Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies (23 page)

Skeeter gave me a wicked look. “I had no idea you and the former county prosecutor were into threesomes. Otherwise, I might have requested an invitation.”

A blush rose to my face. “You know good and well that’s not why we asked him. Mason thought it would be prudent to have a bodyguard given the fact that everything’s so unsettled.”

“You mean dangerous.”

“So Randy sat a couple of tables away while we ate. We were there a long time, almost two hours by the time Mason proposed and we called his mother and Neely Kate.”

Jed’s mouth opened in surprise.

“That’s right, Jed,” Skeeter said dryly. “Congratulations are in order.”

“I don’t know what business it is of yours,” I retorted.

Skeeter was out of his chair in a flash, leaning over me with so much rage I shrank back from him. “The very fact we’re in this goddamned safe house right now is proof enough that it’s my goddamned business!”

“Skeeter.” Jed’s calm voice of reason interrupted.

Skeeter threw the chair across the room and stalked out the front door.

I sat there in shock, wondering what I’d done wrong. He was used to me back-talking him, so that couldn’t have set him off.

“He knows how close they came to killing you,” Jed said softly, perching on the edge of the nasty sofa. “When I got there, they were discussing how they were gonna do it.”

“What were they gonna do?” I asked, unsure whether I really wanted to know.

“Let’s just say it tracks with your theory about someone wanting to make Deveraux suffer.”

It was surreal to talk about my attempted murder. While this wasn’t the first time I had found myself in this type of situation, I sure hoped it would be the last.

“I almost missed it, Rose. They dragged you out the back while I was checking out the front of the restaurant, watching Deveraux’s car. If I hadn’t turned back at the last second …” He took a deep breath. “I still wasn’t sure it was you, but I knew it was sketchy as hell for a guy to toss a woman wrapped in a blanket into the backseat of a car. I called Merv to come take over for me and followed.”

I grabbed his good hand and squeezed it, swallowing my fear. “Thank you. You saved me. I couldn’t believe what you did when they brought you into that room.”

“There was no way in hell I was lettin’ them hurt you.” He glanced back at the door, then lowered his voice. “There’s a reason Skeeter assigned me to watch over you, you know.”

“Why?”

“I had a little sister, and our momma always put me in charge of watching over her. She was a lot younger than me, but she was the sweetest little thing, and everybody loved her. She often tagged along with me and my friends, Skeeter included, but none of them minded.”

“Skeeter?”

He nodded. “We grew up together.”

That explained so much.

“One day we decided to go fishing, and Daisy begged to come. She was learning how to bait a hook with the earthworms from the backyard. I got her set up, and then Skeeter’s brother, Scooter, caught a huge catfish that damn near broke his rod. All four of us boys—our friend Pete was there too—we all fought that fish, trying to get it ashore, and I never once looked back at Daisy.”

My stomach cramped.

“When I finally did, she wasn’t on the bank.” He paused. “I found her floating in the water. I have no idea how long she’d been in there. Not long, but long enough. Skeeter helped me drag her out onto the bank. We tried CPR, and after a couple of minutes, Skeeter—who was older than me and bigger—picked her up and hauled ass for his house. But it was too late.”

“I’m so sorry.” When he didn’t volunteer any more information, I asked, “I still don’t understand why he asked you to protect me.”

“He knows you remind me of Daisy.”

I sucked in a breath. “Oh, Jed.”

“He knows how much I regret my mistake, so he’s given me a second chance. But tonight …”

“It’s not your job to protect me. I’m
not
your sister.”

“I know. But you’re more important to Skeeter than you know. I don’t know what he would have done if they’d killed you.” He lowered his head until we were eye to eye. “You think Crocker went batshit crazy? That was nothing compared to the vengeance Skeeter would have meted out.”

I shivered. “Well, I’m safe, but I really need to call Mason. Just let me borrow your cell phone, and I won’t tell Skeeter about it.”

“Skeeter’s right. We don’t know who’s behind this, and they think the evil deed is still waiting to be done. He’s hoping to flush them out with this call.”

“But what does that have to do with me calling Mason?”

