RG2 - Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons

by Denise Grover Swank

  I finished getting ready for work, meandering through my house, amazed that I was actually going to sell it and move away. I’d lived here my entire life.

  A knock at the front door shook me out of my musing. Nobody used the front door. When I opened it, I was surprised to see Officer Ernie, looking all official. My heart jumped into my throat. I’d been with Joe all weekend and hadn’t done anything illegal.

  “Can I help you, Officer?”

  “I received a complaint I’m following up on.”

  “A complaint? Who complained?”

  “It was an anonymous complaint, miss.”

  “What was the complaint?”

  “You were reported for indecent acts in public.” He looked over my shoulder into the living room. “May I come in?”

  “No, you may not.”

  His eyes widened in surprise.

  “We can discuss this right here.”

  He cleared his throat and pulled out his notebook. “You were accused of kissin’ a man in public.”

  Crossing my arms, I shifted my weight to one side. “I missed the vote to make that an illegal act.”

  “Well, technically it’s not illegal…”

  I uncrossed my arms and clenched my fists at my sides. “I was in my own front yard, kissin’ my boyfriend goodbye. My boyfriend, the state police detective.”

  He frowned, closing his notebook. “The entire police department of Henryetta is fully aware of who your boyfriend is.”

  “Would you like his number? You can call him and tell him about the complaint.”

  Officer Ernie glared. “Your boyfriend may work for the Arkansas State Police, but you are still under Henryetta jurisdiction. We’re all watchin’ you, missy. It would be a shame if you went back to jail.”

  “For kissin’?”

  “That’s how it starts, then the next thing you know, you’re naked on the hood of your car, makin’ love to Def Leppard’s ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’.”

  He sounded like he was speaking from personal experience. I stared at him for several seconds, trying to purge the image from my mind. “Is there anything else?”

  Disappointment turned his mouth down. He must have expected me to cower in fear. “No, but once a lawbreaker—”

  “—always a lawbreaker. Got it.” There was no point arguing with the man. I gave him the sweetest smile I could muster. “You have a nice day now.”

  Then I shut the door as he was getting ready to say something. I sure wasn’t making friends with the Henryetta law enforcement, but then again, they’d never liked me much to begin with. Thank goodness I was leaving this small-minded town.

  Now it was time to go to work and give my notice.

  Suzanne was subdued when I showed up. I expected I’d have to defend my right to stay employed even though I intended to quit, but she tried to ignore my presence, sneaking glances at me throughout the morning. She must have found out she couldn’t fire me after all. And she must have heard the gossip, realizing I really had been at jury duty. I decided I’d give my two-week notice when I left for the day.

  Right before lunchtime, my cell phone buzzed. I thought it might be Joe or Violet, but was surprised to see it was Neely Kate.

  Lunch? ;)

  I texted back. Yes, is 1:00 too late?

  Nope, meet you at Merilees?

  Yes. :)

  I thought about my new friendship with Neely Kate. I may have only known her a week, but I was going to miss her.

  The café had cleared out by one, and I found her sitting at a table, waving her arms. “Rose, over here!”

  “How’s the bridesmaids dress situation?” I asked, sitting down.

  She waved my question away. “Forget about the wedding, tell me everything that happened.”

  “You mean in jail?”

  Rolling her eyes, she leaned forward. “No, at the weekend softball game. Of course at the jail. And getting out. And Mason Deveraux taking Judge McClary on to get you out.”

  I tilted my head sideways. “Wait. What are you talking about? And you scared the living daylights out of Joe with your message.”

  “Good! He deserved it after that whole Hilary incident.”

  “That wasn’t his fault.”

  She pinched her lips. “Hmm.” Resting her elbows on the table, her eyes glittered with excitement. “Spill.”

  The waitress came over and I ordered a glass of sweet tea and a chicken salad sandwich.

  “Well, look at you.” Neely Kate preened. “Orderin’ without a menu. You’re like a pro. Now tell me what happened!”

