Thirty-Six and a Half Motives: Rose Gardner Mystery #9 (Rose Gardner Mystery Series) (19 page)

I drummed my fingers on the table, pushing out a sigh. “You see, Mr. Mo. I don’t believe you.” I shrugged. “But then, maybe you don’t know. It’s pretty obvious you don’t have the wits to be a card counter. Maybe you simply can’t count that high.”

“The only thing keepin’ me from rippin’ your head off right now is Skeeter Malcolm,” Big Mo spat out, spittle landing on the table.

I gave him a bored stare. “Frankly, I don’t care about your impulse control issues, Mr. Mo. What I want is information about Teagen and Marshal. Now, John Paul was helpful enough to let me know Teagen attended your poker games, and I’ll be sure to tell Skeeter how cooperative he was.” I pursed my lips and gave a slight shake of my head. “So far
you two
aren’t getting a favorable report. Now you boys have three seconds to start talking, or I’m going to call Skeeter and inform him that you aren’t ready to be brought into the fold. The count starts now. One.”

Both men shot daggers of hate at me. I was sure the fact that a woman had so much power over them was getting their goat.

“Two.”

John Paul looked like he was about to throw up, and Big Mo looked like he was close to having a stroke.

“Three.” Disappointment rose through me as I picked up my phone and stood. Neely Kate got to her feet as well. “Gentleman, I wish you the best of luck,” I said.“You’re gonna need it.”

Movement caught my eye as I turned to leave. Neely Kate whipped out her gun and trained it on Big Mo, who had pulled out a large pocketknife.

“Mr. Mo,” I said, sounding like a disapproving schoolteacher. “That is disappointing. I suggest you sit yourself in that chair and place your knife on the table before somebody gets hurt.”

“I don’t have to do a damn thing you say, you bitch,” Tiny said. “If you were
her—
hell, if you were anywhere close to being in Skeeter Malcolm’s back pocket—Carlisle would be on us like white on rice.”

The back door slammed open, and Jed appeared in the opening with a gun in his hand and an expression on his face that made it clear that two of the men in the room were in deep shit. “Do as she says.”

The men’s eyes widened as they turned to face their newest threat.

Tiny lifted his hands. “I didn’t threaten her.”

“
Sit your asses in those chairs,
” Jed snarled.

Tiny sat down so fast he almost fell off the edge of his chair, but Big Mo stood his ground, the knife still in his hand, blade extended.

Jed shook his head in disgust and shoved the table against the wall.

“While Rose likes to take a genteel approach, you’ll find me much more direct.” He lowered the tip of his gun. “This is your last warning, Tompkins, or you’re losin’ a knee cap.”

Cursing, Big Mo tossed the knife onto the floor and sat down.

Jed shut the door he’d burst through and bent down to pick up Big Mo’s knife. He tucked the blade away with one hand, keeping his gun trained on the men as he moved closer to them. He motioned for John Paul to move his chair next to Big Mo’s so they were all facing him in a rough line.

Neely Kate walked around them before coming to a stop next to Jed, her gun still in her hand. I joined them, and Jed handed me the knife, giving them a disappointing stare all the while.

“Skeeter’s not going to be happy to hear about this,” Jed said.

“We didn’t know she was the Lady in Black,” Tiny said. “Otherwise, we would have been more respectful.”

“Yeah, see . . .” Jed drawled, “I’m not buying that. And neither will Skeeter.”

Fear filled Tiny’s eyes, but Big Mo still looked furious.

“Now we’re gonna try this again,” Jed said, cocking his head to the side. “Rose is gonna ask you questions, and the level of your cooperation will help when you plead your case with Skeeter.”

“I’ll help,” Tiny burst out. “Teagen came to four poker games. He was the one who recruited us to work with Gentry.”

That surprised me, but Jed and Neely Kate remained expressionless.

“What did he say to convince you?” I asked.

“He said Gentry may have lost the auction, but he had backing from some big wigs. He refused to tell us who—he only said to think bigger than big. But Teagen didn’t work for Gentry. He said he worked for the woman who had the big wig’s ear.”

“What did he want you to do?”

He cast a glance at Jed before returning his attention to me. “Support Gentry.”

“What exactly did that entail?”

“Gentry planned to have some kind of turf war, but Teagen admitted that was just smoke and mirrors. The big guy and the woman were after four people,” he said, casting a glance in my direction. “Well, I guess it turns out maybe it was really three.”

“So I’m guessing me and the Lady in Black count as two of them?” I asked.

