Bernadette still seemed unfazed. “Anything else?”
“No. That’s it.”
“I’ll take a medium nonfat latte,” I said, suddenly feeling boring compared to Neely Kate.
Joe reached over my shoulder to hand Bernadette some cash. “And I’ll have a large Americano. It’s all on my tab.”
Neely Kate started to protest, but a harsh look from Joe stopped her.
It didn’t take a genius to tell this was about more than coffee. The last thing Neely Kate wanted was to be taken for a mooch. Joe and his sister Kate came from the infamous Simmons family, which had—up until recently—meant money, power, and prestige. So when Joe abruptly left town in February, Neely Kate had worried it was because of her, that he’d thought his new little sister would want a paycheck. He’d since explained himself—he’d gone home to settle his father’s estate and had only kept away from Neely Kate for so long out of his own shame. But it was going to take her a long time to get over it.
“Thanks, Joe,” I said as we sidled out of line.
He shot me a worried look and whispered in my ear, low enough that Neely Kate couldn’t hear, “It comes with strings.”
The mere fact that he’d whispered it insinuated that it involved my best friend. No doubt he’d tell me in good time.
“Okay.”
Joe took a step back, then addressed us both. “How’s your new employee working out? It’s your cousin, right?”
Neely Kate groaned. “Let’s just say the Rivers branches of my family tree hang so low they’re takin’ root.”
“So, not good?” he asked dryly.
“This is a story best told over a beer,” I said. “Want to come over for dinner tonight?”
His eyebrows lifted in surprise, and Neely Kate shot me a questioning look. I’d mostly left him alone since his return to town. For one, he was my ex-boyfriend and we’d found a shaky truce. I didn’t want to chance it, especially since he held a stake in my nursery—another long story. And two, Joe and Neely Kate had been finding their way toward a new family dynamic, and I’d tried to give them space. But if Joe was going to have a real relationship with Neely Kate, and she was living with me, I needed to make sure he felt welcome at my farmhouse.
“Sure . . .” he said with hesitation. Then he grinned. “Are you cooking or are we having deli sandwiches?”
I lightly smacked his arm. “Just for that, I’ll burn your portion.”
He grinned and my heart lightened at the happiness I saw on his face. It had been hard-won. “I’ll bring the beer,” he said. “What time?”
“How about seven?” I asked as the owner handed me a cup.
“Sounds good,” Joe said. “I’ll tell Maeve she can take a night off from bringing me food.” The owner handed over Joe’s coffee next, and Joe shot a look at Neely Kate before ushering me toward the door.
“Hey!” Neely Kate protested. “I ordered my coffee first!”
“This ain’t Little Rock,” Vance said with an exaggerated drawl. “We’re not used to those newfangled drinks.”
“You have ’em right on your board!” Neely Kate protested as she pointed to the sign. She didn’t seem to notice when Joe and I slipped out the front door.
“What’s up?” I asked when we were on the sidewalk outside. An awning protected us from the slight rain.
“I may have a lead on Ronnie.”
I gasped. “But you just said—”
“I know. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Neely Kate.”
My nose scrunched as I studied him. “So why are you telling me?”
“I need to know why she’s really trying to find him.”
“Does it make a difference?”
“It might,” he said carefully.
“Oh.” He looked so worried that my heart went out to him. “Joe, she knows he was up to something underhanded. You don’t have to worry about upsetting her.”
“And I also know she thinks he’s dead. But what if she finds out he’s not?”
I blinked in surprise. “Where do you think he is?”
“New Orleans.”
“You’re kidding. What on earth would he be doing there?”
“Shacking up with a woman.”
I felt lightheaded. “Oh.”
“It’s nothing solid, but my gut says there’s something to it. Enough that I’m going to go down there to check it out myself.”
“Can you do that?”
“Not officially, but I can take a couple of days off and go ask some questions.”
My stomach twisted and my voice cracked. “Joe . . . you just got back to work.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “But it’s Neely Kate. I owe her.”
