Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans (38 page)

I ignored the restrooms, and the dressing room seemed too unlikely to waste time on. Mud’s office was at the end of the hall, but another short hallway intersected it. When I pressed my ear to the closed office door, I didn’t hear voices. That left two doors—one to the left, which I presumed led outside, and another to the right. When I put my ear to that door, I heard the murmur of voices. I covered my left ear to drown out the music from the other room, closing my eyes to help my brain concentrate.

Mud’s voice rose. “He knows too much.”

“You’re an employee here. Don’t forget your place,” a low male voice said, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I’d heard that voice before. I just couldn’t place it.

“You can all blame each other later. Right now we have to figure out what to do with him,” Lowry said.

“What the hell happened to our arrangement?” Mason asked. “I’ve lived up to my end of the bargain. I dropped the damned charges. Now you live up to yours. Where’s the cash?”

My heart sank. Mason really
had
accepted a bribe. I’d hoped that this was all a misunderstanding, but he’d just admitted to it.

“That was before,” the mystery man said. “Before I knew you were setting us up.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Mason asked, sounding indignant.

“Nikko.” The room was silent before the man spoke again. “We know he was feeding you information.”

“You’re wrong.”

“He told us, Deveraux!” I heard a loud bang, and I jumped. “It took us a few days to break him, but he sang like a canary.”

I took a breath to calm down. Mason
was
in serious trouble. My heart hammered in my chest as I tugged my phone out of my pocket, my fingers shaky. I pulled up Joe’s number and had just pressed send when someone grabbed my lower arm, his fingers digging painfully into my flesh.

I screeched in fright and lost my grip on the phone. Joe called out “Rose?” as it fell, but when it hit the tile floor, the screen shattered and went dark.

I looked up into the angry face of one of the bouncers. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I got lost,” I blurted out. “I’m looking for the dressing room.”

“Who were you calling?”

“No one. I was pullin’ up MapQuest.”

“To find the dressing room?” He squatted and picked up my phone, still holding my arm in a death grip.

I considered bolting, but his bulky frame blocked my escape. “I need to get back to the bar. Kip’s gonna wonder where I am.”

“You’re not goin’ anywhere.” He tugged my arm with one hand while reaching for the doorknob with the other. “If you’re so interested in what’s goin’ on in that room, how about we let you have a front-row seat.”

“No, that’s okay,” I stammered, trying to pull free. “I don’t want to bother them.”

“No. I insist.” He grinned and threw the door open, dragging me inside. “Look what I found snoopin’ around outside the door.”

Four people looked up from a small table, their eyes widening in surprise, but Mason easily looked the most startled. I knew and expected to see three of the men—Rich Lowry, Mud, and Mason—but the fourth face shocked me.

The missing veterinarian who’d master-minded the robberies to outbid Skeeter.

Mick Gentry.

“Well, well, well,” Mick said, leaning his elbows on the table. “What have we here?”

The bouncer released his grasp and gave me a tiny shove. I stumbled further into the small room, then froze, unsure of what to do. They were sitting at a rectangular table, taking up four of the eight chairs. Mick sat at the head of the table with Mud and Lowry on one side, Mason on the other.

“Who is she?” Mick asked.

Mud’s face paled. “She’s a new hire. She’s taking Sapphire’s place.”

“Guess she takes
filling in
seriously, including hanging out in places where she doesn’t belong.”

Mason’s hand, which was resting on the table, tightened into a fist, but I ignored him and kept my gaze on Mick.

Mick sat back in his chair. “What’s your name, doll?”

I lifted my chin. “Daisy.”

“Daisy what?”

“Daisy Miller.”

“What are you doing snoopin’ outside my door, Daisy Miller?”

“I wasn’t snoopin’, I swear. It’s my first night, and I got lost.”

The bouncer shook his head. “With your ear pressed against the door?”

I shrugged. “I tripped.” I hoped I was convincing, but I was pretty sure it was gonna take a miracle to save me.

“What are you really doin’ here?” Mick asked.

Mason shifted in his seat.

“I’m looking for Dolly Parton Parker.”

“Who?”

“Sapphire.”

He shrugged. “She’s not here.”

“Yeah, I figured that out.” I took a step backward. “So I guess I’ll be goin’ then.”

Mick shook his head. “No. You’ll stay.”

