“Are you sure she’d come into some money?” I asked. “Could she have just told you that to get you to leave?”
“Why would she do that?” Nina asked. “I would have found out in half a day.” She shook her head. “No. I believe she figured out a way to get a lot of money, and I think someone found out and killed her for it.”
“Did you tell the police?” I asked.
She gave me an incredulous look. “They don’t give a shit. No one does.”
“Marsha does,” Neely Kate said. “She hired us to find her.”
Nina tapped another cigarette out of her package and lit it. “How much is she payin’ y’all?”
I made a face, reminded that we were doing Kermit’s work for him, and Neely Kate said, “We’re not at liberty to discuss that.”
Nina laughed. “Well, whatever she’s agreed to pay ya, don’t hold your breath. She’ll stiff ya. Just like she’s stiffed a long string of other places.” She took a drag of her cigarette, then said, “Did Marsha tell you about Sarah’s money?”
“Did she know about Sarah’s money?” Neely Kate asked.
Nina laughed again. “The only reason Marsha would go to this much trouble to find her daughter is if something was in it for her.” She tapped her ashes into the mug, then pointed her cigarette at me. “Ten to one, Marsha knows about the loot.”
That was an interesting suggestion. Marsha Freestone had been convincing as a worried mother. Was she really after Sarah’s money?
“What hours do Stewie and Digger work at the tire store?” I asked.
“The store’s open from nine to five, but Stewie doesn’t usually come straight home. They go to Tiggy’s Bar off County Road 22 to get a couple of drinks. Stewie says he needs to unwind.”
I bet he did.
“Sounds like they spend a lot of time together,” I suggested.
“Yeah. They’re practically tied at the hip, another reason I encouraged Sarah to date Digger.” Tears filled her eyes. “What if he killed her?”
“You think Digger killed her?” Neely Kate asked. “Why?”
“He was pissed that she broke up with him. He keyed her car and slashed her tires. Stewie said he even showed up at her new job.”
“With the vet?” Neely Kate asked.
Nina nodded. “Digger hated her workin’ up there. He was jealous of that doctor because Sarah liked him so much. I think that’s why he slashed her tires. He probably thought she’d bring her car to his tire store and he’d be able to work his magic on her, only the dumbass slashed her tires at work. In Henryetta. Why would she tow her car all the way from Henryetta to Sugar Branch?” She shook her head in disgust. “I heard the vet helped her get her tires replaced.”
Now we had something solid to discuss with Levi Romano when we saw him.
“Have you got a photo of either one of the guys?” Neely Kate asked.
She shook her head. “Stewie still has my phone and all my photos are on there.”
“What about Facebook?” I asked. “Do you or Sarah have photos on there?”
“Yeah,” she said, but they’re all set to friends only.”
“Here,” Neely Kate said, handing Nina her phone. “Sign in on my phone and friend us so we can look around.” She tilted her head. “You don’t happen to know Sarah’s username and password for Facebook, do you?”
She shook her head as she took Neely Kate’s phone. “No, but I know it’s one of those auto-stored things on her computer.”
We shot each other a look. We needed to find her computer.
“Does she have a laptop?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said as she signed herself into the Facebook app on Neely Kate’s phone. “Who should I look for?”
“Let me give you my card,” Neely Kate said as she started digging through her purse. She pulled out a pink business card.
I quickly pulled an RBW Landscaping business card out of my purse and placed it on the kitchen table. “Here’s my card. I’m Rose Gardner, and she’s Neely Kate Rivers.”
Neely Kate looked over her shoulder at the phone and pointed. “Yeah, that one’s me.”
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket a few moments later. I pulled it out and quickly accepted the friend request, then scrolled through Nina’s photos.
“That’s Stewie and me,” she said, pointing to a photo of the two of them wearing swimsuits with a creek behind them.
“Where was this taken?” I asked.
“At Shute Creek. We liked to party there.”
“All four of you?” Neely Kate asked.
