I rolled down my window, my irritation growing. He was gonna make me late for my meeting with Skeeter.
“What do you want, Joe?” I asked as he reached my door.
He was wearing his sheriff’s uniform. The sun made his copper highlights stand out more than usual and damned if he didn’t look good. He had to have every single girl in the county after him. Why was he wasting his time on me?
Joe ignored my question. “License and registration.”
My mouth dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“License and registration.” His voice was firmer this time.
Shaking my head, I reached for my purse on the passenger seat and plopped it on the console.
“Where are you headed?” he asked.
“Neely Kate’s, not that it’s any of your business,” I grumbled as I opened my purse, digging around for my wallet. Something tumbled out of my bag, but I kept right on searching. “We’re makin’ pies,” I added to bolster my alibi.
“You need to be careful today. The roads are—” His words cut off abruptly.
Gasping, I realized what fell out of my purse and looked down at the pregnancy test in my lap for confirmation. I hastily picked up the box and stuffed it back in my purse, but it was too late. Joe had already seen it.
“What was that?” he asked gruffly.
I looked up at him, feeling faint. “Joe…”
“Was that a pregnancy test?”
I opened the truck door, expecting him to protest. Instead, he took a step back as I got out.
“Was that a pregnancy test?” he repeated.
I nodded, tears burning my eyes.
He looked like he was going to be sick, but then a wave of hope washed over his face. “Is it mine?” His voice broke.
I took a step toward him as a car passed us on the highway, swerving into the other lane to avoid hitting us on the shoulder. “Joe.” I was breaking his heart all over again and it was killing me.
“Is it his?” His words sounded strangled.
I closed the distance between us so that we stood between my truck and his car. “I don’t even know if I am pregnant. That’s why I have the tests.”
“But it’s his?”
I swallowed. “Yes.”
He ran a hand through his hair and spun away from me. “Oh, God.”
I watched him, unsure of what to say. I wanted to apologize, but I hadn’t done anything that necessitated an apology. Still, it ripped my heart out to see him in so much pain.
He turned around to face me, close to breaking down. “I wanted to be the one to have babies with you.” He took a deep breath and blew it out. “When I was in Little Rock, missing you, sometimes I’d imagine what it would be like when we were finally together all the time. You and me married with kids of our own. It was what got me through the loneliness of being without you.” His face twisted in agony. “Especially the last two months.” He choked on a sob, then swallowed. “We’re not going to get back together, are we?”
I knew I had to tell him no, but I couldn’t make myself say it.
“So I’ve really lost you.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, fighting my tears.
He turned his back on me and walked to his car.
“Joe.”
But he ignored me as he opened his car door and started to climb inside. Before he shut it behind him, he stopped and turned back to face me. “I still love you, Rose. I’ll always love you. If you change your mind or you and him don’t work out, I still want you.” He took another breath. “And if you are having his baby, I want you to know I’d love it as my own if you decided to take me back. I swear.”
“I know,” I forced out past the lump in my throat. I had no doubt that he would, if for no other reason than because the baby would be mine.
He ducked inside his cruiser and pulled back onto the highway, heading into town.
I got back into my car and held the steering wheel for nearly a minute, taking deep breaths before I was ready to start driving. I was about to face Skeeter Malcolm. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by Joe.
I drove through town, passing the nursery to remind myself why I was going through this. What I saw made me slow down and pull my truck into the parking lot.
The grass beside the building was covered in evergreen trees.
How in the world had Violet paid for them? It was just one more distraction I had to set aside so I could concentrate on what needed to be done.
I reached the pool hall at twelve-ten, my stomach a mess and my nerves even worse. Especially after my encounter with Joe. Maybe Skeeter didn’t want me to attend the auction. Maybe he just wanted me to have another vision of him to see if his fate had changed.
And monkeys were gonna start flying out of my butt.
Bruce Wayne was waiting for me when I pulled into the parking lot. I studied him as he walked over to me. Something about him seemed different, though I couldn’t put my finger on it. After a moment the reason for the change struck me—he was more confident. His shoulders were less hunched, his head was held a little higher. When I met Bruce Wayne in the Fenton County Courthouse months ago, he had been a man who was afraid of life and everything in it. Now he seemed like a man who had something to live for.
“We can figure out a way to get you out of this,” he said.
“I’ve been trying to come up with one for days without any luck. I think it’s better to just get it over with. Besides, you’re not doing this without me. Not even if Skeeter allowed it.”
“This won’t be the end of it, Rose. You have to know that goin’ into this.”
I stared at the front door. He was right, only I wasn’t sure what to do about it. “Let’s do it. Then we can go eat some turkey.”
He nodded, a grim look on his face. Walking side by side, we entered the dimly lit hall and headed back to the office. I knocked on the door and Skeeter called out, “It’s open.”
He was at his desk, and the two men who’d been playing pool the last time we were here were sitting on the sofa against the wall.
“Rose. Bruce Wayne.” He lifted his glass, which contained an amber liquid. “Welcome to the party.”
The scene was set up to intimidate and the way Bruce Wayne’s footsteps faltered slightly told me it had worked with him. But I was done with the theatrics.
