Thirty-Six and a Half Motives: Rose Gardner Mystery #9 (Rose Gardner Mystery Series) (31 page)

Skeeter’s gaze lifted to mine, and if I hadn’t known he was on my side, I would have been terrified of the rage in his eyes. He squatted and dropped his gun to the concrete floor, then rose to his full height, a good six inches above the man in front of him.

“Rose.” Hilary’s voice was harsh, and she looked like she was searching for an excuse to shoot me, so I dropped mine to the floor, too.

“Now kick it toward Sam.”

I put a little too much effort behind it, and the gun skidded past Teagen, stopping close to Hilary.

I glanced at Skeeter and found him watching me with a mixture of anger and guilt. Since the anger wasn’t directed toward me, I welcomed it, but the guilt only fueled more guilt of my own. He’d put my life before his, and now he had a gun pointed at him.

This was my fault. I should have waited for him. We could have made a plan. But I could beat myself up about it later. Right now, I needed to focus on getting us out of this. I still had a gun in my pocket.

Teagen bent to pick up Skeeter’s gun, then pulled out a zip-tie from his back pocket. I watched in horror as Teagen tucked the gun into the waistband of his jeans, then bound Skeeter’s hands behind his back, tugging with more force than needed.

“Got that tight enough?” Skeeter growled.

“Let me check,” Teagen sneered, pulling even tighter. Then he circled around in front of Skeeter and punched him in the gut.

Skeeter bent over slightly, his jaw clenched.

“That’s for killing my friends. And
this
is because I just don’t like you.” Teagen pulled his fist back and slammed it into Skeeter’s nose.

I cried out as blood spurted down Skeeter’s face, but Skeeter didn’t miss a beat. He tipped his head back and dipped at the knees, then slammed his forehead into Teagen’s face.

“Just wanted to add to Rose’s handiwork. Not so pretty anymore,” Skeeter grunted as Teagen covered his face with his hand.

I decided to take advantage of the distraction and started to lunge for the weapon sticking out of Teagen’s jeans, but a bullet struck the floor in front of me, sending up sharp little shards of concrete. Startled, I jumped back and lifted my eyes to Hilary’s amused face.

“I’m an excellent shot. Just ask Joe,” Hilary said.

“Is Joe coming?” I asked, trying to keep the hope out of my voice.

Hilary turned to Kate. “You weren’t stupid enough to invite Joe to this showdown of yours, were you?”

“I’m here.” The voice came from the darkness. Joe stepped into the circle of light seconds later, still dressed in his sheriff’s uniform. His face was hard as he took in the sight before him, ending with Hilary and the gun she had trained on me. His silence spoke volumes, but his hands hung at his sides, no gun in sight. In fact, his holster was empty.

“Did you come unarmed, like I insisted?” Kate asked.

He gave a curt nod, then turned his dark gaze on the mother of his baby. I could only imagine what Kate had said to get him to leave his gun at home.

Hilary turned pale. “Joe, I know this looks bad, but I can explain.”

“Never feel the need to explain, Hilary,” a voice I knew all too well called out from behind me.

I turned to see the object of my worst nightmare staring right at me.

It was clear from the look on his face that J.R. Simmons planned to make me beg for mercy. But the evil in his eyes assured me I’d never find it.

W
hile J.R. climbed
through the window with the assistance of a man I didn’t recognize, I took a deep breath, trying to put all the pieces together in my head.

J.R. got his balance, but he seemed unsteady on his injured leg. After making sure his boss wouldn’t tumble, the new guy scanned the room. A smarmy grin crossed his face when his eyes landed on Skeeter.

“The fall from grace is a bitch, isn’t it, Malcolm?”

“You can’t fall from the gutter, so I guess you wouldn’t know,” Skeeter spat out. “I see you’re still in Simmons’s posse of twelve pussies. I’m surprised you set foot outside of Columbia County.”

The other guy looked like he was about to respond, but J.R. held up his hand.

“Enough.” J.R.’s gaze turned to Joe and he blinked, the only sign that he was shocked by the presence of his son. “Joseph.”

