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It was a low blow, but effective. As much as Livia wanted to go in search of the missing Larry Sutton, she couldn’t miss the party. Whatever her feelings toward her family and the Benoit legacy, she tried to avoid publicly insulting them. People would be looking to see if she was there or if she’d decided to snub her cousin. She wasn’t going to give them a reason to gossip.
“Fine,” she muttered, pointing a finger toward her friend. “But call me the second you find out something.”
“I promise.”
CHAPTER 15
La Harpe, LA
Saturday, July 5th
It didn’t take GPS to locate Gator Bob’s Pub. La Harpe was a town of five hundred citizens who crowded together along the edge of the bayou. A handful of businesses lined the downtown square, but only one had a gator holding a beer painted on the front window.
Pulling into an empty spot directly in front of the narrow brick building with a tin roof, Bryce strapped her gun beneath her shirt before she locked the SUV and headed inside. She didn’t expect any trouble, but she hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d warned Livia that these small towns could be dangerous. They didn’t like outsiders poking into their business. Especially if the outsider also happened to be a law official.
Glancing up and down the empty sidewalk, Bryce pushed open the glass door, wincing at the bell that jingled her arrival. In the thick silence of the shadowed space it sounded unnaturally loud. She stepped inside, immediately smacked in the face with the pungent stench of sour beer and stale popcorn.
She paused to skim her gaze over the heavy wooden bar along one side of the room with a smoky glass behind it and shelves lined with bottles of liquor. The bar itself was carved from a dark wood that was polished until it glowed and edged with brass trim. There were a handful of round wooden tables in the center of the space and at the very back were a couple booths. One booth was currently occupied with four middle-aged men who were slumped in the leather seats as if they’d started drinking last night and hadn’t stopped.
Unfortunately, none of them resembled Larry Sutton. And none of them bothered to glance her way as she strolled toward the bar. She assumed that meant they didn’t work there.
“Pull up a seat,” a gruff voice called out on cue. “I’ll be right there.”
A minute later, a swinging door next to the booths was shoved open and a big man carrying a tray of glass mugs appeared. He looked to be over six feet and at least three hundred pounds. He was wearing worn jeans and a T-shirt with the Gator Brew logo on the front that was stretched so tight she feared it might split up the side when he lowered the tray onto one of the tables.
At last turning toward her, he reached up to smooth back his few remaining strands of gray hair, looking mildly surprised to discover a stranger.
“If you’re looking for lunch, you’ll have to go to the café on the corner. I don’t serve food,” he warned.
“Officer Swift.” Bryce pulled out her badge and held it toward him.
“A cop?” He allowed his dark gaze to skim down her body, admiring her white shorts and long, bare legs. “Shame.”
Bryce snapped the badge shut. “Trust me, that’s not how you want to start this conversation.”
The man flinched at the icy warning in her voice. “Right.” He cleared his throat. “If this is about my liquor license I just had it renewed. I have the paperwork in the back.”
“I’m not here about your liquor license. I’m looking for information. Are you the owner?”
“I am. Bob Payson.”
She glanced around the nearly empty bar. It was just after noon. Too early for anyone but hardened drinkers to be in a pub.
“I’m trying to track down a customer of yours.”
Bob scowled, his beefy face flushing as if she’d insulted him. “I’m no snitch.”
“He’s not in trouble.”
“Then why are you looking for him?”
“There’s a possibility he’s missing.”
“A possibility?” Bob’s suspicion deepened. He obviously had trust issues when it came to cops. “What’s that mean?”
“Can we sit down?”
His jaw bunched. Was he considering the pleasure of telling her no? If he was, he wisely squashed the urge and nodded toward the nearby table. He moved to take a seat, waiting for her to join him before he folded his arms over his chest and eyed her warily. “So who’s missing?”
