She turned to look at me with dark, serious eyes. “I think you’re right. There’s no immediate threat and we need to start takin’ care of ourselves.” She turned back to face Jed. “We’re both good shots. We’ll keep our eyes open. You’ve got more important things to do than babysit me. Go take care of ’em.”
Jed looked torn, but he knew when to admit he’d been outvoted. His shoulders sank. “Okay. Call me if you run into trouble. Don’t stay down here long. Be back at the house for dinner.”
“Okay,” Neely Kate said a little more readily than usual, a sure sign she was spooked.
Jed shut the door and headed toward his own car.
“Jed can follow us, Neely Kate. It’s up to you,” I said as she started the car.
“No, you’re right,” she said in a firm voice.
“Maybe now’s not the time to be exerting our independence.”
She gave me a pointed look. “It’s always something with us. Danger follows us like shadows at twilight. We can’t constantly have someone babysitting us. We’d need to put them on the payroll.”
That actually wasn’t a bad idea, except for one problem. “You realize we don’t get paid to do this. They’d be working for free if they partnered with us.”
She grinned. “True. It would take a special kind of person to do that, wouldn’t it?” Then she started to back out.
Did she have someone in mind? I was too scared to ask. “Besides,” I added. “If someone’s about to attack Jed, we might be in even more danger if we get caught in the crossfire.”
Her face paled at the thought. “Jed feels awful,” she said once she’d pulled onto the county road and headed back toward Sugar Branch.
“I know he’d never purposefully hurt any of us. Even James.”
“But he still—”
“He did what he thought he needed to do,” I interrupted. “If I’d been part of that decision-making process, I would have encouraged him to make the rounds too. There’s nothin’ to apologize for. They just need to figure out a way to neutralize Denny Carmichael.”
“Why didn’t you fess up that Stewie and Digger work for Carmichael?” she asked.
I gave her a wry look. “I’m guessin’ the same reason you didn’t. We’re not investigatin’ Denny Carmichael. We’re not imposin’ on his turf.”
She nodded. “Yeah, that was my reasoning too. Besides, Marsha deserves to know what happened to her daughter, whether she’s lookin’ for her out of concern or greed. Nina needs closure too.”
“Nevertheless,” I said, “let’s keep the fact that we found her purse to ourselves for a bit. I think it will work in our favor if we let people think we’re investigatin’ where she ran off to. Not workin’ under the presumption somethin’ happened to her.”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. I think you’re right. Let’s go check with her old coworkers.”
“And we need to figure out if a large amount of money went missin’ around the time she left.” I turned to her. “But first I need to talk to Digger Malone.”
Her mouth dropped open and she turned to face me with huge eyes. “I thought we were gonna wait to talk to Digger and Stewie. And why just you?”
“Lots of reasons. It makes more sense to talk to them in the daylight. And I’m not sending you to talk to him alone, not with Hardshaw’s people lurkin’ in the shadows. And lastly, if only one of us goes in now, they might be less likely to recognize me if we go to Tiggy’s in disguise.” I gave her an ornery grin. “You know you’re dying to put on that black wig.”
Her lips pressed into a tight line, but there was a spark of excitement in her eyes, and when she didn’t protest, I knew I’d convinced her.
When Neely Kate pulled into the tire store parking lot, she didn’t look any happier than when I’d suggested my plan.
“I’m supposed to just sit outside waitin’ for you?” she grumped.
“That’s exactly what you’re gonna do,” I said, “but if you’re worried about missin’ something, I can call you and stick my phone in my pocket so you can listen.”
She lifted her shoulder into a grudging shrug.
I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be right back.” Then I climbed out and placed the call.
She answered it and, with a little smile, said, “Good luck” into the receiver.
“Thanks.” Turning the phone so that it faced me, I stuck it into my front jeans pocket.
Two men were sitting in the waiting room, and a young woman stood behind the counter. She greeted me with a huge smile. “Welcome to Tire Central! We’d love to help you with your tire needs!”
“Thanks,” I said, resting a hand on the counter. “Can you tell me if Digger Malone is workin’ today?”
“He sure is,” she said in a chipper tone. “Would you like him to work on your tires? He just happens to be free right now.”
I tilted my head to the side and smiled. “Do you think I could talk to him first?”
Her smile dimmed. “Do you want him to help you pick out your tires? Because I can help you with that.”
“I’m sure you’re very knowledgeable, but I really need to speak to him.”
“Okay,” she said, her smile fading. “I’ll call him up here.” She picked up the phone and called over the intercom, “Digger to the counter, please.”
Then she hung up the phone and stared at me with a frown. “Is it because I’m a girl? I really do know tires.”
“It’s absolutely not because you’re a woman,” I assured her. Then it occurred to me that she might be able to help. I rested my hand on the counter and leaned closer. “Actually, you might be able to help me with something else.”
She perked up at that. “Sure!”
“Did you ever meet Digger’s girlfriend, Sarah?”
Her smile faded again. “No, but I heard they aren’t together anymore.”
“Did you hear why they aren’t together?”
