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

by Denise Grover Swank

  He looked like he was wrestling with something, then said, sounding gruff, “Now that you know we’re watching, it would be helpful if you gave Jed your schedule.”

  “Fine,” I said in an angry huff, even though I agreed that it was a good idea. Right now it felt easier to be adversarial.

  Skeeter shot Jed a laser-focused stare, then disappeared into the back. The bartender’s head poked up from behind the counter like Punxsutawney Phil, the menu still lifted over his head. The man frozen in the corner looked like he’d actually turned to stone, but his friend, who was staring at us with a mouth like a guppy’s, had finally stopped pulling his sleeve.

  “What was that about?” I asked, walking to the exit.

  “Nothing,” he mumbled. “So are you really going back to work?”

  “That’s my plan. After that, I’m heading to the farm with Neely Kate.”

  “No dinner?” he asked smugly.

  I narrowed my gaze, my jaw set with irritation. “You might want to rethink that gloating, or I’ll make it ten times harder to follow me for the next few days.”

  I wouldn’t, not really. I was scared to death of J.R., and knowing that Jed had my back made me feel a whole lot better.

  Jed seemed to ponder my threat, then nodded as we walked out the door and toward our separate vehicles.

  Now that I was alone, the knowledge that I’d broken up with Mason hit me square in the face. Somehow I’d just ended my relationship with the man I’d planned to marry. Where did I go from here?

  All I wanted to do was go home, crawl into bed, and cry my eyes out. But I wouldn’t give myself that luxury. I needed to focus on neutralizing J.R. Simmons.

  The only strategy that came to mind was to check on the progress Maeve had made in decoding the shorthand on the lone remaining page of Dora’s secret journal, recovered from the warehouse where she’d worked with Daddy and Paul all those years ago.

  When I stopped at the next stoplight, I grabbed my phone out of my pocket. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I ignored the three missed calls from Mason and called his mother instead.

  “Rose,” she said, her voice warm and soothing.

  Oh, mercy. A new thought hit me. Was I going to lose her, too? While I hadn’t doubted she’d stick by me if Mason left me for good, the situation had changed. Would she change her mind when she found out that I was the one who’d broken up with him?

  “Maeve,” I said, my voice breaking. “Can I come over for a few minutes?”

  “I’m at the nursery,” she said, sounding distracted. “I’m filling in for Violet.” Distantly, I heard her say, “The few pansies we have left are outside on the right.” Then she said, “Sorry about that, Rose. I was helping a customer.”

  “It sounds like you’re busy,” I said, my voice tight. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Rose, are you all right?”

  “No.” I said, choking on the word. I glanced in the rearview mirror at Jed in the sedan behind me. Now that I knew about my protective guard, he clearly didn’t feel the need to hide any longer. But I looked away, not wanting him to see me upset. There was only one person I wanted to talk to about my breakup—it was the real reason I’d called her.

  “I broke up with Mason.”

  “What?” She sounded dismayed. “Rose, what happened?”

  I took a deep breath, fighting back my tears. “I’d rather talk about it in person, but I’m guessing Anna’s there, right?”

  “Yeah . . .”She sounded worried. “How’s Mason?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, fighting the urge to break down. “I did it over the phone.”

  “Rose.” I heard the disappointment in her voice.

  “I hadn’t planned to do it, Maeve, but he was upset.” I didn’t want to drag her into the specifics. “Let’s just say my ties to the criminal underworld are still very much in place, and Mason is upset at the position I’ve placed him in.”

  “Does he have any idea—”

  “No, Maeve. Please don’t be upset with him. He’s a man of principles, and it’s unfair to ask him to bend them, especially given his position.”

  “Once again you’re saving him,” she said, sounding sad.

  I took a deep breath, hoping to soothe my frazzled nerves. “I did the right thing.” No matter how much it hurt.

