Free Trouble in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon Page A

it probably wouldn’t take Helena long to get around to that one either, given that the hotel owner, Mildred, had essentially raised Maryse after her mother died.
She turned the steering wheel and guided her boat into a large offshoot of the bayou that ran parallel to downtown Mudbug. The bayou was lined with cypress trees on one side and historical homes on the other, Helena’s estate being the largest, of course. Maryse could see the white, imposing monstrosity as soon as she made the turn. She wondered for about the millionth time what God could possibly be thinking by sending a scientist a ghost.
She’d always figured He had a sense of humor, but this was ridiculous.
Cutting her boat over toward the cypress trees, she let off the throttle and tried to find the tiny shoots of greenery she needed for the trials. They’d been here just last week, she could have sworn it, but no matter how hard she looked, the plant in question seemed to evade her. She had just leaned over the side of the boat to finger something that looked reasonably close to the plant in question when she heard shouting behind her.
Maryse groaned, afraid to look. She turned around and confirmed this world was definitely going to hell in a hand-basket.
Helena Henry was walking on water.

Chapter Five
The bayou tide was moving in a slow roll out toward the Gulf. But Helena Henry was a force of her own, inexorably making her way against the current. Every move forward put her a little farther downstream, and then every five steps or so, she’d jog a bit upstream, huffing like she was about to keel over.
If she hadn’t already been dead, that is.
Maryse stared at Helena and frowned, not certain whether to be more worried about another visit with the ghost or the fact that her physical fitness level apparently wouldn’t get any better in death. Perhaps she should start eating better and working out more. Or at least working out more—giving up beer was out of the question.
It took another couple of minutes for Helena to make it across the bayou and climb over the side of Maryse’s boat. She slumped onto the bench, dragging huge breaths in and out.
“Are you all right?” Maryse asked.
“Of course not.” Helena shot her a dirty look. “I’m dead.”
“Damn it, I know that. I just thought…I didn’t know…never mind.” The whole situation was simply too mind-boggling for thought.
“Sort of an ass-ripper, huh?” Helena said. “You’d think you’d get a better body if you’re destined to roam the Earth as a spirit.”
Maryse shook her head. “You don’t know any such thing about your destiny. Maybe the line’s too long at the Pearly Gates—maybe there was a thunderstorm on Cloud Nine and all the flights are delayed.” Maybe Hell’s full and they’re waiting for an opening.
“Maybe I’m stuck here until I figure out who killed me,” Helena said.
Maryse sat back on her seat with a sigh. “We’ve already had this discussion, Helena. I’m not an investigator and don’t want to be. In fact, I don’t want to be involved in this at all. You’ve already got Harold gunning for me—not that I’m complaining about the inheritance—but my point is my plate is not just full, it’s overflowing. I’m not about to get myself deeper in the hole by doing whatever you had in mind.”
Helena grinned. “I was thinking we’d start with a little B&E.”
“Oh, no.” Maryse shook her head. “I am not breaking into anything. I know you might find this hard to believe, but you’re not worth going to jail for, game preserve or no.”
“Oh, c’mon, Maryse. You never want to have any fun. Besides, technically, I own the house we’d be breaking into.”
“Not anymore you don’t. The historical society does.”
“But no one’s there. I’ve already checked. It won’t take ten minutes at the most.”
Maryse shook her head again, her jaw set. “No way.”
Helena studied her for a moment. “If you just do this one little break-in, I