It All Falls Down: Rose Gardner Investigations #7 (Rose Gardner Investigatons)

by Denise Grover Swank

  I stared up at him again. If I survived this, would I lose him like I’d lost Mason? Joe was more understanding of my place in the criminal world, but if I actually tried to forestall the drug deal by rounding up the other criminals in the county…that was huge, and I couldn’t see him letting me go through with it.

  “Let’s sit,” I said, curling my fingers around his hand.

  “That bad, huh?”

  Reaching up to grab both sides of his face, I kissed him again, this time softer and more reassuring. “We can get through anything, Joe.”

  He didn’t look all that reassured as he picked up my shirt from the floor and handed it to me. I pulled it over my head as he grabbed the loaf of bread and a bag of chips, snagging two plates before he joined me at the table.

  After he set the bread out on the plates, I started to fix the sandwiches.

  “I know a lot of the things you learn on the job are confidential,” I said slowly. “That there are aspects you can’t tell me.” I glanced up at him. “I respect that, and it makes me think more highly of you that you take your vows seriously, especially the ones you’ve made to Hope and me.”

  I could see the questions swirling in his mind. The uncertainty of where this was heading.

  “But we both know I have a persona in this county.”

  Dread filled his eyes, and his breath quickened. “What happened?”

  “Joe,” I reached across the table and grabbed his hand, holding on tightly for fear he’d pull away from me. “Something big is happenin’ this week. Do you know anything about it?”

  He hesitated, then said, “We’ve caught some chatter, but none of it points to a definite time or date. We don’t even know that it will happen this week.”

  “Do you know what’s supposed to happen?”

  He inhaled, then pushed out a breath. “No. Not really.”

  “You do know, don’t you? You’re just not supposed to tell me.”

  Guilt filled his eyes. “You know I can’t share details like that.”

  “I know,” I assured him, squeezing his hand. “A year or so ago, I would have been upset by your answer, but I’ve grown up. I understand.”

  “Where is this headed, Rose? Has someone in the criminal world reached out to you?”

  “This is where it gets tricky,” I said, looking at him earnestly and hanging onto his hand for dear life. “I may not have sworn an oath to the county or the sheriff’s department, but I’ve made an oath of my own to the citizens of the county, and I’ve garnered respect from some of the criminally minded individuals who reside here.”

  His shoulders sank. “Someone has reached out, and you don’t want to tell me.”

  “Remember when I first found out I was pregnant? I went to those meetings as the Lady in Black because I wanted to keep Hardshaw out of town badly enough to take the risk. I wanted it for Hope’s safety…for the county. And remember how you turned your back and didn’t ask questions?” I took a breath. “Why did you do that?”

  “Because I love you. I never stopped, even when I tried to convince myself otherwise.” He paused, looking at me. “I’ve grown up too. We both know you’re not the naïve woman I met on my front porch two years ago. You told me that before my father died, and you were right. You’ve grown and changed and seen things I can’t even imagine, all of them makin’ you the woman you are now. I can’t control you, Rose, but I also don’t want to, because I trust you,” he said emphatically. “I trust you to do what you think is right and fair, and not to take unnecessary chances.” He lifted his free hand to my face. “Because your insistence on helping people is one of the things I love about you, and I’d be a fool to try and change it.”

  I covered his hand on my face with my own. “Do you still trust me?”

  “What you’re askin’ me is hard, Rose. So damn hard,” he said, conflict raging in his eyes. “You’re askin’ me to let you associate with known criminals, to put yourself in physical danger and at the risk of arrest and prosecution. It was hard before, but I had no right to ask you to stop. No claim to demand you listen to me.”

  “And you do now?” I gasped, my disappointment ready to bubble over.

  “No. I made a vow to love you and protect you, but I also made a vow to myself that I would never box you in. That I would let you have the freedom you need to be the woman I love.” A sad smile twisted the corners of his lips. “If I caged you, you’d come to resent me, and I never want to live in a world without you by my side. Which makes this even harder.” He swallowed. “I run the risk of losin’ you anyway.”

