Thirty-Three and a Half Shenanigans
Page 22

I considered lying to him, but this felt important enough to share. “No.”
He grabbed my elbow and helped me slide out of the truck. “What happened?”
My feet hit the pavement, and a frigid breeze blew my hair around my face. I suddenly felt foolish. I shook my head. “It was probably nothing.”
“Don’t tell me it was nothing. Something has you shook up, which automatically makes it something. You’re not the sort of woman to react this way over nothing.”
I took a deep breath.
Still holding my arm, he tugged me away from the truck and shut the door. “Let’s go inside, okay?”
“Okay.”
Joe unlocked the door with his own set of keys that Violet had given him and pushed the door open. He led me to the back room, where my potting bench and stool still remained in their proper places. After gently pushing me onto the stool, he squatted in front of me. “Tell me what happened.”
“I had a vision.”
His eyes widened. “Was it something bad?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. It didn’t seem bad, but I just don’t feel right about it. I guess it left me with the notion that something bad is about to happen.”
“Tell me what you saw.”
I relayed everything, which made me feel even more foolish, since it was, on the surface, one of my tamer visions.
“Don’t dismiss it, Rose,” Joe said, standing. “It might be nothing, sure, but it could be something. Who was the person associated with the vision?”
“Eric Davidson, the assistant manager of the Burger Shack.”
His eyebrows lifted. “You know his name? You make it sound like you know him.”
I held his gaze. If I wanted his advice, I needed to tell him a bit about the mess I was in. The question was where to draw the line. “It’s not how it sounds. You know when you saw me with those guys at church? He’s one of them.”
Irritation clouded his eyes. “So you were talking to them?”
“Not intentionally. I really did want to talk to Samantha Jo about the bank robbery. But I had a vision and told them they were getting ready to rob something.”
His eyes flew open. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I shrugged. I couldn’t very well confirm his suspicion that Neely Kate and I had been trying to track down the bank robbers ourselves. “You were angry with me.”
“Rose.” His voice was heavy with disappointment. “Tell me that you at least shared this with Mason.”
I remained silent.
“Why would you keep something like that to yourself?”
“It was a vision, Joe. Neither of you would have been able to use the information.”
“Rose,” he said, exasperated. “You told a group of men, some of whom had a criminal history, that you knew they were gonna rob something. You could have been in serious danger.”
“But nothing happened,” I insisted.
“It was a huge risk.” He sounded so disappointed that it stole my breath. “You were lucky.”
He had no idea. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
He waited, his face expressionless.
“I think I know who killed Mr. Sullivan.”
“What? How?”
How was I gonna explain this one? “I figured it out from my vision.” Which was partially true. The killer had confessed his crimes in one of my visions, but it wasn’t until the auction on Thanksgiving that I’d pieced together his identity. Ever since, I’d been trying to think of how to tell Joe or Mason the truth about him without giving everything else away. “He’s the large-animal vet. Mick Gentry.”
“Did you at least tell Mason about that?”
“No,” I said, ashamed that it had taken me so long to pursue justice for poor Mr. Sullivan. “I only just put it together. Besides, he disappeared.” I felt bad about lying to him, but I couldn’t help wondering if justice had already been served vigilante-style by Skeeter Malcolm.
Joe’s gaze pierced mine. “Does he have any way of knowing that you know?”
“No. I’m certain he doesn’t.” I sighed. “But it doesn’t matter, Joe. It’s like all the rest of my visions . . . it’s not exactly admissible in court.”
“We can try to link him to it. The fact that he ran off and disappeared doesn’t speak of innocence either.” His gaze softened. “It’s more helpful than you know.”
“You’re not gonna yell at me?”
“Why would I yell at you?” He paused. “I’m just thankful you finally shared your vision with me. Are you feeling better?”
“No. But I’ll be okay.” I hopped off the stool, feeling guilty. “Maybe all this got stirred up because of Neely Kate’s cousin.”
He stilled. “What about her cousin?”
“Her momma tried to file a missing persons report on her last night, and the deputy she talked to wouldn’t file it.”
He stared at me for a moment. “Dolly Parton Parker is Neely Kate’s cousin?” He shook his head, wearing an exasperated grimace. “Why am I not surprised?”
I grew indignant on my friend’s behalf. “What on earth does that mean?”
“She has some colorful characters in her family is all.”
“If you know her name, then why don’t you tell me why the deputy wouldn’t file the report?”