Up Shute Creek: Rose Gardner Investigation #4

by Denise Grover Swank

  We’d just finished cleaning up the kitchen when we heard a knock on the front door. Carly nearly jumped out of her skin.

  “It’s likely Joe,” I said. “He’s supposed to come by and look at the office.”

  “Joe as in Neely Kate’s brother the sheriff deputy?” Carly asked. She seemed to physically shrink away from the door.

  Neely Kate glanced back and forth between the two of us. “Yes.”

  Carly got to her feet. “I can’t let him see me. If my father filed a missing person report, your brother might know people are looking for me.”

  “Who’s your father?” Jed asked from the back door. He’d just come in from letting Muffy out.

  Carly turned to look at him with a startled expression. “Randall Blakely.”

  The name meant nothing to me, but a look of understanding filled Jed’s eyes.

  There was another more insistent rap at the front door, and Joe called out, “Rose? Neely Kate?”

  “I’m not Simmons’s favorite person right now,” Jed said with a wry grin. “So how about Neely Kate, Carly, and I take a walk around the farm. Then Joe and I don’t have to see each other, and Carly doesn’t have to worry about bein’ spotted.”

  “Good idea,” Neely Kate said, tossing a dish towel on the counter. “Let’s get out of here.”

  After Neely Kate opened the door, she gestured for Muffy to join them, but Muffy seemed uninterested, heading to the front door instead.

  Joe had started to knock again when I opened the door, and he greeted me with his knuckles in midair.

  “Sorry for bein’ so insistent,” he said, dropping his hand to his side. “I was worried.”

  I gave him a warm smile and stepped into the living room. “And we very much appreciate your concern.”

  He walked in and shut the door behind him, bending over to rub a very excited Muffy’s head. “Where’s Carlisle?” When I didn’t answer, he said, “I know that’s his car out front.”

  “They took a walk.”

  He gave a stiff nod.

  “Thank you for protectin’ Neely Kate this weekend.”

  “I didn’t do much protectin’,” he grumbled. “She nearly got kidnapped while I was watchin’ her in the afternoon, and then actually got kidnapped from my house.” He shook his head in disgust. “I didn’t even save her from Kate. Kate just let us go.”

  “Joe,” I said softly. “You did the best you could do, and Neely Kate appreciates it more than you know.” I paused. “It takes a special person to accept his sister’s boyfriend even though he was a known associate of a crime lord for years.”

  “Or likely a fool.”

  I shook my head. “I’ve thought about it, wondering what could have swayed you to accept his help watchin’ over Neely Kate, and I realized you must have seen the way he looks at her.”

  He didn’t say anything.

  “That man loves her fiercely. She’s lucky to have him.”

  He was silent again, then gave me a fake smile, clearly ready to change the subject. “Let’s have a look at that office.”

  I led him through the French doors into the room lined with bookcases. It smelled of old books and wood, which I associated with Mason after all the time he’d spent in here, toiling at that big wooden desk. It made me nostalgic and sad despite myself.

  “You sure you don’t mind giving up this room?” Joe asked as he glanced down at some landscape plans on the desk.

  “Honestly? I hate bein’ in here. It feels more like Mason’s room than mine. He pretty much moved in when I did. When he left…” I cleared my throat. “It seemed stupid to waste the room, and I could leave plans lyin’ out without getting in the way of setting the kitchen table.”

  He gave me an odd look, and I realized it was because I’d mentioned Mason.

  “No I told you so’s?” I asked in a snippy tone. “You warned me about Mason and I refused to listen.”

  “No, Rose,” he said gruffly. “I take no pleasure in your pain.” He moved to the window and stared out into the hay fields. “He’s dying to know where you were this weekend. He knows you weren’t with your Aunt Bessie in Shreveport.”

  “I know, and he’s already confronted me. I told him I was in Shreveport for a job interview.”

  He jerked sideways to look at me. “Were you?”

  I sat on the edge of the desk. Maybe his acceptance of Jed had emboldened me, or maybe I was just sick of pretending. “I don’t want to lie to you, Joe.”

