Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies (28 page)

“We need to figure out a place that has hiding places for my men so they can keep an eye on you,” Skeeter said. “A place where the quirks can be used to our advantage.”

I looked down at Jed, and then returned my attention to Skeeter. “The factory.”

“No,” Mason said, shaking his head and continuing to pace. “It’s far too remote. Anything and everything could go wrong out there. You and Jed know that firsthand.”

“It’s perfect, and you know it,” I said. “Lots of hiding places.”

“He’ll never go for it, Rose,” Skeeter said. “It’s not to his advantage, and he never does anything that doesn’t promise a favorable outcome.”

“So where do we meet?”

He gave me an exasperated look. “You don’t meet him at all.”

“And that is not an option.” I sat in Mason’s vacated chair and turned to look at Jed. “Where should we go, Jed?”

He cast Skeeter a glance, and then looked back at me. “You told Gentry that you refused to meet him in any more hellholes.”

“Obviously, I spoke rashly.”

“No.” His gaze held mine. “You have an image to maintain. So we put you in a nice place. Somewhere rich people would stay.”

“And where in Pete’s sake are we gonna find a place like that in Fenton County?” I asked.

“The golf course,” Skeeter said, getting angry again. “If you’re talking about that vacant house, you’re a damn fool.”

“What vacant house?” I asked.

Skeeter groaned and shook his head, but Jed ignored him, keeping his gaze pinned on me. “There’s a house that’s been vacant for a couple of months. Nice place with windows that overlook the golf course and Lake Fenton. Granite counters … the works. Fully furnished.”

“Why’s it vacant?”

A sly grin lit up Jed’s face. “It belongs to Mick Gentry.”

Anger flashed in Mason’s eyes. “Have you completely lost your mind?”

Jed ignored him. “Gentry’s charges have been dropped, but he hasn’t gone back home, and he won’t. Not until he’s taken care of me and Skeeter. He knows we want revenge.” He grinned. “Meeting him in his own house is like a big F-you from Lady. You took his business. You took his life. He’s been sent into hiding since the auction. Now he’s about to lose Fenton County to you. He thinks Simmons is coming to eliminate us—and he’s probably right if your vision is any indication—but part of him has to worry. If we meet him at his own house, it’s going to make him agitated and foolish.”

“That seems like a dangerous thing to me,” Mason said.

“It would be to our advantage,” Skeeter said, grudgingly. “It’ll make him sloppy.”

“And maybe even more dangerous,” Mason said. “Rose’s safety comes before everything else.”

“No,” I said, swinging my gaze to Mason. “I like it.”

Skeeter banged the table. “It’s another goddamned fool’s errand.”

“There’s only one way to find out.” I reached for Jed’s hand.

“Wait,” Jed said, looking into my face. “We won’t tell him the location when we send him the message. That’s important to know before you have the vision. We’ll do a bait and switch like Gentry did on Tuesday night.”

“He’ll never go for it,” Mason said, sitting in my empty chair. “He’ll change his mind and leave.”

“Not if we tell him it’s a one-time offer,” Jed said, looking past me at Mason. “He wants to meet her. Bad. I can taste it.”

“No,” Skeeter said. “I forbid it!”

“Just let me have the stinkin’ vision!” I shouted, then turned back to Jed and took a deep breath. “What place will we give for the original location?”

“The Days Inn,” Jed said without hesitation. “We’ll give him the room number and watch them enter with hidden cameras. Then we’ll notify him that the location has changed and tell him to come without all his men.”

“He’ll never do it,” Skeeter said.

Jed looked him in the eye. “He will. And you know it. He wants her bad enough to do something rash.”

A shiver ran down my back. “Why? Why does he want to meet me so badly?”

Mason laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “Rose. Do you really not know?”

I looked over at Skeeter and suddenly I did.

I
turned back to Jed
, refusing to acknowledge what I’d figured out, but the blood rushed to my face as I considered the implications. I couldn’t deal with this right now. Our lives were on the line. “It doesn’t matter why J.R. Simmons wants to meet me, only that he does. We need to focus on how to survive this. I’m going to force another vision.”

