Thirty-Two and a Half Complications Page 5

  I wasn’t so sure about that, but I had no desire to contradict him. When Joe was working for the state police in Little Rock, he’d applied to get a regular deputy job so he could be with me in Henryetta. The long distance, along with a host of other issues, had been hard on our relationship. But pure happiness had leaked out of Joe when he told me about applying for the position. Something had told me that he truly wanted the job and wasn’t just doing it for me. But then I’d believed a lot of things about Joe that had turned out not to be true. I gave myself a mental shake. Joe’s happiness or unhappiness in his current career was no longer my concern.

  Mason shifted me on his lap. “I can send him a list of parameters based on the description you gave me and ask for him to send me the mug shots, but he’ll want to know why I’m calling him. He won’t cooperate unless I tell him…and I won’t lie, Rose.”

  The unfinished like him hung in the air. I had no intention of asking Mason to jeopardize his integrity. “And if we find the guy in the mug shots, what will we do? It’s not like we have any definitive proof. Are we wasting our time?”

  “Unless the money they took from you changed your vision, they didn’t get enough loot for whatever purpose they have. Like I told you, they’re probably going to rob something else. Another bank. A store.” He took my hand in his. “They had guns, Rose. One of the guys got physical with you, and I suspect you haven’t told me everything that happened. What if he really hurts someone next time?” Worry filled his eyes. “Not to mention that you said he threatened you if you told anyone about them. What if they figure out who you are? They have your deposit bag. I bet there was a deposit slip in there with the name of your business, right?”

  My already queasy stomach started to churn. I hadn’t even thought of that. “Yeah.”

  “So no, we’re not wasting our time. We need to ID this guy as soon as we can. And once we find him, Joe will help figure out a reason to make the arrest. We just need to piece things together before they strike again. And maybe hurt someone this time.” He hesitated.

  “Go ahead and say it.”

  “I’m worried that they might come looking for you. In fact, I’m thinking about asking the sheriff’s department to send out a patrol to check on your house when I’m not there.”

  “Don’t do that. You know who will volunteer for the job.”

  “Your safety comes first, Rose.”

  I groaned. What a mess. “I really don’t want to see him.”

  “I don’t want you to have to see him, but you know he’ll insist on it, patrol or no patrol. Once he realizes I’m pulling those mug shots for you, he won’t send them to me. He’ll insist you come to him.”

  I felt like I was going to throw up. “You’re sure there’s not another way?”

  “None that I can think of. Believe me, I’d rather keep him out of this too, but I don’t think we have much of a choice.”

  I swallowed and nodded, turning to look out the window.

  “Talk to me, Rose.”

  “You’re right. I don’t want to see him, but I need you to know that it’s not because I still want him...” I turned back to face him.

  “I do know that.”

  “I just felt like everything was finally settling down.” I gave him a grim smile. “But I can be a grownup. I can do this.”

  “Do you want to be with me when I call him?”

  I shook my head. “No. Just tell me when and where I’m supposed to go after you talk to him.” I stood, pulling free from his grasp. “I need to get back to work.”

  “Rose.” He reached out and grabbed my hand again. “Don’t be upset with me.”

  “I’m not upset with you. I promise.” I leaned over and kissed him. “How late do you think you’ll be at work tonight? I can fix us something to eat.”

  “I’m not sure yet. I want to work on that case I was telling you about, but I can do that in the office at the farmhouse. Don’t go to any trouble with dinner.”

  “Call me when you know something.”

  “Okay.”

  I left Mason’s office and took the staircase down to the first floor of the courthouse, heading for the personal property department. My best friend Neely Kate was sitting at her desk behind the counter, her usually long, fluffy blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her face was practically bare of makeup—very unlike her—and she was eating a saltine. Her coworker was noticeably absent, and I was happy we were alone.

  Her eyes widened when she saw me come through the door. “Hey, Rose. You here seeing Mason?” she asked.

