Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments: Rose Gardner Mystery #7 (29 page)

I called Mason instead. He had started his own investigation into both Dora and J.R. Maybe we could get answers together if we pooled our information. I’d convinced myself it was a good idea by the time he answered, sounding breathless. “Rose? Are you okay?” There was a lot of commotion in the background.

I considered asking for his definition of okay, but instead said, “Mason, I need to talk to you. Do you have some time this afternoon?”

“I’m on my way to court, sweetheart, and I have no idea how long this will take.”

“Okay,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment. Considering the many layers of the Atchison mess, I could hardly explain it to him unless we had a good amount of time to talk it out.

“Rose.” His tone was firm. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I promise.”

He was silent for a moment, then said, “I can try to get a recess.”

“Mason, don’t be silly. I told you I’m fine. How about we talk about it tonight? I’ll even stop by the Peach Orchard grocery store and pick up something to make for dinner.”

“I thought you said they regularly failed their health inspections.” I heard the grin in his voice.

“I feel like a gambling woman today,” I teased. “But to be safe, maybe I’ll stick to non-perishable items. How do you feel about canned Chinese food?”

He laughed. “God, I love you.”

“I love you too. Be safe.” I hung up and took a deep breath, telling myself it was probably for the best. What if Merv had caught me before I could make it into the courthouse? How would I explain
that?

Next I called Neely Kate and she sounded confused when she answered. “Rose?”

“How are you feelin’?”

“Better… Eating helped.”

“Are you up for paying a visit to Dena’s?” It was just as risky as going to the courthouse, and if I had any sense at all, I’d wait until Skeeter reined in Merv, but I needed answers now.

“Maeve has brownies.”

“Then I’ll get a cupcake and you can come along as my partner in crime. Or if you’ve had enough adventure, you can hang out with Maeve.”

It took her less than a second to say, “I’ll be right out.”

“Tell Maeve we had a landscaping emergency.”

“
We have those?
”

“We do now.”

But Maeve followed Neely Kate out to the truck. “A landscaping emergency, huh?”

I smiled at her. “It’s the darnedest thing.”

An ornery grin spread across her face as she held out her car keys.

I blinked. “What’s that for?”

“You’re hiding your truck for a reason. If you take my car, you’ll have a better chance of going undetected.”

I took her keys and held them to my chest. “Maeve, I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything. I don’t want to know. Then I can deny any knowledge of your shenanigans.”

“You know I’m up to something and you’re helpin’ me anyway?”

She looked into my eyes. “We both know there’s a whole lot of something goin’ on. I saw you at the Bingo hall on Tuesday night, and I also saw you slip out the door.”

I blushed.

“Mason thinks you were there the entire time, and I covered for you.”

I shook my head. “Why? How do you know I’m not doin’ something wrong?”

“Because I just have this
feeling
.” She pursed her lips and looked away before turning back to me and taking my hand. “Mason and his father saw the world as black and white. Right and wrong. Mason’s rigidity has softened since you came into his life last summer, and that’s a good thing. You have a positive influence on him and everyone else you touch.” She glanced over at my friend. “Neely Kate, dear, would you give us a moment?”

Her mouth parted in surprise. “Yeah.” She wandered over to the back of the truck.

My stomach flip-flopped with nerves. What in the world did she have to say that she wanted to keep from Neely Kate?

“I know you have visions.”

Now my mouth dropped open. “What? How?”

She shook her head and waved her hand. “That’s not important. I just know you have them. And I think you’re using them to help people, am I wrong?”

“Well…yeah. I’m tryin’ to. At least lately.” I was still floored by her revelation.

She looked nervous as she took another deep breath. “Maybe you won’t find my own confession strange then. I’ve never told a soul save my beloved Van.”

“Not even Mason?”

“No. He of all people would find it foolish.” She forced a smile. “I have feelings, premonitions. Not visions like yours…it’s as if I can sense a rightness or wrongness about things. The impressions I get are vague, but they’re strong.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“You believe me?”

I released a short laugh. “Maeve, I have visions of the future. What you’ve told me doesn’t sound all that strange.”

Her grip tightened around my hand and tears filled her eyes. “I have a terrible feeling that something’s about to happen to Mason.”

Had Mason told her that his life was in danger? I doubted it. My heart leapt into my throat. “I don’t—”

“I’m not asking you to confirm or deny it, and it doesn’t matter what you say anyway. It only matters what I know.”

“What does that have to do with you helping me?”

“You’re the only one who can save him.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “Me?”

“Just like someone with arthritis can feel a storm coming, I can feel trouble. I knew something was going to happen to Van before his heart attack. I begged him to go to the doctor, but he refused. Then Savannah…” She paused and straightened her shoulders. “Here’s what I’m sensing now…” Her eyes burned bright as they stared into mine. “There are lots of things going on in this town right now, and many of them are interconnected. Mason is at the center of it all, but someone else is there with him. Someone with a lot of power.”

“Joe?”

She shook her head. “No. Not Joe.” She paused. “I don’t know who it is, but you’re the key to saving them both.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this. I didn’t want to be responsible for saving anyone, especially Mason. What if I failed him? How could I live with that?

“So why are you givin’ me your car?”

“Because you need to do what feels right, even if other people are telling you it’s wrong.”

“I don’t know.” I glanced back at Neely Kate before returning my gaze to Maeve.

She cupped my cheek. “Trust your instincts.”

I nodded, still not sure what to make of what she’d said.

“You can come back now, Neely Kate,” Maeve called out, entering the code to open her garage door. “You girls be careful, and if you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be here.”

I handed her my truck keys and grimaced. “You might not want to drive this for a bit. I’ll let you know when I get the all-clear.”