“Shut up, you idiot,” Big Mo spat out in disgust. “You’re as good as dead if you tell her.”

I held Tiny’s gaze. “I give you my word that Skeeter won’t kill you. No matter what you have to tell me.”

“He might not kill us, but he can still make us suffer.”

“Then I promise that your punishment will be humane. Your fate depends on the level of your cooperation, as well as how repentant you truly are.”

I cast a side-glance at Jed, and he gave a slight nod.

“You can trust her word,” Jed said, although he didn’t look too happy about it. “She has Malcolm’s ear. He trusts her judgment.”

Tiny hesitated before he said, “The other two on the list were Mason Deveraux and Malcolm himself, although Teagen set it up to make it look like Malcolm tortured Scott Humphrey and Marcus Tilton.”

While we’d already figured that out, it was good to have confirmation, especially of Teagen’s direct involvement. “What do you know about the attempts on my life and Mason Deveraux’s?” I asked. “And don’t tell me you don’t know anything.”

He squirmed in his seat.

“I’ll work on getting you nearly full amnesty if you tell me everything you know.”

“Rose,” Jed snarled. Leaning into my ear, he growled, “What are you
doin’
? I suspect these two pieces of trash helped try to kill you.”

Putting my mouth to Jed’s ear, I whispered back, “I don’t want to turn myself in to J.R. tonight, so we’re running out of time to get a lead on Teagen. We need to find out as much as we can as soon as possible. Now you just told them Skeeter trusts my judgment. You need to do the same.”

He grunted, clenching his jaw. “Fine.”

I turned back around to face the two men. Big Mo looked no less angry than he had a few minutes ago, and a new wariness filled Tiny’s eyes.

“Go on, Tiny,” I said. “You were just about to tell me what you knew about the attempts on my life and Mason Deveraux’s.”

He shrugged and looked away. “I don’t recall.”

“You’ve tried to kill so many people they’ve all just blended together?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

But he gave me a smart-ass grin.

He’d just made his own bed with Skeeter, but that didn’t help me now. John Paul squirmed in his seat, making him look like a kindergartner trying to keep a secret.

I turned my attention to him.“Tell me what you know, John Paul.”

“
Me?
”

“Who’s working with Teagen?”

His eyes widened, and his gaze flickered to Neely Kate before returning to me.

“Ronnie’s workin’ with him, right?” I asked. “And Tiny and Big Mo. Who else?”

He swallowed, then said, “Al Moberly. He and Ronnie are with Teagen now.”

“And Eric Davidson worked with him, too, correct?” I asked.

He nodded, his eyes wide. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Teagen hired Eric to run Mason off the road. But Eric doesn’t work at Ted’s. How’d he get hooked up with Teagen?”

He paused for a moment, shooting a sidelong glance at his two coworkers.

Jed’s body tensed. “Your buddies aren’t gonna help you, kid. Your best bet is to answer the lady.”

John Paul nodded, then looked down at his lap. “Eric was recruited after meeting Teagen at a poker game in early December. Eric told me all about it. He was still smartin’ after losin’ all that money at the auction, and ’cause Gentry had promised him all kinds of things. But even though Gentry was lookin’ to strike back at Malcolm, Eric didn’t have the stomach to go through another potential loss.”

“Until he met Teagen,” I prodded. “What did he tell Eric to make him change his mind?”

John Paul looked up at me. “He promised him money and power. He told Eric that his big wig lady boss was stringin’ Mick Gentry along, but if Eric just did a simple job, he’d be part of the inner circle when it was all said and done.”

I stared him in the eye, and he dropped his gaze.

“And that simple job was runnin’ Mason off the road?” I asked.

He was shaking when he lifted his eyes to meet mine. “Eric knew I wanted an in with the poker games. He told me that if I got in tight with Teagen, I could earn the guy’s respect. That’s what he was doin’. Only he was pretty upset about his assignment. He didn’t want no part of killin’ the assistant district attorney.”

“But Eric decided to go through with it anyway?” It seemed so hard to believe. The man I’d met hadn’t seemed like a cold-blooded killer.

“Yeah, but he couldn’t do it in the end. He was supposed to run Deveraux off the road, steal his phone, and make sure he was dead, but Eric told me he couldn’t go through with it when it came time to pull the trigger. So he ran instead.”

“Then Teagen killed him,” I said. “So he wouldn’t tell anyone.”

John Paul nodded. “As a lesson to anyone else who was thinkin’ about not following orders.”

