RG2 - Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons Read online

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I didn’t want you to get your hopes up.”

  “But you don’t know all the facts. I didn’t tell you everything I know about the case.”

  “There’s more?”

  “Did you dig up the fact that Frank Mitchell owed people money?”

  “Who did he owe and how much?”

  I bit my lip before I answered. “Well, I don’t know that part.”

  “What do you know?”

  “Anne in the paint department at the hardware store said he didn’t have a lick of sense, and he owed money to people.”

  “How did she know this? Were they friends?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “It’s gossip, Rose. You can’t trust it.”

  “Well then what I am I supposed to do, Joe?”

  He released a heavy sigh. “You do your civic duty and make a judgment based on the evidence presented.”

  My mouth dropped open. “What if all the evidence points to him being guilty even when I know he’s innocent?”

  “Trust the system.”

  The air conditioning had finally cooled off which was a good thing since I was blazing mad.

  “Joe, I can’t send an innocent man to jail!”

  “Darlin’, I’m doin’ my best to help you, but I’m at a loss. Nothing’s turnin’ up. I’ll make a few more calls, although I’m not sure there’s much more to this case.”

  I sucked in several breaths.

  “Are you still mad at me?”

  I was mad but had to admit Joe was trying his best. None of this was his fault. “No.”

  “Whew.” He paused for several seconds. “So what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” My anger fled, despair following in its wake. Bruce Wayne Decker was gonna go to prison. Could I really live with that?

  “Just be careful, Rose. Okay? Don’t do anything to get yourself in trouble.”

  “Okay.”

  I heard voices in the background. “Listen, darlin’. I have to go. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  I draped my arms over the steering wheel, desperately searching for an idea about what to do. Whatever I came up with, I only had twenty-four minutes to do it.

  One other person had the power to put a stop to this travesty of justice, but I wasn’t sure how receptive he’d be to my inside information. Nevertheless, I had to ignore my own personal discomfort and figure out a way to make him believe me. I just didn’t know how I was gonna make that happen.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I put the Nova into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. Time to put on my big-girl pants.

  I was going to see Mason Van De Camp Deveraux III.

  Chapter Eleven

  The thing about wearing big girl pants is sometimes they don’t fit. As I pulled into a parking spot only a block from the courthouse, I began to have second thoughts. There was no way on God’s green earth Mr. Deveraux was going to believe me. I knew this as sure as I knew the sun would set around nine o’clock tonight.

  So why was I doing this?

  Because it was the only thing I knew to do.

  When I went through the heavy wooden doors, cold air sent a chill down my spine. All the judge’s yelling about throwing people in jail must have finally worked.

  I tossed my purse onto the security table. “Good afternoon, Matt. Any word when Robbie’s gonna be back?”

  Ol’ Matt’s mouth dropped open in shock, but he quickly recovered with a scowl. “His gout is better,” he grumbled. “He should be back next week.”

  “Well, that’ll be good, huh? No more havin’ to wait on Ernie.”

  Matt ran my purse through his scanner so quickly there was no way he could have gotten a good view of the contents. He thrust the bag at me.

  “You have a nice day now.” I called over my shoulder as I walked to the elevators. One of these days, I was gonna break him down and make him smile.

  The directory of offices hung on the wall next to the elevator. For a moment, I worried Mr. Deveraux was so new that his name wouldn’t be on the board, but there it was, plain as day in slightly crooked, white plastic letters—Mason Deveraux III, Assist. D.A. Rm 210.

  I pushed the up button, my stomach spinning like the barrel ride at the Fenton County Fair. The doors opened and someone called behind me. “Rose! Wait up!”

  Neely Kate hurried over and the acrobatics in my stomach slowed to a tolerable level.

  “What on earth are you doin’ here? Aren’t you supposed to be home gettin’ over food poisoning?”

  I stepped away from the elevator, grateful I could temporarily postpone having my head handed to me on a platter. “Nah, I didn’t have any of the breakfast casserole.”

