Hell in a Handbasket: Rose Gardner Investigations #3

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Jed helped me bring him downstairs,” Neely Kate said as she flipped some bacon in a cast-iron skillet. “We wanted to ask him more questions about Becky, plus we figured he was goin’ stir-crazy upstairs.”

  I doubted Jed could care less if the kid was going stir-crazy, but I was sure he wanted answers. “Good idea.”

  “Where’s Witt?”

  “He’ll be back later tonight,” Neely Kate said. “He was goin’ to see if he could catch wind of what Wagner might have planned tonight.”

  While I suspected that was true, he’d probably also purposefully made himself scarce after hearing about Neely Kate’s plan to cook.

  Neely Kate’s focus was on the skillet, but Jed had leveled a good, long look at me. Based on the set of his jaw, I realized something was wrong.

  “Rose,” he finally said, “when I took Muffy out a bit ago, I noticed the screen to one of the basement windows is loose. I wanted to point it out to you so we can get it secured.”

  Neely Kate glanced over her shoulder. “You don’t need to show it to her, Jed. We can just get it fixed.”

  “No,” I said, still holding Muffy in my arms. “Muffy got out the other night when Kip Wagner and his men showed up, and I forgot in all the craziness. I want to see if she could have used that window.”

  “Okay . . . ,” she said, sounding suspicious. She had a right to be. I knew Jed had an ulterior motive. He had something to tell me.

  We went out the back door and rounded the corner to the side of the house. Sure enough, the window screen had been jostled loose, leaving a big enough space for Muffy to get out. But the broken window was much more concerning.

  “Do you think Muffy could have done this?” I asked.

  “No.”

  “I wonder how long it’s been like this.”

  “Good question. I checked out the basement, but I didn’t find any sign of someone snoopin’ around. And there’s no glass on the inside. The glass shards are lyin’ in the grass.” So maybe he had asked me out here to examine the window.

  “So someone or something broke out,” I said. “Not in.”

  “I still don’t think it was Muffy. She would have been cut up, and I looked her over. There’s nothin’.”

  I frowned. “One more thing to worry about.”

  “If it’s all right with you, I’m going to see about getting it fixed tomorrow.”

  Crossing my arms as I studied the window, I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”

  “I know you saw Skeeter today.”

  I stared up at him, trying to decide how he’d found out and if I was about to get a lecture. “And . . . ?”

  “He told me he’s concerned about you girls’ safety, and he wants me to start up your self-defense lessons again.”

  I nodded. “He suggested the same to me.”

  “It’s a good idea. We can even work on some of it here on the farm.”

  “We’ll just have to warn Joe if we do target practice,” I said, my stomach twisting with anxiety. “Otherwise, he’ll worry if he hears the shots.”

  “Something else is bothering you,” he said. “I can see it in your eyes, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to bring it up in front of the kid.”

  “You’re right, but Neely Kate needs to know too, so I’ll wait to tell you both.”

  “Hey!” Neely Kate called out. “You two get in here! Dinner’s ready!”

  * * *

  We all picked at our food, even Neely Kate, who seemed reluctant to admit that her Bacon, Lentil, and Tomato sandwiches with mint jelly had been a horrible idea. Marshall, on the other hand, wolfed it down.

  Even if the food had tasted halfway decent, I would have had a hard time choking it down. Jed had told us that James and several men would be over at around eight to help stand watch for Wagner. I broke the news that Dermot and his men would likely not be coming but refused to give the reason at the dinner table.

  But then it hit me that we were dealing with a bigger issue, one of my own making. There was about to be a possible shootout at my farm in about three hours. Given that the sheriff’s department was on overdrive, they’d likely show up on Wagner’s heels, especially since I’d given them the nod about him. Even worse, Mason Deveraux would jump on it like a flea to a dog.

  When we finished, Jed helped Marshall into the living room and turned on the TV, then came back into the kitchen under the guise of helping us clean up, even though the work was mostly done by the time he came back in.

  “Jed,” I said in a low voice. “I think we should call the whole thing off.”

