“And kill Mason?”
“Yes, if they murdered the ADA and pinned the blame on me, I’d be out of the picture. They could take over without anyone in their way.” His eyes narrowed. “It’s a helluva plan. And it almost worked.”
“What’s their connection to Gems?”
Skeeter shook his head. “There isn’t one.”
“But you said Gems was trying to put you out of business. It’s connected.”
“No. Neither Stevens nor Winn have anything to do with Gems.”
“You can’t be sure.”
“I am. Trust me. I’ve already checked.”
“But what about Dolly and Nikko?”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with this.”
“But—”
“Gems is small fry, Rose. It’s the least of my worries. Go home, get some sleep, and I’ll check in with you in the morning.”
“I’m still looking into it.”
“Leave it.” His words were hard, and if he’d used that tone with me weeks ago, I would have been scared.
What I did wasn’t Skeeter Malcolm’s business, but I knew when to pick my battles. “Then you have to promise to tell me whatever you find out about Bear and Neil.”
He didn’t answer.
“Skeeter, you trust me to share everything that I find out. I have to be able to feel the same way.”
He was silent for several seconds, studying the headrest in front of him. Finally he said, “Okay. If I think anything is helpful to you I’ll share it, but you don’t want me to share everything. Trust me on that.”
“You’re right about that.” I reached for the door handle. “Can I go now?”
“Yeah.” He sounded distracted.
I opened the door, and he put his hand on my arm. “Jed told me how you handled all of those interviews. I’m impressed.”
I shook my head, and pain shot through every part of my skull. “I did what I had to do to save Mason.”
“It was more solid information than I’ve gotten in weeks. Thank you.”
I turned to look at him, guessing that thank you were two words he rarely strung together. “Coming from you, that means a lot. I appreciate everything you’re doing to help me save Mason. I know it would be easier for you if he . . .” My voice trailed off, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Thank you.”
“Go home,” he said gruffly.
With any luck at all, Mason would be able to come home tomorrow.
Getting back to Maeve’s was tricky. There was a new deputy parked out in front of Maeve’s house, so I left her car around the block and snuck through the shadowy alley to the back door. I made sure to grab my note on the way to my room.
My headache was so bad I was sure I’d never get to sleep, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.
When I woke up the next morning, the sun was shining through the blinds on the window, and Muffy was snuggled against me, snoring lightly. I sat up, and my stomach felt queasy, like I was suffering from a hangover. A vision hangover. At least I knew the consequences of forcing so many visions in a short period of time. I grabbed my phone to check the time and discovered I’d slept until nine-thirty. I also found two texts and three missed calls.
One message was from SM. Call me was all it said. The second was from a number I didn’t recognize that read: This is my temporary number. Call me when you get a chance. Mason. Two of my missed calls were from them too.
I called Skeeter first, worried he’d send Jed if I didn’t answer right away. He picked up on the first ring.
“Why haven’t you called me?” he grunted, sounding pissed.
“I just woke up, and my phone was on silent.”
“How are you feeling this morning?”
“Better.” I rubbed my temple. “Is Mason safe now?”
“He’s safe. They’ve been contained.”
“Even Neil Winn? Didn’t he run off?”
He hesitated. “Jed took care of him personally.” I didn’t want to think too closely on what he meant by that, but at least I probably didn’t have to worry about Mason anymore.
“Tell Jed thank you. For everything.”
“If you need anything, and I mean anything, you call. Do you hear me?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“Yeah . . .” I said, not used to his protectiveness. I wasn’t sure I liked it. “Thanks.”
I called Mason next, and was relieved to hear his voice. “How much longer do you have to stay there?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Joe’s supposed to stop by in a bit so we can discuss it.”
“I’m going to get ready, and then I’ll come by to see you.”
“Okay.”
The third missed call was from Neely Kate.
“How’s Mason?” she asked when I called her.
I realized I hadn’t checked in with her or Bruce Wayne at all the previous afternoon. She didn’t know Mason’s “accident” had truly been a murder attempt. “He’s better.”
“What time do you want to go look for Billy Jack?”
I realized I’d never solved that piece of the puzzle. Where did Billy Jack fit into the mix with Mason and/or Skeeter? What had Seth’s friend meant when he said it was too bad about Billy Jack? “I overslept. I’m going to go check on Mason at the hospital, then we can go.”
“Oh my stars and garters! I thought he just needed stitches in his head!” she said, alarmed. “Is he all right? Why didn’t you call me? You must be a nervous wreck!”
I scrunched my eyes shut. “No, he’s okay. Really. And I’m okay. I’ll tell you about it in a bit. How about I pick you up after I see Mason?”
“Okay . . .”
“I’ll explain everything. I promise.”
Maeve was in the kitchen, kneading dough on her table when I wandered out.
“Are you making homemade bread?” I asked as my stomach growled.
She laughed. “Yes, but it sounds like you need something to eat sooner. There’s a coffee cake on the counter and a fresh pot of coffee.”
I picked up a cake knife next to the plate and started slicing. “You’re spoiling me, Maeve.”