  “I take it you don’t want to tell me the truth either.”

  The look in his eyes told me he knew. Did the whole dang town know I was sleeping with Skeeter Malcolm? I gave him a wry smile.

  “I can’t even begin to fathom what you’re thinkin’,” he said with plenty of heat. “You know this won’t end well.”

  “I do,” I said softly.

  “You’re movin’ your dyin’ sister and her kids out here. Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

  I couldn’t find it in myself to make a retort. He was right. “I’m doin’ the best that I can, Joe.” My voice broke.

  He pushed out a sigh and leaned his butt against the edge of the desk next to me. “Is it your Lady in Black activities that have you trapped?”

  I shook my head and said, “No. I’m not trapped. And I use Lady when there’s trouble. She’s neutral. She’s stopped some bad things from happening.”

  “She’s you, Rose. You’re the Lady in Black, and yet you’re referring to her in third person.”

  I closed my eyes. “I don’t regret it. Not any of it. I know I should, but I can’t.” I opened my eyes and stared at him. “I made a difference. I saved lives, including Mason’s. I helped get your father arrested. I can’t be sorry for bein’ part of that.”

  “But you can help bein’ involved with Malcolm.”

  I wasn’t sure how to react, so I asked, “How many people think that’s true? What’s their proof?”

  “People don’t need proof,” Joe said quietly. “You of all people should know that.”

  “So what do I do?” I asked, staring out the open French doors into the living room. “How do I distance myself from him? I’ve declared myself neutral. Heck, I even made a ruling against him. What more do I need to do?”

  “Stop seein’ him,” Joe said.

  I narrowed my eyes at him, starting to get pissed. “I never said I was seein’ him. I thought we were discussing how to counteract rumors spread by ill-mannered people.”

  He pushed out a breath and leaned forward. “You’d have to publicly denounce him in some way. Or incriminate him. I’m sure you’ve seen how his business works. You could offer Mason information.”

  I shook my head in disgust. “You’re no better than Mason.”

  He stood. “You asked me what to do to clear your name, Rose, and I told you. Don’t shoot the messenger.”

  Leaning my head back, I groaned. “I don’t want to discuss Skeeter Malcolm anymore.” I stood too. “We’re here to discuss turning this office into a bedroom.”

  I could see he wasn’t ready to let go of the discussion, but to my surprise he said, “I don’t think you should make this Violet’s room.”

  My eyes widened. “Why not?”

  “A number of reasons. The doors are thin, and if someone is watching TV late, it could wake her. Also, I suspect you’re gonna put the kids upstairs, and I bet Violet’s gonna want to be closer to them. The only bathroom down here is the powder room. And last, the window.” He motioned to it. “It’s a north-facing window and the only source of sunlight. Violet will need more light than that. Especially at the end.”

  A lump of dread sank into the pit of my stomach. Especially at the end.

  He held up his hands. “I know you didn’t ask me here for my advice. You want me to help prepare her room, but—”

  “No,” I said. “Stop. You’re right, and I know the perfect place to put her. Come upstairs.”

  He followed me upstairs, Muffy trotting
along with us.

  Joe glanced into Neely Kate’s open doorway, probably looking for signs of Jed. I couldn’t say I blamed him, but Jed was careful. You had to look hard to find proof he stayed here.

  “I’m concerned about the stairs,” I said, turning back to glance at them. “Which is why I considered the office in the first place.”

  “We can have one of those chair lifts installed,” he said. “I can’t do it, but I know someone who can. It can cart her up and down the stairs.”

  “She’s likely to hate that,” I said, staring at the landing halfway up the staircase.

  “We’ll call it her throne,” he said with a grin. “The kids would love it.” Then he paused. “I know it will mess up the walls…”

  I shook my head. “I don’t care about that. I’m more concerned about how Violet will handle it.”

  He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I think she’ll be fine. She’s very pragmatic about the whole situation.”

  He was right. She was much more pragmatic than I would ever have expected.