  “Well, lucky you. I hear it’s caught most of ’em bad.” She glanced around, scrunching up her nose. “So you didn’t answer my question. What are you doin’ here?”

  I considered telling her I was going to see Mason Deveraux, but she’d want to know why and I wasn’t ready to go into that with her yet. Of course, with her knowing everything that occurred within the courthouse walls, she’d probably know the truth before dinnertime. There was nothing I could do about that. I just didn’t want to be the one to tell her.

  “I’m workin’ at the DMV today, but I missed our daily lunch and thought I’d run over and see if you were free.”

  Neely Kate groaned. “I’m sorry. I wish I’d known or I would have waited. I already had lunch.”

  Shrugging, I grinned. “Hey, it’s late and I only thought of it as I left the building.”

  Her eyes lit up. “I can take a break, though.”

  “Really? Didn’t you just get back from lunch a bit ago? Won’t you get in trouble?”

  She waved her hand and smirked. “Please.”

  I suspected that meant yes.

  “I’ll only be gone a few minutes.” She held up a stack of folders. “Besides I was running these to the probate department.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  Linking her arm through mine, Neely Kate squealed. “We can go hide in the vending machine area.”

  “Okay.”

  She stopped short and pointed to a man coming down the hall. A scowl furrowed his brow and he stomped down the hall carrying a paper in his hand. He rubbed his hand over his head, sweeping the few strands of hair he had left to the side.

  “That’s my boss, Jimmy, and he’s been moodier this week than a schizophrenic with PMS. We’d better steer clear of him.” She led me to the basement through the stairwell, which was probably a good thing given the antiquated elevator. The thing ran so slow it probably wouldn’t reach the basement until tomorrow.

  The vending machines were located in an alcove in the basement. The overhead florescent lights flickered, casting a menacing glare. My stomach growled as I faced the machines full of crackers, chips, and candy bars, suddenly remembering I hadn’t eaten anything all day. A bag of chips wasn’t going to cut it, but my stomach had no choice in the matter since I’d abandoned my lunch at the DMV.

  Neely Kate got a Diet Coke and sat in a plastic chair. “Did you finally hear from Joe?”

  “Yeah, he came down from Little Rock to see me last night.”

  “He drove all the way just to see you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s so romantic!”

  My face burned with embarrassment. “I’m gonna go see him this weekend.”

  Neely Kate squealed. “That’s even better!”

  We spent the next ten minutes hiding out from our responsibilities while I filled Neely Kate in on the latest with Joe, Violet, and my disastrous set-up with Austin.

  “That’s so romantic! You have two men wanting you!”

  I grimaced. “What? No! Don’t be silly.”

  She stood, laughing. “There ain’t nothing wrong with being happy that two men are after you, especially when you know which one you want. You do know
which one you want, don’t you?”

  “Of course! I’m not the slightest bit interested in Austin Kent.” Although the more I thought about it, I wondered if I could say the same about Violet.

  “I gotta get up to the probate office and back to my own desk or Jimmy’s gonna be fit to be tied. He’s got to leave early to do something at one of his rental properties. You headed back to the DMV?”

  Probate was on the same floor as Mr. Deveraux’s office. How was I going to explain that to Neely Kate? “Actually, I think I’ll stop by the juror’s room and check in with Marjorie Grace. I’ll see if she knows anything about tomorrow.”

  “Good idea! And you can put off going back to work a little bit longer.”

  I checked the time on my phone. I was already three minutes late and it would take me at least five minutes to get back. Suzanne was probably stalking the back door, waiting for me to show up. “Yeah,” I answered, distracted.

  Thankfully, Neely Kate didn’t notice and she filled me in on the latest wedding news. Her bridesmaids’ dresses had arrived the day before, and instead of the soft peach color she had ordered, they were tangerine.

  “That won’t be so bad.” I suggested. “Tangerine’s a pretty color.”

