Up Shute Creek: Rose Gardner Investigation #4

by Denise Grover Swank

  “Is that what he tells you?” Mason asked bitterly. “He’s going to get you killed, Rose.”

  “Do you mean Skeeter Malcolm?” I asked, then snorted. “No. He hates me doin’ it too.” I tilted my head and made sure I had his full attention. “But here’s the thing he’s figured out that most of the people in my life haven’t—no one can tell me what to do. I spent the first twenty-four years of my life letting my mother decide everything for me, from what I ate to what I wore to what I saw on television. And that was on me, because I let her. But I’ll be damned if I’ll let anyone tell me what to do anymore. Not Joe. Not Violet. Not you. Not Skeeter Malcolm. I’m the captain of my own fate, not anyone else.”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, frowning when he glanced at the screen. Then he stood and shoved it back into his pocket. I got to my feet too, anticipating I’d want to be on the same level for whatever he’d say next.

  “I think you’re mistaking adulthood with maturity.” There was a hard tone in his voice. “Just because you don’t have to listen to other people’s advice, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

  My mouth dropped open at his audacity.

  “You think I’m out to get you, but I’m not. I want to make sure you’re far out of the way when the shit starts hitting the fan, because it’s comin’, I can guaran-damn-tee you that. You may be in the right, but what if you’re caught in the literal crossfire, Rose?” he pleaded. “What good will that do anyone? You’re gonna leave Neely Kate devastated, and what about Violet’s kids? They’re gonna need you after she dies.” He took a step closer. “There’s a lot more involved here than you. Think about that for half a minute.” He pushed out a groan of frustration as he turned his back to me. “Tell Neely Kate I got called back to the courthouse. I’ll call later to set up walkin’ through the barn with her.”

  I started to answer him, but by the time I had a response, he was already in his car driving away.

  Chapter 3

  As I watched him head toward the county road, I stopped to think about what he’d said. I listened to other people.

  Right?

  The front door opened, and Neely Kate walked out wearing a pair of denim shorts and a T-shirt with our RBW Landscaping logo, which she’d embellished with glued-on gemstones. Her blond hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. “Where’d he go?”

  “He got a text and said he had to go to the courthouse. He’ll call you later.”

  “Why on earth were you gonna let him drag us into the barn to look around?” she asked, obviously ticked at me.

  “Because he’s gonna check it out one way or the other, Neely Kate,” I said, sounding as exhausted as I suddenly felt. “We might as well be with him.” I held her gaze. “This is nothing new for him. When he was the assistant DA, he always checked out murder scenes for himself, especially when the Henryetta police were involved. And we both have to admit he has a personal interest in this, outside of you and me. Kate kidnapped him and fully intended to kill him to get to me. He’s bound to be nervous with her still on the loose, and that was all her handiwork out there.”

  The anger drained out of her. “Yeah. You’re right…”

  “I don’t want to fight with you,” I said. “You’ve been through a terrible ordeal, so all I want to do is give you my love and support.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m still jumpy after this weekend.”

  I pulled her into a tight hug. “You have every right to be. I wish I’d been here for you,” I said. “I feel bad that I wasn’t.”

  She shook her head. “I would have just been worryin’ about you. It made me happy to think you were havin’ fun. Besides, I hardly would have seen you anyway, what with bein’ up in Little Rock until last night.”

  She’d been dragged into another hostage situation and escaped alive, but she wasn’t safe. Not from Kate, however much she pretended to be a protective big sister, and not from the Hardshaw Group.

  I paused for a second, then lowered my voice. “Are we sure the Hardshaw Group is interested in you because of Pearce Manchester?”

  “That’s the million-dollar question,” she said as she stepped out of my embrace. “Scout’s honor. None of us know, but Jed’s scared to leave me alone, and Joe’s not too crazy about it either. They want me with someone at all times. The only reason Jed left this morning was because you called and said you were on your way home. He was gonna make me come to the garage with him.”

