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

by Denise Grover Swank

“Don’t you be worryin’, Lady,” Carter said in a patronizing tone. “You’re under a watchful eye.”

  “What? Who?” But I instantly knew. “Why didn’t Jed tell me he was watching over me?”

  “They didn’t say. I suspect Deveraux wouldn’t appreciate the interference, but Skeeter and Jed have refused to let you go unprotected. Jed and Merv have been taking turns watching you 24/7.” He winked. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”

  I hadn’t even suspected, but I hadn’t been looking, either. After everything I’d been through, that was pretty stupid of me.

  “But back to Glenn Stout . . .” Carter drawled. “It’s in Skeeter’s best interest to draw him out. You can bet he won’t let this drop until he’s unmasked him.”

  “And the courier? Sam Teagen? What about him?”

  Carter held his hands out at his sides. “Disappeared into thin air.”

  I bit my lip, deciding to share something I’d previously dismissed. “Last Friday—the day after J.R.’s arrest—I thought I saw someone suspicious across the street from my office, around the courthouse. I’m pretty sure he was watching me. I went to confront him, but I lost sight of him somewhere around the antique store.”

  Carter sat up in his chair, releasing a grunt. “Why are you only telling me about this now? What did Deveraux say? Did he look into it?”

  I shrugged, trying to play it off. “I didn’t tell Mason.”

  “Why the Sam Hill not?” he asked. Then he glared at me. “Because he left you?”

  I gaped at him. He looked annoyed.

  “What? It wasn’t that hard to figure out. Skeeter’s known since Friday night. Neely Kate confirmed it when she came to see me on Monday.”

  I lifted my eyebrows, getting irritated. Did everyone know my private business? “I had no idea that Skeeter was a gossipmonger.”

  Carter laughed. “He always has his ear to the ground. You should know that by now.”

  I could have argued that Skeeter kept his finger on the pulse of the county’s underworld, not the Henryetta Gazette’s gossip column. But we both knew that for me, he would make an exception.

  “Skeeter knows you’ve been on your own, and like I said, he’s made sure you’re protected.”

  I hated to admit it, but it did make me feel better to know Jed and Merv were looking out for me. “I don’t understand why you’re still my attorney.” I paused, deciding now was as good a time as any to swing our discussion back around to Neely Kate. “And I had no idea that you were now an expert on divorce law.”

  A slow grin spread across his face as he sat back in his seat. “And there it is.”

  “What?” I asked defensively.

  “I knew you were here about Neely Kate.”

  “I came to see my attorney for an update on my ongoing troubles.” I lifted my chin. “But yes, Neely Kate’s my best friend, and it’s my duty to make sure you have her best interests in mind.”

  “Ms. Gardner,” he drawled, “Ms. Colson came to me seeking representation. I’m providing a service.”

  “Cut the crap, Carter. Anyone can see you like her.”

  He smirked. “You know, I actually used to like you until you became a thorn in my ass.”

  “You know what I’m talking about.”

  He pushed out a huge sigh. “Rose, I assure you that I’m not up to something devious or underhanded. I encouraged Neely Kate not to act rashly, but she insisted on drawing up the papers. My only other option was to tell her no and have her go to someone else.” He cocked his head. “Now, I shouldn’t have told you that much, but I want you to understand I’m doing the best I can for her.”

  I studied him to determine his sincerity. Call me a fool, but I was buying it. “She’s been through so much these last few weeks.”

  “I know. Which is why I strongly suggested she wait, but she wants it done. She says they both misrepresented who they were when they got married.”

  That didn’t surprise me. Neely Kate hadn’t known about Ronnie’s strong criminal ties, and she’d hinted that she’d hidden parts of herself from her husband. Despite everything, I liked Ronnie. I couldn’t help but think they could work it out.

  “Cheer up,” Carter said, getting to his feet. “Neely Kate has the three-month waiting period to change her mind, and her husband still hasn’t been served, so the clock hasn’t started ticking.”

