Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans (29 page)

A guilty look flooded the big man’s face.

Skeeter stood, a commanding presence with his six-foot frame and solid body. I’d never realized how muscular he was, but the shirt hid nothing. I was sure that was for effect too. “I know for a fact that several unauthorized papers with the code were in circulation before the auction. The sheriff’s department got hold of one of them. Jeff Dimler’s not in charge anymore, boys, and you best not forget it.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised that Skeeter knew that Joe was the one who was really in charge, but it felt surreal to hear him talking about my ex that way.

“I trust Lady, and each one of you knows that I don’t trust hardly anyone. If you have a problem with her being here, let me know right now.” Skeeter scanned the group, but everyone remained silent. “Good, then let’s get started.”

He sat in his chair at the head of the table, and the next half hour was filled with Skeeter asking the men to report on various aspects of his business. Drugs, theft, gun-running, moonshine—Skeeter ran an empire of more illegal activities than I wanted to know about. I resisted the urge to squirm in my seat. What in the world was I doing here? I was helping the very man Mason and Joe were justifiably trying to bring down. But I reminded myself I was here to find out who had tried to kill Mason. If I had to wade through filth, I would.

Skeeter finally sat back in his seat. “Does everyone understand their assignments for the next two weeks?” When no one answered, he nodded. “Good. Now I invite you all into the next room to celebrate a successful transition.”

The men stood and headed for the door, obviously knowing where they were going.

Skeeter offered me his hand, and I stood. Several of the men in the room watched us.

“I’m pleased with the progress of the transition, Mr. Malcolm.” I needed to act like I had a purpose for being here outside of Skeeter’s say-so.

His back was to the men and his eyes sparkled with playfulness. “Thank you, Lady. Your support has been instrumental. I know you have a drive ahead of you, but I insist you join us in the next room to celebrate.”

“Thank you.” I was glad he wasn’t upset that I’d broken the no-speaking rule, but was nervous about the next phase of the evening. Clearly, this was when my true purpose for being here would come into play.

Skeeter leaned into Jed and whispered in a growl, “You stay within inches of her until she leaves with you. If she goes to the restroom, you go in with her and hold the damn stall door closed. Got it?”

Jed nodded, his face solemn.

Skeeter moved back and motioned to the door. “After you.”

The men who were still in the room stepped back and watched me leave the room with Skeeter and Jed on my heels. We emerged into what appeared to be a large rec room with a small kitchen and bar at one end, sofas and chairs scattered around, and a pool table and air hockey table in the middle.

Skeeter led me to the bar, which was covered with an assortment of alcohol bottles. “Let me get you a drink, Lady.” He grabbed a bottle from under the counter and poured it in a glass full of ice before handing it to me.

I almost mentioned that I didn’t drink anything but wine, but it didn’t seem like a good time to bring it up. He poured himself a drink from the same bottle before returning it to the cabinet and shutting the door. Then he raised his glass toward me, his face serious. “To a profitable partnership.”

I clinked my glass with his, hoping our definition of profitable was the same thing. When I took a sip of the light brown liquid, I prepared myself for the dreaded burn, but it went down easily. It wasn’t alcohol. It was diluted tea.

Skeeter winked, then leaned toward my ear. “We need to keep our senses about us while the others lose theirs. If you need another drink, Jed will see to it that you get a refill. And never let your drink out of your sight.”

“Okay.”

“Do whatever you have to do to see what you need to see tonight. But remember that I have to keeping working with these men, and you
will
make future appearances.”

I had no idea what that meant. “Okay.” I tried to ignore his pronouncement about my continued presence in his life.

Skeeter held his hands out at his sides, his glass still in his hand. “Gentlemen, the bar is open.”

As he walked over to a small group of the men, I scanned the room in dismay. I had no idea what I was doing.

Jed, who had followed close behind me, whispered in my ear, “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. Give me a moment.”

