Come Rain or Shine: Rose Gardner Investigations #5 (Rose Gardner Investigatons) Read online

  Muffy jumped up and rested her chin on my bent knee, releasing a low whine. Then she licked my hand as though to say you can count on me.

  “Let’s go get you a special treat.”

  She ran down the stairs ahead of me, and I hurried after her, not surprised to find her sitting patiently in front of the counter that held her jar of treats.

  Joe was in the kitchen nursing a cup of coffee, studying his laptop screen. When I walked in, he glanced up and nodded to Muffy. “It’s a wonder Muffy hasn’t packed on the pounds with all the treats the people in this house give her.”

  “She deserves every one of them, and she runs it off in the yard,” I said. She wolfed down the treat I gave her, then trotted over to the door.

  “How’s Vi today?” he asked as I walked past him to the back door to let Muffy out.

  I headed for the coffee maker and poured myself a cup. “Ornery as ever. She’s currently special-ordering the weather for the day she dies.”

  He chuckled. “That sounds like Vi. I wouldn’t be surprised if she managed it somehow.” He shook his head. “What’s she goin’ for? Bright and sunny, or the angst and somber mood of a rainy day?”

  “Bright and sunny.” Biting my lip, I turned to look at him. “It seems so wrong to joke about it.”

  “It’s how Violet’s dealing with it, and frankly, I respect the hell out of it,” he said with a soft smile. “She wants to make her exit with grand flair. I wouldn’t expect anything less from her.”

  “She’s invited Neely Kate and Jed for dinner tonight, and she wants you here too.”

  He pushed his chair away from the table. “Is she up to a large dinner party?”

  He must have been too thrown at the idea of a get-together to show his usual tension at the mention of Jed. Although he acknowledged that Neely Kate’s boyfriend would do anything for her, and was grateful for it, he struggled with the knowledge that Jed had been his criminal adversary’s right-hand man.

  “Violet’s request, or orders are more like it.” I poured creamer into my cup, then moved to the table. “Carly said Mike’s bringin’ the kids over this afternoon.”

  His brows shot up. “I didn’t know they were comin’. Are they spendin’ the night?”

  “He made the arrangements with Carly, so I don’t know either. I suspect we’ll have to take them home later. They haven’t spent the night in nearly two weeks.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d take them home, but I’ve got to be at the station later.”

  “That’s all right. I’ll get them back to Mike’s. Will you be able to make it to dinner?”

  “Sure, as long as it’s at a reasonable time. The last time Neely Kate cooked, we didn’t eat until nearly nine o’clock, and it wasn’t even edible.”

  “Carly’s cookin,” I said with a grin. “And I expect we’ll eat around six. It’s a school night for Ashley, so we’ll have to get her home by eight thirty.” I paused, then said, “Violet wants me to bring in a nurse to help take care of her.”

  He set his coffee cup on the table. “What brought that on?”

  “When Carly helped her get out of bed to pee, she nearly fell. It took the both of us to get her to the toilet and back.”

  He made a face. “I should probably come home at lunch to help get her out of bed…unless you plan to.”

  I shook my head. “I’ve got several appointments today. I won’t be back until later this afternoon.”

  “Is Neely Kate goin’ with you?” he asked in a stern tone.

  “She’s workin’ at the nursery, Joe. I’ll be fine.”

  “When was the last time you saw someone following you? The truth.”

  “I haven’t seen any kind of threat for at least a few weeks.”

  “You sure?” he asked, holding my gaze.

  “I wouldn’t lie about Denny Carmichael or his men. I let you move in to protect me, Carly, Vi, and the kids, but it looks like we’re fine for now.”

