For the Birds: Rose Gardner Investigations #2 (Rose Gardner Investigatons)

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Do you have any family out of town?” Neely Kate asked. “Anyone you can go stay with?”

  “My sister lives in El Dorado.”

  “Go stay with her,” I said. “Don’t even pack. Just leave here and go.”

  She released a harsh laugh. “And where am I gonna get gas money when I can’t even buy my own lunch?”

  I pulled my wallet out and handed her the rest of my cash. “It’s only sixty dollars, but it will get you to El Dorado. Call us when you get there so we know you’re safe.”

  She took the money and gave me a look of disbelief. “Why are you doin’ this?”

  “Because we care about you,” I said. “We want you to be safe.”

  “Why?”

  “Because people have helped me,” I said. “I’m just payin’ it forward. Now go to your sister, and we’ll let you know when it’s safe to come home. But if you feel unsafe at any point, you need to call the police, okay?”

  “Yeah.” She lurched over the table and threw her arms around me. “God bless you girls.” Then she jumped up, grabbed her purse and to-go bag, and ran out the door.

  And I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d just screwed up.

  Chapter 22

  We went back to the office, and we tried Mr. Whipple again with no response. We decided to go check on him, but first I told Neely Kate and Witt all the details about my vision.

  “So there’s at least two of them left,” Neely Kate murmured.

  “Let’s look at what we know,” I said, sitting on the edge of my desk so I could face them both. “We know there are at least four men. Elijah Landry, who lived in Shreveport and had grandparents in Henryetta. He was part of both my kidnapping and Scooter’s.”

  Neely Kate nodded.

  “Then there’s Paul Beagle. According to the newspaper article, he lived here in Henryetta fifteen years ago, and we know he was also part of Scooter’s kidnapping. Based on my vision, his brother is involved. Then there’s the guy who was in on my kidnapping attempt. The man at the liquor store called him Bud—if he was even the same guy. For all we know, he could have taken the burner phone from someone else.”

  “So the fourth guy is Merlin Beagle,” Neely Kate said. “The one you heard in your vision telling Paul to finish off Jeanne.”

  I glanced over at Witt. “Any luck finding information on Paul Beagle?”

  “Not a single thing. It’s like he doesn’t exist.”

  I frowned. Neely Kate and I were pretty new to investigating, but people usually left some kind of footprint online. “How many search pages did you go back?”

  “I know what you’re gettin’ at,” he said. “But I promise you that I searched every which way I could, and the only thing I found was that article in the Henryetta Gazette. The other Paul Beagles I found were in other parts of the country, and they were all too old to be him.”

  Neely Kate’s phone rang, and she glanced at the screen and smiled. “Hello, Miss Mildred,” she answered. “Why yes, I am surprised you tracked Mr. Whipple down.” She looked amused. “You don’t have to do that, Miss Mildred. We really don’t mind takin’ Squawker home . . . Uh-huh . . . Okay, we’re coming over right now. Don’t leave, all right?”

  She hung up and said, “Miss Mildred not only figured out who Mr. Whipple was, but took it upon herself to track him down. He’s on his way home, and she says she’s takin’ the parrot to him.”

  “That bird’s gonna fly away if she doesn’t wait for Mr. Whipple to come over,” I said in disbelief. “She needs to leave him be.”

  Her eyebrow lifted. “Do you think she’s gonna listen to me? She says she’s gonna keep him on her shoulder by feeding him a carrot.”

  “Oh, mercy,” I grumbled, grabbing my backpack as I stood. “Let’s get over there before she loses Squawker. We need to talk to that bird.” That was something I’d never expected to hear myself say.

  We all piled into Witt’s car, and we were halfway to my old neighborhood when I got a call from Dermot’s number. “Hey, Dermot.”

  “I’m checking on your progress.” He sounded tense.

  “We’re making some headway,” I said, “but we still have a ways to go.”

  “Malcolm’s demanded that Buck return his brother by eight p.m., or he’s gonna start a war.”

  I resisted the urge to release a groan. “Who made that call?”