  We continued down the narrow corridor, and I thanked my lucky stars Carly had shut her door so I didn’t have to explain why there were two suitcases in the room. When I reached the end of the hall, I pushed my bedroom door open.

  Joe stepped in and slowly looked around, taking in the massive canopy bed that had been my mother’s, the antique dressers, and the vintage chair in the corner, but his gaze was drawn to all of the windows along the back wall of the house. “I think she’d love it, but it’s your room.”

  “I love this room,” I said, “and those windows drew me like a moth to a porch light, but I love my sister more.” I paused. “Check out the sunporch. The door’s on the left.”

  He opened the door, and I followed him into the eight-by-twelve rectangular room. The only furniture was a single wicker chair I’d moved up from the porch after we’d stowed the baby furniture that had been here in the basement.

  “Was all this furniture here when you got the house?” he asked, staring out at the barn and the woods beyond it.

  “It was like a time capsule,” I said. “It was almost exactly as it had been the morning of the day she died.”

  He was silent and I looked up at him, not surprised to see the empathy in his eyes.

  “In fact, this used to be my nursery, but I moved the furniture to the basement months ago. It was too hard for Neely Kate to see it after, well, you know.” After she’d lost her pregnancy and found out there wouldn’t be another one.

  He nodded, turning back to stare at the back of my property. “Do you like living out here?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “It’s usually peaceful.” My mouth twisted into another wry grin. “Except for when there’s dead bodies in the basement and the barn.” I stopped myself from adding a few other incidents that had happened on the property over the last year. It struck me again that it may have been a mistake for me to go back to being Lady.

  “I can see why you moved out here,” he said. “It suits you. And Neely Kate too.”

  We’d gotten off topic, so I straightened my back and got back to business. “We should have Violet take this room, and we can fix up the porch so she can sit out here and soak up the morning sun on days she’s not feeling well. This room is perfect because it has its own bathroom. The kids can go in the room across the hall. There’s a full-sized bed in there, but I have enough money saved up to spring for two nice twin mattresses. The kids might like shoppin’ for bedding.”

  “She’ll never take your room, Rose,” Joe said sternly.

  I put my hands on my hips and stared up at him in defiance. “Then I’ll come up with an excuse for her to use it, because her heart needs this. She needs sunshine and love.”

  He gave me a sad smile. “Violet’s lucky to have you. Most sisters wouldn’t step up like this after all the crap she put you through.”

  “When we were kids, she was the only person who gave a tinker’s damn about me. She did her best to save me. I owe her this and so much more.”

  He studied me for a moment, and the look in his eyes shifted. He knew I could persuade her. “How soon do you want to move her in?”

  “The sooner the better. Tomorrow if I had my way.”

  “How about you talk to her and see how soon she wants this to happen? We might need to box up things for her and the kids, but she won’t be able to take all of it. Mike’s gonna want his time with them too.”

  “Of course,” I said. “Plus, they’ve been livin’ with him while Violet’s been gone. That’s their home.”

  And suddenly this situation felt a whole lot more complicated.

  “Violet wants to rent out Momma’s house,” I said. “But Mike doesn’t know. He wants to sell it, and she doesn’t want to fight him on it.”

  “She won’t get much for it as it stands,” he said. “It’s been years since any updates have been made… other than the small repairs I did when you were livin’ there and we were together.”

  “She wants you to fix it up after she’s gone,” I said. “She’s keepin’ it from Mike and plans to announce it in her will.”

  He frowned. “That doesn’t seem right.”

  “But those are her wishes, and we need to abide by them. She says she has one of those property management places lined up to handle the renters. It just needs to be fixed up first.”

  He nodded, but he didn’t look too happy about it. “I don’t mind fixin’ it up. In fact, I’ll enjoy it, especially since I’m about ready for another project, but I don’t feel right hidin’ it from Mike. I know he’s bein’ a bastard to Violet, but he and I have always gotten along in the past. I’d like to be a part of Ashley and Mikey’s world after Vi goes, and Mike could make that difficult.”

