In High Cotton: Neely Kate Mystery #2

by Denise Grover Swank

  Kate looked down and shrugged, dropping the bungee cord.

  Stella slumped to the floor, her eyes wide open but she was clearly dead.

  “Joe,” I said through my tears.

  “Kate,” Joe said in a calm voice. “You’re scaring our baby sister.”

  “The Simmons world is ugly,” Kate said as she walked around Stella’s dead body toward Branson, who was trying to crab-walk away from her. “She needs to learn that now.” She propped a hand on her hip and stared down at the man who’d made my life hell. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Branson looked up at her in terror, mumbling into his gag.

  She reached down, jerked the cloth from around his head, and removed the handkerchief in his mouth. “You were sayin’ something?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said through his tears. “I’m sorry I hurt her.”

  “Hurt her?” Kate said. “You destroyed her.”

  He started sobbing. “Please. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re only sorry because you got caught,” Kate said. “You hunted her down like a rabbit, all so you could get that bag of money.”

  “I don’t want it anymore,” he said through hiccupping sobs. “She can have it.”

  “That’s right,” Kate said. “She can have it. She earned that money.” She looked up at me. “But you owe her more than ten thousand dollars. So much more.”

  “I’ll get it,” he said. “I swear.”

  “You swear,” Kate said with a mock frown. “I don’t believe you, Branson.”

  “Kate,” Joe said in a stern voice. “Enough.”

  “No,” Kate said. “It’s not enough until justice has been served.”

  “It’s not up to you to mete out justice,” Joe countered.

  Kate gave him a thoughtful look. “Joe. You’re right.” Her gaze shifted to me. “Neely Kate, you need to be the one to kill him.”

  I shook my head in horror. “No.”

  “Kate!” Joe shouted.

  “Enough,” Jed called out from the shadows by the front door. “There won’t be any more killing tonight.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” Kate said. “Kyle.”

  Still holding my arm, Kyle pulled out a gun and fired off several rounds at the doorway.

  “No!” I screamed, trying to break free from his hold. “Jed!”

  Kate walked over to me and grabbed my face with both hands. “Neely Kate. It’s the price you have to pay to be a Simmons. You lose the love of your life. You lose a baby. We have to get rid of Jed.”

  I could feel myself sinking deep within myself, retreating from the pain and horror, but I wasn’t that girl anymore. I was a fighter now.

  Sucking in a breath, I jerked my arm, breaking free of Kate’s henchman, and glared up at my sister. “No. I’ve paid and paid and paid, and I refuse to give up anything else,” I said in a deadly cold voice. “Do you hear me?”

  Kate took a step backward and began to slow clap. “Good job, little sis. Look at you, growin’ a backbone.”

  “I’ve had one. You failed to notice.” I advanced toward her. “I refuse to give up one more person I love. I refuse.” Was Jed out there injured and bleeding? Was he dead? I couldn’t bring myself to consider it.

  I stomped toward Joe and knelt down at his feet and started to untie his ankle, thankful I could feel my hands again.

  “I never said you could untie him,” Kate said, her voice rising.

  “Well, I decided he needs to be free.” I got one leg loose and started on the other. “You say we’re family, well family doesn’t treat each other like this.” I got Joe’s second leg untied, then stood and moved behind him and started on his hands. “Family treats each other with love and respect.” I looked up at her stunned face. “Family supports one another, Kate. I would do anything to go back and save your boyfriend. So how dare you try to kill mine!”

  When I got Joe free, he shook out his hands and stood, keeping me behind him. “Kate. I want to help you.”

  “We want to help you,” I said, moving to Joe’s side. I was dangerously close to tears, knowing that Jed might be dead on the other side of the barn door, but I couldn’t think about that right now. I had to deal with Kate first.

  “No,” she said in a cold tone. “You and Joe want to help each other.”

  “I wasn’t lyin’ when I said I wanted a sister,” I said. “And I do think you’re trying to show me that you want to be a sister to me too, but not this way, Kate. Not this way.”