“Try to hone in on what will happen if we tell him to meet us at the Days Inn, then switch the meeting place to Gentry’s house,” Jed said quietly. “Let’s see if he goes for it.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

I closed my eyes, and we were in the back of Jed’s car. I was in the driver’s seat, and Vision Rose was in the backseat with Skeeter. There was no sign of Mason. We were parked on a neighborhood street, but nicer houses were lined up on either side of us.

I held up my phone, and Skeeter leaned forward as we watched a live feed of Simmons in the hotel room. He was surrounded by four men, while Gentry stood to the side cursing.

“Send the text,” Skeeter said, his voice tight with nerves.

“Sent,” Vision Rose said.

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, about to jump out of my skin with nerves, as I watched Simmons pull out his phone. “It’s a direct line to the big man himself,” I murmured in Jed’s voice. “No middleman.”

“You were right,” Skeeter said as we watched Simmons type on his screen, but he didn’t sound happy about it.

The phone in the backseat vibrated with a text.

“He’s agreed,” Vision Rose said.

A huge grin spread across J.R.’s face as he looked directly into a tiny camera.

“He’s too damn cocky,” Skeeter mumbled. “I don’t like it.”

“His arrogance will be his downfall,” Vision Rose said.

The scene faded, and I opened my eyes to stare into Jed’s face. “He agreed to go.”

We all sat in silence for several seconds. “Okay,” I finally said. “Now what?”

“I need some air,” Mason said. When Skeeter started to protest, he held up his hands. “I swear to God I’m not going to run off. I just need a clear space to think.”

Skeeter nodded, and then walked outside himself. He was gone for several minutes, and when he came back, he held the door open. “You have ten minutes.”

Mason burst out the door like he was on fire.

“Where’s he goin’, Rose?” Skeeter asked, coming back to sit down.

“When he gets upset with me, he usually has to go for a walk. He’s not runnin’ to tell anyone. He would never risk my safety.”

“Is he comin’ back?”

“He swore he would.” I swallowed. “But he may not help tonight.” I told them about my vision.

“That doesn’t mean he’s out,” Skeeter conceded. “I’d prefer it if we all split up.”

“But if he sticks with us, I can’t imagine he’d leave me alone that close to meeting J.R. Simmons.” I looked Skeeter in the eye, choosing to ignore the realization that he was probably in love with me. If I acknowledged it in any way, I risked wounding his pride, and as crazy as our friendship was, I didn’t want to lose him.

“You don’t know that, Rose,” Jed said. “He knows we’d protect you, and we’re gonna need someone in charge at the house. That’s the more dangerous location. He might plan to be there, waiting.”

I didn’t answer. “I’m going to have another vision of the meeting.”

Jed nodded, and I reached over and grabbed his shoulder, focusing on the meeting this time.

Vision Rose was sitting in an upholstered chair, and I was standing behind her. We were in a dimly lit living room with enormous windows overlooking a lake.

Simmons and Gentry walked through the front door, but Vision Rose remained seated.

“Nice to see you’ve made yourself at home,” Gentry sneered, striding into the living room.

“This place has potential,” Vision Rose said. “I’m thinking of relocating. I’ll be more than happy to buy it from you since you won’t be needing it anymore. At a greatly reduced price, of course.”

“You’re not getting my house!” He looked like he was about to strangle her.

“Keep your distance, Gentry,” I said, making sure he had a good look at the gun strapped to my chest.

Gentry backed up, his hands fisted.

“Enough, Gentry,” Simmons said, sounding annoyed as he moved closer to Lady.

She stood and reached out to shake his hand, but he lifted it to his lips instead. “I’m looking forward to finding out what you have hidden,” he murmured.

And then he winked.

The vision faded away, and I blurted out, “He wants to know what I’m hiding.”

Nausea roiled up in my throat, but I swallowed it down so I could tell them what I’d seen. “This one was entirely different. Why?”

