Thirty-Six and a Half Motives: Rose Gardner Mystery #9 (Rose Gardner Mystery Series)

by Denise Grover Swank

  Thirty-Six and a Half Motives

  Rose Gardner Mystery #9

  Denise Grover Swank

  Contents

  Thirty-Six and a Half Motives

  Thirty-Six and a Half Motives

  Copyright

  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

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Family Jewels Sneak Peek

  One Paris Summer coming soon!

  Only You (Bachelor Brotherhood #1)

  Letter to my readers

  Also by Denise Grover Swank

  About the Author

  Thirty-Six and a Half Motives

  Rose Gardner Mystery #9

  Denise Grover Swank

  Thirty-Six and a Half Motives

  Rose Gardner Mystery #9

  Rose Gardner should be celebrating the arrest of her fiercest enemy, J.R. Simmons. But problems are like weeds—pluck one and five more spring up. Rose’s boyfriend is on the verge of leaving her for good, her best friend, Neely Kate, is grappling with marriage problems, and her sister has a devastating secret. To make matters worse, she discovers J.R. Simmons has not been neutralized. His network of allies and henchman extends further than she suspected, and J.R.’s so intent on revenge, his lackeys might just destroy Fenton County to get it for him.

  But the girl who once spent her days alone and afraid is now a strong, independent woman with a network of her own, including Neely Kate, Skeeter Malcolm—the reigning king of the Fenton County underworld—and other loyal friends on both sides of the law. Racing against time, they must dig up J.R.'s empire by the roots, unmasking his allies and unearthing his secrets, both the behind-the-scenes manipulation he’s been orchestrating in Fenton County for decades and the dark stains of his personal life.

  If Rose succeeds, she tells herself the quiet and peaceful life she once dreamed of will be at the end of the tunnel. But her quest to destroy J.R. will require her to explore the person she has become, what she wants, and what that means for her future.

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  Copyright 2016 by Denise Grover Swank

  Cover art and design: Damonza

  Developmental Editor: Angela Polidoro

  Copy editors and proofreaders: Shannon Page, Carolina Valdez-Miller, Cynthia L. Moyer

  All rights reserved.

  Chapter 1

  Sometimes life gives you what you want, but it comes at a price you didn’t want to pay. Five days had passed since I’d spoken to my almost-fiancé Mason, and I was sure I’d lost five pounds.

  “Did you starting writing up the Westfield proposal?” Neely Kate asked from her office chair. My best friend hadn’t been working very long at my landscaping office, but she was catching on quickly. I’d already taught her how to write up estimates.

  I leaned my shoulder into the frame of one of the large windows at the front of the office, keeping my gaze on the courthouse. Mason was probably inside, filling in for the Fenton County District Attorney, who had been arrested and removed from his office two days earlier. While Mason hadn’t yet decided if he planned to stay in Fenton County, Neely Kate had heard that he’d been moved up to his old boss’s position.

  I wanted to tell him congratulations. I wanted to know how he felt not only about the D.A.’s arrest, but also about the arrest and arraignment of J.R. Simmons—the man whose shadow had loomed over us for months. But I couldn’t ask. Mason now knew that I was the infamous Lady in Black, and he was taking some time to work through my betrayal.

  While he hadn’t called, he had sent me a text asking if I was okay.

  I had wanted to text back: No. Nothing is okay without you.

  Of course, he knew that already. He knew my heart was broken, and in all fairness, his was broken, too. But I wouldn’t lie to him—not anymore—so I’d said the only truthful thing I could come up with that didn’t sound desperate or whiny.

  I’m here.

  Neely Kate’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Rose.”

  I slowly turned my head to look over my shoulder at her. “What?”

  She stood and grabbed our coats off the coat tree, then stooped to grab my purse off the floor. “We’re getting out of here.”

  I turned away from the window. “No, you’re right. I need to finish that estimate.”

  “I can see how determined you are to get to it,” she said dryly, “while trying to sprout X-ray vision to catch a glimpse of Mason in the courthouse.”

  I considered protesting, but what would be the point? She knew me too well. Besides, anyone with half a brain knew there was no arguing with Neely Kate.

  She handed me my coat. “Come on.”

  I took it from her and slipped my arms into the sleeves. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll find out when we get there. You’re driving.”

  “Like that’s a surprise,” I grumbled. “Your car’s still broken down.”

  As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Neely Kate’s husband was a mechanic, and her car was a piece of junk he’d babied way past its expiration date. But he’d left her a little over a week ago, and as far as I knew, she’d only heard from him a couple of times. She refused to discuss it.

  “Neely Kate . . . I know you don’t want to talk about Ronnie, but since Mick Gentry is dead . . . Ronnie’s free of him. Why is he still in hiding?”