“No, Joe. You don’t owe her anything.”
A surprising fierceness filled his eyes. “I owe her this and so much more.” He paused and took a deep breath. “You didn’t see her, Rose. You didn’t see how broken Neely Kate looked after my shitty sister got done telling her that her mother hadn’t wanted her . . . that she wished she’d never been born. I swore to God I’d never let her feel unwanted like that again.”
I gasped. “You two went to see Kate at the psych ward?” His sister had been hospitalized back in February, after she’d orchestrated the showdown that had ended in the death of her father, J.R. Simmons, among other casualties. Life had embittered and twisted her, and I didn’t like the idea of her being anywhere near Neely Kate.
His mouth sagged. “Neely Kate didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
He turned to face the courthouse and scrubbed his hand over his face before turning back to me. “I thought she told you everything.”
I paused. “We each have our secrets, I guess.” More so than I liked. Especially since I’d sworn to myself I was done with secrets. Mostly.
He gave a hurried glance toward the coffee shop door, then said, “She asked me to take her to see Kate in Little Rock. She wanted to know how Kate had figured out that our father was her father too. Kate told us, but being Kate, she made sure to hurt Neely Kate in the process. Neely Kate held it together until we got back in the car, and then she just lost it.” He swallowed. “She’s been through hell, Rose. Her own mother . . . the abuse . . .”
I hid my shock. Neely Kate had told me her mother had literally dumped her as a preteen on her grandmother’s doorstep, but she’d told me nothing about her life with her mother. I was surprised and a little hurt that Joe seemed to know more than I did.
“I can’t let people continue to hurt her,” Joe said. “So if she wants that asshole out of her life, I’m going to help her make it happen. I plan to serve Ronnie the divorce papers myself. And maybe deliver my own personal message along with them.”
Tears swelled in my eyes, and I wrapped my arms around his stiff shoulders. I pulled him into a hug, holding my coffee cup out so I didn’t drench his back. “I knew you’d be good for her. Thank you.”
He leaned back and smiled. “No. Thank you for convincing me to pull my head out of my ass and talk to her.”
“I know you’re trying to make up for hurting her, Joe, but honestly, she just wants you.”
He nodded, then glanced around before turning back to me. “Are you still in communication with Malcolm?”
His question about bowled me over. “Uh . . . maybe.”
He gave me a look that told me my acting skills were subpar. “I hate to leave Fenton County right now, but my lead has suggested Ronnie’s about to skip out of New Orleans. I need to catch him before he disappears again.”
“What’s going on here that has you concerned?” I asked, but common sense told me it had something to do with James.
“There are some rumblings in the criminal underworld. Rumor has it that someone new is making a power play for Malcolm’s position.” He tilted his head as he studied me, his face becoming a blank slate. “But from the look on your face, you already knew that.”
“I’m not sure I should confess to anything.
”
Anger filled his eyes. “Are you questioning people for him again?”
I shook my head. “No. He won’t let me near his life.”
Joe looked shocked, and I couldn’t decide if it was because I hadn’t gotten offended by his question, that James was trying to protect me, or that I was admitting my involvement. Maybe all three. “Stay away from Skeeter Malcolm, Rose. If you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, you could end up as collateral damage.”
I watched him closely. Six months ago, he would have barked this as a direct order, expecting me to blindly follow. But now, it seemed like a request—one friend pleading with the other to use her common sense. “Thanks,” I said. “But you really don’t have anything to worry about. I haven’t seen him in weeks, and we never meet up near his business.”
He nodded and started to say something, but the door to the coffee shop burst open, and Neely Kate stomped out with her coffee cup, which was encased in a pink knit coffee-cup sleeve. “I can’t believe this place!”
It occurred to me she’d been in there an unnaturally long time. “What took so long?”
“They made my drink completely wrong the first time, so they had to make it again.” She shook her head and looked up at Joe. “And here I thought we were getting a little sophistication in our town. Just goes to show you that you can’t make a Coach purse out of a goat tail.”
