Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments: Rose Gardner Mystery #7 (32 page)

Neely Kate studied the books lining the shelves, most of which I hadn’t given so much as a glance since moving into the farmhouse. “While we’re in here, why don’t we see if the other journal’s in here?”

“It seems a little too obvious, doesn’t it?”

“Sometimes the best place to hide something is in plain sight.”

I put the books on Mason’s desk, and we spent the next ten minutes searching titles on the spines and pulling out any book that looked like it could be a journal. No luck.

“Well, it was worth a try,” I said, picking up the yearbooks. “Back to plan A.”

“Let’s take them out to the kitchen,” Neely Kate said, leading the way. “I’ll start a pot of coffee.”

Once we reached the kitchen, she started the coffee and I set the books on the table.

“Since we didn’t get any cupcakes for ourselves,” I said, moving to the refrigerator, “do you want a piece of Maeve’s marble cheesecake?”

“I’m gonna gain fifty pounds if I keep eating that woman’s food,” Neely Kate said with a grin.

I pulled the pan out and carried it over to the table. “So was that a yes or a no?” I asked, reaching for plates in the cabinet.

“Duh. It’s a yes.”

After I dished up our dessert and Neely Kate poured our coffee, we sat at the table in front of the books.

“For someone so eager for answers,” Neely Kate murmured as she picked up her fork, “you sure are stalling.”

I grabbed the corner of the first book and took a deep breath. “What if I don’t like the answers we find?”

“Since when do you back down from the truth?” She took a bite. “Mmmm… Maeve should open her own restaurant.”

“Don’t give her any ideas.” I laughed half-heartedly. “And I’m not backin’ down from the truth. Just delaying it a bit.” I opened the top book, realizing I’d shuffled them out of order. I searched for the junior class and sure enough, I found Dora sandwiched between a girl with long blond hair who looked like the popular cheerleader type and a boy with acne and a sad look in his eyes.

“She was pretty,” Neely Kate said, as I slid the book more centrally between us. “You look like her.”

Neely Kate was right. I’d been struck by the resemblance the first time I’d seen a photo of her holding a tiny me. “There’s something about her that seems so…friendly,” I said.

“I agree. She looks like she’d be nice to Donnie Hall.” She pointed to the sad-looking boy, then looked up at me. “Just like you would be.”

It was strange to think that the person I’d thought I was for twenty-four years wasn’t the person I was at all. Or more accurately, the parts that made up
me
weren’t what I’d thought they were. Who was the woman who’d carried me for nine months, hoping for a life full of love for the both of us? Had she resorted to something illegal to make that happen?

“We need to look for Hattie.” I flipped to the beginning of the junior class and started scanning names.

“I can’t believe you haven’t looked at these before now.”

I twist my mouth into a grimace. “I have…a little. Besides, I’ve been busy.”

“Not that busy.”

“I think most of us weren’t at our best in high school.” I gave her a teasing grin. “Not all of us are like you, you know. Some of us were just trying to make it to graduation.”

“So what does that have to do with not looking at Dora’s yearbooks?”

“I wouldn’t want someone to try and figure out who I was by searching through my high school yearbooks. Maybe Dora felt the same way. Maybe she wouldn’t want me to think of her this way.”

She studied me for a moment. “You’re overthinking it. Besides, who you were in high school is still a part of who you are now. Even if you’ve evolved. Maybe Dora did too, although she didn’t look like she was the type of girl who’d be bullied or treated as an outcast.”

We continued to scroll through the names, then I flipped the page.

“That’s her! Hattie Rush,” Neely Kate exclaimed, pointing to her photo. “She looks nice too.”

She had dark brown hair and bright friendly eyes to match her smile.

“I suppose we should make sure she’s the right Hattie.”

“How many Hatties could there be?” But Neely Kate quickly scanned the rest of the junior class all the same. “I suppose she could be in a different grade, but I’m betting that’s her.”

“But we’re not sure.”

Neely Kate pulled the yearbook in front of her and flipped to the front pages which were full of notes and signatures. “Your mom was popular,” she said. “Look at all these notes.” She scrolled through the pages, then flipped to the back, finally saying, “Aha!
Dora, you’re the best part of Fenton County High School. Thanks for helping me pass that cooking exam in Mrs. B’s class! I’m so glad we became friends last year. Hattie Rush.”

