I’d kept my distance over the past months, mostly because it hurt too much to see her. She was a reminder of what I’d lost. I’d been hurting, but she’d been hurting too.
“Maeve, I’m so sorry. I’ve been so self-centered.”
“You stop that,” she chided.
“No. It’s true. I haven’t given much thought to how you were handling all of this, and I’m truly sorry.”
She studied me for a moment and then smiled. “Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? You and Neely Kate. Are you free?”
My chest warmed. “I’d like that. Thank you.”
“And there’s no reason for you to make a special trip back here for Muffy if you have a busy day. You can bring her home after dinner.”
“Okay. Thanks.” I handed Muffy to her, along with her medication and her crate.
When I started for the door, Maeve called after me, “It’s okay to live your life, Rose. Mason doesn’t expect you to wallow.”
No, but he’d left because he knew I still needed to figure out who I was and what I wanted—something I’d never be able to do with him around. Had he sacrificed his own happiness? Had he sacrificed his relationship with his mother?
More guilt for me to mull over while digging in the dirt.
Chapter 15
I wiped sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. Our cool spell was definitely over.
“You still miss diggin’ in the dirt?” Bruce Wayne asked with a chuckle.
I rested my foot on my shovel and leaned my shoulder into the handle. “Would you believe it if I said yes?”
He grinned. “Ain’t that how we got started in the first place?”
“True enough.” I glanced over at the other man on Bruce Wayne’s crew. “Sean’s a hard worker.”
“He is, but his buddy? Not so much. This is the third time he’s called in sick in three weeks, and he’s been slackin’ when he’s here. I think I’m gonna have to let him go.”
I nodded. “It’s your crew, Bruce Wayne. I trust your judgment. I’ll fill in to help you as much as I can until you find someone else.”
“Thanks.”
My phone began to vibrate in my pocket. I tugged off my glove and pulled my phone out. I didn’t recognize the number, but I regularly gave my number out to clients.
I swiped to answer. “Hello?”
“I need to talk to you,” a woman said. She sounded scared.
I recognized her voice. Thank goodness. The bartender had given her the note after all. “Trixie?”
“I need to tell you about Rayna. Will you meet me?”
I scanned the work site. We’d been working hard for several hours. Bruce Wayne and Sean could easily finish on their own. “Okay. When and where?”
“One Eyed Joes. In thirty minutes.” Then she hung up.
Crap. That wouldn’t give me time to clean up.
“Bruce Wayne, I have to—”
“Go,” he said. “We can finish up just fine.” He hesitated. “Before I forget, Anna wants you and Neely Kate to come over for dinner next week. To celebrate our new house together.”
I grinned. “Domestication suits you, Bruce Wayne.”
A blush tinged his face.
When I got into the truck, I called Neely Kate. “I need you to meet me at One Eyed Joes in twenty-five minutes.”
“What happened on the job site that’s pushed you into day drinking?” she asked.
Actually, it was our other “job” that had done that. “Trixie called me and asked me to meet her there.”
“You’re kidding.”
“She said she needs to tell me something about Rayna.”
“Okay,” she said. “See you there.”
I hung up and tried to think of where I could go to clean up a little before heading to the bar. Then it hit me. Violet’s house—the house I’d lived in for twenty-four years until I’d moved into the farm last November.
The house was dark and cool when I let myself in. I’d been checking on it a couple of times a week since she’d left for Houston, but I never stayed long. Violet and I had a complicated relationship; this house and I, even more so. My momma, or at least the woman I’d thought was my momma, had tormented me. Now I knew it wasn’t just my visions that had made her hate me—she’d likely seen me as a reflection of my birth momma, the woman her husband had briefly left her for.
I went into the bathroom, stripped off my shirt, and washed off with a washcloth. Since Violet and I were the same size, I grabbed a shirt out of her closet and put it on. At least I wouldn’t stink now.
As I locked up the house, I heard an old woman shout, “I’m gonna call the police!”
Cringing, I turned around to face my old across-the-street neighbor. “Miss Mildred. This used to be my house, and you darn well know it.”
She hobbled to the end of the driveway. “It’s Violet’s house now.”
“And you know I have permission to check on her house, so why would you call the police?”
She pointed at me with a single gnarled finger. “For thievery. That’s Violet’s shirt.”
“Maybe you should just ask her if she wants to press charges when she comes home in a couple of weeks.”
Some of the bitterness left her eyes. “Violet’s comin’ home?”
“If all goes well, yeah, she’ll be home soon.” Then it occurred to me that I was talking to one the busiest busybodies in Henryetta. Perhaps her eighty-three years of gossip and elephant-like memory might come in handy. “Say, Miss Mildred, I suspect you knew Mable Dyer’s mother.”
She lifted her chin. “What makes you think that?”
I lifted my shoulder into a slight shrug. “Well . . . I know that you know everyone who’s been in the garden club for the past sixty years. Shoot, you know James Malcolm’s grandmother, Roberta, and she was one of the founders.”
Her eyes narrowed. “James Malcolm? Are you talkin’ about Miriam’s son?”