  “Malcolm himself only a few minutes ago. Buck’s shittin’ his pants, demandin’ to know what you’re doin’.”

  “We have a name for the third kidnapper, and we’re trying to find out more about him. We’ve also verified there’s a fourth guy, but we know next to nothin’ about him.”

  “The third guy. Who is he?”

  I wondered if I should tell him, but giving updates was part of our agreement. “We figured out that Elijah Landry had ties to Henryetta through his grandparents. We found a photo of him with his grandparents, parents, and his cousin. We showed the photo to a witness, and she recognized both Landry and his cousin as the guys who kidnapped Scooter.”

  “Witness? What witness?”

  I didn’t want to give up Jeanne, so I said, “It doesn’t matter. It’s reliable.”

  “And how do you know about the fourth guy?”

  “That’s a professional secret. We’re about to see if we can find out more from the parrot. I’ll let you know what we learn.” I hung up before he could answer. Turning to Neely Kate, I said, “I need to call James.”

  “I knew it!” Witt said. “You swore you weren’t gonna be involved with him anymore, but here you are—”

  “He’s given Buck Reynolds an ultimatum: return Scooter by eight or he’s declaring war. If this were between Buck and anyone else, I’d be callin’ them too. I have to stop this.” I thought about the guilt James lived with. He didn’t need any more. “James is about to do something he’s gonna regret.”

  Neely Kate turned to Witt. “She’s right. She has to call him.”

  “Dammit.”

  I hated this. I hated putting Witt in the middle of something he didn’t want any part of, but we had to keep the peace.

  Neely Kate gave me an expectant look, but I put the phone in my lap. “I’ll wait until we get to Miss Mildred’s.” I wanted to talk to him without an audience.

  She nodded and her eyes filled with sympathy, but Witt’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. I was going to have to split off from them at some point. Witt was uncomfortable with my continual name-dropping of James—even though we were looking for James’ brother—and he’d made it clear he’d protect Neely Kate at any cost. Neely Kate would refuse to stay behind and take a stand. The whole situation was going to cause a rift between two cousins who were close. I couldn’t let that happen.

  This had to be the reason Witt and Neely Kate had been alone in my vision.

  We drove past Miss Mildred a block away from her house. She was wearing a house dress and a church hat, and Squawker was perched on her shoulder. The hat had a long carrot attached to the top, and the parrot was eyeing it while Miss Mildred hobbled down the street with her cane.

  “Oh, my word . . .” Neely Kate gushed when we saw her. “Have you ever seen such a thing?”

  “I’ve gotta get a picture of that,” Witt said. “No one’s ever gonna believe it otherwise.”

  “You will not,” Neely Kate said, swatting his arm. “You’re driving.”

  “She’s definitely losin’ it,” I said, feeling sorry for her. “The Miss Mildred I knew growing up would never have tied a carrot to her church hat.”

  Witt parked the car about twenty feet in front of Miss Mildred, and Neely Kate and I both got out and waited for her to reach us on the sidewalk.

  “I told you we’d help, Miss Mildred,” Neely Kate said.

  “I can walk a damn parrot home just as well as you can,” she muttered.

  “We were actually gonna drive,” I said.

  “Well, there you go,” the older woman grumbled. “You were gonna dri
ve.” Only, she made it sound akin to killing baby bunnies.

  “How about we walk with you?” Neely Kate asked, falling into step beside her.

  “I’m capable of walkin’ on my own,” Miss Mildred snapped.

  “Of course you are,” Neely Kate said, “but we really need to talk to Squawker.”

  “You’re gonna talk to him?” she asked in disbelief.

  “He does talk . . .”

  Miss Mildred lifted her shoulders in a barely perceptible shrug. “Suit yourself. But you’re gonna look like a damn fool.”

  Says the woman walking down the street with a carrot tied to her hat.

  Neely Kate shot me a look that said, How do we interview a parrot? Maybe we should have given that part more thought in the car.

  “Squawker,” I said. “Did you see something bad?”

  “Something bad,” he repeated.

  Neely Kate gave me a sidelong grimace.