The front door opened, revealing Skeeter in the doorway. “Because whoever did this is watching him like a hawk. I can guaran-damn-tee you that they’ll want to see his reaction when he watches that video. That’s why they haven’t called in the order to kill you. They’re plannin’ on time-stamping the damn thing and sending it moments after it happens.”

“
Skeeter!
I can’t let him think I’m dead!”

“If we don’t follow through, they’re liable to kill him and be done with it. Whoever orchestrated this is a sick son-of-a-bitch, J.R. Simmons or not.”

Jed pulled out his phone and grimaced. “Merv texted. He just heard from our contact at the sheriff’s department. Apparently, Deveraux just arrived. Simmons Jr. is talking with him in his office now.” He looked up, his face grim. “We should be hearing any time now.”

“What?” I asked. “Why would you expect to hear
now?
Do they have someone in the sheriff’s office?”

Both men gave me a sorrowful look, then as if on cue, a cell phone rang. Skeeter picked it up off the kitchen table and nodded to Jed.

Jed sent a text while Skeeter answered in a gruff voice that didn’t sound like his own. “Yeah?” He was silent for several seconds. “Got it.” He tapped the screen, then put the phone on the table. “They’re waiting for the video.”

Jed looked at me. “We need to sniff out who’s behind this, particularly if it’s not one of the known players.”

“We have to send Deveraux a video that convinces him you’re dead,” Skeeter added.

My breath came in quick pants. “I’m not doing it.”

Skeeter moved across the room and knelt in front of me. The softness I saw there surprised me. “You know, we don’t
have
to do this. The fact that we got the call minutes after your boyfriend walked into Simmons’ office wasn’t for nothin’. I’ll have my men take care of him, and we don’t have to send a thing to Deveraux.”

It dawned on me what he was insinuating.

“No! Joe would
never
do this!”

Skeeter’s face hardened, the softness slipping off like melted wax. “The evidence is stacked against him. He had you arrested.”

I violently shook my head. “No. He still loves me. He would sooner die himself than order my murder.”

“Rose,” Jed said softly. “You know he’s following his father’s orders.”

“
No!
” I stood. “He didn’t do this. Maybe if you two pulled your heads out of your behinds, you’d see that whoever is doing this wants to hurt him too!”

A stunned look crossed both of their faces.

“Yeah, that’s right. Joe taught me that the obvious answer isn’t always the right one.” I pointed my finger at Jed. “You text Merv right now and tell him to find out who else is in the sheriff’s office.” When he hesitated, I raised my voice. “
Right now!
”

“Do it,” Skeeter barked.

Jed started texting, and Skeeter stood and began to pace. “We have to send a video, Rose, especially if there’s any doubt about who did it.”

“No. I’ll send Mason a text from my phone telling him that I’ve escaped and I’m okay, but he’s in grave danger. I can tell him to act horrified. Joe too.”

“Whoever is watching will expect to hear the sounds of your murder,” Skeeter said bluntly.

I felt like I was going to throw up.

“We have to stage your murder and make it convincing enough for Deveraux and Simmons to believe it.”

“No, we
don’t
. I’ll still send the warning text, and then we can follow up with a short video of my ‘death.’”

Skeeter shook his head. “There are so many things wrong with this plan.”

“He can do this. I saw him perform impromptu at Gems when the guard found me listening and threw me into their meeting. Trust me, he’ll follow along.”

Skeeter looked grim.

Jed glanced up. “Merv says there are six deputies in the office—including the off-duty deputy who was at the restaurant, a receptionist, and Simmons’ sister.”

I gasped. “Kate is there?”

Skeeter’s eyebrows rose. “Does that mean anything?”

“Yes! She has a table full of crap in her apartment—photos, court cases, police reports, and surveillance—all of it about or related to Mason.”

Skeeter’s eyes widened. “You think she set this up?”

I shuddered. “I don’t know, but there’s evidence she may have hired the guy who ran Mason off the road in December and stole his phone. The phone was on her table.”

“Shit.” He turned to Jed. “Where in the station is she?”

Jed sent a text and waited. “She’s sitting by Simmons’ office. She’s filling out a police report.”

“What for?” My breath stuck in my throat. “Oh, my word. I did this.”

“Did what?”

“Neely Kate and I were in her apartment today. I think she figured it out. Maybe that’s why she orchestrated this. To keep me quiet about what I found out while hurting Mason in the process.”