  “Oh, Joe…”

  “But what about Hope, Rose? What if you leave her without a mother?”

  “Then I’ll know she has the best father I could ever hope to give her,” I said, my voice breaking. Because there was a risk what we were doing could kill me, but I knew for a fact that telling Joe would lead me straight to that coffin I’d seen earlier. I couldn’t risk it. I wouldn’t risk it.

  “Rose.” Keeping his hand on my cheek, he wove the tips of his fingers into my hair.

  “Something big is happenin’, Joe. Something that could change this county for the worse for a long, long time.”

  “Then tell me,” he insisted. “Give me the details, and let me and the deputies with actual badges take care of it.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Then we’ll make it simple,” he insisted.

  I gave him a sad smile. “You and I both know that’s not how the world works.” When he didn’t respond, I said, “I don’t take this lightly. I’ve struggled with it all day. I’ve considered takin’ Hope and leavin’ town until everything blows over. You should know that’s exactly what Jed and Neely Kate are doin’.”

  Alarm covered his face, and he pulled his hand away. “What the hell is goin’ on that would send them packin’ and not you?”

  I wasn’t sure what to tell him. “Their baby is going to be born any day now,” I finally said. “They can’t risk any stench stickin’ to them. I think it’s a good decision for them to steer clear of this.”

  “But you don’t intend to.” His voice was flat.

  “I have skills that no one else can replicate. I have the means to prevent this from blowing up, Joe.”

  He sat up straight, his back stiff. “Your visions.”

  “My visions.” I tilted my head. “If I can save a lot of lives and a lot of heartache, don’t I have the responsibility to do so?”

  “But what about your responsibility to Hope?” he pleaded. “To me?”

  “I don’t know, Joe. Why do you think I’m struggling so?” My throat tightened. “What would you do? You’re sworn to protect the citizens of this county. What would you do if you had the ability to save people? Possibly save the county? Would you risk your life?”

  He slowly shook his head, his eyes glassy. “That’s not fair, Rose.”

  “It’s perfectly fair,” I insisted softly. “What would you do?”

  He glanced away, toward the back windows, then instantly sat up, his body tense. “Did Madison leave the barn door open?”

  Madison was the teenage girl who showed up once or twice a day to take care of Margi’s horses.

  “No,” I said, staring at the window facing the barn behind the house. “I’m positive she closed it. Muffy was sniffing around out there before we headed to town.”

  He got to his feet. “Stay here.” Before I could respond, he strode to the back door and went outside.

  “To heck with waitin’,” I muttered to myself. I usually used Muffy as a sounding board to reason things out, but she was currently protecting my daughter. So I put our uneaten lunches in the fridge and headed out the door too. To my relief, Joe didn’t tell me to turn back, thus avoiding an unnecessary argument.

  An open barn door didn’t mean that something nefarious had happened. It could have meant anything.

  But I knew in my heart that it wasn’t nothing.

  Joe got to the edge o
f the barn door, shooting me a frown, then motioned for me to move behind him and stay close to the wall.

  Given my lack of a weapon, it seemed like a reasonable request.

  Joe called out, “If someone is in there, make your presence known.”

  We were greeted with silence.

  “Maybe I was wrong,” I whispered. “Maybe Madison did leave it open.”

  Joe didn’t respond, instead glancing around the barn, his gaze pausing on a patch of dirt a few feet from the doors. “Did Margi have anyone workin’ on the barn today?”

  “Not that I know of. Why?” I asked, moving over to him.

  He pointed to the ground. “That’s definitely a fresh tire print.”

  Sure enough, there were deep grooves in the foot-wide patch of dirt in the grass.

  He stood upright. “Maybe you should go back to the house.”

  “Do you think there’s anyone in the barn?” But I realized it was a foolish question even as I asked it. Neither one of us would be walking around in front of the barn if he thought there was someone dangerous inside.