  “Maybe we should try saying the phrases he used before,” I suggested. “But only parts of them. That way we’ll know if he’s just mimicking us or really saying what he heard.”

  “Good idea,” Neely Kate said.

  “Squawker,” I said. “Blood?”

  He remained quiet.

  “Did you see Scooter?” Neely Kate asked.

  He stayed silent again.

  “He doesn’t want to talk to you,” Miss Mildred sneered. “He wants to enjoy our stroll.”

  The only problem was that we didn’t have time for a stroll. “You three go on ahead,” I said. “I’m going to hang back and make a call.”

  “Okay.” Neely Kate continued walking with Miss Mildred, asking her more questions about the bird and her interactions with him. Witt drove the car all the way to the end of the street and parked at the stop sign to wait for us.

  When Neely Kate and Miss Mildred were out of earshot, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called James.

  “I was hopin’ you’d change your mind,” he said in a sexy voice.

  I tried to ignore the immediate rush of heat flowing through my veins. Just as I was about to chastise him for giving an ultimatum to Buck, I realized I’d never confirmed what Buck had hired me to do, and I wasn’t sure now was the time to reveal it. Which meant I had to change tactics. “I’ve been thinkin’ about Scooter,” I said. “I never asked you how you were doin’ with him missin’. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t you worry about Scooter. I’m takin’ care of things.”

  “How exactly are you doin’ that?” I asked.

  “It’s not your concern anymore.”

  “Did you get another lead? Because I told you that Buck Reynolds isn’t responsible.”

  “I don’t want to talk about Buck Reynolds,” he said in a low tone. “I want to talk about when I can see you again.”

  “James. This is serious.”

  “Rose.” He sounded exasperated. “You want to put distance between us publicly, but you were only partially right. You need to stay the hell away from the entire crime world. So tell Reynolds you’re retiring, and I’ll hire a real bodyguard—one without any ties to me—to watch you until the message gets around that you’re no longer workin’ for me or anyone else.”

  “You’d hire a bodyguard for me?” I asked in disbelief.

  “I can’t very well have Brett or Merv watchin’ you if we’re claimin’ you’re free of me.”

  But he’d do everything in his power to make sure I was safe. “I thought you wanted to see me again.”

  “I do. We can meet at my house. No one knows where I live, and they’ll be none the wiser.”

  I was tempted, but there were more urgent matters at hand. “How about we meet to discuss it?” I asked. “Let’s say tonight behind the Sinclair station. At eight.”

  He was quiet for several seconds. “I can’t. Not tonight. In fact, I need you and Neely Kate to stay home tonight.”

  “Why?”

  “Not your problem anymore,” he said.

  Dammit. “What are you doin’, James Malcolm? This is about Buck Reynolds, isn’t it?”

  “Rose . . .”

  “I told you he wasn’t involved. What are you doin’?”

  I heard voices in the background, and he said, “Hang tight, Merv.”

  “Merv?” I asked. “Are you takin’ advice from that hothead?”

  “This is none of your concern, Rose,” he said in a tight voice.

  “You’re about to start a war, so yes, it is my concern.”

  “I have proof that Reynolds took my brother, and that’s all you need to know.”

  “What proof?”

  “Once again, Rose, it’s not your concern. Now I have to go.” Then he hung up.

  What proof had he gotten? I pulled up Jed’s number and called him.

  “Rose? Everything okay?”

  “Neely Kate and I are fine, if that’s what you’re askin’, but James is about to do something stupid. I need to know what supposed proof he has that Buck Reynolds is behind Scooter’s disappearance.”

  “Proof? I don’t know anything about proof.”

  “He just told me that he has some, and he says he’s takin’ care of it tonight. He told me that Neely Kate and I need to stay inside.”

  He was quiet for a moment. “They’ve cut me out of the loop.”

  “What? I thought you were helpin’ look for Scooter.”

  “I was. But Merv and I had another run-in last night, and Merv convinced Skeeter to let me loose for good. Merv said it isn’t good business to involve me since I’ve decided not to return to the fold. He claims I’m no better than those turncoats you exposed last winter.”