  “What are you talkin’ about?”

  “James and his men can’t come out here. It’s too dangerous.”

  He scowled. “We’ve been in dangerous spots before.”

  “That’s not what I’m talkin’ about.” Although it was pretty sad that a potential shootout wasn’t our worst problem. “If there’s a shootout, then you and James and his men can’t be anywhere near here. And neither can Marshall.”

  “You expect us to leave you girls here like sitting ducks?” he asked as though I’d lost my mind.

  I shook my head, hating what I was about to say. “No. We won’t be here either.” This was going to make it look like I was running from my problems, like I was weak, but I sure didn’t want to go to jail again.

  “While I’m finding it hard to disagree with you, I’m curious what made you change your mind,” Jed said.

  “I called in an anonymous tip that Wagner might be responsible for Patsy Sue’s disappearance and Carol Ann’s murder. Joe hinted at it later. Which means they’re watchin’ him. We don’t want to fall on their radar.”

  “They can trace that to your phone,” Jed said.

  I rolled my eyes. “I called from a pay phone. But there’s another issue on top of that one.” I paused. “Mason.”

  “What about Mason?” Neely Kate asked.

  “I found out that he’s the head of a task force set up by the attorney general. He’s here to root out corruption, with the mayor’s approval, but he thinks it stems from the crime world, and he plans to root it out there too. If there’s a shootout and James, or Jed, or anyone associated with them is involved, Mason’s gonna lock them up faster than we can say Rumpelstiltskin.”

  Neely Kate paled. “I thought he was only in town for a couple of days.”

  “This afternoon he told me that his plans have changed. He’s movin’ back.”

  Her eyes flew wide. “Oh . . . what does that mean for you and . . .”

  “We’re not getting back together, and after our discussion this afternoon, there’s little chance of him wantin’ me back.”

  The surprise on Jed’s face let me know that neither James nor Neely Kate had filled him in on our meeting.

  “I’m sorry, Rose,” she said in a soft tone.

  “I’m not.” I didn’t have time to deal with my feelings for Mason.

  “Why isn’t Dermot comin’?” Jed asked. “Skeeter said you were workin’ out a deal with him.”

  “I found his terms unacceptable.” And now that I knew the truth about why Mason was in town, I had to wonder if I should be trying to work something out with Dermot at all. If he were smart, he’d stay as far from me as he could get.

  “Have you told Skeeter?” Jed asked.

  “About which part? Mason’s witch hunt or Dermot?”

  “Both.”

  “Neither. I haven’t had the opportunity.” I definitely intended to tell him about Mason. I was just trying to figure out the right way to do it.

  Jed scratched his chin. “Then if you’re not opposed, I think I’ll see if Skeeter is open to lettin’ us use a safe house. The sooner we get out of here, the better.”

  I took a moment to think it over one last time, then nodded. Our lives weren’t worth the risk. “Okay.”

  Jed headed out the back door, and Neely Kate took my hand.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “No,” I said with a shaky v
oice, “but I will be.”

  “Is part of it that you’re upset you’re not gettin’ back together with Mason?”

  Was it? I was hurt over his opinion of me. I was upset that he was going after James, but was I upset that we were done for good? “I think I’m upset that I can’t go back to my life last fall . . . when Mason and I were so happy and in love, but there’s no stuffing that genie back into a bottle. I’m not that person anymore, and we both said some things this afternoon that we can’t take back.”

  Neely Kate bristled. “He said some ugly things to you?”

  “I’m sure he didn’t like what I had to say to him either.”

  “And I’m sure he deserved every word.”

  Jed walked back in the kitchen door, stuffing his phone into his front jeans pocket. “I think we’re safe here for tonight.”

  “Why?” Neely Kate asked.

  “You were right. Wagner’s bein’ held for questioning,” he said. “The sheriff’s department just showed up at the pawn shop and invited him to the station. He wasn’t arrested. But he showed up at the station an hour later with his attorney in tow. We should be safe for tonight.”

  “But what makes you think that?”