  Her question made me feel guilty. I used to come to the courthouse to see her. Now she was a secondary reason. “I wanted to see you too. Sorry that I’ve been busy.”

  “Please.” Her nails were painted in light teal and white stripes. “You have no idea how happy I am that you two are together. But I will admit to missin’ you.”

  “How about lunch tomorrow? If you’re up to it, that is. How’s the morning sickness?”

  She put a hand on her stomach. “Not so great. But I can handle lunch. Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from spending time with you.”

  “I guess Violet was lucky. She never had much morning sickness.”

  Neely Kate’s eyebrows lifted. “If that was some lame attempt to make me feel better—or make me feel worse—keep it to yourself.” She released a low chuckle. “I had no idea that the minute you announce that you’re pregnant, every woman in a two-block radius feels the need to share each excruciating—” her eyes pierced mine “—and I do mean excruciating, details about her pregnancy.” She shook her head and quirked her brow at me. “I’m tellin’ you, the Eastern Fenton County High School had their abstinence program all wrong. What they should have done was bring in a few of the women I’ve encountered to tell their stories to the student body. Then we’d have a negative population growth.”

  Whenever I got pregnant, I was going to keep it to myself until they wheeled me into the delivery room. “I’m sorry you’re feeling so bad.”

  She patted my hand. “Not to worry. She says I’m gonna have a healthy boy. Now tell me about that bank robbery. I had to hear it second-hand, and I was worried sick.”

  I cringed. “I’m sorry.”

  “Well the least you can do is tell me what happened. Do you have any idea who the robbers were?”

  I moved closer. “Officially? No. They wore ski masks. But unofficially, I saw one of their faces in a vision.”

  Neely Kate got excited. “Oh! You had a vision on purpose to help solve a mystery? Finally!”

  “No!” I squirmed. “And I’ve had visions on purpose before.”

  “But not enough of them.”

  I frowned. “Well, this one just popped into my head right before the robbers ran off.” I paused, my stomach twisting again. “Mason’s going to have me look at some mug shots.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “Why do I hear a but in there?”

  “We can’t tell the Henryetta police why I need to look at mug shots, so Mason is going to call the one person we know in county law enforcement who will understand my need for secrecy.”

  Comprehension washed over her face. “Joe.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I know you’ve been worried about seeing him since he moved back to town, but you can face him, Rose. You already have. Multiple times…and you’ve put him in his place too.”

  I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Neely Kate. He moved here for me.”

  She studied me for several seconds, and my face heated under her scrutiny. “Does that have any impact on your decision to be with Mason?”

  “No!” I hissed. “Not one day has gone by that I’ve regretted being with Mason. I just feel guilty. I never gave Joe any indication that I’d change my mind, but he uprooted everything to move here anyway.”

  “Rose Anne Gardner, you have nothing to feel guilty about. You have no control over where that man chooses to live. If he moved here to get you back—well, that’s all
on him. Not you.”

  I reached over the counter and pulled her into an awkward hug. “That’s why I love you, Neely Kate. You’re my voice of reason.”

  A smug smile spread across her face. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  “Okay.” I tilted my head. “How about this: did you know that Samantha Jo Wheaton is working at the Henryetta Bank and Trust?” Even though Neely Kate wasn’t much of a gossip, she somehow knew just about everything about everyone. I was hoping I’d scooped her on this one.

  “Please.” She rolled her eyes. “She started working there three weeks ago. It was quite the promotion for her after working behind the electronics counter at Wal-Mart for six months. She only got the job because she’s the second cousin of the bank manager. It ain’t gonna help her though.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Her scumbag ex racked up a ton of credit card bills with her name on them. She’s about to declare bankruptcy. So while she’s bound to be making more money at the bank, it’s too little too late. She’s already lost her house.”

  “Oh.”

  “When are you going to figure out that I know everything?”

  “Not quite everything,” I gloated. “I found out what happened in Little Rock to force Mason to leave his DA job there and come to Fenton County.”

