Thirty-Six and a Half Motives: Rose Gardner Mystery #9 (Rose Gardner Mystery Series) (20 page)

I
told
Neely Kate to call Carter and fill him in on her reasons for filing for divorce so he’d know the entire story—without telling her about my chat with Carter. Then I sent Mason a text while she was tied up on the phone.

Some of Gentry’s men are figuring out my connection to Lady. I wanted to give you a warning . . . in case you get caught in the backlash
.

He responded within a minute.
Rose, it’s bound to come out. Do what you need to do and don’t worry about me. Be safe.

Was it bound to come out? What would be the repercussions for Mason? I reminded myself that was part of the reason I’d broken up with him—so I didn’t have to worry about things like that. But I was fooling myself. There was no way I could stop worrying about him. Love wasn’t the kind of thing you could just turn off.

Not surprisingly, the pool hall was fairly empty on a Thursday afternoon. Jed followed us inside, and I was shocked to find Skeeter at the bar, nursing a glass of clear liquid.

Skeeter set down his glass and turned to Jed. “Feck and Hodges got the three turncoats under control, so I can spare one of them to meet you after your social call to the couple who owns the antique store. You sure you want to go out there afterward?”

Jed nodded.

What on earth was he talking about?

Skeeter shook his head. “There’s little chance of finding anything. It’s probably been trampled or taken as evidence.”

Jed’s jaw set and a fire filled his eyes. “I still want to look.”

Skeeter gave him a quick nod.

“Where’s he going?” I asked Skeeter, not bothering to keep the suspicion out of my voice.

“The barn where Humphrey and Tilton were killed.”

“Why?”

Skeeter shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me. I think it’s a dead end, but Jed insists. It’s not like we have many other leads.”

Jed took off without a backward glance.

Skeeter chuckled. “You’ve had a busy morning and an even busier afternoon. I really should put you girls on the payroll.”

I sat on the empty stool next to him. “Do you serve food here? Because I’m starving. We left all those good wings at the garage.”

Neely Kate scowled. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Skeeter waved a hand. “Live and learn, NK. Let it go.”

I had to wonder how much he knew about what had just happened at Ted’s Garage. Probably all of it.

“And yes,” he said with a grin. “We serve food.”

“Good. I want a hamburger and fries.”

He looked over at my friend. “NK?”

She scowled. “The same.”

He flagged down the bartender and gave him our orders, and then he said to me, “I heard you outed yourself.”

I picked up the glass of water the bartender had just set in front of me. “I never admitted to anything, but they made suppositions.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

I shrugged. “What’s done is done.” I took a sip and set down my glass. “Am I sorry we questioned those guys? Not one iota.”

Looking down at his drink, he grinned.

“But we’re not too much closer to finding Teagen,” I said. “Tonight—”

“You will
not
be going to that barn tonight,” Skeeter said in a tight voice.

“I don’t want to. But I might not have a choice. What if they hurt Bruce Wayne?”

He turned and looked into my face with darkened eyes. “I can assure you that you won’t have a choice in goin’. I’ll lock you up if I have to.”

“James,” I groaned. “Don’t pull that chauvinistic crap on me.”

“I assure you it has nothing to do with you being a woman and everything to do with you being hunted by a psychopath. If the bastard wanted Jed, I’d lock him up to keep him from goin’, too.”

“You expect me to let them hurt or kill Bruce Wayne?”

“You don’t even know if he has Bruce Wayne. He only said he’d hurt someone you care about,” Skeeter countered. “He never said who.”

“
And you didn’t think to ask him?
”

Skeeter’s eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t exactly a chatty conversation.”

Irritation burned in my chest. “What kind of conversation
was
it?”

“It was a performance, Lady. And a weapon.”

“What does that mean?”

“Did you stop to think about why he called me?”

“Yeah,” I said offhandedly. “As a test to see if you’d tell me.”

“And also as a wedge. He hates that we’re working together. He wants to sow the seeds of distrust between us. Which is why he was purposely vague. So you’d think I was hiding the truth from you.”

His explanation made sense. “So what did he say?”

“He called and said he hoped I was enjoying the chase.”

I nodded. J.R. got off on the game.