  “Brenda, my second cousin twice removed, is a plus-sized girl and loves to go to the tanning salon and is orange. She’s gonna look like a Skittle.”

  “Well, maybe there’s time for her to get back to a normal color. When’s your wedding?”

  “In two weeks.”

  “Oh.” I didn’t see much chance of that happening.

  Since neither of us was in a hurry to get back to our jobs, me now more than ever, we decided to take the elevator to the second floor. While we waited for the doors to open, it occurred to me that Neely Kate knew pretty much everything that happened in the courthouse. In fact, she knew about the Bruce Wayne Decker case before we got picked for questioning. Could I get away with asking what else she knew?

  “So, this case I’m on is pretty interesting,” I mumbled, staring at the numbers above the elevator doors. The two had been lit up for several minutes.

  “Oh, yeah?” Her voice stumbled in confusion.

  I couldn’t blame her for sounding surprised. I’d made such a big deal about how I couldn’t talk about it before, and here I was bringing it up.

  She leaned her head next to mine and half-whispered. “Has Detective Taylor gotten on the stand and told his story?”

  Trying to contain my excitement, I turned to face her. “You mean his testimony?”

  Her eyes widened in mock surprise. “Oh, is that what he’s callin’ it now?”

  “What do you mean?” My heart thumped like a jackrabbit.

  She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Never mind! I didn’t say anything!”

  I could go about this two ways. I could beg and plead with her to tell me or I could act like I didn’t want to know, which I suspected would drive her crazy. I hoped I wasn’t wrong. “Pft. It doesn’t take a divining rod to see he’s not telling the whole story.”

  Her eyes lit up like she’d just woke up on Christmas morning. “So I’m right?”

  Pinching my lips in an exaggerated manner, I shook my head. “I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

  “But you can tell he’s sweeping stuff under the rug, right?”

  The elevator doors opened and I nearly groaned. I wasn’t done getting my information. I took small steps into the empty box and she followed on my heels.

  “Rose, come on. I won’t tell a soul. I swear.”

  After the doors closed, I grabbed her arm and leaned close. “You have to promise me, Neely Kate.”

  She raised her right hand as though she was being sworn in. “I do! I swear. I promise.”

  “Something’s not right. It’s like he’s ignorin’ evidence or something.”

  “Yes! Exactly! Like the pin they found in the safe! It didn’t belong to the murder victim, but it didn’t belong to Bruce Decker either. Where did it come from?”

  “How do you know these things?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I already told you. I have the gift. I know things. Now listen. We don’t have much time.”

  I only wished she did have the gift. “Does Detective Taylor know who the real murderer is? Is he protectin’ him?”

  “No, nothing like that. It’s pure laziness. The crowbar was under Decker’s house and his fingerprints were at the crime scene. It’s just too easy to slap a Case Closed sign on it instead of really investigating. I heard Frank Mitchell owed money to some bookies down at the pool hall.”

  “I heard he owed someone money too, but I didn’t hear to who.” Who were the bookies?

  The elevator stopped on the second floor with a jerk, and the door slowly slid open.

  Neely Kate glanced over her shoulder at me, then faced the front. “You didn’t hear nothing from me.”

  “You mean that your cousin is gonna look like an orange Skittle at your wedding? And spoil the surprise for everyone?”

  With a wink, she headed down the hall toward the probate office. “Thanks for coming to see me! Lunch tomorrow?”

  The thought of meeting Neely Kate for lunch made me happy. “Yeah.”

  Mr. Deveraux’s office was two doors down from the probate office, but I’d told Neely Kate I was going to visit Marjorie Grace. I might as well make an honest woman of myself and drop in to see if she was there. For all I knew, she’d gotten the day off too.

  I knocked on the juror room, unsure about proper manners for such a thing. Turned out I worried for nothing. The room was empty, the lights turned off. Mrs. Baker’s deadly casserole had been removed, probably handed over to Officer Ernie for evidence. Sinking onto a chair, I had to admit I was relieved to be alone. I needed to prepare myself the confrontation I was sure to have.