  Denny Carmichael, the biggest drug dealer in Fenton County, and likely all of southern Arkansas, had killed two Sugar Branch police officers who’d attempted to rape and kill me, and now he thought I owed him a favor. Joe didn’t know about the favor—he only knew Denny had taken a special interest in me. He’d originally moved into the farmhouse in the hopes that the presence of a sheriff’s deputy would dissuade Denny Carmichael from making a move on me. Besides which, it would hopefully throw off anyone who suspected I had a personal relationship with James. So far it had worked—the tongues in town were wagging, all right—and it wasn’t such a stretch for people to believe Joe and I had a relationship. We had dated in the past, and he’d moved into my house immediately after breaking up with his girlfriend. The fact that I hadn’t seen Denny’s men in a while made me wonder if he believed the ruse and had given up.

  Did James believe it too?

  I’d worried the arrangement would be awkward, but Joe had insisted we could live together as friends, no more or less, and now that he lived with us, I was starting to believe it. I never got the feeling he wanted anything more from me, although I sometimes caught him sneaking glances at me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. It didn’t seem like he was pining for me—more like he was having a hard time processing how much I’d changed. Before Joe had moved in, I’d told him about the interactions I’d had with Denny Carmichael—how I’d held my own with him and other criminals with my wits and my gun. Joe knew I wasn’t the woman he’d met that chilly May night, and I suspected that was exactly the type of woman he wanted—soft, quiet, and wanting a simple life.

  I’d wanted that life then; I had no idea what I wanted now.

  I’d outgrown what Joe wanted in a wife. Maybe he was finally willing to let that dream go.

  In the beginning, I’d wondered how Joe would fit into a household full of women, but he’d found his place just fine. He seemed to love living with us. Truth be told, I enjoyed his company more than I should, and it was a comfort knowing he was here at night to help watch over us. Neely Kate had moved in with Jed, and I missed her something fierce. While I was getting close to Carly, she’d been focusing more on Violet these past few weeks. Joe was a helping hand, a shoulder to cry on, and a great friend, but lately I couldn’t help worrying that I was taking advantage of his kindness…and his singleness. While Carly wasn’t interested in him in that way, I realized there were plenty of women who would be—and as long as they thought we were together, Joe would never get another chance at love.

  Maybe it was time for him to go.

  He studied me for a moment. “If you’re tryin’ to claim I can move because you’re safe now, don’t waste your breath. Even if you were, I wouldn’t leave unless you kicked me out. I suspect things are about to go from bad to worse with Vi, and I’ll feel better all the way around if I’m stayin’ here.”

  “Plus you have nowhere else to go,” I teased. The enormity of what he’d done struck me again—he’d given up his rental house so he could move into my first-floor office.

  “There is that.” He grinned, his lopsided boy-next-door grin that smoothed out the stress lines he’d accumulated over the past year.

  “I’m grateful for your help,” I said. “I don’t know how I would have done this without you.”

  “That’s what friends are for.” He got to his feet and took his coffee cup to the sink. “I’ve come up with some plans for redoin’ your kitchen. I can show them to you tonight.”

  “You know I can’t afford a new kitchen.”

  “Just look at the plans, okay?” he asked. “I know I’m not the only one tired of hand-washing and drying dishes for a house full of people.”

  He had a point. “Yeah, I’ll—”

  I stopped when we heard someone pounding on the front door.

  Joe instantly turned serious. “You expectin’ anyone?”

  “No.”

  His face hardened, and he picked up his gun, which was in its holster on the table.

  “Stay
in the kitchen,” he grunted as he headed to the living room.

  Like that was going to happen.

  Worried that Muffy might attack whomever was on the front porch, I went to the back door and called her in. She instantly made a beeline through the house for the front door and I followed.

  Joe had already opened the door, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw a state police officer standing on my front porch.

  “I’m lookin’ for Rose Gardner,” the officer said, then lifted his gaze from Joe to me. “Are you Ms. Gardner?”

  I hesitated, stopping a foot behind Joe. “Yes.”

  He lifted his hand, holding out a large manila envelope. “Ms. Gardner, you’ve been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury tomorrow afternoon at two o’clock.”

  My worst nightmare had just come to pass.

  CHAPTER 2

  J oe must have seen how shaken I was at this news. He shut the door and turned to face me.

  “We knew this was likely gonna happen,” he said softly.

