The Miss Fortune Series: Nearly Departed (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Shari Hearn

probably wouldn’t even be able to
say goodbye. Not even to Carter.
    “It’s
actually the city of Sinful paying for it,” Ida Belle said. “Celia invited all
the business leaders and even persuaded the director of that movie, along with
his location scout, to attend. She’s hoping he’ll give Sinful one more chance. She’s
calling it the Happy Birthday Mayor Celia, See what Sinful has to
offer party.”
    “Well, if
they want to shoot a film starring a bunch of crazy extras, then they’re in the
right place.” I glanced at the clock. “It’s after eleven? I slept that late?
Why didn’t anyone wake me?”
    “Gertie and
I figured you could use the sleep. You didn’t even hear Ally come by with the
cake.”
    “So where’s
Gertie?”
    “She forgot
to bring along her thyroid medicine and vitamins, so she went home to get
them.”
    I cast a
worried glance at Ida Belle.
    “She promised
to text when she got there and text every ten minutes until she left.”
    “It
shouldn’t take her ten minutes to run inside and get her medication and
vitamins.”
    “She’s got
her Glock at the ready.”
    “One little
old lady and a Glock are no match for a Russian hitman. What if he followed
her? He might want to use her to flush me out.”
    I grabbed
for the keys to my Jeep from the counter.
    “What are
you doing?”
    “Going to
get her. You don’t know what these people are capable of.”
    Ida Belle
touched my shoulder. “Look, I’ve been thinking. None of this is making sense. I
just don’t see a Russian hitman fitting into this picture.”
    “Jo-Jo said
the guy sounded Russian.”
    “Jo-Jo once
ran his shorts up the flagpole on Main.”
    “So?”
    “While he
was still in them.” Ida Belle took my keys and placed them back on the counter.
“My point is, Jo-Jo wouldn’t know a New York accent from a Russian accent.”
    “Okay, say
this isn’t a hitman out to get me. Someone’s still trying to get at one of us.
Gertie shouldn’t be out on her own.”
    Ida Belle
sighed and set her spatula down on the spoon rest. “You know, we’ve faced
threats before. I can’t tell you how many times over the years we’ve butted
heads with some pretty unsavory characters. Death threats come with the
territory.”
    I glared at
Ida Belle. “This wasn’t a threat. The bomb was attempted murder. And last night
some guy was poking around my house at midnight. And he could have sounded
Russian.”
    Ida Belle’s
phone buzzed from inside her pants pocket. She pulled it out and checked it.
“Dear Lord.”
    “What?” My pulse
shot up. I reached for the Jeep keys again.
    She held up
her hand to calm me. “It’s Gertie. Jo-Jo was walking through the neighborhood
and spotted her as she was going inside her house. They’re on their way over
here so he can borrow the boat and take a quick ride down the bayou.”
    “A boat
ride?”
    Ida Belle
put her phone back in her pocket. “He did help us out last night.”
    “So what.
He’s still creepy.”
    “Oh, come
on, you never had a crush on a teacher?”
    “Yeah, but
I never looked him up as an adult.”
    “This is a
small town. Former students always drop by to say ‘hi’ to Gertie.”
    “Fine.” I
plopped down in a chair at the kitchen table. “She can have a little boat ride
with him.”
    “Well,
thank you, Boss of Us.” Ida Belle slapped a couple pieces of bacon on a plate,
along with a scoop of scrambled eggs and hash browns, and slammed the plate
down on the table in front of me. She yanked out one of the chairs and sat.
    I picked up
a fork. But I had no appetite. I laid the fork down. “I’m sorry. I’m just a
little on edge.”
    “Me too,”
Ida Belle said. “I don’t want you to go.”
    “Me neither.
But if Jo-Jo’s right—”
    “He’s not.”
    “I can’t
chance it and risk anyone else getting hurt. I have to call for an extraction,
and you know it. The three of us are the best when it comes to the local
yahoos. But when it comes to an