Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

I gave Jed and Neely Kate the option to stay home for the night, but they insisted on coming over. He'd planned on grilling hamburgers and hot dogs for the kids, so we stuck with the plan. I suspected part of it was that Jed was worried about me and the kids, but he had no reason to be worried, given Dermot had some men in a car watching the house from the field to the north of our property.

Jed tried to pry more information out of Neely Kate and me, but we insisted we'd told him everything we knew.

"Why don't you call Dermot and get the scoop from him?" I suggested while I watched Liam toddle around the back yard with Muffy. Neely Kate and I were lounging in lawn chairs with margaritas—Neely Kate's drink a virgin—while Jed worked the grill. It was still cool, so we were all bundled up in jackets. Hope and Daisy were chasing dandelion seeds while Mikey tried to teach Liam how to kick a soccer ball. Ashley half-heartedly swung on the swing set Joe and Jed had installed several years ago.

"I already called him."

I turned to look up at him. "And? Does he have new information?"

"You're supposed to be stayin' out of it," Jed grunted as he flipped a burger.

"I got dragged into this, and now Dermot has men watching my family. Like it or not, I'm involved."

He sighed. "You know what I mean."

"I do," I said, my anxiety rising. "But I need to know if someone is coming for me or my kids."

Jed put the spatula on the side of the grill before he walked over to me and squatted, holding my gaze. "You and the kids are safe. I'm here. Dermot's men are watching from several angles."

"Several?" I asked in surprise. "I know about the guys to the north."

"There are also a couple of guys in the field to the south."

I was really slipping. "Oh."

He put his hand over mine. "You're safe."

"I'm safe with protection, but is anyone out to get me, Jed?"

His face turned grim. "I don't know yet."

I nodded. "Which means Dermot doesn't know yet." But he had to be worried if he'd posted multiple men near my property.

"He'll let me know as soon as he does."

"Excuse me?" I said, sitting upright. "He'll let you know?"

"The less contact between you two, the better."

He was right, and I knew it, but it still irked me. I wasn't the stupid naive woman I'd been before my mother's murder, content to let other people run my life. If I let Jed be the go-between, it felt like I was slipping back into that girl. Still, my husband was the sheriff, and if word got out that Joe's wife had been conversing with the alleged head of the county crime world, it wouldn't look good.

Setting my glass on the table between Neely Kate and me, I got up and walked over to Liam and played with him and Mikey until the burgers were done.

After I got the kids inside to wash their hands, Neely Kate and I carried the side dishes we'd made outside to the large outdoor table. The kids were excited to be eating outside, even if it was chilly, but the adults were quieter than usual. Thankfully, the only one who seemed to notice was Ashley. She gave us all funny looks but didn't call attention to it.

Jed wanted to stay until Joe showed up, but I insisted he take his family home, assuring him I had a security system, heavy duty locks, and a shotgun locked up in Joe's gun cabinet should I need it, not to mention my bodyguards outside. Part of me was worried Joe would notice them, but Jed had assured me they were well out of sight. Given I hadn't noticed all of them myself, I suspected he was right.

"Besides," I said. "Joe's gonna think it's weird if you're here so late. He'll be suspicious."

"As he should be. You need to tell him," Jed said.

"I know, but we'll see how tired he is when he gets home. If he's exhausted, I'll tell him tomorrow morning."

He searched my face but finally said, "Okay."

Daisy and Hope were upset they couldn't have a sleepover, but in light of everything going on, we mutually agreed it would be better if we had a sleepover another night.

I got the kids bathed and put to bed, but after I tucked Liam in, I stopped in Ashley's doorway and peered into the darkness. "Ash? You still awake?"

"Yes," she whispered.

I walked in and sat on the edge of the bed, leaving the hallway door open to let some light in.

"How were things at school today?" I asked.

"Okay."

"Did those kids say anything else about your dad?"

"Yeah, but it's no big deal."

"Would you like to know more about why your dad is in prison?" I asked gently.

My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, registering the surprise on her face. "You would tell me?"

"If that's what you want. Someone pointed out to me that kids discover the truth of secrets, and I'd rather you hear it from me and Joe instead of searching for things online."

"I've already searched online," she said quietly.

