Ouch! Dangit!” I sat up, rubbing my head.”

Cal’s footsteps came lightly across the floor and he appeared beside the bed. “You okay?”

I frowned up at him, still rubbing the knot on my head. “Nothing here except some very comfy mice. You?” I asked hopefully.

“Nothing. The outer room is clue free unless mouse droppings and dust can be considered clues.”

Cal offered me his hand and pulled me to my feet. I brushed dust off my knees, fighting frustration. It looked like my plan to find my father was a non-starter.

Sighing, I nodded. “I guess we might as well leave.”

But Cal was eyeing the mattress. “It looks like the Russians were already here.”

“Yeah. I wonder what they were looking for.” Surely they didn’t know about Felonius and my childhood game.

“That’s a great question. I doubt they expected to find your father hiding inside that mattress.”

The surface of the mattress rippled again and a tiny face with a long, twitchy nose and round black eyes poked out, staring at us. The mouse seemed to think it could glare us away. “It appears
somebody
thought it was a good idea to hide inside the mattress.”

Cal grinned. “You ready to go?”

Reluctantly I followed him out of the room. “Where next?”

“I was going to ask
you
that. I guess we can ask Sheriff Lee if there have been any Bubba sightings.”

“Or random Russians milling around.” I nodded. “That makes sense.”

Something crunched under my shoe. I looked down and saw the glass from the alligator aquarium Gertie and Ida Belle had overturned to distract Rouse. It gave me an idea. “Did you look in the aquarium?”

He frowned. “What’s left of it, you mean? I gave it a quick look. I didn’t dig through the gator scat though.”

Grimacing, I walked around the kitchen table and eased closer to the overturned aquarium. A horrible stench surrounded it and I covered my nose and mouth. “Ugh! I can’t believe he lived with these things.”

“I can’t disagree. But you’re probably smelling the remains of their dinner. Apparently they didn’t finish eating before this happened.” He indicated the broken glass on the floor.

Since a half rotted mouse was stuck to the bottom of the aquarium I realized he was right. “Ish!” There was no way I was digging around in that mess to look for clues. Sighing, I turned away. “You’re right. Nothing there.”

My foot bumped the corner of the aquarium and pain shot through my big toe. I hopped around, swearing for a minute before propping my toe on a chair and examining it. Of course it was bleeding. “I should have known better than to wear flip flops.”

Cal handed me a square of white cloth. “Here, wrap this around it.”

I took his hanky and thanked him. A moment later my toe was firmly wrapped and the size of a good club. I carefully lowered it to the ground and started to hobble away. “Let’s get out of this place, it’s depressing me.”

“Wait.” Cal crouched down and reached toward the aquarium, tugging at something trapped under the metal corner. He pulled it free and held it up. “Was this here before?”

It was one of my father’s golden coins. My pulse eased up a notch as I shook my head. “No. The floor was clear when Gertie and Ida Belle overturned the aquarium. Do you think it could have been inside?”

Cal shook his head. “Unlikely. It was trapped under the aquarium.”

Excitement made my skin prickle. “That’s it! That’s the clue we’re looking for.”

Cal handed the coin to me. “Okay. But what does it mean?”

“I don’t know,” I told him. “But I’m thinking our next stop should be
Gordon’s Pawn Shop.
”

###

Gordon’s Pawn Shop
was close to
Francine’s Diner
, and close enough to both of Sinful’s churches to make it handy for the faithful to pawn gramma’s silver and then duck into one of the houses of God to drop a fiver into the collection plate.

The last time Cal and I had come to Sinful looking for my father,
Gordon’s
was one of the first places we looked for information. Mostly because he seemed to be the main repository for the gold coins Felonius Chance was using to live on.

Like that previous time, we were entering the cool, dimly lit environs of the pawn shop just fifteen minutes before closing time. And if there was anything Pim Gordon took more seriously than his next meal, it was closing time.

“Well if it isn’t the tragedy twins, calamity and mischance. Good to see you again, folks.”

I glanced down the long, narrow store for the massive, rosy cheeked head but didn’t see it. Movement along the left side of the store, which was lined on three sides by cloudy glass display cases, drew my gaze to the owner of Gordon’s.

Pim Gordon’s massive head was sticking up above the glass. His dark beady eyes shone with good humor as he nodded a greeting. “What brings you two back to Sinful?”

