Secrets in the Water

Chapter 1: Where Bodies Lie

     Gia Boudreaux stepped out onto the bank from the black jeep, propping her sunglasses on her head as she took in the murky water of the swamp, and abandoned boat. The jeep swayed from a dog’s wildly wagging tail as her partner, Liam, climbed out of the passenger seat. Gia straightened her pants, taking a deep breath. The call had come in about an hour ago, from an old fisherman who had found the body. 
     His body.
     Gia rubbed her face, muttering. Today was going to suck. 
     Liam glanced over, concern lining his tan face and blue eyes. “Boudreaux, you can sit this one out if you need to…it’s gonna be hard.” She just nodded, her black combat boots crunching sticks and twigs as she stepped to the boat, and hauled it ashore with Liam’s help. Her breath caught at what she saw in the bottom…
     Cameron LeBlanc had been shot once in the back of the head, point blank. Dried blood coated the old wood of the fishing boat, caked into the cracks from the Louisiana sun. He had fallen face-down, blood still slightly fresh there. His brown hair was messy…he could have been asleep, were it not for the hole burrowing through his skull.
     Gia stepped back as quickly as she could to let the medical examiner see him. Liam moved over, camera around his neck. “Boudreaux, sit down. You’re way more pale than usual…if that’s even possible.” She moved back to the car, Sam barking from his spot in the backseat. His chocolate colored fur covered the seats, Gia taking a deep breath adjusting his vest. 
     Cameron…
     How was she going to tell Minnie that her older brother was dead? The girl would be absolutely devastated. 
Small footprints trailed up the dirt to the gravel road, where they stopped suddenly. Dried blood trailed them, Gia shaking a bit as she glanced back up at Liam.
     Her hand was still in Sam's fur as the medical examiner backed away from the boat, moving to her. “Shot from the back, dead for about eight hours now. Whoever killed him shot him, paddled to shore, got out, and pushed the boat back out to the swamp.” She nodded and he moved off, other examiners moving Cameron's body from the boat. Pictures had been taken before they even got there, so there wasn’t much else to do. 
     The day was turning out to be gorgeous…the sun was out but there was a breeze, making the branches and leaves on the trees in and around the water sway. Divers sent the water moving in rolling ripples, Gia scanning the swamp’s surface for snakes or alligators. Her eyes caught on a patterned body halfway in the water, a bullet wound through its skull.
The cottonmouth, better known as a water moccasin, looked to be moving due to the waves from the water. But it was very obviously dead, Liam moving over quickly. “Damn…poor snake.” He snapped a picture of it before getting an examiner over, the woman kneeling down. “It’s been dead for about the same amount of time as Cameron…huh, weird. We’ll take it to the lab, though.”
Liam led her back to the car, rubbing his forehead. “What the hell was Cameron doing out here, Gia?” She shook her head, Sam on a leash next to her. “He never said anything to me. I…we may have been friends, but he didn’t tell me much about what he did during the day.”
     Liam scowled, his eyes harsh. Gia rolled up the sleeves to her blue button down, flicking her black braid over her shoulder. “We’d better head over to his house…his sister needs to know.” Leaves crunched as they walked back to the car, Gia getting Sam in the back. She got in the passenger seat, quiet. “Is the sister the only family?” She nodded, watching the other members of their team assess the area as she and Liam pulled away. “Minnie is his younger sister. Their mother died when Cameron was seven and Minnie was two, and their dad died last year. Left the money and the house to Cameron.” Gia flipped through a case file that had been tossed aside, making note to put it away when they got back to the office. 
     Liam frowned. “There were no problems between them about it? Minnie wasn’t jealous?” Gia shrugged a bit. “If she did, she hid it well. She told me that she was perfectly fine with the decision, actually. Told Cam that she didn’t want any of the responsibility that came with the money.” Doubt glimmered in his eyes, but he nodded. “Alright.” They drove in silence as they pulled back into the city, driving past the airport and seafood market. She stayed quiet as they pulled up the house’s driveway, large oak trees casting shadows on the pavement. The swamp edge rested on the manor’s property, a dock sitting in the murky water. 
     Gia got Sam on his leash and helped him leap out of the car, Liam waiting for her at the door. Gia took notice of the pretty white chrysanthemums blooming next to the stairs, Liam knocking on the large brown door. It was a few moments before Minnie answered, smiling at them. Her brown and white hair was up in a bun, flour coating her apron and hands. “Gia! Mr. Hill. Please, come in.” She backed off so they could move through the door, letting it close behind them. Gia nodded lightly, but Minnie hugged her anyway. “Oh, it’s been a while since Cameron and I have seen your face! You may go wait in the sitting room, I just have to wash my hands!” She moved off quickly, untying the apron as she went. Liam raised an eyebrow at Gia, who just grinned and moved into the plush, dark sitting room. The red couch was soft beneath her hands, the carpet vacuumed and clean. Sam sat at Gia’s feet, tail wagging as Minnie came back in with cups and a tea kettle. “So, what do I owe the visit to?” She asked, handing them cups and sitting.
     Gia noted the way she limped a bit, but Minnie’s jeans covered any wound or area of bother. Liam glanced at Gia, quiet.
     Do you want to tell her, or should I?
Gia couldn’t do it. Usually she’d be perfectly fine telling a family that a loved one had turned up, dead or alive, and although she felt sympathy for them, it never hurt the way this case did. She shook her head, Liam taking a breath. “Miss LeBlanc, I’m so sorry to inform you that earlier this morning, your brother’s body was found in a boat, drifting along the swamp.”
     Minnie’s teacup rattled against the saucer, and then both cracked against the floor. Shock, and fear covered her face. “Wh-What? Cam..Cam’s dead?!” She whimpered, Sam moving over and placing his head in her lap. She stared at the broken porcelain on the floor, shaking. Liam winced, glancing at Gia. “Miss LeBlanc…” She held up a hand, her hazel eyes filling with tears. “You’re telling me that my brother, my only family left, is dead.” Gia nodded slowly, Sam moving back over as Minnie rubbed her face. “How…How did he die?” She glanced between the two, before Gia spoke. “Gunshot wound to the head. No sign of struggle.” Her hands shook as she stood, still pale. “Thank you, detectives. You…may leave.” Liam stood silently, and Gia did as well. 
     Minnie showed the two to the door, quiet. "Thank you…for informing me." She whispered, shutting the large door quickly. Liam huffed a bit, but led Sam and Gia down to the car. “Well, that went just about as well as I thought it would.” Gia snorted at the attempt of humor, just getting Sam in the backseat.
Minnie must’ve been heartbroken…Gia knew she was. Days gone from her brother, days they thought they’d have each other for. Gia usually didn’t get emotional, but the thought of Cam disappearing from her life completely…
She didn’t finish the thought as she stared out the window, Liam driving them back to the office.