I couldn’t panic. Mason and I weren’t necessarily doomed. I’d called Joe, so he might show up to save us, but he had no idea that I was in trouble or even where I was. My best hope was Jed. Skeeter said he’d send him after fifteen minutes, but now I worried about Jed taking on all of the men in the club. But then again, Skeeter wasn’t stupid and neither was Jed. Now that they knew Rich Lowry was present, I suspected they’d come prepared.

“What do you want to do?” Lowry asked.

“Take them both out back and deal with it.”

I grimaced. “Look, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding—” I pointed my thumb to the now closed door “but Kip really needs me out front.”

“Sorry, Daisy.” Mick chuckled. “Your position is about to be terminated.”

The full impact of his words sunk in. Mason pushed his chair back and stood, his back tense. Anger burned in his eyes as he looked from the other men to me, but Mud pulled out a gun and aimed it at him.

“Have a seat, Deveraux.”

“Wait,” I said, lifting my hands in surrender. “I can help you! Just don’t shoot him.”

Mick laughed. “How can
you
possibly help
me?
”

“Aren’t you trying to get even with Skeeter and take his place? Isn’t that what all of this is about?”

Mick’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, but I had Mason’s attention as well.

Mick leaned his elbow on the table. “Why would you think that?”

“I know things. Tell Mud to put his gun away, and I’ll tell them to you.”

Mick studied me for several seconds. “Deveraux, have a seat. Mud.” He flicked his hand toward his manager, his eyes still on me. “Now go on.”

Both of the other men followed his orders, neither of them looking happy about it.

I couldn’t sell Skeeter out. I
wouldn’t
sell Skeeter out. So what was I going to tell Mick? “Skeeter knows what you’re up to, and he’s not happy.”

Mick laughed. “Since when does Skeeter confide in a
woman?
”

“I’ve heard things.”

“What else have you heard?”

“Skeeter’s planning to promote Bear Stevens.” Telling him so was both a lie and a risk. But it was also an opportunity to see if Mick had been behind the attempts on Mason’s life.

Mick’s shoulders straightened. “Bear?” He grinned. “You don’t say?”

“Bear’s helping you, right?”

“And what makes you say that?”

“He’s part of the plan to kill Mason, isn’t he?”

Mick scooted forward in his seat and leaned his elbows on the table. “And how did little Daisy Miller get to be on a first-name basis with the Assistant District Attorney?”

Oh, crap. How was I going to explain that? “Every single girl in Fenton County knows about Mason Deveraux III.”

“And how did you know someone tried to kill him? It wasn’t in the news.”

Oh crap. How was I going to explain that one? But wasn’t the fact that Mick knew about it proof of his involvement?

“She’s a badge bunny,” Mason said.

My eyes flew wide open as I spun to face him.

He looked up at me with a convincing mixture of disgust and pity. “She hangs around the courthouse and the sheriff station. I knew she looked familiar, but now I realize where I’ve seen her. Hanging around outside my office. She must have overheard one of my conversations.”

I put my hands on my hips and shot him a hateful glare. “That’s an ugly way to put it, Mason Deveraux. I can’t help it if you love me and just don’t know it yet. If you’d just eaten that lemon pound cake with a lock of my hair baked into it, my love spell would have worked fine. You know, the cake I left on your office desk after you’d gone home that night? Did you find it?”

To me, Mason’s non-response looked like an actor in a play who’d forgotten his lines. But I was fairly sure Mick would read it differently—interpreting his gape-eyed expression as horror.

I narrowed my eyes, deciding to up the ante. “And I smelled your office chair.”

Mick shook his head as though he was trying to clear it. “
What?
”

Mason lifted his eyebrow. “You are batshit crazy if you think I’m ever gonna fall for you.”

“You would,” I said. “All you need to do is eat my lemon pound cake!”

“What is going on here?” Mick shouted. “Can we
focus?
”

“I am!” I insisted. “I don’t think I could be any more focused on Mason Van de Camp Deveraux III if I tried.” I gave Mason an exaggerated look of longing.

“Hey!” Lowry grunted. “What about me?”

I gave him a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry, darlin’. Since Mr. Deveraux hasn’t come to his senses yet, you can fill in until he does. What do you think about wearing a tie and shouting out legal terms while we’re in the throes of passion?”