Her mouth quirked to the side. “No, but Digger was fit to be tied over it.”
“How so?”
She lowered her voice. “He wasn’t himself a couple of weeks ago. Stewie finally told everyone Sarah had broken up with him.”
“Was he sad or mad?” I asked, still trying to figure out his reaction.
She tipped her chin, as if considering how much she should say, and then finally spoke. “More like nervous.”
Nervous?
The door to the back opened and a young man walked out. He wore jeans and a pale blue dress shirt with a name tag that read Digger. “What’s up, Jana?”
Jana gestured toward me. “This woman wants to talk to you.”
I’d expected some jaded derelict to emerge, but Digger looked like a normal guy—less intense than the one I’d seen in Nina’s pictures.
“Hi,” I said, trying to sound official. “I’m Rose Gardner and I’m investigating Sarah Freestone’s disappearance.”
The grin on his face melted.
“Could we find somewhere to talk privately?” I asked, trying to sound official.
“Yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We can go into the break room.” He opened the door to the garage area, walked along the wall for about ten feet, and then ducked into an open door.
I glanced out into the garage, hoping to spot Stewie, but I only saw a middle-aged man who looked to be in his fifties lifting a tire off a pickup truck. Another car was up on a rack at the other end of the garage.
I followed Digger into the small room that contained a small round table discolored with multiple food stains. A row of cabinets ran along one wall with a refrigerator next to it. A microwave sat on one corner of the counter, and the rest was littered with empty fast-food wrappers and containers.
Digger sat at the table, bouncing his leg as he looked up at me.
Part of me was surprised he was being so cooperative, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I sat across from him and pulled a small notebook out of my purse, the
n laid my phone on my lap to make it easier for Neely Kate to hear our conversation.
“Marsha Freestone told me that you and Sarah dated,” I said in a solemn tone.
He swallowed, then nodded. “Uh, yeah. We did.”
“For how long?”
“Uh… about a year.”
“But you recently broke up?”
His gaze darted to the tabletop before jerking back up to mine. “Yeah. A few weeks ago.”
“Why did you two break up?”
For the first time, I saw a hint of violence in him, but it was a mere flash in his eyes before his hands tightened into a fist. “She said I wasn’t good enough for her.”
“Those were her exact words?”
He hesitated. “No, but she got that new job with the vet all the women are droolin’ over. One week of workin’ with that asshole and she decides she wants a man who treats her with respect.” He shot me a glare. “I treated her with respect.” But the belligerent attitude belied his words.
I paused for several seconds. “When was the last time you spoke to or saw Sarah?”
“The night she broke up with me. The week before she took off.”
“And how did you react to the breakup? Were you angry?”
“Hell, yeah, I was angry. I’d just bought her those damn tickets to see Keith Urban.”
That was enlightening. He was more pissed about being out the money, but I also knew men tended to hide their true feelings. Just because he wasn’t professing his love didn’t mean it wasn’t there. “Do you know where Sarah is right now?”
“How the hell would I know?” he demanded, but beads of sweat dotted his forehead. He was nervous, though I couldn’t be sure if it was because I was interrogating him or because he knew something.
“You two dated for a year. Surely you know her enough to make an educated guess.”
He gave me a defiant glare. “I bet that vet did something to her.”
I blinked, trying to hide my shock. “Dr. Romano? Why would you think that?”
“Because she disappeared after she started working for him. I don’t trust him.”
I nodded. “Did you love Sarah?”
He shot me a defiant glare. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Did she love you?”
“Do you mean did she say the words? No, but I know she loved me.” He held out his hands. “How could she not? Which is why I know that vet did somethin’ to her. She was just fine until he started spinnin’ his web. Ask him where she is.”
I planned to, but right now I needed to focus on the man in front of me. “Where were you a week ago Sunday?”
“Watchin’ the football games with Stewie.”
“All day?”
“Yep.”
“What about Sunday night?”
He started to answer, then his eyes drifted past me and he jumped to his feet.
A male voice boomed from the doorway, “What the hell are you doin’, Digger?”
I spun around to see an angry man standing in the doorway. I recognized him from Nina’s pictures, but the pictures hadn’t captured the hard gleam in his eyes.
“This woman is investigatin’ Sarah’s disappearance,” Digger said in confusion.
“Did she show you her badge?” Stewie demanded.
“No…” Digger said.
“That’s because she’s not with the police, you fool! She’s a damn PI.”
Digger’s eyes widened, and he gave me a confused look.
“I’ve been hired to find Sarah,” I said, “and I’m talking to the people who know her best.”
“You ain’t with the police?” Digger asked.
I couldn’t believe the sexist fool had assumed I was an officer of the law.
“No, but I’ve spoken to the sheriff’s department and have their blessin’ to look into what happened to her.”
Stewie barged into the room and grabbed a handful of his friend’s shirt. “What did you tell her?”
“Nothin’!” Digger protested.
“You know they’ll twist what you say and use it against you!” Stewie shouted.
I decided to take a chance. “What were you afraid of him spillin’? Do you know something about Sarah’s disappearance?”
