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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.
    “The dock doesn’t look too sturdy,” Max said. “We’re going to get our feet wet, but I don’t think stepping out on that relic is a good idea.”
    “I agree,” Colette said and handed Max the rifle while she stepped out onto the muddy bank. She sank several inches in the soupy, black mud and felt mud and water ooze into her tennis shoes.
    She took the rifle back from Max and plodded up the bank until she hit firm ground. “I hope we don’t have to run. I just added ten pounds of weight directly on my feet.”
    “Yeah,” Max said as he stepped carefully out of the boat. “You can move slowly to minimize impact, but Louisiana mud is still going to claim a portion of your legs. We really weren’t prepared for this. We need boots.”
    “Do you think we should have gone back for equipment?”
    “No. We were already here, and the longer Anna is missing, the more likely something bad will happen. We can take a look around, and if we don’t find anything, we’ll come back tomorrow better prepared.”
    “I guess we tipped our hand by coming here, right? If we’d left earlier, it would have given them all the time in the world to design stories and hide things. Assuming the locals are part of whatever Anna got into.”
    “Yeah, but sending us on a wild-goose chase would give them the same opportunity.”
    “I hadn’t thought about that. Danny could easily have sent us off in the wrong direction.” She sighed. “I would make a horrible criminal.”
    “Fortunately for law enforcement, most people do.” Max scanned the brush and pointed just to the left of where they stood. “I think I see the trail there.”
    He walked about ten feet into the undergrowth and paused, scanning the area again. “It’s definitely not well traveled, but I don’t see signs of another trail. This must be the one.”
    Colette peered down the tiny path, but within a matter of feet, the dense undergrowth had swallowed up the tiny trail. She took a deep breath, trying not to think about all the things that could go wrong following this tiny trail into the unknown.
    “You ready?” he asked.
    “As ready as I’m getting.”
    “Make sure you keep the shotgun handy, but stay close to me. The last thing we need is an accident with that gun.”
    He pushed some brush aside and started down the trail at a steady pace. She swallowed, then clutched the shotgun and fell in step a foot behind Max. Far enough away not to bump into him but close enough that she couldn’t lift the shotgun and fire on him if panicked. He set a slow, deliberate pace, scanning the brush in front of them as well as the sides. The cypress trees clustered closer and closer together, reducing visibility to the equivalent of twilight.
    She clutched the gun, tucking her arms as close to her body as possible. The dying bushes and brambles scratched her bare arms as they passed down the trail. When tiny rays of sunlight managed to slip through the canopy of trees, huge spiderwebs glittered.
    “Watch overhead, will you?” he asked. “I’m casing the ground and scanning ahead and to the sides, but snakes may still be in the trees.”
    Colette said a silent prayer as she looked up into the branches ahead of them. If a snake fell out of a tree onto her, the investigation would be over. She was certain she’d have a heart attack on the spot.
    “If someone lives back here, why isn’t this path more worn?” she asked.
    “Given that the dock was also falling apart, my guess is they have another way to get to the living quarters and have abandoned the old