  I stood and placed my hand on my hip. “Is your guy looking very hard?”

  “My usual guy is tied up, so I’ve hired someone else to help out. Floyd’s like an old mule—slow and steady, sure, but he wouldn’t speed up even if his ass was on fire.”

  Turned out I’d underestimated my attorney.

  “But if you tell Neely Kate I’ve confided any of this to you, I’ll destroy you myself, Skeeter be damned,” he teased with a grin, although I could see a glint of truth in his eyes.

  “No worries. She’d kill me if she knew I was asking. Since I now know we both have her best interests in mind, I’ll back off.”

  “Yeah, right,” he choked out.

  “Okay, I’ll try to back off,” I conceded. “Thanks for looking out for Neely Kate.”

  “Always.” But the warmth in the single word had me questioning his motives all over again.

  Chapter 4

  I stepped through Carter’s office door onto the sidewalk and couldn’t help but turn toward the courthouse, which loomed to my left. The knowledge that Mason was so close—that I only had to go in there to see him—tortured me. I’d promised to give him space to work things out, but I had legitimate questions that Carter really hadn’t answered. Wasn’t that reason enough to see him?

  I dropped into Merilee’s and ordered pork chops, a salad, and a slice of apple pie to go. The waitress behind the counter gave me a smile as she handed me the bag. “We haven’t seen you and Mr. Deveraux in lately.”

  I forced a smile of my own. “He’s been pretty busy.”

  “We heard about the shake-up in the courthouse. Mr. Deveraux is exactly what this county needs.”

  “Thanks,” I said, taking a step backward. “I think so, too.” I only hoped that he stuck around to help fix the county . . . and that he decided to stay with me, too.

  I was confident in my plan up until I reached the outer door to his office, at which point I came to the conclusion that it was a terrible idea. He was going to think I was rushing him. I was about to turn and run—literally—when the door opened and Mason’s assistant, Kaylee, stepped out.

  “Rose! I haven’t seen you in a couple of weeks.” She glanced down at the bag in my hand. “Oh, looks like you brought Mr. Deveraux lunch.”

  “Yeah . . .” I glanced down at the bag. “He’s probably already eaten.”

  “Actually, he hasn’t. I was about to go pick up something for him. He’s in his office if you want to go on in.”

  “I don’t want to bother him if he’s in the middle of something important.”

  “Don’t be silly.” She laughed, turning around and walking back into the office reception area. “He always wants to see you.”

  That used to be true. I wasn’t so sure about this time. “Okay . . .”

  I followed her inside, walked over to his partially open office door and stopped at the threshold. He sat at his desk, bent over his computer, a legal pad and a pen next to him, forehead furrowed with concentration. I watched him for several seconds, my heart in my throat, worrying about how he would react to my sudden appearance.

  His gaze lifted, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw me. “Rose.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call ahead or make an appointment.” It felt weird saying that. Never in the entire time I’d known him had I made an appointment with his assistant.

  He closed the lid to his laptop and got to his feet. “Don’t be silly. You don’t have to call ahead.”

  “I . . . uh . . .” I lifted the bag of food, still standing in the doorway. “I brought you lunch. I heard how busy you’ve been, and
I figured you probably weren’t feeding yourself.” Way to sound like a stalker.

  A soft smile spread across his face. “You’ve always kept me well fed.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Somebody has to take care of you.”

  But truth be told, taking care of him was what had gotten me into this situation in the first place. Well, it had kept me in it anyway.

  “Come in,” he said, but there was a stiffness in his voice, a formality I wasn’t used to hearing. At least not when he was talking to me.

  “I actually had a purpose for coming.” I walked into the room and held out the food. “But I figured I’d bring you food, too.”

  He set the bag on his desk and removed the large container.

  “Pork chops and a salad . . . and a slice of apple pie.”

