Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies
Page 18
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“I know. I’m sorry I let Joe take it.”
His expression softened, and he shook his head. “No, sweetheart. You had no say in the matter. Go on. What happened next?”
“Beverly promised to give him more money, so he dropped his hold on me, and Beverly shot him in the head.” I shuddered as I remembered watching him fall to the ground.
A grim expression covered Mason’s face. “Can you show me where Hattie and Dirk were situated at that point?”
I pointed to the spot where Dirk had held me, then to the one where Hattie had lain between two desks. “She threatened to kill Hattie, so I went to the desk drawer and pretended it was stuck. Beverly got frustrated and pushed me out of the way. She got out the journal herself, but when she spun around, I tased her. After she fell, I got the book out from underneath her, then went to check on Hattie.”
“Where was Beverly at that point?”
“Here.” I pointed to the space in front of the desk.
“So you went to Hattie, and then what?”
“I called 911, and then Beverly tackled me. I tried to get away, but she pulled me back down and began to strangle me. Then Joe showed up and shot her.”
“And where did that happen?”
I pointed to the area, but I knew what he was going to ask next … and I had no idea how to answer it.
“So if this blood stain is from Beverly, how did this one get here?”
“I don’t know.” I turned away from him, the weight of my guilt making it difficult to breathe.
“You can tell me anything, Rose. You know that, right?”
Oh, God. He knew I was lying to him, which made it even worse. I wanted to tell him the truth, and he certainly deserved to know, but there was just no way my former assistant district attorney boyfriend would understand why I’d help Skeeter Malcolm. I didn’t think he ever would.
“This place is gonna give me nightmares. Can we go now?”
“Yeah.” The disappointment in his voice was like a knife to the gut, but I was keeping this secret to protect him just as much as myself.
I headed for the window, climbing out before him.
“What should we do now?” I asked. “What we really need is that journal. Where do you think Joe put it after he took it from me?”
“I know he didn’t log it as evidence. Randy already checked on that.”
“Deputy Miller did that? He told me that he believed I was innocent.”
Mason nodded. “He’s been keeping an eye on Joe for me.” He took my hand, and we started walking around the building. “Apparently, Joe practically lived at the sheriff’s office this weekend. He didn’t go home at all on Friday night. Of course, he was busy trying to find Skeeter Malcolm and arrest him for that double murder south of town.”
“Last week you told me that Joe thought Skeeter had done it, but what about you? Do you think so too?”
Mason squinted at me. “Why the sudden interest in Skeeter Malcolm?”
I shrugged. “It’s just a feeling.”
“You have visions, not feelings. Feelings are my mother’s purview, and she seems to be having an awful lot of them lately.”
“You should listen to your mother, Mason.”
He smirked a little at that. “The world’s going to hell in a handbasket. I’m counting on visions and feelings to guide my investigation. What would my law professors say?”
“I think you should use all the resources at your disposal. But you didn’t answer my question. Do you think Skeeter Malcolm did it?”
He frowned. “No. He’s not that stupid, yet Joe seems dead set on arresting him anyway.”
“Could his father be behind that too?”
Mason stopped walking. I turned around to face him.
“Could he be?”
“It crossed my mind this weekend, but since I’m not the ADA anymore and I was so focused on getting you out of jail, I didn’t give it much thought. But yeah, I think there’s a good chance of that.”
I tried to contain my excitement. I had managed to tie us all together without confessing my extracurricular activities. “Why does J.R. Simmons give a fig newton about Skeeter Malcolm?” I pressed.
Mason’s mouth twisted—it was an expression I recognized all too well; he was trying to decide what to tell me. “I don’t know for certain, but I don’t think we’re off in thinking there’s a connection.”
“What is it?” I genuinely had no idea why Joe’s father cared about Skeeter. I was hoping maybe Mason would.
“Let’s go home and discuss this on the way. I have some things to confess.”
“About your investigation?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” I said, suddenly nervous.
Mason had barely left the parking lot before he began. “You already know that I went to see Joe the night I found out he had paid off the loan for your nursery. You also know we got into a heated discussion and some punches were thrown. What I didn’t tell you was that I asked Joe to help me protect you from his father.”
My mouth dropped in shock.
“He told me no. It was his belief that trying to fight his father would be detrimental to you. But he called me the next day to say he’d changed his mind. He wanted to help, but only on the condition I didn’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I figured he had his reasons, and as long as he was helping, I didn’t care. Still, he didn’t have much information to offer until the day after Christmas.”
