“Am I? You know I love a good plan,” she said, her voice going low.

That was when he heard the sound of an outboard motor approaching. He wasn’t going to have time to play.

Sylvie frowned. “Can you see who it is?”

Rene stood up as the sheriff’s boat docked. “It’s Armie.”

Armie LaVigne was in his khakis, his hat on his head. “Hey, Rene, are you okay? Your boat’s floating about half a mile back. Almost gave me a heart attack. Do you think I want to go and tell Marcelle Martine her daughter is missing?”

Sylvie moved beside him and waved. “You don’t have to tell her a thing, Sheriff. I’ll handle my momma. Now, who all knows you came out here?”

Armie started to walk up the dock as Sylvie laid out her plans.

*   *   *

Sylvie was still thinking about the situation two hours later as they were making their way home.

When she thought about it, it wasn’t that different than that time when she had to figure out which of the senator’s team members was leaking information to the opposing party. The trouble this time was she didn’t want to scare the spy off. She needed to control the narrative. She needed everyone to believe the story they’d concocted, and she could see a weak link in their chain. She hoped she didn’t offend her husband.

The key to a good cover-up was ensuring that all parties knew their role. And that meant she had to decide which parties couldn’t be trusted with a role at all. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Cricket Darois had her son’s best interests at heart. It was that Cricket sometimes forgot what she was or wasn’t supposed to say.

“So the only people who are going to know anything at all are you and me and Armie,” Rene said as he made the turn that put them on the long driveway to Darois House. “I think that’s a good idea. I trust Armie. He’s solid.”

“Armie is perfectly happy saying he found us on one of the smaller islands after our boat motor died.” She was warm and happy again since Lisa Guidry had been kind enough to let her and Rene use the small shower in the apartment above Guidry’s. She and her husband owned the restaurant and the marina and boat shop attached. She and Remy had been there early this morning getting ready for the lunch crowd. Lisa had seen Armie bring them in, towing Rene’s boat behind the county vehicle. She’d run down to the marina, offering the apartment to them if they wanted to clean up.

And she’d brought them coffee and breakfast. Sylvie had needed the coffee so much.