“Yeah. There’s photos of Digger and Sarah too.”
“Did lots of people go to the place where you hung out?” Neely Kate asked.
“Not many,” Nina said. “The beach is pretty rocky, but as long as you’re wearing shoes, it don’t matter. We like it because it’s so much less crowded than the more popular spot.”
“Can you give us directions?” Neely Kate asked. “Sarah told Marsha she was going to Shute Creek to meet friends on the Sunday she went missing. Marsha said she was wearing her swimsuit under her clothes. We’ll want to look around.”
“Yeah,” she said. “You go down County Road 22 until you get to County Road 85. You hang a right. Then there’s a tiny sign on the left that says Shute Creek picnic area. It’s nothing special—just a couple of picnic tables and a small beach.”
“Thanks,” Neely Kate said, writing the directions in her notebook.
“You said you think Marsha would have looked the other way if Conrad had molested Sarah. Did they not get along?”
“The crazy thing is they did. Sarah liked it better when Marsha didn’t have a man though. It was like she put Sarah on hold whenever there was a man in her life.”
“Did Sarah resent her for it?” Neely Kate asked.
Nina frowned. “Not really. She just understood that was how her mother was.” She paused. “Don’t get me wrong. Marsha hurt her plenty of times over the years over men, but Sarah wised up to it back in eighth grade. She knew the men came and went, and she only had to bide her time.”
“Thank you, Nina,” I said, standing up. “If anything you think might be helpful comes to mind, we’d appreciate it if you’d let us know.”
“I know Stewie has your phone,” Neely Kate said as she took her own phone from Nina and shoved it into her pocket. “But maybe you could call us from the Sunshine Café.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
We headed for the door, but Neely Kate stopped on the front porch and turned back to look at Nina. “You don’t have to stay here. We’ll find a safe place for you.”
Nina gave her a wry grin. “I can’t afford to stop workin’. Stewie will just find me at the diner and drag me home.”
“Then we’ll press charges,” Neely Kate said.
Nina laughed. “The Sugar Branch police? Johnnie Frasier is Stewie’s cousin, and Flem Horton is as mean as they come. He’d probably hit me for talkin’ back to my man.”
“We’ll get you another job up in Henryetta,” Neely Kate insisted. “You don’t have to live like this.”
Nina gave her a sad smile. “You’re sweet carin’ about me, but y’all need to put all your time into findin’ out what happened to my friend.”
I took Neely Kate by the arm and started to lead her down the steps, but I suddenly remembered how Nina had greeted us. “Nina, why did you come to the door with a shotgun when we pulled up?”
“You were strangers.”
“True,” I said, remembering how our morning had started. “But I don’t typically answer the door with a gun unless I’m worried about an immediate threat.” I looked her directly in the eye. “Is something worryin’ you? Are you afraid someone’s gonna snatch you next?”
Fear filled her eyes, but her back stiffened. Whatever I’d said had frightened her off. “I’m a woman alone out in the middle of nowhere. I’d be stupid not to answer the door with a gun.”
I gave a slight nod. “True e
nough. Again, thank you for the information.”
Nina stood on the front porch, watching as we got into the car and then drove down the lane.
“Did you believe her explanation just now?” I asked.
She bit her lower lip as she studied the road. Finally, she shook her head. “No.”
“Me neither.” But was Nina’s reaction related to Sarah’s disappearance? Or did she fear the company Stewie kept?
When I voiced all my thoughts to Neely Kate, she was just as perplexed.
“I know you feel bad about Nina,” I said gently, “but she has to make her own decisions.”
“I know,” she said with a quaver in her voice. “I know better than most people.”
Neely Kate had been abused by her mother and her mother’s boyfriends, but I suspected she’d also been abused by her boyfriend in Ardmore. “Did Branson Desoto hit you?”
She looked shocked by my question, but she only let it show for a split second. “I think we should go by Shute Creek to check it out,” she said, changing the subject. “But we also need to plan how we want to approach Stewie and Digger. We need to visit them next.”