  “I can see why you think so—”

  “Maeve. It’s done,” I said, with a firmness I never used with her. “I wanted to talk to you for two reasons. The first is I wanted you to hear it from either me or Mason. I had no idea if he would tell you, so maybe you should reach out to him.”

  “Of course . . .”

  “But second, I need to know what progress you’ve made on the journal page.”

  “I confess, I haven’t gotten very far. It’s not coming back to me as quickly as I’d hoped, and I’ve been covering for Violet.” She paused. “How did your talk go earlier?”

  “Do you know?” I asked, my voice breaking.

  “Only that she’s very sick and has to go to Houston.”

  “She’s going to be okay,” I said with determination.

  “Of course she is,” she said, as if there shouldn’t be any doubt. “And we’ll make sure we keep the store in great condition for her until she gets back.”

  “Will working at the nursery be too awkward for you?” I asked. “Because of me and Mason?” I hadn’t even considered the ripple effect of our breakup, but I didn’t want Violet to worry about anything other than getting better.

  “Of course not, Rose. I still love you whether you’re with Mason or not. I’ll always be here for you.”

  My voice cracked. “Thank you.”

  “But don’t rush into any snap decisions, okay? Give this some thought. You and Mason truly love each other.”

  She was right. We did love one another. But I had to wonder if love was enough.

  “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Maeve.”

  “Okay.”

  I parked in front of the office, and Jed parked around the corner. I noticed him get out of his car and head toward the square.

  The door chimed when I walked in the office, and Neely Kate looked up with a questioning glance.

  “How did it go?” she asked.

  “As well as could be expected,” I said, heading toward my desk.

  Bruce Wayne gave me a sympathetic look, but to his credit, he never even hinted at an I told you so.

  At around five o’clock, I still had several estimates to prepare, so I handed Neely Kate the keys to my truck.

  “Why don’t you take my car home, and I’ll stick around and get these plans done?” I asked.

  I also needed to look at the finances to see about paying Maeve something for her work at the shop. Knowing her, she’d do more than she’d agreed to. We would also need to hire more help for our landscaping business soon. I’d expected the landscaping business to get off to a slow start, but it had exceeded our expectations.

  Neely Kate’s mouth dropped open. “What about your date with Mason?”

  Oh, crap. I’d forgotten to tell her. I’d been too busy worrying about Violet and trying to figure out how to stop J.R.—anything to avoid thinking about the end of my relationship. And I sure didn’t want to bring it up now.

  “We’re not goin’, but I’ll tell you about it later, okay? When I get home.”

  Neely Kate narrowed her eyes. “How about I stick around to keep you company?”

  “You deserve a night off,” I said, pulling her out of her seat and pushing her toward the exit. “Besides, Muffy’s probably dying to go pee.”

  She broke free and turned around to look at me. “What’s goin’ on, Rose? What did Skeeter say? Did he threaten you?”

  “Skeeter? Hardly. He’s full of a lot of bark and little bite.”

  Bruce Wayne grabbed his coat off the coat rack, harrumphing. “Tell that to the guys who’ve gotten on his bad side.”

  He had a point. “Fair enough, but that’s the wa
y he is with me. I’m fine. I just need some time alone, okay? I’ll explain it all when I get home.”

  Neely Kate sure didn’t look happy, but she took the truck keys from my outstretched hand. “If you’re not eating with Mason, then don’t stay in town too long. I’ll make a big pot of chili and some homemade cornbread.”

  “Is this one of your special recipes?” She’d been experimenting with the most God-awful combinations of foods lately, like peppermint meatloaf and French onion cheesecake. None of us had the heart to tell her how bad they were, but I wasn’t sure I could choke down whatever she came up with tonight.

  “No. I didn’t have time to come up with something original, so I’m using my granny’s recipe.”

  I tried to hide my relief. “I won’t be too long.”

  “But if I leave you, how are you going to get home?”

  “I’ll have Jed bring me. He’s tailing me anyway.”