  She studied us both. “Maybe Joe’s the problem. Maybe you and I would be closer if he wasn’t around.”

  A phone began to ring, and she pulled it from out of her pocket. “What do you have?”

  I moved in front of my brother and looked up at him, whispering, “Joe, you have to go.”

  A fire filled his eyes as he kept watch on Kate, who was listening intently on her call. “I’m not leavin’ you, Neely Kate.”

  “She’s done all of this for me, Joe. She wants to be closer to me. She won’t hurt me.”

  “You’re like a shiny toy. She wants you until you become inconvenient.” A fierceness filled his eyes. “I’m sure as hell not leaving you here with her.”

  “I’m not leavin’ you either, but I need you to check on Jed.” My voice broke. “I can’t lose him.”

  “Carlisle’s like a cockroach. He’s not that easy to kill.” I could have taken offense, but he said it with a grin. “And besides, that man loves you somethin’ fierce. He won’t let himself get killed before he makes sure you’re safe.” His gaze held mine . “I’m gonna protect you, Neely Kate, but I suspect Carlisle’s out there, planning on protecting you too.”

  “What are you two talking about so intently?” Kate asked.

  I turned around to face her, reaching behind my back and grabbing the gun, but I made it look casual. “I want you to let Branson go, and Joe too. This is about you and me, Kate. Sister bonding. Let them go.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Let them go? Just like that?”

  I kept my hand behind my back. “Yes.”

  “I agree. We should let Branson go.” She turned to her bodyguard. “Kyle. Dispose of Branson.”

  A gunshot went off and Branson slumped to the floor with a bullet to his head.

  “Do you still want me to let go of Joe?” she asked in a cold tone.

  “You’d kill your own brother?” I asked in disbelief.

  “Kyle,” Kate said.

  Before he could point his gun, I lifted mine and pulled the trigger. Then I realized what I’d done and began to shake as Kyle slumped to the floor, dead.

  Kate stared at me in disbelief. “Look at you, Miss Backbone,” she said with a glint in her eye.

  “I won’t let you hurt him.”

  “Kate,” Joe said, approaching her. “It’s over.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not over. Not until I say it is.” She lifted her brow. “You gonna shoot me, Neely Kate? You gonna shoot your unarmed sister?”

  “I just want this to be over, Kate,” I pleaded.

  “Then you’re gonna want to let me go.”

  “Why the hell would she let you go?” Jed asked, walking into the barn with blood on his shoulder.

  “Jed.” I sucked in a breath, but Joe held up a hand to stop me.

  Jed ignored us both. “You’ve made Neely Kate’s life hell. You’ve done nothin’ but play games with her for weeks. Why in the hell would we let you go?”

  “Neely Kate’s not free just because these two nitwits are dead. Hardshaw knows something about her and they’ll be back.”

  “What do you know about Hardshaw?” Jed asked.

  “Enough to know she’s in trouble.” Kate turned to me. “That phone call I received—it’s about them. I’ve done my own investigation.”

  “We’ve got Adkins,” Joe said. “We’ll get information out of him. He says he’s willing to talk.”

  “Had Adkins,” Jed said. “I just got word they found him
hanging from a sheet in his cell.”

  Joe cursed.

  “You’re back to square one,” Kate said. “I’m the only one who knows why they really want her. And why they want the money.”

  “Why don’t you just tell us, Kate?” Joe asked. “Why all the drama?”

  “If I tell you, you’ll lock me up.”

  “If you think we’re letting you go, you’ve got another think coming.”

  Jed shifted his weight. “Is Neely Kate in immediate danger?”

  “She doesn’t know anything,” Joe said. “She’s playin’ you.”

  Kate pointed to Stella. “Did I get any of her story wrong? What about Branson’s?”

  My stomach churned. “No.”

  “I’m really good at findin’ out things.” She gave Jed a seductive look. “Just like you.”

  “Then tell me what you know,” Jed said. “And I’ll find out the rest.”

  “We could go together,” she said, smiling coyly.

  Jed looked unimpressed. “After you just tried to have me killed?”