I returned his smile. “Hey, Pim.” Reaching over the counter I clasped his fleshy hand. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

He shook his big head and offered a hand to Cal, who took it with a stern expression that told me he hadn’t appreciated the “tragedy twins” reference as much as I had. “After thirty years in Sinful I’d believe just about anything,” Pim responded. “Try me.”

I dug the gold coin out of my purse and held it up. The overtaxed, armless chair he was sitting in creaked dangerously as he leaned over the counter and took the coin from me. “You want to pawn this?” He laughed his breathless laugh. “Don’t Indianapolis have no pawn shops?”

I shook my head. “I’m looking for Bubba again, Pim. Or…” I skimmed Cal a look. “My father, Felonius Chance.”

Pim’s dark bead eyes widened and he guffawed. “Tragedy strikes again.”

Shaking my head I grinned. “He’s disappeared again and I thought he might come back to Sinful.”

“Whatever for?”

I shrugged, not wanting to try to explain a childhood game or a gut feeling that might be way off. “He promised me he wouldn’t disappear again without contacting me. Sinful was the best place for him to leave me a message. He’d know I’d come back here looking for it.”

Though the big man seemed doubtful, he handed the coin back to me. “What can I do for you?”

Cal placed his hands on the glass countertop. “Have you seen Bubba…erm…Mr. Chance in the last couple of days, Mr. Gordon?”

When Pim shook his head his belly wobbled like Jell-O in a gymnast’s hand. “I haven’t seen him or his gold. Sorry I couldn’t help.” He shoved against the counter and started a sideways roll on creaky wheels toward the door at the far end of the shop. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m closing in eight minutes and I have to finish counting up the cash drawer.”

I fought disappointment and turned toward the door, feeling like I might cry. The game I’d played with my father when I was young had been a much simpler animal.

“Wait!”

I turned as Pim slammed the countertop with his big hand, causing the entire length of the glass case to wobble on its metal legs. “I almost forgot. I did get an envelope a couple days ago.” His head disappeared below the countertop and then reemerged as he slapped a manila envelope onto the glass.

I hurried over and looked down at the envelope. The return address read only,
Bubba
and it was addressed to me, via Pim Gordon.

“I almost threw it out until I remembered who Miss Chance was.” He grinned, showing an abundance of tiny white teeth.

Cal looked over my shoulder. “There’s no postmark.”

“It was on the floor when I came in one morning. He’d apparently slipped it through the mail slot.” He shook his buffalo sized head. “I’d forgotten about it until just now.”

I picked up the envelope and offered him my hand again. When he took it he squeezed it, holding it for an extra few seconds. “I hope it helps, darlin’. I feel bad you have to keep chasin’ your daddy like this.”

The warmth in his bead-like eyes told me he was sincere and, to my horror, tears welled in my eyes. “Thanks, Pim. Maybe I’ll see you again before we leave.”

He nodded, his gaze sliding to the ancient clock above the door. “Three minutes until closing time, folks. You’d best be hittin’ the sidewalk.” He shoved himself away from the counter and rolled on his way, never looking back. I figured my threatened tears had scared him off.

“Bring that with,” Cal told me softly, placing a hand in the center of my back. “I’ll buy you dinner at Francine’s.”

Sniffling softly, I nodded and followed him out of the shop. I perked right up when I spotted a big old Cadillac, its bumper tied on with rope, parked in front of the diner.

Gertie was at Francine’s. And where Gertie was, Ida Belle most surely was too.

It would be good to see my new friends again.

CHAPTER THREE

They were sitting at a back corner table of the diner with Fortune. The younger woman was facing the door and I thought her smile tightened a bit on seeing Cal and me walk into Francine’s.

My step faltered as her gaze locked onto mine but, to my credit I manned up and kept moving forward. Gertie’s head turned in our direction and she grinned. “Felicity!” Jumping up from her seat, the white-haired firecracker hurried toward us, arms outstretched. “It’s so nice to see you again.” She gave Cal a slightly predatory smile and inclined her head in his direction.

“Gertie,” he said by way of greeting before scanning Fortune a look.

I bit back a jolt of quick jealousy and approached Ida Belle. She frowned slightly as she stood up and patted me on the arm. “Just couldn’t stay away could you?”

I laughed. “Sinful is strangely addictive.” I forced myself to look at Fortune. “Hello, Fortune. It’s nice to see you again.”

“Felicity.” She gave Cal an assessing look, like she was cataloguing his attributes. He stood there, letting her read him, his expression impassive. Then she smiled. “What brings you two back to Sinful?”

I looked at Ida Belle because anybody with half a brain knew she was the ringleader. “I actually came to find my father.”