  “Not much, really.”

  Neely Kate raised her eyebrows. “That’s not what I heard.”

  “I suspect what you heard is a whole lot more exciting than what happened.”

  “Tell me anyway.”

  “I got locked up and then Mr. Deveraux came to see me.”

  “He did? Why?” I couldn’t believe something slipped by her.

  “He said he felt guilty because I went to talk to him the day before and he yelled at me. He thought that’s why I went to Frank Mitchell’s house.”

  “Is it true? Did you go to his house because Mr. Deveraux yelled at you?”

  I sighed. When she put it that way… “Yeah, I guess.”

  “But why?”

  “Because I know Bruce Wayne Decker is innocent. And no one else is fighting for him.”

  Neely Kate nodded, accepting that I knew he was innocent without asking questions.

  “I thought maybe I could get Mr. Deveraux to listen to me, but obviously that didn’t work out.”

  To her credit, she didn’t say anything about me keeping my intent from her last Thursday. “What else did he say when he came to see you in jail?”

  I remember the pain in his eyes when I asked him why he wanted to be a district attorney. It felt like a private moment. Something too personal to share, like if I did I’d be violating his trust somehow, which seemed crazy. “Not much. He told me he felt guilty and he was goin’ to get me out.”

  “And he was true to his word. Judge McClary threatened to throw him in jail too if he didn’t back off, but he kept on pushing.”

  “Joe didn’t tell me that part.”

  “I heard Joe went up against the judge too.”

  “He said he had to vouch for my character.”

  “He did more than that. He took full professional responsibility for your future actions.”

  “You mean his job could be on the line because of me?”

  She shrugged. “Yeah, but you’re safe. You’re not on the jury any more so you can’t get in trouble for that.”

  I gnawed on my bottom lip. “I guess…”

  “So what are you goin’ to do?”

  “About what?”

  “The case, silly. You’re not gonna just let it go, are you?”

  “I dunno. Before it was just me on the line. But if Joe has professionally taken responsibility for me…” Why didn’t he tell me?

  We spent the rest of our time talking about her wedding. She pulled out a silvery, glittery invitation and handed it to me. Rose and Joe was written in elaborate curlicues. “I hope you can come,” she gushed.

  “Oh! I haven’t told you my big news,” I said, studying the invitation.

  “Bigger than gettin’ arrested?”

  I nodded. “I’m goin’ to move to Little Rock!”

  Her eyes were as wide as her hooped earrings. “He asked you to move in with him?” Then she squealed so loud that everyone in the café turned to stare.

  “Neely Kate! Shh!”

  “That is so xcitin’!”

  “Yeah, we’ll see what Violet says.”

  “You haven’t told her yet?”

  I filled Neely Kate in on what happened Saturday night.

  Neely Kate’s mouth pinched in disapproval. “I’d love to get my hands on your sister.”

  “She didn’t do it out of meanness. She really thinks she’s doin’ what’s best for me.
”

  Shaking her head, she frowned. “I’m not so sure about that.” She glanced down at her watch. “Oh my stars and garters! I’m late.” She jumped up out of her chair.

  “Neely Kate. Wait a second.” She turned around.

  “Can you look something up for me?”

  She sat back down, resting her chin on her hand. “Of course!”

  “But you don’t even want to know what I’m going to ask before you agree?”

  She shrugged. “No. What do you want me to do?”

  I leaned close and lowered my voice. “I found out that someone was trying to buy Frank Mitchell’s house before he died and he was trying to keep from selling. But his neighbor said the house got sold by his son soon after his death, then sold again not long ago. I think the second time was to a developer who’s wanting to put in a super store, but I wonder who bought it the first time. Can you find out?”

  She winked with a grin. “Pleaaase. I can find that out in my sleep. I’ll call you with the info later.”

  “Thanks, Neely Kate.”

