“He didn’t act like you were nothin’ last night. Men only act possessive like that when someone’s threatening their woman. You’re his.”
“You are so far away from the truth you might as well be in Antarctica. We’ve worked together as business partners. If you want to work out a deal with Skeeter Malcolm, you’ll have to negotiate it yourself.” I took a step backward. “Because you’re wasting my time and yours. I’m goin’ home and goin’ back to bed.”
He stepped out of the shadows, pointing a rifle at me. “I don’t think so.”
I told myself that Raddy was scared, that he was only using the gun as a prop to get me to do what he wanted. But my heart sped up anyway. The fact that he was scared made him reckless. “Put that damn shotgun away, Radcliffe Dyer, before someone gets hurt. If you really want to get a deal with Skeeter, do you think shootin’ me is the way to go about it?”
He didn’t budge.
Oh crap. James was listening and probably on his way now. I couldn’t let this escalate. “Put it down, Raddy!”
He hesitated, then lowered the tip.
“Thank you for putting the gun away,” I said, even though it wasn’t totally gone. But hopefully it would be enough to hold James back. I took a breath and gave myself a second to gather my wits. “Now stop all this nonsense and let’s get to the heart of the matter. You want me to approach Skeeter and tell him what exactly?”
“Tell him to protect me.”
I shook my head. “Protect you from what?” I tilted my head. “You were part of that shooting tonight, weren’t you?” A new worry hit me. “Did you shoot anyone?”
“No, but I was there.”
“What happened?”
“I went to talk to Buck, to try to reason with him and ask him to help me leave town. But he was good and pissed. He reminded me that I have until 8:00 on Friday night to hand over the necklace. If I don’t, I’m as good as dead.”
“So go to the sheriff.”
“No!” He ran a hand over his head in frustration. “That’s where those skeletons come in. I’ve done some bad things, and Buck Reynolds knows what they are. If I have him arrested, he’ll blab all my secrets to the sheriff.”
“So let me get this straight. You can’t find the necklace, and Buck has threatened to kill you if you don’t hand it over by tomorrow night?”
He nodded.
“And you want Skeeter to offer you protection. You know you have to give him something in return, right?”
“Yeah, I’m gonna promise to not tell anyone about you.”
I shook my head. “No. That’s never gonna work. He could just make sure you never talk to anyone again and be done with it.”
His eyes went as wide as pool balls.
“You have to give him something valuable.”
The tip of his gun rose again. “Yeah. And I’m lookin’ at it.”
“Dammit, Raddy!” I shouted. “Will you just stop and use the twenty brain cells God gave you? That’s not gonna work!”
My insult didn’t seem to faze him, but it didn’t sway him either.
I pushed out a tension-filled breath. “You have to give him something he can use.”
“You think he wants the rest of the jewelry?”
I shook my head and groaned. “Not the jewelry. Information. You’ve been playin’ poker with Crocker’s old cronies, right?”
His eyes narrowed. “What of it?”
“Are you part of their group?”
“I play poker with them on Tuesday nights, but that’s it.”
“Surely they talk about business while you’re there.”
“Sometimes . . .”
“Do they ever talk about Kip Wagner?”
His eyes widened. “Why?”
Bingo. That’s what I was looking for. “Because that might be something you can use to bargain for protection. What do you know?”
He shook his head. “Nuh-uh. I’m not telling you nothing. I’m only telling Malcolm.”
“You think if I approach Skeeter Malcolm and ask him to protect you in exchange for information, he’s just gonna do it? He’ll want to know what you have to offer.”
“I think Skeeter Malcolm would rob the Piggly Wiggly in broad daylight without a mask on if you asked him to.”
I gave him a look of contempt. “Well, someone’s sadly deluded. And even if Skeeter Malcolm would entertain a meetin’ with you, I’d never set it up unless I knew for a fact you actually had something to offer. So start talkin’. What do you have to offer?”
“Some of Crocker’s men are aligning with Wagner.”
