Thirty-Six and a Half Motives
Page 40

She watched me for a second. “You really have grown so much from the woman I met last July.”
“I have, haven’t I?” I asked, my eyes tearing up again. “But I’ve lost so much.”
“Nothin’ worth havin’ is easy. You know that,” she said quietly. “We both know that. And I understand needin’ to make a stand, no matter how foolish it might look. What do you think I’m doing with Ronnie?”
“I’m sorry I gave you a hard time about filing for divorce. I just want you to be happy, Neely Kate. You deserve it.”
“I don’t know that I want what I truly deserve, but I’m gonna take a stand anyway. So if you need to ride through town like Lady Godiva, I’ll be waitin’ with a robe for when you climb down.”
I pulled her into a hug. “You’re the best friend I could ever hope to have.”
“You too.” She gave me a squeeze, then leaned back to look into my face. “Now why else are we here?”
I laughed as I dropped my arms. “What makes you say that?”
“Because I know you. There’s something else.” Her grin spread. “You wanted to come here for another reason. What is it?”
“I want to go back up.”
“On the roof? Why?”
“I want to see if the duffel bag is still in the Dumpster.”
“But Skeeter says the alley is under surveillance. And I thought the shed blew a hole in the roof.”
“But he didn’t say the roof was under surveillance, and I can check out the Dumpster from the building next door.”
“But Skeeter is supposed to be checking out the Dumpster,” she protested.
“We’re already here, so why shouldn’t we look? Besides, I’m done taking orders from men.”
“So why not tell Jed?”
“He’d insist on coming, which would blow our cover,” I said.“They’d know we were up to something.”
“They?”
“You know someone’s watching us for J.R.”
“But won’t they see us up on the roof?” Neely Kate asked.
“Do you really think they’ll be looking?”
“What if the police are up there? If there are as many guns in that shed as you said, they’re sure to keep a close watch.”
“If they’re up there, we’ll leave. But J.R.’s escape is probably their top priority, so they must be stretched thin.”
Neely Kate nodded resolutely. “Well, there’s only one way to find out.”
As soon as I opened the unlocked door to the staircase, I was hit by a blast of cold air.
“I bet they didn’t close the trap door,” I said as I led the way up the two flights of spiral stairs.
I climbed the rungs in the wall and poked my head out of the hatch, which was indeed open. The shed had collapsed, and the roof was covered with black soot that surrounded the hole where the shed had stood. But while the entire area was cordoned off with police tape, no one was standing around. “It’s clear.”
We both climbed out and squatted next to the opening. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we can just walk right over,” I said with a grimace. “I think we’ll have to squat and crawl.”
She rolled her eyes. “I already figured that out.” But, rather than make her way to the next roof, she crawled over to the side of the building that faced the square. “You sure can see a lot up here.”
I nodded, taking in the view. If J.R. had someone watching the office, they weren’t out in the open. So where were they? “We need to find Teagen and Marshal. It’s not enough to just take J.R. down, especially if Kate’s involved. We need to figure the whole thing out and wrap it up in a nice tidy bow.”
We crawled over the multiple buildings separating us from the building that housed the antique store. The middle of the roof had completely collapsed, and the rest of the ceiling looked about ready to fall in, making it impossible to get closer. I squatted in the corner and scanned the alley. Both ends were blocked with crime scene tape, but I didn’t see any law enforcement officials. I also couldn’t get a good look inside the Dumpster.
“Can you see anything?” Neely Kate asked.
“No.” I had to get closer.
Taking a deep breath, I crawled onto the foot-wide ledge of the antique store building.
“Rose! What do you think you’re doin’?”
“We need that bag.” I didn’t crawl very far. I definitely didn’t have a death wish, but I was far enough that I could peer inside.
“Well?” she asked.
“I don’t see it.” Disappointment was heavy in my voice.
“Okay, don’t get upset yet,” Neely Kate said. “Maybe it sunk into the trash. I bet a bunch of water went inside the Dumpster and all those cardboard boxes and papers would have fallen apart.”
“But if it all flattened, wouldn’t the bag be on top?” I crawled backward, then lowered myself to the roof of the building next door. “I’m pretty sure the insurance office next door didn’t start throwing bags of shredded paper on top of it in the middle of a fire—oh crap! They know.” I dug out my phone and dialed Skeeter.
“Who knows what?” Neely Kate asked, looking worried.
“Everything okay?” Skeeter asked when he answered.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Have you talked to Anna?”
He was silent for a moment. “I can’t find her.”
I sucked in a breath, trying not to panic. “Did you go by the nursery?”
“Yeah. Deveraux’s mother is working. She said Anna was outside helpin’ your partner with some mulch. One minute Anna and your partner, Decker, were there, the next they were gone. She has no idea where they went.”
“Oh shit,” I said in panic. “They know we know.”
“Whoa. Slow down,” Skeeter said in a tight voice. “What are you talkin’ about?”
“James, think about it,” I said, ignoring Neely Kate’s startled look. “Teagen saw me jump off the side of the roof. He and Marshal left the shed unlocked before heading back to my building. Even if they didn’t know I was in the shed while they were, they might think I went in after them. The files were missing after they were in the shed the first time—after they saw me jump. And now I don’t see the bag in the Dumpster—”