Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments: Rose Gardner Mystery #7 (16 page)

I pulled my knit scarf up to cover my face as I gagged. “Muffy! You’ve got to start giving me a warning!”

She looked over her shoulder, giving me a look that said “good luck with that,” then took off running toward the house.

She made the decision for me.

The house wasn’t as large as mine. A one-story bungalow with a front porch that ran the length of the house. It reminded me of the house I’d grown up in, but it was older and in worse shape. The blue paint was peeling and faded and there was obvious wood rot around the windows on the west side. Joe had rented the house with some sort of barter with the owner—renovations for reduced rent. The owner had obviously gotten the better end of the deal. Joe’s car was parked on the side of the house, but he usually drove his sheriff’s car now, so I knew he wasn’t home.

I walked up to the porch and peered into the curtain-less windows. The front room had a brick fireplace flanked with bookcases. Tarps covered the floor and the plaster had been stripped off one of the walls, revealing lath boards instead of studs. I couldn’t help wondering what project he was doing. But more importantly, I hoped it made him happy.

I was so intent on checking the inside of the house, I didn’t hear the car approaching until Muffy began to bark.

Oh great, Joe’s going to catch me snooping.
However, as I looked closer, I realized it wasn’t a sheriff’s car. I wasn’t sure getting caught snooping by someone else was much better. But when the car stopped and I saw who was getting out of it, I wanted to run off into the fields and hide.

Hilary didn’t look any happier to see me than I was to see her. She climbed out of the car wearing brown tweed dress pants and brown pumps. A cute ivory wool coat covered her top half and made her striking auburn hair stand out even more than usual. Her makeup looked like it had been done by a professional. When I compared her attire to my work boots, jeans, and work jacket, it was apparent, once again, that she was many leagues above me in terms of class and sophistication.

“Rose.” Her voice was tight. “What are you doing sneaking around Joe’s house?”

Muffy sat back on her haunches and released a slow growl. My little dog was obviously a good judge of character, but she’d also given me an alibi.

“I took Muffy for a walk, and she took off running for Joe’s house.”

Hilary stood at the bottom of the steps, a foil-covered square casserole dish in her hand, a leather handbag slung from the crook of her elbow. “Have you never heard of a
leash?
”

I started toward the steps. “She usually sticks close to me, but she must have realized this was Joe’s house.” When Hilary’s eyes narrowed with disapproval, I couldn’t help adding, “She’s still very fond of Joe. When we were together, he treated her like she was his dog too.”

“Then maybe Joe should petition for joint custody.”

“Like he’s going to do with you for your baby?” The words were out of my mouth before I even considered them. But the hurt in her eyes made me instantly contrite. I walked down a couple of steps. “Look, Hilary. I’m sorry. That was a terrible thing to say.”

She lifted her chin, not even acknowledging my apology. “What are you doing here, Rose Gardner?”

“I told you.”

“That’s a lie and we both know it.”

I was sick to death of lying, so I didn’t bother to contradict her.

“You have Mason Deveraux. He’s a good man. Why can’t he be enough?” The pleading in her voice wrenched at something inside me. “You aren’t with Joe. Why can’t you leave him alone?”

“We’re just friends.”

Hate filled her eyes. “He will never be
just friends
with you.”

I wasn’t sure how to answer that. Though I hoped it wasn’t true, I knew there was a chance it might be.

“You need to leave him alone so he can move on.”

“With you?” I asked. “I’m not having this conversation again.” I tried to move off the steps to the ground, but she blocked my path.

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t mess with me, Rose Gardner. If you think I’m a bitch now, you’ll wither like a hothouse rose before I’m done with you.” Her glare hardened. “Pun intended.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Are you threatenin’ me?”

“I’m sorry.” She put a hand on her chest. “Did I not make my threat clear enough?”

I shook my head. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“You should be. I’m ruthless.”

