Dirty Money Read online

  Dirty Money

  Neely Kate Mystery #3

  Denise Grover Swank

  Copyright © 2019 by Denise Grover Swank

  Cover Design: Bookfly Cover Design

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Also by Denise Grover Swank

  Also by D.G. Swank

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Author’s Note: If you haven’t read Come Rain or Shine, Rose Gardner Investigations #5, released on May 6, go back and read that now. Dirty Money will will contain major spoilers if you haven’t read it.

  If you missed the release of Come Rain or Shine be sure to sign up for the Denise Grover Swank newsletter so you don’t miss future surprise releases.

  * * *

  “What the heck are you doin’ here?” I asked my best friend, Rose Gardner, as she walked through the front door of the RBW Landscaping office with her dog Muffy trotting next to her. “You were supposed to stay home today.”

  Rose lifted her chin and gave me a defiant look. “I spent two hours moping around—alone, mind you—and decided I’d go crazy if I didn’t have something to do. Besides, I was comin’ to town anyway since we have that appointment at the attorney’s office this afternoon.”

  I understood why she wouldn’t want to sit around in an empty house. Her sister Violet’s funeral had been two days ago. Carly, who’d dropped into our lives by accident and proved a godsend, was also struggling with loss. After taking care of Violet for the past two months, she’d gone back to work at the nursery today. She hadn’t wanted to sit around either.

  “Well, just take it slow,” I said, turning to face Rose as she sat at her desk. “You’ve been through a lot in the last week.”

  Talk about an understatement. She’d found out she was pregnant, only to discover Skeeter Malcolm, the man she loved, had betrayed her and the rest of the county by ushering the Hardshaw Group, a crime syndicate from Dallas, into Fenton County. She’d been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury, which had freaked out half the criminals in the county, and then persuaded the same criminals to join forces against Hardshaw, effectively making her not only the new queen of the Fenton County underworld but her lover’s enemy.

  Last, but not least, her sister had died in Rose’s bed.

  Rose shook her head. “No. It just gave me too much time to think. Besides, now that we have the Sonder Tech job, I need to make sure Bruce Wayne has everything he needs for the install.”

  I almost argued with her, but she had a point. She’d do better to keep busy until her appointment with Violet’s attorney in a few hours, especially since she was nervous about what she’d hear. Violet had warned me that she’d be leaving Rose with a difficult task—I’d promised to help without having any idea what it was about. Rose was equally clueless.

  “The window’s fixed,” she said in surprise, looking at the glass to the left of the door. It has been busted by a messenger from Denny Carmichael, a criminal worried about Rose’s grand jury testimony the week before.

  “Jed made sure it was taken care of.”

  Relief filled her eyes, then guilt—likely from the fact she’d let someone else take care of it. “Jed’s your friend, Rose. Last week was a mess. You’re not a lesser person because you accept help from your friends.”

  She gave me a tight smile. “You’re right, but I’m still learnin’ that lesson.”

  I smiled back. “And knowin’ you, you’ll still be learnin’ that lesson until we’re rockin’ together in the old folks’ home. But I’ll still be there remindin’ you it’s okay.”

  Tears swam in her eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Neely Kate.”

  “Good thing you don’t have to find out,” I said in a mock-smug tone. Then my worry for her took over. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can run over to Merilee’s Diner to get you something. Or a muffin from the Daily Grind.”

  She shook her head as she booted up her computer. “I ate a couple of scrambled eggs and some toast this morning.” She flashed me a weak smile. “Not only did I eat it all, I even kept it down.”

  “That’s good,” I said in an encouraging tone. “You’re near the end of your first trimester. Soon you probably won’t be sick at all.”

  She gave me a worried glance, looking for signs that I might be upset. I’d lost my own babies at thirteen weeks last January, and the doctors had discovered I was unlikely to ever get pregnant again. She knew how much I wanted babies of my own and within ten minutes of finding out about her own surprise pregnancy, she’d been more worried about my reaction than her own. That wasn’t lost on me, and I vowed to give her all the love and support Violet would have given her and more.

  Without a word, she turned to her computer, although I suspected she was doing more staring than she was working, while I returned to the bookkeeping. I’d spent the better part of the last month at the nursery, filling in for Violet and Carly, and while Rose had tried to keep up with the receipts and invoices, there was still a mountain of work for me.

  Things felt like they were returning to semi-normal, even if I knew they weren’t.

  We’d been at work for nearly an hour when the front door dinged. I glanced up to see my brother Joe walking in with two coffee cups from the Daily Grind.

  Muffy, who had been asleep on her dog bed under Rose’s desk, hopped up and took off running toward him, sniffing around his ankles, then jumping up on his legs.

  “Rose,” Joe said, stopping in his tracks when he saw her. “I thought you were stayin’ home today.”