She winked. “Okay.”

She watched us back out of the garage and waved as we took off.

“What just happened?” Neely Kate asked, looking shell-shocked.

“This day has been nothin’ but strange.”

Unfortunately, I had a feeling we were just getting started.

“What did Maeve say?” Neely Kate repeated.

I wasn’t about to break Maeve’s trust, but I didn’t think there’d be any harm in telling her parts of our conversation. “She told me to trust my instincts.”

“And?”

I glanced over at her. “She trusts me. She just has a feeling.”

She sank back in her seat. “A
feeling?
”

“Yeah.”

“So tell me why we’re in Maeve’s car, why we’re goin’ to Dena’s, and what you saw in your vision back at the pool hall.”

“Where do you want me to start?”

“Let’s start with the first one.”

I grimaced. “Skeeter is furious, so he has one of his guys out lookin’ for me.”

“Oh, my stars and garters. Is it Jed?”

“No. He sent Merv. Jed called to warn me”

“Won’t he get in trouble for that?”

I had to admit I was worried about him. “Yeah. I’ll just have to make sure that Skeeter doesn’t find out.”

“What are you gonna do?”

I let out a sigh. “Jed thinks I’ll be able to reason with Skeeter once he cools down.”

Neely Kate shook her head. “I knew Skeeter Malcolm was trouble from the start.”

“Maybe so, but what’s done is done. Merv’s probably lookin’ for my truck. He’ll never suspect I’m in Maeve’s car. So as long as we stay away from the office, we should be good. I just need to figure out how to get Muffy from the nursery.”

She lifted her eyebrows and gave me a look that suggested she wasn’t as confident in my plan as I was. “So what did you see in the vision?”

“Dirk callin’ someone after leaving the pool hall.”

“And why would you want to see that?”

“I figured he must have confided in someone about the whole Atchison mess. Scared as he was, it made sense to me he’d run to them first thing. And he did. He called some woman named Beverly. He said we knew everything about the fire and the blackmail.”

“You really think Henry Buchanan bribed him?”

“Or Dirk was extorting him? Either way, it stands to reason it involves Dirk.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Do you think there’s really a chance your daddy started that fire?”

“It doesn’t seem like something he’d do, but neither does having an affair and fathering an illegitimate daughter. Although there seems to be some question of whether he’s my father after all.”

“Rose…”

I glanced at her. “Did you hear the part about the factory? They can’t find an heir. What if I really am Henry Buchanan’s child and they’re lookin’ for me?”

“Rose.” Her tone softened.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I’d prefer Henry Buchanan to…” I couldn’t finish the thought.

“This is
ridiculous
.” Her voice rose in protest. “Neither one of those men is your father. Least of all J.R. Simmons.” She shuddered her disgust.

I wished I could be as certain as she was. “I’ve called my Aunt Bessie. She might know more about Dora…or if Daddy’s not my real father after all.”

“You think she’d keep somethin’ like that from you?”

“She hid the fact that Momma wasn’t my birth mother until after she died.” I turned to her. “Yeah. I think she’d do that.”

“Wow.” She was quiet for a moment. “If J.R. Simmons is—”

“Stop!” I shouted, then said softer, “Just stop. I can’t even let my head go there. It’s too much. I just want to talk to Aunt Bessie.”

“Okay, let’s focus on something else. Dirk said the police chief was murdered after the fire. That’s really suspicious, particularly on top of Dora dyin’ and Henry killing himself.”

I was beginning to have second thoughts about waiting to tell Mason. “Maybe we should give this information to Joe.”

“So why haven’t you called him yet?”

“Because I have to find out who my father is before we talk to Joe about any of it.” I couldn’t even imagine how he’d handle it. Probably worse than I was.

“So how about we sit tight until you talk to your aunt?”

While her advice was sound, I felt an underlying drive to forge ahead. I wasn’t sure what was spurring me on—Maeve’s words, my own stubbornness, or some residual feelings from my vision at the pool hall. I only knew I needed to keep digging. “Let’s just talk to Dena first. I want to see if she remembers who was in the bakery when she told me about Ima Jean and Atchison.”

“Do you think that’s really likely?”

“Maybe not, but I have to try anyway.”

“Why does it matter who was in the bakery when you were there?”

“It might help explain the threatening notes.”

“You found another one?”

“It was on my truck right now. It said I’d been warned and all bets were off.” I turned to her. “I guess the first note was left for me after all.”

Neely Kate’s eyes flew open. “Rose, you have to tell Joe.”

“And I will. After I find out my answer. Plus I called Mason, but he was heading to court. I’ll tell him tonight.”

“I can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but you could always tell Skeeter.”

I gaped at her. “Have you lost your mind?”

“He’s a pretty powerful guy.”

And that was exactly what he wanted—if I ran to him and asked for help, I’d be sucked deeper into his world. “We can do this on our own. We’re merely goin’ to a bakery. How dangerous could that be?”

“Why do you keep askin’ things like that? Nothing’s ever that easy for us.”

We drove around the town square, taking a peek at the empty RBW Landscaping office before we found a parking space at the opposite end, closer to Dena’s. I looked around to make sure Merv wasn’t lurking nearby. When the coast looked clear, we got out and walked into Dena’s.

There were only two other customers in the store and Dena was behind the case, her usual cheerful smile in place. She glanced up at us and smiled even bigger when she saw Neely Kate. After she waited on the other two customers, we made our way to the counter.

Dena leaned her forearms on the case. “Good to see you, Neely Kate.”

Neely Kate offered her a soft smile in return. “Hey.”

“Dena,” I said. “When I was here a couple of days ago, you told me about Ima Jean Buchanan and her husband.”