“But you moved back to Dallas anyway?” Neely Kate asked.
“I did. Jake convinced me.”
“Your fiancé?” I asked.
She nodded. “We’ve been friends since we were kids. Our fathers were friends. Jake told me that he needed me.”
“He was your boyfriend?” Neely Kate asked.
“No. We were just friends, but we’d kept in touch. He’d just completed his MBA and was about to start working for his father. He convinced me that I didn’t have to live two thousand miles away to ignore mine. I could live twenty miles away and ignore him just as easily. And I did. I didn’t have a job lined up, and Jake had a friend of a friend who knew about a small private school looking for a third-grade teacher, so I took it. I worked there until I quit at the end of the year.”
“Because you were getting married?” Neely Kate asked.
“That and other things,” she said, then pushed out a sigh. “Jake and I had always teased each other that we were soul mates and would get married one day. Well, one thing led to another. I’d just broken up with a guy who, come to find out, had only dated me because of my father’s money, and Jake was worried he was becoming a workaholic like his father. He wanted a wife and a family, but all of his relationships had ended about as well as mine. One night while we were out together, he suggested we get married.”
“But you weren’t datin’?” Neely Kate asked.
“No, but we were friends. Best friends, I thought. We weren’t in love, but we did love each other. Or so I thought. Jake made a convincing argument. He brought up the fact that his parents and mine had married for love and it had ended badly for all of them. Maybe it was better to marry for a more enduring kind of love and for respect. Romantic love was like a flash in the pan, but the love we had would stand the test of time.”
“And you bought it?” Neely Kate asked.
“It sounded good at the time. Brad had just broken my heart, and I wanted a husband and a family too. I did love Jake—I just wasn’t in love, and being in love had done nothing but break my heart. It wasn’t hard to say yes.”
Neely Kate gave her a sad look. “What happened?”
“Jake convinced me to tell my father. He said it would be best if we were on good terms with our parents once we started having kids, and a wedding would be a great way to make amends. It made sense.”
“Of course it did,” Neely Kate agreed.
“So what happened?” I asked. “What did Jake do?”
She sucked in her bottom lip and stared down at the dirt for a moment. “Last Friday night was the rehearsal dinner. I’d wanted a small wedding, but Jake had convinced me to let my father throw a big celebration. And to be fair, my father seemed so happy to have me back in his life, it wasn’t hard to agree. So there were a lot of people at the rehearsal. Jake’s parents had insisted on hosting the dinner at their house. Dinner hadn’t been served yet, and I needed to go to the restroom. The powder room downstairs was occupied, so I went upstairs to Jake’s old room to use his bathroom. When I started walking down the upstairs hall, I heard voices—Jake’s and my father’s. They were in Jake’s room discussing… me.”
She took a deep breath before continuing. “Jake said he’d done as my father requested—he’d brought me back into my father’s life—and he wanted my father to tell him when exactly he planned to make Jake a board member of Blakely Oil. My father insisted Jake needed to be patient or it would look too suspicious—that I was a clever girl. He said they needed to focus on getting me to work for the charitable foundation my grandmother had started. And that was when I realized that Jake had been lying to me all along. My father had bribed him to marry me.
“So I went home and packed two bags, left Jake a note telling him to marry my father since they were so cozy together, and then headed to Austin’s house. He was one of Brad’s friends who had chosen my side after our breakup. My father didn’t know about him, and I’d hardly mentioned him to Jake. I spent the entire weekend there trying to figure out what to do, then decided to just leave. I used my debit cards and credit cards to get some cash, and Austin loaned me an old car his mother had kept in his garage for years. I left Dallas Monday morning and really did get turned around after I left the interstate, and I wound up here.”
We both stared at her in disbelief.
Finally, I said, “Do you want to go home?”
“No, but I have to protect Austin. I can’t let them hurt him because of me.”
“You don’t know that they know about Austin,” I said. “Maybe you should call him and make sure he’s okay before you do anything rash.”
She gave me a wry look as she pulled a non-smart phone out of her pocket. “You mean more rash than running away from home when you’re thirty-one?”
I grinned. “Touché.”
“A burner?” Neely Kate asked.
A sheepish look washed over Carly’s face. “Austin’s idea.” She turned it on and groaned. “I have three missed calls since I checked this morning, and Austin’s the only one who has this number.” She placed the call and held the phone up to her ear. I’d expected her to walk away for privacy, but she stayed on the bench.
“Austin, I’m fine,” she gushed. “I’m in Arkansas.”
I could hear him shouting, “That’s too close, Caroline!”
“I barely made it out of Texas before the car broke down,” she said. “I made it to—”
Neely Kate violently shook her head no and made a chopping motion at her neck.
“I’m stuck,” Carly said. “And I’m waiting for the car to be repaired.” She paused for several seconds, then said, “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Listen, my father has gone public and says he thinks I’ve been kidnapped, and I’m worried he’ll find out about you. I’m thinking about coming back to clear your name.”
He said something inaudible on the other end of the phone, to which she replied, “I don’t think there is another way.”