“What else?”
“What? Ain’t that enough?”
“Shoot,” I said in disgust. “I found that out while pumping gas at the Short Stop last week. I bet my kindergartner niece knows that. Give me something else.”
“This could get me killed, you know,” he whined.
“And I can guarantee you that pointing a shotgun at me like you’re doing now is far more likely to make that come true.”
He lowered the gun but didn’t look too happy about it. “Wagner’s planning something for next week.”
My irritated expression didn’t slip one bit, but I secretly rejoiced that Wagner didn’t have a big gun battle planned for Friday night. Maybe we’d somehow altered the timeline of my vision. “What’s he plannin’?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think harder.”
“I’m not in the inner circle,” he said. “I don’t know much. Just bits and pieces. Names and things they’re doin’ to spy on Malcolm.”
I slowly reached my hand toward the phone in my pocket. “I’m getting my phone out to call Skeeter, so don’t go shootin’ me unless you want to meet Skeeter Malcolm’s bullets before you ever see his face.”
He nodded and I carefully pulled out my phone and pretended to call him. “Raddy Dyer wants a face-to-face to share information about Kip Wagner in exchange for protection.”
“Did he really hold a shotgun on you?”
“Mr. Malcolm,” I said. “I know this is the middle of the night, but Raddy seems insistent.”
“Tell him we’ll come to him there.”
I glanced at Raddy. “He says he’ll come here.”
He looked worried. “Is he gonna kill me?”
“I give you my word he won’t kill you.”
James grunted in my ear. “What the hell are you doing, Lady? Don’t go promising him that.”
“How can I believe you?” Raddy asked.
“You do or you don’t,” I said to Raddy, trying to sound nonchalant. “You’re the one who’s desperate to talk to him. He seems unconvinced that you actually have something to share.”
“Fine,” Raddy groaned. “But only Malcolm—like the other night. None of his men.” He lifted his gun. “And you stay to make sure he doesn’t try anything.”
I suspected my role would be as a hostage and not a diplomatic peacekeeper. “Fine. I’ll stay.”
James grunted in my ear. “Like hell you’re staying.”
I knew he wanted me as far away from this mess as possible, but I was part of it, whether either one of us liked it or not.
“We’re at the old abandoned fertilizer plant,” I said. “By the office.”
Raddy’s eyes darkened and his gun was trained on me again. “I didn’t say you could tell him.”
“If you want to meet with him, he has to know where to come,” I said, trying not to freak out about the large gun this angry, frightened man was aiming at my gut. “And I can promise you that when he arrives, your negotiations will go south pretty quickly if you’re pointing a gun at me.”
“He’s a dead man,” James growled.
Raddy pointed the business end of his gun toward my phone. “Hang it up. He can hear what’s goin’ on.”
Little did he know.
When I didn’t move, he stepped closer, sounding more insistent. “End the damn call and toss the phone to the ground.”
/> James’ car was already speeding around the corner, but I did as Raddy requested. He was skittish enough. I wasn’t about to give him any reason to pull that trigger.
Fear filled Raddy’s eyes. “Move closer to me.”
“Raddy, listen to me,” I said, lifting my hands. “You can work this out with Skeeter, but you can’t look like you’re threatening me.”
“Move closer!”
I took several steps toward him, but apparently not fast enough. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me to him, positioning me so the tip of his gun dug into my upper back.
That’s when I knew things were about to get ugly.
Chapter 21
James’ car screeched to a stop, and he leaped out in an instant, his car still running, his gun pointed in our direction. “Let her go, Dyer.”
“No. I need your word that you won’t hurt me.”
“My word doesn’t mean shit,” he said as he stalked around the front end of his car.
“Don’t come any closer or I’ll shoot her!” Raddy shouted.
I pushed out a breath, trying to stay calm. Panicking wouldn’t help. I had to de-escalate this situation and fast. “Everybody just take a moment to calm down. Let’s think about this logically. Raddy, if you shoot me, you’re as good as dead.”
