The knock at the front door shook me out of my pity party and shame burned my face. Feeling sorry for myself was not only selfish but a wasted effort. I had no right to feel sorry for myself. I was the least affected person in this whole mess.
When I opened the door, Mason stood on the other side, his face expressionless. He came inside, and I closed the door behind him, suddenly unsure of what to do. I wasn’t used to entertaining guests. “Do you want anything to drink? I have some lemonade.”
Mason spun around to face me. “He told you?”
I nodded, my chin quivering.
“Can we sit down?”
I nodded again and sat on the sofa, while Mason sat in the very chair where Joe had been sitting when he made his confession.
We stayed like that for several seconds, me staring at my hands in my lap, both of us quiet.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he finally asked.
His life was the one in ruins, yet he was asking me if I wanted to talk about it. I looked up, searching his face. “I’m so, so sorry, Mason.”
His eyes widened, and he swallowed.
“I’m shocked by what Joe told me, and if I’m honest, I’m hurt and scared for lots of reasons. But when I start to feel sorry for myself, all I can think about is how selfish I am.”
He leaned forward and grabbed my hand. “How can you say that? What on earth have you done that makes you feel selfish?”
“Joe’s ashamed of what he did, and I can see it’s eating him alive. I noticed that months before I knew. And Savannah…” My voice broke, and I swallowed the lump in my throat. I looked up into his face. “But you. You lost everything.”
He closed his eyes and sank back into the chair, letting go of my hand.
“I think about how awful I was to you after we first met—”
He sat up, his eyes flying open. “Stop right there. Don’t.”
“But…I didn’t know, Mason. I had no idea.”
“I know. I didn’t want you to.” He let out a huff and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I wish you didn’t know now.”
Guilt weighed down my stomach. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you.”
“No! You don’t understand, and I’m doing a terrible job of explaining it.” He took a deep breath. “I’m glad you know because now I have someone I can talk to about it. I’ve kept it bottled up inside for months, and it’s killing me. If you’ll let me, anyway.”
“Oh, Mason. Of course.”
His eyes found mine, full of sadness. “But when you look at me that way, with pity and helplessness…”
I looked down at my lap. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” His voice broke. “Just be my friend.”
“We already are friends, Mason.” I paused, wondering if I was pushing him too far. “Can you tell me about her? Savannah?”
Amazement covered his face. “You want to hear about Joe’s ex-girlfriend?”
Funny, when I’d asked him that, I hadn’t thought of her as Joe’s ex-girlfriend. “No, I want to hear about your sister.”
Mason broke down into sobs.
I sat on the sofa, watching him, unsure of what to do. If it were Joe, I’d sit next to him and wrap my arms around him, but Mason wasn’t Joe. And if we were going to make this friendship work, especially since I suspected he might have feelings for me, I needed to be sure to keep strong boundaries. But while I’d established that holding Mason wasn’t acceptable, I hadn’t come up with an alternative.
He looked up. “I’m sorry. You probably think I’m weak.”
“Weak? How can you say that? Look what you did for her. You found the man who murdered her and got justice.”
He shook his head. “No, I didn’t get justice. I wanted cold-blooded revenge, and that’s exactly what I got.” His face paled. “He may not have died, but he’s as good as dead. They don’t expect him to ever wake up from his coma.” He looked up. “If I wanted justice, I would have let the police arrest him and my boss convict him. They had a strong case. He would have gone to prison for the rest of his life. Maybe even got the death penalty. But I decided to seek my own punishment. And in the process, I lost who I was and what I stood for. Until you burst into my life.”
“Me?”
“When you got thrown into jail for contempt of court, after Judge McClary found out you’d been snooping around the murder victim’s house—”
I cringed. “I wouldn’t call it snooping…”
“When I asked you why you did it, do you remember what you told me?”
“Because I loved bologna sandwiches?” I joked.
He gave me a soft smile. “No, you told me you were fighting for justice. You were the only person who believed Bruce Wayne was innocent, and you were going to prove it. You reminded me why I chose this career. I wanted justice, and I still do. Sure, you were fighting to prove Bruce Wayne was innocent, and I was fighting to put him away, but we both wanted the same thing. I’d lost that over the few months before the trial.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure how to respond.
“Do you really want to hear about Savannah?”
“Yeah,” I said softly. “I do.”
Mason spent the next fifteen minutes telling me about his sister. They’d been close growing up, even though she was four years younger than him. They loved to argue and drove their mother crazy, so it was no surprise they both wanted to be attorneys. Savannah was outgoing and vivacious. And beautiful. “Our father died when we were in our teens. He and Savannah were close, and she took it really hard,” Mason said. “After his death, Savannah began to look for attention from guys. Often they were destructive relationships, like the one she had with Joe.” Mason’s eyes widened. “Oh. I didn’t mean you and Joe…”
I offered him a soft smile. “It’s okay. I didn’t take it that way at all.”
He grimaced. “Yeah, until I apologized for it.”