“I never agreed to go to this thing, Skeeter. I’m supposed to be cooking Thanksgiving dinner.”
“I need you, Rose. We still haven’t found the men who robbed the bank.”
“And our agreement was that you’d get my money back for me. So far you haven’t come through.”
“I can get you the money.” He shook his head. “That’s nothing. But this means those guys are still coming today. I need you. If you keep me safe, I’ll make sure you get everything you lost, with a generous bonus besides.”
“I don’t want your money. I want my own.”
Confusion washed over his face. “Money’s money. What difference does it make where it comes from?”
“It makes a difference to me.”
He leaned forward. “All the more reason for you to come. If they show up, they’ll have your money and then some. You can have it all. As a thank-you gift.”
“I only want what’s mine. The rest belongs to the bank and the barbeque.”
“And the Piggly Wiggly,” one of the guys on the sofa added. “It got robbed last night.”
Skeeter shot him a look that said shut up in no uncertain terms.
I blinked in shock. “The Piggly Wiggly got robbed? Then they probably got a buttload of money from all the Thanksgiving shopping.”
“And they knew just when to rob it too,” the other guy said. “Right before they made their night deposit.”
Excitement washed through me. “They must have had an inside guy, just like they had Mr. Sullivan at the bank.”
No one said anything.
I put my hand to my temple. How could I have been so stupid
? “I saw the guy in the Batman mask at the Piggly Wiggly twice. He works there.” I looked up at Skeeter. “Actually, I’m pretty sure he’s the assistant manager.” My excitement over finally piecing things together spurred me on. I turned to Bruce Wayne as I continued with my explanation. “This guy fired David because he took the ski masks home instead of throwing them away. The ones used in the robbery. He probably thought it couldn’t be tied back to him if they were all gone. Anyone could have taken them out of the trash, but he used a Piggly Wiggly bag in the robbery.”
All four men in the room watched me with a mixture of amusement and shock.
“Oh!” I exclaimed as something else hit me. “The guy, I think his name is Merrill, used to be David’s friend until he moved away. He recently came back and is in dire need of money after a divorce. He needs the money and he’s been out of town, so he wouldn’t know that Big Bill’s is off limits.”
“She figured out in less than a minute what we couldn’t figure out in three days,” the guy who’d volunteered the Piggly Wiggly information said.
The look on Skeeter’s face was murderous, but whether it was for his minion or Merrill, I couldn’t be sure.
Oh, crappy doodles. What if I had inadvertently just gotten Merrill killed?
“You can have all the money we recover, Rose. If you help me stop them, you can keep every penny.”
I could see how a lesser person would be tempted, but I’d be putting those other businesses that had been robbed in the exact same position I was in now. “I told you I don’t want it. I want what’s mine, and then I want you to give the rest back to the places that earned it.”
Skeeter laughed. “Someone with integrity. That’s cute.”
I was so in over my head. Instead of figuring out how to get out of this, I needed to switch to self-preservation tactics. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m helping you.”
He looked amused. “I already claimed you, Rose. What difference does it make?”
“Claimed me? I’m not some discarded item to be picked up and owned, Skeeter Malcolm!”
“You’re a valuable asset and I need to make sure you’re protected.”
“All you’ve done is taken a nobody who no one paid any mind to and painted a bull’s-eye on her back. Everyone with half a brain is going to figure out that I’m special for some reason.”
“Oh, Rose Gardner. I can assure you that people in my circles have taken notice of you, if for no other reason than that you bested Daniel Crocker twice. If you’re worried about the secret of your ability getting out, put your fears to rest. It’s in my own best interest to keep it quiet. People will assume I’m making a claim on you to protect my own personal safety—the saying keep your enemies close comes to mind. But as long as I’m top-dog in Henryetta, you’ll be safe.”
The full implication of his words settled in. “So it’s in my best interest to make sure you not only remain alive but as top-dog.” I sighed. I’d always known he was smart, but I hadn’t planned on him being so calculating. He’d set me up, and I’d walked right into it.
“I’m happy you catch on quick.”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to see my future again.”
“That’s it?”
“For now.”
I groaned. “Fine. Let’s do it. I have a turkey I need to get into the oven.” Maeve was taking care of it, but no need for him to know that.
He laughed and walked around to the front of the desk. “You want to do this like last time?”
I nodded as he settled against the edge. He held his hand out to me. I took it and closed my eyes, surprised when a vision hit me within seconds. I was also surprised that it was the exact same vision I’d experienced two days earlier. That had never happened to me before.
“Someone’s gonna kill you at the auction,” I blurted out when it was done.
“Again?” he shouted, standing.
“You haven’t done diddly-squat to find those guys!”
“I’ve been doing things.”
“Your guy just said I gave you more information than you’ve dredged up in three days!” I shouted in disgust. “I’m beginning to wonder whether you’re as good as everyone says you are.”
“What did you just say?” he bellowed, hurting my ears from our close proximity.
Bruce Wayne, who had been standing quietly behind me, took a step forward. “She didn’t mean anything by it, Skeeter.”
