Thirty-Six and a Half Motives: Rose Gardner Mystery #9 (Rose Gardner Mystery Series) (16 page)

I grimaced.

“He threatened to arrest me for tricking him, but someone told him he couldn’t keep me, so he let me go. The last thing he said was for me to tell you to go to Mason’s office and stay put.”

“We learned some things while you were gone.” I shared everything Maeve had told me. “Jed thinks we might be able to get a lead on Teagen or Marshal if we can figure out where they had that air intake system put in.”

“Ted’s Garage,” she said matter-of-factly. “They had a special on them a couple of months ago. They were screwed up and nonreturnable. Vern had a good deal on them. We need to go there and ask around.”

I gaped at her. “Are you sure you want to go?” I’d already mentioned the idea to Jed, but I hadn’t been prepared for Neely Kate to so readily accept the idea.

“Why? Because of Ronnie? Maybe we can get a lead on him so I can serve him the divorce papers.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I already told you I wanted a divorce.” She shook her head in dismissal. “So Hilary first, then Ted’s?”

I explained the stop we were planning to make at Skeeter’s accountant’s office.

Neely Kate nodded. “If we pick up food at Big Bill’s before we head to the garage, we might be able to butter the guys up,” she said.

“Good idea.”

“I hope you don’t expect me to pay for it,” Jed grumbled. “I ain’t feedin’ a bunch of turncoats.”

“I’ll pay for it,” Neely Kate said in a snit, but I seriously wondered if she had enough money to cover it.

“So what’s with the bag?” I finally asked.

She reached into the opening. “Bungee cords.” She set a package of six bright pink cords of various sizes on the seat between us. “Duct tape.”

“Nice print,” I said as she set the pink and white polka-dot tape on top of the cords.

“Some rope and some zip ties.” She lifted them out next—all of them pink.

I pointed to the pile and joked, “You have the tools for a kidnapping there.”

She lifted her chin and grinned. “Exactly.”

My eyes bugged open. “Just who are you plannin’ on kidnapping?”

“J.R. Simmons, of course.”

I
was too shocked
by Neely Kate’s pronouncement to give much thought to the fact that Jed had just pulled into Jonah’s church parking lot, but then he slammed the brakes so hard, Neely Kate’s kidnapping kit fell onto the floorboard.

“Jed!” she shouted.

He shoved the gearshift into park and then spun around so fast that surely he was going to need to see a chiropractor to have his spine realigned. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

She rolled her eyes as she grabbed the items off the floor and stuffed them back into her bag. “Come on, Jed. What’s our endgame here? What are we gonna do once we find him?”

“I’m sure as hell not wrapping him up in pink and white polka-dot duct tape!”

“Nobody asked you to. Rose and I will do it.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to be included in that part of her crazy scheme, but it didn’t seem like a good time to contradict her. Besides, I couldn’t help thinking she had a point. We needed an endgame plan, but we needed information first. “Before we can do any such thing, we have to get close to J.R. Simmons, and right now, he might as well be holed up in the North Pole, workin’ in Santa’s workshop. So let’s talk to Hilary to see if she knows anything about Roberta.”

“She might even know how to find the big guy himself,” Neely Kate said, grabbing both boxes of cupcakes—which had somehow survived the abrupt stop.

“Santa?” I asked hopefully.

“Yeah, right.”

I started to open the car door, but then stopped. “Jed, I think you should stay out here.”

“I already figured that part out. I doubt Teagen or Marshal are gonna be helpin’ at the food pantry. I plan to make a few calls while you’re inside.”

I climbed out and followed Neely Kate, who was already halfway up the steps to the front door.

“Neely Kate! Wait!”

She kept going until she reached the top step, then turned to stare down at me with a determined look in her eyes.

“Look,” I said as I climbed the last few steps. “You know her. We can’t just waltz in there and ask her anything we want. We have to warm her up.”

“Hello.” She lifted the small cupcake box. “That’s what this is for.”

“But shouldn’t we at least have some kind of plan?” I asked, starting to panic.

She pushed out an exasperated breath. “I let you take the lead when we questioned that kid at the Burger Shack last week. Trust me to do it this time.”