  Only we’d expected it to happen weeks ago. When two months had passed without any word about a grand jury, I’d started to hope it wouldn’t happen.

  “It’s going to be okay, Rose. You’re not in any trouble. Just be honest.”

  Which sounded great in theory, but Joe didn’t know the whole story.

  He narrowed his eyes. “Is there something you didn’t tell me about that night?”

  By that night, he meant the night Denny Carmichael had killed those police officers. That night had effectively ended my relationship with James.

  “I’m worried about facing Mason.” My ex-boyfriend, the special prosecutor assigned by the attorney general, had come back to Fenton County with a mission—to clean out the corruption in the local government, but my relationship with James had put me in his crosshairs. Neely Kate and I had discovered in our last investigation that the new police force in Sugar Branch wasn’t doing any policing. The “officers” were paid by a third party, and they seemed to be paving the way for criminal activity rather than putting a stop to it. I’d reported the matter to Mason, hoping it would wrest his attention away from James. Little did I know, James himself had been fronting the salaries for the very men who had then tried to rape and kill me. They’d been killed instead, and now the whole mess would be spilled out in front of a grand jury.

  I couldn’t tell Joe everything. He only knew that the officers who’d been killed had attacked me. Like most people, he suspected Denny’s involvement.

  A grim look washed over Joe’s face. “I didn’t know they were formin’ a grand jury or I would have warned you. In fact, sending a state police officer instead of having my department serve the papers is highly unusual.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means he’s trying to keep me out of this.”

  That didn’t bode well for any of us. “Why?”

  His eyes glittered with fierce determination. “I intend to find out.”

  This was all too much given everything else I was dealing with. “I need to finish gettin’ ready. I need to prepare for my presentation.”

  “Is that the one with Sonder Tech?” he asked.

  An internet-based business relocating to Henryetta had asked us to present them a proposal for their new office building. It was a big job that could help us finish out the year so that we could actually give the workers a holiday bonus in a couple of months. I hated that the grounds guys often went days without work during the slow season.

  “Yeah. So I have to make sure I’m prepared. A lot is riding on this, but I also need to stop by the doctor’s office to pick up a prescription for Violet.”

  Joe glanced at his watch and frowned. “It’s already eight thirty. Do you want me to pick up the prescription for you?”

  “It’s pain medication,” I said. “A controlled substance. I’m authorized to get it, but I don’t think you are.”

  He laughed. “I think they’d release it to me if you want me to try.”

  “That’s okay,” I said. “Carly and I made cookies for the staff last night too. It won’t take more than a minute. But thanks for the offer, Joe.” I paused. “You’ve been more help than you know.”

  A soft look filled his eyes. “Glad to be here.”

  A HALF HOUR LATER, I was in my truck, dressed up more than usual—makeup, hair curled, and wearing a dress for my presentation—heading to town and fretting over the subpoena. I considered calling James to get his opinion on how to handle it, but we hadn’t talked since our last meeting at Sinclair Station, when he’d admitted to having hired those two police officers.

  If I told the grand jury the truth, I’d implicate James, but the alternative was to commit perjury. I needed legal advice and there was only one person I could trust with all of this information.

  Using my voice command, I told my phone to call Carter Hale.

  “Rose Gardner,” he said as soon as he answered. “Let me guess the reason you’re calling.”

  “You know about the grand jury?” I asked in surprise.

  “I make it my business to know everything and anything that has to do with my client.”

  My stomach churned and I felt like I was about to throw up. Carter seemed to be confirming my suspicion that Mason planned to use the grand jury to take down James. “Do you consider me calling you for advice a conflict of interest with your client?”

  He paused. “Perhaps you should come in and pay me a visit.”

  “I have something I can’t reschedule this morning, but I can come by later.”

  “I have court at ten. How about this afternoon?”

  “Just tell me when and I’ll clear my schedule.”

  “Let me get back to you in a little while. I’ve got several cases today.”

