Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies (20 page)

“What in Pete’s sake are you talkin’ about?” Bruce Wayne asked.

“Did you know that Joe’s sister Kate is living in the apartment over the antique store?” Neely Kate asked.

“No.”

Neely Kate gave him a smug grin. “Well, I figured out that it’s directly across from the DA’s offices. So I convinced the store owner to let me look at the apartment. When we got up there, we found binoculars by the window and all kinds of papers proving Kate’s been spyin’ on Mason. She’s got a stack of papers about his court cases from when he was a prosecutor in Little Rock. One case in particular seemed to catch her attention—something from five years ago. She’d highlighted it like crazy. In fact, she’d highlighted it so much I couldn’t read the defendant’s name because it was covered in blue. He was charged with a hit and run for plowing into some guy crossing the street. An eight-year-old boy was the only witness, but he drowned before the trial. They ended up dismissing the case.”

Bruce Wayne’s forehead furrowed. “Why would Kate be interested in a five-year-old hit-and-run case?”

“Why is she obsessed with Mason at all? She’s got tons of photos of him too,” I said, feeling a goose walk over my grave. “I’m not buying that it’s because she wants me to get back together with Joe. This goes a lot deeper.”

Neely Kate leaned to the side in her chair. “She knew about what Mason was doin’ in Little Rock a year ago. She was the one who told you that he and Hilary had history.”

“Yeah, but she blew it out of proportion.” I stood, wringing my hands. “Besides, she couldn’t have been in Little Rock at the time. She moved to California two years ago. How’d she know what Mason was doin’? How did he even fall into her radar?”

“I don’t know,” Neely Kate murmured.

Figuring I could at least share
this
with Bruce Wayne, I explained about the slips of paper and what they said. “What’s weird is they were all folded up. Like someone was passing her notes.”

“That is strange,” Bruce Wayne said.

Neely Kate picked up a pen from her desk. “Obviously Kate thinks Mason is doing something wrong. She stole his phone. She’s spying on his office. She’s going through his files. The question is why would she think that?”

“It sounds likes she believes Mason was taking bribes from Mick Gentry,” Bruce Wayne said. “His phone disappeared before the fire. Maybe she was trying to get information about Gentry and Gems from the phone. That would explain the note about the fire too—maybe she thinks the information linking him to the whole debacle burned up in the fire.”

“But
why
does she think that? Sure, Mason and Joe were doing that sting operation on Gems, but how would she know?”

We were silent for a moment, then Neely Kate said in a quiet voice, “She’s looking at his old files too. She must think he was taking bribes in Little Rock first.”

I shook my head. “There is no way on God’s green earth Mason would take a bribe.”

“Maybe not, but Kate thinks so,” Neely Kate said.

“Why does she even care?” I asked, my anger growing. “It’s none of her business.”

Bruce Wayne sat on the edge of his desk. “Maybe she’s doin’ it for her daddy.”

I shook my head. “She hates her daddy.”

“So she says,” Neely Kate said. “What if she’s lying to cover her tail?”

“No,” I protested. “Even Joe says she hates him.”

“Joe had you arrested. On his daddy’s orders,” Bruce Wayne said. “Do you really think you can trust him?”

I looked him in the eye. “Maybe not. But this still doesn’t make sense. Surely she knows she’s not gonna find any dirt on Mason.”

Neely Kate’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, my stars and garters. She’s not lookin’ for evidence. She’s plantin’ it.”

“What?” I asked.

“Think about it. J.R. planted evidence that you paid Daniel Crocker to kill your mother.”

“But she’s been here for weeks. What’s takin’ her so long?”

“She told you herself she wants to see the show,” Bruce Wayne said. “Maybe she’s gettin’ everything in place so she can watch it all unfold.”

“It’s all a game to her,” I said, starting to pace again. “She called and left me that cryptic message before I was arrested. Then she gloated about how she tried to warn me.” I stopped and spun around to face them. “She gave me another message. She said something I’m looking for is under my nose.”

