Thirty-Six and a Half Motives
Page 84
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He pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead, then stepped away. “Lock the door behind me. And please, for the love of God, go sit with Mason in the courthouse. I have a feeling something big’s going down tonight, and I don’t want you to be in the middle of it.”
I nodded again, then pushed past the lump in my throat, “Be careful, Joe.”
Joe walked out the front door, and I followed behind and turned the deadbolt. As hard as that had been, I knew it was only the prelude to the big finale.
Chapter 29
I sent Neely Kate a text to let her know that Joe had left. When she still hadn’t responded a full minute later, I was starting to get worried, but then I heard banging at the back door.
“Rose!” Neely Kate called out, her voice muffled by the door. “Let us in!”
I ran to the back door and unlocked it. Neely Kate and Jed tumbled in, and I shut the door behind them. “What in tarnation are you two doin’?”
“We’ve been digging in the Pelgers’s office,” Neely Kate said.
“Without me?”
Jed grinned. “Don’t sound so disappointed.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Yep. Twenty-five years ago, the Pelgers rented the apartment and the storage building to Allen Steyer.”
I tilted my head. “Why would the owner of the fertilizer plant rent an apartment on the square? Wouldn’t he own his own house?”
A smug grin spread across Jed’s face. “Skeeter thinks he rented it for J.R.”
“What?”
“Your momma’s journal said he stayed somewhere,” Neely Kate said. “Skeeter says it makes sense that J.R. wouldn’t rent a place under his own name. But one of his Twelve could rent it for him.”
“That’s great and all,” I grumbled, “but again, it’s not very useful for tonight.”
“I disagree,” Skeeter said, strutting in through the back door like he owned the place. “You can never have too much information. You never know when you’re gonna discover something that will save your ass later.”
I knew he had a point, but it still felt hopeless. “So we’re just walking into a trap?”
“No.” The amusement bled from his face. “I’ve got men surrounding that barn even as we speak. I’ll have my own show of force waiting for the bastard.”
“And what?” I asked. “They’ll ambush them?”
“No, they’ll let Simmons do his thing, but I’ll be prepared to face him.”
“Just you?” I asked.
His eyes hardened. “This is between him and me. I’ve always been one to cut through the shit, but we know J.R. likes pomp and circumstance.”
“You know it won’t be that easy.”
“Nothing worth fightin’ for ever is.”
Neely Kate’s cell phone started to ring. She dug her phone out of her coat pocket and pressed it to her ear. “Hey, Granny.” She was silent for several moments, then said, “Okay. See you soon.” As she hung up, she glanced over at me. “Her second fortune-telling appointment cancelled.”
“And she didn’t see that coming?” Jed asked, his face splitting into a grin. “What kind of fortune teller is she?”
Neely Kate put her hands on her hips. “She can only read other people’s futures, not her own. And besides, she has to look for it. With tea leaves. We’ll have her read your future before we leave her house.”
“Me?” He sounded horrified.
“You might as well come inside with us,” she teased. “And Granny loves doing tea readings.”
“Do her predictions ever come true?” Jed asked, sounding fearful. Smart man.
“Sometimes.” Neely Kate’s eyes clouded over. I knew she had to be thinking about her granny seeing the miscarriage of twins—even though Neely Kate’s doctor hadn’t seen her ectopic pregnancy in her early ultrasound.
Skeeter grinned. “Jed, you take the ladies to see Neely Kate’s granny, and I’ll head out to the barn to check on things.”
The thought of him going out there alone scared the bejiggers out of me, but then, he wouldn’t really be alone. He’d have the company of his gun-toting loyal employees.
Jed nodded and motioned for us to head toward the front door, but I looked back at the man still standing larger than life in my short hallway.
“James, be careful.”
His grin widened. “You don’t have to tell me to be careful, Lady, or wish me luck. I make my own luck.” Then he took off out the back door.
“Cocky bastard,” Neely Kate murmured.
I grinned. She was right, but he had the brute strength, both his own and his men’s, to back it up. His cockiness gave me confidence.
Neely Kate’s granny lived southwest of town. I had never been to her farm, although I’d heard plenty about it. Neely Kate’s cousins ran the cattle she kept there, but from everything Neely Kate had told me, they could have been more profitable if they’d put some gumption into it. If the Rivers family had been known for trouble when Jenny Lynn Rivers had haunted the county, they were better known for their laziness now. While they did stir up plenty of trouble, they were just as likely to let someone else do the dirty work for them.
With that in mind, I wasn’t all that shocked to see that Granny Rivers’s farm looked like an abandoned homestead rather than a working farm. It was hard to see it all in the dark, but the shoddily mended fences lining the gravel drive were proof that Neely Kate’s cousins only did what they absolutely had to.
“Your grandmother lives here?” Jed asked in disbelief, parking the car in front of the worn one-story house. While my farmhouse had a wrap-around porch, this one had a stoop without even an overhang to protect against the rain. So little remained of the white peeling paint that the house looked brown from the underside of the clapboard siding.
“Yeah,” Neely Kate grumbled as she climbed out of the car. “Let’s get this over with.”
We followed her to the door, and I heard a dog howl in the distance. I flinched and Jed glanced down at me, not looking very relaxed either. I held my purse tight to my side, and then as an afterthought, I pulled out my gun and put it in my pocket. Something didn’t feel right, even if I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Jed caught the movement, lifting his brow, but Neely Kate was too focused on knocking on the door to pay me any mind.