  “Just as long as I can see you before two tomorrow, I’m good.” I would prefer to see him sooner rather than later to hopefully settle my anxiety.

  “Do not discuss this with anyone until we speak,” he said. Then his voice turned gruff. “If you talk, I’ll know.”

  I paused, certain I’d heard him wrong.

  “Are you threatening me?” I asked with plenty of attitude.

  “My goal, as always, is to protect my client.”

  “And if you think I’d ever purposely hurt your client, then you don’t know me at all.”

  “The legal system has a habit of making friends turn on each other.”

  “Call me when you have some free time, Carter.” I hung up, madder than a wet hornet. How dare he threaten me, and how dare he accuse me of potentially hurting James? Even if we could no longer be together, I cared about him—I loved him. I was the last person who’d hurt him.

  I was still fuming when I got to the doctor’s office. I sat in my truck for a minute, forcing myself to calm down, then grabbed the plastic storage container of cookies and headed inside.

  “Hey, Loretta,” I said, stopping at the receptionist’s desk. “I got a text that Violet’s prescription is ready.”

  The young woman cringed and glanced over her shoulder toward the exam rooms. “About that”—she slowly turned back around to look at me—“Dr. Newton wants to talk to you first.”

  I shook my head in confusion. “Who’s Dr. Newton?”

  “She’s replacing Dr. Arnold.”

  I couldn’t hide my shock. “What happened to Dr. Arnold?”

  Grimacing, she said, “Something about an extended trip… that’s all I know.”

  That didn’t sound good, and from the look on her face, she knew a whole lot more than she was saying.

  “Anyway,” she said with forced cheerfulness. “Dr. Newton read Violet’s file and said she’d like to meet with you in person this afternoon if you’re available.”

  I hoped to meet with Carter this afternoon, but Violet trumped all. “Sure, but is everything okay?”

  “Dr. Newton’s just tryin’ to get to know her patients and such. It’s a formality.” Glancing down at her computer s
creen, she said, “I have an opening at three.”

  “Yeah,” I said absently, my gaze drifting to the woman walking in the front door with a cat on a leash. She was young, probably about my age, but her long blonde hair was in need of a good brushing, and her clothes were mismatched and inappropriate for the weather—a pair of purple sweatpants and a brown halter top. Bruises covered her upper arms and I went on full alert. It looked like someone had been manhandling her.

  Loretta stood and leaned over the chest-high counter. “Wendy, for heaven’s sakes! You can’t bring your cat in here. I’ve told you that before. This is a medical office for people.”

  “I need to see Dr. Arnold and thought he could look at Stinkerbell too. He’s got a swollen foot,” Wendy said, her eyes wide and wild.

  “Dr. Arnold’s not here anymore,” Loretta said in a stern voice. “And you don’t have an appointment.”

  The news about Dr. Arnold seemed to surprise Wendy as much as it had me, but her reaction time was a good two seconds off. “What happened to Dr. Arnold?”

  Loretta pursed her lips and shook her head. “It’s a long sordid tale, but the important part is that you don’t have an appointment, and neither does Stinkerbell. Dr. Newton’s no vet. She’s a people doctor.”

  I was pretty sure the term was family medicine, but I wasn’t about to correct her. Maybe that was all Wendy could comprehend just now.

  “What am I gonna do about Stinkerbell?” Wendy asked, staring at me like she expected me to have the answer.

  The cat tried to jump up onto a waiting room chair, but the leash held him back. He released a loud meow of protest.

  “You could take your cat to Dr. Romano,” I said in a hopeful tone. “He’s a wonderful vet. My dog Muffy loves him.” When she looked stumped, I added, “I can give you his number if you like.”

  “Yeah,” she said, her gaze turning to the waiting room TV, which was tuned to a game show. The cat was stretching its leash again, this time trying to reach a potted plant, but she didn’t seem to notice.

  I put the container of cookies on the counter so I could dig a business card and pen out of my purse, then found Levi’s office number on my phone . “He’s a great vet,” I said, scrawling down the number. “He really loves animals.”