Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

I walked over to Dermot and Neely Kate, who were standing in the yard about ten feet from the truck.

"What did you see?" Dermot asked. He looked grim as I told him about my vision. "So someone's watchin' us," he said, glancing around.

"I don't think so," I said. "They didn't mention you. Only me."

"Or they were only interested in you," Neely Kate said.

"That doesn't make any sense," I countered. "Which is why I asked who suggested me. Did they find this Justin kid, and he told them he sent Austin to me?"

Dermot crossed his arms. "I don't like it."

"Neither do I," I muttered. "Nothing about it."

"I want to have someone watch you and the kids."

I started to protest that Joe could handle it, then stopped. There was no way he could have deputies posted on all of us, and he'd only do that if I told him what was going on.

Lordy. Was I really considering not telling him?

My stomach churned. We were in such a good place. We were supposed to be done with secrets.

Neely Kate seemed to read my mind. "Rose, honey…"

I gave her a tight smile. "I'm okay." I took a deep breath and turned to Dermot. "I take it you're gonna watch Austin's house and try to intercept the guys after him?"

His eyes hardened. "You know it."

I nodded, feeling slightly better. "They may only be interested in me because they figured Austin told me what he saw."

"Maybe," he said. "But I plan to find out."

"Are you takin' him to a safe house?" Neely Kate asked.

"Yeah. I just need to call one of my guys to meet us there." He leveled his gaze on me. "You doin' okay?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm still gonna put some guys on you."

My head spun, making me dizzy. "I'm not gonna fight you on it, Dermot."

"You gonna tell Joe?"

I swallowed, my stomach roiling. "I don't know yet."

He nodded. "Well, let me know if you do. That way I can give my guys a heads up."

He started to walk away, lifting his phone, but I called after him. "Dermot?"

He glanced over his shoulder at me.

"Thank you." My voice broke with emotion.

"Think nothin' of it." He pressed his screen and lifted his phone to his ear.

"What are you gonna do now?" Neely Kate asked.

I ran a hand over my head. "I don't know. I guess pretend like this didn't happen and trust Dermot's men to protect us."

"You wanna have another vision?"

It made sense. I suspected the vision of the dead woman came from Neely Kate, and we'd made some life-altering decisions. It could have stopped Neely Kate from getting in a dangerous situation, and the woman in my vision from getting shot.

I grabbed her hand and tried to force a vision, but I still couldn't conjure the dead woman.

"Nothin'," I said when I opened my eyes.

"Well, that's a good thing," Neely Kate said with a forced smile. "We changed things."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Looks like we did." But I still wasn't satisfied the threat was gone.

"I'm hungry. Let's say we get lunch."

I checked my phone and saw I had missed a text from Randy.

Rose, great to hear from you! I'd love to get together. Want to meet at Merrilee's at noon?

How could I have forgotten I'd asked him to meet for lunch? I told Neely Kate what he said.

"Then I guess we have a lunch date," she said, her eyes bright. "So what do you say we go back to the office and get some work done first?"

"Yeah," I said, feeling unsettled. I wasn't sure how much work I'd be able to get done, but it was worth a try. "Let me talk to Bruce Wayne first."

He was cutting the plastic container from the root ball of a bush when I walked over. He looked up at me and straightened, leaving the plant on the ground. "Dermot gonna handle it?"

"Yeah." I glanced back at the boy in Dermot's truck. "Has there been chatter about me in the criminal underworld?"

"I'm ignorant to anything goin' on in that world. I've tried to keep my nose clean." His eyes bore into mine.

I knew what he wasn't saying. Not since he'd married Anna and started building his family.

"It just seems so random that Austin asked for me."

"I agree, but surely Dermot is looking into it."

"Yeah." I drew a breath, my mind racing. "I have to wonder if the murder in Pickle Junction has anything to do with the murder Austin witnessed. We haven't had many murders around here lately, so I find it hard to believe the two aren't connected."

"That seems like a job for Joe," Bruce Wayne said with a hint of warning in his voice.

"Yeah," I said absently. "You're right."

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?"

I held his gaze. "I have to protect my family."

"And you can do that by letting Joe and Dermot take care of it."

