He was quiet for a moment. “You left Oklahoma six years ago. Maybe what you did is past the statute of limitations.”
“There is no statute of limitations for this crime.”
His eyes widened slightly. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yeah,” I said sadly. “And you and I both know if I tell you, you’ll be obligated to act on it. If you think it’s gonna come to that, then let me confess to someone else. Maybe Deputy Miller. Then you won’t be caught up in my mess.”
“I’m not worried about getting caught up in your mess, Neely Kate,” he said, getting frustrated. “I’m worried about you. I know there’s no way in hell you committed murder.”
I stared at him in surprise.
He gave me a look that suggested I was a fool. “There’s only one crime with no statute of limitations in Arkansas. It wasn’t hard to figure out.”
I broke out into a cold sweat.
“Who did you kill?”
I shook my head
“Who’s helpin’ you?”
I glanced back up. “Do you really think I’m gonna tell you after you’re all worked up?”
Joe looked furious. “What does Kate have on you?”
“Kate keeps hinting she knows what I did. After our visit yesterday, I was convinced she doesn’t know anything, but after finding that man in the basement…” I swallowed. “I’m not so sure.”
“You said you didn’t know who he was, Neely Kate,” he said, his voice rising. “If I’m gonna help you, you can’t keep lyin’ to me!”
“I’m not lyin’, Joe,” I said calmly. I understood why he was upset. He was putting his job on the line for me. “I swear I’ve never seen him before, but I think he’s part of it. Especially after everything that’s happened over the last few days.”
He took a breath and when he released it, he asked in a tight voice, “Are you in danger?”
“Physical danger? Until this morning, I would have said no, but I’m still convinced I’m not in immediate danger.”
“Did you tell Kate we were goin’ to the fundraiser dinner together?”
“No, but she knows you’re datin’ Dena and she knows what a controlling witch she is, so it’s safe to say she has an inside source who knows what’s goin’ on in your life.”
He pressed his lips together. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she plans to crash the dinner. At the very least, she’s trying to stir up trouble. Exhibit A is in your basement. Do you plan to tell your boyfriend about Kate’s escape and surprise?”
Panic shot through my blood. Jed was probably freaking out that he couldn’t get ahold of me.
“I suspect he already knows she’s escaped and is probably tryin’ to call me now to make sure I’m okay. I need to get my phone.” I got up to go get it.
Joe grabbed my wrist and held me in place. “How would he know she’s escaped?”
I hesitated, then said, “He’s had her watched.”
“Why?”
I couldn’t tell him he’d been linked to Skeeter Malcolm, but I could give him something. “I’ll tell you how this all started, but just let me go get my phone and plug it in, or he’s gonna be scared to death for me and show up poundin’ on the front door like you just did.”
He stared up at me with searching eyes. “He really cares about you?”
I didn’t answer, because while I thought the answer was yes, my recent doubts held back the affirmation.
But Joe took my silence as affirmation enough. “Go get your phone, but we’re not done with this conversation.”
I nodded. I wanted to tell him more. I just wasn’t sure how much was safe for him. I truly didn’t want to put him in a difficult position.
I ran upstairs and snatched my phone and cord, then ran back down. I’d considered catching Rose up to speed, but her shower was still running, and Joe had purposely held back finding a body. I wanted to see what he ultimately planned to do about that.
I ran down the stairs and found Joe pouring another cup of coffee for himself. He must have gulped some down while I was grabbing my phone because neither of us had touched our cups while we were talking.
I plugged my phone in at the counter, and the battery light flashed on the screen.
“Don’t you be callin’ or textin’ him yet,” Joe said. “We need to establish some ground rules.”
I spun around to face him. “Ground rules?”
“Yep. If I’m gonna help you with this, there need to be rules and I need to trust that you’ll follow them or my ass is on the line.”
I shook my head. “Joe…”
“I’m helpin’ you, Neely Kate, that part isn’t in dispute. At this point, I need to know what you did and what your boyfriend is doin’ about it. I have half a mind to drag his ass over here to ask him himself.”
My heart leapt into my throat. “Joe. Don’t.”
He walked over to the table and sat down. “Rose’ll be done with her shower soon, so you better start spillin’ or she’ll walk in on your confession. And I take it you still want to keep this from her, so let’s get to it.”
“Confession.” My blood turned to sludge. “Should I get an attorney?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“What?” he asked in dismay. “No.” He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up in weird places. “Poor word choice on my part in light of everything else. I just want to know what happened, Neely Kate.”
I sat down in my chair and clasped my hands around my coffee cup. “I still don’t think I should tell you everything. If you find out and don’t report it…”
He leaned forward and held my gaze. “I’ve done a lot of messed-up shit in my life and look at me now—I’m the chief deputy sheriff, even after everything our father did. After everything I did that our father swept under the rug, from DUIs to drunk-and-disorderlies, to assault charges from bar fights.” He leaned forward and held my gaze. “You’ve dealt with far more shit in your life than I have, and you’re a much better person. Whatever you’ve done, we’ll deal with it. Within the family. I swear it.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Get started.” He glanced up at the ceiling. “I know from experience that Rose likes long showers in the mornings, but she knows Kate’s escaped, so she won’t dally even though I’m here and she’s been avoidin’ me lately.”
I tasted bitter on my tongue. Had he figured out that she was seeing Skeeter?
He noticed my reaction. “I suspect her avoidin’ me is Dena’s doin’ too, but that’s beside the point at the moment. All I’m sayin’ is you need to start talkin’.”
At least he wasn’t accusing Rose of hiding a relationship, which was surprising given that she’d spent the night somewhere else last night.
Joe mistook my silence for reluctance, although I had plenty of that too. “Neely Kate, I promise I won’t judge you for what you’ve done. I just need the truth.”
I nodded, then stared down at the shaking coffee cup. “I got myself into a difficult situation that I saw no way of gettin’ out of. My boyfriend wasn’t the man I thought he was, and he used me for…” I struggled with the right words so I didn’t set him off. There was no delicate way to put it. “He gave me to other men for sex.”
Joe was silent for so long I finally looked up at him to see his reaction. Tears filled his eyes and he took a deep breath when his gaze met mine. “Did you kill your boyfriend?”
I shook my head, my heart beating so fast I could hardly catch my breath. “No. I killed a man he forced me to have sex with.”
He swallowed and sat back in his chair. “Self-defense?”
I glanced away again. “I’m not sure a jury would see it that way.”
“How’d it happen?”
The coffee cup started to rattle on the table from my shaking hands.
Joe reached over and moved the cup to the side and clasped both my hands in his. His warm gaze held mine. “I’ve done plenty of bad things in my life. No judging from me, Neely Kate.”
“Have you killed a man?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said without blinking. “I killed our father, and it wasn’t self-defense. So if I turn you in, I’m turning in myself too.”