Joe’s body tensed, his hands tightening into fists, but he still didn’t say a word.

J.R.’s attention turned to his daughter, who now sat cross-legged on the desk, watching the goings-on with glee. “Katherine, what is the meaning of this?”

“It’s a surprise, Daddy Dearest.”

“I don’t do surprises,” he said with condescension.

Kate released a mock gasp. “Heaven forbid someone other than the great J.R. Simmons should be in charge.” Then her smile widened. “There’s a basket over there. Put your guns in it and gather closer.”

No one made a move.

Kate leaned her head back and groaned, her hand reaching behind her to produce a gun. Before I realized what was happening, a loud pop filled the space. The man next to J.R. fell to the ground, blood seeping from his temple onto the concrete.

J.R. stumbled back a step in shock.

Panic swamped my head. I’d seen two dead men in my vision. My vision was coming true. But I didn’t know what would happen to Kate, Hilary, and Joe? I hadn’t seen them in the vision.

Kate’s voice sounded far away as she said, “See? I’m a good shot, too, Hilmonster. We took the same shooting lessons, and if I remember correctly, I always outshot you.” She paused, then said more sternly, “Now, why don’t you all be good little boys and girls? Put your guns in the basket and come into the circle.”

She was planning on killing someone—maybe all of us, which seemed the likeliest scenario.

I felt dangerously close to losing it, but then Joe spoke and I concentrated on his voice. “Kate, just put the gun down and let’s you and me talk this out.”

“Oh, we’re talking, all right.
Lots
of talking, but I need you all to take your places so we can begin.”

I wasn’t helpless. I still had my small gun in my coat pocket. There was no way I was making the first move to
my place
. Everyone else apparently agreed with me.

Kate pointed her gun toward Sam Teagen and pulled the trigger. The man fell to the ground.

“Just to prove I mean business,” she said in a bored tone. “We’ve eliminated the two unnecessary men in the room, and by order of importance, James Malcolm is the next most expendable person.” She gave me a cold hard stare. “How much do you want him to survive this?”

I lifted my hands in the air and moved several steps closer to Kate. She pointed to a spot on the floor, marked with a duct-taped X I hadn’t noticed before. There were several Xs in a semi-circle in front of Kate’s desk.

“Rose,” Skeeter called out. “Don’t do it.”

Joe gave us a questioning look, but as I moved to the spot about ten feet to Kate’s right, she said, “For those of you just joining us, Rose is the Lady in Black, and Hilary hired that idiot—” she pointed at Teagen’s body, “—to kidnap and kill Rose and then Mason Deveraux.” She sighed. “But thankfully, he flubbed it.”

“
Hilary?
” Joe choked out.

Hilary shook her head, and her eyes flooded with tears. “She’s lying, Joe. Your sister was the one behind it all. She’s crazy. Just look at her.” She waved her hand toward Kate.

Joe’s gaze swung between the two women, and it was easy to see he believed the mother of his child.

“Joe,” I said, trying to keep calm. “Hilary’s behind more of this than you could possibly know.”

“Stop right there, Hilmonster,” Kate called out, her weapon trained on Hilary. “Lose the gun and stand on your spot over here.” She gestured to a taped X about ten feet to her left.

Hilary had her gun aimed at me, and the look on her face told me she fully intended to shoot me.

“Don’t do it.” Kate said, her voice tight. “I need her very much alive.”

“Why would I care what you want?”

“Because I can shoot you in the gut and kill the baby that means more than life to you.”

That was all Kate needed to say to make Hilary fall in line. Hilary’s left hand instinctively covered her small belly, and she tossed her gun into the basket.

“That’s good,” Kate said in a soothing tone. “You look a little stressed. It’s probably not good for the baby. Why don’t you wait over there and try to relax?”

Hilary’s heels clicked on the floor as she walked to her spot.

That left the three men in the room, all standing on the periphery.