Skeeter sat up. “He thought you were an amateur before. But the way you changed the location on him made him reassess.”

“I need to come up with a list of things to ask him. Even if we can’t get a court to use it, we’ll have some solid leads on what to dig up to find irrefutable proof.”

“That sounds like a job for you and your boyfriend,” Skeeter grumbled. “I’ll go along with your plan, but if he gets off, I’ll go for his jugular. Make no bones about it.”

I nodded. I was grateful he’d made as many concessions as he had. “At some point, I need to get my Lady in Black clothes. Maybe I can get Neely Kate to bring them.”

“Rose,” Jed said, getting to his feet. “You can’t do that. Neely Kate thinks you’re dead.”

I grimaced. How had I forgotten? A new wave of anxiety hit me. I couldn’t let her keep thinking I was dead. “Let me call her and tell her the truth. Then she can bring my clothes.”

“You can’t,” Skeeter barked. “If you tell anyone—even her—this will all blow to kingdom come.” When he saw my distress, he added, “Then take comfort in the fact that you have no say in the matter.”

“Are you telling me I’m actually your hostage?”

“The damned locked door didn’t already tell you that?”

I sat back down, tears welling in my eyes.

“Right now we’re more worried about the fallout of Deveraux going missing,” Skeeter said, scrubbing a hand over his head. “I got the latest from Merv. They think you’re dead and he’s gone.”

“They don’t think he did it, do they?” I asked, worried.

“No. They think he’s met with foul play too. But they’re wondering where your body is. They found the burning cabin with the bodies, but none of them was yours.”

“Is that a problem?” I asked.

Jed headed for the door. “I’m gonna go check on Deveraux.”

I watched him walk toward the door, wondering why he had left so suddenly.

“No,” Skeeter drawled, leaning an arm on the table, “but it does give you an option you hadn’t considered before.”

“What?”

“You don’t have to go through with this at all. Let them think you’re dead. I can set you up with a new identity by the end of the day. You could go anywhere and be free of all this.”

“And Mason?”

He frowned and lifted one shoulder into a shrug. “It’s up to him.”

“But then I’d just be runnin’ away from the problem.”

“You’d be
free
.”

I shook my head. “No, I wouldn’t. Not really.”

Skeeter lowered his voice. “If money’s a problem, I’ll give it to you. The smart thing to do is run. There’s no shame in it.”

“But I’d lose everything. I’d lose my family and friends and my business. I’d leave you and Jed to deal with this mess.”

“We can handle it.”

“I know you can. You’ve been handlin’ it for years, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.” I gave him a soft smile. “It’s been a hard lesson for me to learn too, but guess what, Skeeter Malcolm? You do have friends, whether you like it or not.”

He sat upright and gave me the saddest smile I’d ever seen. “Arrogance may be J.R. Simmons’ downfall, but having friends will end up being mine.”

As he got up and walked outside, I found myself wondering if he was right.

M
ason came back
from his walk, and we spent several hours working on a list of questions that would help point us toward a paper trail. He was subdued, and he didn’t respond to any of my attempts to get him to talk unless it was about the meeting with J.R. I understood his distance, but it made my heart ache.

Jed had returned with Mason. I tried to have several visions showing the outcome of the meeting, but I never came up with anything.

“What’s that mean?” Mason asked. “Was Jed dead?”

“No. It’s dark and cold when someone’s dead. This is gray and hazy. As though what I’m asking doesn’t happen … or it’s too indeterminate to tell.”

“So what do you want to do?” Jed asked, worry wrinkling his brow.

“We keep goin’,” I said.

After lunch, I said I needed to lie down and rest. Mason came with me, and I nearly cried when he opened his arms, inviting me to snuggle against him.

“Are you ready to talk about Savannah?” I asked.

He hesitated. “Part of me isn’t surprised that he’s involved. But after the details Malcolm shared with me, I no longer regret beating Cartwright to a pulp. And if that’s true, what kind of person does that make me?”

“It makes you human, Mason.”