  She gave him a smile that looked like it took too much effort. “You suggested that I should do whatever made me feel better. This makes me feel better.”

  Sympathy filled his eyes as he smiled back. “Then bein’ here with Neely Kate seems like the place you should be.”

  Funny, I hadn’t looked at it that way, but maybe he was right. Maybe Rose wanted to be with people who loved her. And who she loved. That shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but I still struggled to believe I was worth anyone’s love. Even hers.

  But that thought was fleeting as I took a closer look at the two of them. Joe had been living with Rose since the middle of August—an arrangement they’d settled upon because she’d needed protection from Denny Carmichael. While Joe and Rose’s romantic relationship had ended—badly—over a year ago, they’d settled into a comfortable friendship over the last few months, one that was bound to become more complicated since Joe was now telling the world he was the father of Rose’s baby. Skeeter Malcolm wanted nothing to do with her pregnancy, and the baby would be in danger if the wrong person found out he was the daddy. In my opinion, a few too many people knew their story to be false.

  Rose’s phone rang. When she glanced
at the phone, she announced, “It’s Maeve,” then proceeded to answer.

  Joe walked over to me, holding out one of the cups. “I got your current favorite.”

  “Half almond milk, half soy, chai latte with a pump of mocha?”

  He tried to hide his look of disgust. “Tony said that was the newest on the list.”

  “Thanks,” I said, smiling up at him as I took the cup. Joe couldn’t keep up with my ever-changing drink order so he’d asked Tony and the other baristas to keep my current favorite written on a notepad by the cash register.

  He shot a glance to Rose, who was still on the phone talking about an order for an upcoming install, and lowered his voice. “How’s she doin’?”

  “I think she’s in the zombie stage of grief.” It wasn’t a shock, especially since I was sure she was grieving Skeeter Malcolm’s betrayal as well as Violet’s death.

  “Do you think she should be here?” Concern filled his eyes.

  “She said she hated bein’ at the house alone, but she just seems to be starin’ at her computer screen. Maybe I should encourage her to go over to the nursery to work for a bit. She loves workin’ with the flowers.”

  He stared at her with a worried gaze. “She said Violet’s attorney is reading her will this afternoon.”

  I nodded. “I’m goin’ with her.”

  Joe looked relieved. “Good. I realize Violet was a pretty simple woman, so there aren’t likely to be any bombshells, but Rose is still hurtin’. I’m sure she can use your support.”

  His statement almost made me laugh out loud. “Simple” wasn’t a word I would ever have used for Violet Beauregard.

  His smile faded. “What?”

  “Let’s step outside for a moment,” I said low enough that Rose couldn’t hear me in case she was half-listening.

  Anxiety washed over his face, but he didn’t hesitate. “Sure.” He took a step back and followed me to the front door.

  Rose looked up with a questioning glance, her phone pressed to her ear.

  “I have to show Joe somethin’ on my car,” I said brightly. “We’ll be right back.”

  Not the best excuse, given that my boyfriend and cousin were both mechanics, not Joe, but she wasn’t liable to question me just now. Sure enough, she nodded and returned to her call.

  Joe followed me outside and we stopped on the sidewalk just outside of Rose’s view.

  “What’s goin’ on?” he asked, his voice full of dread.

  “There’s something in Violet’s will.”

  His face blanched. “What are you talkin’ about?”

  “I’m not sure what’s in it, but I do know Violet had Rose take her to her attorney’s office not long after she came home from Texas. She told Rose she was leavin’ something for her but wouldn’t tell her anything more about it. Vi’s attorney said he was available to help Rose when the time came.”

  “Things weren’t good between Vi and Mike at the end,” Joe said, mulling it over as he stared absently down the street.

  “Do you think she tried to give Rose custody of the kids?” I asked.

  He made a face. “Mike took care of them while Vi was gone for months, which more than proves he’s a fit father. I don’t see how Rose would have grounds to get custody. Surely Vi’s attorney would have told her that.”

  “Seems likely, but Violet said she was askin’ Rose to do something hard after she died. I promised to stand by her and help.”

  “Well, damn,” Joe said with a frown. “Vi always did love to stir up shit. Shouldn’t surprise me that she’s still doin’ it from the grave.”

  I hated that he was talking ill of her at all, let alone two days after we’d buried her. Months ago, I might have agreed with him, but now… I’d gotten to know Violet over the past couple of months.

  “I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” I said. “More like two o’clock this afternoon to be exact.”

  Joe shot a glance toward the office door. “Maybe I should go with you two. Technically, I might be involved since I’m one-third owner of the nursery.”

  I studied him closely. “What are you doin’, Joe?”

  He looked startled by my harsh tone. “What are you talkin’ about?”

  I checked to make sure no one was around to overhear us. “Do you love her? Are you wantin’ to get back together? Is that why you offered to be the daddy to her baby?”