James’ eyes darkened. “You’ll wish you were dead by the time I get done with you.”
The look on his face told me he meant it. “James.”
“I knew it!” Raddy shouted, starting to sound panicked. “She is your woman!”
“I’m not his—”
James took a step closer. “She’s mine, and I guaran-damn-tee you that I’ll cut off your balls and shove them down your throat if you harm one hair on her head, so I suggest you send her over to me now.” He shot a quick glance at me, flicking his eyes down and then back up. “Rose, you ready?”
He wanted me to duck so he could shoot Raddy, but we needed him alive. “No,” I protested. “Just give me a minute.”
“I’ve given you about ten. The negotiating is done.”
“He knew you were meeting me?” Raddy asked in disbelief, jabbing the tip of the gun into my flesh. “You told him?”
“I’m giving you one last warning, Dyer,” James said in a deadly tone. “Let her go by the time I get to three. One.”
Raddy’s grip tightened. Would I be able to drop to the ground in time like James wanted me to?
“James! Stop!” I pleaded, trying to hold his gaze, but he was keeping his focus on the man behind me. “Raddy’s not really going to shoot me, so just take a few steps back and give us a second,” I said. How could I get them to calm down?
James’ jaw clenched. “No.”
“James.” I glanced over my shoulder at Raddy, not surprised by the wild look in his eyes. “Raddy, you’ve screwed this up, but it’s not hopeless. You can still get out of this. Let me help you.”
His gaze flicked over to James before returning to me. “He’s gonna kill me.”
“James,” I said in a firm voice, still holding Raddy’s gaze. “Assure Raddy that you aren’t going to hurt him.”
He was silent for so long, I was certain he wasn’t going to agree. “Fine, I’ll let him leave, but I have a few conditions of my own.”
Wariness washed over Raddy’s face, but I held his gaze, trying to exude calming energy despite the fact that my heart was beating in my throat. “Okay, what are they?” he finally asked.
“First, you drop your hold on her and lower your gun. Second, you tell me what you know. Three, you leave and keep this entire incident to yourself.”
Raddy started to speak, but James cut him off. “I’m not done.”
“What?”
“Four, you will never contact Rose Gardner again. If I so much as find out you were two people behind her in line at Walmart, I’ll hunt your ass down and kill you. And it won’t be one of my men—it will be me.”
Raddy gave me a questioning look.
I lifted my eyebrows. “Given the fact that you’re holding me at gunpoint, it’s a generous offer. I suggest you take it.”
“Fine,” Raddy said, swallowing then glancing over at James. “But she stays between us.”
“No.”
“Yes,” I said. “Now let me go, Raddy.”
He slowly loosened his hold, and I took a cautious step to the side, turning so I could see them both, which was when I realized they were both still holding their guns on each other.
“Raddy, drop it,” I said.
“Not until Malcolm does.”
James looked at me, his face hard, and I gave a slight nod. I knew he’d seen the lump at the small of my back. He knew I had my gun. Raddy must have been too focused on the situation to notice.
James tossed his gun onto the gravel parking lot, then narrowed his eyes at the man to my right.
Raddy looked like he was about to burst into tears, but he relented.
“What do you know?” James demanded.
“Only bits and pieces. Buck Reynolds has been creeping into some of your pot markets, undercutting your prices.”
“He’s got to be losing money with that strategy.”
“He was going to slowly cut you off, but he’s gotten impatient. He and Wagner are planning a full takeover next week.”
It was worse than I’d thought. Two of them were plotting against James.
“They’re gonna attack my pool hall?” James asked.
Raddy’s head bobbed up and down.
“What about the sheriff? They’re not afraid of getting caught?”
“Buck’s planned a distraction, but I don’t know what it is.”
“Where’s the necklace?” James asked.
I shot a surprised glance at him, but his expression was unreadable.