"Oh." I wasn't sure why I was surprised. She was a smart, resourceful girl. Of course she had. "What did you find out?"

Her voice broke. "That he's a murderer."

"He never killed anyone, Ashley. It's important you know that."

"But the paper said he helped someone get killed."

I started to protest, then stopped. "I'd like to believe he didn't know that would happen, because I do know he's a wonderful father and he was in a desperate situation."

"When me and Mikey were kidnapped?"

"Yes."

She stared up at me. "But you're the one who came and got us."

"Yes."

"Why didn't Daddy?"

We'd never really discussed their kidnapping, and she'd sure never asked these questions before. I decided she deserved the truth.

"A woman told me she knew where you were and took me to you."

"But there wasn't anyone with you when you found us."

"Once she showed me where you were, she left."

She didn't respond, but I knew she was mulling over what I'd told her.

"Why did she tell you ?" she asked. "Why didn't she tell Daddy?"

"She didn't know where he was, but she knew I was at the nursery. She found me there and took me to find you." I was glossing over some parts, but that was basically what had happened.

"Daddy didn't save us," she said, her voice breaking again.

"He wanted to. I think he was trying in his own way, but my way worked first."

She sat up, threw her arms around me, and started to cry. I held her tightly and stroked her head as she sobbed into my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Ashley," I said. "I'm so sorry you've had to go through so much at such a young age. It's not fair."

"Life's not fair," she said, her voice muffled.

"I know, but I can still feel sorry that you've had to endure it."

She leaned back and looked up at me. Her tear-streaked face broke my heart. "You protected me when my dad didn't."

"I love you and Mikey as much as I love Hope and Liam. I would do anything to protect and save you. You have to know that."

"I do."

I cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead. "The kids at school will forget this soon enough and move on to tormenting someone else."

Her eyes hardened. "I think you're right, Aunt Rose."

I wasn't sure what her response implied, but I couldn't help thinking she had a plan to move them along faster. I started to tell her that encouraging them to be mean to another victim was unkind, but Ashley would never bully anyone else, which could only mean she had another plan for Oliver.

"Whatever you do, just don't hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it," I said. "And make sure no one else becomes collateral damage."

"What does that mean?"

"Just don't let anyone else get hurt."

"Like Dad?" she asked, her voice low.

She'd always called him daddy, so hearing the switch made my heart hurt. "Yes, like your dad."

"I won't, Aunt Rose. I swear it."

"I know you won't." I gave her a tight hug, kissed her forehead, and tucked her in.

As I stood to walk away, she said, "I love you, Aunt Rose."

"I love you too. I love you so much."

I walked out of her room, cracking the door, then headed downstairs to make a cup of tea while I waited for Joe. By the time I sat down on the sofa with my tea, I realized it was close to ten p.m.

What was taking him so long?

I turned on the TV and started watching a movie, but I was exhausted and quickly fell asleep.

I was in the warehouse with a man I didn't recognize. He looked to be in his forties and had dark hair and eyes. He was wearing a silky pink button-down shirt and a pair of black pants. He barked orders at people who scurried around doing as they were told, and when he was done, he turned to me and snarled, "This is all your fault."

My heart raced. He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward a doorway, but I resisted.

"Come on, Selena," he grunted, giving me a vicious pull that made my teeth clatter. "I don't have time for your bullshit games."

"Don't kill her!" I pled through sobs. "I'm begging you! Please don't kill her."

He stopped and gave me a hard look, then dragged me to the back corner of the warehouse, where a woman with long dark hair was sitting on the ground, her hands tied behind her back. She looked up at me, and I realized she was the woman from my previous vision. Her eyes were hazel, and her dark hair hung loose in tangles. Pieces of it were stuck to her face. She shot me a worried glance before glaring up at the man next to me. "Let her go."

He laughed. "You're both so concerned about each other it's kind of sweet." Then, without warning, he pulled out a gun and shot her in the forehead. She fell backward, blood spilling out onto the concrete floor.

I screamed and screamed, then my eyes flew open, and I realized it had been a dream. I was sitting upright on the sofa, actually screaming. I wasn't surprised to find Ashley at the bottom of the staircase, terror filling her eyes as she gaped at me. Muffy, who had gone to bed with Hope, was sitting on the staircase next to Ashley's feet.