Lowry’s eyes widened in shock.

“Enough!” Mick slammed his hand on the table, and I jumped. “Are you telling me that you don’t really know anything useful?”

And here we were again. Where was Jed? “I know that Mr. Deveraux puts his shoes on left then right.”

“What a creeper,” Lowry muttered under his breath.

“Damn, Lowry.” Mud shook his head. “You dodged a bullet with that nutcase.”

“Who cares?” Mick growled. “Why would something like that matter at all, let alone in the situation at hand?”

“I’ll tell you why!” I shrieked. “Puttin’ on your shoes like that is backwards. Everyone else puts their shoes on right, then left.” He gave me a confused stare. “It means I have to switch up the lemon pound cake love spell if I’m gonna make it work.”

“Okay, Nutso Baker,” Mick said with a cringe. “I’m gonna grant your wish. You’re gonna get to spend plenty of quality time with the ADA. How does eternity sound?” He nodded to the bouncer. “Take them both to the shed and then take care of them.”

“Wait!” I said. “Was I right? Were you the one trying to kill Mason?”

“So now you’re Veronica Mars, trying to solve a case?”

“No,” I snorted. “I just want to know if I was right. I have this thing about bein’ right.”

He rolled his eyes. “No, I had no reason to kill him. Not until tonight. It wasn’t me.” He flicked his hand.

The bouncer took a step forward and grabbed my arm again, his fingers twisting my skin. When I gasped, Mason jumped to his feet, his hands clenched into fists.

Mick laughed. “Settle down, Deveraux.”

“Don’t hurt her. She’s obviously not part of this. Just let her go.”

“No can do.” Mick’s voice lowered to a growl, and he nodded to the bouncer. “Take care of it. Lowry, you help them.”

Lowry stood and strode over to me. “I want her.”

“You can’t have her, you idiot,” Mick grunted. “She’s a risk, and she’s crazy town. Just take care of her.”

Lowry jerked me free from the bouncer. “Then I’m at least going to take her out back first.”

“I really don’t want to go out back,” I said, looking up at Lowry. “It’s cold out there, and I’m not wearing a coat.”

He leered at me. “You won’t have to worry about bein’ cold.”

I cringed. Disgusting.

Mason had finally been pushed over the line. He lunged for Lowry, pulling him away from me. But Lowry and the bulky bouncer soon wrestled Mason into control.

“Deveraux,” Mick said as though deep in thought. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess that you actually care about Psycho Bitch here.”

Mason’s only answer was trying to jerk free from the bouncer’s hold.

The sound of gunshots outside the door echoed through the room, and everyone froze for a half-second. If I could just get these guys to hold off shooting us, we had a chance at being saved.

Mick’s eyes hardened. “Mud, go check it out.” He pointed his gun at Mason. “How about you take a seat until we sort this out?”

Mason lowered himself into a chair, his hard eyes on the gun, but I saw him give a quick glance to my arm where Lowry was holding me.

“I’m takin’ her out back,” Lowry said.

“The hell you are,” Mick said. “We’re waiting here until we find out what’s goin’ on out there.”

“We’re business
partners
, Gentry. Despite what you think, you’re not in charge. If I want to take her out back, I’ll do it.”

Mason’s eyes shot to mine, and I could tell that he was thinking about doing something desperate to stop Lowry.

There were more muffled gunshots and yelling. The three men looked toward the door, and Mason took advantage of the distraction to jump out of his chair and grab Mick’s arm. The gun clattered to the floor as Mason swung a punch at Mick’s face. The bouncer jumped Mason and tried to pull him loose from Mick. Despite the bouncer having fifty pounds more muscle, Mason had determination on his side.

Lowry tugged me out of the way, and I watched in horror as the two men continued to attack Mason, who was holding his own while trying to get to the gun.

I jerked free of Lowry’s hold with the intention of going after the gun myself, but he snagged my wrist. “Come on.” Lowry opened the door and pulled me into the hallway.

Panicked, I tried to wrench myself free. Lowry’s action distracted Mason, and the two men gained the advantage. They were about to beat Mason to a bloody pulp. “Mason!” I screamed and his head jerked up.

Mick took advantage of his distraction and brought the butt of a gun down on the back of Mason’s head. He crumpled to the floor, unconscious.