RG2 - Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons (24 page)

“He said he felt guilty because I went to talk to him the day before and he yelled at me. He thought that’s why I went to Frank Mitchell’s house.”

“Is it true? Did you go to his house because Mr. Deveraux yelled at you?”

I sighed. When she put it that way… “Yeah, I guess.”

“But why?”

“Because I know Bruce Wayne Decker is innocent. And no one else is fighting for him.”

Neely Kate nodded, accepting that I knew he was innocent without asking questions.

“I thought maybe I could get Mr. Deveraux to listen to me, but obviously that didn’t work out.”

To her credit, she didn’t say anything about me keeping my intent from her last Thursday. “What else did he say when he came to see you in jail?”

I remember the pain in his eyes when I asked him why he wanted to be a district attorney. It felt like a private moment. Something too personal to share, like if I did I’d be violating his trust somehow, which seemed crazy. “Not much. He told me he felt guilty and he was goin’ to get me out.”

“And he was true to his word. Judge McClary threatened to throw him in jail too if he didn’t back off, but he kept on pushing.”

“Joe didn’t tell me that part.”

“I heard Joe went up against the judge too.”

“He said he had to vouch for my character.”

“He did more than that. He took full
professional
responsibility for your future actions.”

“You mean his job could be on the line because of me?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, but you’re safe. You’re not on the jury any more so you can’t get in trouble for that.”

I gnawed on my bottom lip. “I guess…”

“So what are you goin’ to do?”

“About what?”

“The case, silly. You’re not gonna just let it go, are you?”

“I dunno. Before it was just me on the line. But if Joe has professionally taken responsibility for me…” Why didn’t he
tell
me?

We spent the rest of our time talking about her wedding. She pulled out a silvery, glittery invitation and handed it to me.
Rose and Joe
was written in elaborate curlicues. “I hope you can come,” she gushed.

“Oh! I haven’t told you my
big
news,” I said, studying the invitation.

“Bigger than gettin’ arrested?”

I nodded. “I’m goin’ to move to Little Rock!”

Her eyes were as wide as her hooped earrings. “He asked you to move in with him?” Then she squealed so loud that everyone in the café turned to stare.

“Neely Kate! Shh!”

“That is so
xcitin
’!”

“Yeah, we’ll see what Violet says.”

“You haven’t told her yet?”

I filled Neely Kate in on what happened Saturday night.

Neely Kate’s mouth pinched in disapproval. “I’d love to get my hands on your sister.”

“She didn’t do it out of meanness. She really thinks she’s doin’ what’s best for me.”

Shaking her head, she frowned. “I’m not so sure about that.” She glanced down at her watch. “Oh my stars and garters! I’m late.” She jumped up out of her chair.

“Neely Kate. Wait a second.” She turned around.

“Can you look something up for me?”

She sat back down, resting her chin on her hand. “Of course!”

“But you don’t even want to know what I’m going to ask before you agree?”

She shrugged. “No. What do you want me to do?”

I leaned close and lowered my voice. “I found out that someone was trying to buy Frank Mitchell’s house before he died and he was trying to keep from selling. But his neighbor said the house got sold by his son soon after his death, then sold again not long ago. I think the second time was to a developer who’s wanting to put in a super store, but I wonder who bought it the first time. Can you find out?”

She winked with a grin. “Pleaaase. I can find that out in my sleep. I’ll call you with the info later.”

“Thanks, Neely Kate.”

“What are friends for?”

I was grinning when I went back to work, which perplexed Suzanne. The afternoon flew by and I grinned even bigger when I handed her my letter at the end of the day.

“What’s this?” she asked, squinting at the paper. “Your jury letter?”

“Nope, it’s my two-week notice. It’s your lucky day!”

The vinyl of my car’s seat burned my legs when I climbed in, but I was so happy, I didn’t care. I was actually quitting the job I’d hated for years.

Checking my cell phone, I noticed Neely Kate had left a message.

I called her on the way home, the air blasting so hard from the vents I had trouble hearing her. “Hey, Neely Kate.”

“Rose! I found something out!”

Her excitement made my stomach jittery. “What?”

