Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments Bonus Chapters: Rose Gardner Mystery

T
he sheriff’s
car pulled away with Rose inside, and I was too shocked to do anything other than give in to the terror clawing inside my chest.

My worst nightmare had just come true.

Rose was just arrested for her mother’s murder. J.R. Simmons was exacting his revenge.

Then a movement to my left caught my attention. Joe Simmons—chief deputy sheriff of Fenton County. Rose’s ex-boyfriend. Daddy’s boy.

Traitor.

He turned his back and strode to his sheriff’s car and I lost it.

“
You fucking bastard!
” I tore loose from the hold of the two sheriff’s deputies beside me.

He continued walking, ignoring my tirade, which only made me angrier. I launched myself at him, slamming him into his car.

He turned with a viciousness on his face that caught me by surprise, but only enraged me more. I got in two punches before he reacted, shoving me away. I lunged for him again, so furious my only thought was to make him pay.

Hands grabbed me, dragging me away from the man who’d ruined Rose’s life.
Again.
How many times would he continue to hurt her?

I tried to jerk loose, but the two deputies held tighter.

Simmons advanced toward me, fury in his eyes. “I could throw your ass in jail, and
no one
could get you out of it.”

“Not all of us have daddies to get us out of every fucking mess we make.”

He stopped in front of me, his hands fisted at his sides.

Anger burned in my chest. “She’ll
hate
you forever for this. You know that, right?”

His jaw tensed and rage covered his face.

“What? She wouldn’t go back to you so you just did what your daddy told you?”

He swallowed. “I don’t answer to you, Deveraux.”

“No, you made
damn
sure of that, didn’t you?” I spat, trying to pull loose from my captors. “You set this up perfectly. Made me think you were working with me when you were working with your father all along.”

His fist connected with my jaw while the deputies held me in place. A murderous look filled his eyes. “
Shut your mouth, Deveraux
.”

To my surprise, Deputy Miller took a step toward Joe. “Chief Deputy Simmons,” he barked, “he’s restrained!”

Enraged anew, I pulled free from the deputy on my right, trying to get another swing in at Simmons, but he stepped out of reach.

“You set me up all along!” I shouted. “You convinced me to set up the formal questioning, then you turned on me! You claim you love her, but you used me to hurt her!
You son of a bitch
!”

The other deputy grabbed my arm again and jerked hard enough to send a shooting pain through my shoulder.

“You set Rose up too, didn’t you? You
conveniently
shot the person whom your father hired to take the journal, then took it yourself.” My voice rumbled with anger. “He’s cleaned up all of
your
messes, now you’re cleaning up
his
.”

Joe grabbed handfuls of my shirt and jerked me against his chest. His eyes were wild. “
Shut. Up.
”

I pulled against my restrainers again to no avail. Then the vision of Rose’s horrified face filled my head and all the fight bled out of me, fear following in its wake. “Did you see her in that jail cell last July?” I demanded. “Did you see her panic as the bailiff dragged her from the courtroom? Do you have
any idea
what she’s going through right now?
Do you even care
?” I choked on the last words, Joe’s betrayal sinking deep into my gut. I pulled free from Deputy Miller, then leaned over, hands on my knees, trying not to be sick. “You got what you wanted,
you son of a bitch
.” I rose and pointed to his car in defeat. “Now get the hell off her property.”

Something flickered in his eyes, then he turned around and strode toward his car while I fought to keep myself together.

The deputy next to me clamped a handcuff on my wrist. “Mason Deveraux, you’re under arrest for assaulting a Fenton County deputy sheriff.”

I didn’t resist. Part of me didn’t care, and besides, there was no denying it. Joe’s swollen cheek was evidence enough that I was guilty as charged.

Joe opened his car door and glanced back at us. “Let him go.”

The deputy’s grip tightened on my wrist. “
But sir
! He attacked you!”

“Let him
go
.”

Grumbling, the deputy removed the cuff, then pointed a finger in my face. “You’re not the assistant district attorney anymore and you better remember that. If I had my way, you’d be in county lockup awaiting your arraignment.”

“
Deputy
,” Joe called out. “That’s enough.”

The deputy stomped off toward Joe’s car and climbed into the passenger side as Joe slid behind the wheel. Deputy Miller continued to stand next to me as the car pulled out toward the highway.

“I didn’t know,” Deputy Miller said softly. “Chief Deputy Simmons told me to meet him out here. I thought it was to watch the house. I had no idea they were going to arrest her.”

I rubbed my forehead, trying to focus on what needed to be done. “It was all for show. The more deputies, the scarier it was for her.” My voice broke as the truth hit me.

I’d failed her.

I’d promised to protect her and I’d failed. The thought was enough to make my knees buckle. Did she blame me for stirring up shit with J.R. Simmons? Did she hate me?

“Mr. Deveraux, maybe you should sit down.”

I sucked in a deep breath and shook my head. “No. I have to find her an attorney. I have to get her out of there.”

“You’re not gonna go after Deputy Simmons, are you?”

I wanted nothing more than to make Joe Simmons pay for what he’d done to her, but I’d regained enough control to realize that beating the crap out of him wouldn’t solve anything. He’d still be his father’s puppet, and I’d be locked up and unable to do anything to help Rose. No. I needed to stay on this side of the bars. It was the only way I could help her. “There are other ways to make him pay.”

“I’m going to resign,” the deputy said, sounding resolute. “There’s no way Rose did this. Joe Simmons of all people should know that. I can’t work for him after this.”

