Thirty-Six and a Half Motives
Page 88
He took a step backward. “What?”
“Kate practically said the same thing when she left Merilee’s, but she said it specifically about Hilary. I need to call Joe.” I started digging for my phone in my coat pocket, but Jed grabbed my arm.
“Whoa. What are you gonna tell him?”
“I already told him that I think his sister is after Hilary. I’ll tell him I have more proof.”
“Text him. You can say all of that in a text.”
Good point.
I checked the screen and saw that Mason had called and left me a message. When I retrieved it, I was surprised by how relieved I was to hear his voice in my ear.
“Rose, I’m about to go into a meeting with the state police, and I don’t know how long I’ll be. You’re onto something with Nick Thorn. He was shot in his car in a parking lot outside a bar. The police determined it was a robbery, but no one was ever caught. He was murdered two years ago, last September, so it fits with the timeline of Kate taking off. I’ll keep digging, but I’m not sure what else there is to find.” He paused, and his voice lowered. “If you change your mind, my offer to come stay in the courthouse still stands. Be careful, Rose.”
I relayed Mason’s message as I typed off a text to Joe. When I finished, I looked up at Jed. “We have to go check on Hilary.”
Jed’s mouth dropped open. “Have you lost your mind?”
“No. I’d call her if I could, but I don’t know her number.” When he didn’t answer, I said, “Come on, Jed. We’ve still got a few hours to kill. Let me do this good deed, and maybe karma will be on our side. Besides, I suspect Neely Kate needs to eat. You two weren’t gone long enough for her to get dinner and break into the office.”
“She said she wasn’t hungry.”
“I didn’t eat much while I was talking to Joe, and we need all the energy we can get to face J.R. How about we pick up some food, then stop by Hilary’s?”
Rather than answer, Jed turned around and got into the car. As soon as I climbed into the front passenger seat, he pulled away from the Rivers’s property.
Unbelievably, Neely Kate had fallen asleep and was stretched out on the seat. As soon as Jed got onto the highway, I asked, keeping my voice low, “Any word from Skeeter?”
He nodded. “He’s scouting out the barn with a dozen men. So far nothing.”
“I guess that’s good, right?”
“I have a hard time believing that Simmons Sr. is gonna show up at an unfortified site. I suspect he’s taking a play from our playbook.”
“You think he’s gonna change the meetin’ spot?”
“We’re positive. We also suspect he’ll change the time. Anything to throw us off our game.”
“Well, crap.” Everything he said made sense. “How soon?”
“We’re not sure, which is why I don’t want to waste any time checkin’ on the wicked witch of the south.”
“If we don’t, I’ll deal with it, but I could never forgive myself if something happens to her because she wasn’t warned. But how about I have a vision to see if I can figure out where we’re meeting?”
“Good idea.”
I put my hand on Jed’s arm and closed my eyes. The vision was slow to come, and when it did, the image was in slow motion and grainy. I tried to focus on the background, but I didn’t recognize where we were. It looked like a barn.
After I relayed the vision to Jed, he asked, “What does it mean?”
“I think it means things are changing and the future hasn’t sorted itself out yet.”
We went through the drive-through of the Chuck and Cluck because it was Neely Kate’s favorite place and I was desperate for anything to make her feel better. Neely Kate’s head popped up as soon as Jed pulled up to the drive-through menu board and the maniacal sound of clucking broadcasted over the speaker.
“Chuck and Cluck?” she asked in a sleepy voice. “You hate this place.”
“Hate is a strong word,” I said, grinning back at her. “I’ll make do.”
“You love me,” she teased.
“You know I do.”
“I hate to break up the lovefest,” Jed grumbled, “but the chicken wants you to order.”
True enough, there was a plastic chicken head mounted next to the menu board, and its mechanized mouth opened and closed whenever the attendant spoke over the speaker.
“Arly,” the person on the speaker drawled. “Is that you messin’ with me again?”
I could only imagine all the pranks the guy on the other side of the speaker had faced.
Neely Kate ordered fried chicken and mashed potatoes while Jed and I both got chicken strips and fries. When we got to the takeout window, Neely Kate squealed with delight. “He’s dressed as a chicken! That’s new.”
Sure enough, the employee at the window was wearing a chicken costume. When he leaned out to tell us our total, he had to repeat it twice since the chicken head muffled his voice.
Jed had to practically toss the money inside the window since the chicken’s hands were shaped like claws.
“Whose ridiculous idea was this?” Jed asked, getting grumpier by the minute. He glanced over his shoulder at Neely Kate. “You know this shit will kill you, don’t you?”
“Ha!” Neely Kate barked. “Says the man who’s about to meet a deadly killer. Might as well have fried chicken before you meet your maker.”
“No one is meetin’ their maker today,” I said. “We’re all gonna survive this and annoy the crap out of each other tomorrow.”
Neely Kate laughed, but her spirits seemed to lag again as we drove across town toward Hilary’s. While we ate, I filled her in on Mason’s message and my worry about Hilary.
“Part of the reason I’m indulging your request is because I think the woman’s perfectly safe.” Jed shot me a sideways glance. “So I’m gonna park around the corner and let you two go check on her.”
“I really want to argue with this plan,” Neely Kate said, licking her fingers. “But I’ve been kind of worried since we talked to her this morning.”
A ball of anxiety knotted in my stomach. My gut told me that something bad was going to happen. Maybe I could get close enough to Hilary to have a vision and make sure she was safe from Kate’s clutches.