“Hyde Investments, a company in Louisiana, bought the house from Frank Mitchell’s son.”

“But shouldn’t it have gone to probate?” Even though Momma had left the house to Violet, we still had to go through probate to sell it.

“No, his son’s name was on the deed.”

“Oh.” I wished Momma had thought to do that and save us all a lot of hassle.

“Then just a few weeks ago, another corporation bought it. The company that owns the superstore.”

“Hmm…”

“What do you make of that?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Do you know anything about Hyde Investments?”

“Nope, not a thing other than it’s based in Louisiana. I couldn’t find out much about them from my search on the internet. If it’s based out of state, could it be owned by the bookies that Frank owed money to?”

“I don’t know, but it seems unlikely that an investment company in Louisiana would kill Frank Mitchell.”

“Rose, there’s something else.” She sounded nervous.

“What?” My tongue tripped on the word.

“They’re expecting to wrap up the trial on Wednesday.”

The way she said it told me this was important information. “What does that mean?”

“It means you have to hurry. You can still save Bruce Wayne if you find evidence to keep him from being convicted, but if you find it
after
he’s convicted, he’ll have to go through an appeals process that could take years.”

I sucked in my breath. “Oh no.”

“What are you gonna do?”

I needed to accelerate my investigation. “Neely Kate, what are you doin’ tonight?”

“Paintin’ my nails and watching TV. Why?”

“I feel like playing pool.”

“Um, I think it’s
shootin
’ pool.”

Oh, crappy doodles. I had a lot to learn in a few hours.

Chapter Nineteen

Neely Kate had agreed to meet me at the pool hall at eight o’clock. I was glad for that, since it would give me a chance to take Muffy on a short walk. I’d neglected her lately with all the excitement involving my jury duty. I wondered how she’d like Little Rock. Joe didn’t have a yard.

After our walk, Muffy and I shared a dinner of Joe’s leftover Chicken Parmesan. Thinking about him made me miss him like crazy. I reached for my phone, debating whether to call him or not. It seemed silly to worry about calling him too much. I hadn’t called him since last week, and in the meantime I’d agreed to move in with him. Surely, we were past the worrying-I’d-look-like-a clingy-girlfriend stage. Before I could dial, the phone rang and I expected it to be Joe. Instead, it was Violet. I hesitated before answering, deciding I had to talk to her sometime.

“Hello, Violet.”

“Rose, I’ve called to apologize.”

My mouth dropped open and my brain scrambled to take in her words.

“Are you there? Say something.”

“Yeah, I’m here…I’m just…”

“Do you forgive me?” Her tone was snippy, not what I expected from someone truly contrite.

“Well, Violet, what exactly are you sorry about? You hurt me deeply.”

Her voice lowered. “Rose, honey. I really am sorry. I know I hurt you and I don’t know what got into me. Of course you’re good enough for Joe. That wasn’t what I meant. It all came out wrong. I watched Momma be mean to you for years and I just can’t bear the thought of someone else being mean and spiteful to you. Who’s goin’ to protect you?”

“I can protect myself. And if I can’t, I think that Joe did a pretty good job of provin’ that he could.”

“Yeah, he did.” She was silent for a moment. “I’m going to the Henryetta Garden Club meeting tomorrow night. The guest speaker is talkin’ about roses and I know how much you love yours.”

I had a rose garden in my backyard. I’d have to leave it when I moved, and the sadness that gripped me caught me by surprise.

“Anyway.” Her voice was light and breezy. “I thought maybe you’d like to come with me.”

“Isn’t Miss Mildred president of the Garden Club? I thought they met during the day.”

“Well… they usually do, but they’re trying out some evening meetings to see if they can recruit some new blood. The median age of the Garden Club is currently around seventy-eight.”

That made sense.

“So? Do you want to come? I can pick you up at six forty-five.”

I had nothing else to do, and if I were busy maybe I wouldn’t miss Joe so much. “Okay.”

“Great! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She hung up and I thought about her sudden turnaround. I was glad we weren’t fighting at the moment, but I was waiting for her to pull her next stunt. I was going to have to tell her about my pending move, and I suspected it wouldn’t go well.

