Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans (17 page)

I shook my head. “Maybe it was a generic ‘couple of days’ and he really meant Friday. Even so, Sparkle said Dolly Parton was definitely at the club on Friday night. If Nikko picked her up on Friday rather than on Saturday, maybe he was just giving her a ride to work?”

“Sure, but they could have still run away together after their shift. They worked late hours at the club, and Crystal said they both closed that night, which happens at around three in the morning.”

“The fact remains that they were last seen at the club on Friday. Something must have happened. But what? Tabitha said Mud was up to no good. And the other dancers said Nikko and Dolly didn’t get along too well, so either they’re really good actors, or it’s unlikely they would run away together. What if they saw something they shouldn’t have and they either took off or someone did something to them?” I asked, feeling bad for how I’d phrased that last part.

Neely Kate nodded, looking worried. “I think you’re right.”

“We need to tell Joe what we know. Maybe it’s enough to get the sheriff’s department to do something.”

“I doubt it, but it’s worth a try.” She pulled her cell phone out of her purse. “I’ll give him a call. He’s gonna flip his lid when he finds out you were there.”

“It’s none of his business what I do.”

She snorted. “Like that’s gonna stop him.” A few seconds later she was telling him everything we’d discovered, only she left my name out of it, and she didn’t mention we’d visited the club. She only gave him the information we’d found. As the conversation went on, she got angrier and angrier.

“I tell you that I think my cousin probably saw something illegal, and you refuse to do anything about it?” she demanded.

I heard snatches of Joe’s voice through the phone. “. . . Neely Kate . . . you don’t know that . . . not enough . . . Friday afternoon . . .”

“When you can actually plan to perform your sheriff’s responsibilities, Joe Simmons, you let me know.” She hung up the phone and jammed it into her purse.

“That didn’t sound like it went well.”

“What’s it gonna take for them to get involved?”

“You heard Mason. They’re stretched thin right now, and she’s run off before. Maybe Joe thinks you’re exaggerating the evidence because you’re worried. I guess when you step back, it looks like they worked a shift together and ran off.”

“We have to find her, Rose.”

“We will.” I squeezed her hand. “I think I know what will make you feel better. Do you want some ice cream?”

“Does a bear poop in the woods?”

“I guess that’s a yes. But one slight problem. Mason asked me to stay away from the Burger Shack.”

“But it has the best soft serve ice cream in town.” She pursed her lips.

“I know, but after my vision of Eric, I promised Mason I wouldn’t go there.”

“Well, where are we gonna go?”

“The Emporium is a coffee shop now. I heard it serves ice cream. How about we go there?”

“Is it any good?” she pouted.

“It’s ice cream. Of course it’s good.” I cast her a pleading look. “Neely Kate, Mason specifically asked me to stay away from the Burger Shack, and I think he’s right. What if I have another vision? What if it gets me into trouble?”

She sighed. “I know. You’re right. I’m sorry. Turns out getting tackled, being snatched nearly bald, auditioning for a pole dancing job, and then throwing up on your old Sunday School teacher makes you cranky.”

I grinned. “I think you’re entitled. Not to mention you lost not one, but
two
jobs today.”

She snorted. “I’m really on a roll.”

“Are you going to tell Ronnie?”

She gave me a mock exasperated look. “He’s bound to notice when I don’t go to work tomorrow.”

“You know that’s not the part I’m talking about. Or maybe you shouldn’t mention that your stripping job didn’t turn out so great.”

“Hey! The dancing was great. Baby Ronnie Jr. just didn’t approve.”

“That baby’s a genius already.”

I parked the truck in front of the Emporium, which was located a couple of blocks north of the town square. The business had possessed the same name for years, but the owners were continually changing what it actually was. Previously it had been a drugstore and a bookstore, and it had also enjoyed a very brief run as a yoga studio.

“Are you sure it’s open?” Neely Kate asked as we walked to the door. “This parking lot is like a ghost town.”

“See,” I pointed to an old rusty car in the parking lot with its bumper partially hanging off. “There’s someone here.”

“Are you sure it’s not there as a decoration?”

If it was, they sure could use some help from RBW Landscaping, but when I opened the door, a scruffy-looking guy was sitting at a table for two, nursing a paper cup. “Look over there,” I whispered over my shoulder. “There’s a customer.”

