Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

J oe had to leave early the next morning to deal with the murder investigation, but getting the kids out the door went relatively well.

It wasn't until we were halfway into town that I realized I hadn't heard from Neely Kate about the box. I wasn't sure what that meant. Had she opened it and decided to continue investigating without me? Or had the contents been so boring, she hadn't bothered to let me know? Neither answer sounded quite right.

Daisy was at daycare when I dropped the kids off, so I wasn't surprised to see Neely Kate sitting at her desk when I walked into the office.

She glanced up and gave me a sheepish look. "I didn't open the box."

I stared at her in surprise. "What?"

She made a face. "Jed and I got into a huge fight, and he was the last person I wanted to ask for help."

"So do you still want to open it?"

"Of course, but I decided to see if you'd changed your mind about opening it with me."

I stared at her for a long moment. "Yeah," I finally said. "I want to open it with you. But how do you plan to get it open now?"

"I was thinking we could ask Bruce Wayne."

I grinned. "Brilliant idea."

"You're not worried it's going to jinx you or anything?" she asked.

"No." I cringed. "I'm kind of embarrassed about running off and leaving it with you yesterday."

"What? Why?" she barked, sitting upright. "Rose, you were the one dead in the vision!"

"First of all, we don't know it was me, and second, if it was, you were there in danger too."

"Did you change your mind and decide to tell Joe?"

"No," I said with a sheepish shrug.

She gave me a commiserating look. "I guess there was a whole lot of male nonsense going on last night." She obviously thought Joe and I had fought as well, and I was about to correct her when she said, "Do you want to force a vision to see if you can figure out whether the woman was you?"

Lordy, why hadn't I thought of that yesterday? "Yeah. That's a good idea." I walked over to her desk and grabbed her hand as I sat on the edge. Closing my eyes, I asked the universe if I was going to get shot in a warehouse with Neely Kate watching.

And got a big fat nothing.

I then asked the universe if I was the woman in the vision I'd had yesterday.

And got more nothing.

I opened my eyes and said, "Nothing."

She shook her head. "What does that mean?"

I grinned at her. "It wasn't me."

She grinned back at me, her eyes wide. "It wasn't you?"

"No."

"Then who was it?"

My sudden elation burst, and I sobered. "I don't know."

"So what do you want to do?"

I knew what she was really asking me. Did I want to save the person I'd seen in my vision?

I considered telling her about my dream two nights ago, but it seemed crazy now that I thought about it. I could only remember fragments of it, and the similarities were probably a coincidence. I'd already come off looking like a fool yesterday when I'd hightailed it home. I'd look even sillier if I suggested I'd dreamed about the murder first.

"I need to have another one," I said. "The person who got shot might not have been me, but the vision was probably of your future, which means you're in danger, Neely Kate. I need to have another vision and ask about you, not me."

Her face paled, but she looked reluctant. "I don't know."

"Neely Kate!"

She took a breath and released it. "Okay, but don't be asking anything about my baby."

"I won't. I promise."

She held out her hand again. "Then okay."

I grasped her hand and closed my eyes, asking the universe to show me if Neely Kate was going to be in danger in a warehouse, adding the last part on at the last moment. If she had another ectopic pregnancy, she could very well be in danger, and I might see that moment instead.

But the universe showed me nothing.

I opened my eyes and shook my head.

"I wasn't in a warehouse?" she asked.

"No."

"Maybe we changed something," she said in confusion.

"Maybe. Or it could have been Miss Adolpha's vision."

"You're kidding."

"I know it seems weird, but…"

"We've seen weirder things," she finished, not looking happy about it.

Her statement made me reconsider my decision not to tell her about the dream. She was right—we'd seen more than our share of oddities.

"So what do you want to do?" she asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Uh…" I was about to tell her about my nightmare, but maybe I'd just imagined the connection. The dream had been vague. Or maybe I was just hesitating because I didn't want to acknowledge that my visions might be changing. "We have to go back and see Miss Adolpha so we can figure out whether she's in danger."

She made a face. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

"You don't want to see Miss Adolpha again? She was a sweet elderly woman."

"I don't have a problem with Miss Adolpha. It's Miss Mildred I don't want to see again."

"Fair enough."

She drew in a deep breath. "I guess this means we won't be opening the box yet."

"Let's hold off until after we see Miss Adolpha. But then we have to come right back so I can work on my proposals. If we want to do more sleuthing, it will have to wait until this afternoon."

"Okay."