  “Joe will have his men watchin’ him after he leaves the station. They won’t get anything from him there, but they’ll keep a close eye on him in case he scurries off to do something stupid. So if he does show up here, Joe’s men will be all over it, but chances are that he’ll lie low. At least for a day or two.”

  I nodded.

  “I doubt he’ll think the call came from you, so he’s still just holdin’ you accountable for the file . . . which we still don’t know the first thing about.”

  “I need to tell James about Mason. In person.”

  Jed watched me for a moment, then gave a sharp nod. “Agreed, but he’s not in Henryetta right now.”

  I blinked, sure I’d heard him wrong. “He was planning to come over to face Kip Wagner.”

  “He was, but as soon as he found out Wagner was at the sheriff’s department, he left town.”

  “Where did he go?”

  He remained silent for a moment, then said, “You’ll have to ask him.”

  I planned to.

  Chapter 23

  I sent James a text that I needed to talk to him when he got back into town. He texted that he’d be back the next afternoon, but to call him if there was an emergency.

  After another sleepless night, Neely Kate and I headed to the office the next morning, with Jed following behind us. He’d gotten word that Wagner had been released around ten o’clock the night before, and a couple of James’ men had parked at the entrance of my property all night, standing guard.

  We had two clients on the schedule, and we decided to drop by Big Thief Hollow to talk to Carol Ann’s cousin after our last appointment in Pickle Junction. Jed followed us to the first client, but he had to leave for a meeting of his own. He told us to hole up and give him a call if we got into any trouble.

  “Rose. You have your gun?” he asked.

  I fingered the fabric of my skirt. “Yeah.”

  “I have mine too,” Neely Kate said, clutching her large purse to her side.

  He grinned. “I know. I’m countin’ on it, but I’m hopin’ you don’t need to use it.”

  I hoped we didn’t need to use them either.

  After our second appointment, I decided to stop by Bruce Wayne’s job site since we were five minutes away. He’d been so busy I hadn’t seen him in nearly a week.

  Bruce Wayne gave us a wave as we walked up. “I didn’t expect to see you two,” he said with a grin. “I heard you’re workin’ the impossible—tryin’ to prove Patsy Sue Clydehopper is innocent.”

  I chuckled, but Neely Kate didn’t look amused. I suspected she was having major second thoughts about taking this case . . . not that she’d admit it.

  “We had a potential landscaping client down here,” I said, “but now we’re on our way to Carol Ann Nelson’s cousin’s house to ask her more questions.”

  Bruce Wayne’s grin fell. “The drug dealin’ cousin?”

  “That’s the one,” Neely Kate said.

  “Does Jed know you’re goin’ there?”

  Neely Kate shot him a defiant glare. “I don’t need his permission.”

  “I didn’t mean to insinuate that you did. It’s just I know he’s kind of protective of you.”

  Her expression softened. “Jed was with me when we visited her once already. He’d pitch a fit if he thought it was dangerous.” Then she added, “Not that I’m askin’ for permission from anyone.”

  He gave her a slight nod.

  “So you know about Carol Ann’s cousin, huh?” I asked.

  He hesitated. “Yeah, I’ve heard a few things.”

  “Like what?”

  “She’s a small-time dealer, but I hear she’s makin’ a move to go big time.”

  I shifted my weight. “Carol Ann was supposedly tryin’ to open a gentleman’s club. Had you heard anything about that?”

  He shook his head. “Nope.”

  “Does her cousin have enough money to help her out?”

  Bruce Wayne laughed. “Charlene barely has enough money to pay rent. All the money she makes goes straight to her drug habit. Likely as not, her ambitions are just a pipe dream.”

  “Do you know who her dealer is?” I asked. “I hear it’s a guy named Denny Carmichael.”

  Bruce Wayne’s expression hardened. “You do not want to mess with Denny, Rose. He’s bad news.”

  “I was told I’d need backup.”

  “At the very least,” he said. “But if I had my druthers, you’d stay away entirely.”

  “Good to know.”

  A middle-aged woman stepped out of the house, shading her eyes as she looked over at us. “Rose? Is that you?”