  “No.”

  “Then I’m stickin’ with you, Joe,” I said, looking up at him. “So let’s go check it out. But hurry, because I forgot the baby monitor.”

  He paused, glancing toward the house. “Muffy’s a pretty good monitor, and she’s quiet, so I think we’re good for the moment.”

  Taking my hand, he led me to the side of the barn again, then crept up to the edge of the door, peering through a crack.

  “Shit.”

  “What?” I moved up next him, and peered around the door.

  Margi had put in four horse stalls on the barn’s left side, but the walls were ruined in the back of the stable, and a huge pile of dirt covered the floor.

  “Don’t go in,” Joe grunted. “Let’s walk around back.”

  We walked around the back of the barn, and Joe pulled his keys out of his pocket to use on the lock Margi had installed after revamping the barn. Using the end of his still-untucked shirt, he grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.

  I gasped again as we stared at a hole the length and width of the last stable. It was at least six feet deep.

  “What just happened here?” I asked in shock and confusion.

  “That’s what I’d like to know.”

  Chapter 11

  “Seriously, Joe,” I said, scanning the hole. “Why would someone do this?”

  “They were obviously diggin’ something up. Something big.”

  “What would fit in a hole that big?” Even as I said it, it dawned on me that the hole was plenty big enough to fit a body. It wouldn’t be the first one. Neely Kate had found a buried body out there with James once, over a year ago, but he’d taken care of it. I had to admit I was still worried about the possibility there was DNA evidence linked to the murdered man.

  A glance at Joe suggested he was thinking along the same lines, but neither of us seemed eager to voice our fear.

  “Were they watchin’ the house?” he asked, his voice sounding strangled. His gaze swung to mine. “Did they purposely plan this for when you left the house? And what would have happened if you’d come home early? What if you and Hope had been here?” His voice broke.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him close. His arms tightened around me. “Don’t be thinkin’ the what-ifs, Joe. They’ll only drive you crazy.”

  “I could have lost you, Rose. I could have lost you both.”

  I grabbed his face with both hands and stared up into his eyes. “But you didn’t. We’re both here. I suspect they were watching and came after we left.”

  Fear filled his eyes. “They probably needed hours to do this.”

  I held his gaze and gave him a half-smile. “Then it’s a good thing I was gone for hours.”

  “But if you’d come home, you might not have thought anything about a truck bein’ here,” he said. “You might have thought it was one of Margi’s many workers.”

  “If it didn’t look suspicious, I might have ignored it, especially if Hope was fussy,” I said. “But if I’d been uncomfortable, I would have turned around and left.” I paused. “I would never knowingly put Hope in danger. You have to know that.”

  His face softened. “I’ve never once questioned that.”

  His answer was a balm to my own fears. I took a breath. “Of course, you should be speculating about why they chose this time or how long it took, but no more freakin’ out over what-ifs. It steals the energy you need to put into finding who did this. Besides, we have surveillance cameras on the barn. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and whoever did this will be on tape.”

  He nodded, then gave me a gentle kiss. “You’re right, and it’s time for me to do my job.”

  He sent me into the house to check on Hope while he called the sheriff’s department, requesting deputies to start an investigation. I used the opportunity to call Neely Kate and tell her what we’d discovered.

  “I’m comin’ over,” she said.

  “I thought you were leavin’ town.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Which didn’t answer my question, but I didn’t push her.

  Amazingly, Hope slept through the arrival of four sheriff cars (a couple of which showed up with sirens blaring), the forensic team, and Neely Kate.

  When she arrived, she walked into the house without knocking and found me in the kitchen as I watched the mess from the back windows. She gave me a hug as soon as she saw me. “I guess our big goodbye earlier was just for practice.”

  I laughed. “We had it pretty perfect, so maybe we’ll just say ‘ditto,’ next time.”

  She laughed too, then sobered. “Why in the blazes would someone go diggin’ in your barn?”