I realized my mistake and sucked in my breath. “I don’t know his mother’s name. But most people call him Skeeter.” I wasn’t sure why it surprised me. We’d been hanging out for months, and there was so little I knew about him.
Her lips pursed. “That’s him. How do you know James Malcolm? He’s a hoodlum.” Then she shook her head. “But then, why am I surprised?”
Crappy doodles. I’d really screwed this up. There was a good chance she wouldn’t tell me anything now. “You’re pretty observant,” I said. “There’s no way you missed my name in the news last February in connection with the arrest of J.R. Simmons. And James’ name was in there too. He helped bring that madman down.”
The severe lines on her forehead eased.
“Neely Kate and I have been helping Raddy Dyer look for his grandmother’s missing necklace. He thinks someone stole it, and he wants it back. But we keep hearing conflicting reports as to whether it’s worth anything. Do you know if Mable’s mother had expensive jewelry?”
Miss Mildred laughed, but not in a kind way. “That woman didn’t have a pot to piss in. Oleander was known for wearing big gaudy jewelry, but it was all from Woolworths up in Magnolia.”
I heaved out a sigh. What in the world was going on? What had Rayna been killed for then? And where in tarnation had that owl pin come from?
“If Radcliffe Dyer is telling you that his grandmother’s necklace is worth money, he’s selling you a piece of swampland.” Chuckling, she turned and started to hobble toward her house. “You always were a gullible girl.”
Frowning, I called after her. “Thanks for the information.”
I got in my truck and drove to One Eyed Joes, a bar on the east side of town that was frequented by truckers and some of the older farmers. I’d never been there. While its reputation was milder than the Trading Post, it was known to host a rough crowd from time to time, but surely things wouldn’t be too out of hand just after lunchtime.
Neely Kate’s car was in the parking lot along with a dozen other cars. I’d ha
d no idea a country bar would be so popular on a Thursday afternoon. She was talking on the phone in her car. From the look on her face, she was in the middle of an argument with someone. When she saw me, she abruptly ended the call and got out of the car.
“Everything all right?” I asked.
She gave a little shimmy as she centered her purse strap on her shoulder. “Fine. Let’s find Trixie.”
I was bursting with curiosity, especially after finding Neely Kate at the kitchen table with her phone that morning, but I decided to let it go. For now.
She gave me a quick once-over. “You changed. And that’s not your shirt.”
“It’s Violet’s. Since I spent the morning working with Bruce Wayne on a job site, I wasn’t exactly fit for a social visit. I didn’t have time to go home, so . . .”
“Good idea.”
“But when I left, I saw Miss Mildred.”
“That was bound to be trouble,” she said as she started walking toward the entrance.
“Well, she did threaten to call the police over me stealing Violet’s shirt.”
She stopped in her tracks. “What?”
I waved it off. “That’s not important. What you need to know is that Miss Mildred knew Raddy’s grandmother.”
“Oh my word,” she said, lightly smacking her palm against her forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Miss Mildred said his grandmother wore gaudy Woolworths costume jewelry. From the way she told it, there’s no way that necklace is real.”
She put a hand on her hip. “But the owl pin was.”
“I know. None of it makes sense.”
Shaking her head, she continued toward the entrance. “Let’s talk to Trixie and see what she has to say.”
I was nervous about meeting her, more so than I would have been before that night in February, but the array of self-defense weapons in my purse made me feel a lot better about the situation.
We stopped a few feet inside the bar that reeked of stale beer and sweat. The walls were covered in cheap pine paneling and rodeo photos. The tables were all thick pine, but the patrons seemed to favor the bar.
“Do you see her?” Neely Kate asked.
“No.”
“It’s barely one. Maybe she’s running late.”
“Maybe.” But I didn’t have a good feeling about this. “What if she set us up?”
“How would she set us up? It’s not like we have anything she wants. Shoot, we don’t even know where the necklace is.”
“I don’t know,” I murmured and started to walk toward a table for four. “I just have a bad feeling.”
“Do you want to have a vision?” she whispered.
“That’s not a bad idea.” We both got settled at the table. I reached for her hand, but a waitress walked over to us before I could start.
“What can I get you girls?”
I was starving, so I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone. “I’ll take an iced tea, and if you have hamburgers, I’ll take one with fries.”
The waitress turned to Neely Kate, who ordered a salad and water. As the waitress walked away, Neely Kate’s mouth dropped open.
“What?” I asked, turning to see three women walk in, silhouetted by the bright sunlight from the open door.
“It’s Leah Dyer.”
“What’s she doing here?” I asked, more to myself.
Neely Kate’s mouth pressed into a tight line.
Dread crept into my stomach. “Why do I think there’s history between you two?”
“Never you mind about that. Didn’t you say Miss Mable said she gave the jewelry to Leah?”
“Yeah. But you found the jewelry in her drawer.”
“Maybe we should have a chat with Leah anyway.”
The mischief in her voice had me worried. “I think we should wait for Trixie. We might not get the chance to talk to her at all if your conversation with Leah goes the way I think it will.”
When she frowned and lifted her shoulder into a noncommittal shrug, I let out a sigh of relief. But the glances she continued to shoot toward Leah made me nervous. I needed to distract her. “When I walked into the nursery this morning, Maeve was on the phone with Mason.”