  “Hey, Mrs. Garcia,” I said. “I wanted to drop by and see how things are goin’.”

  “Isn’t it beautiful?” she gushed. “I love how you put the rose bushes over here, but now I’m wondering if we need another couple of bushes at the corner.”

  “Let me come take a look,” I said, wandering over to her.

  I spent five minutes talking to her about her options and her general thoughts about Bruce Wayne’s crew of five men. (She loved them.) She went back into the house, and one of Bruce Wayne’s men leaned closer to me.

  “Miss Rose.”

  I gave him a smile. “Hey, Tillman. I hope you’re keepin’ hydrated in this heat.” I’d given Bruce Wayne free rein to hire his crew. I didn’t know most of the men very well, but I knew Tillman better than the rest. He and Bruce Wayne had been friends in the old days, before they’d both cleaned up their acts. While Bruce Wayne had been a drug user, he’d mostly stuck to pot. I knew Tillman had used some harder stuff, but he’d been clean for nearly a year.

  He laughed. “This heat ain’t nothin’. It sure was hotter last week.”

  “Well, nevertheless, we don’t want you gettin’ heatstroke.”

  Neely Kate was texting when I approached her, and Bruce Wayne had already gotten back to work. I told him about the extra rose bushes our client wanted.

  “I can call the nursery and make sure they have them on hand,” I said.

  “That’s okay,” Bruce Wayne said with a grin. “I’ll call and ask Anna.”

  I smiled. Anna was Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend, and she made him happier than I’d ever seen him. It warmed my heart to see him beam like that. “Okay, but if you need me to run over there and get them, let me know. Neely Kate and I might be workin’ a case right now, but this is our bread and butter. We’ve got to keep the landscaping clients happy.”

  “Thanks, Rose.”

  Neely Kate glanced up from her phone. “Charlene’s at the rec center. We’re pickin’ her up there.”

  I leveled my gaze with hers and asked in a flat voice, “We’re meeting her at the Big Thief Hollow rec center? Do I need to remind you of what happened the
last time we were there?”

  When Neely Kate and I had been lookin’ for her cousin, Dolly Parton, last December, we’d gone down to Big Thief Hollow to talk to her cousin’s best friend. Turned out that Tabitha held a huge grudge against Neely Kate for snatching up Ronnie and marrying him. She’d attacked Neely Kate and things had gotten so heated the sheriff’s department was called. Next thing I knew, Neely Kate and I were in handcuffs until Joe showed up to set us loose. I did not want a repeat.

  “Tabitha probably isn’t there. We’ll be fine.”

  Why did I have my doubts?

  We loaded up in my truck and talked about how we’d approach the interview with Charlene.

  “Let me do most of the talkin’ on this one,” Neely Kate said, looking through her massive purse. “It might be better since I’ve already talked to her.”

  “Good idea,” I said. “We need to focus on what she knows about Carol Ann’s business. If she told someone she was gonna pay them back and the investment fell through, they may have decided to kill her and Patsy just stumbled upon the body.”

  “Yeah, good point.”

  “Also,” I said, a new thought hitting me, “we need to find out if Carol Ann stayed with her cousin until Saturday, and if so, why did she check into the motel?”

  “And where did she make her fried chicken for the church picnic?” Neely Kate said, still sorting through her bag. “She couldn’t have made it in a motel.”

  “Another good point.” I cast a glance at her. “What are you lookin’ for?”

  She looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes. “Nothing.”

  My own eyes narrowed. “What’s goin’ on, Neely Kate?”

  “Nothing. You’re sure paranoid today.”

  I considered pressing her, but I knew I wouldn’t get it out of her. I’d have to bide my time.

  There were only a few cars in the rec center parking lot when I pulled in. I shot Neely Kate a look, still worried about her suspicious behavior. “What’s Charlene doin’ here, anyway?” The last time we’d been here, Neely Kate’s cousin’s best friend had been teaching a senior citizen belly dancing class as part of her community service.

  “She’s takin’ an art lesson. It gets over at noon.”