I studied her for a second. While she seemed to be pushing boundaries lately, she’d always had good instincts, and she’d done most of the interrogating up to this point.

“Of course I trust you. You haven’t led us astray yet.”

A warm smile lit up her face. “Thanks.” She handed me the smaller cupcake box and said, “Let’s do this.”

I sure hoped she didn’t expect me to be the one to butter up Hilary.

I opened the door for her and let her take the lead. She headed straight for Jonah’s office, moving with all the confidence of someone who’d been invited. His secretary and now girlfriend, Jessica, gave us a bright smile from behind her desk in the outer office. Jonah’s office was through a door to the left.

“Neely Kate! Rose! How wonderful for you to stop by. We haven’t seen you here in a few weeks.”

“We’ve been busy,” I said. I didn’t add that entrapping a criminal mastermind took more time than most people thought.

“Is Jonah here?” Neely Kate asked, leaning to the side, trying to get a view of the interior of his office.

Jessica flinched and her smile became forced. “Actually, he’s down at the food pantry.”

“I’d completely forgotten about the new food pantry,” Neely Kate said. “What a great idea. Have you had many volunteers?”

“A few . . .” The look on her face made it clear she wasn’t happy with the volunteers. “I’m worried the ones we have takin’ charge will scare everyone else away, but as Jonah says, everyone is welcome in the Lord’s house.”

That sounded like Hilary all right.

Neely Kate’s smile beamed sunshine. “Ain’t that the truth. And if anyone can lead them onto the straight and narrow, it’s Jonah.”

I knew that wasn’t just a platitude. Neely Kate and I both knew Jonah worked with ex-cons to help them turn their lives around. The fact that Jonah was a semi-popular televangelist led many people to discount him as a grandstander—his good looks and charm didn’t help. To my shame, I’d fallen into the judging camp before I took the time to really look and see his compassionate heart.

Neely Kate stepped closer, holding out the bigger cupcake box and opening the lid. “Would you like a cupcake? We wanted to bring a little treat to you and Jonah to show y’all how much we appreciate you and everything you do for the community.”

“Isn’t that so sweet of you?” Jessica asked as she grabbed a strawberry shortcake cupcake. “Thank you, Rose and Neely Kate.”

“You’re welcome,” Neely Kate said.

I was feeling guilty. I really did appreciate everything they did, so I hated lying about why we’d come here.

But Neely Kate had already moved to the door and waved to Jessica, “We’ll go find Jonah. Good to see you, Jessica.”

“You too,” she called after us. “Let’s do lunch soon.”

“We’d love to,” I said before we reached the hall.

When we were several feet from the doorway, I lowered my voice so Jessica couldn’t hear. “This doesn’t feel right, Neely Kate.”

“We might not have bought those cupcakes for them,” she whispered back, “but we
do
appreciate what they do, so there’s nothing wrong with offering them.”

She had a point, but it still felt wrong to be so devious in the Lord’s house.

Neely Kate continued down the hall, moving past the church hall and toward the kitchen.

We heard Hilary before we saw her. Her tone was sharp and bossy, and she was arguing with someone else whose voice I also recognized.

I groaned.

Neely Kate grinned ear to ear. She had obviously chosen to keep this piece of the puzzle a secret.

“A little advance notice would have been nice,” I grumbled as we came to a stop in the hallway outside the storeroom.

“Now what would be the fun in that?”

“Ladies,” Jonah said in exasperation. “Can’t we just compromise on this one? It seems logical to keep the canned goods sorted by food category—beans, soups, vegetables, and the like, instead of arranging them alphabetically.”

“I told you so,” Hilary said smugly.

“Maybe that’s how you do it in the big city of El Dorado,” Miss Mildred sneered, “But that’s not how we’ve been doing it around here. This ain’t my first food pantry, missy, so I know what I’m doin’. And shame on you, Reverend Jonah,” she added. “Siding with an outsider. She’s not even plannin’ on stayin’. She’s only dropped in to get her baby daddy to marry her. Then she’s gonna grab him by the collar and flit on out of here.”

It was like watching a duel between two supervillains, and I had no idea who to root for. While I would have loved to keep listening from afar, I felt the need to save Jonah from accidently instigating World War III.