“Are you done now? For someone who wants me to leave, you sure are doin’ your darnedest to keep me here.”

“I just want to make sure I’ve gotten my point across.”

“Perfectly.”

Hilary took a step to the side. “You be careful walking home. I sure would hate for you to twist your ankle all alone out in those fields.”

Muffy released another low growl, followed by a cloud of noxious fumes. Hilary frantically waved her hand in front of her face, and for once, I was thankful for my dog’s quirk.

“Good God!” Hilary mumbled, blinking rapidly. “What is
wrong
with your
dog?
”

“There’s
nothing
wrong with Muffy,” I said with more sass than was usual for me. “She’s just an excellent judge of character.” I strode past Hilary, heading home.

I resisted the urge to look back at her, ruminating over our conversation instead. Did she have it in her to make good on her threat?

I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out, but now that I’d found my backbone, I wasn’t about to back down. If Hilary wanted a war, it was time to prepare myself for battle.

I pulled into a parking spot on the side of the Veterans Hall at 6:51. Neely Kate’s car was already in the lot and I wondered if I’d get in trouble for being late. It had taken me a while to gather my Lady in Black clothes.

I walked into the hall and spotted Neely Kate right away. Her granny was next to her and now sported pale blue hair. I wondered if she and Miss Mildred frequented the same hairdresser.

As I approached, Neely Kate and her grandmother were starting to set up miniature stuffed animal key chains around their Bingo cards. My friend glanced up and gave me a soft smile. She was still wearing the jeans and flannel shirt she’d worn earlier today, but her red and puffy eyes told me she’d done some major crying after I dropped her off at the doctor’s office. “Granny saved you a seat.” She pointed to the chair on the other side of her grandmother.

I waved to her grandmother. “Hi, Mrs. Rivers. Thanks for letting me play with you.” Neely Kate had told me that her grandmother was particular about who sat close to her. She firmly believed bad luck could seep from someone nearby and mess up her Bingo juju.

She obviously didn’t know about my usual misfortunes, or she would have banned me from the hall, let alone the table.

Mrs. Rivers waved her hand and resumed her task as Neely Kate walked around the table to greet me.

“How’d your doctor’s appointment go?” I asked, worried. “Is everything okay?”

“It was a routine appointment. You know how those things are.” She waved her hand to dismiss any further discussion, but I could tell something was off. “Granny says she has to sit between us. That the strength of our friendship will mess with her luck. She has to separate us.”

I grinned. “Okay.”

“We got your cards for you, but Granny says you have to set up your own charms if you want ’em to work.” She leaned closer and whispered, “Just a heads-up so Granny doesn’t yell at you: they have to be no less than one inch from each other but no more than two inches. And if you get one accidently off, you have to start all over again.”

I knew her granny was superstitious, but this was crazy. “Okay.”

“That’s part of the reason we get here so early.” She winked. “But don’t worry. I made sure you only have a few to set out.”

I glanced over her shoulder at her granny. She must have had over thirty trinkets spread out around her cards.

“Did you have any trouble with Mason?”

I sighed, my guilt building anew. “No. When I told him I was coming to Bingo with you, he encouraged me to spend time with you.”

Pain flickered through her eyes. “Because he feels sorry for me.”

I shook my head. “No, because he cares about you.”

She closed her eyes and released a heavy breath before looking at me and giving me a smile. I knew her well enough to recognize it was fake.

“Besides,” I added, “he seemed eager to stay at the office and work. This way he doesn’t have to feel guilty about it.” I was fairly certain he was working on non-Fenton County projects, but whether that was J.R. or Dora was something I didn’t care to speculate.

“Well, at least you told him the truth. You
did
meet me at Bingo.”

But it was only a partial truth. There was no way around it, so my guilt was useless. “How long does this thing last?” I whispered. “I have no idea how long I’m gonna be at my…meeting.”

“Probably not long enough. Just tell Mason you and I talked afterward. He’ll believe that.”