“You must be hungry after being gone so late last night.”
I hesitated, then continued cutting. “Why do you say that?”
“My car is the next block over.”
“I . . .”
She stopped kneading and turned around to face me. “I’m not sure what you were up to, and I’m not going to ask. But I suspect it had something to do with Mason. Am I correct?”
I studied her face for a couple of seconds.
“Something’s goin’ on that Mason doesn’t want me to know about. Am I right?”
I could lie to her, but I didn’t want to. “Yeah.”
“Just be careful, Rose. Mason would be devastated if you got hurt doing something to help him.”
“I know.” I gave her a grim smile. “Are you going to tell him?”
“If he specifically asks if you went out last night, I won’t lie to him, but otherwise I’ll keep it to myself.”
“Thank you.” I paused. “For what it’s worth. I think he’s safe now.”
Relief filled her eyes. “Thank you.”
After I got ready, she offered to watch Muffy while I went to see Mason and help Neely Kate. But she looked a bit nervous.
“I know Violet will be working over at the nursery today,” she said. “What would you think about me going to help her?”
My eyes widened. “Oh.”
“If you’re not comfortable with it, I completely understand. I know you two aren’t getting along right now.”
“We’re working on it,” I said, “but I think it’s a great idea. Violet needs the help, and even if I wasn’t busy today . . . I just can’t.”
“I know, Rose. Give it time.”
Violet and I were going to need more than time.
Once I got to the hospital, I had to get through two guards to get into Mason�
��s room. He was on the phone and pacing when I walked up to him. He looked over at me, and a grin tugged at his lips. “I have to go,” he said, then hung up, sliding his phone into the front pocket of his jeans. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
He pulled me into a hug and kissed me, showing me how much he’d missed me.
“We need to get you home,” I murmured against his lips. “Soon.”
“I like the sound of that. We’ll have to wait and hear what Joe’s found out.”
Stupid me. I hadn’t stopped to consider that I couldn’t tell Joe or Mason what I’d found out with Skeeter last night. “Does he have any leads?”
“Last time I talked to him, no.”
I tried to hide my disappointment. I had to figure out a way for Joe to discover what I already knew—who’d been out to get Mason.
“What do you have planned today?” he asked.
“Neely Kate and I are going to try to track down Dolly’s ex-boyfriend so we can talk to him again.”
“I don’t—”
The door opened, and Mason tensed, putting himself between me and the door—the first time he’d shown how seriously he was taking this situation.
“Relax,” Joe said. “It’s just me.”
“Did you find something?” I asked, stepping around Mason.
Joe’s gaze landed on me. “No,” he admitted with a sigh. “But we’ve got a few leads.”
Crappy doodles. I really needed to figure out how to tell them.
“That’s something,” Mason said.
“Well, there’s something else . . .” Joe didn’t look too happy to admit it. “We’re going to move you to a safe house.”
“Where?” I asked.
Joe gave me a grim smile. “It wouldn’t be a safe house if I told you, now would it?”
“Can I go with him?”
“No,” both men said.
Their answer didn’t surprise me. “How long will he be in hiding?”
“Until I know the threat’s eliminated.” Joe took a couple of steps into the room. “Rose, I need you to say goodbye to Mason and take off.”
“Why?”
“We have some official matters to discuss.”
I hesitated, and Mason’s eyes found mine. “It’s okay, Rose.”
I nodded. I knew he was probably safe now. Skeeter would take care of the threat against him, if he hadn’t already, but I was still nervous. I had a hunch that Gems and Dolly Parton’s disappearance were connected to Mason somehow. I just couldn’t put it together.
“One more thing, Rose,” Joe said. “Until we know the threat is gone, you’re going to have a deputy shadow.”
If I was actually in danger, I would have been relieved. Instead, I had a feeling this was going to be a huge hindrance. “Shouldn’t you have all your deputies working on Mason’s case?”
“Assigning you a deputy is working on Mason’s case.”
“Is it Deputy Miller?”
He grinned. “The deputy’s waiting outside the door for you.”
Mason turned to Joe. “Can you give us a moment?”
Joe mumbled something under his breath and left the room.
Mason tugged me flush against him, wrapping an arm around my back and looking into my eyes. “Rose, it’s not safe to go traipsing around Fenton County right now. I know you’re hanging out with Neely Kate today, so why don’t you two do something low key? Maybe you could go get pedicures, my treat.”
“I’ll be fine. Just come home soon, okay?”
His smile fell. “I’m not sure when I’ll get to talk to you again. I won’t be able to make any calls.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure why I was surprised. “But—”
He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me until I was breathless. When he finally pulled away, he said, “Don’t forget me while I’m gone.”
“Not likely.” I gave him one last kiss. “Be safe.”
“You too.”
I opened the door and found Joe leaning his shoulder against the wall.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
His grin was back. “Deputy Hoffstetter is ready to escort you.”
“Deputy Hoffstetter?” I asked in dismay. “She hates me!”
