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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