Joe opened his mouth to say something, but he must have thought better of it because he closed it the very next moment. Smart man.
“Where’d you get the cute sleeve for your cup?” I asked.
She put a hand on her hip. “Funny thing. Bernadette said she’d give it to me if I promised to just take the too-hot coffee and leave.”
Joe shook his head, wearing an ear-to-ear grin. “I need to get back to work. I’ll see you ladies tonight.” Then he kissed Neely Kate on the cheek and headed across the street to the courthouse.
I couldn’t stop thinking about his lead on Ronnie. Had Ronnie really run off with another woman? Could Neely Kate handle it if he had?
Chapter 3
My stomach flip-flopped as I pulled my truck into the parking lot of the hardware store. “I’m not sure I should go in there.”
“What are you talking about?” Neely Kate said as she checked her lip gloss in the sun visor mirror. A light rain hit the windshield. “I thought we agreed to put that nonsense behind us.”
I pointed toward a particle board sign spray painted with something that looked like a rose with a poorly drawn face in the middle. A red circle surrounded the design, and the slash down the middle had been painted with particular gusto. “Then why is that there?”
“Oh, that was some of the kids they hired to take care of the greenhouse. They were just foolin’ around.”
“Is that supposed to be me?”
She returned her tube of lip gloss to her bejeweled purse. “Yeah, but it’s no big deal.”
“How can that be no big deal?”
“They made it back in March. It’s early June. They’ve totally forgotten about it.” She turned to look at me. “You’ve been wanting to paint the kitchen—how about we pick out a color while we’re here? They can’t get mad if you’re a paying customer.”
I had half a mind to stay in the truck, but truth be told, I didn’t trust her to talk to Raddy without me. I wanted to hear exactly what he wanted before we took the “case,” although it felt ridiculous to call looking for some jewelry a “case.” Then there was the fact that Raddy Dyer had apparently been involved in multiple domestic violence altercations. There was no way I wanted to work with him if he was a threat.
Neely Kate hopped out and popped open her umbrella. She came around to the driver’s side to share it with me, but I waved off her offer as I got out. A little rain couldn’t do much more damage at this point. Casting a glance around us, I asked, “Are you sure they’re open? There’s hardly anyone here.”
“Oh, everyone’s comin’ later. Their big sale starts at noon, which means now is the perfect time to talk to Raddy.”
We walked into the store, and Neely Kate collapsed her umbrella and shook off the water. I followed her down the lighting aisle and toward the back of the store. I kept my face down, hoping to keep a low profile, but no one seemed to notice me. In fact, I didn’t see anyone at all until we walked up to a guy wearing jeans and blue vest.
“Raddy Dyer,” Neely Kate said with a hint of attitude. “I heard you came by our office.”
I did a double take; this was Raddy Dyer? A bright orange shock of hair stuck straight up on his head, and he looked a little lost in his own store. He definitely wasn’t what I’d imagined.
“So does this mean you’re gonna do it?” he asked hopefully.
She nodded. “Of course we are.”
“Hold up,” I said as I stepped in front of her. “Not so fast.”
Neely Kate grabbed my arm and turned me back to face her. “Rose. What are you doin’?”
I pulled loose and looked Raddy square in the eyes. They were bright blue, and the contrast with his startlingly orange hair momentarily distracted me. Was it natural? I shook my head, then started my interrogation. “What exactly do you expect us to do?”
Raddy glanced over his shoulder, then nodded his head sideways toward the back of the store. “We can’t talk here. We’ve gotta head out back.”
We followed Raddy until he stopped beside an end-cap display of PVC joints.
“What’s the big secret?” I asked, already deciding this case wasn’t worth all the cloak-and-dagger intrigue.
He leaned back and glanced over his shoulder down the aisle before straightening his posture. “No secret. I just can’t be seen talking to you.”
“Me?” I asked in surprise.
“Yeah.” He gave me a look that suggested I was naïve and then some. “My grandmother died a few years ago,” he said, “and since I’m the oldest grandchild, I got some of her jewelry.”