“If I can guarantee that you won’t be charged with anything, will you give your testimony to Mr. Deveraux in exchange for protection?”

Jed’s angry eyes whipped toward me, but I ignored him.

“I don’t know,” John Paul stammered.

“We’re gonna take care of this one way or the other, but I suspect this isn’t the life you want. You don’t look very happy workin’ with these two. Shoot, they won’t even let you come to their poker games. You can either turn to Skeeter for protection, or I can arrange for you to talk to the D.A. One way or the other, we’ll get you out of this mess.”

“Rose,” Jed said in a low voice, “think about what you’re doin’.”

Sure, I was working outside the law right now, but that didn’t mean I planned to totally disregard it. I respected Mason too much for that. Plus, I still wanted to believe in it.

“How about we see how this plays out?” I suggested. “In the meantime, Jed, what can we do to make sure John Paul stays safe?”

“We can put him under our protection.” He turned to the frightened man. “We can take you someplace safe, or you can stay here. Your choice.”

John Paul swallowed. “Mr. Malcolm’s not gonna squash me?”

“Now why would he do that?” I asked.

He looked me straight in the eye. “Because I was the one who ran
you
off the road.”

J
ed started
to lunge for John Paul, but I put a hand on his arm, holding him back.

Big Mo and Tiny looked disappointed. I suspected they’d hoped to use the distraction to get away.

“You’re the one who ran me off the road back in January, when I was in Mason’s car? Driving out to the farm?”

He nodded, casting a fearful glance at Jed.

“And the notes on the windshield?”

He looked over at me, guilt in his eyes. “Teagen gave ’em to me to put there.”

“Who’s Teagen work for?”

“We didn’t know, but now we’re guessing it’s J.R. Simmons.”

“And the woman?”

“No idea. Never seen her, and Teagen doesn’t say anything about her other than to call her the boss lady.”

I racked my brain trying to come up with more questions, but Neely Kate beat me to it. “So if you were following Rose around, leavin’ notes on her car and runnin’ her off the road, why’d you stop?”

His bony shoulders lifted to his ears. “I was just doin’ what I was told when I was told.”

“Did you ever snoop around at her farm?” Neely Kate asked.

“No, ma’am.”

Neely Kate gave me an exasperated look.

Jed slightly lifted the gun in his hand. “So who’s Marshal?”

“Dunno. Never met him.”

“But you’ve heard of him?”

He nodded.

“So what have you heard?” Jed asked.

John Paul swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “I think he’s from someplace else because he just showed up last week.”

I cast a glance toward Jed. Was Marshal one of J.R.’s men? Maybe one of his Twelve? I quickly cast the second thought aside. I’d seen him in action. He wasn’t smart enough to be one of J.R.’s twelve most important men in the state.

Jed turned his attention to the other two men. “Do you two know anything about Marshal?”

“Screw you, Carlisle,” Tiny sneered.

“I think I’ll take a pass,” Jed said with a grin, then turned to face Big Mo. “Tompkins. Last chance to cooperate.”

He leaned back in his chair and stuck out his legs, crossing them at the ankles.

While we had confirmation of things we’d long suspected, we didn’t have any new leads to help us find Teagen or J.R.

I turned back to John Paul. “When Teagen gave you orders, how did you communicate?”

“He called me.”

“So you have his number?”

“No.” He shook his head. “His number is always blocked.”

“Do you have any idea where he’s hiding out? Gentry was in Columbia County. Is he up there?”

“I’m guessing he’s here in Fenton County, maybe down south. Teagen and Gentry didn’t get along, so I doubt they’d be anywhere close to each other. I think Gentry got his orders from Simmons, but Teagen got his from the boss lady.”

“When was the last time Teagen called you?” Jed asked.

“Yesterday.”

Big Mo kicked John Paul’s chair leg. “Shut up, runt.”

Jed’s face hardened and he moved closer, pressing the tip of his gun to Big Mo’s forehead. “Got anything else to say, Tompkins? Because the gentleman and I are having a conversation.”

Big Mo had just enough sense to stay silent, but he looked downright pissed.

Jed took a step back, but he kept the gun trained at Big Mo’s chest as he once again addressed John Paul. “What did Teagen say when he called you?”

“That things were about to start happening,” John Paul said.

“What things?” Jed asked.

“The end of Malcolm’s reign.”

“Did he ask you to do anything?”

John Paul looked sheepish but didn’t answer.

“John Paul,” I said. “Which bomb did you set off last night to create a diversion for J.R. Simmons’s escape?”