I turned to him in shock. “You’d do that? Resign because he treated her unfairly?”

He lifted his chin, determination in his eyes. “Last fall I was told to protect her from Daniel Crocker. Since then, Deputy Simmons has had me keep tabs on her and make sure she was safe. I’ve done it long enough that it’s ingrained in me now. I’m ashamed I just stood back and let him do this.”

I put my hand on his shoulder, studying him intently. He was still young and idealistic. I could see the devastation on his face. “There wasn’t anything you could do. You would have jeopardized your career.”

“It wouldn’t matter because I intend to quit anyway.”

I hesitated. What if he ran to Joe with what I was about to propose to him? I decided it was worth the risk. “How far are you willing to go to help her?”

“Whatever it takes.”

The look in his eyes told me he meant it. “I need you to keep your job, Deputy Miller. I need you to watch Simmons for me and tell me what he’s up to.”

The young man’s eyes widened. “You want me to spy on Chief Deputy Simmons?”

His questioning made me rethink my impromptu request. “Yes, and report back to me.”

He watched me for several seconds. “And what do you want me to tell you?”

“Anything you find suspicious.”

He swallowed, looking nervous. “Like sneaking around your property and reporting to Deputy Simmons anything I found out of the ordinary?”

I gasped. “You’ve been sneaking around the farmhouse?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Deputy Simmons didn’t say.”

“How long has this been going on?”

Deputy Miller cringed. “Since the fire at Gems.”

“
He has you spying on us?
What have you told him?”

His shoulders rose close to his ears. “Nothing, Mr. Deveraux. There was nothing to report. He told me he was worried about her safety. I never suspected he was looking for evidence. He had me totally fooled.” Embarrassment filled his words.

“He had me fooled too,” I said, resigned. “But we need to focus on Rose. You’ll really help me? I’m not the ADA anymore, so it’s liable to be more dangerous.”

He nodded, determination in his eyes. “Yes, sir. I’ll do what I can.”

My throat tightened. “Thank you.”

Deputy Miller glanced toward the living room window. “Do you need me to help with Muffy?”

I realized Rose’s dog was still in the house, hysterically barking. “No. I can take her to my mom’s if need be.”

He shifted his weight. “What are you gonna do now?”

I fought my rising panic. “I can’t represent her, so I have to find her an attorney. I hope to God she listened to me and doesn’t say anything if they try to question her.” A new thought occurred to me, making me feel ill all over again. “Detective Taylor hates her. If he questions her, he won’t treat her kindly.”

“She was arrested by the sheriff’s department.”

I ran my hand over my head in frustration. “Henryetta P.D. will request the case. Her mother was murdered in the city limits. There’s likely to be a turf war over her.”
Dammit.
A new thought consumed me. “I’m more worried about how they’ll treat her during booking. We both know Hoffstetter hates her too. And I suspect she’ll be the one to strip-search her.”

The young man grimaced. “I’ll stop by the county jail and check on her. I’ll call you when I know something.”

“Thank you,” I forced past the lump in my throat.

He nodded briskly, then hurried for his patrol car.

As Miller’s taillights disappeared in the grove of trees close to the highway, I opened the front door and let Muffy out. She raced out of the house, sniffing the ground, then took off toward the highway.

“Muffy!” I shouted, racing after her, worried she’d try to run after her mommy. But she stopped halfway down the drive and turned to face me, whining. I scooped her up into my arms and held her close to my chest, rubbing the back of her neck. “I know, girl. I feel the same way.”

She was too distraught to leave alone, so I put her in the front seat of my car, then went to the porch to lock the front door. I put the key in the lock and stopped, leaning my forehead against the door as my fear and grief threatened to take over.

I should have called ahead and warned her. I should have had her meet me somewhere. I had a feeling things would happen quickly, but not this quickly. Not on a Friday night. Panic welled up in my chest, but I beat it back into submission. I didn’t have time to give in to my terror. I had to find Rose an attorney and put him on retainer as quickly as possible before someone tried to question her.

As I drove into town, heading for my mother’s house, I ran through the list of possible lawyers, multiple times, not happy with the one name that continued to stick. But by the time I parked in front of my mother’s house, I knew he was the best option. He was the only person in the county I was certain wasn’t on someone’s secret payroll.

Mom opened the door with a look of surprise when she took in the sight of me holding a whimpering Muffy. Her shock quickly turned to worry. “Is Rose okay?”

I couldn’t figure out how she knew something happened to Rose, but then it became obvious. Why else would I be standing on her stoop with Rose’s dog, both of us literally looking like we’d lost our best friend?

“Joe . . .” My voice broke and I took a deep breath.

Muffy leaped from my arms to Mom, who caught her and held the little dog close.

“What about Joe?” She sounded worried.

“He had Rose arrested.”

“
He what
?” While I knew she’d be caught off guard, I was surprised by the sound of betrayal in her voice. “For what?”

“Murder. He had her arrested for her mother’s murder.”

She shook her head. “That’s not possible.”

“It’s entirely possible. He’s doing this to protect his father.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again. “I think you need to start from the beginning.”

“I don’t have time.” My panic was building again. “I have to hire her an attorney and I have to do it fast before Detective Taylor or some other asshole tries to bully her into confessing something she didn’t do.” I started down the sidewalk to my car.

“Mason!” she called after me. “Where are you going?”

“To find Carter Hale.”