Jana DeLeon - The Vanishing

“Ain’t no way to get back to the swamp people but by boat. You got one?”

“No. I was hoping to rent one, but if that’s not possible here, I guess I’ll head back to New Orleans and rustle one up.”

Danny shook his head. “Well, I sure do give you dedication to your word. I can loan you the boat that was stolen, no charge. It’s small but you can’t fit much where you’ll be going. I’ll have to charge you for the gas, though. It’s been a slow month.”

“That’s no problem. I appreciate the loan.”

“You may not be so grateful once you get out into the swamp. It’s no place for the untrained. Did you grow up around these parts?”

“Vodoun. I did plenty of tromping through the swamp as a boy.”

“I thought your accent was local,” Danny said. “Well, then you might be all right, but I’ll loan you my shotgun, just in case.” He waved to the back door and started walking toward it. “Boat’s out back. Let’s get it in the water and then I’ll tell you where to start looking.”

Colette struggled with feelings of relief, anticipation and fear that they were already too late to help Anna. If everything turned out badly, she had to be ready to accept that at least she had an answer. Living without one would be something she never could have accepted.

Max helped Danny push the tiny, flat-bottom, aluminum boat into the bayou, and Danny tied it off at the dock. Then he pointed west down the bayou.

“You’re going to want to head that way about a mile,” Danny said. “When you come to the cypress tree that’s been split by lightning, take a right into that channel. Follow it for another two miles or so into the swamp. When you see a line of crab pots, look east and you’ll see a dock almost hidden in the undergrowth. There’s a cabin about fifty yards back from the dock. You got that?”

“Yeah, it seems straightforward enough.”

“Finding a cabin isn’t the problem. The real danger comes if you find the people. They don’t take kindly to strangers, and they’re just as apt to shoot you as talk to you. Make sure you tell them straight out that you’re not the police. They probably don’t even know the rules, much less follow them, so it causes them some problems with the law on occasion. There’s no love lost there.”

“I’ll make sure I yell it loudly.”

“Just a minute,” Danny said and walked back inside the gas station and came back a few minutes later with a shotgun that he handed to Max.

Max checked the gun and took the handful of spare bullets that Danny offered. “Thanks. I hope I won’t need to use this.”

“Me, too,” Danny said. “The walk from the dock to the cabin is probably the most dangerous part. Be sure to watch for snakes and alligators, and of course, any unhappy swamp people. You don’t stand much of a chance against any of them in a one-on-one fight, except maybe a snake, and I guess I don’t have to tell you how far off the hospital is.”

Danny looked over at Colette. “Ma’am, are you sure you want to go? You’re welcome to wait here if you’d like.”

“No, thank you,” Colette replied. “I’m the one who made the promise. I can’t let someone else take all the risk for keeping my word.”

Danny grinned. “You got spunk. I like that.” He walked toward the gas station and gave them a wave. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

“You know, he’s right,” Max said. “You don’t have to come. In fact, it would probably be safer if you didn’t.”

“I don’t know that I agree.” Colette glanced back at the town. “I don’t get a good feeling about this place.”

Max nodded. “There’s definitely an undercurrent of something unpleasant. More than just resenting nosy strangers.”

“Do you think they know something about Anna that they’re not telling us?”

“Maybe, or they may be hiding something completely unrelated that they don’t want us to stumble onto. It’s impossible to say.”

“Well, despite the many dangers of the swamp, I’d rather be out there with you. Besides, if we find people who know Anna, you won’t be able to answer questions they may have about her. I can. And the reality is, you’ll probably look less threatening to them with a woman tagging along.”

“That’s true enough.”

“There’s something that bothers me,” Colette said. “Anna took money out of her account before coming here. Why would she steal the boat when she could have rented it?”

“You said she wasn’t supposed to return, right? Maybe she didn’t want anyone knowing she was coming. If she’d rented the boat, word would have spread. A young girl traipsing around the swamp alone would raise some eyebrows.”

“I guess so.”

Max pulled his cell phone from his pocket and frowned. “No service. I figured as much, but it means we have no backup. You still sure?”

She should have known that cell phones would be useless this deep in bayou country, but it hadn’t even crossed her mind. Still, it didn’t change what they had to do.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay,” he said and motioned to the boat. “Hop in and I’ll push us off.”

Colette stepped into the boat and took a seat on the narrow bench in the middle. Max untied the boat and pushed it from the dock, stepping into the boat as it backed away. He took a seat at the back and started the outboard motor, then powered the boat down the bayou in the direction Danny had indicated.

As soon as they were out of sight of the town, he slowed down to a crawl. “Do you know how to fire a shotgun?” he asked.

“Doesn’t everyone in Louisiana? The natives, anyway.”

Max smiled. “Probably.” He handed her the rifle. “I have my pistol, but I didn’t want to turn down the offer of the rifle. If you’re comfortable handling it, then I think it’s better if we’re both armed.”

Colette took the rifle and laid it across her legs. “I can handle it.”

The weight of the rifle across her legs provided a bit more feeling of security. She trusted Max to protect her to the best of his abilities, but sometimes the swamp offered up more than any one man could handle. If the legends were to be believed, the swamps of Mystere Parish could offer up more than a team of men could handle.

Max increased the boat’s speed and they continued down the bayou. The farther they progressed, the narrower the channel became until the trees from each bank met each other at the tops, creating a dark tunnel.

Colette blinked a couple of times, trying to hurry her eyes to adjust to the dim light. She scanned the bank as they went. She told herself she was looking for a sign of habitation, but Colette knew that deep down, she was hoping to spot Anna standing on the bank, alive and well and ready to go back to New Orleans and resume her new life again.

Ready to escape this dank tomb of moss and dead vegetation.

Max slowed the boat’s speed even more as the waterway became narrower and more clogged with debris. Decaying water lilies spread out in front of them, a cover of death over the still water. The smell of salt water, mud and rot filled the silent air. Only the hum of the boat motor echoed around them.

Even for the middle of the day, which was traditionally nap time in the swamp, it was too quiet. It was as if all living things had gone still in order to watch them as they moved deeper into the abyss. For a practical woman like Colette, it bothered her how unnerved she felt. One look at the grim expression on Max’s face let her know he wasn’t any happier with the situation than she was.

“Over there,” he said finally, breaking the silence.

She looked toward the shore where he pointed, and could barely make out a dock, hidden in the tall marsh grass. Max guided the boat over to the dock and inched it onto the bank.