Thirty-Two and a Half Complications
Page 65
- Background:
- Text Font:
- Text Size:
- Line Height:
- Line Break Height:
- Frame:
“So it was his smell.”
“No.” I grabbed her hand, excited. “It was the room’s… It’s a clue!”
Based on the way Neely Kate scrunched her face, she was less hopeful about the lead—or maybe it was just the hot wings. “What else do you remember?” she asked.
“The room was too dark for me to see much, but the one guy was smoking and I could see part of his face. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. Mick was angry. He said he killed the guy because he knew too much.”
“And what about you?” she asked. “What were you doin’?”
“I didn’t pay much attention—I was too busy trying to absorb as many details as I could. I think I was standing.”
“Anything else?”
“Just that they need ten thousand more on top of my nine thousand.” I tilted my head.
“Plus the four thousand they got from the bank.”
I wanted to ask her how she knew how much had been stolen, but thought better of it. “So they have thirteen thousand and they need ten more. Twenty-three thousand. What in tarnation do they need it for?”
“A car? A boat?”
Maybe, but I didn’t think so. “I think there were at least five of them—Mick, the scruffy guy from this vision, the guy with the Batman mask, and the guy at the church.”
“And poor Mr. Sullivan.”
“Yeah. Poor Mr. Sullivan.” I tried not to think about how bloated his face was when I found him in the ditch. “So they’d have to share the money or whatever it was they were buyin’. Of course they might already have some money and be adding to it.”
“True.”
“Let’s go talk to Samantha Jo. You said you know where to find her?”
“She’s livin’ with her cousin at the Lazy Dazy trailer park.”
I whipped my head around to look at her. “That’s where Lars lives with his girlfriend.” Could the coincidences pile up any higher? “It sounds like we’re headed in the right direction.”
We drove back through town, but Neely Kate pulled into the parking lot of the pharmacy.
“What are we doing here?”
“Those wings are burning a hole in my stomach, so I’m gonna get an antacid. You can wait here if you’d like.”
I nodded. “I want to try calling Mason again.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I pulled out my phone and dialed Mason. This time it went straight to voice mail without even ringing. Part of me was cataloguing a whole host of terrible and dreadful reasons why he might not have answered—from being kidnapped by Crocker’s friends to him leaving me—but I knew the most likely explanation was that he’d forgotten to charge his phone and it had died.
Neely Kate came out a few minutes later and set a bag next to me. “I got you a couple of presents,” she said as she started the car.
“Me?” I sat up. “What are they?”
“Open it and find out.”
I picked up the bag and peered inside. There was a bottle of pills and several differently sized rectangular boxes. I pulled out the pills first and shook my head. “Prenatal vitamins.” My stomach knotted.
“You don’t take any vitamins at all now, so you need something. Just in case. And they won’t hurt you if you aren’t.”
I pulled out one of the boxes next, my breath sticking in my chest when I realized what it was. My nausea roared back to life. “A pregnancy test.”
“You don’t have to take it now, but at least you’ll have it when you decide you’re ready. I got you several different brands. Just so you have lots of options if you don’t like the results of one. And you didn’t get seen buying it, so you don’t have to worry about gossip…or at least not any more gossip than is already brewing about you.”
I hadn’t even thought of that part. “Thanks, Neely Kate.”
“What are best friends for?”
I put the bottle and the boxes in my purse. I was going to have to face the truth sooner or later. Neely Kate was right. The uncertainty was killing me and I was starting to get used to the idea. If I found out we were having a baby, I wouldn’t be devastated like I would have been a few days ago. But I still wasn’t ready.
I took a deep breath. “Let’s go pay Samantha Jo a visit.”
The Lazy Dazy trailer park had seen better days, although it was hard to tell in its current state. A giant sign stood in the front advertising the name of the park in faded yellow letters. A painted daisy was in the corner, only someone had added their own creative touch, giving the flower a phallic look.
“Heavens to Betsy, I bet you ten bucks Miss Mildred hasn’t seen that. She’d bring a ladder out here and paint right over it.”
Neely Kate laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”
We turned down the gravel road, and I sighed when I saw the state of most of the trailers. The sides were dented and covered in rust. Most driveways were lined with rundown cars and there were a few scattered motorcycles. It was hard to believe anyone lived this way.
I checked my phone for a missed call from Mason, although I had no doubt I would have heard his ring. There was nothing other than a text from Joe.