Kate slid off the desk, pointing to an X in the middle of the marks. “This is for the guest of honor. Now who do you think belongs in
that
position?” She looked at her father and laughed. “I bet you think it’s for you.”

“Stop this absurdity right now, Katherine,” J.R. said, sounding vicious. “If you stop, I will lessen my punishment.”

“Punishment?” she cried in disbelief. “You think you can punish me anymore than you already have?”

“Is that what this is about?” he asked, hobbling toward her, obviously still in pain from the gunshot wound I gave him a week ago. “Yes, I see the ring on your finger. You are obviously still pouting.”

“
Pouting?
You killed my fiancé!”

J.R. released an exasperated sigh. “He was the victim of an unfortunate robbery gone wrong, Katherine. I understand your need to lay blame, but this is unnecessary and pointless.”

“And my baby?” she asked. “How do you explain that away,
Daddy
?”

Her baby?
I blinked. Surely I’d heard her wrong.

J.R. bristled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You knew I was pregnant when I went away. You had someone watching me.”

“You shared no such thing with your mother or me.”

“I didn’t have to,” she countered. “You had access to my medical records. You had people watching me. Admit that you knew.”

“Katherine,” he groaned. “I really—”

She shot the ground at his feet, then screamed hysterically, “
Admit it!
”

A flicker of panic filled his eyes before his mask slipped back into place. “If it makes you feel better,” he said, lifting his hands, “I knew.”

Kate’s eyes filled with tears. “Why? You took Nick from me. Why wasn’t it enough to take him? Why did you have to steal my baby, too?”

“Katherine, I didn’t—”

“
Liar!
” she shouted at the top of her voice. Then she stomped over to Hilary and grabbed her by the hair, aiming her gun at Hilary’s abdomen. “Admit it.”

I gasped in panic as I watched the scene unfold before me.

Joe rushed forward, terror on his face, but Kate’s face hardened and he came to a stop about ten feet from them. Skeeter was still standing in the back, his hands bound behind him.

“Kate,” Joe pleaded. “Stop! I know we’ve had our differences, but I’m begging you to stop. For me. That’s my baby, too.”

Kate shook her head. “This isn’t your baby.”

Joe’s eyes widened. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Kate tightened her grip on Hilary’s hair. “One thing at a time. I want our father to confess to a few things first.”

Joe shot a panicked look at his father.

Kate held her father’s gaze. “I killed those two men to prove I mean business,” she said. “I
will
shoot her baby. You killed mine. You killed Joe’s other baby. I
should
take this one from you.”

J.R. held up his hand. “Kate, just calm down.”

“What are you talking about?” Joe demanded. “What do you mean he took my other baby?”

He looked over at me, but Kate released a brittle laugh.

“Not her, you idiot. Savannah.” She flicked him a glance. “You’ll get the details, but you’ll have to wait for them. I’m doing this my way.” She turned her attention to J.R. “You killed Nick,” Kate said in a more even tone. “When he refused to go away for a few hundred thousand dollars, you
made sure
he went away anyway. Forever. Admit it.”

J.R. tensed. “He was unsuitable for you.”

“Yes,” Kate said. “You made that perfectly clear after I told you that we were engaged. But I want you to acknowledge that you
made sure
he went away.”

“
Kate,
” J.R. growled.

Kate jerked Hilary’s hair, making the redhead cry out in pain, and placed the gun directly on Hilary’s stomach this time. “I will kill her baby, and then I will kill James Malcolm, then Rose, then Joe if I have to. I will kill them all until you admit the truth.” She gave him a sinister grin. “And I know how much you planned to make Rose and James Malcolm pay for what they did. I will steal that pleasure from you if you don’t tell me what I want to know.”

Good to know she had my best interests in mind.

“What do you want me to say, Katherine?” J.R. asked, exasperated. “That I had that man killed?”

“
That man
had a name. His name was Nick. He loved me for me, not because I was a Simmons. He loved me in spite of it. You will call him by his name.”