  I swallowed and clasped my shaking hands together. “Do you want me to have a vision?”

  Ever since I was a little girl, I’d had visions of things that would happen in the future. At first they were spontaneous, seen through the eyes of the person in front of me. Until a year ago, I’d never thought to force one, but I’d realized I could use the annoying ability for good. Neely Kate and I had used them to aid in our investigations.

  My relationship with the visions had recently changed, however. I hadn’t had a single spontaneous vision since a near-death experience, and the last forced vision I’d experienced had actually been a cluster of short scenes rather than a single one. James had been dead in one of them, something that still terrified me to think about, and in another… well, it didn’t matter much. The life of my best friend was hanging in the balance, and I had to ignore my personal fears.

  Her face went pale. “You mean to see why they want me?”

  I nodded. “You know it could help us protect you.”

  Hesitating, she said, “Yeah…”

  Before she could change her mind, I grabbed her hand and squeezed tight, asking the cosmos, Why is the Hardshaw Group interested in Neely Kate?

  My vision blacked out, and at first I was scared the universe was telling me that my best friend was going to die—something I’d always experienced in visions as an expanse of darkness—but the usual coldness didn’t fill me, and a scene slowly came into view.

  Jed and James were standing in our kitchen in the farmhouse, both wearing worried expressions. Jed shook his head. “No. There’s no way I’m gonna agree to that.”

  The vision quickly faded into a new one. Neely Kate’s husband Ronnie came into view. We were outside, beneath a stormy sky. I was sitting on the ground and he was leaning over me.

  “You shouldn’t have found me, Neely Kate.”

  The vision faded, and I was back on my front porch, staring into Neely Kate’s face. “You shouldn’t have found Ronnie.”

  Neely Kate gasped and jerked her hand free. “I’m gonna find Ronnie?”

  I took a breath, trying to ease the ache between my shoulder blades. “You did in my vision.”

  “What’s that got to do with Hardshaw?” she asked in confusion.

  “I don’t know. I asked why Hardshaw was interested in you and got two visions. In the first, Jed and James were in our kitchen lookin’ worried and Jed said he’d agree to something, although I have no idea what that something was. Then the vision changed, and you were outside in the dark, sittin’ on your butt, with Ronnie leaning over you saying you shouldn’t have found him.”

  She stared at me as though I’d told her I’d ripped up a million-dollar lottery ticket. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “My visions don’t always make sense.” I’d had another vision the day I’d seen James’s death (again)—in it, I was wearing an engagement ring while naked in bed with James. I hadn’t told anyone about it, but it hadn’t left my mind.

  Her brow furrowed, and she looked deep in thought until her eyes flew wide. “Why’d you have two visions?”

  “That’s another thing that seems to have changed.”

  “It’s not much to go on, but I guess we should tell Jed,” she said with a frown. “Maybe we can stop by the garage and you can see it.”

  There was something good to talk about. “I want to hear more about the garage,” I said. “When did that come about?”

  “That’s what Jed’s been wor
kin’ on the past two weeks.”

  I grinned. “I knew he wasn’t tired of you. He was just workin’ on givin’ you the best present ever.”

  “He had one more surprise,” she said, looking serious. “He bought a house.”

  “Oh…” I realized what that meant, and while I was over the moon for my best friend, I didn’t want to think about her leaving me. At least not yet, because once she moved in with Jed, things wouldn’t be the same, no matter how much either one of us might swear differently. But if there’s one thing I knew, Neely Kate deserved every bit of happiness she could get. I wouldn’t be the one to stand in her way. “That’s wonderful.”

  It also meant he was getting serious, not that I was surprised. They’d only been dating a little over a month, but Jed was the kind of man who didn’t settle for mediocre. Once he found what he wanted, he went for it, heart and soul.

  “I’m not movin’ in with him, Rose,” she said softly. “I’m stayin’ here. We want to take this slow, but he made no secret that he wants us to be together. He got the house so we can be more protected when we’re together. Like you and Skeeter.”