“What kind of jewelry are you talkin’ about?” Neely Kate asked. She’d pulled out a small, pink, glittery spiral-bound notebook and was taking notes with a sparkly pink pen with a pink pom-pom at the tip.
“A sapphire ring. A ruby pin.”
“Like a brooch?” Neely Kate asked.
He made a face and gestured to his chest. “The kind of thing you wear on your chest. It was shaped like an owl, and the eyes were rubies. There were a couple of necklaces too. One of those is missing.”
“Which one?” I asked. “What’s it look like?”
“Here’s the thing,” he said, leaning closer. “I thought the necklace was costume jewelry, so I didn’t think much of it.”
“So it’s gaudy?” I asked.
“Yeah. Some big stones—they look like diamonds, but I thought they were crystals. Anyway, I let my lady wear them and didn’t think much of it.”
“But then she kicked you out?” Neely Kate asked, narrowing her gaze. “Cause you were sleeping with Hilda Ratner.”
Raddy lifted his hands in defense and took a step backward. “Now, hold on a cotton-pickin’ minute. I wasn’t sleepin’ with Hilda.”
“No? Then how come you were seen coming out of a room with her at the Easy Breezy Motel?”
A sheepish grin twisted his mouth. “We weren’t sleepin’ . . .”
“No kiddin’,” Neely Kate groaned, looking at her notepad. “So Rayna kicked you out and tossed your clothes in the yard and lit a big ol’ bonfire.”
“Well, there’s no need to get into that . . .”
“And then you broke into the house two days later and took a chainsaw to her clothes.”
“An eye for an eye, the Good Book says.”
Neely Kate put a hand on her hip and gave him the stink eye. “And I’m pretty sure the Good Book says something about fornicatin’ and adultery too.”
He waved his hands. “Okay, okay. So I’ve made a mistake or two.”
“So Rayna’s holding your grandmother’s jewelry host
age?” I asked.
“When Rayna kicked me out, Momma went over and demanded Rayna give her all the jewelry.”
“And how’d that go?” I asked, pretty sure that accounted for domestic disturbance number three.
He grimaced. “Let’s just say that Momma and Rayna have never gotten along, so there was a bit of a disagreement. But Momma walked away with the jewelry. Well . . . everything but the one necklace.”
“I take it that it’s not costume jewelry after all,” I said.
“No. The stones in the necklace are white sapphires. It’s worth some big bucks.”
“Did Rayna know it was real?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. I didn’t find out until after Momma went to get it.”
“So ask Rayna to give it back to you,” I said. “Or ask for it in the divorce.”
He looked surprised. “We ain’t gettin’ divorced.”
“Rayna’s fool enough to take you back?” Neely Kate asked.
“No. We were never married.”
“Wait.” Neely Kate blinked theatrically. “You had a big fancy church wedding five years ago.”
He shrugged again. “Rayna wanted a wedding, so I gave her one.”
“And she didn’t care if it was real or not?” I asked.
“I forgot to mail in the wedding license.”
“And Rayna didn’t care?”
“Nah. She just wanted the dress and the presents.” A sheepish look crossed his face. “And she didn’t find out until she said she wanted a divorce.” He glanced over his shoulder and then back at the two of us. “But I need that necklace pronto. The sooner the better.”
“Been playin’ the horses again, have ya?” Neely Kate asked.
His jaw set, but the look in his eyes gave him away. “No, ma’am.” She lifted her eyebrows, looking feral enough that he corrected himself without further prompting. “I mean miss.”
She relaxed. “Then what’s the hurry?”
“That’s for me to know. Now are you gonna help me or not?”
“That depends,” Neely Kate said. “How much are you payin’?”
“You want money?” he asked in dismay.
“You bet your sweet patootie,” she said, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “Even an accordion-playing monkey wearing a blindfold could tell you’re gonna sell it, so if you want it bad enough, you’re gonna pay up.”
Family Jewels: Rose Gardner Investigations #1 Page 3