Stewie spun to face me with murderous eyes. “Get the hell out of here before I call the Sugar Branch police and report you for harassment.”
I turned around to leave, but Stewie called after me, “Tell the sheriff’s department that they’ve got no jurisdiction down here and to butt out of our business.”
I knew I should keep going, but that ticked me off. I stopped and pivoted to face him. “Sarah Freestone is missing, and her mother is worried sick. We’re trying to find her.”
“That bitch should have been happy with what she had rather than tryin’ to find greener pastures. If she fell in harm’s way, then she brought it on herself.”
My mouth dropped open. “You can’t mean that.”
“The hell I don’t. Now get out of here before the police show up and show you Sugar Branch justice.”
Did Sugar Branch justice mean violence?
I had no plans to stick around and find out.
Neely Kate was a nervous wreck when I got into the car. She grabbed my upper arms and scanned my body with panic-filled eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, ending the call, “but let’s get out of here. We’ll talk about it as you drive.”
She didn’t waste any time pulling out of the parking lot.
Once she was on the road, she said, “I thought he was gonna hurt you.”
“Yeah,” I admitted, “I was a bit worried myself. Stewie lost his mind when he thought Digger had told me something. I think they’re throwin’ Levi under the bus to deflect attention from themselves.”
Neely Kate nodded. “Did you pay attention to what he said about her gettin’ what she deserved? That makes them even more suspicious.”
I pushed out a sigh. “Suspicious, but nothing to prove one or both of them is guilty.” I shifted in my seat to face her. “I say we go by the dentist’s office and see what else we can discover.”
“Good idea, but I’m goin’ in this time.”
I was counting on it.
Chapter 14
We pulled into the parking lot of Dr. Knight’s dental office at 4:30 and parked next to one of the five cars in the lot.
“This is good,” Neely Kate said. “It’s close to closing time and there probably aren’t many patients.”
“We probably should have made an appointment,” I said as I opened the car door. “From what I read, that’s what most investigators do.”
“And give them a chance to tell us no?” she asked with a laugh. “I don’t think so.”
She had a point.
The middle-aged woman at the front desk greeted us with a toothy smile. She sat behind a chest-high counter that had a wall behind it and a partially open door. Her name tag read Christine. “Can I help you girls?”
“Hi,” I said. “I’m Rose Gardner and this is Neely Kate Rivers. We’re private investigators, and we’d like to ask you about Sarah Freestone.”
Her smile instantly faded. “I can’t help you. She doesn’t work here anymore.”
“Her mother told us that she quit and went to work for a vet up in Henryetta.”
“Quit?” she asked, her upper lip curling in disapproval. “Is that what she told her mother?”
“She didn’t quit?” Neely Kate asked.
Christine’s face scrunched up. “Shoot, no. Dr. Knight fired her.”
It struck me that it would certainly help our case if Sarah had been fired for embezzling money. “Can we ask why she was fired?”
She shook her head with regret in her eyes. “I’m not free to say. Confidentiality and all that,” she said with a wave of her hand, but I could see she was struggling to keep it to herself. I suspected Christine loved to gossip.
“Oh, I understand,” I said as
I rested my right forearm on the chest-high counter. I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Actually, I was just bein’ nice when I suggested she quit. I’d heard through the grapevine that she stole a bunch of money and got herself fired.”
Christine looked shocked by my suggestion. “Is that what’s goin’ round?” She chuckled and shook her head.
“So you’re sayin’ she didn’t steal a bunch of money?” Neely Kate asked.
Christine made a face that suggested she was still having an internal war over what to say, but thankfully, her need to gossip won out. “No. Of course not.”
“Are you sayin’ she’s not capable of stealin’ money?” Neely Kate asked.
Christine rolled her eyes. “Lordy, I don’t know about that part, but it sure wouldn’t surprise me. She used to smoke out back when she was supposed to be working.”
I stared at her in confusion, lost by her reasoning. “Are you sayin’ she was more likely to steal because she smoked?”
“Oh, no,” Christine said, leaning over her counter so we could hear her. “But she stole time—she was bein’ paid to work and she was sneakin’ off to smoke. Not to mention she reeked of it. Nasty business.”
“So that’s why she was fired?” Neely Kate asked.
“Oh, no,” Christine said, waving her hand dismissively again. “She was fired for bringing a vanilla bean pistachio cake for Dr. Knight’s birthday.”
I caught a confused glance from Neely Kate before she asked, “Does Dr. Knight have a rule against bringing sugary treats to the office?”
It made sense. Most dentists preached about moderating sugar consumption.
“Oh, no,” Christine said with a laugh. “He loves cakes and cookies and brownies, you name it. If it’s got sugar, he loves it.” She held her arms out wide. “He encourages everyone to eat as much sugar as they want. He calls it job security. He hands out suckers to kids after they get cavities filled.”
Okay…
“So I’m confused,” I admitted. “Why would he fire her for that?”
“He’s allergic to pistachios. Deathly so.”
Up Shute Creek: Rose Gardner Investigation #4 Page 15