"And the only reason I'm suggesting we go see Miss Adolpha now is because I'm worried she might be in danger. Not because we're resuming our investigation."

"Which is the only reason I'm agreeing to go," she grumbled.

"I'll buy you coffee as an incentive," I said, heading for the door.

"I'd rather have a cupcake."

"Deal."

We locked the office and headed across the square to Dena's Cupcake Shop. Dena wasn't necessarily a fan of Neely Kate and me. She'd dated Joe at one point, and for a long time, she'd blamed me for "stealing" him from her. I could understand why it had looked like that from her point of view—Joe had moved in with me when I was a few months pregnant to help protect me and Hope and keep her parentage a secret. We hadn't gotten back together until later, although she didn't know that. Thankfully, her hostility had softened over the past few years.

When we walked through the doors, several people were already in line. In addition to cupcakes, Dena had started serving to-go breakfasts, which were popular with the courthouse employees.

We waited in line, and when it was our turn, she took one look at me and said, "What's going on with the murder down in Pickle Junction?"

Neely Kate stared at me, eyes wide and mouth gaping. "What murder in Pickle Junction?"

"Didn't tell your best friend, huh?" Dena said sarcastically. "What did we elect your husband for if there's just gonna be people murdering each other all over the county?"

"To be fair," I said, "it's one murder. I can't even remember the last time someone was killed."

"Last fall," Dena said in a know-it-all voice.

"Okay…" Neely Kate said, starting to get pissed. "That seems like pretty good stats to me."

"Of course you'd think so," Dena spat at her. "He's your brother." She shifted her attention back to me. "I heard it was drug-related."

So much for softening toward us.

I held up my hands in surrender. "I don't know the first thing about it, Dena, so don't be trying to get information out of me."

"Do you think I believe that you really don't know anything about it?"

"It's true," I said, trying not to sound defensive. "It's an official investigation. It sounds like you might know more than I do."

Neely Kate leaned closer to the counter. "What do you know?"

"Why don't you go ask your brother?" Dena snapped.

"His name was Harvey Smith," said the woman behind us. "He lived in Pickle Junction and worked for Jefferson Sanitation."

I spun around to face her. She looked young, probably in her twenties, and her eyes were bloodshot and swollen.

"You knew him?" I asked softly.

"He was my brother." Her gaze narrowed on me. "Is your husband really the sheriff?"

I nodded. "Yes. Joe Simmons is my husband."

"Do you know if he's gonna just mark it up as another junkie's death?"

"I promise you that he'll do a thorough investigation."

Dena snorted. "Like he kept his promise to me?"

"He didn't promise you a doggone thing, Dena," Neely Kate said. "You two dated for about two minutes, nearly four years ago. Can you just let it go? I thought you were with Mitch Castlebaum."

Dena lifted her chin. "We broke up."

Hence, her renewed campaign against us.

I turned my back on Dena and said, "Joe is a fair man, and he'll investigate your brother's death. I promise." I expected Dena to snort again, but she kept quiet this time. "Would you like Joe's phone number so you can call him and talk to him about the case?"

"Why would you do that?" she asked, her tone suspicious.

"Because he's fair, and he'll listen to you," I said, digging one of Joe's business cards from my purse. I held it toward her. "He has an open-door policy with the citizens of this county."

She took the card and looked it over before stuffing it into her jeans pocket. I was pretty sure she didn't plan on calling him.

"What's your name?" I asked softly.

Her eyes hardened, and I was sure she wasn't going to answer, but then she said, "Darlene. Darlene Smith."

"Well, Darlene, as soon as I leave here with some cupcakes, I'll send Joe a text and let him know to expect a call from you."

"Is this some kind of trap?"

"No, of course not," I said insistently. "I only want to help you. I promise."

She stared at me in amazement. "Why? You don't even know me."

"I know you're grieving, and you want answers. And Joe's the man to find them for you." I stepped aside. "Now, why don't you order whatever it was you came here for, and Neely Kate and I will order next."

She walked to the counter, and while she ordered her breakfast sandwich and coffee, Neely Kate leaned into my ear. "Why didn't you tell me there was a murder in Pickle Junction?" she hissed.

"I didn't think it was important."

"It's not like there have been a lot of murders around here lately."

We both knew she meant not like there used to be .

"And it's not like I know anything," I said under by breath. "I wasn't lying when I said it's an official investigation. Joe's not spilling any secrets. Besides, honestly, I forgot."

