Thirty-Six and a Half Motives: Rose Gardner Mystery #9 (Rose Gardner Mystery Series) (33 page)

As if by some cosmic joke, the door opened to reveal J.R., a wicked gleam in his eyes. A light behind him produced a glow that made him look like an angel.

The angel of death.

I gave one last tug on Mason’s tape, then stood and faced the monster.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise? Mr. Deveraux. I planned on inviting you to my own meeting, but I had no idea you were invited to this one.”

“I’m just the life of the party,” Mason said dryly.

One side of J.R.’s mouth quirked up. “Not for long.”

I moved to shield Mason’s body, hopefully hiding the fact that his right hand was now free. “He’s not part of this.”

“As Kate so eloquently said about Neely Kate, Mason Deveraux is very much a part of it. But I’ll deal with
you
first.”

I put my hand in my coat pocket, intending to pull out my gun, but it caught on the edge of the seam. J.R. grabbed my left arm and dragged me out of the closet before I could pull it free. He spun me around and I stumbled, my right hand reaching for something to brace myself against my impending fall. But he held me upright and slapped me, and his left palm connecting with my cheek with more force than I could have expected. My body slumped as bright white lights filled my vision.

“Rose!” Mason shouted behind me. “Leave her alone, Simmons! I was the one who filed charges against you. I was the one who came up with a plan to put you away forever. If you want to punish someone, punish me.”

“Not to worry,” J.R. said good-naturedly. “You’re next.” Then he slapped me again.

I fell to the floor this time, my ears ringing. The shouting and noise on the other side of the door dimmed. Even Mason’s shouting faded as J.R. hit me several more times, using his fists this time. An inky blackness hung at the end of my vision, and I knew I was about to pass out, which would mean certain death. And then he would win.

Again.

But I refused. I refused to let him hurt the people I loved. I refused to let him hurt anyone else. Ever. I never questioned if I would live. My only goal was to get the gun out of my pocket and stop him. To end this.

Only I couldn’t even reach my pocket, let alone get out the gun. He was holding my right arm, using it to keep me in place as he hit me with his right fist. Then he laughed and released his hold as I fell to the floor, face-first.

I wasn’t prepared for the first kick to my ribs. Nor even the second. I started to crawl toward the door, all my thoughts bent on escape.

A loud noise shook the building, and pieces of the ceiling rained down upon us. But if J.R. was worried, he didn’t let it show. He acted as though he had all the time in the world. Grabbing me by the arm again, he hauled me to my feet, even though my rubbery legs refused to hold me up.

Fight
, something deep within me screamed.
Fight
.

I clung to it.

He released my arm and grabbed my hair to hold me in place, leaning his face so close to mine I worried he was going to kiss me. Instead, he laughed. “Not so pretty now. And not so tough. You’re all talk, Rose Gardner, but don’t feel too badly. Most people are.”

My anger exploded.

I spat blood and saliva in his face, and then I grabbed his arm holding my hair as I kneed him in the thigh where I’d shot him the week before.

He shouted and released me, stumbling backward and landing on the floor in front of the office door. He clutched his leg, cursing.

With my escape blocked, I tried to reach for the gun, but my hand was too shaky to get the gun out of my pocket. I scrambled into the closet, praying that Mason was close to getting himself loose from the chair and could help.

Horror filled his eyes when he saw me. I could only imagine what I looked like.

“Oh, my God.
Rose.
”

I shook my head, which felt like it had been driven through with a spike. My intention was to help him get his legs free now that both his hands were unbound, but nausea washed over me and I threw up.

“Rose!” Mason shouted in warning, so I wasn’t surprised when J.R. grabbed the back of my coat and started to pull me backward. My shirt slid up as I scooted across the floor.

Smoke filled my nose, and I looked back to see white wisps of smoke floating in under the door. If J.R. didn’t kill me, the fire would.

I made a last-ditch effort to get my hand into my pocket. I made it this time, but getting the gun out took more coordination than I currently possessed.

J.R. rolled me over onto my back, pure happiness shining in his eyes. “I knew you’d be a fighter.”

I heard gunshots on the other side of the door, but while a distant part of my mind wondered if Kate had shot someone else, I couldn’t think about that right now. My mind was a jumble of thoughts I could barely put together. I had to accept that the gun wasn’t coming out of my pocket. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t shoot him through my coat.