  We hadn’t had time to talk about it, what with the funeral arrangements, but I’d been meaning to pull him aside.

  He could have gotten mad, and I was prepared to deal with his defensiveness, but a soft smile spread across his face. “I fell in love with Rose Gardner, a sheltered woman who was burstin’ at the seams to live her life. Now she’s…” He shook his head as though he didn’t quite believe what he was about to say. “Now she’s queen of the Fenton County crime world and nothin’ like the woman I loved.”

  “So why in Sam Hill did you make the offer?”

  “We’re still friends, and obviously I respect the hell out of her, or this would never work.” He looked me in the eye. “I’m no good at relationships with women, but when I found out Hilary was pregnant and I got over the initial shock, I realized that while I didn’t want to be with Hilary, I really did want to be a dad. So when Rose told me she was pregnant and that Malcolm tried to bribe her into gettin’ an abortion…” He paused. “I know she had a shitty childhood. When we were together, she always said it was important to her that her children have two loving parents. So she wanted a father for her baby and I wanted to be a dad.” He shrugged. “I’m not deluded enough to think this will be easy, but I believe we can make it work.”

  “For what it’s worth,” I said, my voice hitching, “I think you’ll be an amazin’ father. Rose’s baby is lucky to have you.”

  “Why do I hear a but in there?”

  “I just feel like maybe you two should have thought this through a bit more before makin’ such a big decision.”

  Again, he could have gotten angry, but a sad look filled his eyes. “Maybe you’re right, but when I made the offer, I partially did it because of the whole grand jury testimony. We all know that information was bein’ leaked. What if they’d asked her who the father was? If word got out that it was Malcolm, she might as well paint a bull’s-eye on her back.” He hesitated as though weighing his words, then said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have jumped in so quickly when she accepted, but it just feels right, Neely Kate. I’m not tryin’ to hurt her and I’m not tryin’ to control her, but part of the woman I loved is still in there, and that woman told me what she wanted in a family.” His voice softened. “She’s definitely capable of raising that baby on her own, but I’m pretty sure that’s not what she wants.”

  I lowered my voice to a whisper. “And what if the real father wants to be part of this baby’s life?”

  His jaw tightened. “Do you really think he’s father material?”

  “It doesn’t matter if he is or isn’t, Joe,” I said in a firm tone. “What matters is that he’s the baby’s biological father and he has a right to stake a claim.”

  “That would put Rose and the baby at risk. Especially after she’s pitted herself against him.”

  Joe only knew so much about what had happened in the Fenton County crime world. Whereas the criminals usually pledged allegiance to a king, Rose had offered them something else. She wanted no say in their criminal doings. Her role was to unite them so they stood a better chance at protecting the county against Hardshaw. To that end, she’d serve as a mediator, peacekeeper, and—based on their first official meeting the night before—babysitter. She was wrangling massive egos and stubborn prides, not to mention a good third of the members still didn’t respect her. She’d come home with a massive headache, and I’d told Carly to make sure she took a long warm bath to unwind.

  Joe would have probably preferred not to know any of that, but he was currently living with Rose and Carly, and he’d overheard Rose and me discussing her new role.

>   His mouth parted as a new thought seemed to hit him. “Do you think he’d lay claim to the baby to hurt her?”

  I gasped. I hadn’t considered that. “He tried to bribe her with twenty thousand dollars to get rid of it and he had to know that would kill her.” I paused. “If he sees her as a threat…especially now…” My stomach turned. “He might blackmail her into backing off by threatenin’ to sue for custody.”

  Horror filled Joe’s eyes.

  “We need to talk to Jed about this,” I said. “He knows Skeeter better than anyone.”

  The set of his jaw told me he didn’t like the reminder of my boyfriend’s previous job as Skeeter Malcolm’s right-hand man, but he nodded. “Good idea.”

  I reached up on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

  “What’s that for?” he asked in confusion.

  “Because you’re a good friend, Joe, and I meant what I said. Rose’s baby is lucky to have you in his or her life.”

  His face flushed, and he pulled me into a hug. “Thanks, Neely Kate. I really needed to hear that today.” He hugged me tighter then released his hold. “How are you doin’ with Rose’s pregnancy?”

  I knew why he was asking.

  I leaned back to smile up at him. “I’m not gonna lie—it hurts, but Rose will let me be part of it. And it helps that it’s Rose, you know?” I gave him a tight smile. “While this baby wasn’t planned, I think she needs it.” I looked up at him with love. “I think you both do.”

  He hugged me again before pulling away, his eyes glassy. “I need to get back to work. Let me know how this afternoon goes. With any luck at all, Violet’s big announcement is that she gave her third of the nursery to Mike and Rose and I will be stuck dealing with him.”