"But is it a coincidence that you're not seeing yourself dead anymore?" she whispered, so no one else could hear. "What if the murder prevented it from happening?"

"We don't know that it was me."

To my surprise, she didn't respond.

We ordered a baker's dozen cupcakes and a couple of coffees, one decaf, and while we waited, Neely Kate went to the bathroom. When she came out, the food and coffee were ready, so we headed to Piney Rest.

Miss Adolpha was in the Great Room when we arrived with the cupcakes, minus the one Neely Kate had eaten during the drive. Miss Adolpha stared at us in shock as we approached.

"You girls came back. Did you find the owner of the box already?"

"Not yet," I said cheerfully. "But we stopped by Dena's Cupcakes and thought you and your friends might like some."

Several of the women she was sitting with let out excited squeals as Neely Kate set the box in the middle of the table. "But Miss Adolpha gets first pick," she said.

Miss Adolpha opened the box and picked out a cupcake with pink frosting, then turned the box around to the other people at the table. They acted like piranhas, everyone snatching cupcakes all at once.

I stepped back, even though I wasn't close enough to get caught in the frenzy.

"I think those were a hit," Neely Kate said under her breath.

Miss Adolpha got to her feet, holding her uneaten cupcake in one hand and her footed walking cane in the other. "I'm glad you girls came back by. I found something you might be interested in."

I snuck a glance at Neely Kate, who shrugged as we started to follow Miss Adolpha down the hall.

"At least we haven't run into you know who," Neely Kate said.

I laughed. "She's not Voldemort."

"Says you."

Miss Adolpha walked into her room and started rummaging around in a fancy pink cardboard box on her bed. The lid lay next to it, and she'd set her cupcake on her bedside table.

"When I was going to sleep last night, I realized I had some photos of the house from when my kids were little. I thought it might help you."

Neely Kate made a face. "Actually, Miss Adolpha, we're not looking for?—"

"That would be really helpful," I said.

Neely Kate's mouth dropped open.

I walked over to the bed and peered into the box. "Are those photos of your kids?"

A bittersweet smile twisted her lips. "Five kids kept us busy, but no matter where we lived, our home was full of love and laughter."

"And you worked as a teacher while they were growing up?" I asked.

She glanced over at me. "I did."

"I have four kids, and my husband just took a job that keeps him pretty busy sometimes. I work full time myself and?—"

"It's a challenge," she finished sympathetically.

"It is. Sometimes I worry I'm missing too much of their lives. The oldest is ten, and the youngest is one, and we're just so busy. I worry that some of them aren't getting the attention they need."

"I stayed home a few years before my younger three were in school," she said. "It was a joy, but I felt isolated here in Henryetta. There's no right answer, Rose. Different people need different things. Just go with your heart. But enjoy them now because soon, they'll be raised and fly from the nest."

"If you don't mind me asking," Neely Kate asked, "where do your kids live now?"

"They all moved away. There's not much here in Henryetta careerwise, so…"

"I understand," I said.

Miss Adolpha sighed. "Most of them live up in Little Rock, and they pester me to move up there, but I've lived here most of my life. I'm not sure I could do it. I had a wide group of friends, and even though some have moved on both geographically and metaphorically, I still have activities that keep me busy. Even in here." She cleared her throat. "In any case, I know I have some photos of the house in here, and like I said, I thought they could help with your search."

Miss Adolpha started pulling out photos. She looked so happy to be showing them to us that we kept asking her questions. They'd lived in two houses, and there were multiple photos of both. But something struck me when I looked at one of the front-view photos of the house on Olive Street.

"Neely Kate, look," I said, pointing to the corner where we found the box. "There's a bush here."

She took the photo from me. "Oh my stars and garters! You're right."

"Is that a problem?" Miss Adolpha asked.

"That's where we found the box," I said. "And the bush wasn't there when we started the landscaping project."

"Which means the box was buried sometime after the bush was removed," Neely Kate said, getting excited.

"Do you know when it was removed?" I asked.

Miss Adolpha rubbed her chin. "George removed it not long before we moved out."

"So it could have been one of the renters," Neely Kate said.

"Or one of the girls I mentioned yesterday. The girls next door," Miss Adolpha said. "I'd forgotten how close the two houses were to each other."

Neely Kate's smile faded. "Miss Adolpha, did anyone dangerous live in your rental house?"

Obviously, she was thinking about my vision.

"Dangerous?" she asked in surprise. She shook her head. "No. Of course not. George was very careful about who lived there."

"What about next door?" Neely Kate pressed.