  When her eyes bugged out, I added, “It’s all out in the open. I don’t see any reason for him to hide in the shadows.”

  “True.” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. “Don’t stay too long. You need to be with the people who love you.”

  I watched her as she headed for the front door. Did she know I’d broken up with Mason? Did she suspect?

  Bruce Wayne stayed back, saying he’d forgotten something in the backroom that he needed to bring by the nursery the next morning.

  I figured it was an excuse to grill me more about my encounter with Skeeter, so I wasn’t prepared when he gave me a sad look and said, “I heard about your sister.”

  “How. . . ?” But as soon as the word was out of my mouth, I realized how.

  “Anna.” He’d been helping out at the nursery a lot lately, and Violet’s assistant had taken a shine to him. “How much do you know?”

  “Enough to know she’s goin’ to be gone for awhile. Do you need to take time off?”

  I rubbed my hand over my forehead. “No. Not yet. Our Aunt Bessie is going to Houston with her, but I’ll probably go down after things die down around here.”

  A wry smile twisted his lips. “Do things ever die down around here?”

  “True enough.”

  “If you need to take off, Neely Kate and I can keep things goin’.” He shifted his weight. “Neely Kate’s picking it up so fast, I’ll be out of a job soon.”

  I laughed. “Hardly. Once the weather starts warming up, you’ll be working outside. We have so many jobs lined up, we’re going to have to think about finding more help. Do you know anyone who might be interested?”

  He studied my face for a moment. “Do you care if he has a criminal record?”

  “You have a criminal record, and I hired you.”

  “Well, that was different. You knew I was innocent.”

  “Of committing murder. But I knew you’d done the other things—possession of pot, stealing. You said you wanted to change, though, and I believed in you. If the guy you’re thinking about wants to change, too, and you think he’s trustworthy, then hire him and tell him he can start mid-March.”

  Bruce Wayne looked shocked. “Don’t you want to interview him?”

  “Nope. You’re a partner, Bruce Wayne. You interview him. You’ll be the one who’s ultimately in charge of him.”

  “I’ll be his boss,” he said in shock.

  I laughed. “And he’ll probably be the first employee of many. So get used to the idea.”

  A grin spread over his face, and I felt genuinely happy for him. He’d grown so much from the scared, beaten-down man I’d met last summer.

  I locked the door behind him after he took off and then jumped when the sound of my cell phone broke the silence. I hurried over to my desk, wondering if it was Mason. I missed him something fierce and would be tempted to answer.

  But it was Joe.

  “Hey.” I had to wonder if he was calling about Violet.

  “I just wanted to give you a heads up. I suspect my dad won’t be in county jail for long. I hear an indictment is coming from Little Rock in the next day or two.”

  “What will that mean?”

  “It means they’ll move him up to Little Rock and keep him there until his first trial.” He paused. “Once we find other witnesses who are willing to attest to the things he’s done, you’ll be safer.”

  “You really believe that?”

  “I have to.”

  I suspected I would never be safe from J.R. Simmons. I’d tricked him and trapped him using his own game, and he wasn’t the sort of man to let bygones be bygones.

  Joe cleared his throat. “Have you felt threatened in anyway? Have you felt like you’re being watched?”

  I hadn’t noticed either Jed or Merv before today, so I wasn’t too confident I could trust my skills of observation. And while I had noticed that strange man on Friday, I didn’t want to tell Joe about that. Not when it might mess up my current protective duty. “No. But I’m being careful.”

  “Do you have your Taser?”

  “Yeah, I keep it with me at all times. And there’s a gun at the house.” I didn’t mention Neely Kate had hers in her purse, along with her concealed carry permit.

  “Be careful with that gun. Don’t go shooting the chief deputy sheriff when he shows up at your door makin’ sure you’re okay,” he said with a grin in his voice.