I still wasn’t convinced it was the best solution, but the only other possibility that came to mind would be for Carly to call her father or ex-fiancé, and as conniving as those two had been, I wouldn’t put it past them to blame her friend anyway.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll wait, but at the first hint that he blames you, you need to let me know. I can’t risk you getting arrested.”
She hung up, then leaned back into the bench and closed her eyes.
“Food’s here,” Maeve called out from the back door.
Neely Kate waved to acknowledge we’d heard, and Maeve went back inside.
“This is entirely your decision,” I said softly, “but if you aren’t ready to face your old life yet, you’re welcome to stay here. If a threat pops up, you can reevaluate. Either way, we’ll be here to support you.”
“You guys are being so sweet to me,” she said, swiping a tear from her eye. “Thank you.”
“You know what we need?” Neely Kate asked.
“What?” I responded.
“A girls’ trip to the hair salon. Visiting the Cut and Curl this morning reminded me that my stripes are fading. I can get them touched up and we can get mani-pedis too.” She turned to Carly. “What do you say?”
Her eyes widened, caught off guard. “I had my nails done for my wedding.” She glanced down at her manicured hands.
“All the more reason to go,” Neely Kate said. “Out with the old Caroline and in with the new Carly. My treat.”
Carly’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know I didn’t used to go by Carly?”
Neely Kate grinned. “The moment you introduced yourself. You hesitated on your name.”
She grimaced. “It seemed prudent to use an alias.” Her gaze turned wistful. “My mother used to call me Carly. No one’s called me that in a long time… I like it.”
Neely Kate stood. “Well, Carly, I’m starving. I’ll make the appointments while we eat.”
The three of us headed into the shop. Officer Ernie, one of Henryetta
Police Department’s finest, was at the counter, handing two bags of food to Maeve in exchange for cash. Ernie wasn’t in his uniform, instead wearing a Def Leppard T-shirt, a pair of jean shorts, and a blue terry cloth headband. I’d forgotten that he’d started using his station wagon as an Uber on his days off.
“Hello, Ernie,” I said.
He cast me a suspicious look, not that I blamed him. I’d gotten him into trouble a time or two.
“I don’t see why y’all wasted your time ordering salads when they’ve got good burgers,” he grumbled to Maeve.
“The mysterious ways of women,” she said as she handed him some cash. “You have a good day.”
“Sure thing,” he said with a grin as he stuffed the money into his front jeans pocket. He spun around to leave, stopping short when he took in the apron Carly was wearing. “You got someone new workin’ here?”
I was more than a little shocked Ernie knew enough about the nursery to recognize a new employee.
“We do,” Maeve said in a sweet voice as she walked around the counter and wrapped her arm around Carly’s back, volunteering nothing more.
“Well, okay then…” Ernie said, hooking his thumbs in his waistband as he scanned our faces.
Maeve gave Carly a squeeze and then headed to the front door and held it open.
“You have a nice day,” she said to Officer Ernie. Her smile looked tight, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d had another wave of intuition.
“Yeah,” he said, getting one last look in before he left.
“Who was that?” Carly asked.
I shot a glance to Neely Kate, wondering if we should tell her.
Neely Kate must have felt the same way because she said, “He works for the Henryetta Police Department, but don’t worry. I doubt he’ll put together who you are.”
“But if he does…” she said, sounding worried.
“First of all,” I said, “he’d have to be paying attention to the national news, and that’s highly doubtful. Second, Officer Ernie couldn’t solve a crime if the key evidence was starin’ him in the face. But,” I added when I could see I hadn’t convinced her yet, “if he comes sniffin’ around, we’ll throw him off track. I promise.”
“But in case he does comes sniffin’ around,” Neely Kate said, “we should come up with a plan to convince him it’s not her. Maybe we should give her a makeover.”
Carly wrapped her arms around her chest. “You mean change my hair?”
“Yeah,” Neely Kate said. “We could do it this afternoon. I bet if Ernie sees you again, he won’t associate you with the woman he saw today. He’s really not that bright.”
Carly reached up and ran her fingers through her blond ponytail. “I know this is stupid, but I’m not sure that I’m ready to change my hair. My mother’s hair was this color, and everyone says we look alike. I like seeing traces of her when I look in the mirror. Like she’s still with me.” She grimaced. “That sounds morbid, doesn’t it?”
“No,” Violet said. She’d been standing to the side observing everything with her watchful eyes. “It sounds like a beautiful tribute to the woman who loved you more than anything. I can only hope my daughter will see traces of me in the mirror once she’s grown.” She walked over and picked up Carly’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “You keep your hair color. We’ll cover for you.”
Carly gave my sister a hug. “Thank you, Violet.”
Then she turned to the rest of us, and the fear and gratitude in her eyes made me wonder what she’d left out of her story. Carly wasn’t just running from her manipulative father. She was running from danger. Were we smart to keep her here?
It didn’t matter. She needed help, and we’d give it to her.