His eyes widened. “How—”

I rolled my eyes. “Please. Don’t insult me. Which one?”

He lowered his gaze. “The one at the ice cream shop.”

“Did you make it yourself?” Jed asked.

“No, Teagen had ’em already made. We just had to pick them up.”

“We? Who is we?” I asked.

“Me and them two.” He motioned to Tiny and Big Mo.

The two men’s faces turned red with anger.

“How’d you get the bombs?” Jed asked.

“He told us where to pick ’em up. He didn’t meet us. They were behind a Dumpster on the Moore For Less used car lot.”

If Teagen had used these men last night, there was a chance he’d call them again. I held out my hand. “I’m gonna need your phones, boys.”

Big Mo snorted. “There ain’t no way I’m gonna—”

Jed shoved the gun in Big Mo’s face, but Big Mo was prepared. He lifted his hand to swat it away—a risky move, in my opinion—but Jed was prepared. He grabbed the back of Big Mo’s head and slammed it down against his own upright knee.

Jed let go and stepped back while Big Mo wavered in his seat, blood gushing from his now busted nose.

“Let’s make this perfectly clear,” Jed growled, his eyes hard with anger. “You are only still alive due to Rose’s interference on your behalf. One more attempt to disobey will be met with the gift of a few bullets. Got it?”

John Paul and Tiny nodded, murmuring, “Got it,” but Big Mo looked too dazed to respond.

“Now, Rose asked for your phones, so I suggest you get them out—slowly—or I won’t have any qualms with pulling them off your dead bodies.”

John Paul handed over his phone with shaky fingers, but Tiny took his time, looking like he was hoping for an opportunity to get his revenge. At Jed’s demand, John Paul retrieved Big Mo’s phone from his pocket. As he handed it over, I had to wonder what Jed had planned. We couldn’t just leave them here. They could—and would—warn Teagen.

Jed pulled his own phone out and pressed a button, then held it up to his ear. “Yeah, we’re ready.”

Seconds later, the back door opened and two beefy men brandishing guns came through the opening. I didn’t recognize either of them.

Jed gave a slight nod of acknowledgment. “I’ll let you boys take it from here.”

He motioned for us to go out the back door, but Neely Kate ignored him and bustled up to Tiny.

“Where’s my husband?”

“Damned if I know,” he grunted.

A fire lit up my best friend’s eyes, and she grabbed his earlobe and twisted. “Try again.”

“I really don’t know, Neely Kate. Stop!”

“Take a guess.”

“He’s with Teagen.”

“I already figured that part out. Why’s Ronnie with him and not with you imbeciles?”

“Teagen took a special shine to him.”

“Why?”

Tiny cast a glance in my direction.

Neely Kate twisted harder.

“Oww!”

“Because of her?” Neely Kate asked. “He wanted to use my friendship with Rose to get closer to her?”

“I don’t know! I guess!”

Neely Kate gave another tug before dropping her hold. “You come near my friend and I’ll kill you myself, got it?”

“Yeah,” he muttered rubbing his ear. “I got it.”

Neely Kate stomped toward the back door, and I followed, my head reeling. I
knew
Ronnie. Mason and I had gone out with him and Neely Kate multiple times. I’d seen the terror in his eyes in the hospital waiting room while we waited to hear the news about his babies and his wife. I had a hard time seeing our
friend
choosing to plot against us.

“There has to be some explanation,” I said, hurrying to catch up to her as she walked around the side of the building, heading for the parking lot in the front. “Neely Kate!”

But she didn’t stop until she opened the back door of Jed’s car and slid onto the seat. I slid in beside her, and Jed got into the driver’s seat and started the car.

Silence hung between us for several moments, and I was the one to break it. “Neely Kate,” I said. “You know Ronnie—”

She glared at me. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” I’d give her a little bit to cool down. I could only imagine how I’d feel if Mason had taken off with some guy who was out to kill
her
. I turned to Jed. “Thanks for coming inside when you did.”

He grimaced. “Skeeter would probably be pissed that I didn’t get in there sooner.”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” I held out all the cell phones I’d gathered. “Where do we want to keep these?”

Jed took them and set them on the passenger seat. “This seems good for now. We’ll babysit them until one of them rings. Good call on grabbing them.”

“If Teagen’s got those guys doin’ his dirty work, it makes sense he’ll call them again.”