“Are you sure that’s not a homeless man drinking a cup of coffee?”

I scowled. “He’s not a homeless man. Everybody knows the Baptist church finds vagrants like a metal detector finds coins. They scoop them up and take them to their center.”

“Concentration camp,” she muttered.

I shot her an exasperated stare. She was really in a humdinger of a mood this afternoon, but I guessed she deserved to wallow for a while. I saw another car pull into the parking lot and pointed to it. “Look there. Another customer. You do what you want, but we’re already here, so I’m getting something.”

Leaving her in the middle of the shop, I moved to the counter and studied the menu board on the wall, feeling a sudden urge for coffee. “I’d like a decaf mocha,” I told the older woman behind the counter.

“Do you want whipped cream?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah.”

“I’m not sure if we have any whipped cream,” she mumbled, lowering the glasses perched on her nose. “I’ll have to check with Fred.” Then she walked into a back room.

“I don’t need whipped cream!” I called after her, but I figured she didn’t hear me since she kept going.

I realized that Neely Kate wasn’t standing next to me, so I spun around to see if she was going to order something. Which was when I saw who was walking through the open door.

“Why hello, Rose,” Hilary said in a syrupy sweet voice. “You look
lovely
today.”

While I wasn’t in my stained jeans and work coat, I knew I didn’t look exceptional. But at least I was wearing makeup and my hair wasn’t in its usual ponytail. I figured I must not look too bad if the manager of an exotic dance club had taken such a shine to me. But Hilary was standing there in a cream-colored skirt and jacket with a pale blue silk blouse underneath. She looked like she’d just walked out of a fashion magazine. I had no doubt that she’d intended her “compliment” as an insult.

The sight of her lit a fire in my belly, and her two-faced behavior only stoked it. I wanted to tell this woman off. She’d purposely trapped Joe and used a poor innocent baby to do it. She was lower than pond scum, but whether I liked it or not, she was going to be the mother of Joe’s baby—a poor defenseless baby that was going to need all the help it could get. If I was going to be Joe’s friend, I needed to put a stop to this continued animosity between Hilary and me. “Thank you,” I forced myself to say. “You’re looking really good considering your . . . condition. How are you feeling?”

Her forced smile grew bigger. “Isn’t that a sweet thing for you to say? I’ve had some queasiness off and on, but I’ve felt well for the most part. Which is surprising when you think about what a rabble-rouser Joe is. You’d think his baby would be stirring up trouble right from the start.”

I nodded. “Well, that’s good.” I wanted to point out that her baby was already stirring up trouble, but I didn’t want to open that can of worms.

We stood in awkward silence for a few seconds. I wasn’t sure what else to say to her. I couldn’t stand there and pretend I wanted to talk to her. This new civility tactic was going to take some getting used to.

For once, Neely Kate seemed to be at a loss for words. She’d stood there right along, gaping in silence like she’d just undergone a lobotomy. But then she’d had a pretty rough day.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the counter. “Come on, Neely Kate. Let’s get Ronnie Jr. his ice cream.”

She let me drag her several steps forward while she kept her eyes fixed on Joe’s ex-girlfriend.

“You’re looking much better, Neely Kate,” Hilary said, following us. “I know that you had a bad run with morning sickness.”

Neely Kate stiffened, and I leaned into her ear. “Try to be nice.”

“Why?” she growled.

If Hilary heard us, she did a good job of ignoring it. “When’s your due date?”

Neely Kate took a defensive stance as if they were about to duel. “July 1st.”

“Oh, my goodness.” Hilary placed her hand on her chest. “Mine’s a week later. July 8th. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had our babies on the same day?”

“What?” Neely Kate gasped.

Hilary ignored her less than enthusiastic response. “Just think about it . . . our babies are gonna grow up together!”

“So you’re planning on staying in Henryetta?” I asked.

“I’ve rented a house a couple of blocks from here. It’s quite charming. I think the owner is going to let me buy it.” Her right eyelid twitched, and her eyes hardened. “I’m not going anywhere.”

To heck with it. I’d give civility a shot some other day.

I put my hands on my hips. “Why in tarnation do you think I care if you live here or not?”

Her grin tightened. “I just want you to know where things stand between me and Joe.”

