It All Falls Down: Rose Gardner Investigations #7 (Rose Gardner Investigatons) Read online

  “Neely Kate, you’re every bit as much of a momma as I am,” I insisted. “You’re just waiting for your little girl to be born.”

  “You’re right,” she said evenly. “I am a momma to three babies up in heaven, but I’m starting to think I’ll never be a mother again.”

  She’d never held those three babies. She’d never even made it past her second trimester with the last two before she’d miscarried. She wanted to be a mother so badly, but I could see she was starting to lose faith in the process. Even though the birth momma of her baby had made it very clear she intended to go through with the adoption, Neely Kate had seemed to take the late delivery as a sign. She didn’t feel comfortable letting herself believe it would happen.

  “It’s gonna happen, Neely Kate,” I said quietly. “I just don’t want to be the reason motherhood gets snatched from you.”

  “How dangerous will it be for us to just to talk to a woman while paying for gas at the Stop-N-Go?” Neely Kate shrugged, and a sly grin cracked her mouth. “Of course, with us, everything is dangerous.”

  I lifted my shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “True…”

  “We’ll share the danger,” she said, her chin held high. “Because that’s what best friends do.” She glanced back at the cradle. “But as much as it pains me to say so, I don’t think Hope should be comin’ along.”

  She had a point. “Maybe we should drop her off with Maeve,” I said.

  “I think that’s a great idea, and Maeve will be excited to spend time with her. So what’s our plan?”

  “Go by the convenience store and pay for gas, just like you said. When I’m payin’, I’ll try to convince her that the Lady in Black is offering her protection.”

  Neely Kate’s eyes widened. “You’re offering her protection? What exactly do you plan to do?”

  I pushed out a sigh, because truth be told, I hadn’t planned on it until that very moment. But if Roberta needed protection, I didn’t plan on leaving her high and dry. And I definitely didn’t want her to get hurt on account of talking to us. That had happened before, and the guilt still weighed on my soul.

  “One problem at a time, Neely Kate. If she agrees, we’ll figure out where to stash her.”

  “She can’t stay with you,” she said. “Not with Joe there.”

  I nodded. “Agreed.”

  “She can stay with us,” she said, giving me a haughty glare that challenged me to disagree.

  “What if the social worker shows up?” I said. “You know they can make impromptu, drop-in visits.”

  “Then Roberta can stay upstairs, out of sight.” She released a short laugh. “They don’t snoop in every closet. The social worker would just stick to the bottom floor, ask a few questions, and leave.”

  Roberta might be more willing to stay with them because Jed had willingly left James’ employment. Then again, the connection might make her too uncomfortable.

  “We’ll table that for now,” I said. “We don’t know anything about her yet. I don’t know if she came here from Oklahoma with Rufus, or if he picked her up at James’ pool hall.”

  The color drained from Neely Kate’s face at the mention of Oklahoma. “Where in Oklahoma?”

  Neely Kate had lived in Ardmore with her mother, who’d dumped her on her grandmother’s doorstep when she turned twelve, and she’d gone back looking for her after graduating high school in Fenton County. The only thing she’d found was a life of pain and misery. It was no wonder the mere mention of the state could throw her for a loop.

  “I don’t know,” I said, “but Mason thinks Rufus had ties to Hardshaw before he came here.”

  She nodded. “Okay. I guess the best way to find out is to talk to her.”

  “You sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure. I’m tired of everyone treatin’ me like a baby.”

  Leave it to Neely Kate to think we were spoiling her after all she’d been through. Not only was the adoption running behind schedule, but her grandmother had suffered a heart attack. Granny Rivers had still been in the hospital, recovering from surgery, at the time of her wedding. I’d seen a vision of Neely Kate’s wedding before the fact, so I’d known she and Jed were sad without knowing why. They’d been mourning her grandmother’s absence, thank goodness, not anything more permanent.

  “We love you, Neely Kate,” I insisted. “But everyone needs a shoulder to lean on. You’ve been through a lot.”

