Thirty-Two and a Half Complications
Page 62

Violet grabbed Joe’s hand and interlaced their fingers. “No, Rose. It shows where his priorities lie. And that’s clearly not with you.”
I expected Joe to gloat, but his expression was rigid as he jerked his hand away.
“Go enjoy my castoff boyfriend while living in my castoff house, Violet. I hope you’re very happy being second best.”
I spun around and started for the door, Neely Kate right behind me, when I heard Jonah call my name. I groaned, not because I didn’t want to see him, but because I needed to escape from Violet.
But Jonah was an observant man—part of the reason he was a great therapist—and he followed me out the door and onto the white concrete steps. “Hey,” he said when he caught up with me. “Got a minute?”
I nodded, afraid to say anything. Neely Kate and I followed him to the end of the wide steps, where we would have a little more privacy.
“I saw what happened in there. I’m sorry.”
“You mean with Violet?”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “All of it. You need to be careful with those guys, Rose. They may go to church, but they mostly do it to prove they’re rehabilitating.”
Neely Kate put her hands on her hips and shot him a glare. “Then why do you let them into your church?”
“I don’t consider them dangerous to most of the parishioners, Neely Kate. Otherwise they wouldn’t be here. But Rose is a special case…” He looked into my eyes. “You had a vision of one of them, didn’t you?”
I gasped. “How did you know?”
“I know you by now. I know they only last a second or two, but your face gets an odd expression, as if you’ve gone on a trip and left your body behind.”
Neely Kate’s eyes brightened. “Yeah! You’re right, Jonah. I hadn’t thought about it.” She lifted an eyebrow at me. “Although you don’t look like that when you close your eyes and have one on purpose. Only when a vision catches you off guard and your eyes are staring off at nothing.”
“Okay…”
“So did you have a vision?” he asked.
“Yeah, only I don’t know whose head I was in. I didn’t say or do anything in the vision. I just saw two guys in a dark room. One of them was Mick, the bank robber in the SpongeBob mask.”
“Did you see his face?” Neely Kate asked, excited.
“No, but I saw the other guy’s face.” I took a deep breath. “They need ten thousand dollars more and they figured out a place to rob. But my vision ended before they said where.” I sobered. “And Mick was the one who killed Mr. Sullivan…I’m sure of it. He said Mr. Sullivan knew too much and was going to give them away.”
“You have to tell the police,” Jonah insisted, a worried look in his eyes. “What did you say after you had your vision?”
“That they were going to rob someplace else. All of them heard me.”
Jonah’s mouth pressed tight. “You’re not safe, Rose. I know you can’t report your visions to the police department, but you should tell Joe.”
My shoulders tensed. “I can’t.”
“Why not? I know it’s an awkward situation, but he knows about your visions. He’ll believe you.”
Neely Kate shook her head. “There are a few things you don’t know about.”
He looked around. “I noticed Mason’s not here. Did you talk to him about…you know…?”
I gave him a soft smile. I knew what he was asking. “Yes, and while he admits the timing stinks, he would welcome it. And Neely Kate knows all about it.”
“So what do I not know?”
Neely Kate filled him in on everything, but stopped after saying that Joe had insisted on driving me home after I found poor Mr. Sullivan’s body. I took over from there and told him the hard part.
Jonah was just as understanding as I’d known he would be. “And how did Mason react when you told him about the kiss?” he asked.
I sucked in a deep breath and waited for the burning in my eyes to fade. “Not well. But he forgave me and we made up. Kind of…It’s just going to take some time.” I paused. “But he needs to talk to you, Jonah. Can you call him and set something up? Soon?” I leaned into his ear and whispered, “Hitting Joe unlocked his guilt over what happened in Little Rock. He’s having violent nightmares. I’m scared for him.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “He told me he’s open to talking to you.”
Jonah gave me a hug. “I’ll call him this afternoon.”
“Thank you.” I kissed his cheek and leaned back. “Now tell me who those guys are.”
“Rose…” he groaned.
“Now you know why I can’t ask Joe for help. But if you tell me their names, I can give them to Mason. He’ll figure out a way to unravel this mess.”
He grimaced and looked out into the now-emptying parking lot. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
“Jonah, at least one of those men was involved in Mr. Sullivan’s murder. What if they kill someone else?” It was a low blow and I knew it, but I was desperate to save my business.
Jonah cocked his head. “And you’ll tell Mason all the information I give you rather than trying to solve this on your own?”
“I’ll tell him. I promise,” I said, leaving out the fact that I fully intended to continue pursuing the matter with Neely Kate. I felt more than a little guilty about making a lie of omission to a man of the cloth, but desperate times called for desperate measures.