“It seems more likely that Simmons and the boss lady will want Teagen to be at the barn, where they asked you to meet them. It would make sense they’d want a whole lot of fire power—Teagen and a whole lot of other men.” I gave him a questioning look, and he added, “He knows that if you’re comin’, you won’t be alone. Simmons is counting on it.”

“So other than wait for one or all of those phones to ring, what do we do now?” I asked. “Seems like we’ve hit a dead end.”

“Not necessarily,” Neely Kate said, holding up her hand. “My friend texted while we were inside. I know who owned the antique store building twenty-five years ago.”

“Who?”

“The same couple who owns it now. Timothy and Sharon Pelgers.”

“That makes sense,” I said. “They seem as old as time, and that store’s been there as long as I remember.”

“So we go ask them questions,” Neely Kate said. “I think we need to split up.”

“What are you talkin’ about?” I asked. “You’re not thinking about going after Ronnie on your own, are you?”

“What if they’re tailing me, trying to get to you? That rat bastard Teagen targeted my husband because I’m friends with you. That’s why Ronnie kept telling me to stay away from you. He was trying to protect both of us.”

More like protecting his wife . . . not that I could blame him. I suspected Ronnie had gotten caught up in something he wanted no part of—only, he’d gotten himself good and stuck. He’d done the only thing he knew to protect Neely Kate—try to keep her away from me. But he had to have known all along that his headstrong wife wasn’t the type to follow orders.

What a mess.

I turned to study my best friend. Neely Kate loved her husband, no matter what she claimed. Why had she been so quick to file for divorce? I couldn’t help wondering if she was hiding something. But why? Surely she would tell us everything she knew to help get us out of this predicament. But what if she was trying to save Ronnie, too?

“Neely Kate,” I said softly, “I need to ask you some questions about Ronnie.”

Her angry gaze lifted to mine. “I told you I don’t want to talk about it.”

I couldn’t outright accuse her of hiding anything from me. That would tick her off. But there had to be a way around it. “Neely Kate, you know we need any information we can get. If Ronnie’s with Teagen, then maybe we should all go lookin’ for
him
.”

I gasped. I suddenly realized why she’d filed for divorce so hastily.

“You knew,” I said, making sure to keep any accusation out of my voice. “You knew Ronnie was with Teagen.”

Jed stiffened in the seat in front of us.

“That’s why you filed for divorce,” I continued. “You knew Carter would have to find him to have him served, and the person servin’ him would know his location. Then we’d be able to find Teagen.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I didn’t know it was Teagen. I swear. But I figured Ronnie was with the guys servin’ J.R. Simmons, and if I found him, then I’d find them, too.”

“Neely Kate,” I sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“And admit to suspectin’ my husband is out to kill my best friend? Besides, that alone seems divorce-worthy to me.”

“I personally have my doubts that your husband is out to kill me.”

“The proof is in the pudding, Rose.”

“I think he’s being coerced.” But Carter needed to know the real reason why Neely Kate had filed in such a hurry. It no longer seemed like such a great plan for his slowest man to be on the job.

She shook her head and looked away. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

We were silent for a moment, and then I said, “I think we should stick together for now, and since we have no other leads to follow, we need to find the Pelgers and have a chat.”

“My friend sent me their address,” Neely Kate said. “It’s only a couple of blocks from their store. So we have a starting place to look for them.”

“Jed,” I sighed. “Those sleaze balls think I’m Lady. How long do you think that secret will be kept under wraps?”

His gaze held mine. “We can make sure it stays a secret.”

“And kill those men to do it? No,” I said, although I had to wonder how much longer Tiny and Big Mo had left on this earth considering their crappy attitudes and their association with Sam Teagen. “So I said I was working on Skeeter’s behalf, so what?”

“It could mean trouble for your boyfriend. It could ruin his integrity.”

“I think Mason would prefer for the truth to come out than to always be lookin’ over his shoulder, waiting for it to catch up to him. Even if it means losing me in the process.” But I couldn’t help thinking I should warn Mason.

I gave Jed a weak smile. “If it gets out more widely, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure people know he had nothing to do with it.”

“I’ll pay a visit to the Pelgers.” Jed announced, his tone suggesting it wasn’t up for debate. “I’m dropping you two off at the pool hall. All three of us ganging up on them might make them less chatty. Beside, Skeeter thinks you two should lie low for a bit and come up with a plan for where to go from here.” Jed glanced over his shoulder. “Neely Kate? You good with that?”

“Yeah,” she said, sounding distracted as she watched the passing landscape. I could tell she was tangled up with her own demons.

That was the thing about demons. They never wanted to let you go.