“I’m thinking Nancy and Beth Ann need to go the prowl at Tiggy’s Bar. But we need to talk to Jed before we do somethin’ like that. There’s no way he’ll let us do this without backup.”
“I don’t need backup,” she said, holding her steering wheel in a tight grip.
I fully planned to tell Jed, so I ignored her statement. “I think we need to separate them. Sounds like they’ll be trouble together.”
“I can handle trouble,” Neely Kate said with a murderous look in her eyes.
“I know you can handle it,” I said, although I was fairly sure Jed would string me up for letting her. “But we want answers and goin’ in guns blazin’ won’t get us anywhere. We’re gonna have to string them along. It sounds like Digger’s not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, so it might be easy to trick him into talking, but Stewie sounds shrewder. He’s gonna take more finesse.”
“I’ll take Stewie,” she said.
I pushed out a sigh. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
She shot me a glare. “You think I can’t handle him?”
Her hostile tone caught me by surprise, but I wasn’t angry with her. I was worried. “That’s not it. You could handle him better than I can. Why are you so angry with me?”
She didn’t shift her gaze from the windshield. “I’m driving over to Shute Creek,” she said in a gruff tone. “We can figure out what to do next once we’re there.”
We were silent for the rest of the fifteen-minute drive to the picnic area. The sign to turn onto the road was partially covered with shrubs, so we almost missed it, likely one more reason it wasn’t very crowded. Neely Kate drove down a long dirt road until she pulled into a pea gravel parking lot that was missing most of its gravel. Three concrete picnic tables were clustered to the left, and the whole area was surrounded by trees with the exception of the twenty-foot section of rocky beach in front of us. I got out of the car and took in the view. It was easy to see why Nina liked the spot so much. The creek was just below an area of small rapids that didn’t look all that dangerous but provided a soothing sound of rushing water.
I walked toward it and took a deep breath, feeling some of the tension leave my shoulders.
Neely Kate joined me, and stood staring at the ten-foot-wide creek for several seconds before she said, “Sorry.”
I turned to face her. “There’s nothin’ to be sorry for.”
“I was mean to you.”
I shook my head. “Stop. I can tell you’re worryin’ something fierce. You had to let out the tension and you ended up snapping at me. No harm done.”
“I’m not really mad at you,” she said, tears choking her voice. “I’m just so…”
I tried to look into her eyes, but she glanced away.
“What, Neely Kate?” I coaxed. “Why are you so upset?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized how foolish they were. After her horror-filled weekend, of course she was upset. People had been murdered in front of her. Her sadistic sister was tormenting her. A crime syndicate wanted to kidnap her. Only someone as crazy as Kate would take all of that in stride.
She lifted her face, tears streaming down her cheeks. “It’s time to tell you everything,” she said. “What really happened in Ardmore.”
Chapter 11
“Okay,” I said, feeling relieved, but also a little nervous. She claimed I wouldn’t look at her the same after she told me. I didn’t think that was possible, but what if I was wrong? What if what she told me changed everything? “Do you want to sit at a picnic table?”
She nodded, wiping a stray tear on her cheek, and turned to walk toward the tables. I walked next to her, wrapping an arm around her back, and she leaned into me, which I took as a good sign.
When we reached the first table, I stepped onto the concrete bench seat and spun around to sit on top of the table so we could face the creek from up high. The encroaching trees gave the clearing a cozy feeling, and I hoped our surroundings would put her more at ease.
She climbed up and sat down next to me, then rested her forearms on her thighs, leaning forward to stare at the view.
We sat like that for several seconds, and I was about to give her more encouragement when she blurted out, “I was a prostitute.”
I tried to hide my utter surprise, but she must have caught it anyway… or she just expected it. She turned her head to look back at me with a bitter smile. “Not so proud of me now, are you?”
