Simon let out a sigh. “I’m glad you said that. Because, after you went to sleep last night, I lay awake for a while, worried that we weren’t attacking your problem from all angles. I stepped out on the deck and made a call to Swede in Montana. I told him about the messages, about your parents and Paul. If I know Swede, he’s been on it all day. Hopefully, he’ll have some useful information for us soon.” He held up his hand. “And we’ll follow up with your grandmother’s request to see the animal seer tomorrow. We should try anything that helps us get to the bottom of this.”
Chapter 8
Normally, Holly would be mad at someone if he went behind her back to get more information. In this case, she was glad Simon had made the call. It meant his guy, Swede, was already searching for clues into the death of Paul and the disappearances of her parents.
Swede might not come up with any more than what law enforcement had, but she had to try. Finding her parents’ bodies would almost be better than living forever, wondering if they were out there somewhere.
Almost.
Having them home would be the best scenario, but she wasn’t getting her hopes up.
Work was hectic that night, with a New Orleans Saints game playing on the televisions mounted above the bar and in the corners of the dining area. The crowd got loud whenever there was a touchdown or a bad call by the referees.
By the end of her shift, her ears were ringing and her feet ached from hurrying between tables to keep the beer and food flowing.
The one saving grace of the evening was Simon, perched on a barstool, alternately watching the game and her throughout the evening.
Rene hadn’t squawked once about her bodyguard taking up space. He even comped his soft drinks and shared war stories. Holly hadn’t realized Rene had served in the military. However, it appeared he loved it when members of the Brotherhood Protectors spent time at his bar. He reminisced about his days on active duty and thanked Simon and his team for their service.
When Cody came in halfway through her shift, Holly made a point of walking over to put her hand on Simon’s shoulder.
He’d done one better by wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in for a quick hug.
Out of the corner of Holly’s eye, she saw her former friend glare, turn and head for the other side of the room where Danny was serving customers.
Good. Holly didn’t have the time or energy to fend off unwanted advances from him.
The game ended close to eleven o’clock, after going into overtime, with the Saints ultimately losing.
Disappointed, the crowd quickly dispersed, leaving the Crawdad Hole empty by midnight.
Holly and Danny quickly stacked chairs on the tables. While Holly swept, Danny mopped. Halfway through the room, Holly glanced up to find that Simon had found another broom and had started sweeping from the opposite side of the restaurant, working his way toward her. They finished quickly and dumped the contents of the dustpan in the garbage. Simon started for the storeroom but was intercepted by Rene, carrying another mop. When Simon began mopping from the other end of the room, Holly insisted on taking the mop from him. “You’re doing your job. Let me do mine, or Rene will dock my pay.”
Simon relinquished his hold on the mop and rejoined Rene at the bar, talking to the older man as he restocked the shelves and thoroughly cleaned every surface.
By the time they finished the floors, it was twelve thirty, and Holly was beyond tired and glad she didn’t have to drive back to the houseboat.
She dragged herself up into the passenger seat of Simon’s truck and leaned her head back. “There are advantages to having a bodyguard,” she murmured. “I can let him drive, while I pass out.”
“Close your eyes,” he said. “I’ll wake you when we get there.”
“It’s only a ten-minute drive.” But she closed her eyes and was asleep before Simon left the parking lot.
The chirp of a cell phone brought her back to the surface to find they’d arrived at the houseboat.
The cell phone chirped again as Simon shifted into park. He grabbed the device from the cupholder and answered, “Whatcha got, Swede?”
Instantly awake, Holly sat up straighter and leaned toward Simon, hoping to hear what his computer guy had to say.
“Hold one,” Simon said. “Holly’s here with me. I’m going to put you on speaker.”
He touched a button on his phone and said, “Shoot.”
“Hi, Holly. Swede here. I did some digging on the death of your friend Paul Jameson, and I’m still working on the disappearances of your parents.”
“What did you find?” Holly asked.
“Like I said, I’m still working on your parents, but I ran across an anomaly in the coroner’s autopsy of Paul Jameson.”
