Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Did you tell Joe?”

  “No.” I swallowed. “They were Skeeter’s men. They wanted to pin it on Skeeter, so he’d go to jail, and they could take over. He took care of it.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “You think Skeeter’s men are going to betray him and walk free?”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about, Rose.”

  “Then what?”

  “How do you know Skeeter’s not behind it all and duping you into thinking he’s helping?”

  “I had visions, Bruce Wayne.”

  “Did you have any visions that specifically told you Skeeter wasn’t behind the attempt on Mason’s life?”

  I scowled. Of course, I knew there was a chance Bruce Wayne was right, but my gut instinct, which I’d learned to rely on, told me it wasn’t true. “No, I guess not.”

  Bruce Wayne was silent for a moment. “Skeeter’s bad news, Rose. Stay away from him.”

  “I told you. I have no plans to see him again.”

  “If he calls you, don’t answer.”

  Neely Kate’s car pulled into the parking lot. “Neely Kate’s here, so I have to go. I just wanted to warn you about Deputy Hoffstetter.”

  “If you need me, call.”

  I was getting all kinds of offers for help today. “Thanks, Bruce Wayne.”

  Neely Kate stopped her car next to mine. I started to get out, but she shook her head and climbed out from behind the wheel. “We can’t use my car, Rose. I barely made it here. Something’s wrong with it.”

  I suppressed a groan. “Okay, we’ll make this work. Surely she won’t think to look for me at Billy Jack’s.”

  “Why does Joe have her trailing you anyway? Does he not want us to visit Billy Jack?”

  “No. Someone tried to kill Mason yesterday.” I repeated what I’d told Bruce Wayne as I drove down side streets in an attempt to avoid Deputy Hoffstetter.

  “Then what are you doing runnin’ around?” she asked. “I know you don’t want to spend all day cooped up with that cranky woman, but this isn’t worth risking your life for, Rose. If someone’s after Mason, they might be after you, too.”

  “Calm down. I’m safe.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I do.” Mostly. I couldn’t escape the nagging feeling there was more to this.

  “What were you really doing?” she asked in her Neely-Kate-snooping voice.

  I stopped at an intersection and turned around to face her. “Honestly, Neely Kate. The less you know, the better.”

  She stared at me for three full seconds. “You’ve been running around with Skeeter Malcolm again.” Her face was expressionless.

  I didn’t answer.

  Her eyes rolled as she threw up her hands. “You have!”

  “Skeeter’s been set up to make the sheriff’s department think that he’s trying to kill Mason, but he’s not.”

  She grabbed my hand and held tight, giving me a sympathetic look. “Oh, honey. Of course Skeeter says he’s not. He wants you to keep helpin’ him.”

  I knew both she and Bruce Wayne believed it, but I just couldn’t. I pulled my hand from hers. “No, Neely Kate. He was being set up so he’d lose his crown as king of the underworld. There are a lot of people who are unhappy with how the auction got busted just after Skeeter won. Two of his men thought they could take out Skeeter and Mason all at the same time.”

  “And you really believe that?”

  “Yes, Neely Kate. I do. I had visions to back it up.”

  She was silent for a moment. “Did you tell Joe?”

  “No. I’m trying to figure out how to do that.”

  “Okay. We’ll figure something out. Do you want to hide out somewhere so we can avoid getting caught by your deputy?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “Billy Jack’s somehow involved in the plot to kill Mason. I just don’t know how, which means the threat might still exist. Skeeter doesn’t believe it, and he wants me to let it drop. But I can’t.” I turned toward her.

  “Do you think it has anything to do with Billy Jack wanting to see me yesterday?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe. Maybe he knew someone was doing something to Mason’s car.”

  “Did you tell Joe that?”

  “Tell him what? I had a vision in Skeeter’s clubhouse, and I saw some guy talking about Billy Jack when I tried to have a vision about Mason’s attempted murder.”

  “Yeah,” she sighed. “You’re right. Anything else I need to know?”