It wasn’t irrefutable proof, but it was good enough. “Next question is how do we find her?”

“Give me a second.” She pulled out her phone and typed Hattie’s name into an Internet search engine. I wasn’t sure anything she’d find anything, but sure enough, several Hattie Rushes popped up.

“How are we gonna know which one is her?” I asked.

“Well, seeing how we’ve seen her photo in the yearbook, I think it’s safe to assume this woman who looks like she’s Native American can be ruled out, as well as the African American.”

I glanced over her shoulder and teased, “What about the one who is Mrs. Octogenarian Michigan?”

Her gaze lifted to mine, but she glared at me without saying a word.

“So she’s not there?” I asked.

“Not necessarily. Sometimes you have to search a few pages. My cousin has the same name as a famous singer. When she Googles herself, she doesn’t show up until page five.”

Poor Dolly Parton. But then again, I’d never searched for myself. Who knew what page I’d end up on?

Sure enough, Hattie turned up on page three.

“She lives up in Magnolia,” Neely Kate said, searching her Facebook page. “She works at the Magnolia hospital as a nurse. She’s not married, but it looks like she’s divorced and took back her maiden name. No kids.”

“You found all of that out from Facebook?” I asked in disbelief.

She gaped at me. “You’ve seriously never Facebook-investigated someone?”

“No.”

“Huh. You should try it sometime. You never know what you’ll turn up.” Neely Kate continued tapping on her phone.

I sighed. “This is all great, but what do we do? Friend her and hope she accepts?”

“We could…or we could try to find her phone number in the white pages. And when that doesn’t show up, we can look for her parents’ phone number.” She kept typing all while she was speaking, then she finally looked up and grinned at me. “Bingo.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” She dialed the number. “Hello? Mrs. Rush?” Her eyes lit up with excitement. “Yes, my friend’s mother was a friend of your daughter Hattie and she would love to talk to her.” She listened for a moment. “Her mother was Dora Middleton.” Her smile returned. “Yes, Rose. I know! Rose only just found out about her birth mother a few months ago and she’s eager to learn as much as she can about Dora. Do you think Hattie would be willing to talk to her?” She grinned as she listened. “Thank you so much! But have her call Rose’s number instead of mine.” Then she rattled off my cell number and hung up.

I clasped my shaking hands. Why was I so nervous?

“She says she’s sure Hattie will want to talk to you. She was devastated when Dora was killed.”

I was silent for a moment. “Thank you.”

“What are friends for?” A soft smile lit up her face. “Hattie’s momma says she works the night shift. She might not call you until tomorrow, but she’ll want to talk to you, so don’t worry.”

I glanced up at the clock and saw it was close to five. It seemed like an awful long time to wait. “We could search more for the other journal, but I think I should probably get you back to your car so you can go home.”

“Yeah.” But she didn’t look too happy about it.

“You don’t want to go home?” I asked in surprise.

“I do…but Ronnie will be there.”

Fear lodged in my stomach. Neely Kate and Ronnie were perfect together. But I’d thought the same thing about my sister and her husband. They had faked their happiness so well the
dissolution
of their marriage had shaken me to the core. Was my best friend having marital problems and I’d missed it? I wasn’t sure Neely Kate could handle much more loss. “Are you and Ronnie havin’ problems?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She ran her hand over her head. “He’s trying so hard to be supportive.”

“How is that bad?”

“It’s not. I’m just tired of disappointing him.”

I gasped. “Disappointing him? Neely Kate, that man loves you more than life itself. You didn’t see him in the waiting room when you were in surgery and we weren’t even sure you were even gonna make it. He was devastated. Mason had to take him into the hallway to get him to calm down.”

“Because I lost our babies?”

“
No
. Because he couldn’t live without you. How is that disappointing him?”

“He wants babies, Rose.”

I grabbed her hand. “So you’ll get pregnant again and have more. I know it doesn’t replace the two babies you lost, but you can try again when you’re ready.”

She shook her head. “No. I can’t.”

I stiffened in surprise. “Why not?”