Chapter 25
Neely Kate got the both of them appointments at Beulah’s Nip and Clip on the courthouse square. I hadn’t worked on client plans since the previous week, so I bowed out, choosing instead to go to the office. I didn’t have my truck, but it worked out fine because our office was only a short distance from the salon.
As soon as I sat in my chair, I realized I wasn’t ready to settle into work yet, but there was something equally productive that I could do. I took a deep breath and called Mason.
“Rose,” he said. “I’m surprised to hear from you.”
“Neely Kate and I are conducting an investigation and came upon some information I thought you might be interested in.”
“Me? What’s it pertain to?”
“The Sugar Branch Police Department. Have you heard anything about them?”
He took a second, then said, “I didn’t even know they had a police department.”
“Neither did I. I think they’re fairly new. Our client is from Sugar Branch, and they refused to take a report on her missing nineteen-year-old daughter.”
That seemed to catch his attention. “Did they tell her why not?”
“They said she ran away. She tried to get the sheriff’s department to take the case, but Joe says he couldn’t because the sheriff would have had his head. Part of the reason the town voted in a police department is because the townsfolk are at odds with the sheriff’s deputies.”
“Do you know why they’re at odds with the sheriff’s department?”
“From what I’ve heard, it’s because the sheriff deputies are a little too good at doing their job with the DUIs and drug bust arrests.”
He was silent for a moment. “Denny Carmichael’s down there.”
“A source told me that someone who’s worried about the police busting him gave the city money to hire the police department. They’re telling everyone it’s a grant.”
“Did your source know who provided the funds?”
“She didn’t say, but I’d bet my farm it was Denny Carmichael. Who else has that kind of money down there?”
He was quiet for a moment and I could hear his wheels spinning. “So Carmichael gets the town to hire a police department who’ll leave him and his dealers alone. It makes sense. Part of his property is within the city limits. If he put his cook on that part, he’d be safe from a bust.”
“There’s more,” I said.
“Okay…”
“I also heard that the police are making businesses pay ‘insurance.’ Tiggy’s Bar pays them so they don’t get busted for underage drinking.”
He was silent for a moment, then turned all business. “Who else have you told about this?”
“No one. I heard the information this morning, and this was the first chance I had to call you.”
“Why not call Joe?” He sounded genuinely curious.
“Because it sounds like Joe’s hands are tied. I figured you’d have more authority to deal with it.”
“Thanks. I’ll definitely do some digging. If you and Neely Kate are working down there, are you safe?”
“We just handed the case over to Joe. We interviewed a woman who claims she messed Sarah up with her switchblade, turning our missing person case into a potential homicide investigation.”
“You said she claims to have messed her up. You don’t think she did it.”
“I’m just not sure she actually did it. We have four stronger suspects, one of whom is one of Denny Carmichael’s suppliers.”
“Was she a dealer or a user?” he asked.
“Not that I’m aware of,” I said. “We haven’t found a solid connection between the two of them, but Emmitt Lincoln disappeared around the same time Sarah did. And she disappeared after she told her best friend she was about to come into enough money to help the two of them run away together. We wondered if she’d somehow found his money.”
“Emmitt Lincoln… I’ve heard that name before.”
“We were about to start askin’ around about him, but I guess we don’t need to now.”
“If he’s connected to Carmichael, you girls need to stay far away from him. Denny’s a known rapist and murderer.”
“Then why isn’t he behind bars?” I asked, feeling frustrated.
“Because he knows how to play the system, and it sounds like he just upped his game.” I heard someone calling Mason in the background. “I have to go, Rose, but thank you for this.”
“We still want the same thing, Mason,” I said. “We just have different ways of going about it.”
He hesitated, as though he wanted to say something, then said, “Take care, Rose.”
“You too.”
I hung up, feeling better that Mason and I had engaged in an entire conversation without getting into an argument. I’d consider that progress, and it was a side benefit that he’d have something to work with that didn’t involve James.
I started to work and was deep in thought on a particularly tricky yard layout when my phone rang. My heart leapt into my throat when I saw J at the top of the screen.
James.
“Hey,” I said when I answered, leaning back in my chair.
“Are you with Neely Kate?”
“No, I’m alone at the office. She’s at the hair salon with Carly… long story.” I paused, then added, trying not to sound needy, “You took a while to answer me.”
“I’m dealing with an employee issue. Can I see you tonight?”
An employee issue? That could run the gamut from one of the dancers at his strip club to one of the criminals who swore loyalty to him. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” he said, clearly lying. “I just want to see you.” His voice took on a husky tone. “I miss your body against mine.”
A spark shot down to my core, making me flush. What was it about this man that got me so turned on in seconds?
Nothing good, something whispered deep down inside me, and for the first time, I wondered if that voice was right. This man could be my family’s ruin, yet I loved him.
What was I to do about that?
“Yeah,” I said. “I can get away tonight.” It struck me that we might not have another opportunity for a long time.
“I’ll be at the house by eight,” he said.
“I’ll see you then.” I started to ask him about Emmitt Lincoln, but he hung up. I stared at my phone, my heart hurting. Should I end it tonight?
Up Shute Creek: Rose Gardner Investigation #4 Page 27