I knew that was what I should do, but I'd spent the first twenty-four years of my life doing what I was told and letting other people handle everything in my life. Six years ago, I'd decided I was done with that. I wasn't about to slip now. "Since when do I let other people do my dirty work?"

He made a face. "I was afraid you'd say something like that." He toed the ground, then looked up at me again. "Just be careful, Rose."

"I'd never put my kids at risk, but what if they're already in danger because of my past? I need to do whatever it takes to protect them."

"Without Joe?"

That was the part that got to me. Joe. I desperately wanted to confide in him, but Dermot was better suited to find out whether something was going on in the criminal underworld. And if I told Joe everything, I'd have to admit that Dermot had some of his men protecting our family, which would never fly. I just hoped Dermot would find out something quickly. "I need more information before I tell him. Dermot's men are going to keep watch over me and the kids. They'll likely be more help than the deputies."

He made another face that suggested he thought so too.

"Just be careful," he repeated.

Neely Kate and I didn't speak as we drove back to the office. I was too busy running everything through my head, and I suspected she was doing the same.

When I sat at my desk, I pulled up a design on my computer and tried to work, but it was hard to focus on which type of flowering bush to put on the south side of a house when I knew murderers were actively interested in the Lady in Black.

Neely Kate nibbled on crackers while staring at her computer screen.

"It's going to be okay," she said after a few moments.

"I hope so," I said, still staring blankly at the screen.

The front door opened with a jingle of the bell on the doorknob, and I was surprised to see Jed walking in wearing jeans and his Carlisle Motors shirt. Jed rarely took off from work at lunch time. He was a family man, through and through, so he often took short lunches so he could finish up by five. The look on his face suggested this wasn't going to be a friendly chat.

"What are you doin' here?" Neely Kate asked as she swiveled her chair to face him.

"Why am I hearing from Dermot about you two getting involved with a witness to a murder?"

I cringed, but Neely Kate was more in the hot seat then I was in this instance.

She gave him a defiant glare. "I'm not speakin' to you, Jed Carlisle. Hence, I didn't tell you what's goin' on."

"This is serious, Neely Kate!" he shouted, his face flushing, but I could see the fear flashing in his eyes.

"Dermot has it covered," she said sweetly. "There was nothin' to tell. Besides, the kid was lookin' for Rose, not me."

He swung his attention to me. "What does Joe make of this?"

Oh boy. "He doesn't know yet," I said.

"What do you mean he doesn't know?" Jed's voice boomed through the office.

"It seems pretty self-explanatory to me," I said, my brows shooting up. "Besides, Dermot's got men watchin' me and the kids, so what's Joe supposed to do?"

He started to say something, then stopped.

"Exactly. Dermot's lookin' into it, and when there's something to actually tell Joe that won't just make him worry, I'll tell him."

"He has a right to know, Rose," Jed protested, then turned to his wife. "Just like I had a right to know."

"I'll tell him," I said. "I swear. But there's no point in calling him right now. The kids and I are safe, and he's busy trying to solve a murder. The boy refused to talk to Joe—and trust me I tried to convince him many times?—"

"She did," Neely Kate said, nodding her head. " Many times."

"—so I figured it would be better to get Dermot involved than to just cut the kid loose." I finished.

He pressed his lips together and stared at me.

"Do you honestly think I'd be stubborn enough to put my children in danger?" I demanded.

His face softened. "No."

"Then trust me, Jed," I said just before the alarm on my phone went off, telling me it was time to walk over to the restaurant and meet Randy. I grabbed my purse and stood. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to leave for a meeting."

Jed shot a glance to Neely Kate, then me. "What kind of meeting?"

"Good Lord, Jed!" Neely Kate hollered. "She's a grown woman capable of making her own appointments."

He didn't look convinced, so I said, "I'm meeting Randy Miller, who happens to be a deputy sheriff, at Merrilee's." I gave him a smug look. "Can't get much safer than that." Then I walked past him to the door.

I expected Neely Kate to get up and follow, but she stayed seated.

"I'll try to knock out this design before my two o'clock meeting," Neely Kate said. "Jed can get me something for lunch."