“What’s that mean?” Neely Kate asked.

“Beats me. I ran her off and told her to keep her worthless messages to herself. I can’t very well go ask her to give me a better explanation. Especially after we were in her apartment.” Then a fresh wave of horror washed over me. “Oh! Neely Kate! The wrench!”

“What about—” Her eyes turned into silver dollars. “Oh, my word. We forgot it. I didn’t give the owner a chance to ask for it. I just slapped the key on the counter and told her I wasn’t interested in the apartment.”

“What are you all talkin’ about?” Bruce Wayne asked.

Neely Kate told him about how we’d schemed our way into the apartment and then left the wrench on the kitchen counter.

“I didn’t fix the faucet,” I said, getting scared. “She’s gonna ask her landlord why the wrench is there, and that woman’s gonna describe us down to a T, especially since she was so suspicious. And if Kate has any doubts, she’ll remember seeing you out front. What are we gonna do?”

Bruce Wayne looked worried. “I’d suggest going to the police and tellin’ them what you found, but who are you gonna tell? The Henryetta police are gonna bungle it, and they hate you to boot. They’re more likely to arrest you for breakin’ and enterin’ than they are to help.”

“And the sheriff’s out,” Neely Kate said. “For obvious reasons. Maybe we should tell Carter.”

I shook my head. “No. I’ll tell Mason and let him decide what to do. He’s workin’ with a state police detective. Maybe he can get them to look into it.”

“Good idea,” Neely Kate said.

“I’m glad you’re plannin’ to stay in with Maeve tonight. No one will look for you there.”

Bruce Wayne’s face puckered with confusion. “Why’re ya stayin’ with Maeve?”

Neely Kate sighed. “It’s a long story.”

I gave Bruce Wayne a look that said we’d fill him when there was time.

“The next question is what is Kate capable of? If she hired Sam Teagen as the middleman to hire Eric to run Mason off the road and steal his phone, did she also have him killed? I found a gun in her bag.”

Neely Kate gave Bruce Wayne a pointed look. “And not just any gun. A Sig Sauer.”

Bruce Wayne whistled. “She ain’t playin’.”

“We know she’s dangerous, but what’s she going to do to us?” I gasped as a new thought occurred to me. “Did she leave those notes on my car? The ones that warned me to stay out of other people’s business? Did she have someone run
me
off the road?”

Fear filled Neely Kate’s eyes. “I don’t think it’s safe for you to be alone.”

“If she really posted my bail, she’s not gonna kill me. She could have left me in jail.”

Neely Kate didn’t look any more relieved about that.

“I need to get home. Mason’s gonna beat me there at this rate.”

Neely Kate stood. “My car’s still over at Merilee’s from yesterday. I can drive myself to Maeve’s.”

“But your stuff’s still at my house.”

She shrugged. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Call me when you get to Maeve’s, okay? I’m worried about you.”

“You’re in more danger, Rose. You call me too.”

Bruce Wayne grabbed his coat. “I’m following you home, Rose.”

I almost told him it wasn’t necessary, but two things stopped me. One, I’d hurt his feelings earlier. I wanted him to feel needed and trusted. And two, I really
was
worried about being out by myself.

I wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you. I’m sorry I hurt you this morning. You have to know I don’t think those hurtful things. I never have.”

He patted my back, then pulled loose, keeping his eyes on the floor. “I do. But I was hurt. And I still think you and Neely Kate are playing with fire, but I also think you might be able to accomplish something meetin’ with those guys.”

“Thanks, Bruce Wayne. That means a lot to me.”

We all walked out the front door together, and Bruce Wayne locked up behind us. I looked around to see if anyone suspicious was lingering nearby, but it was a bare early February afternoon in Henryetta. Hardly anyone was out and about, so anyone watching us would have stuck out like a sore thumb. But as I made my way to my truck, I couldn’t help but look up at Kate’s apartment windows. She stood in front of the glass, looking down at me.

She lifted her hand and waggled her fingers, a huge smile spreading across her face.