"Aunt Rose, are you okay?"

I shook my head to orient myself. "Did I wake you?"

She slowly nodded.

"I'm sorry," I said as I reached toward her. I would have gotten up and gone to her, but I felt shaky and nauseated.

She didn't hesitate to come to me. I tugged her down to the sofa, wrapping an arm around her back and pulling her tightly to my side. Muffy jumped up onto the sofa and curled up in my lap. I stroked her head with my free hand.

"I'm sorry I woke you. I guess I had a nightmare." But was it just a nightmare? The woman who'd been murdered was the same person from my visions of the warehouse and my dream two nights before, only the vision had expanded and changed. The murdered woman had been in a different part of the warehouse this time, and she'd been shot while she was sitting down.

" You had a bad dream?" she asked, incredulous.

"Grown-ups have bad dreams sometimes," I said softly, leaning back into the cushions and bringing her with me. Little did she know I had plenty of them.

She snuggled into me. "It must have been really scary."

"It was." More than she knew. I had no idea who Selena was, and I'd never seen that man before. Was he part of a new crime group moving into Fenton County? Was he responsible for the two recent murders? The woman who'd been murdered looked so familiar, but I didn't think I'd ever seen her before. An overwhelming sense of relief that the body I'd seen definitely wasn't mine took over, but an undercurrent of anxiety still ran through my blood. While I didn't know the woman, everything in me screamed that I needed to save her.

My mind was racing. I'd obviously had a vision for a woman named Selena, but I was completely alone in the living room. How had that happened? Not to mention, I'd been asleep . Again.

"I heard you say, ‘she got shot.'" Ashley said.

My mouth dropped open, but I quickly shut it as I glanced down at her. "I said that?"

"You were screaming, and then you shouted that, then you screamed some more."

I didn't have time to react to that because the deadbolt turned on the front door and glanced over to see an exhausted looking Joe walking in.

"Hey," he said, glancing at Ashley in surprise. "What are you doin' up?"

"Aunt Rose had a bad dream."

Joe's gaze turned to me as his forehead furrowed with concern.

"It's nothing," I said, even though it was definitely something. "I fell asleep on the sofa, and Ashley heard me and came down."

"She was screaming," Ashley said solemnly.

Joe's eyes narrowed as he walked over and sat on the coffee table in front of us. He took my hand. "You okay, darlin'?"

I gave him a weak smile. I knew what he was thinking. He assumed the two murders had stirred up my Hardshaw nightmares. "I'm fine. You're home late. What time is it?"

He cringed. "Almost eleven." He turned his attention to Ashley. "You ready to go back to bed?"

She twisted at the waist to look up at me. "Are you okay?"

I gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Really. I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's okay," she said, but she didn't seem convinced that I was all right. She turned back to Joe. "Will you tuck me in, Uncle Joe?"

"You know it," he said, but shot me a worried look.

I mouthed, I'm fine , then scooped Muffy into my arms and grabbed my mug with my free hand as I stood. "I'm going to take my mug to the kitchen, then go upstairs to bed."

"Okay." Joe pulled Ashley to her feet and guided her up the staircase, glancing back at me as I walked into the kitchen. After I poured out the half-full mug, I put it in the dishwasher, turned it on, and let Muffy out the back door to do her business. I stood on the porch and watched her, wondering if Dermot's men were still out in the fields. My dream had shaken me to the core. But while I wished I could write it off as another nightmare, there was no denying it had been a vision. It had all the earmarks of one. I'd felt the tingling in my head, and it had been crystal clear, not muddled like a dream. Ashley said I blurted out what I saw. What I didn't understand was how I'd had it. It made no sense, yet there was no denying it was too close to the vision I'd had at Piney Rest to be dismissed.

"I thought you were going to bed," Joe said, walking up behind me. He slipped his arms around my waist, pulling my back to his chest and placing a kiss on my neck.

His embrace made me feel protected and safe, and I covered his arms with my own. "I realized Muffy hadn't been outside since Jed and Neely Kate went home."

"Did Daisy spend the night?" he asked quietly.