“
If
she did this,” Jed amended.

Even
I
had a hard time believing it. Still, I couldn’t think of a single soul capable of such a thing, other than Mick Gentry and J.R. Simmons.

“Rose.” Skeeter sounded anxious. “We have to send him something.”

I reached out my hand toward my phone. “Trust me. Give me my phone.
Please
.”

He looked me in the eye for several seconds, then stood and went outside.

“Are you sure there isn’t anyone else in there?” I asked.

Jed nodded.

Skeeter was back in seconds, my phone in his hand. He approached and held it out to me. “Let’s get the video ready first.”

A sudden thought occurred to me as I opened the camera app. “Do we need the sound of a gunshot in the video?”

Jed stiffened. “No. They were gonna slit your throat.”

I sucked in a breath at that cheery thought. “Well, okay then.”

“Remember, you’ve gotta make it convincing,” Skeeter said in a gruff tone.

I nodded and prepared myself, wondering if I should do a dry run first. Especially since my limited theater experience consisted of my non-speaking role as a dog in my second grade class play. But rehearsing would feel ridiculous and wrong, and I plain didn’t have time.

Jed took the phone and held it in front of me. “Whenever you’re ready.”

I nodded, trying to control my anxiety, but I was dangerously close to losing it. “Okay.”

I looked into the phone. “Mason, I love you. This isn’t your fault.” My voice was shaky with nerves, which I supposed would make it authentic to whoever might be listening in the station. But what if Mason didn’t believe the text? What if he trusted the video instead?

I closed my eyes and went along with the plan. “What are you doin’?” I called out, choking back real tears. Everything about this scared me to death. So much could go wrong. “No!” I released a short scream, then stopped as if it had been cut off.

Jed nodded and lowered the phone. “That was good.”

Skeeter snatched the phone from him and turned his back to us. I heard my shaky voice, followed by the scream. He pushed out a long breath. “This might actually work if your boyfriend goes along with the plan and the spy isn’t watching the screen.”

“That’s a lot of ifs,” Jed added.

“We still have to send it,” I said.

I took the phone from Skeeter, pulled up Mason’s name, and started typing.

“Shit,” Skeeter said after a moment. “Deveraux might be able to pull this off, but if your theory is correct, they’ll expect a reaction from Simmons too. How are you gonna manage that?”

I stopped typing. “I’ll tell Mason. He’ll have to pretend he believes the video is real, but if the two of them are alone in that office together, he’ll find a way to get the message to Joe.”

Skeeter swiped the phone out of my hand. “No. Simmons can’t know the truth.”

“I can’t do this to him either!”

His eyes darkened. “I trust Deveraux to keep this quiet to protect you, but I don’t trust Simmons one iota. Despite your protests to the contrary, I’m still not convinced he’s uninvolved.”

“Skeeter! He’s gonna think I’ve been murdered!”

“Good. That’s what I want him to believe.” He held up the phone, his fingers suspended over the keys. “Now what do you want to say?”

“I can type my own stinkin’ text!”

“Not this time. You want to send him a text, I’ll type it. Your choice. I’m good with just sending the video.”

Tears burned my eyes. “This is wrong.” I wasn’t sure if I could live with myself for doing this to Joe, but I couldn’t let Mason die either.

“Joe Simmons chose his side just like I chose mine. Now we both have to live with the consequences. You have three seconds to start talking, or I’m pressing send.”

I was terrified this would backfire on me, but it was better than sending only the video. I told him what to type:

Mason, it’s me. I escaped, but the person who’s behind this doesn’t know. The men who took me were supposed to video my murder and send it to you. I know you’re in Joe’s office and they want the video sent now. They can’t know that I got away, so your reaction is key. So is Joe’s. He has to believe it’s true. Otherwise both of your lives are in danger. I’m going to send you a video of me, but be prepared to hear me scream like someone’s hurting me. When you see it, you have to act distraught and immediately delete this text and the video. I’ll be in touch.

Skeeter read it back, and I said, “Let me send it.”

His gaze narrowed, and it was obvious he thought I was up to something.

“I’m not going to add to the text. I promise.” Not that I was happy with this decision, but I needed to take ownership of it. “I need to be the one to send it.”