The elderly woman released a nervous chuckle. "Do you think whatever's in the box is dangerous?"

"No, of course not," I assured her. "We're just gathering information."

"Trying to make sure we don't accidentally talk to someone who's unsavory," Neely Kate said, trying to sound nonchalant but not quite pulling it off.

Miss Adolpha seemed to consider it for a moment. "There might have been someone."

"Someone dangerous?" I asked in surprise.

Her lips pressed together. "Yes. George claimed a bunch of thugs had moved in next door. They had lots of very loud parties, and the man who lived there was arrested for assault a few times."

I took a second to absorb what she'd said. "Do you remember their names?"

She considered it for a few seconds. "No. I can't seem to recall. I'm sorry."

"Do you know when they might have lived there?" I asked.

"It was when the Kempners lived there. They were upset with all the ruckus and threatened to break the lease and move. But thankfully, the man got arrested for something or another, and it must have stuck because he didn't come back. The other people living there moved, and new people moved in soon after."

"Do you possibly have a timeframe?" I asked.

She drew in a breath as she closed her eyes. "I want to say that my son Greg was eleven or twelve. He mowed the Kempners' yard one summer after Bill Kempner broke his leg. George considered dropping him off and picking him up later, but he was worried about leaving him alone with the neighbors next door."

"And how old is David now?" Neely Kate asked.

"In his late forties. So that would have been about thirty years ago."

"That's very helpful," I said. "Thank you."

"Even if I don't know their names?"

"We have their address and an approximate time of his arrest," I said. "We can look up arrest records."

Her eyes lit up. "Well, aren't you girls clever!"

Only I wasn't feeling very clever. We'd come here to see if Miss Adolpha was the source of the vision, and we'd gotten sucked back into investigating.

I shot a glance to Neely Kate, and she gave me a look that suggested the thought had occurred to her too.

The aide from yesterday popped into the open doorway. "Miss Adolpha, it's almost time for your watercolor class."

"Thank you, Devin," the elderly woman said with a smile.

"Watercolor classes and yoga?" Neely Kate said in awe after the aide walked away. "I'm thinking about moving here."

Miss Adolpha laughed. "As I said, I should have moved in here sooner."

"Does Miss Mildred take watercolor classes?" I asked, unable to help myself.

She laughed. "No, thank goodness. She's more into the oil painting classes. She makes a lot of abstract art with red and black slashes across the canvas." She shuddered. "It's very violent."

"That sounds about right," Neely Kate muttered under her breath, but I couldn't help thinking that it didn't sound like her at all. Cranky, yes, but never violent. Not like yesterday.

But we still hadn't accomplished what we'd come here to do.

"Let me help you pick up the pictures," I said, reaching for the photos now spread across her bed. I purposely brushed her hand with mine and forced a vision, asking, is Miss Adolpha in danger?

My mind stayed completely blank.

I opened my eyes and shot a puzzled look at Neely Kate, who had to know what I was doing.

"Try again," she mouthed.

I rested a hand on the older woman's shoulder.

Does Miss Adolpha go to a warehouse?

Nothing.

Does Miss Adolpha see someone get hurt?

This time, an image appeared, bright and blinding after the darkness.

Miss Mildred was standing on a table, waving her cane and shouting, "You're not the boss of me!"

"Get down, you old fool," grumbled an elderly man with a beak-shaped nose. "You're messin' up our card game." He was sitting beside the table she was standing on, and sure enough, playing cards were scattered all around.

She leaned over to smack at him with her cane but lost her balance and toppled onto the man and then the floor.

The old man started bellowing, and Miss Mildred started screaming, "You broke my damn hip!"

Miss Adolpha's room came back into view, and I said, "Miss Mildred's gonna fall off a table."

"What?" Miss Adolpha said, giving me a strange look.

"You need to watch out for Miss Mildred," Neely Kate said with a laugh. "She's a wild one."

We finished packing up the photos, and we followed Miss Adolpha down the hall to the art room. After we gave her quick hugs and sent her off to her lesson, we moved down the hall a few feet out of view of the watercolor class.

"I take it you didn't see anything," she said under her breath. "Other than Miss Mildred falling off a table. I would have loved to have seen that ."

"Neely Kate," I admonished.

"Okay, I don't. Not really. The question is, what do you want to do about your vision?"

"We can't warn Miss Mildred to stay off tables. She'd likely climb on top of one out of spite."

"True."