I saw you talking to Jonah after church. Investigating a crime on your own while the sheriff is conducting an investigation is a felony punishable by law. Think about that before you do something to get you into trouble.
“No.” I grabbed her hand, excited. “It was the room’s… It’s a clue!”
Based on the way Neely Kate scrunched her face, she was less hopeful about the lead—or maybe it was just the hot wings. “What else do you remember?” she asked.
“The room was too dark for me to see much, but the one guy was smoking and I could see part of his face. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. Mick was angry. He said he killed the guy because he knew too much.”
“And what about you?” she asked. “What were you doin’?”
“I didn’t pay much attention—I was too busy trying to absorb as many details as I could. I think I was standing.”
“Anything else?”
“Just that they need ten thousand more on top of my nine thousand.” I tilted my head.
“Plus the four thousand they got from the bank.”
I wanted to ask her how she knew how much had been stolen, but thought better of it. “So they have thirteen thousand and they need ten more. Twenty-three thousand. What in tarnation do they need it for?”
“A car? A boat?”
Maybe, but I didn’t think so. “I think there were at least five of them—Mick, the scruffy guy from this vision, the guy with the Batman mask, and the guy at the church.”
“And poor Mr. Sullivan.”
“Yeah. Poor Mr. Sullivan.” I tried not to think about how bloated his face was when I found him in the ditch. “So they’d have to share the money or whatever it was they were buyin’. Of course they might already have some money and be adding to it.”
“True.”
“Let’s go talk to Samantha Jo. You said you know where to find her?”
“She’s livin’ with her cousin at the Lazy Dazy trailer park.”
I whipped my head around to look at her. “That’s where Lars lives with his girlfriend.” Could the coincidences pile up any higher? “It sounds like we’re headed in the right direction.”
We drove back through town, but Neely Kate pulled into the parking lot of the pharmacy.
“What are we doing here?”
“Those wings are burning a hole in my stomach, so I’m gonna get an antacid. You can wait here if you’d like.”
I nodded. “I want to try calling Mason again.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I pulled out my phone and dialed Mason. This time it went straight to voice mail without even ringing. Part of me was cataloguing a whole host of terrible and dreadful reasons why he might not have answered—from being kidnapped by Crocker’s friends to him leaving me—but I knew the most likely explanation was that he’d forgotten to charge his phone and it had died.
Neely Kate came out a few minutes later and set a bag next to me. “I got you a couple of presents,” she said as she started the car.
“Me?” I sat up. “What are they?”
“Open it and find out.”
I picked up the bag and peered inside. There was a bottle of pills and several differently sized rectangular boxes. I pulled out the pills first and shook my head. “Prenatal vitamins.” My stomach knotted.
“You don’t take any vitamins at all now, so you need something. Just in case. And they won’t hurt you if you aren’t.”
I pulled out one of the boxes next, my breath sticking in my chest when I realized what it was. My nausea roared back to life. “A pregnancy test.”
“You don’t have to take it now, but at least you’ll have it when you decide you’re ready. I got you several different brands. Just so you have lots of options if you don’t like the results of one. And you didn’t get seen buying it, so you don’t have to worry about gossip…or at least not any more gossip than is already brewing about you.”
I hadn’t even thought of that part. “Thanks, Neely Kate.”
“What are best friends for?”
I put the bottle and the boxes in my purse. I was going to have to face the truth sooner or later. Neely Kate was right. The uncertainty was killing me and I was starting to get used to the idea. If I found out we were having a baby, I wouldn’t be devastated like I would have been a few days ago. But I still wasn’t ready.
I took a deep breath. “Let’s go pay Samantha Jo a visit.”
The Lazy Dazy trailer park had seen better days, although it was hard to tell in its current state. A giant sign stood in the front advertising the name of the park in faded yellow letters. A painted daisy was in the corner, only someone had added their own creative touch, giving the flower a phallic look.
“Heavens to Betsy, I bet you ten bucks Miss Mildred hasn’t seen that. She’d bring a ladder out here and paint right over it.”
Neely Kate laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”
We turned down the gravel road, and I sighed when I saw the state of most of the trailers. The sides were dented and covered in rust. Most driveways were lined with rundown cars and there were a few scattered motorcycles. It was hard to believe anyone lived this way.
I checked my phone for a missed call from Mason, although I had no doubt I would have heard his ring. There was nothing other than a text from Joe.
I saw you talking to Jonah after church. Investigating a crime on your own while the sheriff is conducting an investigation is a felony punishable by law. Think about that before you do something to get you into trouble.
