Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies
Page 32

“Yep, that’s him.”
“Well, he ran off right quick. How’s that any different from Skeeter running off because the sheriff wants to arrest him for the murders south of town?”
Witt narrowed his eyes.
I gave him a shrug. “I heard things in jail.”
He pursed his lips and nodded.
“So what does all of this have to do with Ronnie?”
“The garage owner … let’s say he’s been known to pull a fast one or two from time to time. But he’s a smart guy—he pledges his loyalty to the man in charge, who is currently Malcolm. But some of the guys from the shop—the ones in the poker game group—are siding with Gentry. I think Ronnie has gotten caught up in the middle of the mess.”
“But Ronnie, he’s not part of that world.”
He gave me a sad smile. “Rose, everybody working at Ted’s Garage in Pickle Junction is part of that world. Heck, it’s part of the job. We all do odd jobs now and then, if you know what I mean.”
Ronnie was mixed up in criminal activity? I felt like I was going to throw up. “Does Neely Kate know that?”
He caught his bottom lip between his teeth as he gave the drill more attention than necessary. “No. I don’t think so.”
“Witt, you have to tell her.”
He shook his head. “No way. I’m not getting involved.”
“She has a right to know.”
“Well, I ain’t gonna be the one to tell her. She’s my favorite cousin, and I’m not screwing that up.”
“Fine, I’ll tell her myself.”
He resumed his work and had made it to the fourth side of the safe before Neely Kate returned with red eyes. With any luck at all, Ronnie had confessed the truth of his situation, but I suspected it wouldn’t be that easy.
She took back the flashlight, and within a couple more minutes, Witt had made all of his cuts and turned off the saw.
“Crowbar,” he said, holding out his hand.
I took the saw and gave him the metal bar.
“It’s like opening a can of sardines,” Witt chuckled as he started to pry the safe open. “What are you hoping to find?”
“Papers about her birth father,” Neely Kate grumbled. “Not that it’s any of your damn business.”
“Hey,” Witt said, holding up his hands. “Don’t shoot the messenger, cuz.”
“It’s probably just papers,” I said, hoping to ease the tension between them. “But I’m hoping there’s more.”
Witt gave the crowbar a good yank, and a grin spread across his face as the metal curled back. “You said you were looking for more. You’re about to get your wish.”
Chapter 10
“Well?” Neely Kate demanded. “What did you find?”
He reached into the safe and pulled out a handgun.
“Oh, my stars and garters,” Neely Kate gasped.
Witt handed it toward me, but I took a step back.
He tilted his head. “The way I hear it, you’re after the contents of this safe and this was in it.”
I hesitantly reached for it, surprised at how heavy it was. “What do I do with it?”
Neely Kate handed me the flashlight and carefully took it from me. She pressed a button and the clip popped out. “Yep. It’s loaded.”
I shivered.
Neely Kate looked up at me. “You should keep it, Rose. You need protection from everything that’s goin’ on.”
“I can’t right now. I have to think about it.”
She searched my face, and the hardness in her eyes softened. “Okay. I’ll hold onto it for now.” She opened the purse she had looped over her shoulder and put the gun inside.
“Do you want to see what else is in here?” Witt asked impatiently.
“Yeah.” But my mind was still reeling as to why Henry Buchanan had been hiding a loaded gun in his office. Then again, my mind didn’t have to search very hard for the reason.
Witt took the flashlight from me and shined it inside the opening before he reached inside and pulled out a stack of money.
“Oh, my word,” I said, looking over at Neely Kate. “I can’t keep that.”
“Of course you can.”
“No. I can’t! That money belongs to Henry Buchanan’s family.”
Her eyes widened. “Uh. Yeah. And Henry and Beverly were sure you were part of the Buchanan family.”
I handed it to Neely Kate. “I’ll sort this out later.”
“Okay.”
I steeled my back. “What else is in there?”
He pulled out a manila folder and handed it to me.
I opened the file, prepared to find just about anything. On top was a title to a 1980 Lincoln Continental. Underneath that was a copy of Henry’s life insurance policy for $750,000, which had been paid to his trust. I flipped to the next page and found the document Hattie had been looking for, naming Rose Anne Gardner as his third beneficiary.
That was low on my priority list.
There was one more paper, and I flipped the legal document over to get a look at it, hoping it was something helpful.
It was a photocopy of a page from the journal Joe had taken from me.
I closed my eyes and pushed out a breath of relief.
“Rose?” Neely Kate asked. “What did you find?”
I turned to face her. “What I was looking for.”
“Evidence to tie J.R. to something criminal?”