Thirty-Six and a Half Motives
Page 18

I flipped the switch and closed the bathroom door, then used the flashlight on my phone to illuminate the small space. Merv hobbled to the toilet and sat on the lid, and as soon as he was situated, I shined the light on the hand that was pressed to his thigh. He lifted it to reveal a quickly spreading dark stain on his jeans.
“Ya got a towel?”
“Yeah.” I told myself to calm down as I opened the cabinet under the sink and handed him two clean hand towels. “Do you want me to call Skeeter?”
“No. I’ll do it.” He pressed one of the towels to his leg as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and placed the call. “Skeeter. There’s been trouble.”
He flicked an expressionless gaze up to me and then looked back down at his leg. “No. She’s fine. We’re in the bathroom of her shop. Some guy was lurking out front. I chased him toward the alley, but he shot me in the leg, and now the police are swarming all over the square.”
“It was Sam Teagen,” I said.
His gaze lifted again. “What?”
“The man outside the shop—he was Sam Teagen.”
“Who the hell’s Sam Teagen?”
I snatched the phone and pressed the speaker button. “Skeeter, listen to me. It was the guy who posted my bail.”
“You’re certain?” he asked.
“I’ve seen two photos of him, and it’s him. I’m sure of it.”
“This ties Simmons to your kidnapping after all.” Skeeter sounded pained to admit it.
“And there’s something else,” I added.
“What?”
“He had scratch marks on his cheek. I think he was also one of the men who kidnapped me.”
“What? Did Merv get him?”
“He got away,” Merv grumbled.
Skeeter cursed a blue streak, and I was shocked to see Merv cringe.
“Skeeter,” I said, getting pissed. “Merv got shot in the leg. We need to address that right now—not the fact that Sam Teagen got away.”
“Merv,” Skeeter said, “did you leave a blood trail?”
“No,” Merv answered. “I was careful.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. “Your employee was shot, and all you want to know is if he left a blood trail?”
“Yes,” Skeeter said, sounding like he’d pinched off the word. “Because if they tie him to a shooting, he’s probably goin’ to jail, Lady!”
He paused for a moment, and when he spoke again, he sounded calmer. “Merv, how bad is it?”
“It hurts like hell, but I’ll live.” He shot me an angry glare. “It’s nicked is all.”
“So the place is already teeming with cops?” Skeeter asked.
“Yeah,” Merv said.
“Then we can’t get you out yet. Rose?”
“Yeah?”
“I need you to stay with him. There’s a murderer on the loose, and I don’t want you going home on your own. Besides, we can’t let the cops know you’re there.”
“Why?”
“They’ll want to question you, which means they’ll probably want to come inside. It goes without saying that we don’t want them knowin’ Merv’s holed up there, and we sure as hell don’t want them knowing that you saw Teagen, let alone that you recognized him.”
“I think we should—”
“Yeah, I know. Your boyfriend’s gonna pitch a fit, but I’ll make him see it my way.”
And there it was—the pain I’d stuffed down all afternoon was rising up and demanding my attention. But I wasn’t about to fall apart now. Not here in the bathroom of my office, with a man bleeding in front of me. I’d let myself cry later.
“Mason’s not an issue at the moment. We’re not telling him anything. Have I made myself clear?” I asked in a direct tone.
“Crystal.” Skeeter said, clearly pissed.
“But won’t the police figure out I’m here?”
“Your truck’s not out front, since Neely Kate drove it to your farm. As far as they’re concerned, you’re nice and cozy in that farmhouse of yours.”
“How do you—” I cut myself off. “Jed’s watching Neely Kate, isn’t he?”
“You let me worry about who’s watching who. My point is that you need to hole up for a few hours, and then I’ll come to get you.”
“You think it’s a good idea for you to come?” Merv asked. “Why don’t you send one of the guys?”
“Are you telling me how to my damned job, Merv?” Skeeter demanded in a cold, ominous tone.
Merv was not immune to it. “No, sir.”
“Good. Rose?”
“Yeah?”
“You sure you want to keep this from the D.A.? Because I’m playin’ this differently if you do.”
“I’m sure.”
After a beat of silence, Skeeter said, “You both sit tight, and I’ll let you know if I hear anything. You do the same.”
“Okay,” I said.
As soon as the line disconnected, Merv shot another angry look at me.
My back stiffened. “Go ahead and say what’s on your mind.”
“You’re not worth all of this trouble.”
“I never claimed to be.”
“You’re not even puttin’ out, and he’s still chasing you around.”
I cringed. “It’s not like that, and you know it. I provide a service that has helped Skeeter ferret out his enemies.”
“I don’t believe that hocus-pocus bullshit for a minute.”
I gave him a haughty look. “Well, good thing for me it’s not up to you to believe it or not.”
“You’re gonna ruin him.”
I cracked the bathroom door open. “Not if I can help it.”
“Where the hell do you think you’re goin’?”
“I want to see what’s goin’ on out there.”
“Like hell!” He reached for me as I slipped out the door and into the hall.
“Calm down, Merv,” I said, closing the door but leaving it open a crack. “I’ll be careful, and you know you’d be lookin’ yourself if you could.”
He grunted, which I took to be acceptance, and I plastered myself to the wall in the short hallway that opened to the office. Red lights swept across the darkened room, and through the edge of the front window, I could see several police cars spread out around the square. I squatted down and made my way to Neely Kate’s desk. Hunkered down behind it, I had a much better view out of the front window.