I turned to Neely Kate and lifted my eyebrows, tilting my head toward the storage room. She rolled her eyes and let her shoulders sink, signaling that she’d wanted to stay there and listen, too.

Then she lifted her chin and stepped into the room. “Jonah! There you are. We heard you were hard at work, and look at this room. You sure are getting it organized.”

I followed behind and almost asked if she’d learned her version of “organized”
from
Hoarders
, but wisely kept my mouth shut. The large storage room—previously the choir robe room—was filled with floor-to-ceiling metal restaurant shelving, but food was scattered everywhere, making it look like a bomb had just exploded boxes and canned goods all over the place.

Jonah’s eyes filled with desperation. “Neely Kate! Rose! How wonderful of you two to stop by for a visit.” His head swiveled from Hilary to Miss Mildred and back. “How about we take a short break?”

“But we just got started,” Hilary said, planting her hands on her narrow hips. I had no idea how she’d ever push a baby through that tiny pelvis.

“I need to talk to Neely Kate about something important,” Jonah said, scrambling to climb over a huge pile of instant macaroni and cheese boxes and packages of ramen noodles. “This will only take a minute or two.”

“Leave it to Rose Gardner to go stirrin’ up trouble,” Miss Mildred grumbled.

“Something we actually agree on,” Hilary murmured.

“Hey, he needed to talk to Neely Kate,” I said as Jonah hurried past me. “I’m just following my friend around.”

The glare on Miss Mildred’s face assured me she wasn’t buying it.

I was only going to make things worse if I stayed, so I followed Neely Kate and Jonah twenty feet down the hall into the kitchen.

“I really could use a little something extra in this today,” he said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He took a sip, and his gaze wandered between the two of us. “Do you either of you have anything on you?”

“Like a flask?” I asked in disbelief.

Neely Kate reached into her purse, pulled out a mini bottle of Jack Daniels, and then handed it to him. “Here you go.”

My mouth dropped open as if it were on a hinge.

“Before you judge”—Jonah said, dumping the entire contents of the bottle into his coffee before burying the bottle under a stack of paper towels in the trash— “you spend an hour with the two of them. You’d either need a shot of whiskey or a Xanax.”

He had a point.

Neely Kate set the cupcake box on the counter and opened the lid. “Maybe this will help.”

“You’re just full of wonders today,” Jonah said, reaching for a chocolate cupcake. “I love Dena’s cupcakes.”

“Who doesn’t?” she asked.

Let’s hope they’ll work as well on Hilary.

“So what are you two doin’ here?” he asked, then turned to me. “I thought you’d be hiding, with J.R. Simmons on the loose.”

“Well, we could use a favor . . .” Neely Kate said.

His gaze shifted between the two of us. “I would think you’d need more than a favor with J.R. Simmons running loose. You need divine intervention.” He swung his attention to me. “I can’t believe Joe’s just lettin’ you
walk around
.”

I pushed out a sigh. “He’s not too happy, but I’m tired of sitting around, waiting for the officials to take care of business. So I’m”—I glanced at Neely Kate— “
we’re
trying to find out more information to bring him down for good.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” he asked, worry wrinkling his brow. “He’s capable of anything, and you two . . .”

“Are protected,” I said quietly.

His eyes rounded with understanding. “Skeeter.”

When I didn’t respond, he asked, “And Mason. . . ?”

Since that was a complicated answer, I gave the simplest one I had. “Mason isn’t an issue at the moment.”

His gaze softened. “Rose, I’m sorry.”

I shook my head vigorously, trying to settle my grief back into place. While Mason said he wanted to work things out, I knew it wouldn’t be that easy. But now was not the time to think about our relationship.

“It’s for the best this way.” I rolled my shoulders. I needed to focus. I could fall apart later. “We’re here because we need to talk to Hilary.”

“Ask and you shall receive,” a voice said from behind me.

I spun around to stare into the annoyed face of Hilary herself.

H
ow long had
Hilary been standing there? I went back over our conversation, looking for what she could have overheard.

But Neely Kate didn’t look fazed in the least. “Hilary, you’re gonna spoil our surprise. We brought you a peace offering, and we were just beggin’ Jonah to let us steal you for a few minutes so we could give it to you.”