  I stared at him in shock. “You want to keep seein’ them?”

  “Yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking embarrassed. “I got attached to them while you and I were together, and then I watched them quite a bit while I was livin’ next door to Violet.” He paused. “I’d like to remain in their lives.”

  I’d known he was fond of my niece and nephew, but I hadn’t expected him to want to keep seeing them. Then again, I wasn’t sure why I was so surprised. Joe was becoming more and more like the man I’d met while he was undercover. The man I’d fallen in love with.

  The man his sociopath father had kept him from becoming.

  But all this talk about my sister dying was chipping at my heart, lowering my defenses. Suddenly, I was hit with a double punch of horror—my sister’s impending death and the horrors of Neely Kate’s past. I started to sob.

  “Rose?” Joe asked in alarm.

  I wanted to talk to him about Neely Kate, but it felt like a breach of trust. While she’d told me Joe knew, I wasn’t sure how much he knew. So I went with the topic that was safer.

  I stared up at him with blurry eyes, choking out, “What am I gonna do when she’s gone?”

  He slowly walked toward me and pulled me into a hug. “You’re gonna mourn for her and go on.”

  I rested my cheek on his chest. “You’re the only one who really saw her when she was at her best,” I said. “Last summer when the three of us were fixin’ up the nursery, gettin’ ready to open it. You saw her happiness… her goodness. Mason only saw the worst part of her and so did Neely Kate. Until now.” I leaned back and looked up at him. “I want to remember the good Violet. After she’s gone, I need you to help me remember that part of her with me.”

  His eyes were gentle as he nodded. “I will, Rose. I promise.”

  I realized I was still holding on to him, and I took several steps backward. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have broken down like that.”

  “Rose,” he said, his voice heavy with emotion. “We’re friends. Friends comfort each other.” His sad smile returned. “I need you to help me remember who she is too. She was public enemy number one for a while, but I never could forget how well she treated me last summer… at least af
ter she tried to break us up.” He gave me a wry grin. “But she came to her senses, and I’d like to think she’s good at heart. She just made some bad decisions along the way. Like I did.”

  And me.

  Chapter 19

  Neely Kate, Jed, and Carly walked through the front door about ten minutes after Joe left, and Neely Kate was bursting with excitement.

  “He’s agreed to talk to us!”

  I shook my head in confusion. “What?” But then it struck me that she could only be talking about one person. “Conrad?”

  “Yes! While we were on our walk, I texted him and told him we wanted to interview him about Sarah. He said he could talk to us at eight.”

  My eyes flew wide. “That’s in fifteen minutes.”

  “Jed said he’d set up the call in the office on your laptop… unless you want to have it somewhere else.”

  “The office is good, and my laptop’s on the desk,” I said, glancing around Neely Kate to take in Carly. She looked exhausted.

  “Carly,” I said. “You’re welcome to watch TV or do anything you like, or you’re also welcome to go to bed. You look tired.”

  Relief washed over her face. “Would you find it rude if I went to my room? It’s been a long day. Well, three days…”

  “Of course,” I said. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

  She headed upstairs as I went into the office and opened my laptop and entered the password. Neely Kate and Jed followed me in.

  “Did she volunteer anything else?” I asked.

  “No,” Neely Kate said, “although she gave us her blessin’ to look into her father now that we know his name. As soon as Jed gets us set up, he plans to start workin’ on that very thing.”

  I nodded.

  Jed sat behind the desk and showed us how to record the chat in case we wanted to view it later. “If you girls need anything else, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

  I gave him a warm smile. “Thanks, Jed.”

  He started to walk past Neely Kate, but she grabbed his arm and then pulled him close for a kiss.

  He smiled down at her with so much love, my heart nearly burst with happiness for her, but I was surprised by a pang of loneliness. I’d thought my weekend with James would fill the spot deep in my soul that seemed to have something missing, but instead it only ached more. I missed him something fierce, but there wasn’t a doggone thing I could do about it. I’d known our relationship would be like this, yet knowing it and being in the middle of it were two very different things.