I shrugged. “Joe told me a little bit about their relationship. From what I heard, I’m not sure destructive is a bad description.” I purposely avoided defending my own relationship.
“I’m sorry that you’re caught in the middle of this mess.”
Sighing, my shoulders slumped. “It is what it is.”
“Are you still upset I didn’t tell you?”
“No. You were right—it wasn’t your story to tell. Joe’s part anyway. It would have been easy to tell me as a way to get back at Joe.”
“That would have hurt you in the process. There was no way I was going to do that. And as crazy as it sounds, I don’t want to get even with Joe.” He paused, looking out the window. “Not anymore, anyway.” His gaze turned to me. “Do I think he’s partially responsible for Savannah’s death? Yeah, right or wrong, I do. But I don’t want to punish him for it. I’m done with seeking my own retribution.”
I twisted my hands in my lap. “Honestly, Mason, I think he’s punishing himself enough for both of you.”
Mason nodded, looking down at his own hands.
“So you ended up in Henryetta. Was it a coincidence Joe got sent here too? It seems pretty odd.”
Taking a deep breath, he shook his head as he released it. “I don’t know. I lost my job in Little Rock and part of me didn’t even care, especially since my own boss was about to file assault charges against me. But then everything was buried. They weren’t going to file charges anymore, and I was offered another job here in Henryetta. So I packed up and came. It wasn’t until I got here that everything hit me. I left a promising high-power job to come to…this place. And I blamed it all on Joe. I was pretty bitter, which I took out on everyone. Especially you.”
“Mason, you were still in shock.”
He shrugged. “After I saw you in the jail cell, I was determined to get you out.” Releasing a bitter laugh, he glanced up at me. “Imagine my surprise when I got a call from Joe Simmons, who happened to be your boyfriend. How in the world could that happen?” He sank back into the chair. “Bu
t I’d vowed to get you out, and the fact that your boyfriend is in the state police helped your case. Still, we weren’t getting anywhere. Until Joe called his father and you were suddenly released within thirty minutes. And that’s when I knew. Joe’s father had gotten my charges dropped and had me exiled here to Henryetta. Did he send us both here to punish us?” He shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“You could leave,” I whispered. “If you hate it here so bad, you can get enough experience to put on a resume and leave this stupid town.”
His smile wobbled. “I know, but I’m not ready to leave yet.”
We sat in silence for several seconds.
“How’s your mother handling all of this?”
“Better than I am, strangely enough.”
“I like her. She seems very sweet.”
“She is.”
I twisted my hands. “Joe’s parents are insisting they meet me. Joe says he can’t put them off anymore. We’re going to have dinner with them after his assignment is finished. I hope they’re as nice as your mother.”
Mason laughed. “No one is as nice as my mother.”
“That’s probably true.”
“But don’t get your hopes up. I don’t know them personally, but after I figured out how I ended up here, I did a bit of investigating. Joe’s from a powerful family, and they expect big things from him.”
I sighed. “Joe says his father is upset because he wants him to join his family’s business, the law firm.”
Mason’s eyebrows rose. “Is that what he told you? Sure, they’re attorneys, but they’re really grooming him to run for political office. They have big plans for him. They expect Joe to be the JFK of southern Arkansas.”
My head felt fuzzy. “They want him to run for president?”
“Not at first, but that’s their end goal. They’ll settle for the state senate position that’s about to become available.”
Joe’s father’s big favor. “And they expect him to run. Even if he doesn’t want to.”
“They own him, Rose. Especially after what happened to Savannah. There was an internal investigation with both the Little Rock P. D. and the state police. Not to mention Joe was drunk when the police showed up at the scene.” He took a deep breath. “They found his car a couple of blocks away and were going to file DUI charges. Those were dropped and buried too.”
I felt like I was going to be sick. “They’ll never approve of me,” I whispered.
Mason remained silent for several seconds. “I’m sure they have certain…expectations.”
I stood, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. “Violet was right.”
“Right about what?”
“She told me his family would never accept me. That I wouldn’t be good enough for them. Joe was so furious, I almost thought he was going to hit her.” I started to pace.
Mason stood and grabbed my shoulders, staring me in the eye. “There is no doubt in my mind that he loves you. It’s obvious to everyone. But you have to admit, he’s caught between a rock and a hard place. He’s going to have to ultimately choose—you or his family. And his family is hard to say no to.”
My knees buckled, and I felt like I was going to pass out. Mason must have realized it because he helped me sit down. I gulped big breaths, irritated at myself. I thought I had grown past the almost-fainting stage of my life.
“What am I going to do, Mason?” I whispered.
Determination steeled his jaw. “You’re going to go meet his parents.”
My eyes widened in exasperation. “They’re going to hate me.”
“Maybe. Probably. But don’t you dare let them intimidate you. They’re bullies—rich and powerful ones—but definitely bullies. If I recall correctly, you don’t back down to bullies.” He smiled softly as he quoted my words when I told him off outside his office during Bruce Wayne’s trial.
I shook my head. “I’m not sure I can stand up to them. They’re too powerful.”