"No, Jed and Neely Kate decided to take her home."

He was silent for a moment before he said, "Was your nightmare because of the recent murders?"

"Honestly, I don't know. It was the same nightmare I had a couple of nights ago, but this one was expanded." I paused. "It wasn't just a nightmare, Joe."

He stilled, then asked, "What was it?"

I turned in his arms and placed my hands on his shoulders as I looked up at him. "I had a vision yesterday, the morning after my first nightmare, and they were the same."

His eyes narrowed. "Wait. You're telling me the vision was identical to your nightmare?"

"I only remembered bits and pieces of the first nightmare, but yes. And the same is true of my nightmare tonight."

"Who was your vision of?"

"That's just it. I thought it was from Neely Kate, or possibly Miss Adolpha, the elderly woman we spoke to about the box, but when I tried to recreate it, I came up with nothing. And tonight…well, I was alone."

He looked troubled as he studied me. "What was the vision?"

"A woman was murdered in a warehouse. I didn't see her face clearly in the first dream or vision, so for a while I thought she might be me, especially when I thought the vision was attached to Neely Kate'"

"Rose." Joe lifted his hands to my upper arms, sounding agonized as he said my name.

"I thought maybe I saw my death because we were poking around about the box, so I told Neely Kate we couldn't look for the owners anymore. I tried to force the same vision, but nothing happened, so I figured maybe that had fixed it, but my dream tonight confirmed it wasn't me who was murdered. It was someone else."

His hands tightened on my arms. "Do you know who she was?"

"No. I saw the man who murdered her, but I've never seen him before in real life. The woman I was seeing the vision through was named Selena, but I don't know any Selenas. I have no idea who the murdered woman was."

He pulled me into a tight hug as Muffy bounded up the porch steps, jumping up on Joe's legs and begging for attention.

"Just a minute, Muff," he said burying his face into my hair.

"I'm fine, Joe. The woman wasn't me."

"Did you recognize where this took place?"

I shook my head. "No. It was a big warehouse, and in one section there were tall shelves with boxes. A good portion of it was empty. The woman who was murdered was in the back corner. The man was pissed at her and Selena, and he told Selena it was her own fault. Selena begged him not to murder the woman, but that seemed to piss him off more, so he dragged Selena back to where the woman was and shot her in the forehead."

He gasped. "That had to be terrifying."

I didn't respond since the answer was obvious.

"Let's get you inside," he said as he dropped his hands and wrapped an arm around my back, ushering me through the back door, then holding the door open for Muffy to follow.

Joe walked over to a kitchen cabinet and reached for a glass. "What did Neely Kate think of the vision?" He filled up the glass with water, keeping his back to me.

"She was just as puzzled about it as I was, and equally confused as to why I couldn't reproduce it."

He turned to face me and lifted the glass to his mouth for a sip. When he lowered it, he said, "Why didn't you tell me about this last night?"

"Because you were tied up with the murder, and I couldn't reproduce it after we agreed to stop looking for the box's owner. I figured the vision was a non-issue."

"But you're still lookin' for the owners of the box?"

"Only because I couldn't reproduce the vision. And the only thing we've done since the vision is ask Randy to look into the homeowner with an arrest record who lived next door. Besides, we opened the box this afternoon, and there wasn't much in it. A ring, a necklace, and some love letters."

He made a sympathetic face and set the glass on the counter. "Is there any chance it wasn't a vision?" I started to protest, but he held up a hand and took a step toward me. "Hear me out. You've never had a vision in your sleep and never of people you weren't next to. I know how worried you are about everything going on, and your concern that Hardshaw has regrouped and is coming back to the county. Maybe you just manifested the vision."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Are you seriously suggesting I imagined it?"

"No…" He ran a hand over his head and groaned. "I don't know. You have to admit this is unlike anything you've ever experienced before."

"I know what a vison is, Joe," I snapped. "I've had them my entire life."

"I know. I know." He started to pace. "I'm not tryin' to accuse you of not knowin' your own mind?—"

"It feels an awful lot like you are."

He stopped and turned to face me. "I'm just tryin' to make sense of it." When I didn't say anything, he added, "Look, I'm exhausted." He gave me a pleading look. "I'm sorry."

