Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

A fter I told him what I knew, I paid for both lunches—much to his protest—and headed back to the office. Neely Kate sat alone at her desk, deep in concentration as she stared at her computer screen.

"Jed left?" I said as I closed the front door behind me.

"Yep," she said briskly, popping the P.

"You two still haven't made up?"

She shot me a glare. "Not after what he did."

"Maybe I'd be more sympathetic to your cause if I knew what he'd done."

"You're supposed to be sympathetic to my cause because I'm your best friend."

"Of course I am," I said, sitting in my office chair and swiveling it to face her. "But I could commiserate with you more if I knew what awful thing he'd done."

Her brow lifted as she shot me a look. "You're picking up on my devious tricks for getting information."

I grinned. "When you're in close proximity to the master, it would be stupid not to learn her ways."

She laughed, then sighed. "I don't want to talk about that, but I do want to know how lunch with Randy went. Did he agree to look into the neighbor who was arrested?"

"Yeah. He did. He also told me that they think the murder in Pickle Junction was drug related."

Her eyes widened. "He told you that?"

"He only told me after I admitted I was worried another organized crime group might be moving into the county. He said it to reassure me."

"I guess that fits with what the sister told us about him being a junkie."

"I thought the same thing," I said.

Her forehead creased. "Wait. Are you really worried someone else is moving into the county?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, trying to play it off. "Maybe. I'm probably just being paranoid." I paused, then voiced my biggest fear. "What if the Hardshaw Group has reorganized and wants to pick up where they left off?"

"Taking over the county?" she asked, her brow furrowed with worry.

And taking care of me , but I didn't voice that concern out loud. "I'm just being paranoid," I said as I turned back to my computer.

"Dermot would tell us if he thought they were back. He would know that you'd need to be prepared."

"I know." I pulled up the design I'd been trying to work on before lunch. "I told you. I'm being paranoid."

"That's understandable," she said softly, sounding lost in thought. I knew she was probably thinking about her half-sister Kate, who'd kidnapped Hope and tried to kill me. Even so, she'd had a massive soft spot for Neely Kate, her younger, secret sister. Neely Kate had known full well her sister was evil, but she'd been dealing with plenty of conflicting emotions.

Neely Kate popped up in her seat, plastering a bright smile on her face. "You know what would cheer us up?"

I gave her a leery glance. "What?"

"Opening the box."

I started to protest, but it wasn't the worst idea. It would be a good distraction, if nothing else.

She mistook my silence for disagreement and added, "Now that we're kind of looking into it again, I figure we should open it and make sure whatever's inside is safe."

"Good idea," I said with a smile. "How do you propose we do it?"

Beaming, she opened her desk filing drawer and pulled out the box. After setting it on her desk, she pulled out a screwdriver and a mini crowbar. "These oughta do it."

"I see you're prepared," I said with a chuckle.

"I may not have been a Girl Scout, but…"

"Did you bring those from home or run down to the lumber store?"

"Lumber store. Jed practically has his tools alphabetized. He'd notice if I took them, and I didn't feel like explaining." She shrugged. "Besides, it's not a bad idea to keep tools here at the office."

"True."

Laughing, I rolled my chair over the hardwood floor to her desk. "Let's try to damage it as little as possible." I leaned over to take a better look at the small keyhole. "Maybe we can pick the lock."

"Already tried it," Neely Kate said, picking up the screwdriver. "Using all kinds of things. Didn't work."

She slid the flathead screwdriver tip into the thin crack above the keyhole and pushed down on it. The crack of splintering wood filled the room, but the lid still didn't open.

"Let's try the crowbar," she said. "I got the crack wide enough to get it in there.

I did as she said, slipping the crowbar deep into the crack and then lifting. The wood cracked again. Although the lock broke, the lid stayed intact.

Neely Kate lifted it so we could both peer inside the red velvet-lined box.

"There's a necklace," I said, noticing a heart-shaped locket on top.

"And a ring," Neely Kate said, shuffling several envelopes to the side to pick it up.

"An engagement ring," I said in surprise as I took the solitaire diamond ring from her.

"It looks like it's about a quarter carat," Neely Kate said as I handed it back to her.