  She shrugged, trying to play it off. “Everyone has an off day now and then.”

  “Okay, how about this?” I asked, giving her an ornery look. “Norman Sullivan, the loan officer at the bank, didn’t come in to work today, and all his family pictures were missing from his desk.”

  She lifted her eyebrows and gave me a mock bored look. “His wife left him last month.”

  “Oh.”

  She sat on the desk-height counter and scooted closer to me. “She started seeing a guy from El Dorado who owns a chain of Waffle Houses. Now she lives with her new boyfriend.” Neely Kate waved her hand in a sweeping arc. “She said she was looking for a man who would allow her to live the life she was meant to lead.”

  “So Mr. Sullivan might have robbed the bank to get his wife back.”

  “If he did, that was pretty stupid. He’s gotta be suspect number one. Even the Henryetta Police couldn’t miss that one.”

  “Mason said they were going to check it out.”

  She nodded, but I could tell I was losing her attention. She looked a little green around the gills. “Are you doin’ okay, Neely Kate?”

  “My cousin had a bunch of miscarriages and the doctor told her that morning sickness is actually a good sign. It means all your hormones are strong and protecting the baby. So I’m happy—mostly—I’m feeling sick. Besides, Grandma read my tea leaves.” She sat back, her face taking on an even greener tone. “Speakin’ of which…” She hopped off the counter and dashed around the counter without another word.

  “Bye,” I called after her as I followed her into the hall, but she’d already ducked into the bathroom.

  Bruce Wayne was still working when I got back to the job site, but the wind had picked up, bringing a cold bite with it. We’d removed all but a few bushes, so we spent the next hour digging the rest out so that we’d have empty beds to get started on the next day. Just as we were packing up our tools, Violet called me. I hesitated before answering, but I knew she’d hound me until I did.

  “Rose, I need a favor,” she said as soon as I picked up.

  Another favor, but she sounded frantic. “What’s wrong?”

  “Mike was supposed to pick up the kids, and his parents can’t do it because they went to Arizona. Can you get them?”

  I glanced at the time on my phone. “Ashley got out of school ten minutes ago. Is she still there?”

  Violet started to cry. “They’re holding her in the office. I didn’t want to call you, but I can’t close early because I have a customer picking up a big order this afternoon. I know I keep asking for favors.”

  “Vi, it’s okay. Calm down.” I gave Bruce Wayne a reassuring smile in response to his worried glance. “I love Ashley and Mikey, and Bruce Wayne and I were just packing up. I’ll go get them now.”

  “Thank you,” but her words were muffled with her tears. “Just take them to the house if you don’t mind. Mike said he’d pick them up by five-thirty. It’s his night to get them.”

  “Okay,” I said, but suddenly my stomach flopped like a fish out of water.

  It was the logical place to take them, but it meant I’d risk seeing Violet’s new next-door neighbor.

  Joe.

  ***

  Chapter Five

  Violet and I were more worked up about picking the kids up late than they were. They were excited to see me, especially when I told them we were going to head out to the farm to get my little dog Muffy before heading back to the house on Meadow Street.

  When we parked in the circular drive in front of my two-story white Victorian house, I told the kids they could get out and wander around while I let Muffy take care of her business. They’d only been out to the farm once before and both had been fascinated with the barn and adjacent pasture.

  Although Ashley had started kindergarten only a couple of months ago, she now acted like five going on thirteen. But instead of developing the usual tween attitude, she seemed to have cultivated an increased sense of responsibility. She unbuckled her twenty-month-old brother Mikey from his car seat before I could get around to the other side, and helped him down from my pickup truck.

  I hurried up the steps to the covered porch and unlocked the front door while Muffy barked her fool head off inside. When I flung the door open, my little brown mutt burst through the open doorway and immediately jumped up on my legs. I leaned over to pet her. “I missed you too, girl, and I’m sorry I didn’t bring you with me. But it’s getting cold outside and I didn’t want you to get sick from being outside all day.” I knew I was an overprotective pet owner. Heavens only knew what kind of helicopter parent I’d be one day.

