Thirty-One and a Half Regrets
Page 38

“Hilary,” I said, remembering how nice she’d pretended to be. “She’s with the state police, but she was Joe’s ex-girlfriend at the time.”
“Wait. Joe Simmons?”
“Yes,” Mason said. “He and Rose became romantically involved. I suspect Officer Wilder may have let that influence her report.” Mason grabbed his notes off the table and shared the rest of my story with the deputy.
Jeff released a frustrated breath. “That information would have been helpful two days ago. There’s no question that Crocker is behind this, whether he was physically in Rose’s house or not. She needs to be protected until further notice. She’s not safe here so I’m going to take her to our safe house.”
“And where’s that?” Mason asked.
A grin lifted one corner of the deputy’s mouth. “It wouldn’t exactly be our secret safe house if I went around telling everyone where it was.”
“I’m not everyone.”
“Nevertheless…” He stood. “Rose, you’re going to come with me now.”
I blinked, startled. “What about Mason?” I looked at him for reassurance.
There was a strange expression on his face, like a mixture of regret and indecision.
“Mason’s not the one in danger,” Jeff said in a firm voice. “You are. And with all the craziness goin’ on, he’s needed at the courthouse.”
Mason’s arm tightened around my waist. “Maybe I should take the rest of the day off to be with her.”
“We’ll keep her safe, Mason. You’ll be of much more use at the courthouse. You and I both know the sooner we catch this bastard the better.”
A war of emotions played out across his face.
I leaned toward him and put a hand on his chest. “I’ll be fine. You go to work and I’ll hang out somewhere secret for the day.” I grinned and tried to keep my chin from quivering. “A day off! Imagine that. Maybe I’ll read a book. I heard Jana Deleon has a new mystery out.”
He didn’t look convinced.
“Mason, you’re already in hot water with McClary and the DA as it is,” Jeff warned. “Not to mention that incident with the Baumgartner trial.”
Mason’s eyes widened. “You know that wasn’t my fault.”
“And we both know the DA blamed you anyway. Think this through.”
Mason swore under his breath and began to pace.
I knew Jeff Dimler and Mason were friends, but the way Mason listened to the chief deputy told me that they were more acquainted than I’d realized.
The deputy turned to me. “We need to go now, Rose. I would have taken you sooner, but the safe house wasn’t ready.”
“Okay.” My voice was shaky as I stood. “But can I call my sister and check on her?”
He shook his head. “We really don’t have time and once we leave, you can’t have contact with anyone.”
“Bull shit,” Mason growled as he pulled my cell phone out of his pants pocket and handed it to me. I’d forgotten he still had it. “She can take a couple of minutes to call her sister.”
Jeff sighed. “Fine, two minutes. But don’t tell her anything except that you’re safe.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Okay.”
The two men stepped into the kitchen to talk while I dialed Violet’s number. Mason’s temper seemed like it was getting the better of him. Violet answered on the first ring, catching me off guard.
“Hello?” she asked hesitantly. After yesterday, she probably wasn’t sure what to expect.
“Vi, it’s me. I don’t have much time, so listen.”
“What do you mean you don’t have much time?” Her tone was one part concerned and two parts irritated.
Mason’s voice rose in the kitchen. “You know that I don’t give a damn about that!” I heard him say.
“Well, you should!” Jeff answered, hands on his hips.
I shook my head. I needed to focus on my conversation with Violet, not eavesdrop on Mason and Jeff’s. “Daniel Crocker broke into my house last night and left me a threatening note.”
“Oh, my word!”
“The sheriff’s deputies are taking me somewhere so he can’t find me.”
“Are you okay?” Her voice broke. “Did he hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine. I promise. The sheriff is going to make sure I’m safe, so there’s nothing to worry about.” I tried to make it sound believable. I succeeded enough that I almost believed it. “But I wanted to be the one to tell you. I don’t know if they’ll call you once I’m settled.”
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. They won’t tell me.” I tried to keep my voice from breaking. “But I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
“Okay.” I could tell she was crying. “Rose, I’m so sorry about yesterday.”
“I love you, Vi. No matter what. No argument will ever change that.”
“I love you too.”
Jeff moved toward me, or more accurately, away from Mason, who looked close to erupting.
“I have to go, Vi. Be safe.”
“You too.”
I hung up the phone and stuck it in my pocket.
“I’m sorry, Rose.” Jeff grimaced apologetically. “You’ll have to leave your phone behind.”