"What's inside the locket?" I asked as I picked it up and pried it open. It was empty. "Nothing."

"Let's check the envelopes," Neely Kate said as she picked up the greeting card-sized envelopes, handing one to me and keeping the other two. I opened mine first, and Neely Kate leaned in close so we could read it together.

It was a generic birthday card that said Happy Birthday and had an image of a cartoon cake with candles. The message inside said, I hope you have a special day ! A short-handwritten note was to the left of it: You looked beautiful in your blue dress last night. I hope you'll wear it when we go out next week.

J

"An initial," Neely Kate said. "That's not helpful."

"Let's see what's in the other envelopes."

Neely Kate opened the second one, noting that nothing was written on the outside. This was just a generic off-white card without any design or writing. There were only two lines written inside.

Meet me in the park at ten. I wouldn't ask if it weren't important.

J

"Oh, ominous," Neely Kate said, handing the note to me. I looked it over, not finding anything else helpful while she opened the other envelope.

It was a similar off-white notecard, but this one had a longer message inside. She read it out loud.

S,

First, you know I love you. I'd do anything for you, but we both know this will never work. Not with your father and my mother. Not if we stay here.

I'm going away, because I think it will be easier that way, for both of us. Less temptation. I'm going to work with my Uncle Eddie in Montana. He's short a ranch hand, and I could use the physical labor. I'd ask you to come with me, but you've made it clear your life is here.

Mine can't be.

I love you, and I'm sure I always will. I wanted to marry you, S. This is the ring I bought for you, and if you change your mind, put it on and come find me in Montana. My sister can tell you how to find me.

If you choose not to come, then I hope you have a happy life.

Love always,

J

"Oh my stars and garters," Neely Kate said, dabbing the corner of her eye. "That's so sad."

"So it probably was one of the girls in the house next door," I said. "I guess we wait for Randy to get back to me with a name."

Neely Kate nodded, then let out a sigh. "It's just so sad."

"I know, but maybe when we give it back to S, we'll find out that she's with J and they got their happily-ever-after, despite losing the ring."

"I hope so," she said wistfully.

"Me too."

Neely Kate put the box on the corner of her desk, and we both got back to work.

I actually got some work done over the next hour before Neely Kate announced she was packing up to go to her consultation.

"You still want us to babysit tonight?" she asked as she got to her feet.

"Oh crap," I said with a frown. "I don't know. I asked Joe if we'd need to cancel since he's dealin' with the murder investigation, and he assured me we were still goin'. But we didn't talk about it this morning, and I haven't heard from him. Maybe he forgot."

"I doubt he's forgotten. Maybe he lost track of time." She made a face. "I'm askin' because of the stuff with Austin and the Lady in Black. I wondered if you'd be comfortable leaving the kids."

"I trust you and Jed to take care of the kids."

The look on Neely Kate's face told me she knew I was talking about more than feeding them dinner and putting them to bed at a decent hour. She offered me a warm smile. "So why don't you call him and find out what he's thinkin'? And even if you decide not to go to Little Rock, you two should at least go out to dinner." She cocked her head to the side. "Daisy's been lookin' forward to staying at your house for weeks. She'll understand if she can't spend the night, but at least let us watch the kids for a little while."

"Even if we don't go anywhere, you, Jed, and Daisy can come over for dinner. And she can definitely spend the night. Hope will love it. But I'll talk to Joe, then let you know."

"Sounds good." Neely Kate gave me a wave as she walked out the door.

I pulled out my cell phone and sent Joe a text.

Got time for a quick chat?

I could have asked him about tonight in a text, but I wanted to hear his voice. He knew I'd been looking forward to this concert for months, and I knew he wouldn't want to disappoint me. But if he felt like he needed to stick around Fenton County, I wasn't going to hold him to our plans. There would be other concerts and getaways. Besides, I wasn't sure I wanted to leave the kids, given everything else going on.

He called seconds later. "What's up?"

"How's your day goin'?"

He hesitated, then said, "I'm keeping busy. How about you?"

Even if I decided to tell him about Austin looking for the Lady in Black, I sure wasn't going to do it on a phone call. Still, I had to tell him something. "I just got back from having lunch with Randy."