“You won’t win this time,” I said, hoping he understood the words in spite of my swollen lips. I started to get up but couldn’t find the energy. “I’m stopping you, J.R. You won’t hurt anyone ever again.”

“Those are big words for someone who’s about to die.”

“If you’re gonna finish me off, do it with your bare hands. I don’t think you have it in you.”

He grabbed the front of my coat and lifted me to my feet, shoving my back to the wall. I let out a grunt as I hit, just before his hand tightened around my throat.

My hand was still in my pocket, but my mind was already addled, and the lack of oxygen wasn’t helping. I wasn’t sure where the tip of the gun was pointed. For all I knew, it was aimed at my feet. But if I didn’t shoot soon, I’d pass out from a lack of oxygen.

I twisted my wrist and angled it upward, hoping I wasn’t pointing it at my own head. Just as my vision started to fade, I squeezed the trigger, thankful I didn’t feel the sting of a bullet—but J.R.’s grip didn’t loosen.

More gunshots rang out in the factory, sounding closer than before. I squeezed the trigger again just as the door burst open.

Smoke billowed in from the outer room, and a dark figure entered with it, but I couldn’t see a face. Then again, I couldn’t see much of anything anyway.

More gunshots filled the room, which surprised me because I was pretty sure I hadn’t pulled the trigger of my gun.

Then Mason burst from the closet, tackling J.R. to the ground. Mason stayed down with him, repeatedly punching him as I slid to the floor.

“Deveraux, we have to go,” Skeeter shouted above a roar. “This whole place is going up.” He was next to me in seconds, looking me over. “I’m going to get you out of here.”

I nodded, starting to sob.

“Deveraux!” Skeeter shouted, about to scoop me into his arms.

Mason climbed to his feet, but when he leaned over to haul J.R. up, another gunshot rang out. Mason’s body slumped sideways and he fell to the floor as J.R. climbed to his feet, holding his gun. His smile was wobbly as he took a step backward.

“
Mason!
” I screamed.

Skeeter pushed me down and then stood, shielding me with his body as best he could, his gun trained on his old mentor. But there was no way to shield every part of me. I was a sitting duck.

“It’s over, J.R.,” Skeeter said. “Just give it up.”

“I taught you better than that, boy,” J.R. sneered, pointing his gun in my direction. “I taught you to never give up.”

“You taught me a lot of things that I should have never listened to, but I’m tellin’ you now. Give it up. You’ll never get out of here alive.”

“You’ll make sure of that, won’t you?” J.R. taunted, then coughed.

“I think we can reach some sort of compromise. A trade.”

Mason was still lying on the floor, not moving. I swallowed my rising terror and the urge to crawl over to him. To do so would compromise Skeeter’s safety as well as Mason’s. I had to wait this out.

“What kind of trade?” J.R. coughed again and placed his hand to his chest, which I realized was covered in blood. His? Mason’s? Both?

“I’ll let you walk out of here without any further injuries if you agree to leave without hurting anyone else.”

J.R. laughed. “You think I’m going to trust you?”

Skeeter rose to his full height. “I give you my word.”

“Your
word
?” J.R. shook his head in contempt. “Since when did James Malcolm give his
word
?”

Skeeter remained still. “I’ve changed, Simmons.”

“You’ve gotten soft.”

“No, I’ve found something worth fighting for.”

“Her?” J.R. scoffed. “Why is she so special?”

“She’s taught me that life is meaningless without people to share it with.”

J.R. laughed, then began to cough. “Fine. Be a pansy. The old James Malcolm would have shot me already, to hell with everyone else. I’m glad you don’t work for me. I can’t stomach the sight of you.”

Skeeter barely flinched, the only visible sign that J.R. had gotten to him.

J.R. took a step back. “If that’s the way you want it, I’ll back out of here and leave you be, but if you follow”—he waved his gun between us — “I’ll hunt you both down and make you wish I’d killed you this time.”

Skeeter’s body tensed, but he nodded. “I can live with that.”

“I can’t,” Joe said out of nowhere, his body filling the doorway.

A gunshot went off and J.R. fell to the floor in a heap. Joe stomped over and stood over his father’s body, then pulled the trigger one more time.

“Simmons!” Skeeter shouted. “Deveraux’s been shot!”

Both men knelt beside Mason’s unmoving body, and I felt my consciousness slipping away.