I put my hands on my hips. “The hell I didn’t. A man like you should have been able to dig up something by now!”
Skeeter’s eyes narrowed. “I have information, but not enough. Not until you filled in some pieces.”
“Filled in some pieces?” I shouted. “I just gift-wrapped it for you and handed it to you with a bow on top! If you expect me to help you, then you have to live up to your end of the bargain,” I said, irritated as all get-out. I was tired of all the half-truths. “They have my money. Tell me what you know. If you know anything at all, that is,” I snorted in contempt.
A low rumble came from Skeeter’s chest and the other men in the room froze. “Fine,” he growled, pushing away from the desk. “The word is they aren’t your normal bidders.”
“What does that mean?”
He looked up at me. “It means these guys have watched one too many episodes of Breaking Bad. They think they can be king if they have enough money to buy Crocker’s business. They’re nobodies with no experience. These amateurs don’t know shit. Which your information supports. A loan officer and a grocery store manager.” His face contorted in disgust.
“Seems to me they’re more capable than you give them credit for,” I threw back at him. “Or if they’re as dumb as you insinuate, what does that say about you?”
Bruce Wayne’s eyes bugged out of his head.
Skeeter’s body tensed and his cold eyes landed on me. “Do you know how many people have talked to me that way and gotten away with it?”
The tension in the room was so thick, if someone lit a match, the entire place would have exploded.
I knew I should back down, grovel even, but I was good and ticked off. I’d had enough. This arrangement wasn’t working out in my favor at all. I was the one supplying all the information and getting nothing in return. “I have no idea, but maybe it’s time someone did.”
Skeeter watched me for several long seconds, looking like he was trying to figure out the best way to dispose of my body, then he burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, getting madder.
“You,” he pushed out while catching his breath. “Good God. Where have you been all my life, Rose Gardner, and how did I not know about you before now?” He shook his head while regaining control. “Good thing I’ve claimed you before someone else discovered you. And I feel a hell of a lot better bringin’ you with me to the auction now. Especially after all of this.”
He may have been trying to appease me, but he was just making me madder. “You may have claimed me, Mr. Malcolm, but there’s no way on God’s green earth I’m walking into that auction with you. It’s one thing to be marked, but it’s another for me to be seen actively helping you. I’m living with the assistant DA, for heaven’s sake. Even you can’t be arrogant enough to believe someone won’t use this against me. Not to mention the risk to you if someone decides you’re with an informant.”
“You’re the only person who’s seen these guys. I need you to come with me so you can point them out to Jed and Merv. They’ll have your money on them to bid for Crocker’s business. So if we stop them, you’ll get your money returned today.”
I groaned. “Damn you.” I was good and stuck.
He laughed and glanced over at his goons. “So she does use cuss words.”
“I can’t be seen there, Skeeter. I can’t.”
“It’s worth the risk.”
“To you!” I shouted.
“She can wear a hat,” Bruce Wayne said. “You know, one of those old-fashione
d kind with a veil. It’ll cover her face and no one will know it’s her.”
Skeeter held out his hands. “Well, there you go. You can wear a hat.”
“I don’t own a hat like that!” Only I knew someone who did. She had a spare bedroom closet full of them. “I have to make a call.”
Skeeter stood, his eyes turning cold. “I don’t think so.”
“Will you calm down?” I asked, not caring that I sounded snotty. “I need to ask my friend to bring me a hat.”
I spun around and stomped out into the hall, not waiting for permission before I dialed Neely Kate on my phone. “I have a bizarre request.”
“Coming from you, that’s sayin’ something.”
“You know that black hat you got last month? The one with the veil?”
“Oh. Yeah! I’m telling you, hats like that will be back in vogue before you know it. That’s why I’m stockpilin’ them. So I’ll be ready.”
“It’s hard to see through that thing, right?”
“Yeah. Remember? I wore it to Bingo night with Granny and nearly broke my neck tripping because I couldn’t see a doggone thing.”
“I need to borrow it.”
“Sure. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.”
“No. I need it now.” When she didn’t answer, I continued. “I have to help Skeeter with this thing and I don’t want people to know it’s me.”
“Where are you, Rose?” she asked, sounding worried. “And what are you doin’ that you need a disguise?”
“I don’t have much time, Neely Kate. Can you bring it to the pool hall like five minutes ago?”
She didn’t even hesitate. “I’ll call you when I’m almost there.”
I hung up and walked back into the room. “Fine. I’ll go, but I’m wearing a disguise.”
Skeeter shot me a cocky grin. “Okay, but we’re leaving in fifteen minutes.”
Neely Kate called me twelve minutes later. “I’m pulling into the parking lot now.”
I was already waiting for her by the door, so I ran outside as her car rolled up. “Are you sure about this, Rose?” she asked as she handed me a brown bag through the open window.
I nodded. There was no point in telling her I didn’t have a choice.
She eyed me up and down. “My hat will not go with that outfit. I put my new black dress and a pair of heels in there too. Good thing we wear the same size.”
Thirty-Two and a Half Complications Page 29