  He glanced at me, his expression guarded. “My favorites.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thank you, Rose.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He walked over to me, and for a moment I held my breath, hoping he would take me in his arms and kiss me. Wishing he would tell me that he couldn’t live without me and that he wanted to try again. But instead, he shut the door, then gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. “Do you want to take a seat?”

  I nodded, the lump rising in my throat again. “Yeah.”

  I sat in the chair closest to the window. The blind slats were tilted so Mason could see out but anyone in the building across the street couldn’t see inside. I couldn’t blame him. Neely Kate and I had discovered that Joe’s sister, Kate, had rented the apartment across the street to spy on Mason’s office. The apartment had been all but empty except for a few piles of junk, a pair of binoculars, a wealth of files about Mason, and the kind of gun that means business.

  He sat next to me, but I saw him cast a quick glance at the container he’d placed on his desk.

  “Mason, I’m not here to talk about you and me. I’m here with legal questions. So if you want to eat while we talk, please feel free.”

  He grimaced. “You don’t mind?”

  “No. You should eat it while it’s hot.”

  He fished the utensils out of the bag and dug into the salad. “Legal questions. Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “No more than usual,” I said with a wry grin.

  He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he took a bite.

  “I’m here to see if you have an update on Glenn Stout or on what’s going on with J.R.”

  Guilt filled his eyes as he lowered his fork. “I should have called you to fill you in.”

  “It’s okay. I understand.”

  “No,” he said softly. “I’m not sure you do.” He paused. “I wanted to call you with an update, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I’m still sorting things out.”

  “I understand.”

  He looked into my eyes. “But you’re still a citizen of the county, not to mention the victim of a crime. It was my job to fill you in on the proceedings.”

  My heart sunk, but I had no one to blame but myself.

  “Have you found out anything about Glenn Stout?” I asked.

  “No. I’ve notified the clerks to call me directly if anyone shows up to pick up the money, but there’s been no sign of him.”

  I nodded. “Carter thinks he’ll wait until things die down and then try to collect it unnoticed.”

  His jaw tightened. “You’ve been talking to Carter Hale?”

  “He was my attorney, Mason,” I said, trying not to get irritated. “I had no idea what was going on, and I needed to ask someone.”

  “Joe hasn’t told you?”

  “It’s Joe. What do you think he tells me? The information I get from him is the equivalent of him telling me not to worry my pretty little head.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He stood and moved to the back of his room, running a hand over his head. “I should have called you.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have,” I said, suddenly pissed. “If you didn’t want to talk to me, then you shouldn’t have called.” I got to my feet. “This was a mistake.”

  He spun around to face me, but his expression was still guarded.

  “Last week I begged you to stay with me, Mason. Well, I won’t do that again. You know I’m sorry. You know I regret deceiving you. I know I have to earn your trust back, but the fact remains that what I did saved both of our lives. More than once.”

  Anger sparked in his eyes. “I’m not having this conversation now.”

  “Yes, you are,” I said, marching toward him. “Now is the perfect time to have this conversation.” I stopped in front of him, my hands on my hips. “You clearly have something to say to me, so say it.”

  He took in a breath and pushed it out, his chest heaving. “Anything I have to say would be redundant. I said it all last week.”

  “It’s clearly not out of your system,” I said, waving my hand at him. “You’re still ticked off at me.”

  “I’m at work, Rose. This isn’t the time!”

  “When did you come in this morning? Seven? Earlier?”

  The scowl that wrinkled his forehead told me I’d guessed correctly.

  “And how late did you stay last night? Eight? Nine?”

  “What does my work schedule have to do with anything? Does this interrogation have a point?” he asked, irritation bleeding through his words.

  “The point is that your work hours crowd into your personal life, so you can afford to take ten minutes in the middle of the day to talk to me.”

  “You think this will only take ten minutes?” he asked in disbelief.

  “I don’t know, Mason,” I challenged. “You tell me. I have no idea what you need to say.”