  “What are friends for?”

  I was grinning when I went back to work, which perplexed Suzanne. The afternoon flew by and I grinned even bigger when I handed her my letter at the end of the day.

  “What’s this?” she asked, squinting at the paper. “Your jury letter?”

  “Nope, it’s my two-week notice. It’s your lucky day!”

  The vinyl of my car’s seat burned my legs when I climbed in, but I was so happy, I didn’t care. I was actually quitting the job I’d hated for years.

  Checking my cell phone, I noticed Neely Kate had left a message.

  I called her on the way home, the air blasting so hard from the vents I had trouble hearing her. “Hey, Neely Kate.”

  “Rose! I found something out!”

  Her excitement made my stomach jittery. “What?”

  “Hyde Investments, a company in Louisiana, bought the house from Frank Mitchell’s son.”

  “But shouldn’t it have gone to probate?” Even though Momma had left the house to Violet, we still had to go through probate to sell it.

  “No, his son’s name was on the deed.”

  “Oh.” I wished Momma had thought to do that and save us all a lot of hassle.

  “Then just a few weeks ago, another corporation bought it. The company that owns the superstore.”

  “Hmm…”

  “What do you make of that?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Do you know anything about Hyde Investments?”

  “Nope, not a thing other than it’s based in Louisiana. I couldn’t find out much about them from my search on the internet. If it’s based out of state, could it be owned by the bookies that Frank owed money to?”

  “I don’t know, but it seems unlikely that an investment company in Louisiana would kill Frank Mitchell.”

  “Rose, there’s something else.” She sounded nervous.

  “What?” My tongue tripped on the word.

  “They’re expecting to wrap up the trial on Wednesday.”

  The way she said it told me this was important information. “What does that mean?”

  “It means you have to hurry. You can still save Bruce Wayne if you find evidence to keep him from being convicted, but if you find it after he’s convicted, he’ll have to go through an appeals process that could take years.”

  I sucked in my breath. “Oh no.”

  “What are you gonna do?”

  I needed to accelerate my investigation. “Neely Kate, what are you doin’ tonight?”

  “Paintin’ my nails and watching TV. Why?”

  “I feel like playing pool.”

  “Um, I think it’s shootin’ pool.”

  Oh, crappy doodles. I had a lot to learn in a few hours.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Neely Kate had agreed to meet me at the pool hall at eight o’clock. I was glad for that, since it would give me a chance to take Muffy on a short walk. I’d neglected her lately with all the excitement involving my jury duty. I wondered how she’d like Little Rock. Joe didn’t have a yard.

  After our walk, Muffy and I shared a dinner of Joe’s leftover Chicken Parmesan. Thinking about him made me miss him like crazy. I reached for my phone, debating whether to call him or not. It seemed silly to worry about calling him too much. I hadn’t called him since last week, and in the meantime I’d agreed to move in with him. Surely, we were past the worrying-I’d-look-like-a clingy-girlfriend stage. Before I could dial, the phone rang and I expected it to be Joe. Instead, it was Violet. I hesitated before answering, deciding I had to talk to her sometime.

  “Hello, Violet.”

  “Rose, I’ve called to apologize.”

  My mouth dropped open and my brain scrambled to take in her words.

  “Are you there? Say something.”

  “Yeah, I’m here…I’m just…”

  “Do you forgive me?” Her tone was snippy, not what I expected from someone truly contrite.

  “Well, Violet, what exactly are you sorry about? You hurt me deeply.”

  Her voice lowered. “Rose, honey. I really am sorry. I know I hurt you and I don’t know what got into me. Of course you’re good enough for Joe. That wasn’t what I meant. It all came out wrong. I watched Momma be mean to you for years and I just can’t bear the thought of someone else being mean and spiteful to you. Who’s goin’ to protect you?”

  “I can protect myself. And if I can’t, I think that Joe did a pretty good job of provin’ that he could.”