I nodded, not able to bring myself to say it was okay. Joe was one of the first people outside my family whom I'd told about my visions. While I understood why he was trying to dismiss my experience, it still hurt my feelings that he of all people didn't understand. The visions weren't in my imagination. They had a feel to them that was undeniable, and I always blurted out what I saw. It had been a vision, no doubt about it. It was the dreams that were so similar to the vision that confused me. I'd witnessed a woman being murdered, and I had no idea who she was or how to stop it. I'd hoped Joe would help me figure it out, not accuse me of letting my imagination run wild.

"Rose…" He walked toward me and pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. Truly. I believe you. I guess I'm just scared about what it means."

"So am I."

He tilted my head back and stared into my eyes. "We'll figure this out, okay?"

"I don't know how we'll figure this out. I don't know whose vision I'm having, and I have no idea how to find out."

He cupped my cheek. "Randy's working tomorrow. How about I have him look for this Selena." He made a face. "I don't suppose you saw what she looked like?"

"No."

"That's okay, but you got a good look at the man who shot the woman and the woman herself?"

"Yeah."

He looked deep in thought before he said, "How about I ask our sketch artist to come out and draw what you saw."

"How are we gonna explain that ?"

"Don't you worry about that. I'll offer to pay him off the books, and he'll just draw what you tell him to, okay?"

"Okay." It sounded like a step in the right direction. At least we were doing something about it, which made me feel slightly better.

He tilted my head up higher and searched my face. "You didn't see yourself or anyone else you knew?"

"No."

He hesitated, then asked, "Not even Dermot?"

My heart skipped a beat. "Why are you asking about Dermot?"

"I know you two are friends. I know y'all don't talk much anymore, but if there's anything shady goin' on in the county, he would probably know about it."

Something about the way he said shady made me believe Dermot had been on his mind today. "You think he's involved in the two murders?" I asked, incredulously.

His body tensed. "My gut says no, but I can't rule it out."

My heart skipped a beat. Was Dermot responsible for the murders? Why hadn't I thought of that before calling him about Austin? But he'd seemed genuinely surprised by Austin's story. He was also a man with morals, after a fashion, and I had a hard time believing he'd condone killing someone in cold blood like the murder Austin had witnessed. Then again, one of the men had said the "big guy" would be pissed…

"Rose?" Joe said, sounding concerned. "You look pale."

I blinked, trying to focus on what Joe hadn't said. "Obviously you think there's some bigger force a play if you're considering Dermot a suspect."

"I haven't made a connection, but it's too big of a coincidence for two people to be murdered in such a similar fashion is such a short time period."

"How were they killed?"

He frowned. "You know I can't be tellin' you that."

"I just witnessed a woman murdered in cold blood by a man who reeked of evil. I think I have a right to know if what I saw is part of this."

He took a step back and ran his hand over his head. "We have no idea if they were related."

"Where did you find the second body?"

"We haven't released that information to the public yet."

"I'm not the public, Joe," I said with plenty of heat.

"It wasn't in a warehouse, and it wasn't a woman, okay? They are likely unrelated."

"I need you to tell me where the body was found, Joe. It's important."

His face fell, and he studied me more closely. "You know something."

"I know plenty of things," I said, lifting my chin. "You'll have to be more specific."

"You know something about the murders."

"I'm not sure I do, but I do know something ."

"Why don't you stop playing games and tell me what you know?" he asked with a grunt of frustration.

I crossed my arms over chest. "If you're gonna get an attitude with me, then maybe I won't tell you anything."

He shot me a look of exasperation. "Do you know how it's gonna look if it turns out you know something that could have helped this investigation and you didn't tell me ?"

I dropped my arms to my sides. I seemed to have lost all reason and replaced it with pure panic. "You're more worried about how it's going to look then about the safety of your wife and kids ?"

His face paled. "What does that mean?"

Crap. Why had I let my anger get the best of me? I took a deep breath to settle my nerves, but the woman's murder kept replaying in my head, and I was finding it hard to think straight. "This morning, someone showed up on a job site and told Bruce Wayne he was lookin' for the Lady in Black."