  I shrugged. “Maeve’s helping Violet unpack inventory at the nursery today.”

  “Wow. I didn’t see that one coming.”

  “I know.”

  We made it to Pickle Junction without getting spotted by any Fenton County deputies, and I turned down Billy Jack’s gravel drive, my stomach knotting into a ball. “We need some kind of plan.”

  “I suggest we just show up at his doorstep and ask him why he called and then didn’t show.”

  I stopped the truck where I’d parked last time and glanced over at Neely Kate. “Maybe you should stay in the truck.”

  “Why?”

  “What if he’s still mad, Neely Kate? I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  “He called me yesterday, Rose. I’m going.”

  We got out of the truck and walked toward the trailer.

  “His car’s here,” Neely Kate said, pointing to an old muscle car.

  “It wasn’t here last time.”

  “He probably had it parked in the garage behind his trailer the other day. He doesn’t like to leave it out if he thinks it’s gonna rain or snow,” she said, walking over to the black vehicle. “Hey . . . there’s a chance of snow tonight. I can’t believe he’d just leave it out like that.” Neely Kate peeked inside the passenger window. “The keys are in the ignition.” She stood up. “There’s no way he’d do that. Something’s up.”

  “Let’s see if he’s home,” I said, the hair standing up on the back of my neck.

  “Yeah . . .”

  We walked up to the front door, and Billy Jack’s dogs started barking frantically. Neely Kate rapped on the front door, and we waited for a good ten seconds before Neely Kate knocked harder. The door creaked and opened, leaving a small gap.

  “Oh, crap. That’s not good,” Neely Kate said, turning around to look at me. “He’s totally paranoid. He’d never leave his door unlocked and open.”

  “Maybe we should call Joe,” I said.

  “Do you think he’d come? What are we going to tell him? That Billy Jack’s car is here and he’s not home?

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “Joe doesn’t care about Dolly Parton.” Neely Kate sucked in her bottom lip as she concentrated. Then she turned back to the door. “Billy Jack!” she called out. “Billy Jack! Are you home?”

  The dogs went crazy barking, and Neely Kate pushed the door open wider. The Chihuahuas rushed out, and one attached itself to my leg.

  “Again?” I muttered, shaking it off.

  Neely Kate took a step over the threshold. “Billy Jack?”

  “Neely Kate!” I hissed. “What do you think you’re doing? Billy Jack’s gonna kill you if he catches you in his trailer.”

  She grinned. “Then we better not get caught.”

  Oh crap.

  I had no choice but to follow her. She stood in the center of the tiny living room, looking around.

  “Something’s not right, Neely Kate,” I said after a moment, a shiver running down my back.

  “I know.”

  But we’d come this far, so there was no turning back now. “Let’s just look around to see if we can find something tying him to Mason.”

  “Like a journal entry that says, ‘Dear Diary, I’m gonna kill the Assistant District Attorney today’?” Neely Kate asked sarcastically.

  “Very funny.” Only it wasn’t. Hearing her say the words terrified me. “I don’t know. Just keep an open mind. Maybe we can find out something that
will help us with Dolly Parton too.”

  “Okay.”

  “You look out here, and I’ll check the bedroom.” I took off down the dark hall and pushed open a door to reveal a guest room that was surprisingly tidy, considering the state of the front part of the trailer. I left it and passed the bathroom before pushing open the door to what I guessed to be the master bedroom. Feet planted in the doorway, I stared inside with disbelief.

  Billy Jack lay in his bed, fully clothed, with a bloody hole in his forehead, his hand gripped in a fist.

  “Neely Kate . . .” I called out to her.

  “Just a minute. I think I found something. Nope . . . nope, I didn’t.”

  “Neely Kate,” I said more insistently, still staring at Billy Jack’s face. His eyes were wide open.

  “I just found Billy Jack’s porn stash. Disgusting.”

  “Neely Kate!” I yelled.