"Oh?" I heard the suspicion in his tone, but I couldn't say I blamed him. It did seem coincidental given the murder investigation he was working on.

"You didn't tell me he was dating someone," I said, trying to throw him off.

" I didn't know he had a girlfriend," he said with a laugh. "But I don't believe for a minute that was why you asked him out to lunch."

"Maybe he invited me ." After a couple of moments of silence, I said, "I asked him for some help with our mystery box investigation."

"What kind of help?"

I told him about asking Randy to look up the criminal record.

"Why didn't you ask me ?"

"Because you're busy with a murder investigation. You don't need to be lookin' up arrest records from decades ago."

"I would have helped you, Rose," he said, sounding hurt.

"I know, but you've got enough on your plate." I took a breath. "Which leads me to the reason I asked if you had time for a chat. Given what you're dealing with, I hate to ask about tonight's plans."

"I haven't forgotten the concert," he said, his voice thick with defeat. "I was hoping we could still go, but something came up about an hour ago, and now I'm not sure I can get away."

My heart skipped a beat. "What happened?" Had they discovered the victim of the murder that Austin had witnessed?

"You don't need to be worried, Rose."

"Does it have to do with the murder you're investigating?"

"You know I can't tell you anything about that," he said, then added wryly, "And my deputies can't either."

"I already told you that I met with Randy to ask him for help with the box," I said, not that I blamed him for thinking otherwise. "But I have a right to know something if that's why our plans are changing."

"I'm sorry, Rose. I really, truly am."

I knew he was, but I still couldn't stop myself from saying, "That our plans are being cancelled or because you won't tell me?"

"Both, darlin'."

"I don't understand all the secrecy. I mean, sure, I understand why you didn't tell me about the murder, but at least you told me one had occurred. Now you're giving me absolutely nothing."

"I know, and I'm sorry."

"Should I be worried?" I asked. "Are the kids and I safe?"

"Of course you're safe," he said in confusion, then added in a softer voice, "You're worried about Hardshaw."

"You know I live with that fear."

"It's not them, I swear."

"Then what is it? Something must have come up if you're cancelling now and not earlier."

"You have to swear you won't tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you. Not even Neely Kate."

"She's not even here at the office. I wasn't going to see her until she and Jed came over later."

"There was another murder."

My blood went cold, but I was also overcome with relief. I hadn't felt right keeping something as huge as a murder from Joe. "Is it related to the one in Pickle Junction?"

"We're not sure yet, but that's part of the reason I need to stick around." He paused. "I'm really sorry. I know how much you were looking forward to going."

"That's okay," I said, alternating between relief that I wasn't leaving the kids overnight and disappointment that Joe and I weren't getting the alone time we'd been coveting. But on top of that was the anxiety that something bigger was happening in Fenton County and the Lady in Black was, like it or not, being drawn back into it. "I understand."

"I know you do, which only makes me feel worse."

My head was swimming with anxiety. Something about this murder had to be bothering Joe for him to be so tightlipped about it. Then again, someone getting shot in the head was serious business. Still, this wasn't Hardshaw or any other organized crime group. The most likely answer was a drug dealer was pissed at his underlings. "There's no need to feel guilty, Joe. I wouldn't feel right leaving the kids knowing there's a murderer on the loose."

"Jed might be offended that you're insinuating you don't trust him to protect our kids," he teased.

"You know I don't mean it like that."

"I know," he said more somberly. "And you don't need to worry. I don't think there's a dangerous criminal on the loose. I suspect this was some kind of feud over drugs, and even though we don't know much about the second murder, my gut tells me it's related." He hesitated. "I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"I know you will. Do you think you'll be home for dinner?"

He hesitated. "I'll try."

But in the short time he'd been sheriff, I'd learned that we shouldn't wait for him. "It's fine. Neely Kate said Daisy was excited to come over, so I'll still have them and Jed come over for dinner."

"I'm really sorry, Rose."

"You don't have to keep saying that," I insisted. "What you're doing is important."

"I love you," he said softly. "You're the best wife a man could have."

"I love you too. And don't forget you said that the next time you're pissed at me."

He laughed. "I won't."

Famous last words, but I was planning to hold him to them whenever he found out about Austin and everything else.