I refused to take her bait. “Actually, Neely Kate, I am.” I sat up straighter. “You’re a survivor. You do what you need to do to survive. You were in a heck of a situation in Ardmore, and you were desperate. Don’t you dare apologize for that.”
“You don’t care that men paid to have sex with me?” she challenged.
“Of course I care,” I said, trying not to get flustered. She was purposely trying to goad me into a stronger reaction. I might not know the psychological term for what she was doing, but I recognized it all the same. “I love you, Neely Kate, and I hate that you were in that situation. I also suspect you’ve let that decision eat at your soul. I’m sure it was even worse when you found out you couldn’t have babies.”
Her back shook as she started to cry.
I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her into a sideways hug. “If you think something like that’s gonna run me off, you’re sadly mistaken,” I said in a poorly executed teasing tone.
“There’s more,” she said through her sobs. “There’s so much more.”
I grabbed her upper arms and turned her on the table top to face me. “I don’t care, Neely Kate. I’m here, and I’m not goin’ anywhere, whether you like it or not, so come clean and let’s get this part over with.”
She closed her eyes, shaking her head. “I know you won’t leave me. I never questioned that. But you won’t look at me the same.”
“You keep tellin’ me that, but so far it’s not true,” I insisted. “You told me you killed a man, and I’m still here lookin’ at you the exact same way. You told me you were a stripper and a prostitute, and the way I feel about you hasn’t changed one bit, Neely Kate. You’re still my amazingly brave best friend.” Tears began to stream down my face. “You’re a fighter,” I added sternly. “Don’t you ever apologize for that.”
Her gaze searched mine, her eyes swimming with tears. She sucked in a big gulp of air, stayed silent for several seconds, and then said in a burst of words, “My boyfriend kept me prisoner in his house, selling me for sex to whoever paid him. He locked me in a room and only let me out when he was home or when he took me to work at the strip club. Man after man used me for sex and sometimes to smack me around while they screwed me, all while Branson filmed the whole thing.” Her voice broke. “And I let him, Rose. I let him beat me down so far I almost gave up.” Defiance filled her eyes. “Now do you think I’m brave and stron
g?”
I’d prepared myself for a dozen possibilities about the source of her secret. I’d wondered if she’d used drugs or sold them. If she’d stolen money. If she’d been arrested. If she’d had an affair with a married man. I’d even entertained the idea that she’d resorted to prostitution—despite my earlier shock—but I’d never considered this.
My heart shattered into a million pieces as I imagined what her life had been like. What this precious woman had been through.
Fresh tears filled my eyes. Her air of defiance grew, as though she was daring me to do what? Turn my back on her? No, she’d never expect that from me. She was the victim in all of this, and she knew better than to expect I’d judge her for that.
Then, looking at the horror in her expression, I suddenly understood her true fear. Neely Kate was a fighter, but she’d gotten to where she was by kicking and screaming. She’d been damaged and beaten and treated like crap her entire life, but she’d never lain down and given up. She’d never wallowed in her misery. She’d just gotten up, dusted herself off, and kept swinging.
She’d never expected me to leave her.
She’d expected me to pity her.
That was Neely Kate’s worst nightmare. That I would see her as less than the person she so desperately wanted to be—no, needed to be.
Tears dripped down my face, onto my shirt, but I ignored them. “Yes,” I said, trying to sound stronger than I felt. I wanted to break down into sobs, but she needed me to treat her the same way I always had—as though she were the stronger person between us. “Yes. I think you’re brave and strong and resilient.” I lifted my chin and pushed down my grief and shock. “You were a victim, Neely Kate Rivers, but by damn, you got away. You came home. You’re a strong, amazing woman, and I couldn’t be more privileged to call you my friend.”
Her eyes narrowed, and I could see she was searching for signs of duplicity. I’d sworn never to lie to her—okay, maybe we’d both made lies of omission—but I was breaking that promise now by pretending this was no big deal. I was acting strong because that’s what she needed from me. I could fall to pieces later.
Up Shute Creek: Rose Gardner Investigation #4 Page 11