  But I knew he’d go with her. If that’s what it took to protect me. My stomach sank. I had to stop him.

  Kate gave me a long look. “I’d take you in a heartbeat, sexy, but my sister.” She shrugged. “She’s more important.”

  I couldn’t have been more surprised than if she’d announced she was running off to a convent to become a nun.

  Jed’s jaw clenched, and he lowered his gun to his side. “Go.”

  Joe flipped his lid. “What the hell are you doin’, Carlisle?”

  Turning his hardened gaze on my brother, Jed said, “I told you that I’d do whatever it takes to save Neely Kate. Even this.”

  “No!” I protested. “We’re not letting her go! She just killed two people in cold blood. She killed Neil Franken and who knows who else. We’re not lettin’ her go.”

  “Is Neely Kate safe for now?” Joe asked, directing his question to our sister in a solemn tone.

  Kate’s eyes glittered with triumph. “For now, but they’re gonna put things together. I can stall that for a bit.”

  “How in the hell can you do that?” Joe asked.

  Some of her smugness faded. “Maybe you should ask yourself where I went for two years after I left Little Rock.”

  They stared at each other for several long seconds. Then Joe closed the distance between us and lowered my gun. “Go.”

  I turned to him in disbelief. “What?”

  “We’re still pinning these murders on you, Kate,” Joe said, ignoring my protest. “What happened to Franken?”

  If Kate felt relieved, she didn’t let on. She acted like she’d been expecting us to set her free all along. Then again, she probably had. “He’ll turn up tomorrow. Everyone will think it was Adkins.”

  “And Chad Manchester?” Joe asked.

  She shrugged. “Franken killed him. He confessed after Kyle and I had let him enjoy some of our hospitality.” A slow grin spread across her face. “That’s how we found out about his hotel room.”

  “And Branson and Stella?” Jed asked.

  She rolled her eyes. “Please. Once those two decided to loosen their tongues, they wouldn’t shut up.”

  Joe and Jed stood in silence. I couldn’t believe they were actually agreeing to this.

  “So we agree to a truce?” Kate asked. “To save Neely Kate.”

  Jed gave a sharp nod. Then they both turned to Joe.

  “Don’t do this, Joe,” I said. “Don’t let her go.”

  Joe turned his head slightly as he studied me. “Agreed.”

  For a split second, I thought he’d agreed with me, but he crossed the room and approached our sister. “I want updates. I need to…” He cast a glance to Jed. “We need to know if you see an immediate danger to her.”

  “I will,” she said.

  Then as if they were all in agreement, she headed for the barn door.

  All I could see was Stella’s face as Kate strangled her. I couldn’t believe we were just turning her loose to wreak her havoc on the unsuspecting world, all in the name of saving me.

  My life wasn’t worth the price.

  I lifted my weapon and took a step forward. “No. You’re not leavin’.”

  Kate pivoted to face me, a broad smile spreading across her face. “Go ahead, NK. Pull the trigger, because that’s the only way I’m stayin’.”

  When a shot didn’t ring out, a knowing look filled her eyes.

  “Don’t feel bad, little sis. Self-preservation is a strong trait, especially with the Simmonses.” Then she turned and walked out the door without so much as a final glance at her dead henchman.

  As I watched her leave, I knew I’d sunk to a new low.

  Maybe I was a Simmons after all.

  Chapter 28

  As soon as Kate left, Jed and Joe concocted a story to tell the sheriff’s deputies once they arrived. They planned to say that I’d been home when two people I’d known from Oklahoma showed up, begging for money. Stalling, I’d told them there was money buried out in the barn, and to our surprise, Kate had been there hiding out. Outraged that they were holding me hostage, she killed both of them after Branson had killed Kyle; then Joe had shown up and Kate had escaped in all the craziness. The fact that Jed wiped the gun free of my prints and placed the gun in Brandon’s hand fired into the barn wall helped corroborate the story.