She remained expressionless. “Well, isn’t
that
quite the surprise.”

Neely Kate picked up the small box and held it out to her. “We got you Dena’s cupcakes. We asked her for your favorite flavor.”

“Why would you do that?” she asked in a guarded tone, her hand resting on her small belly as if she were protecting her baby from us.

“Because you and I are more alike than you seem to think,” Neely Kate said. “And you’re alone in this town. We haven’t treated you very well, and I’d like to make it up to you.”

She cast a wary glance at us.

“She’s right,” I said, meaning every word. “We’ve all said some ugly things to one another, but I’d really like to put that behind us. If you’re stayin’ in Henryetta, we should all try to get along, if only for the poor baby’s sake. You don’t want all this animosity around him or her.”

“Havin’ a baby should be a joyous occasion,” Neely Kate said quietly. “It’s bad enough the way Joe is treatin’ you. You don’t need any more ugliness in your life.”

To my surprise, Hilary’s eyes filled with tears.

“How can I trust you?” she asked.

I took a step forward. “I mean every word.” I glanced back at Jonah and nodded to assure him I did. “I hate bein’ enemies with you. Maybe we can’t be friends, but all of this turmoil with Violet and my birthmother has made me realize the importance of family. Your baby needs Joe—and you do, too. Maybe we can help you make things right with him.”

“I still don’t understand why you would help me after everything you’ve said and done.” She sounded wary and I didn’t blame her. I’d certainly be suspicious if I were in her shoes.

Truth be told, she’d always been the instigator, but pointing that out now wouldn’t help with our quest.

“Why can’t we let bygones be bygones?” Neely Kate asked, holding her hands out at her sides.

“Even after you went around town telling everyone that I’m eighty-five years old, and only keep my youth by drinking the blood of baby raccoons?”

Neely Kate grimaced. “Well . . .”

“Or that I dance in the woods—”

Neely Kate shrugged. “There’s not a doggone thing wrong with dancing.”

“In Dark Hollow Grove. Naked and under a full moon?”

Neely Kate pointed her finger at Hilary. “I never said Dark Hollow Grove. People tend to make things up as the story goes along.” Then a guilty look spread across her face. “So I might have said a few things I regret . . . but maybe you have, too.”

Hilary didn’t answer, yet her anger seemed to have faded.

“Let’s just start simple. With cupcakes,” Neely Kate said, gesturing to the box. “Why don’t you sit down and take a rest, and maybe we can have a chat?”

Tears filled Hilary’s eyes, and when she blinked, two streams rolled down her cheeks.

Damn her. She was even a pretty crier.

Hilary glanced back at Jonah for confirmation, and I decided this bridge we were building was too important for us to blow it up. Especially when there was little chance of her knowing anything about Joe’s housekeeper. I just needed to tell Neely Kate.

I motioned to the table. “Why don’t you two have a seat, and I’ll take this other box to Miss Mildred to see if she wants one.”

Neely Kate gave me an odd look, but I picked up the box and slipped out into the hall.

I pulled out my phone and quickly sent Neely Kate a text:
We need to think long term here and not blow it with H. If the opportunity comes up to bring up Roberta, do it. Otherwise, let it be. I meant what I said about getting along.

She texted back moments later.
Got it.

Was that just an acknowledgment, or did she agree?

“What in the Sam Hill is takin’ so long?” Miss Mildred grumped behind me.

I stuffed my phone into my pocket and turned to face my perpetually grumpy ex-neighbor. “Hilary is takin’ a break. We figured she might need one with the baby and all. But I was just heading back here to find you.”

“Back in my day, you kept on workin’ until it was time to have the kid. Then you got yourself to the hospital where they knocked you out, and when you woke up, you had a kid.”

I wasn’t sure what any of that had to do with Hilary and her break, but I just nodded and opened the lid of the box.

“Would you like a cupcake?” I asked.

She leaned forward and peered into the box. “Those don’t look like Ima Jean’s cupcakes.”

“That’s because they’re Dena’s.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t eat her cupcakes.”

“Why not?” I asked. “They taste a whole lot better than Ima Jean’s.”

She pointed her bony finger at me. “And that’s precisely why. Too much of a good thing is bad.”