  “And James believes that?”

  “He wants blood, and Merv seems to be offering it to him. What good is his leadership if he can’t keep his brother safe? His reputation is on the line. He needs to make a show of force.”

  “So Merv has taken your place?”

  “Looks like it.”

  “Can you keep a secret from James?” I asked.

  “Depends on what it is.”

  “But you’re not even workin’ for him anymore.”

  “We go way back, Rose. Workin’ for him or not, I’m still loyal.”

  Miss Mildred and Neely Kate had stopped on the sidewalk. Miss Mildred was pulling a handful of lettuce out of her pocket and adding it to the top of her head. Squawker pecked at her head and snatched up a piece of lettuce, flinging it at Neely Kate, then squawked in a piercing voice, “Salad!”

  I shook my head. Focus. “Buck Reynolds hired me to find Scooter.”

  “What?”

  “I’m pretty sure we know things that James doesn’t. We’re makin’ progress, but Tim Dermot called to tell me that James issued an ultimatum. Either Buck returns Scooter by eight tonight or he’s declarin’ war. Unless there’s a miracle, or we get a breakthrough in the next few hours, that’s not gonna happen.”

  “Shit.”

  “I’m not sure what to do, Jed. I have to stop this from happenin’.”

  “Tell him what you’re up to. Tell him what you found.”

  “Do you think he’ll listen?”

  Jed paused. “Not if he thinks he has solid proof. You don’t know what it is?”

  And if James didn’t believe me, he’d probably try to figure out a way to stop me from looking into it. So then I’d be dodging Merv and Brett while trying to investigate. “No.”

  “He’s gonna think Reynolds played you.”

  “There’s something else,” I said.

  “What?”

  “Reynolds may not be in charge anymore.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I met with Buck Reynolds this morning. He let his idiocy show through again, and I took a stand. When I was about to walk away, Dermot stepped forward and took charge. And nobody stopped him. Witt says Dermot usurped his power.”

  “Well, shit. Did Dermot kick you off the case?”

  “No. He gave me more information to kee
p lookin’.”

  “Then Reynolds really didn’t take him,” Jed said, sounding surprised.

  “What do you know about Maynard’s junkyard?”

  He hesitated, then said, “I know it changed ownership a few months back. Why?”

  “Dermot says Elijah Landry—one of the deceased kidnappers—worked there, along with his dead buddy named Bud. Landry just showed up in town a few months ago. We haven’t been out there yet. We’re still collectin’ more information, but we’re runnin’ out of time, Jed.”

  “Don’t go out there, Rose. I don’t know much about who took over, and the timing seems too coincidental.”

  “There’s more.”

  “Okay . . .”

  “We’ve figured out there are at least four guys involved in this. Two are dead. The other two are Paul Beagle, Elijah Landry’s cousin, and his brother Merlin. Ever heard of them?”

  “Paul Beagle? Doesn’t ring a bell. Don’t know any Beagles.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “What if he just got out of prison?”

  “Unless he was in lockup for a couple of decades, I’m sure I would have heard of him.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Jeanne identified him out of a fifteen-year-old picture we found online. He was living here in Henryetta, but his brother Merlin was in jail. We’re pretty sure he’s the fourth guy.”

  “What was the brother in jail for?”

  “Don’t know. That’s all it said in the article with the picture. We haven’t had time to investigate that either. Right now, we’re interviewing a parrot.”

  Neely Kate was singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” and the bird had started singing with her. Miss Mildred had attempted to join in with what I could only guess was supposed to be the harmony . . . or maybe she was singing it in a round, just really off key.

  “What?” Jed asked.

  I sure hoped he hadn’t heard the commotion. “Long story, but bottom line, we think he saw something happen to Scooter.”

  “Good luck with that. I’m gonna do some digging into the junkyard. Let me know if you find out anything more significant.”

  “You too.”

  By the time we hung up, Neely Kate and Miss Mildred had made it to the corner and were headed toward Mr. Whipple’s house. Squawker must have recognized it because he let out a squawk and started saying, “Daddy. Daddy.”