  Both men had agreed that Jed couldn’t be anywhere around, and Jed had reluctantly left before Joe made the call to the sheriff’s department, but only after he’d held me and checked me over for wounds. Fortunately, the blood on his shoulder hadn’t been from a gunshot wound, but instead was a gash he’d gotten from splintered wood shot off the barn door.

  Ultimately, the deputies bought the story, but around daybreak, Mason turned up, wanting to find out what happened for himself.

  “Where’s Rose?” he asked when Joe and I had intercepted him halfway between the house and the barn.

  “Gone,” I said.

  “Why wasn’t she here with you? I can’t believe she’d leave you alone in that house with Kate on the loose.”

  “I was spending the night with Neely Kate,” Joe said, “but I got called away.”

  “Away for what?” Mason asked.

  Joe’s eyes turned to pinpricks. “Official sheriff business.”

  “Care to enlighten me what you were called away to? Last I heard, you took yesterday off.”

  “In case you hadn’t heard, Deveraux,” Joe ground out through gritted teeth, “a lot happened in the county yesterday, and as we both know, a day off is never really possible in this profession, and you can bet your ass I was checking on things since my little sister’s involved.”

  “I still find it hard to believe you’d leave Neely Kate alone,” Mason pressed. “And in the middle of the night. Seems risky.” Then he added, “Even for you.”

  Joe’s left eye twitched, and it had nothing to do with the glare of the rising sun. “What are you gettin’ at?”

  Mason gave a half shrug. “Nothing. It just seems like you’d make sure your sister was better protected.”

  “Here to rub salt in my wounds?”

  “Just makin’ an observation,” he said, glancing up at the barn. “Funny how Kate was just hanging out in there. What do you suppose she was waiting for?”

  “The hell if I know,” Joe said. “Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

  “You know.” Mason shifted his weight. “I would have if you’d apprehended her.”

  I didn’t see this conversation improving. “Mason,” I said. “It’s been a long night. Care to walk me back to the house?”

  “Of course,” he said in a gentle tone, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and leading me to the back door. “How are you doin’ with all of this, Neely Kate? You look banged up. Do you need to be checked out at the hospital?”

  “Of course not,” I said. “I’m fine.”

  He glanced at my bruised temple. “Who hit you
?”

  “Stella.”

  “The woman from Oklahoma? What did she and the man want?”

  “Money.”

  We reached the kitchen door, which Mason opened to let me in, following behind. “I didn’t know you had friends in Oklahoma.”

  I could have gotten angry. I knew what he was up to—trying to find the holes in our story. He was a smart man, and he knew something smelled fishy. But I also believed he was truly trying to seek justice. It was hard to fault him for that. “Coffee?”

  “Yeah,” he said in surprise. “Thanks.”

  “They weren’t my friends,” I said as I started scooping the grounds. “Not anymore.” I cringed. “I knew them when I moved to Ardmore after I graduated from high school. We didn’t keep in touch after I came back here.”

  “Kind of weird they’d show up here after all those years,” he said. “And around the same exact time Kate broke loose.”

  I poured the water into the coffeemaker, then turned it on. I could make an enemy of Mason, or I could try to keep him as a friend. I’d always liked Mason, and I knew he’d liked me too. The question was could I count on him to pick friendship over his job. I wasn’t so sure I could. Not anymore.

  Sitting down across from him at the kitchen table, I said, “Living in Oklahoma was the worst time of my life. I did quite a few things I wasn’t proud of, and Branson and Stella were part of it. Turned out they were desperate for money, and somehow they found out where I was and decided to hit me up for a payoff.” I looked into Mason’s eyes. “I’m begging you to leave my past in the past.”

  “Sounds like it’s not in the past anymore.”

  “Mason.” I leaned forward and covered his hand with my own. “There are things in my past that could hurt me.”

  “Like Stella and Branson?”

  I held his gaze. “Worse.”

  “I can help you, Neely Kate, but you have to tell me what’s goin’ on or I’m hamstrung. Let me help you.”

  I wanted to believe him, but he was going to have to prove himself again, and so far he wasn’t even close to convincing me.