“I don’t give a flying fig how things stand between you and Joe.” My voice rose higher. “I’m livin’ with Mason Deveraux. Why would
I
care?”

“Just in case you get an urge to see if the grass is greener in my backyard.” She took a step closer. “I’m warning you—I won’t put up with any trespassing.”

“You are unbelievable!” Neely Kate shouted. “Who the hell do you think you
are?
”

The woman behind the counter, who had reappeared, looked worried. “Can you please keep it down? There are other customers here.”

I shot a quick glance to the homeless-looking guy at the table ten feet from us. He was gripping his take-out cup of coffee so tightly the cardboard was denting. Judging from the expression on his face, he was definitely enjoying the show.

“Neely Kate, darling. You should calm down. You’re in a delicate condition,” Hilary said, her voice smooth as honey.

“I’ve faced a hell of a lot worse than you today, you lizard-tongued monster!” Neely Kate shouted, bobbing her head. “I can take you any day of the week.”

I grabbed her arm. “Neely Kate. Let it go. She’s not worth it.”

She shrugged me off. “No, Rose! She thinks she can get away with whatever she wants, and she does because no one ever stands up to her.” Neely Kate moved closer to Hilary until they were about a foot apart. She had to tilt her head back to look the taller woman in the eye. “You don’t scare me, Hilary Wilder. There’s absolutely nothing you can do to me or Rose, so don’t even try.”

Hilary’s eyes glittered with anger, and her gaze turned to me. “Are you sure about that, Rose?”

The blood rushed from my head.

She knew.

Neely Kate stepped between the two of us. “What are you talking about?”

How did she know about J.R.’s blackmail? Did Joe tell her?

An evil grin lifted the corners of Hilary’s mouth. “Ask Rose.”

“I’m not asking Rose. I’m asking
you
.”

Hilary’s grin faded. “Don’t pick a fight with me, Neely Kate. I am one person you don’t want to tangle with.” She gave us a final distasteful look before glancing at the woman behind the counter. “These women are verbally accosting me. If this is your usual clientele, I think I’ll do business elsewhere.”

The older woman’s eyes widened in panic. “You two need to leave.”

“What?” Neely Kate screeched.

“You’re shouting and disrupting the customers. You need to leave.”

“No!” Neely Kate shouted. “She’s the one who came in here, riling things up. We were here first.”

An older man stepped out from the back room, a phone pressed to his ear. “No need to make them leave, Opal. I called the police, and Officer Ernie is on his way.”

I tugged on her arm. “Neely Kate, we need to go.
Now
.”

“No!” She turned to me, her eyes blazing. “It’s not right, Rose! If we leave, we’re lettin’ her win.
Again.
”

She had a point, but I had no doubt that the Henryetta police would be here in a matter of minutes. The gloating look on Hilary’s face was almost enough to make me stand in solidarity with my friend, but I was a firm believer in picking your battles. Plus, if Hilary knew about J.R.’s blackmail material, I didn’t want to provoke her.

I grabbed Neely Kate’s shoulders. “Don’t think of it as letting her win the war. Think of it as letting her win the skirmish.”

“Listen to your friend, Neely Kate,” Hilary said, pretending to look at her nails.

The look in Neely Kate’s eyes was murderous.

Grabbing her hand, I dragged her toward the door as sirens sounded in the distance. “Neely Kate, you can’t hit a pregnant woman. Let’s go.
Now
.”

She stopped resisting me and allowed me to shove her into the truck. After I got in and pulled out of the parking lot, Neely Kate turned to me in dismay. “But I didn’t get my ice cream!”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll drop you off at the Burger Shack. But first we need to find Joe.”

“What on earth for?”

“To keep us out of jail,” I said, cringing at the sight of the flashing lights pulling into the parking lot we’d just left.

I grabbed my phone. “Joe,” I said as soon as he answered.

“Rose,” he groaned. “I can’t spare the manpower to be chasin’ after Neely Kate’s cousin.”

“This is something else.”

He groaned again. “What on earth did you and Neely Kate do now?”

His attitude ticked me off. “It wasn’t our fault, Joe Simmons! You need to teach your girlfriend some manners.”

“My girlfriend?” A second passed before he groaned yet again. He was really on a roll. “She’s not my girlfriend. We are
not
together.”