  “You don’t have to stay for me,” I said. “I want you to be happy.”

  “I am happy,” she said, her face glowing with it. “For the first time in my life I have a good man who loves me. And I have you and Joe. I know the rest of my life is a mess, and my sister’s an on-the-loose maniac, but I’m still happy.” She made a face. “Is that weird?”

  I laughed. “I’m the last person you should ask that question.”

  “How was your weekend with Skeeter?”

  “Well, I spent a good portion of it worryin’ about you, but when I wasn’t…” I felt my face get hot. “It was… amazin’.”

  She smiled, but there was a sad look in her eyes. “I know you’re happy, but I’m also scared for you.”

  “I promise you I have no delusions this will last. We both know it will end.” And yet I saw a flash of that vision as I said it. I doubted it would come to pass—so many of them didn’t—but I couldn’t help being curious about it.

  “I’m scared you’re gonna fall in love with Skeeter Malcolm, Rose. You know that won’t end well.”

  It was too late for that, and she probably knew it. “I walked into this with eyes wide open. I know our relationship has an expiration date, but this weekend it was nice pretendin’ we were a real couple, you know?” I’d taken to being a couple in public with him a little too quickly. We’d both gone out of our way to be careful so no one at home would ever put us together, but this weekend we’d kissed in public. Multiple times. Nothing racy, just soft pecks, but it had felt so freeing to be with him out in the open.

  Until Mason had blown my cover story by calling my Aunt Bessie.

  “Yeah, I know,” she said with plenty of sympathy. She’d known all along this would happen, but she’d never say I told you so.

  “I think I did a pretty good job of diverting Mason. James is working on an alibi for Saturday afternoon, so hopefully he’ll let it go.”

  “Not likely,” Neely Kate muttered.

  True enough, but one could hope.

  “Enough gloominess,” Neely Kate said. “We don’t have any client appointments until eleven. “Want to get breakfast at Big Biscuit?”

  “How about we get it to go,” I said. “I’m eager to pick up Muffy from the nursery. I know Maeve didn’t mind watchin’ her this weekend, but I miss her, and I want to give her an extra tight hug for protectin’ you.” When the Hardshaw Group had attempted to kidnap her from the Blue Plate Diner. Muffy had attacked the man who’d snatched her, helping her escape from his clutches.

  “Good thinkin’,” Neely Kate said. “We’ll get her some bacon. She deserves it after savin’ me. You should have seen the way she latched on to his wrist and wouldn’t let go.” A guilty look filled her eyes. “I was scared to death he was gonna hurt her.”

  “She’ll do anything to protect the people she loves,” I said, my eyes getting misty. I couldn’t imagine my life without either one of them.

  Neely Kate cocked her head to the side and gave me a sassy smile. “Sounds an awful lot like someone else I know.”

  I laughed, then cast a glance at her shiny new car. It couldn’t be more than a couple of years old, proving Jed would do anything he could to keep the people he loved safe too. Neely Kate’s old car had been a death trap.

  “We don’t need the truck today,” I said, “and that appointment’s our only one. Want to drive together in your fancy new car? I need to swing by and check on a job site for Bruce Wayne, but we could do that together. You know he’s gonna want to see it.”

  A smile brightened her face. “That’s a great idea. Let’s clean up and head into town.”

  I picked up the coffee cups and tray, then followed her inside. We had the kitchen tidied up within a couple of minutes and grabbed our purses. My overnight bag was still sitting next to the front door, the reminder of my weekend making me sadder than I’d expected.

  Neely Kate must’ve seen the look on my face because she wrapped her arm around my back. “Just enjoy it while you can and expect it to hurt like Hades when it’s over. Then, when you’re ready to move on, maybe you’ll be ready to settle down. Or not. It’s entirely up to you.” An ornery grin lit up her face. “But if Violet’s still around, you know she’s gonna start matchmakin’.”