“Okay . . .” I had to wonder if Miss Mildred was turning senile. In what world were good cupcakes a
bad
thing?

I closed the lid. “Miss Mildred, have you talked to Violet lately?”

“Of course. I saw her the day before last.”

“Did she tell you that she’s gonna be gone for a while?”

“Of course. Something about a gardening class in Texas. A month or so. Who would have thought up such a thing? I offered to teach her everything I know, but she refused to take any more of my help.”

I gave her a weak smile. Miss Mildred had always loved my sister.

“Well, you know Violet.”

She nodded, and then her eyes turned glassy. “You tell your sister not to worry about the house. I’ll be watching. She needs to devote all her energy to her . . . class.”

My eyes widened.

“She’s been looking under the weather lately. I hope that Texas sunshine helps her while she’s down there.”

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. She knew.

“I hope it does, too,” I choked out.

Then to my surprise, Miss Mildred put her hand on mine and patted it. “Violet comes from good stock. Both of you girls do. You’re fighters. You can overcome anything. Even a cantankerous old woman.”

Then, before I could say anything, she pushed past me and continued down the hall. “Jonah! If that new woman is takin’ a break, then you and I can discuss the offering plates,” she shouted into the empty hallway, although we both knew he likely heard her.

I was fairly certain that the figure I’d seen darting out of sight at the end of the hallway was him.

“I do not approve of passing around wicker baskets like we’re some poor church. I know darn good and well you have some perfectly usable silver-plated ones in the closet,” Miss Mildred continued.

Her voice faded as I started to slip back into the kitchen, surprised to find Neely Kate and Hilary deep in conversation. They were sitting at the table, and of both of them had cupcakes and bottles of water in front of them. I decided to stay put in the hall, peering around the corner. Hilary was more likely to spill things to Neely Kate if I wasn’t around.

“Dena’s Bakery is better than Ima Jean’s ever was,” Neely Kate said.“Dena is the first person brave enough to take Ima Jean on.”

“I made the mistake of eating a brownie from Ima Jean’s once,” Hilary said, looking embarrassed. “My pregnancy hormones didn’t give me constipation problems for
days
. I think I lost a pound or two.” Hilary cringed. “Oh, Neely Kate. I’m sorry. That was so insensitive of me. How are you doing?” She lowered her voice. “
Really.
”

Neely Kate looked confused by the sincerity in Hilary’s voice. “I have my good days and my bad.”

“Honestly, it’s a wonder you’re even here talking to me,” Hilary said softly. “I’m ashamed to say I’m not sure I’d be talking to you if our roles were reversed. This baby means everything to me. I don’t think I could go on without him.”

Her voice broke, and Neely Kate hesitated before patting her hand.

“You’d find a way,” she said to Hilary. “It’s still hard. I think about them all the time. They were so small. Most people wouldn’t think of them as real babies, but they sure as shoot were real to me.”

Hilary looked into her eyes. “I understand. And I am so sorry you lost them. You would have made a wonderful mother.” She paused and looked down at her cupcake, then pinched off a tiny piece and lifted it to her lips. “Maybe it would hurt more than help, but once little Joe is born, you’re welcome to come hold him anytime you want.” Hilary paused. “But no pressure, okay? You just do what feels best for you.”

Neely Kate stared at her in apparent shock.

“I know you’re best friends with Rose, and Rose and I haven’t been on good terms, but I really like you, Neely Kate. So I’m going to work extra hard to get along with Rose.”

“Why?”

“Because she seems to want to mend bridges, too. And, well . . . it’s silly, really.” Hilary pinched off another piece of cupcake. “Me being jealous of Rose when she’s clearly so in love with Mason.”

“Rose and Mason broke up,” Neely Kate said with a little more bite than was fitting for the
be nice
approach.

Hilary nodded. “I heard.”

“But you just said—”

“Even so, it’s obvious she only has eyes for Mason. I was insecure before, but Violet helped me realize I had nothing to worry about. And I want to live here in Henryetta. We might not be together right now, but I want my baby to be close to Joe. Violet helped me realize I need to make more of an effort to fit in.”

“That Violet’s been a busy girl.”