No!

I had to make sure Mason was okay. But my eyes burned and my chest felt tight. As much as I tried, I could barely keep my eyes open, even when Joe picked me up, cradling me to his chest as he strode through the smoke-filled building. A section of roof over the factory equipment collapsed with a loud crash, and the last thing I remembered was the cold night air as Joe passed me off to someone else.

I
woke up to an irritating
, continuous beeping noise. My eyes were too heavy to open, so I blindly reached to turn off my alarm, but something tugged on my hand. Terror sent my heart racing, making the beeping noise increase.

J.R. had caught me.

I bolted upright, gasping in fear, but confusion settled in as I took in my surroundings and registered the shooting pain in my side. I was in a hospital room. There was an IV in my arm, and I could feel something wrapped tight around my chest under the hospital gown I was wearing.

“You’re okay,” Neely Kate said in a soothing voice, lightly stroking my arm. “You’re safe.”

I turned to look at her, starting to cry even though I wasn’t sure why. “What happened?”

“Joe and Skeeter got you out just in time. The building collapsed seconds later.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

I tried to shake my head, but pain shot through my skull. I pressed my fingers to my temple, trying to ease the ache as well as shake my memories loose. “I’m forgetting something. Something important.”

Worry filled her eyes. “You have a bad concussion, Rose. The doctor said memory loss is normal. It should all come back.”

“No. There’s something else. Something I need to remember.”

She gently pushed me back to the bed. “You
need
to lie still. You have broken ribs and a concussion. You
need
to rest.”

“Violet!” I cried out, sitting up again and gasping from multiple sources of agony. “She was leaving today! Is it today?”

A soft smile spread across her face. “Yes, it’s the morning that Violet is leaving, but she hasn’t left yet. She’s with your Aunt Bessie on her farm in Lafayette County. Joe said he suspected something big was happening last night, so he moved Violet and the kids to your aunt’s farm.” She pushed me back again. “
Now lie down.
”

The nurse came in to check my vital signs and my IV, then she unhooked my heart monitor now that I was awake.

When she opened the door to leave, Jed walked in. There was a scowl on his face, but it vanished as soon as he saw me sitting up in bed. “She’s awake.”

“And stubborn and uncooperative,” Neely Kate said, pushing me back again.

“So she’s completely back to her old self?” he teased.

“Very funny,” I grumbled.

He moved to the other side of my bed, looking me over. “You scared the shit out of us, Rose.”

“She doesn’t remember everything,” Neely Kate said softly, looking into his face. “She’s forgotten what happened at the end.”

They looked at each other for a quick moment, but that glance conveyed some secret message.

“What’s goin’ on?” I asked, getting suspicious.

“Rose, you need to get your rest.”

“I’ve been resting. What time is?” I looked around for a clock, gasping when I saw the time. “
Ten in the morning?
Apparently I’ve gotten a
lot
of rest.” Still, I couldn’t ignore the fact that they were hiding something from me. “Where’s James?”

“Why do you call him that?” Neely Kate asked in a blatant attempt to change the subject.

“Because it’s his name. Now where is he?”

Jed shifted his weight. “No one’s been allowed to call him that since we were kids. With the exception of J.R. Simmons.”

“Yeah, and I know why, which is exactly the reason I use his given name.” I grabbed a handful of Jed’s shirt and pulled him closer. “Now where is he?”

Jed gently unfurled my fingers, then fanned his hand in front of his face. “You know I’m fond of you, Rose, but that has got to be the rankest breath I have ever smelled.”

“Where is he?” I asked again, my anxiety rising.

“Rose, calm down,” Neely Kate said softly. “He’s giving his statement to the state police. Backing up Joe’s story.”

“What story?”

They exchanged looks again.

“Where’s Joe?”

“He’s dealin’ with his crazy-ass sister,” Neely Kate grinned. “Kate’s just gonna make him appreciate me all the more.”

I closed my eyes, trying to remember what happened the night before. “Kate . . . she shot two men.”

“Yes.” Her voice was so quiet I could barely hear her.

What were they keeping from me? Now I really needed to remember. Another image hit me.

“Hilary.” My eyes flew open in a panic as I searched Neely Kate’s face. “She’s dead.”

She nodded.

“Joe? Is he okay?”

Neely Kate paused. “He’s a mess, but he’s holding it together. At least for now.”