T
he house was
empty when I got home. Bruce Wayne followed me all the way to my front door and then insisted on checking the house before he left me there. He gave me a confrontational look, but I didn’t say a word. I just turned off the alarm and followed him around like a lost puppy. When he declared it safe, he looked around. “Where’s Muffy?”

“Mason’s takin’ me out to dinner tonight, so I left her at Maeve’s for the night.” I pulled my phone out. “And Neely Kate’s there too.” I sent her a quick text to let her know I was home, then looked up at him. “Everyone’s safe and sound.”

“Well, I better be goin’. Be careful, and let me know if you need anything.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

I watched him leave, then locked the door and turned the dreaded alarm back on. Then I dug in my purse and pulled out my burner phone.

Nothing.

Worried, I texted Jed.

No word yet. You?

No. From either player
.

He was talking about Skeeter. I considered texting him again, but I knew he’d reach out when he was good and ready. Though I hadn’t heard squat from him, I could only hope he was working on his own plan to take down J.R. I was dying to know what he’d discovered, if anything. But then, he was probably dying to know what Jed and I were up to … Rumors had a way of spreading, so I was sure I’d hear from him soon.

The news about Kate was bound to put a damper on my date with Mason, but I was bound and determined that we would have one anyway, even if we stayed at home. I was going to make the most of my time with Mason.

I went upstairs and took a shower and spent more time than usual putting on makeup and fixing my hair. I finished in the bathroom and stood in front of my closet, looking over my dress selection. Then I remembered the dress I’d been wearing in my vision. We’d both been so happy, and we needed all the happiness we could scrabble together. I started to reach for it when I heard Mason’s voice.

“Rose?”

“Upstairs!”

His footsteps sounded on the stairs, and I turned to watch as he came through the doorway, his overnight bag slung over his shoulder.

His eyes lit up at the sight of me. “You’re beautiful.”

I glanced down at my bathrobe. “I’m not dressed.”

He tossed his bag on the bed and moved toward me. “You’re still beautiful.” Then he pulled me into his arms and gave me a soft, lingering kiss. “I missed you more than I would have thought possible.”

I couldn’t help wondering if he was thinking of my imminent incarceration. I sure was. “I missed you too.”

“I made a reservation for six.” He pulled my robe open. His hands skimmed across my stomach, sending shivers through my body, before they came to rest on my naked hips. “We have a little time before we go.”

His mouth covered mine, and his hands began to wander, but I groaned and leaned back. “As much as I want this too, I have to tell you about my day.” Well, part of it.

Worry filled his eyes. “Should I be concerned?”

I grimaced. “Maybe.”

“Is it an emergency?”

“Well, no … I think it can wait a bit.”

“Let me grab a five-minute shower, and you can tell me while I get ready.”

“Okay.”

“Where’s Muffy?”

“At your mom’s.”

“And Neely Kate?”

“The same.”

He gave me another kiss. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but would you please get dressed before I get out of the shower? I’m afraid I’ll be too busy trying to seduce you to listen.”

I chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.”

I put on the wine-colored dress with a deeper V-neck than I usually wore, my Lady in Black clothes aside. I’d just picked out a pair of black high heels when Mason emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and water droplets clinging to his skin.

I couldn’t help gawking at him. He truly was a gorgeous man.

He noticed me staring and grinned. “I’m not sure that dress is going to be any better for my attention span.”

I laughed. “Do I have to put on my winter coat and zip it all the way to the top?”

“You very well might. How about you tell me your news while I shave?” He turned his attention to the mirror and slathered his face with shaving cream.

I leaned into the doorframe. “How was the rest of
your
day?”

He picked up his razor and began to shave. “They located Pete Mooney.”

“That’s good, right?”

“It would be better if he wasn’t dead.”

“What?” The news ran a chill down my spine. “What happened?”

He rinsed his razor in the running water and resumed his task. “They found him in an alley in Little Rock over the weekend. He’d been beaten to death.”

I shuddered. “Someone tried to keep him quiet?”