  “Yeah, he did.” She was silent for a moment. “I’m going to the Henryetta Garden Club meeting tomorrow night. The guest speaker is talkin’ about roses and I know how much you love yours.”

  I had a rose garden in my backyard. I’d have to leave it when I moved, and the sadness that gripped me caught me by surprise.

  “Anyway.” Her voice was light and breezy. “I thought maybe you’d like to come with me.”

  “Isn’t Miss Mildred president of the Garden Club? I thought they met during the day.”

  “Well… they usually do, but they’re trying out some evening meetings to see if they can recruit some new blood. The median age of the Garden Club is currently around seventy-eight.”

  That made sense.

  “So? Do you want to come? I can pick you up at six forty-five.”

  I had nothing else to do, and if I were busy maybe I wouldn’t miss Joe so much. “Okay.”

  “Great! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She hung up and I thought about her sudden turnaround. I was glad we weren’t fighting at the moment, but I was waiting for her to pull her next stunt. I was going to have to tell her about my pending move, and I suspected it wouldn’t go well.

  I picked at my chicken, missing Joe again. This was ridiculous. Cold chicken made me want to cry. And it made me want to hear his voice. What in the world was wrong with me? I decided that I should talk to him now, in case he called when I was out.

  He answered on the second ring. “Hey, darlin’, how was your day?”

  “Great. I turned in my notice.”

  “You really did it?” He sounded awed.

  “Of course. The sooner I leave the DMV, the sooner I can move up to Little Rock.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Me either.”

  “Have you told Violet yet?”

  “Nooo… but she called and apologized.”

  “What exactly did she apologize for?”

  Nothing slipped past this man. “She said what she said came out wrong. That I was good enough for you. She said she was worried that someone was going to hurt me and she wouldn’t be able to protect me.”

  “Uh-huh,” he answered in a monotone.

  “Yeah, I don’t trust her either, but I’m goin’ to the Garden Club with her tomorrow night.”

  “I didn’t know you were in the Garden Club.” He sounded guarded.

  “I’m not. But the guest speaker is a rose expert so
Violet thought I might want to hear her since I love roses so much.”

  “Well, I hope you have good time.” He was still reserved, not that I blamed him.

  “What did you do today?”

  “Oh, borin’ police stuff.”

  “You can’t tell me.”

  “I can’t give you details. But I can tell you that we’re getting ready to set up an undercover sting.” Something in his voice set off alarm bells in my head.

  “You’re going undercover.”

  “Not yet.”

  Yet. My heart sputtered with fear. “When?”

  “A few weeks.”

  “For how long?”

  “I don’t know, darlin’.”

  I swallowed the lump in throat. “How long have you known?”

  “A week.”

  “And you’re just now tellin’ me?”

  Joe sighed. “I’m trying to get out of it. I put in for another transfer.”

  “Why? You love your job.”

  “I love you more.”

  I was torn. I didn’t want him to go undercover, but I didn’t want to be the reason he gave up something he loved. “Then why am I movin’ to Little Rock when you’re not even gonna be there?”

  “It’s not like Henryetta, Rose. I don’t have to live there. I’ll see you at night.”

  “But you’ll still be in danger?”

  “A policeman is always in danger, Rose.”

  And there was the crux of it. Other than his time in Henryetta, I tended to picture Joe behind a desk since he usually called me from his office during work hours. But the reality was much more dangerous and I could lose him at any time.

  “Say something.”

  Honesty seemed the best way to go here. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Tell me that you still love me.”

  “Oh, Joe.” I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead into my hand. Joe had never lied to me about his job. I knew full well what I was signing up for when I started seeing him. What gave me the right to hold it against him now? “Of course I love you. I’m just tryin’ to calm my fears.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve never really had to think about someone worryin’ about me.”

  I smiled even if he couldn’t see it. “Well, you do what you need to do. I love you and nothing’s goin’ to change that.”