Thirty-Six and a Half Motives

Page 37

 
 
Chapter 14
 
 
“You realize this will never work,” Neely Kate said.
“Hey, you’re the one who always tries to convince me that we’re capable of uncovering anything.”
“I still say we should get Violet to do it before she leaves on her trip.”
Jed glanced back at me in the rearview mirror, narrowing his eyes, but I beat him to it.
“No. We leave Violet out of it. She has enough on her plate right now.” Not to mention I refused to put her in any type of danger. If Kate realized we were talking to Hilary, who knew what she’d do. “We’re two smart women. Surely we can come up with something.”
Neely Kate tapped her finger to her lips as she stared out the window, then turned to face Jed. “Stop by Dena’s Bakery.”
“We just had breakfast,” Jed said. “You really think you need cupcakes right now?”
“No. It’s for Hilary.” Her eyes glittered with excitement. “We take her cupcakes as a truce gift. Tell her we’re sorry that we got off on the wrong foot and want to be her friends since she’s here all alone and Joe won’t give her the time of day.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Did you hit your head sometime after breakfast? Maybe while I was outside with Muffy? Because there’s no way in tarnation she’s gonna buy that.”
“Well, do you have a better idea?” She cocked her eyebrow, giving me attitude.
I scowled. “No.”
“Then we’ll try my plan.”
“We might only have one shot at this.” I thought for a moment. “Maybe I should call Joe. I could ask him.”
“You always said he was tight-lipped about anything from his past. What did he tell you about Roberta?”
“That she was like a surrogate mother to him. They were very close. He never said why she quit, just that she left abruptly and that he felt like he’d lost the one person who kept him grounded.”
“Wait a minute.” She held up her hands. “If Joe’s part owner of the nursery, how does he not know Roberta’s granddaughter is working for him?”
I shrugged. “Violet did the hiring, and he’s hardly ever there.” I pushed out a breath. It terrified me that I had no idea when I’d see my sister again . . . if ever again. “I have to stop to see Violet.”
“Why?”
“She’s leaving tomorrow.”
“So? It’s not like you two are on the best of terms right now.”
Violet didn’t want people to know about her illness, but I couldn’t keep this from my best friend. “Because I don’t know when I’ll see her again.”
Neely Kate’s eyes sparked with anger. “You stop talkin’ like that, Rose Gardner. You’re gonna survive this.”
“Not me, Neely Kate. Violet.” I licked my bottom lip. “She’s sick. That’s why she’s goin’ to Texas. For treatment.”
She gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I just found out yesterday after lunch, and I was still processing it all. She doesn’t want people to know.”
A hurt look filled her eyes.
“Neely Kate, of course I was gonna tell you. I just did. It’s not something you just blurt out like the weather. ‘It’s gonna be cloudy today with a chance of rain. Oh, by the way, my sister is dying of cancer.’”
“Dyin’?”
“It’s bad, Neely Kate. She needs a bone marrow transplant. Before I came back to the office yesterday, I went to have a blood test to see if I can be a donor.”
“But you . . .”
“I know.” I sighed, leaning back in my seat. “We might not share the same father.”
“Did you tell her?”
“I had to. And no, the answer to your next question is that she did not take it very well. She’s already worried that she’s going to leave Ashley and Mikey without a mother. Now she thinks she’s all alone in this world. I told her we’re sisters no matter what, but we’re not as close as we used to be. I can see why she would think that.”
“It was her own doin’, Rose. Don’t you dare feel guilty about that.”
“She’s still my sister, and she’s hurting.” We drove in silence for several seconds before I remembered my purse was at the office. “Oh crap.”
“What?” Neely Kate asked.
Somehow I’d forgotten that the office that had been broken into last night. “Oh! Double crap! Was Bruce Wayne coming into the office this morning?”
“No. He was going to help out at the nursery for a little while. Oh.”
“Yeah. I have no idea what the inside of our office looks like. Jed, do you know if the police checked out my office?”
Jed looked at me in the mirror. “Did you hear from Joe Simmons?”
I cringed. “I had some missed calls from him, but I didn’t check my messages.” I grabbed my phone out of my purse. He’d left me two voicemails. I played the oldest one first.
“Rose, I’m just checking to make sure you’re okay. Mason said you’re not with him. Call me.”
The next message came after my call to Mason. “Rose, I need you to tell me where you are. Mason says you’re safe, but I want to know where, because you’re sure as hell not at the farmhouse. And by some coincidence, Skeeter Malcolm is laying low, too.” He paused. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but my father is not to be messed with. He will chew you up and spit you out for dinner. Back off, Rose, before you get yourself killed.”
I replayed the last message on speakerphone, looking into the rearview mirror.
“Your call, Lady,” Jed said. “We can hide you somewhere in Louisiana until this mess is over. Just say the word, and Skeeter will make it happen. Neither Simmons would ever think to look for you there.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m tired of backin’ down to bullies, and that’s exactly what J.R. Simmons is—a bully. We’re gonna finish what we started.”
An idea sparked in my head. I knew it wasn’t the best or brightest, but I decided I didn’t much care. “I need to stop by the office to get my purse, Jed.”
His eyes darkened. “They’re bound to be watchin’.”