“The official police report says he was mugged. But Terry—the state police detective—is going to question the Little Rock police about their investigation.”

“Well, that’s good.”

He rinsed his razor again. “I’m trying to see this as a good sign.”

“How can you say that?”

“It’s like I said on the phone. I’m getting the sense that we’re making someone nervous. We’re close to something.” He washed his face and patted it dry. “Now tell me about your day.”

“Just like the news about Pete Mooney, I’m choosing to see what we found as a good sign.” I took a deep breath as he pulled out a shirt and a pair of pants, then tossed them on the bed and moved on to the dresser.

“That
definitely
sounds ominous.” He pulled out a pair of underwear and put them on.

I sat on the edge of the bed. “When we were in town, Neely Kate told me that Kate Simmons is renting the apartment over the antique store, which explains why I keep running into her on the square. Then Neely Kate realized the apartment is directly across from the courthouse, and more specifically, directly across from the DA’s offices.”

He paused and looked at me. “That could be a coincidence.”

“While it could be, we’re pretty sure it’s not. Especially after what we saw.” I watched him step into his pants. “Neely Kate told the store owner she was interested in renting the apartment after Kate moves. She tried to convince her to let us take a look at it, and the woman finally agreed when Neely Kate told her we could fix the leaky faucet. That way she could explain to Kate that we were maintenance workers.”

He shook his head. “And Kate just let you in?”

“No, Kate wasn’t there. But the owner gave us a key.”

His eyes narrowed. “You used a key to get into Kate’s apartment, and then proceeded to fix her leaky sink?”

“The key part is correct, so we were there with permission.”

He grimaced. “I’m not so sure that would hold up in court.”

“We almost got caught, but we made it out. And the important part is what we found in the loft. It made us forget all about the sink.”

He pulled on his shirt and started to work on the buttons. I hopped off the bed and brushed his hands away, taking over the task.

“Have you noticed that when it comes to clothing, I’m always trying to get yours off and you’re always putting mine
on?
” His eyebrow rose playfully, but his tone was subdued. He was just as nervous to hear what I had to tell him as I was to tell it.

“Everything has a time and a place, Mason,” I said, trying not to sound so serious. In reality, I felt like I was standing on the edge of a precipice, waiting for someone to topple me over.

He put his fingers under my chin and gently lifted my face. “What did you find out?”

“She’s investigating you.”

He searched my eyes, giving away nothing.

“The windows in the front of the apartment give her a perfect view of the DA’s offices, and she can see into your old office and your boss’s. She even has a pair of binoculars by the window.”

“I can’t think of a single thing she’d see in my office that she could construe as either good or bad. What happens in my office is as dry as burnt toast.”

“Except when I visit sometimes.”

His hand slid up to cup my cheek. “I’ve always closed the blinds. There’s no way she saw us in there.”

“There was more. A
lot
more.” I looked down as I worked on his last button. “She has a table full of papers about you. And she has your old phone. The one that was stolen when you were run off the road.”

That got a reaction. “She has my
phone
?”

“I turned it on, and sure enough, it was yours. I couldn’t believe it still had power. That was over a month ago.”

“It means she’s trying to get into it. Or already has.”

“But does that mean she hired Sam Teagen to arrange for someone to run you off the road? And if she did, was she also the one who posted my bail?”

His eyes clouded. “That means she might have also had something to do with Eric Davidson’s death.”

“She had a bunch of papers and police reports associated with some of your cases in Little Rock. There were a bunch of highlighted sections on one in particular. It was from five years ago. A hit-and-run case with an eight-year-old boy as the only witness.”

He grimaced. “That was one of my first cases. I wasn’t looking forward to putting the kid on the stand, but he was smart. About a week before the trial, I met with him to go over his testimony. I was worried about how he’d handle everything, so I met him and his mother at an ice cream shop to put him at ease. He was sharp, though, and not too frightened. He would have done a good job. But he drowned before we could go to trial. I was pretty shook up when I heard about it.”