"I guess we let fate take its course," I said absently, wondering why the older woman had suddenly become so violent. "Do you know why Miss Mildred moved in here?"

"Because she's old?"

I shot her a look.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "She has a cane now. Maybe she was having trouble getting around. We know she doesn't have kids to help take care of her. She doesn't have anyone."

She was right, and there wasn't much I could do about that.

We headed for the front doors, but as we passed the great room, I saw Miss Mildred sitting by herself, staring at the wall with a blank expression.

Despite my good sense telling me this was a bad idea, I walked over to her.

"What are you doin'?" Neely Kate asked in a low, insistent voice.

"Give me a minute." Seconds later, I squatted in front of my nemesis and gave her a soft smile. "Hey, Miss Mildred."

She blinked as if coming back to reality, and it took her a moment to see who'd caught her attention. "What do you want?" she asked, with enough venom to make most people run for the exit.

I ignored it.

"I was thinking it's been a while since you've seen Violet's kids."

Her face hardened. "At least a year."

"Since you left the New Living Hope Revival Church," I said.

"You want to talk about that ?" she spat out.

"No," I said softly. "I want to arrange for Ashley and Mikey to come see you."

"Why?" she asked, distrust in her eyes, while Neely Kate let out her own " Why? "

"Because Violet liked you," I said. "And I think you loved her like a daughter. It's obvious you care about her kids. So I thought you might like to see them. Mikey's getting so big." I paused. "Did you know he's on a soccer team? He had his first game a couple of nights ago."

"Did he score a goal?" she asked in a meeker voice than I'd ever heard her use.

"He did." I tilted my head. "How about I bring him by this weekend, and he can tell you all about it?"

Her chin quivered. "Ashley too?"

"Of course."

Miss Mildred looked like she was about to cry. Then her eyes hardened. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I know you miss them, and I think they miss you too. And because they need more reminders of Violet. I'd love it if you could tell Ashley some stories about her mother when she was her age. I think she really needs it." I stood. "We'll see you this weekend, Miss Mildred." Then I ignored the shock on Neely Kate's face and headed for the door, leaving her to follow.

As soon as we were in the parking lot, I wasn't surprised when she said, "What just happened?"

"She's lonely," I said, continuing to my Suburban.

"And that's her own fault," Neely Kate said insistently. "She pushes people away."

"I know," I said with a sigh as I walked to the driver's door, leaving Neely Kate standing behind the vehicle. I glanced at her as I grabbed the door handle. "But it still felt like it was the right thing to do."

I got inside, and she quickly walked around and climbed into the passenger seat.

"She's so violent, which isn't like her at all," I said. "I think she feels hopeless. She gave up her house and her life, and now she's here. No one comes to see her, and she obviously doesn't have any friends."

"And whose fault is that?" Neely Kate countered.

"I know. She's never been an easy woman to deal with?—"

"You think ?"

"But she loved Violet, and she loves Violet's kids. And I meant it when I said it would be good for them to have something to remind them of their mother."

"Is this because of what's going on with Ashley at school?"

I considered it. "Partly, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about Miss Mildred." I swung my gaze to Neely Kate. "In my vision, she was standing on a table, trying to hit an older man with her cane. She fell into his lap and then onto the floor. She said she thought she had broken her hip."

Her nose scrunched. "How in the world did you see that?"

"Nothing popped up when I tried to force a vision about Miss Adolpha in the warehouse, so I switched it up, asking if she saw anyone get hurt."

"And she had a front row seat to Miss Mildred's table dance?" she asked with an ornery grin.

I grimaced. "Yeah."

She was quiet for a moment. "So it wasn't Miss Adolpha's vision that showed you the dead woman?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I'm guessing it must have been yours, but something changed it." I wondered again if I should tell her about the dream.

"The murder in Pickle Junction," she said.

I wanted to argue with her, but the idea didn't seem that far-fetched.

"We need to find out more about that murder," she said with a hard edge in her voice.

I stared at her in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"

She turned in her seat to face me. "We need to find out why Harvey Smith was murdered because whatever he was doing put us in danger."

I shook my head. "That's insane."

Her brow lifted. "Is it?"

My heart sank because I was worried she might be right.

"Do you think Joe will give you any information?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No. He keeps that stuff pretty close to the vest, and if I tell him about the vision, he'll freak out. He's been under enough stress lately. I don't want to worry him."

She flopped back in her seat and drew in a deep breath. "Then how are we going to find out?"

"I know someone who might help," I said.

I only hoped he wouldn't ask a lot of questions.