I gave her a sympathetic smile, although I supposed I should have given it to Jed since he was still in whatever doghouse Neely Kate had put him in the night before.

Merilee's was directly across the square from my office. When I walked through the door to the restaurant, Randy was already seated at a two-top table in the back. He was wearing his uniform, and he lifted his hand in greeting. He looked relaxed and settled. He'd come a long way from the young deputy I'd met nearly six years ago. I headed back and slipped into the empty chair across from him. Two glasses of water were already on the table.

"I'm so glad you could meet me!" I said, meaning it. "I haven't seen you in months."

He shot me a grin. "You and Joe have had your hands full."

I swiped at a drop of water on the table. "Especially since Joe became sheriff."

The waitress walked over, her ponytail swishing against her neck. "Hey, Rose. What's it gonna be today?"

I ordered a club sandwich with tomato soup, and Randy ordered a burger and fries.

"So what's new in your life?" I asked Randy as the waitress walked away. "You look happy. Dating anyone?"

He chuckled as his gaze dropped to the table. "I've started seeing someone, but it's too soon to know if it's anything."

"Anyone I know?" I asked playfully.

"Nah, I don't think so. She's from up by Magnolia."

"How'd you meet? A dating app?"

He laughed. "Now you sound like Neely Kate."

I shrugged with a grin. "I guess she's rubbed off on me."

He laughed. "I pulled her over for a broken taillight."

"And she agreed to go out with you?" I asked with a snort.

His face flushed slightly. "I let her off with a warning."

"Well, I hope she's lovely," I said. "You deserve someone wonderful."

The pink of his cheeks turned more crimson. "I don't know about that." He shifted, obviously uncomfortable with the topic at hand, and said, "I hear Mikey's playin' soccer."

I told him about Mikey's game and then told him about the situation Ashley was dealing with at school.

He frowned. "I hate that for her. She's a sensitive kid, so I know how hard that must be for her."

"We've both told her and Mikey that their daddy made a mistake—a bad one—and that he's sorry. But we thought they were too young to know the full details."

"You've changed your mind?"

"No… maybe?"

Randy sat back in his seat. "I wish I was wise enough to give you advice, but I do know that keepin' secrets from kids never ends well. They always seem to find out."

My blood ran cold. I knew he was talking in general, but my mind naturally turned to Hope. All it would take was one of those trendy at-home genetics tests, and she'd find out that Joe wasn't her biological father. But would she find out who'd helped conceive her?

Well, that was trouble for another day.

"So you think I should tell her?"

"That's a decision for you and Joe to make, but if she's curious enough, she'll find the answers—with or without you."

I started to respond, but the waitress brought our food.

When she left, Randy said, "Just think about it."

"It's good advice," I said with a soft smile. "You're gonna make a great dad one day."

He blushed again. "We'll see."

I picked up half of my sandwich as I shifted the conversation. "Do things seem to be falling into place at the sheriff's department since Joe took over?"

Randy picked up the ketchup bottle at the end of the table, put some on top of his burger, and then added some to his plate next to his fries. "The transition wasn't that rough, to be honest. Sure, there were some guys who were difficult, but Joe was already their boss before he quit a few years ago. He slipped in pretty effortlessly." He hesitated. "Does Joe think differently?"

"No." I took a bite, then set my sandwich down as I chewed. "I think he expects too much from himself."

"He wants to do a good job and be a good leader. And he truly wants to clean up crime in the county."

"Seems like putting Denny Carmichael away helped with that," I said.

He considered it for a moment. "I suppose you're right. The feds took care of busting Carmichael and his gang. After he and Malcolm were arrested, the crime rate went down."

I decided to bring up Austin's accusation. "Have you heard anything about deputies treating teenagers from Pickle Junction differently?"

His eyes narrowed. "How so?"

"Like being less understanding." I shrugged. "Presuming the worst."

He pinned me with his gaze. "What brought this on?"

I knew he'd want to know what prompted my question. I should have already come up with a plan.

He set down his burger. "Is this your roundabout way of trying to get more information about the murder from yesterday?"

"No." I hesitated, trying to figure out how to word this. "I recently spoke to someone whom I encouraged to contact the sheriff's department, but he refused, saying he wouldn't be treated fairly."