  I’d been shocked to learn that my best friend’s husband had sworn his loyalty to a criminal who was trying to take over the Fenton County crime world. It was yet another thing Neely Kate refused to talk about. “He says everything in the underworld is still shaken up.”

  Was it? I hadn’t talked to Skeeter Malcolm, the Fenton County crime lord, since we’d pulled off the sting that had ended in J.R. Simmons’s arrest. There should have been numerous charges, but so far the only ones filed were murder in the second degree and assault. The murder charge would be hard to evade, considering multiple witnesses had seen J.R. stab Skeeter’s rival, Mick Gentry. The assault charge came from J.R. slashing my arm with a knife and holding the knife to my throat. Joe Simmons, J.R.’s son and my former boyfriend, but more importantly the current Fenton County Chief Deputy Sheriff, had assured me more charges were coming. The murder charge would hold him until they could build a more solid case against him.

  But while Skeeter had faced his old mentor and won, I was certain he consider
ed his win a disgrace. Rather than face J.R. head on, like he would have preferred, he’d let me try to trick J.R. into admitting to a few of his many crimes, including concocting false evidence to suggest that I’d hired someone to kill my mother. The significance of what Skeeter had done for me had finally started to sink in over the past few days. He’d overlooked his own pride—and risked his reputation—to save me.

  And I had given him nothing in return.

  One more thing to toss onto my enormous pile of guilt.

  Nevertheless, I had figured his position in the crime world would be safe now that his chief rival was dead—but apparently I’d been wrong about that, too.

  “Do you want me to talk to Jed?” I asked Neely Kate. “I can get him to talk to Skeeter about Ronnie.”

  “No.” Her tone was blunt.

  “Don’t you want to have this all settled?”

  She gave me an emotionless stare. “I’ve filed for divorce.”

  “You did what?”

  Neely Kate shook her head and opened the door, flipping the sign in the window to Closed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “But . . . how . . . ?” I stammered, completely flabbergasted. “When? You didn’t even tell me.”

  “I talked to Carter on Monday.”

  “Carter Hale? But he’s a defense attorney.” He was my defense attorney. Or at least he had been before the charges against me were dropped.

  She gave me an irritated shrug. “He says it’s a simple enough case. Plus, he’s going to give me a discount.”

  My eyes narrowed. “What kind of discount?”

  “Never you mind about that,” she grumbled as I followed her out onto the sidewalk before locking the door behind me.

  I turned to face her and took her hand in mine. “Neely Kate. Don’t rush into anything. You need to let this sit for a bit. You’ve been through so much the last few weeks—your miscarriage, Ronnie leaving . . . Just take a breather before you make a decision like this.”

  Her face hardened. “Why? Are you tired of me living with you?”

  “What kind of nonsense is that? I love having you there, but it seems selfish. I’m lonely for Mason . . .” My voice trailed off as my thoughts once again shifted to Mason. We weren’t married, but we’d been living together. Had he already decided to leave me for good? Was he just waiting for the dust to settle before he gave me the news and came to get his stuff?

  Tears stung my eyes, but I reminded myself that this wasn’t about me. This was about my best friend. “Neely Kate, I love you. You know that. You can live with me until you’re a hundred and two. I’m just suggesting that you take your time, because I don’t want you to have any regrets. I’ll support you no matter what you do.”

  Her face softened. “I’m sorry. It’s just that Ronnie’s family is giving me fits, and Ronnie hasn’t even been served the papers yet. The investigator Carter hired can’t find him.”

  “Then how does his family know?”

  “Because my fool cousin told his friend, who told his friend, who knows Ronnie’s brother.”

  I frowned. “Shouldn’t his family be more concerned that he’s been working for a crime lord?”

  “They don’t know.”

  I sighed. “What a mess.”

  Neely Kate straightened her back and plastered a smile on her face. “Come on. We have somewhere to be.”

  “And where exactly is that?”

  “A surprise,” she said, leading the way to my truck parked at the curb.

  “You do know you have to tell me at some point since I’m driving.”

  She laughed. “And you know that I’ll always tell you where to go.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about,” I grumbled in a teasing tone as I climbed into the truck cab. Once we were buckled in, I cast a glance at Carter Hale’s office across the street. I’d been meaning to pay him a visit anyway, but now I had a really good excuse.

  I intended to find out why he was helping my friend. I had a feeling there was more to it than his obvious crush.

  Chapter 2

  Neely Kate told me to pull into the parking lot of Magpie’s, a new restaurant close to the landscaping nursery I owned with my sister Violet and Joe. I’d noticed the renovation on the old service station over the past few weeks, but I hadn’t realized it had opened.

  I gave her a questioning look, but she shrugged. “I know we usually eat at Merilee’s, but I thought we’d try something new.”