  “Don’t you know it,” I mumbled with mixed emotions. Settling down with a man had been what I’d wanted my entire life, but now it sounded stifling. “One thing at a time,” I said with a sad smile.

  “Don’t forget your gun!” Neely Kate called out as I brought the bag upstairs.

  Yet another reason why I wasn’t ready to settle down. We were often in positions where carrying a gun was the wise course.

  I left the bag in my room, got my gun, then headed back down and put it in my purse. We locked up the house, making sure to turn on the alarm. Neely Kate had just started showing me all the fancy features of her new car when her phone rang with a number she didn’t recognize.

  “Sparkle Investigations,” she said in a chipper voice.

  I shot her a scowl. She’d agreed to stop calling our investigation agency Sparkle Investigations, but we still hadn’t come up with an alternative both of us agreed upon. Of course, we weren’t legally supposed to be investigating under our own agency at all. We were still shadowing Kermit Cooper, the laziest private investigator in the world, which consisted of us doing all the work for free while Kermit got a nice check for lying around on his La-Z-Boy.

  Her eyes lit up. “Yes, ma’am. We work with Kermit on cases.” She paused for a half minute, then said, “We sure do work on missing person investigations. We have a one hundred percent success rate.”

  That’s because we’d only worked on two missing person cases. Three if we counted the missing parrot.

  “Just text me the address and we’ll meet you at the diner at noon.” Neely Kate hung up, her face beaming. “We’ve got a new case.”

  I couldn’t ignore the little thrill I felt at possibly working on another case, but I had to wonder if we should turn it down. “So I heard. Are you sure we should take a case with everything else goin’ on?” I asked. “Jed’s workin’ at the garage now. He can’t just drop everything and help us. And neither can Witt.”

  “We don’t need help.”

  I wasn’t nearly as confident as she apparently was. “You really believe that?”

  Her confidence wavered. “We don’t have to take the case. Let’s just hear her out.”

  “Who’s missing?”

  “The woman’s nineteen-year-old daughter. Sarah Freestone.”

  That made my heart pang, and my brain immediately started firing off questions. Had she run away? Was someone holding her against her will?

  Who were we fooling? We both knew we’d take the case.

  “I haven’t heard anything about a missing teenager,” I said.

  “She s
aid the police refused to file a report. They think she ran off, but her momma insists she didn’t.”

  That sounded a lot like when Neely Kate’s cousin had gone missing. The police had thought she’d run off too, but Neely Kate had known better.

  “Then we better get goin’,” I said, walking around to the passenger side. “I really want that breakfast from Big Biscuit.”

  “I bet you worked up a big appetite this weekend,” she teased as she started the car. She rested her hands on the steering wheel and said, “Listen to that.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t hear anything.”

  “I know,” she said in a gleeful tone. “No more engine knockin’ around and sounding like a jet getting ready for takeoff.”

  I grinned. “No offense, but if I ever get on a plane that sounds like your old car, I’m gettin’ right off.”

  Neely Kate was extra careful driving her car, looking multiple ways before she pulled out onto the county road. I planned to give Jed a huge hug the next time I saw him.

  She continued her careful driving, sticking to the speed limit even though it was obvious she had a lot more horsepower than her previous car, which had struggled to achieve over fifty miles per hour. We’d only driven about five minutes when we saw an old car on the side of the road. A woman in her late twenties stood on the passenger side, awfully close to the gully next to the shoulder. She was dressed in a blue sleeveless dress, her honey blond hair pinned at the back of her head. She had a look of confused frustration, one of her hands cupping the side of her face, as though she was trying to figure out what to do.

  “I’m gonna pull over and make sure she’s okay,” Neely Kate said, already turning on her blinker. No doubt she felt sympathetic toward the woman whose car looked as bad as her old clunker.

  “Good idea,” I said. “She looks flustered.”

  “And she’s from out of town,” Neely Kate said. “Those are Texas plates.”