  “Granny’s gonna be fine,” she said, then added, “Well, as long as she cuts back on the hot wings, and yeah, I was sad she couldn’t make it to the wedding, but at least she got to watch it on her iPad.”

  Neely Kate had wanted her granny, who’d practically raised her, to walk her down the aisle, but of course that had been out of the question. She and Jed had considered postponing the wedding, especially since it had been put together on such short notice, but Granny Rivers had had a conniption at the very suggestion.

  “If two people were ever destined to be together, it’s you and that fine man,” she’d told Neely Kate, “so get that fool idea about canceling out of your head.”

  So Witt, who’d always been more of a brother than a cousin, had done it instead. I knew Joe would have been happy to walk her down the aisle, but they’d only just discovered they were half-siblings a little over a year ago. Neely Kate and Witt had history, and lots of it, something that had been made abundantly clear in his wedding toast. He’d had a few too many beers and then launched into a story about finding Neely Kate skinny dipping in the cow pond with his best friend—now ex-best friend—back in high school. Jed had needed to hold Neely Kate back from snatching him bald.

  “I’m fine,” Neely Kate insisted with more force. “So don’t you go getting any crazy ideas about leaving me out of this.”

  I started to respond when Hope released a frustrated grunt.

  Neely Kate’s eyes lit up. “My niece is waking up.”

  I lifted a brow. “That could have been a pooping grunt.”

  She shrugged. “Gotta take the good with the bad.”

  “Yeah,” I said, feeling a wash of misgivings.

  I was terrified I was about to drop us into a whole mess of bad.

  Neely Kate changed what was indeed a blowout diaper before handing Hope to me so she could nurse.

  “You’re not going to call Jed and let him know what we’re about to do?” I asked once Hope was latched on.

  “No,” she said gravely. “In this instance, the fewer people who know, the better.”

  Sadly, I had to agree.

  When I finished nursing, I handed Hope to Neely Kate. My best friend’s face lit up, and I once again questioned why God had blessed me with a beautiful baby girl, an unexpected surprise, while Neely Kate had been cursed with infertility. It wasn’t fair, but many things in life weren’t. Like Roberta being hung out to dry because her boyfriend had been mixed up with something.

  “It occurs to me,” I said, hating to break up Neely Kate’s bonding time, but Roberta’s life could be in danger, “there’s a strong likelihood that Roberta won’t be at work today. Her boyfriend was just murdered. She probably either called in or left after she found out.”

  “If she knows,” Neely Kate said, staring at my daughter in a way that made my heart gush. “And if she’s not there, whoever is may be able to help us find her.”

  Hope had a firm grasp on her finger as she stared back, her mouth twitching before lifting into a smile.

  “She’s smiling!” Neely Kate said, excitement in her voice, then swung her gaze to me. “She’s actually smiling!”

  “She just started doing that yesterday,” I said. “I teased Joe it was gas, but he swore he could tell the difference.”

  “She’s gonna be a daddy’s girl through and through,” Neely Kate said with wonder in her voice. “How would you feel about that?”

  I gave her a reassuring smile. “I’d be fine with it. No, better than fine. I’m ecstatic. All I’ve ever wanted is to have a family wit
h a man who’ll love our children the way I always wanted to be loved as a child. And Joe feels the same way. Our babies will never doubt we love them. Ever.”

  Her eyes widened. “Babies. Plural?”

  “Oh!” I lifted my hands in surrender. “No, no, no, no. I’m not pregnant.”

  She laughed. “I didn’t think you were. It’s only been six weeks. You haven’t gotten the all-clear for sex. I’m sure it’s perfectly fine, but I know Joe’s been waiting until the doctor gives you her stamp of approval.” Her eyes filled with mischief. “When is that appointment, by the way?”

  My cheeks grew hot. “The day after tomorrow.”

  She got to her feet, holding Hope on her shoulder while she continued to pat her back. “We need to get this Roberta situation cleared up so you two can have a romantic evening to consummate your relationship. In fact,” she said, getting excited, “I think Jed and I should keep Hope overnight so you two can be uninterrupted.”

