“Okay.”
“I know we accidentally stumbled into some bigger things last fall and winter, but we got out of all of them, right?”
Stumbled into some bigger things was an understatement. But she was right. We’d uncovered who had been behind my kidnapping attempt, what had happened to her missing cousin, and who had tried to steal the throne of the king of Fenton County’s underworld. And every single instance had been dangerous. After last February, I’d vowed to leave danger behind and live a quiet life.
Only Neely Kate was bound and determined to make me live boldly.
“Neely Kate…”
She held up her hands. “You said you’d listen.” When I didn’t answer, she lifted her eyebrows. “Over the last four months, we’ve solved some mysteries that had nothin’ to do with us. Not to mention they were completely harmless.”
“We found a missing garden gnome, a lost dog, and figured out a dispute between two neighbors.” And I couldn’t deny I’d loved every minute of it.
“So why won’t you consider this?” she asked in frustration.
“This is different. From what Marci said, this man thinks his ex-wife is holding his grandmother’s jewelry hostage. It’s not a mystery. It’s a hostage negotiation. You should tell Carter Hale,” I said, referring to our defense attorney friend. “It seems more like a situation for a law shark, not two landscapers.”
“We’re not just two landscapers. We’ve solved mysteries before. You’ve worked with the crime lord of Fenton County, for Pete’s sake. Missing jewelry should be a piece of cake.”
“Neely Kate…”
“Let’s just talk to the guy, okay?” she asked, hope filling her eyes. “We can find out what he wants.”
“He wants us to get his jewelry back. His ex-wife has it. Where’s the investigation? Maybe he expects us to beat the jewelry out of her with our shovels.”
“Please?” She gave me a pout, then her eyes widened. “If it makes you feel better, you can have a vision. See how the meeting goes.”
She had to be really desperate to ask me that. I was capable of seeing visions, images of the future through another person’s eyes when I touched them, but after everything that had happened four months ago, I avoided having them whenever possible. But now that I wasn’t “forcing” them as I’d begun to do last winter, they were spontaneous again—coming out of nowhere. Seeing as how blurting out whatever I saw was part of my gift, it often put me in embarrassing situations.
Still, I had no desire to force one now.
I groaned. “Fine.” When she started to get excited, I held up my hands. “We’ll talk to him. That’s all. Then you and I will talk about it and decide where to go from there.”
Her head bobbed as she nodded. “Sure. Of course.”
I’d seen that look before. I suspected she’d already texted Raddy Dyer and accepted the case.
My phone began to ring and I pulled it from my jeans pocket, surprised to see the initials SM—Skeeter Malcolm—on my screen. I shot Neely Kate a glance before I answered.
“James, I haven’t heard from you in a while.” Several weeks, to be exact.
“Lady,” he said, his voice tight. “We’ve got a problem.”
FAMILY JEWELS
(Rose Gardner Investigations #1)
November 29, 2016
Also by Denise Grover Swank
Magnolia Steele Mystery
Center Stage
Act Two
Call Back
(February 28, 2017)
Rose Gardner Mysteries
Novellas are bonus material
TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES
TWENTY-NINE AND A HALF REASONS
THIRTY AND A HALF EXCUSES
FALLING TO PIECES (novella)
THIRTY-ONE AND A HALF REGRETS
THIRTY-TWO AND A HALF COMPLICATIONS
PICKING UP THE PIECES (novella)
THIRTY-THREE AND A HALF SHENANIGANS
ROSE AND HELENA SAVE CHRISTMAS (novella)
RIPPLE OF SECRETS (novella)
THIRTY-FOUR AND A HALF PREDICAMENTS
THIRTY-FIVE AND A HALF CONSPIRACIES
THIRTY-SIX AND A HALF MOTIVES
SINS OF THE FATHER (novella)
Rose Gardner Investigations
FAMILY JEWELS (November 29, 2016)
The Wedding Pact
(Humorous contemporary romance)
THE SUBSTITUTE
THE PLAYER
THE GAMBLER
THE VALENTINE (short story)
Bachelor Brotherhood
Spinoff of The Wedding Pact series
ONLY YOU
UNTIL YOU
Young adult contemporary romance
ONE PARIS SUMMER
Off the Subject Series
(New adult contemporary romance)
AFTER MATH
REDESIGNED
BUSINESS AS USUAL
The Chosen Series
(Adult urban fantasy)
CHOSEN
HUNTED
SACRIFICE
REDEMPTION
Complete CHOSEN Box Set
Curse Keepers Series
(Urban fantasy)
Amazon only
THE CURSE KEEPERS
THE CURSE BREAKERS
THE CURSE DEFIERS
CURSE KEEPERS COLLECTION (box set)
On the Otherside Series
(Young adult sci fi romance)
HERE
THERE
About the Author
Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.
@DeniseMSwank
DeniseGroverSwank
denisegroverswank.com
[email protected]
Act Two Page 33
