Scrub-a-dub Dead. Barbara Colley
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Sparkling Reviews and Shining Praise for Barbara Colley and Her Charlotte LaRue Mysteries!
SCRUB-A-DUB DEAD
“Colley has not lost her flair for throwing Charlotte into dangerous situations.”
—Library Journal
MARRIED TO THE MOP
“This series is light, well-written, and a lot of fun.”
—The Kingston Observer
“Interesting and fast moving is this newest mystery from Colley.”
—St. Charles Herald-Guide
“Charlotte is a formidable and extremely likeable character. There are enough turns and twists in the mystery to keep you guessing and glued to the book.”
—Reviewing the Evidence.com
WIPED OUT
“One to add to any mystery lover’s must-read list…a well-written, skillfully crafted story.”
—L’Observateur Newspaper
POLISHED OFF
“If you like Southern mysteries, warm and charming sleuths, or simply reading about New Orleans, you will enjoy Polished Off.”
—Cozies, Capers, and Crimes
DEATH TIDIES UP
“Charlotte is a keeper…an entertaining way to put off sorting that closet or scrubbing down the tiles.”
—New Orleans Times-Picayune
MAID FOR MURDER
“Provides a maid’s eye view of New Orleans’ rich and famous, and proves that murder can’t be swept under the rug.”
—Joanne Fluke, author of Carrot Cake Murder
Books by Barbara Colley
MAID FOR MURDER
DEATH TIDIES UP
POLISHED OFF
WIPED OUT
MARRIED TO THE MOP
SCRUB-A-DUB DEAD
WASH AND DIE
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
A Charlotte LaRue Mystery
Scrub-a-Dub Dead
BARBARA COLLEY
KENSINGTON BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
To New Orleans, a city that refuses to die in spite of a
catastrophic hurricane.
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all who so generously gave me advice and information while I was writing this book: Molly Bolden, bookseller extraordinaire of Bent Pages in Houma, Louisiana; Nicholas A. Genovese, Jr.; authors Rexanne Becnel, Jessica Ferguson, Marie Goodwin, and Karen Young.
I also want to thank Evan Marshall and John Scognamiglio. Their support and advice is invaluable.
Any mistakes made or liberties taken in the name of fiction are solely my own.
Chapter 1
The water was rising. It was in her house, already waist high and still inching higher.
Trapped.
She was trapped like a rat on a sinking ship. She should have left like the others. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. Too late now. She’d waited too long.
Get higher.
The attic. Get up in the attic. Surely the water won’t get as high as the attic…
With a gasp, Charlotte LaRue sat straight up in bed, her heart pounding like a jackhammer. In spite of the air-conditioner running on high to counter the outside heat and humidity, her pajama top was damp with sweat.
A nightmare. Calm down, it was just a nightmare. You’re safe. You’re high and dry.
Charlotte sighed and glanced at the bedside clock. Six A.M. Almost time to get up anyway. With a shake of her head, she reached over and shut off the alarm that she’d set for six-thirty, then climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
It had been a while since she’d had the nightmare, but with the one-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita fast approaching, everyone in New Orleans was on edge wondering what the odds were that yet another catastrophic storm could hit.
Strange. The whole nightmare thing was strange, especially since she hadn’t even been in the city when the levees broke. Unlike so many others who had chosen to stay or couldn’t get out during Katrina, she and most of her family had left well in advance. She shuddered. How horrible it must have been for those who had no transportation, who had no way of leaving.
But the fact remained that she had left. So why would she be having the nightmare at all?
Second-hand trauma, they called it. “And TV,” she muttered as she squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush. She had sat glued to the television almost 24/7 and watched the horrors of the aftermath of the storm…the levees breaking…the water rising…people wading through armpit-high water…people trapped on their roofs for days without food or water…the daring helicopter rescues…
With a shudder, Charlotte recapped the toothpaste. No time to dwell on it now. If she didn’t get a move on, she was going to be late. And one thing she didn’t want was to be late for this particular job.
Charlotte brushed her teeth then rinsed her mouth and toothbrush. Cleaning hotel rooms was not her favorite type of work. Years ago when she’d started Maid-for-a-Day, she’d made the decision that her cleaning service would be strictly domestic. But her old friend Carrie Rogers had called in a favor and asked for Charlotte’s help.
Unlike Charlotte, Carrie ran a commercial cleaning service, and Carrie was shorthanded. In spite of Charlotte’s own hectic schedule, there was no way she could refuse, especially after Carrie had so generously offered Charlotte and her family the use of her country home during the Katrina evacuation. If not for Carrie’s generosity, they would have ended up in a shelter, or worse, camping out and sleeping in their cars.
After turning on the shower, Charlotte took off her pajamas and slipped a shower cap over her hair. Though Carrie’s country home had been small, it was a soothing oasis in