Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons
Page 35
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“Okay.”
She stopped short and pointed to a man coming down the hall. A scowl furrowed his brow and he stomped down the hall carrying a paper in his hand. He rubbed his hand over his head, sweeping the few strands of hair he had left to the side.
“That’s my boss, Jimmy, and he’s been moodier this week than a schizophrenic with PMS. We’d better steer clear of him.” She led me to the basement through the stairwell, which was probably a good thing given the antiquated elevator. The thing ran so slow it probably wouldn’t reach the basement until tomorrow.
The vending machines were located in an alcove in the basement. The overhead florescent lights flickered, casting a menacing glare. My stomach growled as I faced the machines full of crackers, chips, and candy bars, suddenly remembering I hadn’t eaten anything all day. A bag of chips wasn’t going to cut it, but my stomach had no choice in the matter since I’d abandoned my lunch at the DMV.
Neely Kate got a Diet Coke and sat in a plastic chair. “Did you finally hear from Joe?”
“Yeah, he came down from Little Rock to see me last night.”
“He drove all the way just to see you?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s so romantic!”
My face burned with embarrassment. “I’m gonna go see him this weekend.”
Neely Kate squealed. “That’s even better!”
We spent the next ten minutes hiding out from our responsibilities while I filled Neely Kate in on the latest with Joe, Violet, and my disastrous set-up with Austin.
“That’s so romantic! You have two men wanting you!”
I grimaced. “What? No! Don’t be silly.”
She stood, laughing. “There ain’t nothing wrong with being happy that two men are after you, especially when you know which one you want. You do know which one you want, don’t you?”
“Of course! I’m not the slightest bit interested in Austin Kent.” Although the more I thought about it, I wondered if I could say the same about Violet.
“I gotta get up to the probate office and back to my own desk or Jimmy’s gonna be fit to be tied. He’s got to leave early to do something at one of his rental properties. You headed back to the DMV?”
Probate was on the same floor as Mr. Deveraux’s office. How was I going to explain that to Neely Kate? “Actually, I think I’ll stop by the juror’s room and check in with Marjorie Grace. I’ll see if she knows anything about tomorrow.”
“Good idea! And you can put off going back to work a little bit longer.”
I checked the time on my phone. I was already three minutes late and it would take me at least five minutes to get back. Suzanne was probably stalking the back door, waiting for me to show up. “Yeah,” I answered, distracted.
Thankfully, Neely Kate didn’t notice and she filled me in on the latest wedding news. Her bridesmaids’ dresses had arrived the day before, and instead of the soft peach color she had ordered, they were tangerine.
“That won’t be so bad.” I suggested. “Tangerine’s a pretty color.”
“Brenda, my second cousin twice removed, is a plus-sized girl and loves to go to the tanning salon and is orange. She’s gonna look like a Skittle.”
“Well, maybe there’s time for her to get back to a normal color. When’s your wedding?”
“In two weeks.”
“Oh.” I didn’t see much chance of that happening.
Since neither of us was in a hurry to get back to our jobs, me now more than ever, we decided to take the elevator to the second floor. While we waited for the doors to open, it occurred to me that Neely Kate knew pretty much everything that happened in the courthouse. In fact, she knew about the Bruce Wayne Decker case before we got picked for questioning. Could I get away with asking what else she knew?
“So, this case I’m on is pretty interesting,” I mumbled, staring at the numbers above the elevator doors. The two had been lit up for several minutes.
“Oh, yeah?” Her voice stumbled in confusion.
I couldn’t blame her for sounding surprised. I’d made such a big deal about how I couldn’t talk about it before, and here I was bringing it up.
She leaned her head next to mine and half-whispered. “Has Detective Taylor gotten on the stand and told his story?”
Trying to contain my excitement, I turned to face her. “You mean his testimony?”
Her eyes widened in mock surprise. “Oh, is that what he’s callin’ it now?”
“What do you mean?” My heart thumped like a jackrabbit.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Never mind! I didn’t say anything!”
I could go about this two ways. I could beg and plead with her to tell me or I could act like I didn’t want to know, which I suspected would drive her crazy. I hoped I wasn’t wrong. “Pft. It doesn’t take a divining rod to see he’s not telling the whole story.”
Her eyes lit up like she’d just woke up on Christmas morning. “So I’m right?”
Pinching my lips in an exaggerated manner, I shook my head. “I’m not supposed to talk about it.”
“But you can tell he’s sweeping stuff under the rug, right?”
The elevator doors opened and I nearly groaned. I wasn’t done getting my information. I took small steps into the empty box and she followed on my heels.
“Rose, come on. I won’t tell a soul. I swear.”