  “What?”

  “I found Billy Jack.”

  “What?” She was behind me within seconds. “Oh my God! Is he . . . ?”

  “Dead? Yeah. We have to get out of here.” I spun around and pushed Neely Kate toward the living room as I dug out my cell phone.

  “Who are you callin’?” she asked.

  “Joe. He’s bound to listen now.” He didn’t answer, and it went to voice mail. I immediately called him back, and he answered after the first ring, sounding irritated. “Are you calling to complain about Abbie Lee?”

  “No. I’m calling because Billy Jack’s dead.”

  “Billy Jack?” he asked in confusion. “Who’s Billy Jack?”

  “Dolly Parton’s boyfriend.”

  “My condolences.”

  “Joe! Listen to me! We just found him in his bed with a bullet hole in his forehead.”

  “What? Where’s Abbie Lee?”

  I cringed. This wasn’t going to go well. “I lost her somehow. And Neely Kate and I went back to talk to Dolly’s boyfriend.”

  “How’d you get in the house?”

  “The door was open.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  I sighed. “Believe me or not, you need to send someone out here.”

  “If you’re still inside that house, get out and wait in the truck. What’s the address?”

  I rattled off the address Neely Kate gave me as we walked to the front porch.

  “You stay put,” Joe said. “Someone’s on the way.”

  Neely Kate’s face was pale, and she looked like she was going to pass out. “I’ve never seen a murdered body before.”

  I didn’t want to stop and think about how many I’d seen.

  “Why was his hand in a fist like that?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. It looked like he was holding something.”

  Her eyes widened. “We have to find out what it was.”

  I released a sigh. She was right. “You sit here on the steps and wait for me.” I was surprised she didn’t argue, but she just sank down on the steps while I turned around and headed back inside.

  I was scared to death as I crept up on Billy Jack’s body, especially because I felt like his dark, cold eyes were staring up at me. I kneeled on the mattress next to him and leaned over and tried to see what was in his hand. I wasn’t stupid enough to pry it out—it was evidence—but maybe I could get a look at it. It was a business card. I gasped when I realized what business it was for.

  Gems. That couldn’t be good. I tried to read the other print on the card, but it was crumpled in Billy Jack’s fist.

  I hurried to the front door and gulped big lungfuls of air.

  “Could you see it?” Neely Kate asked. I was thankful her face had more color.

  “It was a business card. For Gems.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know, but the fact that he’s holding it in a literal death grip has to mean something.” I grabbed Neely Kate’s arm and tugged. “Come on. Let’s get you out of the cold.”

  I made sure she got into the truck, then walked around to the driver’s side, catching a glimpse of cardboard on the backseat. “Dolly Parton’s box. We plum forgot about it.”

  I opened the back door and lifted the lid off the box.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “Something to tie this together.” I started riffling through the mess, finding clothes, some makeup, a toothbrush, and a book. Stuck to the paperback romance novel was a post-it note with a phone number.

  I gasped and looked up into Neely Kate’s face.

  “What did you find?”

  “This.” I held up the paper.

  “A phone number. Should we call it?”

  “We don’t have to,” I said, feeling nauseated. “I know who it belongs to.”

  “Who?”

  “Mason.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “His office number?”

  “No. His cell phone.”

  “What was Dolly Parton doing with Mason’s cell phone number?”

  I sank back into the seat, tears burning my eyes. “I don’t know.”

  “There has to be a good reason.”

  I shook my head. “What could it be?”

  “Dolly was arrested this summer. Maybe she plea bargained, and Mason gave her his number.”

  I looked up at her in disbelief. “His cell phone?”

  “I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

  I dug my phone out of my pocket.

  “Who are you calling? Mason?”

  I stopped. Something wasn’t adding up. I knew Mason wouldn’t give his number out to a criminal—not that Dolly Parton was a criminal—and I’d mentioned her name to him without sensing any surprise or recognition on his part. It hadn’t fazed him at all to know Neely Kate and I were looking for her. “No. Not Mason.” I pulled up my contacts on my phone, and Skeeter answered right away.