His expression softened, and he shook his head. “No, sweetheart. You had no say in the matter. Go on. What happened next?”
“Beverly promised to give him more money, so he dropped his hold on me, and Beverly shot him in the head.” I shuddered as I remembered watching him fall to the ground.
A grim expression covered Mason’s face. “Can you show me where Hattie and Dirk were situated at that point?”
I pointed to the spot where Dirk had held me, then to the one where Hattie had lain between two desks. “She threatened to kill Hattie, so I went to the desk drawer and pretended it was stuck. Beverly got frustrated and pushed me out of the way. She got out the journal herself, but when she spun around, I tased her. After she fell, I got the book out from underneath her, then went to check on Hattie.”
“Where was Beverly at that point?”
“Here.” I pointed to the space in front of the desk.
“So you went to Hattie, and then what?”
“I called 911, and then Beverly tackled me. I tried to get away, but she pulled me back down and began to strangle me. Then Joe showed up and shot her.”
“And where did that happen?”
I pointed to the area, but I knew what he was going to ask next … and I had no idea how to answer it.
“So if this blood stain is from Beverly, how did this one get here?”
“I don’t know.” I turned away from him, the weight of my guilt making it difficult to breathe.
“You can tell me anything, Rose. You know that, right?”
Oh, God. He knew I was lying to him, which made it even worse. I wanted to tell him the truth, and he certainly deserved to know, but there was just no way my former assistant district attorney boyfriend would understand why I’d help Skeeter Malcolm. I didn’t think he ever would.
“This place is gonna give me nightmares. Can we go now?”
“Yeah.” The disappointment in his voice was like a knife to the gut, but I was keeping this secret to protect him just as much as myself.
I headed for the window, climbing out before him.
“What should we do now?” I asked. “What we really need is that journal. Where do you think Joe put it after he took it from me?”
“I know he didn’t log it as evidence. Randy already checked on that.”
“Deputy Miller did that? He told me that he believed I was innocent.”
Mason nodded. “He’s been keeping an eye on Joe for me.” He took my hand, and we started walking around the building. “Apparently, Joe practically lived at the sheriff’s office this weekend. He didn’t go home at all on Friday night. Of course, he was busy trying to find Skeeter Malcolm and arrest him for that double murder south of town.”
“Last week you told me that Joe thought Skeeter had done it, but what about you? Do you think so too?”
Mason squinted at me. “Why the sudden interest in Skeeter Malcolm?”
I shrugged. “It’s just a feeling.”
“You have visions, not feelings. Feelings are my mother’s purview, and she seems to be having an awful lot of them lately.”
“You should listen to your mother, Mason.”
He smirked a little at that. “The world’s going to hell in a handbasket. I’m counting on visions and feelings to guide my investigation. What would my law professors say?”
“I think you should use all the resources at your disposal. But you didn’t answer my question. Do you think Skeeter Malcolm did it?”
He frowned. “No. He’s not that stupid, yet Joe seems dead set on arresting him anyway.”
“Could his father be behind that too?”
Mason stopped walking. I turned around to face him.
“Could he be?”
“It crossed my mind this weekend, but since I’m not the ADA anymore and I was so focused on getting you out of jail, I didn’t give it much thought. But yeah, I think there’s a good chance of that.”
I tried to contain my excitement. I had managed to tie us all together without confessing my extracurricular activities. “Why does J.R. Simmons give a fig newton about Skeeter Malcolm?” I pressed.
Mason’s mouth twisted—it was an expression I recognized all too well; he was trying to decide what to tell me. “I don’t know for certain, but I don’t think we’re off in thinking there’s a connection.”
“What is it?” I genuinely had no idea why Joe’s father cared about Skeeter. I was hoping maybe Mason would.
“Let’s go home and discuss this on the way. I have some things to confess.”
“About your investigation?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” I said, suddenly nervous.
Mason had barely left the parking lot before he began. “You already know that I went to see Joe the night I found out he had paid off the loan for your nursery. You also know we got into a heated discussion and some punches were thrown. What I didn’t tell you was that I asked Joe to help me protect you from his father.”
My mouth dropped in shock.
“He told me no. It was his belief that trying to fight his father would be detrimental to you. But he called me the next day to say he’d changed his mind. He wanted to help, but only on the condition I didn’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I figured he had his reasons, and as long as he was helping, I didn’t care. Still, he didn’t have much information to offer until the day after Christmas.”