“The shootout tonight was over that damn necklace,” James said. “Why’s it so important? Was it really your grandmother’s?”
Raddy looked like he was about to swallow a basketball. “No. And I didn’t bet it in no poker game either. I stole it from Buck after a poker game last month. I hid it with my grandmother’s jewelry, but then Rayna kicked me out and changed the locks. I stirred up shit with my momma, hoping she’d be able to get it back without letting Rayna know it was worth anything. But when I snuck into Momma’s house to steal it, the necklace wasn’t there.”
“Reynolds didn’t miss it?” James asked in disbelief.
“He kept it in a safe. He was showing it off to me and a couple of other guys, but someone walked in. I snatched it out while Buck was distracted. He shut the safe door and was none the wiser. I snatched a couple of smaller pieces too, but he’s most interested in the necklace.”
“Smaller pieces,” I said. “Like an owl pin?”
His eyes widened in surprise as he nodded.
“But when Buck realized it was missing, he had to know it was one of the three of you. How’d he pin it on you?”
“The other two guys ratted me out. He realized it was gone on Monday and gave me until Friday night to find it. That’s why I hired you and Neely Kate. I figured Rayna had it and you could convince her to give it back.”
“You hired them to find a necklace you stole? And put them in danger?” James asked, his voice as cold as ice.
“Rose and Neely Kate were never in any danger!” Raddy protested. “Buck never knew they were lookin’!”
“Until you told him,” I said. “He knows now.”
James looked like he was about to shoot Raddy and be done with it. “Why not break into your own house and get the damn thing yourself?”
“I tried that, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.”
I turned to Raddy. “Why did Buck kill Rayna if he was giving you until Friday to turn it over?”
“Because Trixie found out about it. She was gonna try to convince Rayna to split whatever they hawked it for. Buck must have caught wind of it and decided to step in sooner.”
I gave Raddy a scrutinizing look. “When I saw Rayna at
Walmart, she didn’t look like a woman who thought she was sitting on thousands of dollars’ worth of jewelry.”
“She’d heard so many stories, she wasn’t sure what to believe,” Raddy said with tears in his eyes. “I know I cheated on her, but I loved her. I never wanted her dead.”
“Are you sure Buck killed her?” I asked.
“I thought so. I saw a guy running out. But when I confronted him tonight, he swore he didn’t do it.”
“Then who did?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” His voice broke. “No one else had a reason to.”
“Do you believe him?” I asked.
He looked torn. “He had no reason to lie to me. He’s admitted to killin’ people before. He threatened to kill me if I don’t deliver the necklace, but he said he wouldn’t waste his time killing Rayna.”
I shot a glance to James, but he was wearing his crime king face—expressionless and scary at the same time.
“Why didn’t you hawk the necklace right away?” I asked. “Why sit on it?”
James answered this one. “Because Buck would have put feelers out in every pawn shop within two hundred miles. If Dyer tried to sell it, Buck would know. He had to let it cool off.”
Raddy nodded. “I never thought he’d connect it to me. I didn’t mean no harm. What does Buck need with a white sapphire necklace? I planned to pay off my gambling debts, then take Rayna on the dream vacation to Six Flags like she wanted. She has a thing for Looney Tunes.”
She must have if she’d spent over five years with Radcliffe Dyer.
“How did Reynolds become associated with Wagner?” James asked.
“They’re banding up together. Partners,” Raddy said to James. “Buck said you’d put a chokehold on a lot of money-making ventures since February. They plan to take over and change things back to the way they were before.”
James was silent for a moment, and I studied him. He’d told me he’d been making some changes in the underworld, but I had no idea what form that had taken.
“How many men are involved?” James asked.
“I dunno. Maybe fifteen. Some of Crocker’s old guys won’t commit. They’re too scared of you.”
“Has Wagner planted any spies?” James asked.
“I’ve heard he has, but I never heard any names.”
Family Jewels: Rose Gardner Investigations #1 Page 21