Thirty-Six and a Half Motives
Page 65
I looked up. “Maeve thought it said shed. She must have misread barn.”
“Rose,” Neely Kate said. “You keep finding people in your barn. Mason searched out there forever—”
“He said he didn’t find anything.”
“Then Joe.”
“He said he was checking on us to make sure we were safe.”
“You’ve heard noises out there before.”
“True . . .”
Skeeter spoke up. “We need to head out there. We need to search your barn.”
“I agree.”
Skeeter pulled out of the lot and turned in the direction of my farm. “Keep reading. What else does it say?”
I continued.
The journal lists important meetings, including who attended and what was discussed. It goes into detail I don’t dare mention here. I trust you to do the right thing. In the name of your son, the father of your grandchild. And if anything should happen to me, I ask that you make sure she is loved and cared for.
I stumbled over that last sentence, and Neely Kate put her hand on my shoulder.
“She could have wanted him to believe that, Rose. Her options were the rich factory owner or the barely-getting-by factory worker with a shrew for a wife.”
“He wasn’t rich,” I said quietly. “And his wife was just as shrewish. She had no reason to lie. I can’t help Violet. I won’t be a bone marrow match.”
Skeeter glanced over his shoulder at me. “What are you talking about?”
“Yesterday, my sister, Violet, told me she has cancer. She’s going to Texas for treatment, but she needs a bone marrow transplant.”
“And you were tested?”
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “It would be a long shot for half-siblings to be a match, but if Paul Buchanan is my father . . .” I gave him a weak smile. “Violet didn’t take it well.”
“Because you can’t save her?” he asked.
“Mostly because she thinks it changes things between us, no matter how much I tell her our DNA means nothing.”
“You are both gettin’ all upset over nothing,” Neely Kate said, shaking her head. “I don’t believe it. Your visions have to be from your grandmother. Your father’s mother.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. We can’t forget that Violet and I look nothing alike. I only slightly resemble my father.”
“Have you seen photos of Paul Buchanan?” she asked. “I don’t think we can trust her word, Rose. She wanted the best for you, even if she had to lie to get it.”
“That makes her sound like a horrible person.” I knew she’d done illegal things, but from all appearances, she’d been trying to make things right.
“Not at all,” Neely Kate said, her hand gently squeezing my shoulder. “She sounds like a mother who was doing everything she could to make sure her baby had the best life possible.”
“It didn’t matter in the end,” I said. “Henry Buchanan must not have told the police chief. He was killed, and then Henry killed himself. He left me as a Gardner.”
“You said your mother’s best friend and your father thought it was safer for the world to think you were a Gardner. To protect you from the Buchanans.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what to believe. And honestly, none of it matters. It doesn’t change a blessed thing. Other than it might affect my ability to help save Violet’s life.”
“Rose is right,” Skeeter said. “The only real consequence of which man’s DNA she carries is her sister’s life.” He paused. “We can’t choose our blood, but we can choose the people we trust. That’s always meant a whole lot more than blood to me.”
“Like Jed?” Neely Kate asked.
He hesitated for so long, I didn’t think he’d answer. “I’ve known Jed since we were kids. We both came from shit families, and we agreed to stick together. And we did, except for those years I worked for J.R. When I came back, it was a little rough. I couldn’t tell him where I’d been. He resented me for keeping it secret, but we stuck together anyway. And now he knows everything. I trust him with my life . . . and with everything that means something to me. That means more than the blood flowing through my brother Scooter’s veins.” He slid his hand over the top of the steering wheel. “What else does the paper say?”
“There are a couple of bank account numbers and balances, but the translator made a note on the side that she has no idea what banks they’re with or who they belong to.”
“If they have a routing number, wouldn’t she have been able to figure it out?” Neely Kate asked.
“My people know I value my privacy,” Skeeter said. “Unless I specifically asked her to look for the banks, she would never have thought to do it.”
I gave the paper a tiny shake. “There are two sets of numbers for each of them. Some of which are the same. I’m guessing those are routing numbers, so we can ask, right?”
“Yes.”
“The real trick is finding out who owns the accounts,” Neely Kate said. “If they’re even still open.”
“That will have to wait.” Skeeter caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “First we need to search a barn.”
Chapter 23
Since we would drive past our current safe house, I convinced Skeeter to stop and pick up Muffy so she wouldn’t be all alone.
“It’s a damn dog, Rose,” he grumbled. “They’re used to being alone.”
“Not Muffy. She’s all by herself in a house she doesn’t know. She’s bound to be scared.”
“We’re wasting time.”
“As far as I can tell, there’s no timetable here,” I said in a snit. “We’re on a wild goose chase. If I’m dying tonight, at least let me spend a few hours with my dog.”
“Nobody’s dyin’ tonight!” he boomed loud enough to make Neely Kate jump.
He stopped at the safe house, of course, but that didn’t stop him from grumbling about me and my damned priorities all the way to my farm.
When he pulled down the drive, I told him to park in front of the house. “If something’s hidden in the barn, I bet we’ll need the key we found in the warehouse to open it.”