His grin turned ornery. “Maybe so, but she’ll watch you like a hawk hopin’ to catch you doing something you shouldn’t be doin’. I can’t think of anyone more determined to watch your every move.”
That’s precisely what had me worried.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Deputy Abbie Lee Hoffstetter was waiting for me at the end of the hall. Her red hair was pulled back into a bun, and her hands were on her hips. She eyed me like I was a three-day-old tuna sandwich on rye.
“Well, well, well, Ms. Gardner,” she said. She took a step toward me and stood with her feet shoulder-width apart. “You and I get to spend some quality time together.” Her eyes narrowed. “Thanks for that.”
I stopped in front of her and tilted my head. “I don’t know why you have a bee in your bonnet about me, but I don’t have time to sort it out. I have pressing issues to attend to.”
“Like stirring up trouble? Chief Deputy Simmons doesn’t have time to run after you, and Mr. Deveraux’s currently incapacitated. Thanks to your previous bad choices, I get to babysit.”
“Look, you obviously don’t want to spend time with me, and I don’t need you, so why don’t we part ways and go about our own business? Individually.”
“Not likely.” Her eyes squinted to slits. “The chief deputy has assigned me this job, and as much as I detest it, I’m going to show him what a great deputy I am.”
This was never gonna work. “Okay. If you insist on tagging along, let’s go.”
“Tagging along?” she sneered. “There’s no tagging along. I’m taking you into protective custody.”
“What?”
“Chief Deputy Simmons didn’t mention that part?”
There was no way I was going anywhere with this woman. I made a dash past her and hurried down the hall, the deputy on my heels.
“Stop!”
I ran down the stairs and made a bolt for the exit. Deputy Hoffstetter caught up with me as I was opening my car door.
“You’re gonna wish you hadn’t done that,” she said, out of breath.
“Am I under arrest?” I asked. “Because unless I’m under arrest, I think I can go wherever I want.”
She grunted, her lips curling. “My job is to protect you. You’re not making that easy.”
“Mason should be your priority, not me. I don’t need protection.”
She smirked at me. “And how do you know that?”
Oh, crappy doodles. “Just a gut feeling. Now I’ve gotta go.” I climbed inside my car and locked the door as she pulled on the handle.
“Open the door! Where are you going?”
I started the car and backed up.
“Stop that car!” she shouted, jumping in front of it to block my path.
Now what was I gonna do?
She grinned. “That’s right. You’re not going anywhere.”
I glanced in the rearview mirror. She was wrong about that. I threw the car in reverse and drove backward. The deputy ran after me, but I found another exit and backed up past it before putting the car in drive and turning out of the parking lot.
I dug my phone out of my purse. “Neely Kate? I need you to meet me somewhere.”
“Okay, where?”
I took a deep breath. “I don’t know . . . Um . . . how about the parking lot of Jonah’s church?”
“But I thought Jonah was out of town until Saturday. Isn’t he doin’ that special holiday themed televangelist Jeopardy taping?”
“He is. That’s not why I’m meeting you there. I’m kind of running from the law again.”
“What?”
I looked into the rearview mirror to see if the deputy was following me. “I’ll explain when I see you.”
“That’s what you said
this morning.”
“So now I have more to tell you. Can you meet me really soon? And we need to take your car so she won’t track me.”
“Who?”
“Deputy Hoffstetter.”
I got to the parking lot before Neely Kate, not that I was surprised. The hospital was five minutes from the church, and Neely Kate was a good twenty minutes away. I used the opportunity to call Bruce Wayne.
“Hey, Rose,” he said, sounding cheerful. “Good news! Mason’s call lit a fire under our penny-pinching landlord, and the fuse box is getting fixed today. What are you up to?”
“If you’re at the office, you might want to be prepared for what’s about to show up on our doorstep.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means a deputy’s probably gonna come by lookin’ for me.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. Not this time. I swear it. Someone’s trying to kill Mason, and Joe’s assigned a deputy to watch out for me. Only Deputy Hoffstetter thinks that means protective custody.”
“Whoa, whoa,” he said. “What do you mean someone is trying to kill Mason?”
I filled him in on what I knew from Joe, keeping the Skeeter part to myself, but in the last month or so, Bruce Wayne had gotten really good at reading between the lines. “How does Skeeter Malcolm play into this?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’d heard rumors that the Lady in Black was spotted last night, but I didn’t want to believe it.”
I groaned. “Bruce Wayne . . .”
“You’re supposed to let me help you, Rose.” The hurt in his voice was like a stab in the chest.
“It’s too dangerous for you, Bruce Wayne. You’re on probation. You can’t get mixed up in this.”
“We’re partners, Rose. The only reason you’re tangled up with him is because I was stupid enough to set up that meeting. You need to let me help you.”
“I’m done with him.”
“The hell you are.”
“I’m done with him for today, then.”
“Rose.” His voice was heavy with disappointment.
“He said he could help me find out who was trying to kill Mason. How could I pass that up?”
“How about letting Joe take care of it?”
“Because, officially, Joe’s no closer to finding the culprits, while I found two of them last night.”
Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans Page 26