“He told me that I’d brought this on myself. Then he made his ultimatum.”

“And what did
you
say?”

He held my gaze. “I said there was no way in hell I was letting you walk into that barn with an army, let alone by yourself. Then he said he was counting on it and hung up.”

I watched him for several seconds. “What does that mean? That he didn’t expect you to tell me?”

“It’s J.R. Simmons. Who can tell?”

“Were you going to tell me?”

He scowled. “I called you, didn’t I?”

“Because you knew Jed would end up telling me,” I said. The defiance in his eyes confirmed my statement. “So why
did
you call me?”

He hesitated. “Because you deserve to be able to make your own decisions. I’d kill anyone who made mine for me.” His expression softened, and a teasing glint filled his eyes. “Besides, on more than one occasion you’ve hinted at what you’d do to the family jewels if I crossed you.” He winked. “If you’re ever in the vicinity, I’d prefer for you to be there for other reasons.” Then he laughed and took a drink.

Neely Kate choked on her drink, and I spun around to pat her back. She rounded her shoulders and said, “Maybe she
should
go. Maybe we can figure out a way to work it in our favor.”

“No.” Skeeter set down his glass with a thud, his good mood gone. “Playin’ into J.R. Simmons’s hands has never once worked for anyone. Hell is littered with the fools who have tried to best him.”

I pushed out an exasperated sigh. “So what am I supposed to do?”

“Nothing,” he said. “You wait.”

“I can’t just sit back and let something happen to Bruce Wayne.”

“Maybe Jed will get a lead from the owners of that building.”

“Maybe.” But it seemed like we were all looking for needles in a haystack. What if they didn’t remember who’d rented the shack twenty-five years ago? What if Jed didn’t even find them?

We spent the next hour at the pool hall. Jed had called and said the Pelgers weren’t home, but he was going to try again after he visited the barn. After we ate, Neely Kate became more like her usual bubbly self, although I was starting to wonder if that was just a persona she used to hide all the pain beneath the surface. She challenged Skeeter to a game of pool, and they went several rounds before Neely Kate squeaked by with the most wins.

Skeeter had just ordered her a congratulatory beer when my cell phone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize.

“Rose,” the woman said in a cheery voice after I answered. “This is Mellie. We’ve got your paper translated already.”

“Really?” I asked, trying to contain my excitement. I wasn’t sure how a twenty-five-year-old clue could help us now, but at least it was more than what we had at the moment. “Anything interesting?”

“Oh, sugar, I didn’t look at it,” she said. “I know better than that. How do you think I manage to keep my job with Mr. Malcolm?”

“I’m not sure when I can get out there, Miss Mellie.”

Skeeter’s face perked up. “Is she done?”

I nodded.

“Tell her we’ll be out there in less than half an hour.”

I gave him a surprised look, then did as he’d said.

“I’ll be here waitin’ for ya,” Mellie said before she hung up.

I looked Skeeter square in the face. “And how are we gettin’ out there?”

“I’ll take you.”

“You? Shouldn’t you and I stay out of the public eye together?”

“You’re hangin’ out in my pool hall. That’s pretty public.”

“True . . .”

“Trust me,” he said. “If it’s Simmons you’re worried about, he isn’t going to snatch you right now. He’s excited about seeing you slink into that barn tonight. He loves the smell of fear and anxiety. He gets off on it. We’re safe for now, but tomorrow will be another story, so we might as well take advantage of it.”

He had a point.

We were at the bookkeeper’s office within twenty minutes. Skeeter parked in the lot, and he and Neely Kate waited in the car while I ran inside. When Mellie handed me a sealed envelope, I opened my purse and grabbed my wallet. “How much do I owe you?”

She waved her hand and laughed. “Put your money away. It’s been taken care of. Mr. Malcolm told me to put it on his bill.”

That didn’t surprise me, but I hated relying on Skeeter’s money. “How much will you charge Mr. Malcolm?”

A teasing grin lit up her eyes. “He warned me you might ask, and I’m supposed to say not to worry. It’s taken care of.”

Of course he had.

“Thank you, Mellie,” I said as I walked out the front door.