  “What do you know about Billy Jack Peters?”

  “Well, well, an undemanded call from you. We’re making progress,” he said with a teasing tone.

  “Cut the crap, Skeeter. I just found Billy Jack dead in his bed. What do you know about that?”

  Neely Kate gasped at the mention of Skeeter’s name.

  “What are you doing in Billy Jack’s bed?” He sounded sinister.

  “Ew . . .” I cringed in disgust. “Don’t insult me. I wasn’t in his bed—well other than when I kneeled on it to look at something in his hand.”

  “At what?” He didn’t sound any happier.

  “A business card. For Gems.”

  “I told you to stay away from Gems. And you didn’t answer my question: what are you doing at Billy Jack’s?”

  “First, you didn’t tell me to stay away from Gems, only that it’s not part of the plot to kill Mason, and second, you asked what I was doing in Billy Jack’s bed, not in his house.”

  “Answer me,” he growled.

  “We’re still trying to find Dolly and Nikko, not that it’s any of your business.”

  “What you do now is my business.”

  I wasn’t having this argument right now. “Do you know how he’s connected to Gems?”

  “Since I wasn’t clear enough the first few times I said it, stay away from Gems.”

  “Why? What’s going on at Gems?”

  “Stay away from Gems.”

  “But what about Dolly Parton?”

  “She ran off, Rose. Leave it at that.” Then he hung up.

  The hell with that. I got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

  “What are you doing?” Neely Kate asked. “Joe said to stay here.”

  “And wait for Deputy Hoffstetter? I don’t think so.” I turned the truck around and headed for the highway.

  “Where are we going?”

  I fought back my anger. “To Gems.”

  “I thought Skeeter just told you to stay away.”

  I turned to her in surprise.

  “What? He wasn’t exactly whispering. I heard him.” She paused. “W
hy on earth did you call Skeeter instead of Joe, anyway?”

  “Because Skeeter seems to be the one with the answers, or at least the only one willing to share them.”

  “It’s a bad idea, Rose, relying on him. You don’t even know if he’s telling the truth.”

  And she wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know.

  “Why didn’t you tell him about Dolly having Mason’s phone number?”

  “He doesn’t need to know everything.”

  “So why didn’t you tell Joe?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “Do you think Mason has done something wrong?”

  I shook my head. Mason? I would believe it of anyone else before I believed it of him. “We don’t even know if he gave it to her. What if someone else did? Also, he did have his phone stolen yesterday.”

  “You’ve had Dolly’s box in your truck for three days, Rose.”

  “I know.” I looked up the temporary number Mason had given me that morning, but when I called him, the phone went straight to an automated message. Tears welled in my eyes, and I fought back a sob. “He wanted to run off, Neely Kate.”

  “Who? Mason?”

  “After the break-in. He was really upset, and he begged me to run off with him on Saturday—tomorrow. He wanted to go somewhere far away, and he seemed desperate to go.”

  Neely Kate put her hand on my arm. “I’m sure there’s a rational explanation.” But I heard a hitch in her voice.

  “You know something.” When she didn’t answer, I started to freak out. “What do you know that you’re not telling me?”

  “Rose . . . let’s go get some lunch and figure out what to do next.” She paused. “And I’ll tell you what little I do know.”

  I nodded, fighting my tears. Whatever Neely Kate knew had to be bad if she wouldn’t tell me now. “Okay.”

  I drove to the diner we’d eaten at the day before and parked my truck behind a big rig so it couldn’t be seen from the highway. Joe was gonna be ticked that we took off, but I’d rather deal with his wrath than be chained to the devil, who in this case happened to be Deputy Hoffstetter.

  “What do you know?” I asked after we’d given the waitress our order.

  She grimaced. “Some things are better left unknown, Rose. Especially when it’s only bits and pieces.”