“You can and you will. Say what you want, but you are not a coward, Rose Gardner.”
I stared at him in amazement. “Why are you helping Joe?”
A frown pulled down the corners of his lips. “I’m not helping Joe. I’m helping you.”
I covered my mouth with my hand. What had I gotten myself into?
“People only have the ability to make you feel badly about yourself if you let them. Remember that.” He stood up. “I should probably go. I think I’ve said too much.”
I tilted my head to look at him. “No. I need to know what I’m facing. Thank you for preparing me.”
“If you need me for anything, don’t hesitate to call. Okay?”
I nodded, then followed him to the front door. “Thanks.”
He pulled me into a timid hug, kissing my forehead. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
I offered a weak smile. “I’m fine. Quit worrying about me.”
“Maybe we can meet for lunch again one day this week.”
“I’d really like that,” I said, surprised by how much I meant it.
At least someone was telling me the unvarnished truth.
Chapter Nineteen
I woke up to strange sounds in the middle of the night, but Muffy was sleeping soundly next to me. I laid in the dark, my ears straining to make out the noise, but I only heard silence, broken by Muffy passing gas. I buried my face in my pillow. “Muffy!” I really needed to change her dog food. Again.
When the air cleared, I listened to the still night. When I didn’t hear anything else, I fell back asleep.
I let Muffy out the side door the next morning and looked around, not finding anything amiss. I decided that it was probably just the wind blowing the tree branches against the house. I really needed to get the limbs on the back trees cut.
Only I was sure whatever I’d heard came from the front.
So I slipped my robe on and walked around the house, fully expecting to find nothing. And I did, except for a big rock in the middle of my front porch, sitting on top of a piece of paper.
I tiptoed over to it, although I wasn’t sure why. It was a rock, not a snake, so it wasn’t going to jump up and bite me. I was more worried about that piece of paper flapping underneath it.
Muffy ran around my feet, wanting me to pet her. Keeping my eye on the rock, I squatted and absently rubbed her head, wondering what I should do.
“I’m scared of a rock, Muffy. Have you ever heard of such foolishness?”
She wagged her tail.
My curiosity won out. It was a piece of paper, for heaven’s sake.
The rock was almost too big to pick up with one hand. I pulled the paper out from underneath and dropped it on the porch.
The paper was white and had been pasted with letters cut out of a magazine that spelled Stay Away.
Stay away? Stay away from what?
Since I had no idea who or what I was supposed to stay away from, I had no idea who could have left the note on my porch. It could have been worse. At least they weren’t destructive about it. They could very well have tossed the rock through my window.
The person who left the note had done it in the middle of the night, so I was sure there weren’t any witnesses.
Or were there?
Muffy followed me as I crossed the street, and I rapped on Miss Mildred’s front door.
The door cracked open and disapproval covered her face as she pushed her screen door open. “Has Henryetta turned to Sodom and Gomorrah overnight?” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the hem on my robe.
I self-consciously tugged at it. How could I have forgotten I was still in a robe that barely covered my butt? “Speaking of overnight, did you happen to notice any strange goings-on in my front yard last night?”
“You mean other than the parade of cars coming and going from your house?”
I suppressed a groan. “Someone left a note on my front porch in the middle of the night.”
“Probably some man tryin’ to schedule time in your brothel
.”
“Miss Mildred, someone left me a note saying Stay Away.” I shoved the paper at her.
She grabbed it and held it in front of her as she read it. “Stay away from what?”
“I have no earthly idea. That’s why I was hoping you saw something.”
She held the paper out to me, some of her feistiness fading. “I didn’t see or hear anything.”
I snatched back the note and started down the stairs. “Thank you.”
“You’re on to something,” she called after me.
I turned back to face her. “On to what?”
“Dorothy’s murder. You’ve made someone nervous.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know anything. How could I make someone nervous?”
She pointed at my hand. “You must know something, otherwise why would someone come to your house in the middle of the night and leave you a note?”
I exhaled, my shoulders sagging. “I wish I knew what that something was.” I started across the street. “I have to get ready for work.”
Leaving the note on my kitchen table, I made a cup of coffee then took a shower. The thought of going to Jonah Pruitt’s house made me nervous. I told myself that Bruce Wayne would be there too. I’d just make sure not to end up alone with the reverend.
At least I knew one person who hadn’t left the note. Jonah Pruitt. Why would he rope me into working on his yard, then send me a note telling me to stay away?
So who could it have been? Thomas? Christy? Maybe I was looking in the wrong direction. What if the note didn’t have anything to do with Miss Dorothy and Miss Laura’s deaths?
What if it had to do with Joe’s secret?
As I drove across town, Neely Kate called. “Rose, I only have a second, but I wanted to let you know that Miss Laura’s inheritance and house went to her family. Not to Jonah Pruitt.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, my grandmother saw one of Miss Laura’s daughters at Sunday evening service. They’ve already filed probate. She said the police had questioned her earlier that day.”
“So that means that Jonah’s not a suspect?”
Thirty and a Half Excuses Page 19