I could only imagine the pain he was going through. Tears filled my eyes.

“What about James?” I asked. She’d said he was giving his statement to the state police. That was two encounters with the law in the past two weeks. With his record, that couldn’t look good.

“Skeeter’s fine. He’s not in trouble. He’s merely giving his statement.”

I searched my exhausted and slow-to-react brain, trying to remember who else had been there the night before. “J.R.? What happened to him?”

They both tensed.

“He was shot,” Jed said. “By Joe.”

“Is he in the hospital?”

“No,” Neely Kate said. “He’s in the morgue.”

Maybe it was wrong to feel this relieved by someone’s death, but J.R. Simmons had been an evil man through and through. I doubted anyone would mourn him.

“Hey,” I said, suddenly remembering Kate’s retelling of J.R.’s involvement in Fenton County. “How did Kate know all those things about the past?”

“She found my mother,” Neely Kate said. “And she threatened to hurt me if my mother didn’t confess everything.”

“So she did?”

“Yeah.”

I knew my best friend had to have mixed emotions about that. Her mother had abandoned her when she was twelve, and she hadn’t seen her since. She’d never come out and said the actual words, but I knew Neely Kate questioned if Jenny Lynn loved her. This was pretty compelling evidence.

“Momma told Kate that she’d left the gun with Granny.”

I let that soak in for a moment. “Who were Sam Teagen and his friend really working for?”

“Don’t you want to rest?”

“No. I want you to answer the question.”

“Kate says that Hilary was the one spying on you and Mason,” Neely Kate said. “She found that stack of paperwork when she dropped in on Hilary one day to annoy her. So she snuck in a few days later and stole it all. After you told Joe about it, Kate moved it up to the shed. Teagen saw her do it, so he got a locksmith friend to make him a key. Marshal was arrested outside the warehouse, and he’s confirmed Kate’s story. He said they’d sneak into her apartment and the shed every few days to see if she’d found something new. That’s how they discovered Anna. Kate had searched her out, looking for answers.”

“Oh!” I gasped. “Bruce Wayne and Anna!”

“Were tied up in Hilary’s house. They were about to warn Joe, so she had Teagen stop them.”

“They’re okay?”

She nodded. “They’re fine. I promise.”

“Why was Anna here?”

“Anna had no idea why her grandmother left, but Kate’s visit made her realize there was more to it than she knew. So she moved to Henryetta, hoping to get answers. She knew Joe was part owner of the nursery, so she asked for a job with the goal of getting close to him and discovering the truth.”

“So why did she hate me?”

“She didn’t hate you. She was scared to death of you. She knew you had visions, and she was worried you’d figure out what she was doing here.”

I wasn’t sure I bought that, but I didn’t feel up to arguing the point.

“Was Kate pregnant? Did her baby really die?”

“Yeah, and even though J.R. said he had nothing to do with the accident, Joe says it’s pretty fishy.”

“So what happens to her now?”

“She obviously has mental health issues, so they’ve put her in the psych ward for an evaluation.”

“I’m still forgetting something . . .” I squeezed my eyes tight. “What am I forgetting?” And then it all rushed back and my chest tightened, sending a shooting pain through my side. “
Mason
. . . is he. . . ?”

Neely Kate grabbed my hand and squeezed so tight I worried she’d crush my bones. “No. He’s alive, but he’s hurt bad.”

I sucked in a breath and nodded slightly. I needed to keep control until I knew all the facts.

“J.R. shot him in the liver. Up close with a powerful gun. It did a lot of damage. Mason was in the ICU after surgery, but he started bleeding again, so they took him back. The doctors were telling Maeve to prepare herself for the worst.”

“Maeve!” I gasped, sitting up again. “She’s all alone!”

“No, Rose. She has so many people who love her. You wouldn’t believe how many of them are with her now.”

I lay back on the pillow, tears streaking down my face. “It’s my fault.”

“You really
are
a narcissist,” Carter Hale said from the doorway. “Takin’ ownership of the terrors created by a maniac.”

Carter turned to Jed. “Skeeter’s done with his questioning, and the state police sent him home with the warning that they are watchin’ him extra closely now. Do your best to keep him on the straight and narrow.” He paused and a cocky grin lit up his face. “Or at least cover your tracks really well.”

Jed nodded, but he cracked a grin, too.

