Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies
Page 40

I gave her a tight smile. I sure hoped she was right.
“But Rose, what you just did … what you’ve been doin’ … I’ve never had anyone do things for me without expectin’ something for it. You, though, you take care of me just because.”
“Not just because,” I said with a lump in my throat. “I love you. I’ve told you a dozen times this side of Sunday. We’re closer than friends. It’s like we’ve got this invisible thread tying us together. And you’re right; it’s different than what we have with Ronnie and Mason or what I had with Joe. What you and I have is unconditional. I can’t think of a single thing that would make me turn from you. I might get angry enough to spit, or you might disappoint the bejiggers out of me, but I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for you no matter what. I’ve told you that before, but you have to believe it.”
A tear slid out of the corner of her eye and rolled over the bridge of her nose before sinking into the pillow. “I asked you if you knew how long it’s been since someone had taken care of me like this, but it was a trick question.” She closed her eyes. “The answer is never. No one has ever taken care of me like this.”
I had a million and one questions about Neely Kate’s life. I had always known her to live her life loud and large, which she did, but she also hid pieces of herself from the people around her—even me. She’d confessed that her mother had abandoned her, leaving her with her grandmother, who had reluctantly given her a home and raised her. But I knew little about her teen years and even less about her life with her mother. She was sitting on a powder keg of pain, and when this mess was done, I was going to make her share it with me.
I leaned over and smoothed her hair off her cheek. “Well, I hope you get used to being spoiled, Neely Kate Colson, ’cause I’m only just gettin’ started.” Then I stood and moved to the door. “You rest and I’ll have some soup ready when you get up.”
“Thank you, Rose.”
“You’re welcome.”
I closed the door behind me, my heart heavy with Neely Kate’s pain. First her babies, and now Ronnie. I wasn’t sure how much more she could take.
My phone started vibrating in my pocket when I reached the bottom of the stairs. I pulled it out and was relieved to see it was Mason.
“I have so much to tell you,” I gushed.
“Me too,” he answered in excitement. “You go first.”
I headed into the kitchen and grabbed a bag of potatoes out of the pantry and began to chop them for a pot of potato soup. As I worked, I told him about Witt opening the safe and finding the folder, the key, and the cash.
“How much money was in there?” he asked, sounding worried.
“I don’t know. I’m guessing several thousand dollars. What should I do with it?”
“Put it in the desk drawer in the office for now. I’ll give it some thought.”
“Any ideas about finding a translator for the page from the journal?”
“I was thinking Mom might be able to do it. She was a secretary when she met Dad. I remember her saying she knew shorthand. Why don’t you ask her?”
“That’s a great idea. I found out something that might be even more helpful.” I told him about our visit to Burger Shack and Eric’s tie to the guy who’d posted my bail.
“I fought like hell to get them to do a more thorough investigation of his death,” Mason said. “I knew there was more to it. Let me know if you manage to figure out the guy’s name. I’ll have Randy run a background check on him.”
“Okay.”
“But promise me you and Neely Kate won’t go looking for him on your own. He could be the guy who killed Eric Davidson, which means he’s dangerous.”
“Okay.” I shuddered. “But why would someone who tried to have you killed want me out of jail?”
“I don’t know,” he said, his voice fading as he tried to puzzle it out. “I still wonder if it’s safe for you to be out and about.”
“It’s safer for me than for you. Now tell me your news.”
“I met an assistant in the secretary of state’s office that sent the investigator to hear my evidence against my boss last Friday. According to her, the investigator received a mysterious phone call right before he left for Henryetta.”
“Mysterious. How?”
“She stayed on the line after she patched the call through.”
“So she overheard the call? Can you trust the testimony of an employee who snoops on her boss?”
“Ordinarily I wouldn’t, but she’s questioned his integrity for the past few months. She started taking notes on what might be construed as inappropriate activity on his part.”
“Can she do that? Is it admissible in court?”
“It is if it’s sanctioned by his boss.”
“What?”
“Rose, she took her preliminary suspicions to her boss’s boss, and he told her to start logging anything suspicious for them to investigate.”
“And this is one of those suspicious things?”
“Yes. The call was from a blocked number, which is why she stayed on the line. The man told Ted—the investigator—to proceed with the plan or else.”
“Or else what?”
“It sounded like he was being blackmailed. That’s probably why he agreed to come in the first place. The person insisted Ted see to it that I was removed from office before he left Fenton County.”