  I laughed. “And what if your baby girl is home by then? The two of them will be up all hours, especially since Hope has given up sleeping for longer than a couple of hours at a time. The last few nights have been torture.”

  “Not my sweet baby niece,” Neely Kate said as she carried her to the car seat. “She’s an angel.”

  Hope belched, and pasty white spit-up covered Neely Kate’s shoulder.

  I couldn’t help laughing. “Not so much an angel now.”

  “Hush your mouth,” Neely Kate teased. “She’s perfect.” She set her in the seat, and I moved over to fasten all the straps while Neely Kate went to the bathroom to clean her shirt.

  “But if you’re suggestin’ there will be more babies…” Neely Kate said through the open door as she turned the water on. “That means you see something more permanent with Joe.”

  I knew Neely Kate worried that I was settling for Joe simply because he’d asked to be Hope’s father, but I knew from the bottom of my heart that this was what I wanted. Every day, Joe proved that I’d made the right decision. Every day, I fell more in love with him. “I want forever with Joe.”

  But I wasn’t sure she heard me, because she walked out of the bathroom with a damp spot on her shoulder and her phone clutched in her hand. Her face was several shades paler than when she’d walked into the restroom.

  Muffy jumped to her feet and moved closer to Hope.

  “Neely Kate, honey,” I said, trying not to panic. I had no idea what had just happened, but whatever it was had clearly shaken her to the core. “What is it? Is your granny okay?”

  She held up her phone, and I saw Kate’s name at the top of a page of texts. At the bottom, Kate had sent: Don’t you worry, sister dearest. I’ll make sure you’re happy. No matter what it takes.

  I glanced up at Neely Kate in horror.

  And just like that, we had two problems.

  Chapter 5

  “Were all of those from today?” I asked, trying not to panic now even though this was definitely panic worthy. “We need to call Jed.”

  “No,” she said, still pale but looking less shell-shocked. “She only sent that last one, and we’re not telling Jed yet. Once he knows, he’ll get all super protective and keep me under his thumb. We have work to do.”

  “Neely Kate…”

  “No.” Her response was firm.

  It was her decision, ultimately, but I still felt responsible.

  “Wipe that guilty look off your face,” she said. “This has nothing to do with you.”

  “I just really think you should tell Jed.”

  “And I will tell him. After we find Roberta. Besides, what’s he going to do? We have no idea what Kate’s up to this time.”

  “Then let’s not waste any time finding Roberta,” I said, and picked up the car seat. “Come on, Muff. You and Hope get to see Nana Maeve.”

  Neely Kate locked up the office and followed me to the truck. I got Hope’s car seat clicked in, and Muffy hopped up and sat on the bench seat next to Hope.

  “Muffy really has become her guard dog, hasn’t she?” Neely Kate asked as I started the truck.

  “You have no idea.”

  We rode to the nursery in silence. I wanted to talk about Kate, to offer Neely Kate some eassurance that her sister wouldn’t do anything too crazy, but the thing was, Kate was clinically insane. Anything was possible with her.

  There were several cars in the nursery’s parking lot, and a wave of guilt swept through me. The last thing Maeve needed right now was to babysit Hope, but I didn’t dare take her with us. It would hopefully be an hour, max.

  I got Hope’s seat out of the backseat and slung the diaper bag over my shoulder. Muffy hopped out and followed. Neely Kate stayed outside, looking over the inventory of plants. In her will, Violet had left my best friend a third of the ownership of the nursery (the other two-thirds belonged to Joe and me). I knew that Neely Kate would love to split her time between the nursery and the landscaping company, but my maternity leave had forced her to cover my absence.

  Maeve was ringing up a customer when we walked in. Her face lit up as soon as she saw us. She handed the customer her receipt, then hurried around the counter to greet us.

  “There’s my sweet baby.” She bent over the car seat and smiled. “Did you come to see Nana Maeve?”

  “She’d like to stay with you for a bit,” I said hesitantly. “But I’m worried you’re too busy to deal with her.”