I smoothed my hand over his chest. It was obvious the boy’s death still bothered him. “Why would Kate be interested in the case?”

“I have no idea.” He wore a troubled look, but I could see he was putting something together. “Unless.”

“What?”

“This is a total long shot, but it’s worth pursuing.” He took a breath. “One of Mooney’s charges was a hit-and-run case.”

“You think it’s the same one? Neely Kate said the defendant’s name was too heavily highlighted for her to read it. But wouldn’t you remember?”

He shook his head. “I literally saw hundreds of cases, and it was one of my first. That one only stands out to me because what happened to that boy haunted me for some time. I’ll text the detective and ask him to look into it. Kate Simmons seems like an immediate concern.”

“She’s been following you too. Or more likely someone else has been. She has photos of you that date back to last July. There’s a photo of you, me, and Joe on the courthouse steps after Jimmy DeWade was arrested. Kate was supposed to be in California back then.”

“I suspect you’re right about someone else taking the photos.”

“Why would Kate be so interested in you and what you were doin’?”

He shook his head. “I have no idea.”

“There were also little slips of paper that had short sentences with times and dates on them. They look like they’ve been folded and stuffed into something. They all seemed to pertain to you, although they were very vague.”

“I have no idea what she’s doin’ or why.” Yet he didn’t seem all that surprised. I supposed nothing about the Simmons family would surprise him now.

“We think she’s either trying to find evidence that you’ve misused your power in the DA’s office or she’s trying plant it. But if she’s planting evidence, she’s certainly playing a long game. I doubt she’d spend so much time doin’ it.”

“I agree.”

I hesitated. “Mason, she also has a gun.”

He pursed his lips. “I’m not surprised. I’m sure she’s doing her father’s handiwork. Just like her brother. And now they’ve trapped you here in this town.” Fear filled his eyes before the shutters to his emotions could snap shut. “I’m going to do everything in my power to stop them.”

“Is there anyone we can turn to for help? I know the Henryetta police and the sheriff’s office are out. But what about that state police detective you’re working with? Can he do something to help?”

“I don’t know. I’ll definitely tell him when I asked him about the hit-and-run case.” He searched my eyes. “But I’ll be vague about how I found out. I don’t want to bring you into it.”

“That’s just gonna make it harder to get him to do something, right?”

“I can’t risk you getting in trouble for breaking your bail agreement. Your explanation for why you were in that apartment is sketchy at best.”

“Mason, we have to do
something
. She’s investigating you.”

He gave me a soft kiss. “I know. And we’ll get that sorted out too.”

“What if she’s the one who kills you?”

He studied me for a moment. “Maybe knowing she’s involved will change things.”

“I should have another vision.” But the other vision I’d had—the dark, cold one—had freaked me out more than I cared to admit.

Mason sensed my hesitation. “Only if you want to.”

I nodded. “I do. I want to see if we’ve made any progress in changing things.”

He took my hand and led me to the bed. “Let’s sit down, okay? You nearly passed out last time.”

“Okay,” I said, sitting on the edge.

He sat next to me, his right hand holding my left, his other arm wrapped around my back. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” I closed my eyes and started to think about where Mason would be in three weeks, but then I switched the time frame, focusing instead on what we’d be doing over the weekend. The same inky darkness swirled in my head, an icy sharpness following close behind. Panicking again, I thought about dinner. The scene popped into my head immediately. We were in Jaspers, the same as what I’d seen the previous day.

“We’re gonna eat dinner at Jaspers.”

My eyes flew open. Mason had pulled me closer to his side, and his hand held mine in a tight grip.

“You saw it again?” he asked softly. “My death?”

I nodded, tears welling in my eyes. “But not in three weeks.” I looked up to meet his worried gaze. “By this weekend.” I paused. “I want to see who’s trying to kill you.”

His eyebrows rose, and he studied me for several seconds. “You can make it that specific?”

“I can try.”

He nodded. “Okay.” His thumb rubbed over the back of my hand. We were discussing his upcoming murder, and
he
was the one offering
me
comfort.