She stopped short and pointed to a man coming down the hall. A scowl furrowed his brow and he stomped down the hall carrying a paper in his hand. He rubbed his hand over his head, sweeping the few strands of hair he had left to the side.
“That’s my boss, Jimmy, and he’s been moodier this week than a schizophrenic with PMS. We’d better steer clear of him.” She led me to the basement through the stairwell, which was probably a good thing given the antiquated elevator. The thing ran so slow it probably wouldn’t reach the basement until tomorrow.
The vending machines were located in an alcove in the basement. The overhead florescent lights flickered, casting a menacing glare. My stomach growled as I faced the machines full of crackers, chips, and candy bars, suddenly remembering I hadn’t eaten anything all day. A bag of chips wasn’t going to cut it, but my stomach had no choice in the matter since I’d abandoned my lunch at the DMV.
Neely Kate got a Diet Coke and sat in a plastic chair. “Did you finally hear from Joe?”
“Yeah, he came down from Little Rock to see me last night.”
“He drove all the way just to see you?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s so romantic!”
My face burned with embarrassment. “I’m gonna go see him this weekend.”
Neely Kate squealed. “That’s even better!”
We spent the next ten minutes hiding out from our responsibilities while I filled Neely Kate in on the latest with Joe, Violet, and my disastrous set-up with Austin.
“That’s so romantic! You have two men wanting you!”
I grimaced. “What? No! Don’t be silly.”
She stood, laughing. “There ain’t nothing wrong with being happy that two men are after you, especially when you know which one you want. You do know which one you want, don’t you?”
“Of course! I’m not the slightest bit interested in Austin Kent.” Although the more I thought about it, I wondered if I could say the same about Violet.
“I gotta get up to the probate office and back to my own desk or Jimmy’s gonna be fit to be tied. He’s got to leave early to do something at one of his rental properties. You headed back to the DMV?”
Probate was on the same floor as Mr. Deveraux’s office. How was I going to explain that to Neely Kate? “Actually, I think I’ll stop by the juror’s room and check in with Marjorie Grace. I’ll see if she knows anything about tomorrow.”
“Good idea! And you can put off going back to work a little bit longer.”
I checked the time on my phone. I was already three minutes late and it would take me at least five minutes to get back. Suzanne was probably stalking the back door, waiting for me to show up. “Yeah,” I answered, distracted.
Thankfully, Neely Kate didn’t notice and she filled me in on the latest wedding news. Her bridesmaids’ dresses had arrived the day before, and instead of the soft peach color she had ordered, they were tangerine.
“That won’t be so bad.” I suggested. “Tangerine’s a pretty color.”
“Brenda, my second cousin twice removed, is a plus-sized girl and loves to go to the tanning salon and is orange. She’s gonna look like a Skittle.”
“Well, maybe there’s time for her to get back to a normal color. When’s your wedding?”
“In two weeks.”
“Oh.” I didn’t see much chance of that happening.
Since neither of us was in a hurry to get back to our jobs, me now more than ever, we decided to take the elevator to the second floor. While we waited for the doors to open, it occurred to me that Neely Kate knew pretty much everything that happened in the courthouse. In fact, she knew about the Bruce Wayne Decker case before we got picked for questioning. Could I get away with asking what else she knew?
“So, this case I’m on is pretty interesting,” I mumbled, staring at the numbers above the elevator doors. The two had been lit up for several minutes.
“Oh, yeah?” Her voice stumbled in confusion.
I couldn’t blame her for sounding surprised. I’d made such a big deal about how I couldn’t talk about it before, and here I was bringing it up.
She leaned her head next to mine and half-whispered. “Has Detective Taylor gotten on the stand and told his story?”
Trying to contain my excitement, I turned to face her. “You mean his testimony?”
Her eyes widened in mock surprise. “Oh, is that what he’s callin’ it now?”
“What do you mean?” My heart thumped like a jackrabbit.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Never mind! I didn’t say anything!”
I could go about this two ways. I could beg and plead with her to tell me or I could act like I didn’t want to know, which I suspected would drive her crazy. I hoped I wasn’t wrong. “Pft. It doesn’t take a divining rod to see he’s not telling the whole story.”
Her eyes lit up like she’d just woke up on Christmas morning. “So I’m right?”
Pinching my lips in an exaggerated manner, I shook my head. “I’m not supposed to talk about it.”
“But you can tell he’s sweeping stuff under the rug, right?”
The elevator doors opened and I nearly groaned. I wasn’t done getting my information. I took small steps into the empty box and she followed on my heels.
“Rose, come on. I won’t tell a soul. I swear.”