  My cell phone rang and startled me. Snatching it from my purse, I groaned when I saw who was calling—the DMV. Suzanne was surely calling to chew me out. Maybe even fire me. Could I get that lucky?

  Sucking in a deep breath, I turned off the ringer and stood. Time to get this over with.

  I walked down the hall, the heaviness of my dread dragging on me while every nerve stood on end in anticipation. I stopped outside Mr. Deveraux’s office door and read his name on the frosted window.

  I was about to make a fool of myself.

  Panic gripped me and I closed my eyes, trying not to hyperventilate. After a couple of deep breaths, I felt a bit calmer. I was the only one willing to help Bruce Wayne Decker. I couldn’t let public humiliation stand in my way. My eyes still closed, I reached for the doorknob when the door swung open, and something rammed into me. I stumbled backward, releasing a squeal that rivaled the pig that had escaped at the county fair last month.

  A hand grabbed my arm and jerked me forward until I collided with something hard. My eyes flew open, and my screeching stopped when I saw it was none other than Mason Deveraux III, his hand gripping my elbow so tightly I was sure I’d have bruises. My chest was firmly against his as he held me upright. His eyes were dark and angry.

  “What the hell are you doing, Ms. Gardner?”

  “I…”

  “Are you always this annoying or is it just me you have an affinity for?”

  My mouth dropped open and I vacillated from bursting into tears and giving the man a good tongue-lashing. Luckily for me, I’d cried myself out on Tuesday night.

  I stiffened and twisted my arm from his grasp. “And are you always this rude or do you save it for just me?”

  Mr. Deveraux stepped backward, smoothing the imaginary wrinkles from his jacket. “What are you doing here, Ms. Gardner?” His mouth pursed into his constipated look. I swore I was gonna bring him some Ex-Lax.

  “Hadn’t you realized, Mr. Deveraux? It’s my life’s purpose to annoy you. How am I doin’ so far?” What had gotten into me? I’d never been so rude to anyone in my entire life.

  He leaned closer, his eyes narrowing. “You’re
exceptionally talented, but surely even you have a purpose other than coming down here to pester me, on your day off from your civic duty no less. Shouldn’t you be home vomiting?”

  My chest heaved with my anger and frustration. This wasn’t going very well and I hadn’t even started yet. “I needed to talk to you.” Crappy doodles! I wished I’d thought to iron out at least part of my snippy tone.

  He swung his hand away from his side, his hand gripping a manila folder. A fake grin plastered his face. “Well, here I am, in the flesh. Start talking.”

  The blood in my veins boiled. “What in the world happened to make you so hateful?”

  His arm fell back to his side and his grin turned into a scowl.

  “I haven’t done a thing to you other than happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Trust me, Mr. Deveraux, you’re the last person on the face of the earth I want to see right now.”

  His eyes widened in confusion. “But I thought you just said you needed to talk to me.”

  “I changed my mind!”

  The sound of applause caught me by surprise. Neely Kate and two other women stood several feet away, clapping and grinning like they’d just enjoyed a show.

  “You tell ’im, honey!” one of the women cheered, waving her arm into the air.

  Mr. Deveraux’s face reddened and he sputtered before spinning around and marching back into his office.

  The two women brushed past me, one patting me on the arm and grinning.

  Neely Kate rushed over and looped her arm through mine. “Oh, my stars and garters! I never would have believed that if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes!”

  Embarrassment enflamed my face as the full force of what I’d done swept over me. “I…”

  “Do you have any idea how bad every person in this courthouse has been wantin’ to do that? He’s a mean, spiteful man. Don’t you worry, you’re not the only one to deal with his attitude, but you’re the first one to call him on it.”

  “Am I gonna get kicked off the jury now?” I whispered as Neely Kate led me to the elevators.