The more I thought about Skeeter’s cryptic words, the more I realized what they meant. He thought I was going to lure these men with my exposed cleavage, lead them on, have a vision, and then send them away before anything could happen, using Jed to make them leave if necessary. Based on the outright leers and stares I was receiving, I knew it would work in the short term—if I could bring myself to pull it off. But in the end, I’d look like a slut, and I’d never gain their respect, which was what I’d tried to do from the moment I climbed out of Skeeter’s car at that auction.

“I need a quiet place to talk to them.”

“Okay,” Jed said without hesitation. “Here or somewhere else?”

If I took them somewhere else, it could be misconstrued, but I didn’t like the thought having multiple visions here, in full view of everyone. “I’d like to remain in public view, but with enough privacy for no one else to hear what’s being said.” I pointed to a seating area in the dim back corner of the room. “That would work if we can keep the others away.”

“We can arrange it.”

“I want to meet with them one by one, but I want to do it as the Lady in Black, Skeeter’s business partner. Maybe they can be introduced and I can talk to them for a minute or so and then have a vision. It’s how they’ll react after my visions that worries me.”

“If we wait another hour or so, we can start with the ones who are drunk already and work our way up from there. If they’re drunk, we can play it off somehow.”

I nodded. I hated to be here longer than need be, but it was a great idea. “Okay.”

Jed motioned to a guy who hurried toward us. “Tell Skeeter that Lady would like him to formally introduce her to the men in an hour or so, one by one, starting with the ones who are the most drunk. In the meantime, I’m going to keep them away from her.”

The man made his way through the crowd and leaned into Skeeter. Several seconds later, Skeeter turned his gaze to me with a slight smile before returning his attention to the man across from him.

“That was smart,” Jed said behind me.

I shrugged, wondering how in the world I was going to spend the next hour. “It gives me authority and Skeeter as well. I worry about looking like I’ve usurped him, though. I don’t want anyone to think I’m the one with the real power.”

“I think you can pull it off as an equal pairing.”

For the next hour and ten minutes, I watched the men in the room, trying to figure out which one might have tried to kill Mason. The men lounged around, playing pool, drinking and talking. “It looks like Skeeter holds regular meetings here,” I whispered to Jed. “The fact that he owns this place has to be the best-kept secret in Fenton County, given the fact so many people clearly know about it.”

Jed leaned close. “Over in the corner, the guy with the beard is Bear Stevens.”

I studied the burly-looking bearded guy who’d spoken out at the meeting. It was easy to see how he’d earned his nickname. The guy he was talking to caught my attention. Though he was pretty average looking, his eyes were cold and hard. He looked like the kind of man who would do anything to put Skeeter out of business. Including kill Mason.

“Who’s he with?” I asked.

“Rich Lowry. He’s a sadistic bastard. He wouldn’t think twice about screwing you while he was trying to kill you. Hell, he’d probably get off on it. Stay as far away from him as possible if Skeeter and I aren’t with you.”

“Could he be the one we’re looking for?”

“He’s a two-bit player. Any money he gets, he loses on bets. He might be gunning for Skeeter’s position, but he can’t afford it. We’ll follow Skeeter’s lead when it comes to him.”

I was bored out my mind, and my stomach was a mess from worrying, so when Skeeter made his way toward me, I was equally thankful and alarmed.

“Okay, Lady,” he whispered in my ear. “Let’s catch a would-be killer.”

Skeeter took the empty glass from my hand and gave it to Jed. “Go refill Lady’s drink.”

Jed nodded and headed for the bar.

“You have the men all abuzz. The fact that Jed’s been angling his deadly stare at them has both kept them away and kept them intrigued. Some are drunk enough that they’ll come on pretty strong when they’re alone with you.”

“I can handle it.”

“I’d prefer you let Jed handle it. It shows more authority that way.”

“Don’t they wonder why your guy is watching over me?”

He grinned. “Yeah, but it’s another thing to keep them on their toes.”

I watched Jed open the cabinet and pull out the bottle Skeeter had used.

“You don’t trust Jed?” He chuckled.

“You told me not to let my glass out of my sight. I’m only following your wise advice.”

“Wise?” He laughed. “You make me sound old.”

“How old are you, Skeeter Malcolm?”