Carter turned to Neely Kate. “As for your wayward husband, there’s still no sign of him. They caught Al Moberly, the guy he worked with at the garage, and he swears he has no idea where Ronnie is. The rumor mill says he left town, but there’s no word as to where. I’ve got another guy workin’ on it. Hopefully he’ll have better results than the first one.” He winked at me.

Neely Kate didn’t seem to notice. “Thanks.”

“As for you, Ms. Gardner. You are free and clear, with no threats hangin’ over your head . . . for now. But you know how to reach me should the need arise. Which I am positive it will.”

“I’ll program your cell number into my phone.”

He grinned. “No need. Just use my bat signal.”

Neely Kate rolled her eyes and pushed him out the door, but she didn’t come back in right away.

“How long has Mason been in surgery?” I asked Jed.

He looked into my eyes. “Several hours. It doesn’t look good.”

I told myself not to cry. No use borrowing trouble until it came calling, but my eyes refused to listen.

Neely Kate came back moments later and fussed over me, calling the nurse to change my IV bag so I didn’t get dehydrated.

Jed stayed with us, but it took Neely Kate some convincing to get him to sit inside my room instead of standing guard outside the door. At least he could watch the
Price Is Right
instead of staring at the wall. Then they got into a semi-argument over the price of a can of pork and beans.

And I still waited for word on Mason.

A half hour later, Neely Kate and Jed were on their second episode, bickering over the price of a ski boat in the showcase.

I couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m going to check on Maeve.”

“You can’t,” Neely Kate protested.

“Watch me.” I slid my feet over the side of the bed and nearly fell when my legs turned to rubber and the room swam. I fought a round of nausea.

Neely Kate tried to push me back into bed, but when she realized I was so intent on doing this that I’d crawl if need be, she insisted that I at least ride in a wheelchair. I refused. I didn’t want Maeve to see me acting like an invalid because of a bunch of scrapes and bruises. Not while her only living child was in surgery.

Neely Kate grabbed another hospital gown to use as a robe so my booty wasn’t flashing the world, and the three of us slowly hobbled down the hall and up one floor by the elevator to the surgery waiting room. Everything was spinning and I felt close to throwing up, so I clutched my IV pole for dear life. Neely Kate held onto my left arm, and Jed gripped my right elbow. He took most of my weight, keeping me upright and on course until we reached the entrance to the waiting room.

I stopped and gasped.

The room was overflowing. Jonah and Jessica, Bruce Wayne and Anna, Miss Mildred, and at least twenty other people sat around Maeve like she was their queen.

“You’re almost there,” Neely Kate said, giving me a little push. “I’m sure someone will give up their seat for you.”

“I can’t,” I whispered, realizing what a bad idea this was. “I can’t face her. What if she hates me? I don’t think I can stand it.”

“Why would she hate you?” Neely Kate asked in disbelief.

“Because I did this to her son.” Despite what Carter had said to me, I knew it was true. Someone else might have pulled the trigger, but Mason would never have been there if not for me.

“No.
J.R.
did this to her son,” Neely Kate insisted.

Deep in my heart, I knew Maeve would never blame me. It was my own guilt holding me back.

I was about to turn around and leave, but Maeve glanced up and noticed me. She slowly got to her feet, and the people around her parted, making a path. I remained frozen in place, scared to death of how she’d react.

When she stopped in front of me, she gently cupped my neck.

“Thank God you’re okay,” she said.

“Mason . . .” My voice broke off into tears.

“He’s still in surgery. We’re waiting.”

I nodded, which sent a new wave of pain through my head and a tsunami of nausea through my gut.

“No offense, my dear, but you look terrible,” she said. Though her eyes were shiny with tears, she was grinning.

Most of the people in the waiting room were openly gawking at me, and it occurred to me that my face was undoubtedly a mess. Neely Kate had moved in front of any reflective surfaces during our ten-minute trek, so I had no idea what I looked like.

“Come sit down,” Maeve said, taking my hand.

“I can’t,” I said. “It’s not right. It’s my fault he’s in there.”

“No.” Her eyes turned stormy. “He’s in there because a very bad man shot him.” She took a breath. “That lovely Mr. Malcolm came to see me. He told me how Mason attacked J.R. Simmons to save you. Joe told me that Mr. Malcolm was the man who carried Mason out of the building before it collapsed.” She looked deep into my eyes. “You are not to blame.”