His brow furrowed. "I see."

"This person was with someone else, and they both agreed he shouldn't contact the sheriff."

"And they wouldn't contact us because they thought they'd be treated unfairly?"

"Yes."

He was silent for a moment as he picked up a fry. "And has this person been treated unfairly before?"

"Yes, which made them even more reluctant to contact y'all."

"Do you know why they wanted to contact us this time?"

"Yes, but I'm not at liberty to say what it was, so don't ask."

"I see," he said with a nod. "Was it serious?"

I swallowed. "Yes."

"Can you report it?"

"It's all hearsay, so I'm not sure what good it would do."

He leaned his head over the table and lowered his voice. "I could unofficially look into it."

I shook my head. "While I appreciate the offer, I was sworn to secrecy."

He ate his fry, then picked up another. "This person is from Pickle Junction?"

"Yes." His question made me nervous.

"Does this have anything to do with the murder down there?"

"Not that I know of, but I can't rule it out."

Randy swore under his breath. "Why won't you tell Joe?"

"I haven't seen him since I came by this information."

"And how did you come by it?"

I slowly shook my head. "I can't tell you."

His face paled. "Are you mixed up in the criminal element?"

"No," I said firmly. "I am not . I have four kids to think about."

"Then how did you come by this information?"

"I didn't go lookin' for it," I said in exasperation. "It just came to me."

He started to say something, then stopped for a moment before ending with, "You need to tell Joe."

"And I will, but right now, I'm more concerned that this person is terrified to talk to the sheriff's department about what they know."

Frustration wrinkled brow. "Did you tell them your husband is the damn sheriff?"

"Of course I did," I said with a huff. "Trust me, it didn't persuade them to trust him."

"But they trusted you ?"

I sat back in my seat and gave him a dark look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Did this person specifically search you out?"

"Why would they do that?" I hedged.

"It just seems strange that you came by this information the day after a murder took place."

"Look, Randy," I said with a sigh. "I'm just trying to work my landscaping job while raising four kids. I don't have time to be doing any underground criminal shenanigans."

He didn't look convinced.

I decided there was no way of being subtle now, so I might as well go for direct. "Things seem to have been quiet since Carmichael and his men were arrested and incarcerated. Do you think someone new has moved into the county?"

"Because of a single murder?" he asked, watching me carefully.

"Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I don't want to live through that hell again. Especially not as a mother."

His gaze softened. "I haven't heard anything about a new group moving into the county." He made a face and glanced around the room, then turned back to me, lowering his voice. "If it makes you feel any better, I think the murder in Pickle Junction was a drug deal gone wrong. But you didn't hear that from me."

Darlene Smith said she was worried the sheriff's deputies would chalk her brother's death up to another dead junkie. It stood to reason the murder Austin had witnessed was drug related too. Maybe the package the killers were looking for contained drugs. "Thank you, Randy. Truly."

"Joe would never let any harm come to you and the kids. And neither would his deputies. You and the kids are safe."

I wanted to take him at his word, but I couldn't help worrying there was something brewing that no one in the county had picked up on yet.

But I didn't want him to think I'd asked him to lunch to get information out of him about the murder, so I spent the rest of our meal telling him about the box Neely Kate and I had dug up and how we were trying to locate the owners.

"One of the older neighbors said it could have been buried by the people who lived next door, but she thinks the old neighbor had been arrested. We definitely want to steer clear of someone dangerous." I paused. "Do you think you could find out who it was if I give you the address and the approximate year the arrest might have happened?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you ask Joe?"

"Joe has bigger fish to fry with his murder investigation, but he knows we're looking for the owners, if that's what you're worried about."

"And you think I have more time?" he asked, deadpan.

Cringing, I said, "I didn't mean it like that, Randy."

He laughed. "I know you didn't, but I couldn't resist teasing you. Just tell me what you know, and I'll look into it."

"Thanks."

He tilted his head and studied me. "Did this Pickle Junction information come to you from your search for the owner of the box?"

"No. It's completely separate."

He nodded. "Just be careful, Rose."

"Trust me, I plan to."

I hoped those weren't famous last words.