Thirty and a Half Excuses
Page 99

“Okay,” His subdued tone matched my own.
A knock at the front door made me jump. Joe tenderly stroked my arm. “I’ll get it.”
He went to the front door, and I heard muffled voices while I poured a bowl of cereal.
“Rose, it’s for you.”
Worried it was Detective Taylor, I took my time getting to the front door, but I exhaled in relief when I discovered Bruce Wayne on my front porch.
When he saw me, he hung his head. “I’m sorry for stirring up so much trouble for you yesterday.”
I leaned against the doorjamb. “What happened to you? I was worried sick.”
“I got scared. I didn’t want to go back to jail.”
“But the waitress said you left with Sly and Thomas.”
His mouth dropped. “You haven’t been running around telling everybody that, have you?”
“Well…only a couple of people.”
“I heard you were planning on going out to Weston’s Garage.” His voice lowered. “It’s a good thing you didn’t. There’s a lot of people out there who don’t like you.”
I scowled. “Friends of yours?”
He shrugged. “They’ve helped me out from time to time.” He shuffled his feet. “Look, I left with those guys, but they didn’t force me. I wanted to go. They offered to hide me until this was over. I was okay.”
“You have to tell me the next time something like this happens, Bruce Wayne. You can’t leave me so worried.”
“I will, Miss Rose.” He paused. “So are we still doing the parsonage job or not?”
“I don’t know.” I rubbed my forehead and winced. “I’m sure Jonah’s busy dealing with the fallout of his mother’s arrest, not to mention he was shot in the arm. I’m not sure when—or if—he’ll want us back.”
He grinned. “Then we’ll just wait for the next job.”
“Yes, we will.”
“Oh, I heard about Christy taking you from the sheriff’s office at gunpoint. I’m not sure if you heard that Ernie arrested Christy yesterday afternoon. He found her high and shooting stop signs in Jonah’s neighborhood. Oh, and Jonah said he was reverting all of her property back to her because his mother had coerced Miss Dorothy into willing her things to the church. She wasn’t the only one, either. Miss Rhonda fooled a lot of people.”
“So I heard.” There was one piece of the puzzle I didn’t have the answer to yet, but I suspected Bruce Wayne might. “Do you know anything about the break-in at Miss Dorothy’s?”
His eyes widened, and he held his hands up. “I didn’t do it. I swear.”
“I know you didn’t do it, but I suspect you know something about it.”
He sucked in his lower lip and kept his gaze down. “Let’s just say it didn’t have anything to do with Miss Rhonda or Jonah, but it had a whole lot to do with the houses being empty.”
“Houses? You mean this isn’t the first time?”
His face lifted, and his eyes pleaded with mine. “Stay out of this, Miss Rose. You don’t want to get messed up with Crocker’s guys right now.”
So Crocker’s guys were breaking into the homes of the deceased, which explained the missing things at Miss Laura’s house too. The news didn’t surprise me at all. “Don’t worry, Bruce Wayne. I’m done solving murders. I’m officially just a garden shop owner. So be ready to get back to work soon.”
He grinned. “I will.” Shifting his weight, he hooked his thumbs on his pants. “You take care, Miss Rose. You’re one of the only people in this town who gave me a fair shake. Twice. I won’t ever forget it.”
“Thank you, Bruce Wayne.”
After he left, I found Joe in the kitchen making an omelet, his back to me. I knew him well enough to know that something was bothering him.
“I told you that you didn’t have to cook, Joe.”
“I know darlin’, but I wanted to make sure you ate something filling, something that’s not cereal.” Grabbing a plate, he slid the omelet out of the pan, setting it in front of me. He sat down next to me, looking uncomfortable.
I stabbed my eggs, taking a big bite, not realizing how hungry I was until the food was in my mouth. “Go ahead and spill it. I can always tell when you’re worried.”
“This senate race might be tight.”
My food felt like a bowling ball in my stomach. Would I ever be able to just eat a meal in peace? “I thought the race was unopposed.”
“Someone else is going to declare he’s running later this morning. Frank Delany. Delany’s a family man, so they’ll be comparing me to him.”
I glanced at the ring on my finger. “Is that why you asked me to marry you?”
“No. God, no.” He took my hand, searching my face. “I told you that I planned to ask you today. Before I knew about the senate race.”
“What does that have to do with what you’re worried about?”
“My mother is concerned.”
I set my fork down.
“You’re from a lower socio-economic class than the opponent.”
Resentment simmered in my gut. “And you.” I looked up at him. “I’m much lower than you.”
His eyes hardened with determination. And desperation. “But we can spin that as a positive. Look at the nursery that you and Violet started. Voters love that kind of stuff. I told my mother that you might actually be an advantage. We can pull in voters who relate to you and your humble roots.”