Joe's eyes widened. " What? "

"He'd witnessed a crime and wanted Lady's help. Bruce Wayne called me, and Neely Kate and I went over to talk to the guy. I tried to convince him to talk to you, but he freaked out and threatened to leave. He doesn't trust the sheriff's deputies. He says he's been mistreated by them before."

Joe's eyes hardened. "So he's got a record."

"First of all, he's a child," I snapped. "He's seventeen."

"That is not a child, Rose."

Ignoring him, I continued, "He has a charge of domestic violence against his stepfather, who was hurting him and his little sister. But of course, the deputies believed his stepfather."

"How do you know he wasn't lying to convince you to help him?"

"Because Dermot confirmed that teens in Pickle Junction aren't treated fairly."

His eyes widened. "So you have been talking to Dermot." It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

"I called Dermot because I told the boy I couldn't help him." When Joe didn't say anything, I added, "I couldn't very well bring him here like in the old days. We've got a house full of kids."

"Why is this boy hiding from my department?" he asked with a hard edge to his voice.

"I never said he was hiding from the sheriff's department. He saw something and now he's scared the people he witnessed will hunt him down and kill him, and I know it's true because he started to leave, and I forced a vison and saw him murdered."

"Did he witness one of the murders?"

Did I admit what I knew? Joe would try to track him down, and that would not go well. My reputation as Lady would become worthless. Then again, I wasn't the Lady in Black anymore, so why did I care? Nevertheless, it still mattered to me, and I realized I'd told Joe too much.

Joe took several breaths, his hands clenched at his sides, before he looked me in the eyes and asked with a tight jaw, "Have you reprised your Lady in Black role?"

I gasped. "You think I'd do that?"

"I don't know, Rose," he shot back angrily. "Would you? You took a meeting with Dermot today."

"Dermot is my friend, and you damn well know it!" I shot back. "He saved my life and the life of your daughter upstairs, so you be careful how you talk about him!"

"I'm bringing him in to question him about these murders tomorrow," he said. "And then, come to find out, you had a rendezvous with him today."

"A rendezvous ?" I demanded in an undertone, worried our argument would wake the kids. "Are you kidding me right now? I told you someone showed up for the first time in nearly three years, wanting to see the Lady in Black, and the first thing you're doing is accusin' me of running around behind your back playing dress up?"

"We both know you weren't dressin' up at the end!" he shouted, his face red.

I gasped and took a step back. "I think we need to stop this discussion before either one of us says something we can't take back."

His jaw worked, but he didn't say anything.

I strode past him and up the stairs, peeking in on Ashley. She was on her side, facing the door.

"Why is Uncle Joe mad, Aunt Rose?" she asked in a small voice.

My level of anger at Joe ratcheted up multiple levels. She was already upset about my nightmare, and now she'd heard us arguing. "He's not mad at me, honey. He's just tired and cranky."

"But I heard him yelling at you. Is he mad that you had a bad dream?"

"No of course not, silly," I said, walking into the room and leaning over to tuck her in. "Grown-ups yell, and sometimes for no good reason."

"But Uncle Joe doesn't yell very much."

"I know, but like I said he's really tired and he had a hard day. Don't worry. I'm okay, and he'll feel better in the morning."

"Are you sure?" she asked sounding scared.

"Of course. Uncle Joe loves us, and he'd feel awful knowing he upset you."

"Okay. I love you, Aunt Rose."

"I love you too."

I left her room and shot a glare down the stairs, which was pointless since I could still hear Joe clanking around in the kitchen. I checked on the other kids, who were all sound asleep in their beds. Muffy had rejoined Hope, curled up on her bed, which meant she'd probably made a beeline for the stairs as soon as she heard us arguing.

As I got ready for bed, I mulled over how our discussion had gone. I could admit that he had a right to be upset that I hadn't told him sooner about Austin asking for Lady, but he'd gone too far when he'd accused me of purposely reprising my Lady in Black role.

I was so mad that angry tears streaked my face, but I brushed them away and climbed into bed. I tried to settle down, but all I could see was the face of the woman on the floor in the warehouse, and the hole that had appeared in her forehead before she collapsed to the floor. How was I going to find out who she was? Something inside me screamed that I had to save her.

Was I putting my family at risk by trying?