Playing pool with Skeeter had seemed to pull Neely Kate out of her doldrums, and now she was practically bouncing in the backseat of his sedan. “What’s it say?”

“I don’t know. It’s still sealed.”

“Well, open it!”

I got the envelope open and pulled out three papers. One was the original copy Mellie had made. The second was a copy that had words filled in around the shorthand. The third was the translated version. I started with that one and read out loud:
He is not to be taken lightly. He has killed for lesser things. He will kill again.

“Sounds like J.R.,” Neely Kate murmured.

I nodded and then continued.

I have been gathering information. I have two copies. One is under the baby bed. The other is in my barn. Use this key in the trap door. If anything happens to me, give it to the police chief.

I looked up. “Maeve thought it said shed. She must have misread barn.”

“Rose,” Neely Kate said. “You keep finding people in your barn. Mason searched out there forever—”

“He said he didn’t find anything.”

“Then Joe.”

“He said he was checking on us to make sure we were safe.”

“You’ve heard noises out there before.”

“True . . .”

Skeeter spoke up. “We need to head out there. We need to search your barn.”

“I agree.”

Skeeter pulled out of the lot and turned in the direction of my farm. “Keep reading. What else does it say?”

I continued.

The journal lists important meetings, including who attended and what was discussed. It goes into detail I don’t dare mention here. I trust you to do the right thing. In the name of your son, the father of your grandchild. And if anything should happen to me, I ask that you make sure she is loved and cared for
.

I stumbled over that last sentence, and Neely Kate put her hand on my shoulder.

“She could have wanted him to believe that, Rose. Her options were the rich factory owner or the barely-getting-by factory worker with a shrew for a wife.”

“He wasn’t rich,” I said quietly. “And his wife was just as shrewish. She had no reason to lie. I can’t help Violet. I won’t be a bone marrow match.”

Skeeter glanced over his shoulder at me. “What are you talking about?”

“Yesterday, my sister, Violet, told me she has cancer. She’s going to Texas for treatment, but she needs a bone marrow transplant.”

“And you were tested?”

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “It would be a long shot for half-siblings to be a match, but if Paul Buchanan is my father . . .” I gave him a weak smile. “Violet didn’t take it well.”

“Because you can’t save her?” he asked.

“Mostly because she thinks it changes things between us, no matter how much I tell her our DNA means nothing.”

“You are both gettin’ all upset over nothing,” Neely Kate said, shaking her head. “I don’t believe it. Your visions have to be from your grandmother. Your father’s mother.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. We can’t forget that Violet and I look nothing alike. I only slightly resemble my father.”

“Have you seen photos of Paul Buchanan?” she asked. “I don’t think we can trust her word, Rose. She wanted the best for you, even if she had to lie to get it.”

“That makes her sound like a horrible person.” I knew she’d done illegal things, but from all appearances, she’d been trying to make things right.

“Not at all,” Neely Kate said, her hand gently squeezing my shoulder. “She sounds like a mother who was doing everything she could to make sure her baby had the best life possible.”

“It didn’t matter in the end,” I said. “Henry Buchanan must not have told the police chief. He was killed, and then Henry killed himself. He left me as a Gardner.”

“You said your mother’s best friend and your father thought it was safer for the world to think you were a Gardner. To protect you from the Buchanans.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what to believe. And honestly, none of it matters. It doesn’t change a blessed thing. Other than it might affect my ability to help save Violet’s life.”

“Rose is right,” Skeeter said. “The only real consequence of which man’s DNA she carries is her sister’s life.” He paused. “We can’t choose our blood, but we can choose the people we trust. That’s always meant a whole lot more than blood to me.”

“Like Jed?” Neely Kate asked.

He hesitated for so long, I didn’t think he’d answer. “I’ve known Jed since we were kids. We both came from shit families, and we agreed to stick together. And we did, except for those years I worked for J.R. When I came back, it was a little rough. I couldn’t tell him where I’d been. He resented me for keeping it secret, but we stuck together anyway. And now he knows everything. I trust him with my life . . . and with everything that means something to me. That means more than the blood flowing through my brother Scooter’s veins.” He slid his hand over the top of the steering wheel. “What else does the paper say?”