I picked at my chicken, missing Joe again. This was ridiculous. Cold chicken made me want to cry. And it made me want to hear his voice. What in the world was wrong with me? I decided that I should talk to him now, in case he called when I was out.

He answered on the second ring. “Hey, darlin’, how was your day?”

“Great. I turned in my notice.”

“You really did it?” He sounded awed.

“Of course. The sooner I leave the DMV, the sooner I can move up to Little Rock.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Me either.”

“Have you told Violet yet?”

“Nooo… but she called and apologized.”

“What exactly did she apologize
for
?”

Nothing slipped past this man. “She said what she said came out wrong. That I
was
good enough for you. She said she was worried that someone was going to hurt me and she wouldn’t be able to protect me.”

“Uh-huh,” he answered in a monotone.

“Yeah, I don’t trust her either, but I’m goin’ to the Garden Club with her tomorrow night.”

“I didn’t know you were in the Garden Club.” He sounded guarded.

“I’m not. But the guest speaker is a rose expert so Violet thought I might want to hear her since I love roses so much.”

“Well, I hope you have good time.” He was still reserved, not that I blamed him.

“What did you do today?”

“Oh, borin’ police stuff.”

“You can’t tell me.”

“I can’t give you details. But I can tell you that we’re getting ready to set up an undercover sting.” Something in his voice set off alarm bells in my head.

“You’re going undercover.”

“Not yet.”

Yet
. My heart sputtered with fear. “When?”

“A few weeks.”

“For how long?”

“I don’t know, darlin’.”

I swallowed the lump in throat. “How long have you known?”

“A week.”

“
And you’re just now tellin’ me
?”

Joe sighed. “I’m trying to get out of it. I put in for another transfer.”

“Why? You love your job.”

“I love you more.”

I was torn. I didn’t want him to go undercover, but I didn’t want to be the reason he gave up something he loved. “Then why am I movin’ to Little Rock when you’re not even gonna be there?”

“It’s not like Henryetta, Rose. I don’t have to live there. I’ll see you at night.”

“But you’ll still be in danger?”

“A policeman is always in danger, Rose.”

And there was the crux of it. Other than his time in Henryetta, I tended to picture Joe behind a desk since he usually called me from his office during work hours. But the reality was much more dangerous and I could lose him at any time.

“Say something.”

Honesty seemed the best way to go here. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Tell me that you still love me.”

“Oh, Joe.” I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead into my hand. Joe had never lied to me about his job. I knew full well what I was signing up for when I started seeing him. What gave me the right to hold it against him now? “Of course I love you. I’m just tryin’ to calm my fears.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’ve never really had to think about someone worryin’ about me.”

I smiled even if he couldn’t see it. “Well, you do what you need to do. I love you and nothing’s goin’ to change that.”

“You’re amazing,” he sighed.

I wasn’t so sure that he’d be saying that if he knew where I was planning to go later tonight. But his undercover plans took away the guilt of my own secret mission.

I told him about eating lunch with Neely Kate and what she’d found out about the investment company buying the murder victim’s house.

“It’s definitely worth checking into.”

“Neely Kate also said they were goin’ to wrap the trial up on Wednesday. If I don’t prove Bruce Decker’s innocent by then, he’ll have to go through appeals and that could take years. Is that true?”

“Yeah, that’s most likely what would happen.”

My cold chicken wasn’t sitting well in my stomach.

“Rose, this is not your responsibility. I appreciate that you feel that you have to help him, but think about what he was doin’ when he saw the murder. He was robbin’ the hardware store. He was going to go to prison for that anyway.”

“For how long?”

“Five to ten years, most likely. Out in three to six years for good behavior.”

“And second-degree murder?”

“At least twenty.”

I sighed. “I gotta go.”

“Don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not, I promise. But I told Neely Kate I’d meet her later. Girls’ night out.” There, I’d told him. No guilt.

“You have fun and be careful.”

“I will.”

“I love you, Rose.”

“I love you too, Joe.”

I glanced at the clock. 7:15, which didn’t leave me much time to get ready.