Dead Wreckoning - by Sylvia Dickey Smith

Book Three In The Sidra Smart Series:

Sidra Smart's search for an elusive schooner stirs up ruthless smugglers and the spirits of Privateer Jean Lafitte and Pirate Queen Mary Anne Radcliff. Newly licensed private investigator Sidra Smart reluctantly takes on the pro-bono case of Boo Murphy, a poor, countrified woman accused of murder. When Boo tells her tale of stumbling on the Hotspur, half-buried in a Texas swamp, everyone is convinced she's found treasure worth millions. As Sidra searches for both the schooner and evidence to clear her client, she battles an unknown enemy, and soon discovers they know their business much better than she knows hers. After several close calls, not only does Sid question her own abilities, she discovers her trusted mentor George Léger is involved in illegal activities that threatens not only their friendship, but also their lives. Even Slider, her half-paranoid, half Chesapeake Bay retriever battles demons from his past as the investigation takes Sidra back to familiar small town territory. Complicated family histories dating back centuries and feuding family relationships muddy the clues and the truth seems as elusive as the spectral schooner. When all seems lost, eighteenth century spirits of infamous Jean Lafitte and voluptuous, swashbuckling pirate-queen Mary Anne Radcliff show up to offer Sid assistance.