Joe’s gaze shifted to me, and the misery in his eyes was nearly my undoing. He was thinking of us. Of how I had fallen in love with Joe McAllister before learning that his last name was really Simmons. His father had destroyed everything he had ever loved, so he’d been desperate to keep me away from his family.

“Fine, I had him killed,” J.R. said, waving his hand dismissively. “I did it for your own good.”

Joe took a step back, stunned.

“And my baby?” Kate asked evenly, as though he’d just read back her fast food order.

He shook his head. “Don’t be so dramatic.”

“I was in a car accident,” she said, her anger rising. “Broadsided by a shiny black sedan. I was conscious until the driver came over to check on me. Then I woke up in the hospital, and they told me that my baby was gone.”

“How far along were you?” I asked quietly. I was no fan of Hilary’s, but I wasn’t about to let Kate kill an innocent baby. I needed to distract her from her plan.

“Exactly as far along as Hilmonster is,” she said, looking at me. “I told you I’ve been waiting two years for this. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“The fact that I’m here makes it my business.”

“Shut up!” she shouted. “I’m talking to my father!” She turned her glare back to him. “You hired that man to hit my car. You had my baby killed.
Admit it.
”

“I swear to God I didn’t hire anyone to kill your baby, Kate.”

“I don’t believe you!”

Kate was coming undone, and I was terrified of what she might do. “What about Savannah?” I asked J.R. “Will you admit to having her killed?”

“What are you talking about?” Joe asked.

J.R. shot me a look of annoyance. “What does it matter to you?”

“You destroyed Joe, but wasn’t that the point? To keep him in line?” I asked. “To force him back into his box, so he’d finally accept his fate as the heir to your legacy?”

“She was an inconvenience.”

“So you had her killed. You hired Michael Cartwright to kill her. You had the scene set up, making sure she was barely alive when Joe got there.”

“
What?
” Joe demanded.

“It’s true,” Skeeter said from the back of the room. His nose had stopped bleeding, but his shirt and lower face were drenched in blood. “Your father couldn’t let Savannah have your baby, so he had her killed to teach you a lesson.”

Joe looked at Skeeter with pure hatred. “Did
you
set it up?”

Skeeter arched a brow, and Joe released an ugly laugh.

“I’ve been doin’ my homework,” Joe said. “I wanted to know why my father was so desperate to see you dead. I know you worked for him. I’ve put it all together. I remembered seeing you in our house when I was a kid. You were one of his elusive Twelve.”

“I haven’t worked for your father for five years, but once I figured out he was makin’ a play for me, I started asking questions. Your father is behind Savannah Deveraux’s death. And behind movin’ her brother here, too.”

Joe showed no emotion whatsoever as he turned to face his father. “Is it true?”

J.R. gave him a stern look. “Sometimes we are forced to do the right thing, no matter how difficult the task seems.”

Joe’s face turned red. “
Killing Savannah and my baby was doing the right thing?
”

“She was the wrong woman for you. The bastard would have scandalized your political aspirations—not to mention you would have felt obligated to marry her. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“So you had them
killed
?” Joe’s gaze swung to me. “And
you
knew?”

“I just found out,” I said. “Last week.”

“From my father?”

I barely shook my head. “No, from James Malcolm.”

“Oh, yes,” Joe sneered. “Skeeter Malcolm. You two are such good friends now.” He turned his contempt toward Skeeter. “You got tired of strippers, so you moved on to my old girlfriend?” he snorted. “And the D.A.’s girlfriend, too. Quite the coup for a piece of Fenton County white trash. Was this a big F-you to Fenton County law enforcement?”

“Joe!” I shouted. “What are you
doin’
?”

Joe’s chest rose and fell, but he didn’t argue.

“Skeeter Malcolm is
not
your enemy.
Your father
killed Savannah. He killed Kate’s fiancé. Your beef is with
him
. Not Skeeter.”

But my intervention only encouraged Joe to redirect his anger to me. “Did you break up with Mason so you could move on with Skeeter?”

I gaped at him.

“You’re the Lady in Black. There’s no way Skeeter Malcolm would work with a woman he’s not sleepin’ with.”