“Rose,” Neely Kate said. “You keep finding people in your barn. Mason searched out there forever—”
“He said he didn’t find anything.”
“Then Joe.”
“He said he was checking on us to make sure we were safe.”
“You’ve heard noises out there before.”
“True . . .”
Skeeter spoke up. “We need to head out there. We need to search your barn.”
“I agree.”
Skeeter pulled out of the lot and turned in the direction of my farm. “Keep reading. What else does it say?”
I continued.
The journal lists important meetings, including who attended and what was discussed. It goes into detail I don’t dare mention here. I trust you to do the right thing. In the name of your son, the father of your grandchild. And if anything should happen to me, I ask that you make sure she is loved and cared for.
I stumbled over that last sentence, and Neely Kate put her hand on my shoulder.
“She could have wanted him to believe that, Rose. Her options were the rich factory owner or the barely-getting-by factory worker with a shrew for a wife.”
“He wasn’t rich,” I said quietly. “And his wife was just as shrewish. She had no reason to lie. I can’t help Violet. I won’t be a bone marrow match.”
Skeeter glanced over his shoulder at me. “What are you talking about?”
“Yesterday, my sister, Violet, told me she has cancer. She’s going to Texas for treatment, but she needs a bone marrow transplant.”
“And you were tested?”
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. “It would be a long shot for half-siblings to be a match, but if Paul Buchanan is my father . . .” I gave him a weak smile. “Violet didn’t take it well.”
“Because you can’t save her?” he asked.
“Mostly because she thinks it changes things between us, no matter how much I tell her our DNA means nothing.”
“You are both gettin’ all upset over nothing,” Neely Kate said, shaking her head. “I don’t believe it. Your visions have to be from your grandmother. Your father’s mother.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. We can’t forget that Violet and I look nothing alike. I only slightly resemble my father.”
“Have you seen photos of Paul Buchanan?” she asked. “I don’t think we can trust her word, Rose. She wanted the best for you, even if she had to lie to get it.”
“That makes her sound like a horrible person.” I knew she’d done illegal things, but from all appearances, she’d been trying to make things right.
“Not at all,” Neely Kate said, her hand gently squeezing my shoulder. “She sounds like a mother who was doing everything she could to make sure her baby had the best life possible.”
“It didn’t matter in the end,” I said. “Henry Buchanan must not have told the police chief. He was killed, and then Henry killed himself. He left me as a Gardner.”
“You said your mother’s best friend and your father thought it was safer for the world to think you were a Gardner. To protect you from the Buchanans.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what to believe. And honestly, none of it matters. It doesn’t change a blessed thing. Other than it might affect my ability to help save Violet’s life.”
“Rose is right,” Skeeter said. “The only real consequence of which man’s DNA she carries is her sister’s life.” He paused. “We can’t choose our blood, but we can choose the people we trust. That’s always meant a whole lot more than blood to me.”
“Like Jed?” Neely Kate asked.
He hesitated for so long, I didn’t think he’d answer. “I’ve known Jed since we were kids. We both came from shit families, and we agreed to stick together. And we did, except for those years I worked for J.R. When I came back, it was a little rough. I couldn’t tell him where I’d been. He resented me for keeping it secret, but we stuck together anyway. And now he knows everything. I trust him with my life . . . and with everything that means something to me. That means more than the blood flowing through my brother Scooter’s veins.” He slid his hand over the top of the steering wheel. “What else does the paper say?”
“There are a couple of bank account numbers and balances, but the translator made a note on the side that she has no idea what banks they’re with or who they belong to.”
“If they have a routing number, wouldn’t she have been able to figure it out?” Neely Kate asked.
“My people know I value my privacy,” Skeeter said. “Unless I specifically asked her to look for the banks, she would never have thought to do it.”
I gave the paper a tiny shake. “There are two sets of numbers for each of them. Some of which are the same. I’m guessing those are routing numbers, so we can ask, right?”
“Yes.”
“The real trick is finding out who owns the accounts,” Neely Kate said. “If they’re even still open.”
“That will have to wait.” Skeeter caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “First we need to search a barn.”
Chapter 23
Since we would drive past our current safe house, I convinced Skeeter to stop and pick up Muffy so she wouldn’t be all alone.
“It’s a damn dog, Rose,” he grumbled. “They’re used to being alone.”
“Not Muffy. She’s all by herself in a house she doesn’t know. She’s bound to be scared.”
“We’re wasting time.”
“As far as I can tell, there’s no timetable here,” I said in a snit. “We’re on a wild goose chase. If I’m dying tonight, at least let me spend a few hours with my dog.”
“Nobody’s dyin’ tonight!” he boomed loud enough to make Neely Kate jump.
He stopped at the safe house, of course, but that didn’t stop him from grumbling about me and my damned priorities all the way to my farm.
When he pulled down the drive, I told him to park in front of the house. “If something’s hidden in the barn, I bet we’ll need the key we found in the warehouse to open it.”