  Fury filled his eyes. “I trusted you, Rose! I trusted you to confide in me.”

  “I know,” I said, my own anger fading in the face of his.

  “And I never suspected for a single moment that you would betray me by helping the very man I was trying to put behind bars. Do you have any idea how badly my reputation would be damaged if word got out?”

  “I do.”

  “You ran off and did God knows what with him and those . . . those criminals, lying to me about where you were and what you were doing while I was oblivious to it all. I feel like a fool, Rose. An utter fool.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. But you’re not a fool, Mason. No one would ever accuse you of that.”

  “I don’t know if I can forgive you.” He shook his head, releasing a derisive laugh. “But I love you. Despite it all, I still love you. And that makes me not trust myself.”

  I understood. I’d spent the past five nights in my empty bed, trying to imagine myself in his shoes. Truth be told, I wouldn’t have believed him if he’d accepted my duplicity as if it meant nothing. But this still hurt like hades.

  And I still needed answers.

  “Do you think that J.R. will try to hurt me for what I did?”

  He gave a tiny shudder, trying to switch gears. “I’m sure Joe told you this much, but he’s being transferred to the county jail today.”

  “And you know that doesn’t mean squat.”

  He nodded, looking down at his feet.

  “So I’m at risk?”

  “Yes.”

  “You left me alone at the farmhouse knowing someone could come for me at any time?” I asked in disbelief.

  “You haven’t been alone, Rose.” His gaze lifted to meet mine, and the regret and sadness there stole my breath. “You’ve had someone watching you since the moment we left the farmhouse last Friday morning.”

  “Joe never told me.”

  “Joe doesn’t know.”

  “Jed?” The blood rushed from my head when he didn’t respond. “I didn’t know, Mason. I swear. I only found out from Carter right before I came over here.”

  “You haven’t seen him?”

  “No.” I paused. “How did you know?”

  “I called Malcolm.”

 
; My mouth dropped. “You did what?”

  “Joe couldn’t get the sheriff’s department to spare a deputy to keep an eye on you. And I don’t trust J.R. Simmons for a minute. Jed was the one who saved you when you were kidnapped. I knew he’d be the best person to watch over you.”

  “But you hate Skeeter Malcolm.”

  “If I learned one thing last week, it’s that Malcolm will go to great lengths to protect you.” When I started to protest, he said, “Even if I was still out at the farmhouse, I wouldn’t be able to watch over you 24/7, so this is the next best thing.”

  “Why would you protect me?”

  “I might not be with you right now, but I still love you. Even though I’m angry as hell. Even though I feel utterly betrayed.” He groaned and rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. “It’s killing me to not be with you, Rose. But I don’t trust you. And without trust, we have nothing.”

  I nodded. “I know. And I hope to make it up to you somehow. I want to earn back your trust.”

  I wasn’t sure what to do. Leave him alone to wrestle with the pain I’d caused him? Or stay and savor every moment I got with him? But maybe he was right. Maybe this wasn’t the time to force a decision about our future.

  “What happens after J.R. gets moved to the county jail?” I asked, purposefully changing the subject.

  “The state may move him to their own facility—they’re working on their own case—but for now he’ll stay in the county jail, unless his attorney can get the judge to reconsider granting him bail.”

  “Will he?”

  Mason sighed. “It’s not outside the realm of possibility.”

  The thought sent a shiver down my spine. “Do you think he’ll get out of this?”

  “It’ll be hard for him to shake the charges. But stranger things have happened, and there’s no denying J.R. Simmons has a way of making situations turn in his favor.”

  “What about Kate and all the files she had on you?”

  He paced to the window and lifted one of the wooden slats of the blinds to look across the street. “Joe says he found nothing. I can have you and Neely Kate give statements on what you saw, but I’m not sure that’s in your best interest. Your presence there was legally questionable to say the least, and Kate has moved whatever she had there. We have no way of figuring out where she moved it. It’s a dead end.”