  Ashley stood at the bottom of the porch steps, holding her little brother’s hand. “Why do you talk to her like she’s a real person, Aunt Rose?”

  I shrugged. “Well, I guess because I think of her as a person.”

  “But she doesn’t talk back.”

  “She does in her own way.”

  Having sufficiently greeted me, Muffy released a deadly wave of noxious gastrointestinal fumes and ran down the steps toward my niece and nephew. Mikey pulled himself loose from Ashley and clapped his hands. “Muppy.”

  My little dog covered him with licks, and he tumbled onto his backside. Mikey squealed with excitement when she climbed onto his lap.

  “See?” I said. “Muffy’s talking right now even if she isn’t using words. She’s giving Mikey kisses to say she missed him and she loves him.”

  “Just like when you and Joe used to kiss.”

  My stomach twisted. “Uh…yeah.” The kids had gotten used to seeing Joe on the weekends and he’d always taken time to play with my niece and nephew. They missed him after our breakup, and given that her own parents were in the process of splitting up, Ashley hadn’t taken it well. “But I’m not with Joe anymore. Remember?”

  “I know,” she sighed. “You’re with Mason, but we still play with Joe sometimes.”

  I’d been climbing down the steps to join them, but froze in my tracks. “You do?”

  “Yeah.” Her head bobbed enthusiastically. “Sometimes he comes over and watches us when Mommy has to go to the store.”

  “Huh.” Part of me wasn’t surprised. The kids had known Joe for months, after all, and he was once again living in the little house next door to my old house. The same one he’d lived in when he was undercover and going by the name Joe McAllister. But I was surprised Violet hadn’t told me. And I had to admit that I didn’t like it one bit. A couple of weeks ago she’d made it pretty clear she didn’t approve of Mason. Funny how she hadn’t approved of Joe either until after our breakup.

  Muffy took off running toward the barn and we followed be
hind. Mikey struggled to keep up, so I picked him up and settled him on my hip.

  “Are you gonna get horses, Aunt Rose?” Ashley asked as she watched Muffy duck under the wooden fence surrounding the horse pen. “Momma says she thinks Miss Dora had horses.”

  “I don’t know. Horses are a lot of work and I can hardly take care of Muffy.”

  Ashley giggled.

  I let the kids play for another ten minutes before I said, “Come on. I need to get you guys back home.” I didn’t relish facing Joe, so a part of me wanted to ask Mike to pick the kids up from the farm. But I knew I’d have to see Joe at some point, especially if he agreed to Mason’s request about the mug shots.

  The kids reluctantly climbed back into the truck, but I assured them they’d be out at the farm for Thanksgiving and promised we could take a walk down the road next to the fields if it wasn’t raining.

  “What about the woods, Aunt Rose?” my niece asked, her voice high-pitched with excitement. “Can we go out in the woods?”

  “No. Not the woods.” It was going to take a while before I was ready to walk in the woods again.

  I drove through the short patch of trees lining the driveway and stopped at the edge of the highway that led to Henryetta. A shiny black pickup with a long scratch along the side drove past us, but just as I was getting ready to pull out, it did a U-turn and headed back the other direction.

  “That truck’s not bein’ safe, Aunt Rose,” Ashley said in her mini-grownup voice.

  “No. It’s not,” I agreed as I pulled out behind it. We followed it for half a mile before it turned left onto a narrow private drive. As erratic as the driver was behaving, I wasn’t sorry to see it go, but I had to stop and wonder if there was some truth to Mason’s observation—trouble seemed to surround me like a whirling dervish.

  Ashley talked about school and how one of the boys in her class had cut another little girl’s hair with scissors. I listened absently, my mind combing through all my current dilemmas. The most pressing problem was our money situation, so I racked my brain trying to come up with a way to raise nine thousand dollars in case the insurance company didn’t reimburse us. No obvious solution jumped out at me.