Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons
Page 61

Officer Ernie glared. “Your boyfriend may work for the Arkansas State Police, but you are still under Henryetta jurisdiction. We’re all watchin’ you, missy. It would be a shame if you went back to jail.”
“For kissin’?”
“That’s how it starts, then the next thing you know, you’re naked on the hood of your car, makin’ love to Def Leppard’s ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’.”
He sounded like he was speaking from personal experience. I stared at him for several seconds, trying to purge the image from my mind. “Is there anything else?”
Disappointment turned his mouth down. He must have expected me to cower in fear. “No, but once a lawbreaker—”
“—always a lawbreaker. Got it.” There was no point arguing with the man. I gave him the sweetest smile I could muster. “You have a nice day now.”
Then I shut the door as he was getting ready to say something. I sure wasn’t making friends with the Henryetta law enforcement, but then again, they’d never liked me much to begin with. Thank goodness I was leaving this small-minded town.
Now it was time to go to work and give my notice.
Suzanne was subdued when I showed up. I expected I’d have to defend my right to stay employed even though I intended to quit, but she tried to ignore my presence, sneaking glances at me throughout the morning. She must have found out she couldn’t fire me after all. And she must have heard the gossip, realizing I really had been at jury duty. I decided I’d give my two-week notice when I left for the day.
Right before lunchtime, my cell phone buzzed. I thought it might be Joe or Violet, but was surprised to see it was Neely Kate.
Lunch? ;)
I texted back. Yes, is 1:00 too late?
Nope, meet you at Merilees?
Yes. :)
I thought about my new friendship with Neely Kate. I may have only known her a week, but I was going to miss her.
The café had cleared out by one, and I found her sitting at a table, waving her arms. “Rose, over here!”
“How’s the bridesmaids dress situation?” I asked, sitting down.
She waved my question away. “Forget about the wedding, tell me everything that happened.”
“You mean in jail?”
Rolling her eyes, she leaned forward. “No, at the weekend softball game. Of course at the jail. And getting out. And Mason Deveraux taking Judge McClary on to get you out.”
I tilted my head sideways. “Wait. What are you talking about? And you scared the living daylights out of Joe with your message.”
“Good! He deserved it after that whole Hilary incident.”
“That wasn’t his fault.”
She pinched her lips. “Hmm.” Resting her elbows on the table, her eyes glittered with excitement. “Spill.”
The waitress came over and I ordered a glass of sweet tea and a chicken salad sandwich.
“Well, look at you.” Neely Kate preened. “Orderin’ without a menu. You’re like a pro. Now tell me what happened!”
“Not much, really.”
Neely Kate raised her eyebrows. “That’s not what I heard.”
“I suspect what you heard is a whole lot more exciting than what happened.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“I got locked up and then Mr. Deveraux came to see me.”
“He did? Why?” I couldn’t believe something slipped by her.
“He said he felt guilty because I went to talk to him the day before and he yelled at me. He thought that’s why I went to Frank Mitchell’s house.”
“Is it true? Did you go to his house because Mr. Deveraux yelled at you?”
I sighed. When she put it that way… “Yeah, I guess.”
“But why?”
“Because I know Bruce Wayne Decker is innocent. And no one else is fighting for him.”
Neely Kate nodded, accepting that I knew he was innocent without asking questions.
“I thought maybe I could get Mr. Deveraux to listen to me, but obviously that didn’t work out.”
To her credit, she didn’t say anything about me keeping my intent from her last Thursday. “What else did he say when he came to see you in jail?”
I remember the pain in his eyes when I asked him why he wanted to be a district attorney. It felt like a private moment. Something too personal to share, like if I did I’d be violating his trust somehow, which seemed crazy. “Not much. He told me he felt guilty and he was goin’ to get me out.”
“And he was true to his word. Judge McClary threatened to throw him in jail too if he didn’t back off, but he kept on pushing.”
“Joe didn’t tell me that part.”
“I heard Joe went up against the judge too.”
“He said he had to vouch for my character.”
“He did more than that. He took full professional responsibility for your future actions.”
“You mean his job could be on the line because of me?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, but you’re safe. You’re not on the jury any more so you can’t get in trouble for that.”
I gnawed on my bottom lip. “I guess…”
“So what are you goin’ to do?”
“About what?”
“The case, silly. You’re not gonna just let it go, are you?”
“I dunno. Before it was just me on the line. But if Joe has professionally taken responsibility for me…” Why didn’t he tell me?