“I’ll be thirty-nine in January. Why are you asking?”

I gave a half-shrug. In some ways he seemed both older and younger. “Just curious.”

“I’m not too old to give you the best night of your life.”

“You wish.” I shot him a glare, not that he could see it through my veil. “You’re old enough to know that it’s time to stop sleepin’ with every loose woman in the county.”

“Are you suggesting I settle for one woman?” He laughed. “And accept a life of boredom? That would be like eating toast for breakfast every morning for the rest of my life.”

I shook my head in disgust. “And that right there shows that while you might be thirty-nine years old, you’re as stupid as a stump. Maybe you should be looking for pancakes and bacon for breakfast instead of settling for toast.”

Skeeter’s smug grin wavered as Jed returned and handed me my glass.

“I’m ready to do this. Let’s get started.”

Skeeter’s eyes darkened. “There’s been a change of plans. Instead of just having a vision, I want you to ask them general questions about their involvement in the business—see if you can get anything out of them that might be helpful to me. Save the vision for last.”

I shook my head, starting to panic. “No, I can’t do that.”

“Look at me.” His eyes narrowed. “You
can,
and you
will
.”

I took a deep breath and tried to see a positive side to this tactic. If I could question them, maybe I could get some answers of my own. “Okay.”

His mouth tipped up into an appreciative grin. “Jed will be there listening to everything. Go through the first door to the left of this room.”

“We were going to use the corner,” Jed said. “So we can keep it in the public eye. For Lady’s reputation.”

Skeeter considered the suggestion. “No, use the office. You’ll be in there to dispel any lies that might pop up. I think you’ll get more from them if you talk to them in a separate room.”

Jed nodded.

My hands began to tremble as the insanity of the situation hit me full on. I was about to question hardened criminals.

“I’ll send them in to see you, so when one guy leaves, wait until the next comes in.”

“Okay,” Jed said.

Skeeter leaned close, peering through my veil. “You can do this. Now go find out who’s responsible.”

Jed led me into the office and flipped on the light. I expected a utilitarian space, but the room was larger than I’d expected. A large wooden desk sat toward the back wall with a luxurious leather office chair behind it. The back wall was a solid bookcase filled with books.

In the corner opposite the door was a leather sofa with two leather chairs in front of it. A table topped with an unlit lamp was tucked next to the couch.

“Is this Skeeter’s
real
office?”

“The pool hall office is just a front. The guys in the other room had to prove themselves trustworthy to be here.”

“That can’t be too true since Skeeter has me questioning them. I thought you said Skeeter could read people’s characters?”

“And I also say they could change, although it’s rare. But some will change if there’s a powerful enough incentive. Like greed.”

I suspected a lot of people would change for greed.

“The first guy will be in here soon. Where do you want to do this?” Jed asked.

I stood in the center of the room, spinning around to take it all in. “If I sit at the desk, I’ll show more authority, but I’ll have to get up to force a vision.” I turned to study the sitting area. “If I sit there, they might want to sit next to me and . . . be more inclined to talk.” My voice trailed off. I knew why some of them might want to sit by me.

“I think the sofa area is a good idea.”

“But let’s turn on the lamp and turn off the overhead light. So it’s more . . . comfortable.”

“Good idea.”

I nodded and sat on the sofa close to the table, setting my glass on a coaster. “Is it gonna be that bad?” I asked.

“With most of them? No. And I suspect Skeeter will send the easy ones first to get you warmed up.”

My nerves kicked in. There were eleven men in the other room, so this could very well go on all night. But I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Jed opened the door, and the first man walked in. He paused in the doorway, but Jed said, “Come on in, Seth. As Skeeter probably told you, Lady would like to meet you. Lady, this is Seth Moore.”

So much for starting with the easy ones. Mr. Moore was on the questionable list.

Seth moved toward me, his eyes moving from the empty chairs to the sofa. I’d chosen where to sit strategically. If the guy I was questioning sat next to me on the sofa, it would be easier to reach over, grab his hand, and have a vision. But it also meant he would probably be more forward. It was a double-edged sword.