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seemed to have softened a bit. “How much farther is it?”
    A soft breeze wafted a sewage-like scent over the water and I coughed, covering my nose with my hand. “Never mind. Obviously we’re close.”
    “You might want to break out that stuff Walter gave us.”
    I was way ahead of him. I had my purse open and was pulling the little plastic jar out. “So you never told me what you and Walter talked about.”
    “While you were shopping?”
    I handed him the jar, arching an eyebrow at his grin. “It was a cool store. Sue me.”
    He laughed, shaking his head. I couldn’t help noticing how the intense Louisiana sun painted his coal-black hair with blue highlights. He had the most beautiful, thick black hair, which waved a little on top and curled just over his ears.
    “…boat. He said the guy always paid cash.”
    I shook myself out of my daydream and sat up straighter. “Wait…Walter sold Bubba a boat?”
    Cal cut the power on the motor. “Among other things, yes.”
    “What kinds of things?”
    “Things you wouldn’t use in a ramshackle cabin on a stinky fishing island.” He jerked his chin toward something behind me.
    I turned and saw a series of small, broken down buildings dotting the island we were slowly approaching.
    The boat lurched softly forward. Cal was using a long pole to maneuver it around several clusters of the tree knees.
    “Sheets, blankets, cookware. He bought some DVDs.”
    My eyes widened. “No electricity out here,” I offered unnecessarily.
    “Nope.”
    “Then this is a wasted trip.”
    “Not necessarily. This is where the body was found. Walter told me exactly where it was. I’d like to examine the spot.”
    I nodded. “Makes sense.”
    “Walter said Bubba was seen on Number Two several times by a local alligator hunter named Borne, so they knew he hung out here.”
    I looked out over the muddy water, wondering where I’d heard the name Borne before. Then I remembered. “The woman who made my purse is named Borne. I wonder if there’s a connection.”
    “In a town as small as Sinful? There has to be. I’ll ask Walter about it when we get back.”
    Movement on the bank drew my eye and I watched in horror as a huge gator slithered off the sandy looking soil into the water. “Um, did you bring any kind of weapon?”
    “Just my wits.”
    I frowned. “Nothin’ against your wits but—”
    “There!” He pointed to a spot where the water swelled inward in a small cove. A large cypress tree arched out over the water, its lower branches tangling in a clump of knees. “There’s no boat. I wonder who took it,” Cal mused aloud.
    He poled our boat toward shore and ran the sloped front end onto the tall grass covering the ground along the water. “You wait here until I make sure nothing’s lurking up there.”
    “What if there is? You gonna charm it to death?” I really didn’t want to plunge into that tall grass without knowing what was in it, but I was surprised to discover I didn’t want him to either.
    Cal reached down by his feet, pulling a long, curved blade with a wooden handle out from under his bench. “Walter suggested I bring this scythe. He said the island gets a little wooly this time of year.”
    I watched him step from the boat and start the process of forging a path through the grass. It didn’t take long for me to forget to be worried about him and instead find myself focusing on the delightful play of muscles under his shirt as he swung the scythe.
    The scenery, which was already incredible despite the wooliness, had just gotten a hell of a lot better.
     
     
     

 
     
     
    CHAPTER SIX
     
    We found Bubba’s camp about a hundred yards from the water. A merry coil of snakes was living under his blanket. Luckily Cal found that little gem instead of me! And the wind and rain had all but battered the ramshackle collection of sticks and cardboard to the ground.
    Bubba’s food stores consisted of badly opened cans of tuna fish and soup, and a plastic