  “I’ll try not to,” I teased, but now that I had him on the phone and in a good mood, I decided to press my luck. “Now that your father has been arrested, when can I get Dora’s journal back?”

  His tone changed to all business. “It’s no longer an issue.”

  “Has it been taken for evidence? Will it be used in the trial?”

  His silence was all the confirmation I needed.

  “That journal could contain information that would help keep your father in jail.”

  He groaned. “I’ve got it covered, Rose. I’m going to make sure he doesn’t ever hurt anyone again, okay?”

  What could I say? That I had trouble believing him? Those would be hard words for him to hear, but they were true. While I trusted him more than I had a week ago, I wasn’t totally onboard the Joe’s going to protect me against his father express.

  “With all due respect, Joe, that’s my property. If it’s not being held for evidence, I want it back.”

  “Fine. It’s evidence.”

  “Then why wasn’t it logged in?”

  He paused. “Who told you that?”

  Mason had heard it from Deputy Miller, but there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hades I was going to tell Joe that. “Maybe I had a vision.”

  “Of who?” he asked suspiciously.

  “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I have no idea where my property is currently located, and I want it back.”

  “You’ll get it back. I’m working on something that should play out soon, but I need the journal as bait.”

  “Bait? Bait for what? Is this official Fenton County business or personal?”

  “That doesn’t seem like it’s any of your concern,” Joe said, getting irritated.

  “It is when you’re using the book my birthmother left me as the lure.”

  “Rose, we’re on the same side here. We both want the same thing.”

  I was pretty sure he believed that, but I wasn’t so sure the sides were separated by a straight line. There were so many people out to make J.R. Simmons pay for his various misdeeds, I was fairly certain the lines were as twisted and contorted as an octagon.

  But I was too tired to fight him, and I suddenly regretted my decision to stay at the office. I really just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a month or two—until the pain in my chest over my breakup with Mason had faded enough for me to breathe.

  “I don’t want to fight, Joe, but I’m going to ask you about it again soon.”

  “Fair enough . . . and Rose?” I heard the hesitation in his voice.

  “Yeah?” I asked, worried about what was coming.

  “I’m
sorry to hear that you and Mason are separated. I hope you two work things out.” Did he know we’d broken up? How?

  Then I realized he was talking about Mason moving out. I fought back tears. “Thanks.”

  I waited for him to gloat or suggest we get back together, but he surprised me. “Have a good night, and let me know if you feel like you’re in danger.”

  I didn’t have it in me to remind him I was constantly in danger.

  Chapter 8

  I tried to concentrate on a landscaping design for one of the houses in Violet’s old neighborhood with the design program on my computer, but I gave up after it took me twenty minutes to place two trees. At this rate, it’d be next winter before I got to the beds around the house. When I got up and stretched, I realized it was already dark outside. The only light in the office was from the glow of my computer screen.

  The streets were fairly deserted, but there was a man standing in front of the office window. I realized with a jolt that it was the guy I’d seen on Friday. Average height, dark brown jacket, jeans, and a dark gray knit hat on his head. He turned to meet my eyes, and we engaged in a staring contest that lasted a good two seconds. It also gave me a good look at the brown-pigmented birthmark on his cheek.

  And a perfect set of scratch marks.

  I was staring at Sam Teagen. The man who had posted my bail. The man who’d hired Eric Davidson, the manager of the Burger Shack, to run Mason off the road, steal his cell phone, and most likely kill him. Judging from the scratch marks on Teagen’s cheek, he was also the man who had kidnapped me.

  And in his hand, hanging at his side, was a gun.

  I took a step back, wondering what to do. Should I call Joe? Jed? But before I could do anything, the man looked behind him and then took off running toward the antique store.

  My cell phone started to ring. I snatched the Taser off my desk before answering the call with trembling fingers.

  The screen showed a number I didn’t recognize. “Hello?”

  “Stay in your office, turn off all the lights, and make sure your door is locked,” a man snarled, out of breath.