  “Nonsense. I’m never too busy for my favorite girl.” She glanced up at me. “I thought your doctor’s appointment was the day after tomorrow.”

  “It is, but Neely Kate and I have an errand to run. It might be better if Hope and Muffy don’t tag along.”

  Maeve stilled, then stood upright. “Does this have anything to do with the man they found murdered this morning?”

  “I didn’t know the word had gotten out.”

  She held my gaze. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She took a deep breath, still studying me. “You have so much more to think about now, Rose. Are you sure you want to do this?”

  This was the first time she’d ever lectured me about my extracurricular activities. In fact, a year ago, she’d gone as far as to condone them. But she’d also had a feeling that what I was doing would save Mason.

  “Maeve, I don’t take this lightly.”

  “But you could have died going after Ashley and Mikey. What if something happens to you this time? What about Hope?”

  “I’m doin’ this for Violet,” I said quietly. I understood her concerns. Shoot, I shared them, but I still needed to go through with this. I couldn’t very well tell her that her son was the one who’d sent me on this task. “And I’m doin’ it for Hope too. We’re not gettin’ mixed up in anythin’ dangerous. We just need to talk to a woman. Then I’ll come back and collect Hope and Muffy, and they’ll be out of your hair.”

  Hurt filled her eyes. “You know this isn’t about me being inconvenienced.”

  “I know, Maeve,” I said with a weary sigh. “And I’m sorry I can’t tell you more, but trust me when I say I wouldn’t willingly walk into danger.”

  She studied me for a moment, then nodded. “I do.”

  Holding the car seat with one hand, I wrapped my free arm around her back. “Thank you.”

  “Rose,” she said softly, “I love you like you’re my own flesh and blood daughter.”

  Tears burning in my eyes, I said, “I’m just grateful you chose to keep me in your life.”

  I knew how rare that was. After a breakup, you usually lost not only the other person, but also their family and friends. Maeve, though…she’d always been there for me. I knew she’d be there for Hope too.

  Her eyes turned glassy, and her chin wobbled. “Go. Run your errand. Hope can help me run the cash register.”

  I smiled a little, then launched into an account of Hope’s nap and eating schedule, finishing with, “And in case I’m not back before she gets hungry, there’s a bottle and a small package of formula in the bag. She�
�s not crazy about it, but she’ll take it if she’s hungry enough.”

  “We’ll be fine,” she said. “You go. And if I get busy and she gets fussy, I’ll just bring out her swing.”

  I’d left one at both the nursery and the landscaping office.

  “Okay.” I handed the car seat to Maeve, surprised by how reluctant I was to let her go. Of course, I’d rarely left her with anyone other than Joe. I trusted Maeve, though, and knew Hope would be safe.

  I leaned over the seat, soaking in the sight of my daughter’s face. She stared up at me, and her mouth lifted into a smile that made her eyes sparkle.

  “She’s smiling!” Maeve exclaimed.

  “I love you, Hope,” I whispered, my voice tight. “I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.” I placed a lingering kiss on her forehead, then stood upright. “Thank you, Maeve.”

  Worry covered her face, and I was sure she heard what I’d said to my daughter, but I didn’t have time to offer her reassurances. I needed to find Roberta and put all of this to rest.

  I turned around and left without saying goodbye. Neely Kate saw me come out and joined me in the truck.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “No,” I said. “But I will be when we find Roberta.”

  “Just keep in mind that she might not know anything,” Neely Kate said. “Or she might just refuse to talk to us.”

  I started to back out of the parking space. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

  The Stop-N-Go had several cars at the gas pumps and a few more in the parking spaces. I pulled up to a pump and turned off the engine.

  “I’ll head inside and get a drink,” Neely Kate said. “Get the lay of the land. You come in when you’re finished.”

  We both got out, and as I pumped the gas, I watched Neely Kate head toward the entrance. It looked like a normal weekday morning at any convenience store, although that meant nothing.

  Once the tank was full, I grabbed my purse and headed inside. Neely Kate was by the fountain drink station, filling a cup with ice.

  “Find anything?” I asked.