“Kate practically said the same thing when she left Merilee’s, but she said it specifically about Hilary. I need to call Joe.” I started digging for my phone in my coat pocket, but Jed grabbed my arm.
“Whoa. What are you gonna tell him?”
“I already told him that I think his sister is after Hilary. I’ll tell him I have more proof.”
“Text him. You can say all of that in a text.”
Good point.
I checked the screen and saw that Mason had called and left me a message. When I retrieved it, I was surprised by how relieved I was to hear his voice in my ear.
“Rose, I’m about to go into a meeting with the state police, and I don’t know how long I’ll be. You’re onto something with Nick Thorn. He was shot in his car in a parking lot outside a bar. The police determined it was a robbery, but no one was ever caught. He was murdered two years ago, last September, so it fits with the timeline of Kate taking off. I’ll keep digging, but I’m not sure what else there is to find.” He paused, and his voice lowered. “If you change your mind, my offer to come stay in the courthouse still stands. Be careful, Rose.”
I relayed Mason’s message as I typed off a text to Joe. When I finished, I looked up at Jed. “We have to go check on Hilary.”
Jed’s mouth dropped open. “Have you lost your mind?”
“No. I’d call her if I could, but I don’t know her number.” When he didn’t answer, I said, “Come on, Jed. We’ve still got a few hours to kill. Let me do this good deed, and maybe karma will be on our side. Besides, I suspect Neely Kate needs to eat. You two weren’t gone long enough for her to get dinner and break into the office.”
“She said she wasn’t hungry.”
“I didn’t eat much while I was talking to Joe, and we need all the energy we can get to face J.R. How about we pick up some food, then stop by Hilary’s?”
Rather than answer, Jed turned around and got into the car. As soon as I climbed into the front passenger seat, he pulled away from the Rivers’s property.
Unbelievably, Neely Kate had fallen asleep and was stretched out on the seat. As soon as Jed got onto the highway, I asked, keeping my voice low, “Any word from Skeeter?”
He nodded. “He’s scouting out the barn with a dozen men. So far nothing.”
“I guess that’s good, right?”
“I have a hard time believing that Simmons Sr. is gonna show up at an unfortified site. I suspect he’s taking a play from our playbook.”
“You think he’s gonna change the meetin’ spot?”
“We’re positive. We also suspect he’ll change the time. Anything to throw us off our game.”
“Well, crap.” Everything he said made sense. “How soon?”
“We’re not sure, which is why I don’t want to waste any time checkin’ on the wicked witch of the south.”
“If we don’t, I’ll deal with it, but I could never forgive myself if something happens to her because she wasn’t warned. But how about I have a vision to see if I can figure out where we’re meeting?”
“Good idea.”
I put my hand on Jed’s arm and closed my eyes. The vision was slow to come, and when it did, the image was in slow motion and grainy. I tried to focus on the background, but I didn’t recognize where we were. It looked like a barn.
After I relayed the vision to Jed, he asked, “What does it mean?”
“I think it means things are changing and the future hasn’t sorted itself out yet.”
We went through the drive-through of the Chuck and Cluck because it was Neely Kate’s favorite place and I was desperate for anything to make her feel better. Neely Kate’s head popped up as soon as Jed pulled up to the drive-through menu board and the maniacal sound of clucking broadcasted over the speaker.
“Chuck and Cluck?” she asked in a sleepy voice. “You hate this place.”
“Hate is a strong word,” I said, grinning back at her. “I’ll make do.”
“You love me,” she teased.
“You know I do.”
“I hate to break up the lovefest,” Jed grumbled, “but the chicken wants you to order.”
True enough, there was a plastic chicken head mounted next to the menu board, and its mechanized mouth opened and closed whenever the attendant spoke over the speaker.
“Arly,” the person on the speaker drawled. “Is that you messin’ with me again?”
I could only imagine all the pranks the guy on the other side of the speaker had faced.
Neely Kate ordered fried chicken and mashed potatoes while Jed and I both got chicken strips and fries. When we got to the takeout window, Neely Kate squealed with delight. “He’s dressed as a chicken! That’s new.”
Sure enough, the employee at the window was wearing a chicken costume. When he leaned out to tell us our total, he had to repeat it twice since the chicken head muffled his voice.
Jed had to practically toss the money inside the window since the chicken’s hands were shaped like claws.
“Whose ridiculous idea was this?” Jed asked, getting grumpier by the minute. He glanced over his shoulder at Neely Kate. “You know this shit will kill you, don’t you?”
“Ha!” Neely Kate barked. “Says the man who’s about to meet a deadly killer. Might as well have fried chicken before you meet your maker.”
“No one is meetin’ their maker today,” I said. “We’re all gonna survive this and annoy the crap out of each other tomorrow.”
Neely Kate laughed, but her spirits seemed to lag again as we drove across town toward Hilary’s. While we ate, I filled her in on Mason’s message and my worry about Hilary.
“Part of the reason I’m indulging your request is because I think the woman’s perfectly safe.” Jed shot me a sideways glance. “So I’m gonna park around the corner and let you two go check on her.”
“I really want to argue with this plan,” Neely Kate said, licking her fingers. “But I’ve been kind of worried since we talked to her this morning.”
A ball of anxiety knotted in my stomach. My gut told me that something bad was going to happen. Maybe I could get close enough to Hilary to have a vision and make sure she was safe from Kate’s clutches.