“The doctor said it was a miracle I got pregnant in the first place. He said I have endometriosis and my fallopian tubes are scarred. That’s why I had an ectopic pregnancy. Now one of my tubes is gone, and if I get pregnant again, there’s a good chance the same thing will happen with the other one.”

I stared at her in shock. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just found out yesterday at my doctor’s appointment. And I didn’t want to admit that I’m a failure.”

That explained why she looked so shaken when I saw her at the Bingo hall that evening. “
A failure?
How can you say that?”

“Ronnie wants kids. He’s told me that since we started dating. Now I can’t give them to him.”

“Neely Kate, I swear to you that Ronnie wants
you
. And you can still have kids.” She started to protest, but I kept going. “Maybe not the old-fashioned way, but you can try in vitro. Or you can adopt. There are lots of kids out there who need a home.”

“I don’t think I’m meant to have kids, Rose.” She didn’t look upset anymore, simply resigned. “Maybe there’s a reason God took those poor innocent babies away from me.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Now you’re talkin’ nonsense. Any baby would be lucky to have you as a mother, Neely Kate Colson.” I handed her coat to her. “Come on.”

“You tired of me now after all my whining?” she asked, but a tiny spark of mischief lit her eyes.

“I think I’ve had enough crazy nonsense today to last a lifetime. So don’t you be adding more to it.”

We headed for the back door. Muffy was asleep in her dog bed, so I left her at home, purposely leaving the alarm off.

Neely Kate was quiet on the drive back to town. I could tell she was tired, both physically and emotionally. I knew she needed a little time to wallow, as I’d need exactly the same thing if I were in her position.

I parked next to her car in front of the landscaping office and she turned to face me. “Rose, thanks for listening. And for not judging me.”

“What would I have judged you for?”

She gave me a sheepish grimace. “Drinkin’ all those beers at the pool hall this afternoon.”

I grinned. “Shoot, everyone deserves to drink a few beers every now and then. I had my turn when I got drunk at Skeeter’s pool hall last summer when I was trying to find out if he was Frank Mitchell’s bookie. Remember? Mason found me—after
you
sent him—and he threatened to have the pool hall closed, and then he threatened to have me arrested for a DUI if I tried to drive home.”

“What are you gonna do about Skeeter?”

It was hard to believe the man I’d met last July was now having me hunted down by one of his guys. Then again, maybe it wasn’t so hard to believe. “Hope he cools down sooner rather than later. Maybe Jed will call me soon.”

“Let me know if you hear anything—from Jed or Hattie.”

“I will.” As I watched her get into her car and drive away, I wondered what to do next, but my phone rang and I picked it up, nervous about who might be calling. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was Mason.

“Hey, sweetheart. How was your afternoon?”

“Good. You sound exhausted.”

“I am, but my day’s not done yet. Joe just called about a homicide south of town and I need to head over to the murder scene. I know you want to talk to me, but I’m not sure how long I’ll be. How about you hang out at Mom’s until I can get away?”

“They’re after
you
, Mason. Not me. I’d rather go home to Muffy. I left her all alone.”

“Then call Deputy Miller and tell him you’re going home so he can check up on you.”

I considered arguing with him, but then I thought of the notes and Merv roaming the streets of Henryetta in search of me. I had to admit, I’d feel better knowing Deputy Miller was there keeping an eye on things. “Be careful,” I said. “Okay?”

He chuckled. “I’m going to be surrounded by a bunch of sheriff’s deputies. I don’t think I can get much safer than that. I’ll be home as soon as I can. If I’m late, promise you’ll set the alarm.”

I made a face, but the alarm system was a better idea than ever right now, so I promised I’d do it and then hung up. I stared at the landscaping office, thinking about Merv hanging around earlier. Jed still hadn’t contacted me, but I decided I was sick of sitting around and waiting on other people. I was gonna take the bull by the horns and deal with this head on.

I called Skeeter and he answered on the third ring. “Where the hell are you?” he growled.

I didn’t waste any time letting loose. “Why did I see Merv hanging around outside my office on the town square? Someone recognized him, Skeeter!”

“
Who
recognized him?”

I wasn’t about to throw Carter Hale under the bus. “Never you mind. I dealt with it, so we’re good, but what on earth were you thinkin’? You’re smarter than that.”