  Was she trying to protect me? Mason and I had gone to Merilee’s together more often than I could count. I suspected he was too busy to get away, so there was little chance of running into him there.

  That thought spiraled into a worry, like most of my thoughts tended to do lately. Who was making sure he ate? Over the last three months, I had been the one who had always brought him lunch when he got busy. Had his assistant taken over that task?

  “No thinking about Mason,” Neely Kate said in a firm voice.

  “Who said I was?”

  “Well . . .” she drawled. “Other than the fact that you think about him pretty much nonstop, the goofy look on your face confirmed it.” Then she made an exaggerated dreamy face.

  I laughed. “I do not look like that.”

  “I’m going to start taking photos and posting them on Facebook.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  She gave me a taunting grin. “Try it again and see what happens. I’m starving. Let’s eat.”

  With that, she got out of the truck and headed toward the restaurant. Instead of going in, she whipped open the door with a flourish and held it for me.

  Shaking my head, I followed her. But when I walked into Magpie’s, I was shocked to see it was full of guests—and I knew most of them. Jonah and his girlfriend Jessica were there along with Bruce Wayne, Mason’s mother Maeve, Deputy Randy Miller, and my sister Violet.

  I stopped short inside the doorway. “What’s going on?”

  As she pushed me inside, Neely Kate whispered into my ear, “I thought you needed a reminder that you’re not alone.”

  Leave it to Neely Kate to set aside her own problems to do something like this for me. I spun around and wrapped my arms around her. “But I knew I wasn’t alone, Neely Kate. I have you.”

  She pulled back and smiled at me with teary eyes.

  “Hey, now. I want a hug, too!” Maeve said, wrapping me up in her arms. I rested my cheek on her shoulder as I squeezed, reassured that even if Mason remained lost to me, I still had his mother—the closest thing to a loving mother I’d ever had.

  I moved down a receiving line of friends, their smiles and embraces restoring more and more of me to myself. Violet held me a little longer than the rest, rubbing my back in soft circles, just like when we were little. It reminded me of how she’d always protected me from Momma, who’d made both of our lives hell.

  I looked deep into her eyes. “I miss you, Vi.”

  “I miss you, too,” she said with a trembling smile. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She looked as exhausted as I felt. There were dark circles under her eyes, and now that I was studying her, she looked like she’d lost ten pounds.

  “Vi, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she said dismissively, taking a step back. “But I’m starving. Let’s order.”

  We all sat down, except for Jonah, the pastor of the New Living Hope Revival Church. He stood behind his chair, resting his hands on the back. The bright, unnaturally white smile that had made his sermons a TV sensation lit up his face. “Now Rose, I’m sure you think this is just an ordinary lunch, but it’s a celebration of your charges being dropped. Every single one of us would have moved heaven and earth to help you. It seemed only fitting to celebrate, even if it’s several days after the fact.”

  “Thank you, Jonah,” I said, but part of me was sad. There were people missing—Mason, Skeeter, and Jed. Even Joe, although it would have been strange for the person who’d arrested me in the first place to co
me to my exoneration party. Of course, Joe claimed it had been part of his plan to help me, but he’d never deigned to include me in the details. “I don’t know what I’d do without all of you.”

  I glanced at Bruce Wayne, my landscaping business partner, who’d helped me get mixed up with Skeeter Malcolm in the first place. We’d had a fight before my kidnapping, and things hadn’t felt right between us since.

  He squirmed in his seat. “Let’s eat. I’m starving,” he said, but he lifted his gaze to catch my eye, and the smile he flashed told me all was forgiven.

  We spent the next hour eating and laughing, and I realized how lucky I was to have this group of people in my life. Even if Mason didn’t change his mind and come back to me, I would get through this. I would be devastated, but life would go on. My breakup with Joe had taught me that.

  When we finished, everyone hugged me goodbye, but Violet stayed behind, casting an anxious glance to Neely Kate. “Do you think I could steal Rose for a bit? I can drop her off at your office.”

  My best friend, fully aware of the turmoil in my relationship with my sister, gave me a questioning look.

  I nodded, then dug the truck keys out of my purse. “You head on back to the office. I’ll be there in a bit.”

  “Okay.” She looked reluctant but took the keys and left.

  “Do you want to talk here?” I asked, scanning the mostly empty restaurant.

  “Actually . . .” Violet glanced down at the floor for a moment before meeting my eyes. “I’d like to go somewhere else, if you don’t mind. Somewhere more private.”

  That surprised me. “Okay.”

  I followed her to her car, the booster seat and toddler car seat in the back reminding me that I hadn’t seen my niece and nephew in weeks. “How are Ashley and Mikey?”

  A soft smile covered her face as she started the car. “They’re great.” She paused. “They miss you.”