  “It’s obvious something was hidden out there, and by someone other than us. The most obvious suspect is Margi. She had complete access, and we never would have been the wiser.”

  Joe must have seen Neely Kate’s car pull in because he was making his way to the house.

  “What on earth would she have buried?” Neely Kate asked.

  I shook my head. “I have no idea. It was big enough to be a body, but if so, I can’t think why someone else would want to dig it up.”

  She made a face as if to say she’d beg to differ, and it occurred to me that Neely Kate and Jed had dug up a body—the body of the man she’d killed in self-defense, Pearce Manchester—in order to dispose of evidence. “You never know.” Then she added, “You have to admit that she’s always been on the suspicious side.”

  She had a point.

  Joe walked in through the back door and headed straight for Neely Kate, pulling her into a tight hug.

  “What’s that for?” she asked, her voice muffled.

  “Can’t I hug my little sister?” he asked, but he held her for a few moments longer before letting her go. “I’m surprised to see you. Rose told me you and Jed are leavin’ town for a while.”

  She swung a panicked look my way.

  “He doesn’t know all the details, and we were in the middle of a discussion about it when he noticed the barn door was ajar.”

  She cast an anxious look at her brother.

  He reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “We’re fine, Neely Kate. It was a very civil and thoughtful conversation.”

  Her mouth dropped open, and I could see she was wondering what, exactly, we had discussed.

  Joe turned his attention to me. “I think it goes without sayin’ that you two need to stay away from the barn while we’re workin’ the crime scene. We don’t know much yet, but it looks like there might have been some boxes buried down there.”

  “Not a body?” I asked.

  “No,” Joe said with relief in his eyes. “No body.”

  “So what was in the boxes?” Neely Kate asked.

  He hesitated, then said, “It’s all speculation, but based on the indentations left behind in the hole and everything that’s goin’ on in the county right now, we suspec
t they stored weapons down there.”

  “Weapons?” I asked in shock. “Why would they bury weapons in our barn?”

  “Who would think to look there?” he asked with a small shrug. “We don’t have any way of knowing how long they’ve been stored down there. We’re tryin’ to track Margi down, and so far, we haven’t had any luck.”

  My stomach churned. “Why would Margi, of all people, be burying guns in our barn?”

  His face went blank, and he seemed to choose his words carefully. “I take it that you are genuinely shocked by this and aren’t withholding information?”

  I nodded my head vigorously. “I had no idea that anything was buried out there, let alone what Margi might be up to. Other than seeing her at Levi’s office and around town, the only dealin’s I’ve had with her are in regard to the horses. I swear to you, Joe. I don’t know anything.”

  He closed the short distance between us and gave me a light kiss on my lips. “Thank you.”

  “Do you think she’s workin’ for Hardshaw?” I asked.

  “The timin’ sure is right,” Neely Kate said. “I wouldn’t be all that surprised if it were true.”

  I felt sick. While Margi wasn’t my favorite person, she’d grown on me, and I’d genuinely believed in her mission to save the horses. “What about Levi?”

  “I’ve got a deputy headed out to his practice.” He cast a glance at the ceiling. “Hope still sleepin’?”

  “Yeah.” I patted the monitor, which I’d tucked into my pocket.

  He shook his head with a wry grin. “Do you think that means we’re in for another night of torture?”

  I released a laugh. “I sure as Pete hope not, but I was actually thinkin’ about checkin’ on her soon. She’s only been down for about an hour, but if we make sure she’s good and tired, maybe she’ll sleep more tonight.”

  “There’s my smart…” His voice trailed off, and I could see he was struggling to define what we were to each other. I’d had the same thought. Girlfriend seemed lacking since we were living together and raising a child together, but partner felt too business-like.

  I pressed another kiss to his lips. “I love you.”

  His smile looked slightly forced. I wasn’t sure what was bothering him at that particular moment, but we sure had plenty of issues to provide him just cause.