“In any case, since you and Rose seem so genuine, I want to extend the olive branch. One day maybe we can even be friends.”

“Well,” Neely Kate drawled. “I guess we’ll just have to work on it. But it’s hard to imagine that someone like you would want to have anything to do with me. I spent the first twelve years of my life livin’ in a trailer while you were probably livin’ in a mansion with servants. You’d be slummin’ to associate with me.” Surprisingly, her tone was non-confrontational.

Hilary looked down at her barely eaten cupcake, then up at Neely Kate. “I can see how you might think that, but before Rose took those cupcakes to Miss Mildred, you said you thought we were more alike than I might realize. I think you were right. I really want to try to be your friend.”

“Forgive me, Hilary, but after the way you’ve treated Rose and me, that’s hard to believe.”

“I know I’ve been more than intolerable. As I said, jealousy and insecurity got the better of me. I’m not proud of it, but there it is.” She shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable. “I’m willing to make an effort if you are.”

Neely Kate pursed her lips. “Joe’s mother called Rose Fenton County white trash. You don’t think the same?”

Hilary’s cheeks turned a soft pink that made her glow. “I admit that I came to Henryetta with a few preconceived ideas. But those ideas were wrong.”

“How can someone with so much money relate to someone like me? You had everything you ever wanted. You were raised in paradise.”

“Paradise . . .” Hilary gave her a sad smile. “My life hasn’t been as wonderful as you think. Just because a person has lots of money doesn’t mean they have lots of love.”

I had to hand it to Neely Kate. She had just steered the conversation exactly where we needed it to go. But, hearing the pain in Hilary’s voice, it felt wrong. Then I reminded myself that Bruce Wayne and Anna’s lives might depend on what she knew.

“And I had neither,” Neely Kate said in a guarded voice. “I’ve spent my whole life scraping by for everything—food, clothes, my mother’s attention. What I got instead was a little more attention from her boyfriends than I ever wanted, if you know what I mean.”

Hilary’s eyes flooded with tears. “I do.”

Neely Kate’s back stiffened. “You . . .”

Hilary grabbed a tissue from her purse. “See? We really are more alike than either of us thought. We had money, but my house was cold and sterile. Love was just another commodity to be bought and sold. My parents had my life’s purpose planned out before I was even born. I’ve been groomed to become Joe’s wife for as long as I can remember.”

“You’re kidding me,” Neely Kate gasped.

“I wish I were.” She gave her a weak smile. “I know it’s hard to imagine an arranged marriage in the twenty-first century—in the United States anyway—and I actually agreed to it.” She released a tinkling laugh. “But it was what my parents wanted. It was all I knew. Joe was clueless to the whole thing until we were in high school. By then, he was busy sowing his wild oats. He said he wanted to get it out of his system before we got married.”

“And you still agreed to it?”

She shrugged. “It was all I knew. My father cheated on my mother.” A dark cloud crossed her features. “Joe’s father cheated on
his
mother.” She glanced down at the table, brushing a few crumbs toward the cupcake wrapper. “And maybe you find it hard to believe, but I loved him.”

She glanced at Neely Kate with a new earnestness in her eyes. “I truly loved him. He’s the only man I’ve ever loved . . . even if he’s not the only man I’ve ever slept with.” She gave a sly smile. “What’s good for the gander is good for the goose.”

Neely Kate grinned. “Good for you. But what about now? Do you still love him?”

Hilary didn’t answer for a few seconds, gazing at a spot on the wall several feet away. “Would you think I was crazy if I said yes? But not like before, not the starry-eyed love of youth.”

“What if Joe never decides to come back to you?” Neely Kate asked.

“I have to believe that he will. Maybe he’ll change his mind once the baby comes.”

“Maybe . . .” Neely Kate said, but she didn’t sound convinced. “We both grew up in dysfunctional families, but I have to think it was easier with money. I hated goin’ to school in hand-me-downs. I bet you had all kinds of pretty dresses.”

Hilary lifted an eyebrow and nodded. “I did, but I was only allowed to wear them once before they went to the thrift store. I could re-wear my private school uniform, but anything for a party or a public appearance was disposable. God forbid we create the impression we couldn’t afford to buy something new.”