She made a face. “I hate lyin’ to him.”
“I do too, but we sure as Pete can’t tell him you’re goin’ to have a sexy-times weekend with Skeeter Malcolm.”
“Neely Kate!”
“Well, it’s true on all counts. Now get goin’.” The sooner I could get her out of this house, the better.
She hurried upstairs, already calling Skeeter as I headed out to the porch.
Joe was sitting in a wicker chair, throwing a ball to Muffy in the front yard. He glanced up at me. “What did you two scheme together?”
“Scheme?” I asked, trying to act like he asked the most ridiculous question. “We were calling Rose’s Aunt Bessie seein’ if she could leave early. Rose is gonna meet her at Violet’s house.”
His brow lowered as he watched Muffy run toward the porch with the tennis ball looking ginormous in her mouth. “Where’s she goin’?”
“Shreveport. There’s something goin’ on at a botanical gardens at an art museum.”
“Huh.”
“Why do you sound so suspicious?” I asked with plenty of attitude.
“It’s because I’m always suspicious when it comes to you two.” Muffy bounded up to him and he tugged the ball from her and threw it again. Muffy took off running.
“Well, she’d already planned to leave this afternoon. I just convinced her to leave sooner. Kate wouldn’t think to look for her there. Besides, after discovering my present, I think Kate will likely be sticking close to Henryetta.”
Joe scowled. “I suspect you’re right. Which is why I need to figure out what to do about you.”
“You don’t have to do anything about me. I’m going to be investigatin’ what happened to the man in the basement and why he’s there.”
He turned to face me, his eyes blazing. “If you think I’ll agree to that, then you—”
“I’m a grown woman, capable of makin’ my own decisions. You can’t make me do anything.”
“Neely Kate. Be reasonable.”
“I don’t plan on bein’ stupid, Joe, but I need to make a call before I decide what to do.”
“Let me guess who you’re callin’.” He didn’t sound happy about it. He lifted his glance to the porch ceiling as though asking the good Lord for patience, then lowered it to me. “I need to go back down to the basement and see if that guy has any ID.”
“You’re really gonna leave him down there?” I asked in disbelief.
His face hardened. “Yeah.”
He didn’t like it, but he was doing it anyway. For me. The guilt was suffocating, but I couldn’t bring myself to make him change his mind.
“Go make your call,” he said with a sigh. “I’ll wait here with Muffy.”
I stared at him, sure I’d heard him wrong.
“Go on before I change my mind.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I ran inside and saw Rose heading down the stairs with a bag in her hand.
“Is everything a go?” I asked.
She shifted the strap on her shoulder as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “Yeah, but this still doesn’t feel right, Neely Kate.”
“That part of the discussion is done.”
She gave me a worried smile. “You could come with us.”
I chuckled. “I’m gonna take a pass on that. Besides, I have two men who will treat me like a china doll, and I’ll bristle at every second of it.”
A grin tugged at the corners of her lips. “They love you.”
One of them did. The other… I wasn’t so sure. But that was a discussion for another time.
“And I love you, Rose,” I said. “Be safe and have fun.” I pulled her into a tight hug. “Don’t worry too much. They’ll find her.”
She squeezed me back. “I love you too. If you change your mind, call or text me and I’ll come runnin’ back.”
“I know you will.” I broke loose. “Are you goin to… your friend’s house?”
She flushed. “Yeah.”
“Let me know when you get there so I don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
I stood in the doorway and watched her snatch up Muffy to tell her goodbye. Joe stood and followed her down the steps, telling her something I couldn’t hear, but he must have been on his best behavior because she kissed the top of Muffy’s head and handed her dog to him. After she got into her truck, she gave me a long look.
I waved, then she started her engine and headed for the country road.
As soon as she left, Joe turned and bound up the front steps. “Okay. Time to get to work. Have you called him yet?”
“No.”
“Get to it. I’m headed to the basement.” He brushed past me and strode toward the kitchen and the door downstairs.
I followed him, grabbing my phone off the counter, relieved to see it was now charged to sixty percent. I disconnected the cord from the phone, then walked to the front porch.
“Neely Kate,” Jed answered immediately the first ring. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, sitting in the chair Joe had vacated. “I’ve had quite a morning.”
“Is Joe still there?”
“Yeah, but that’s because Kate left a surprise in my basement.”
“Kate was in your house?”
“I don’t know if it was her or someone she hired, but yeah, someone was in the house in the middle of the night carryin’ out her agenda.”
“You didn’t have the alarm turned on, did you?” It was more of an accusation than a question.
His harsh tone caught me off guard. “No. Rose was supposed to come home and—”
“They could have killed you, Neely Kate. Goddammit! I’ve told you both to turn on that damned alarm!”
My breath stuck in my chest, fear coursing through my veins. Jed had never yelled at me since we’d started seeing each other. Sure, plenty of times before, but none since. “I’m okay, Jed!”
“I’m coming over.” His tone brooked no argument.
“You can’t. Joe’s still here.”
“I don’t give a flyin’ fuck. I’m comin’ over. Now.”
“Why?” I demanded, my past rising up like a specter. How many men had I been with who had seemed perfect in the beginning… only to ultimately turn horribly wrong. “To punish me?”
“Punish you?” he asked in disbelief. He took a couple of seconds before he said in a much calmer voice. “God, no, Neely Kate. Punish you? You’re not a child. I want to see you because I’m freaking out over how close I came to losin’ you. I need to see you with my own eyes to convince myself that you’re okay.”
My bluster deflated like a balloon. “Oh.”
“Do you really think I’d punish you?” he asked, sounding hurt.
“No… it’s just… you yelled…”
“I’ve yelled at you plenty of times before.”
“That was before we were together.”
Jed sighed. “I’d let this wait until you could look deep into my eyes so you could see it’s true, but this can’t wait. I will never hurt you like that, NK. Never. I know you’ve been so hurt and abused in the past that you expect people to treat you like garbage, but I will never treat you like that, do you hear me?”
Tears flooded my eyes and I nodded my head, then realized he couldn’t see me. “Yes,” I choked out.
“I’m still comin’ over,” he said. Then he hung up.
I pulled the phone away, terrified for a new reason. Jed was coming over and Joe was still in my basement.
My brother came out to the front door a few minutes later and found me on the front porch.
I stood as soon as he walked out the door. “What did you find?”
“Surprisingly, he had his wallet and two motel room keys.” He held up a single plastic card with the logo of the only decent motel in town—the Holiday Inn.
“Was he a private detective?”
“He didn’t have a license on him, but I got his name and I plan on runnin’ it as soon as I get to the office.”
“Won’t that look suspicious? Running his name before we officially find his body?”
His lips pursed. “I have to look him up, Neely Kate.”
“There’s another way,” I said, slightly breathless as I heard a car turning onto the gravel drive from the county road. I put my hand on Joe’s arm. “I’m beggin’ you to trust me, Joe.”
His gaze shot to the approaching car. “Is that your mysterious boyfriend?”
“He’s worried about me, but I need you to promise that you’ll give him a chance. Please.”
His gaze dropped down to me. “Now you’ve got me concerned.”