That got her attention.
“Could you hear what she was saying?” she asked.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but once I realized she was talking to him, I couldn’t help myself. She told him he was working too hard and needed more sleep. I suspect he’s not eating well either.”
Sadness filled her eyes. “He doesn’t have you to bring him lunch and take care of him anymore. That man loved you, there was no doubt about it. He’s probably trying to fill the gap with work.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Like someone else I know.”
I shot her an annoyed look. “She told him I was coming in with Muffy. But then she saw me and hung up. She said she never tells him anything specific about me, but he always asks if I’m doing okay.”
“He still cares,” she said quietly. “But what about you? How are you feelin’?”
“I still love him. I think a part of me will always love him, but he’s gone.” I tried to keep my voice from cracking with emotion. “And I don’t think about him nearly as much as I used to.” If part of me still loved Mason, how did I categorize my new feelings for James? Not that I was even sure what they were . . . “Do you think it’s possible for part of me to still love Mason yet have feelings for someone else?”
“If you’re asking if I think it’s possible to love two men at the same time, then yeah, I think that’s possible. But one of them is here and the other left you. I think that makes your choice clear.”
I held my breath. Had she figured out the sudden shift in my feelings for James?
“If Dr. Romano doesn’t call you by tomorrow, maybe you should call and ask a question about Muffy.”
We were talking about two different men. I looked down at my fork. “Then I’d be like every other woman in the county—usin’ her pet to gain access to him.”
“Don’t give up on him,” she said insistently. “There’s a few tricks you can use to get his attention. But even if he doesn’t want to see you again, there are plenty of other men in this county.”
“Neely Kate, you know I’m not the kind of woman to use tricks to get someone’s attention.”
She studied me for a moment. “No. I suppose you’re right.” She sighed. “Not to worry. We’ll get you dating again. There are plenty of fish in the sea.”
I considered telling her I wasn’t particularly interested in fishing but decided to change the subject. “Maeve invited us to dinner tonight.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh. I’ve missed Maeve’s cooking, even if my hips have not.”
I laughed.
The waitress brought our food. I glanced at the clock and then did a double take. It was a horse wearing a saddle, raised up on its back legs, most likely to fit in with the rodeo theme, but the hands of the clock were actually his male parts—his longer one was the minute and the two small, circular ones were lined up for the hour. I shook my head and shifted my focus to the time. Trixie had said she’d be here in half an hour, but a good hour had come and gone since her call. It seemed unlikely she was going to show up. “Do you think Buck found out what she was up to?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Neely Kate said. “She called you, right? Maybe you should try to give her a call.”
“Good idea.”
I pulled out my phone and called her back, but there was no answer and no voice mail. “She didn’t answer.”
“Maybe she changed her mind. Or got scared.”
“Or both,” I said, frowning.
A grin spread across Neely Kate’s face.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to go stir up trouble with Leah.”
She released a short laugh. “Nope. She caught me lookin’ at her, and she’s savin’ me from gettin’ up.”
I turned to see the brunette strutting toward us. S
he had on dark, tight jeans and a white tank top that left little to the imagination. Her face was heavily made up, and she looked liable to use her stiletto boots as lethal weapons.
Leah put her hands on her hips and popped her hip to the side. “Well, well. Fancy seein’ you here, Neely Kate. Slummin’, are you?”
Neely Kate was all innocence when she looked up at her. “I’m not sure what you’re talkin’ about, Leah. I’m enjoying a working lunch with my friend.” She cast a glance at Leah’s friends, who were watching with rapt attention from their table across the room. “But from the looks of your friends, you’re up to the same. Y’all lookin’ for work after that strip club south of town closed?”
Leah scowled, wrinkling her forehead with deep creases.
“Be careful,” Neely Kate said. “If you leave your face like that, you might get wrinkles. You don’t want your tips to go down.”
Leah’s face turned red. “What are you doin’ here, Neely Kate?”
“I already told you.”
“I know you’re spyin’ on me.”
Neely Kate did a double take. “What are you talkin’ about?”
“I know you and your friend”—she gave me a look of disgust—“are working for my brother, looking for my grandmammie’s necklace. I don’t have nothin’ to do with it.”
Neely Kate lifted her chin with attitude. “I never suggested you did. Why would I think such a thing?”
Leah was clearly struggling to form a response, so I decided to give it a go. Neely Kate was being way too antagonistic to get anything out of her. “Leah,” I said, “we’re only trying to help your brother. I’d like to offer my condolences on your sister-in-law’s death.”
She released a bitter laugh. “Rayna? The world’s a better place without that bitch.”
I gasped.
“Don’t look all shocked, Miss Goodie Two-Shoes,” she sneered. “You’re not so perfect.” She nodded toward me. “Oh yeah, I know all about your helpin’ Skeeter Malcolm last winter.” She gave me an exaggerated wink.
I tried to hide my surprise. “I helped apprehend a man charged with murder. Skeeter Malcolm cooperated with the police to set up the sting operation. There’s nothin’ more to it.”
Family Jewels: Rose Gardner Investigations #1 Page 17