Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons
Page 77

I wasn’t sure I liked where this was headed “What are you sayin’?”
“I’m sayin’ that Mason Deveraux is lonely, clearly by his own doin’, but lonely nevertheless. He doesn’t have any friends in this town. Maybe he wants to be your friend.”
“Me?”
“Sure. Why not you?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know…”
She shrugged and poked at her salad. “Maybe I’m wrong, but that rarely happens.” She lifted her gaze with a wink.
I couldn’t help laughing. I suspected she was right about that part.
“Besides, he seemed concerned about you when I called him last night. What happened when he showed up?”
I filled her in on all the details of the evening.
A faraway look filled her eyes. “Mason Van De Camp Deveraux III stood up to Skeeter Malcolm. I would have liked to have seen that.”
“You know about Skeeter Malcolm?”
She snorted. “Who doesn’t?”
Me. Obviously. “And you didn’t think it was a bad idea to go there last night?”
“Well, no. There’s nothing wrong with shooting pool. But when I couldn’t go, I had a feelin’ you’d go and do something crazy and make Skeeter suspicious.”
Why did everyone always expect me to do something crazy? “I don’t think Skeeter killed Frank Mitchell.”
“Why not?”
I told her what I’d learned from Anne in the paint department.
“That does sound suspicious.”
“She says he’s a short, bald man. But Skeeter and the guys he hung out with aren’t short or bald. Did you find out anything else about that investment company?”
“No…”
“Maybe Frank’s murder didn’t have anything to do with him owin’ money. Maybe it was the person who wanted his house. What if they’re two separate things? Did you know there’s a superstore going in at the edge of Forest Ridge neighborhood?”
“Now that you mention it, Jimmy said something about it. Some of his rental properties in that neighborhood got bought up.” She watched me for a minute, her brow furrowing. “Rose, how did you know one of my flower girls was gonna get chicken pox?”
I nearly choked on my food. “Uh…I heard it was going around.”
“Well, Misty broke out all over in spots this morning.” Neely Kate bit her lip and slowly shook her head. “How do you know Bruce Decker is innocent?”
My heart thumped wildly. “I told you already. I just know.” My chest tightened and I had a hard time getting out the words.
Her gaze pinned me down. “You have the sight.”
Panic filled every cell of my body. “What are you talkin’ about?”
“You know things like I know things.” She tilted her head, examining me. “I can see your aura. It’s a bright blue. You have the sight.”
Auras were new. I wondered when she’d learned to read those. I laughed. “That’s the silliest thing I ever heard.”
She gave me the closest thing to a glare Neely Kate was probably capable of. Her eyebrows rose. “Is it?”
I looked down at my food while my brain scrambled to find the best way to handle this. I would give anything to share the knowledge of my curse with her, but what if she wouldn’t accept me? I’d had a friend once back in middle school who I’d thought I could trust. We both agreed to share our biggest secret, but when I told her mine, and she realized it was true, horror and fear filled her eyes. She never spoke to me again. Neely Kate claimed to be open to the mysterious and the mystical, but what if she reacted the same way? What if I lost my only friend? “So…what if I did have the sight?” I lifted my chin enough to catch her gaze. “What would you think?”
She remained perfectly still for several seconds. “So you do have it?’
I blinked. I didn’t see any way out of this. “Yes.”
“I knew it!” Neely Kate shrieked and she clapped her hands. “I can’t believe it! You have the gift!”
My eyes widened in horror. “Neely Kate! You can’t tell anyone!”
She settled down and narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Why not?”
“Because people think I’m a big enough freak without knowing this.”
Scoffing, she waved her hand. “They’re just jealous.”
I was pretty sure that wasn’t it. “Please, Neely Kate.”
Her hand covered mine and she smiled. “Calm yourself. If you don’t want me to tell anyone, I won’t, but I don’t see why not. How strong is your gift?”
The food in my stomach became a ten-pound weight. “I don’t actually consider it a gift. More like a curse.”
Her eyes widened. “Why on earth would you think that?”
“Because I have no control over them—”
“Most clairvoyants don’t.”
“And whatever I see just pops right out of my mouth.”
“Huh.” She titled her head. “Okay, that’s different.”
“People think I’m nosy and gossipy because I know things I shouldn’t.”
She chuckled. “I know lots of things I shouldn’t, and look at me.”
True, but Neely Kate was made of sturdier stuff than I was.
Could I tell her everything? I’d come this far. “My momma thought I was demon-possessed.”