I nodded again, then pushed past the lump in my throat, “Be careful, Joe.”
Joe walked out the front door, and I followed behind and turned the deadbolt. As hard as that had been, I knew it was only the prelude to the big finale.
Chapter 29
I sent Neely Kate a text to let her know that Joe had left. When she still hadn’t responded a full minute later, I was starting to get worried, but then I heard banging at the back door.
“Rose!” Neely Kate called out, her voice muffled by the door. “Let us in!”
I ran to the back door and unlocked it. Neely Kate and Jed tumbled in, and I shut the door behind them. “What in tarnation are you two doin’?”
“We’ve been digging in the Pelgers’s office,” Neely Kate said.
“Without me?”
Jed grinned. “Don’t sound so disappointed.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Yep. Twenty-five years ago, the Pelgers rented the apartment and the storage building to Allen Steyer.”
I tilted my head. “Why would the owner of the fertilizer plant rent an apartment on the square? Wouldn’t he own his own house?”
A smug grin spread across Jed’s face. “Skeeter thinks he rented it for J.R.”
“What?”
“Your momma’s journal said he stayed somewhere,” Neely Kate said. “Skeeter says it makes sense that J.R. wouldn’t rent a place under his own name. But one of his Twelve could rent it for him.”
“That’s great and all,” I grumbled, “but again, it’s not very useful for tonight.”
“I disagree,” Skeeter said, strutting in through the back door like he owned the place. “You can never have too much information. You never know when you’re gonna discover something that will save your ass later.”
I knew he had a point, but it still felt hopeless. “So we’re just walking into a trap?”
“No.” The amusement bled from his face. “I’ve got men surrounding that barn even as we speak. I’ll have my own show of force waiting for the bastard.”
“And what?” I asked. “They’ll ambush them?”
“No, they’ll let Simmons do his thing, but I’ll be prepared to face him.”
“Just you?” I asked.
His eyes hardened. “This is between him and me. I’ve always been one to cut through the shit, but we know J.R. likes pomp and circumstance.”
“You know it won’t be that easy.”
“Nothing worth fightin’ for ever is.”
Neely Kate’s cell phone started to ring. She dug her phone out of her coat pocket and pressed it to her ear. “Hey, Granny.” She was silent for several moments, then said, “Okay. See you soon.” As she hung up, she glanced over at me. “Her second fortune-telling appointment cancelled.”
“And she didn’t see that coming?” Jed asked, his face splitting into a grin. “What kind of fortune teller is she?”
Neely Kate put her hands on her hips. “She can only read other people’s futures, not her own. And besides, she has to look for it. With tea leaves. We’ll have her read your future before we leave her house.”
“Me?” He sounded horrified.
“You might as well come inside with us,” she teased. “And Granny loves doing tea readings.”
“Do her predictions ever come true?” Jed asked, sounding fearful. Smart man.
“Sometimes.” Neely Kate’s eyes clouded over. I knew she had to be thinking about her granny seeing the miscarriage of twins—even though Neely Kate’s doctor hadn’t seen her ectopic pregnancy in her early ultrasound.
Skeeter grinned. “Jed, you take the ladies to see Neely Kate’s granny, and I’ll head out to the barn to check on things.”
The thought of him going out there alone scared the bejiggers out of me, but then, he wouldn’t really be alone. He’d have the company of his gun-toting loyal employees.
Jed nodded and motioned for us to head toward the front door, but I looked back at the man still standing larger than life in my short hallway.
“James, be careful.”
His grin widened. “You don’t have to tell me to be careful, Lady, or wish me luck. I make my own luck.” Then he took off out the back door.
“Cocky bastard,” Neely Kate murmured.
I grinned. She was right, but he had the brute strength, both his own and his men’s, to back it up. His cockiness gave me confidence.
Neely Kate’s granny lived southwest of town. I had never been to her farm, although I’d heard plenty about it. Neely Kate’s cousins ran the cattle she kept there, but from everything Neely Kate had told me, they could have been more profitable if they’d put some gumption into it. If the Rivers family had been known for trouble when Jenny Lynn Rivers had haunted the county, they were better known for their laziness now. While they did stir up plenty of trouble, they were just as likely to let someone else do the dirty work for them.
With that in mind, I wasn’t all that shocked to see that Granny Rivers’s farm looked like an abandoned homestead rather than a working farm. It was hard to see it all in the dark, but the shoddily mended fences lining the gravel drive were proof that Neely Kate’s cousins only did what they absolutely had to.
“Your grandmother lives here?” Jed asked in disbelief, parking the car in front of the worn one-story house. While my farmhouse had a wrap-around porch, this one had a stoop without even an overhang to protect against the rain. So little remained of the white peeling paint that the house looked brown from the underside of the clapboard siding.
“Yeah,” Neely Kate grumbled as she climbed out of the car. “Let’s get this over with.”
We followed her to the door, and I heard a dog howl in the distance. I flinched and Jed glanced down at me, not looking very relaxed either. I held my purse tight to my side, and then as an afterthought, I pulled out my gun and put it in my pocket. Something didn’t feel right, even if I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. Jed caught the movement, lifting his brow, but Neely Kate was too focused on knocking on the door to pay me any mind.