I nodded. “Good idea.”

A muffled musical trill came from the direction of Neely Kate’s seat.

She rolled her eyes in response to my questioning look. “It’s Miss Mildred and that doggone walkie-talkie.”

“She’s been calling you?”

“Every dang fifteen minutes or so.” She stomped over to her purse—a pink bag covered in rhinestones—and pulled out the two-way radio.

“Red Robin. Red Robin,” the box squawked. “Are you there? Over.” Then static replaced the words.

Neely Kate rolled her eyes and pressed the button. “Not now, Miss Mildred. I’m at Bingo.”

“Use the code names!”

Neely Kate winked at me. “Sorry, White Worm.” She released the button before breaking out into giggles.

I laughed right along with her when Miss Mildred barked back, “That’s White Tiger!”

Neely Kate got control of her giggles, then said, “Sorry, White Tiger. I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as we know something. Now I really have to go.” She turned down the sound and tossed the box into her purse.

She noticed me looking at her bag and put her hands on her hips. “Yes, I have my purse. So what?”

I didn’t try to hide my smile.

Neely Kate’s grandmother banged her hand on the table, causing several of the animal key chains to fall over. “Quit yer yammerin’ and get to settin’ up.”

Oh, crappy doodles. Was she gonna have to start all over again? “You did tell her I was leaving early, right?” I whispered.

“Yeah, but she says you’ll still have plenty of time to get in a few rounds.”

“Girls! You need to set up before they call the first number or it’s bad luck.”

I shot Neely Kate a grin and hurried around the table. “How are you tonight, Mrs. Rivers? Ready for Bingo?”

“I was born ready for Bingo. When I popped out of my momma’s womb, I had a Bingo card in one hand and a dauber in the other.”

There was an image I could live without.

She patted my shoulder. “And I thought I told you to call me Granny Rivers, just like everyone else does.”

I grinned. “Okay, Granny Rivers.”

“Now get your skinny backside in yer chair and set up yer charms.”

I laughed and did as she’d ordered. I was ready with my dauber in hand when the guy pulled the first ball and called out the number.

“Oh, my stars and garters,” Neely Kate groaned.

I leaned forward and glanced at her. Something in her voice caught me off guard. “What?”

“Mason’s mother is here.”

“
What?
”

She pointed across the room, and sure enough, Maeve was setting her papers and dauber on the table.

“Do you think she saw me?” I asked, trying to settle my panic.

Neely Kate shook her head. “No. She’s late, so she seems intent on setting up.”

I held my hand up to my cheek and let my hair fall down over the other side of my face.

“Yer not payin’ attention,” Granny barked. “They called B9 and you got one right there!” She pointed to the square on one of my cards, then stamped my sheet.

I tried to hide my smirk, but my amusement quickly faded when I realized Maeve had finished setting up. If she paid attention to the tables across from her, she’d have a good view of the three of us.

Double crap.

I spent the next half hour doing my level best to hide from her, so when the clock on the wall hit 7:40 and I started to get up, Granny Rivers grabbed my arm and pulled me back down into my seat.

“Where do you think yer going?”

“I…” I shot Neely Kate a questioning look. “Neely Kate said she told you I’d need to leave early.”

“You can’t leave in the middle of a round. It’s bad luck.”

“But I really have to go.”

“You just wait until it’s done.”

I considered protesting, but I was downright certain Granny Rivers wasn’t going to let me leave without a fuss, and I couldn’t risk Maeve noticing me. So I sat there, every muscle in my body tense, for five more minutes until Granny Rivers let me loose.

“Go out the back,” Neely Kate whispered. “Then Maeve won’t see you.”

“Oh, good idea.”

I didn’t have any problem getting out the back of hall, but by the time I got into my truck and pulled out of the parking lot, I realized two things. I was gonna be late meeting Jed and I was still dressed in my jeans and sweater.