“It may be understandable to think it or wish it, but not to actually follow through.” He lay on his back and turned his head to look at me. “And there’s a part of me that wanted to help Malcolm kill J.R. Simmons.”

“But you didn’t. You told him no.”

His arm tightened around me. “If he hurts you, I might lose my restraint.”

“He won’t hurt me. I’m going to be fine.”

“He and/or Kate almost killed you last night, Rose.”

“But they didn’t.” I looked up at him. “Skeeter says everyone thinks I’m dead.” I ran my finger along his jawline. “And that they suspect you’ve met with foul play.”

“I figured as much.”

I stilled my hand. “It doesn’t bother you?”

He swallowed. “It hurts like hell that my mother thinks her only living child might be dead and that the woman she loved like a daughter is too.” His voice broke. “But there’s not a damn thing I can do about it right now.”

Something in his voice set me on edge. “Do you blame me?”

He was quiet for so long, I didn’t think he was going to answer. “Part of me wants to, but no. Not for this.”

I wanted to ask him what he
did
blame me for, but I didn’t have the energy. Or the courage. “Skeeter says there’s another option. One I hadn’t considered. He says I can start over. A new life. A new identity. You could too.”

His fingertips lightly stroked my arm, and I couldn’t help wondering if he was just doing it out of habit. “And what did you say?”

“I gave him an answer, but I realized that wasn’t fair to you. This is your decision too.”

“I’m glad you finally see something that way.” His words were bitter.

“I know I’ve made so many mistakes—”

“We’re not even going to look at the past two months right now.” He shifted to his side to look me in the eye. “At the moment, I’m more upset that you decided to go through with this without asking my opinion or allowing me any say whatsoever.”

“I knew you’d never go along with it.”

“Did you?” he asked, sounding guarded. “Well, now neither of us will ever know, I guess, because there’s no putting that horse back in the barn.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You keep saying that, but my heart keeps breaking anyway.”

Tears swam in my eyes.

“I just found out that you’ve lived a double life for over two months, and I never had a clue. Do you have any idea how stupid I feel?”

“Mason. No.”

He shook his head and looked at the wall. “Watching you with them … It’s like I don’t know you at all.”

“How can you say that?”

He closed his eyes. “I’m tired, and I don’t want to say anything I’ll regret.” His eyes opened and met mine. “All I know is that I love you more than I ever thought it possible to love another person. You make me more than I am by myself.” He gave me a sad smile. “Does that make sense?”

I nodded, tears leaking from my eyes. “That’s how I feel too.”

“Do you? I’m not so sure,” he said softly. Then he leaned over and kissed me, pulling me close again. “Get some rest, Rose. You need to be on your toes tonight.”

“Okay.”

Time
, I assured myself,
he just needs time
. They said time healed all wounds.

But what if these were the type of wounds that didn’t heal?

When I woke up, the room was darker, and I sat upright in a panic. “Mason!” He wasn’t in the bed, and I tried to scramble to my feet.

“I’m here.” He ran down the hall to me and sat beside me on the mattress, gathering me into his arms.

My tears broke loose, and I sobbed my fears and worries into his chest. When I finally calmed down, I rubbed my fingers on the damp cloth, then leaned back and looked up into his shadowy face. “This has become a habit. Me crying into your shirt.”

His only answer was to give me a sad smile.

My panic renewed. He must have sensed it, because he brushed his lips against mine. “One way or another, it’s going to be okay.”

“I’m so scared I’m going to lose you.”

“Shh …” he murmured against my lips. “I love you. Focus on tonight.” He wiped the tears off my cheeks and studied my face. “I need you to be safe.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “What time is it?”

“After five.”

My eyes widened. “You should have woken me up.”

He smoothed the damp hair from my cheek. “No. You needed to rest. Jed went by the farm and got your clothes.” His voice was tight. “He also brought dinner.”

“Clothes?”

“Your Lady in Black clothes. From the back of our bedroom closet.” Then he got up. “Come on out whenever you’re ready. I’d like to go over the questions again. Skeeter wants you to leave by nine.”

A few more tears ran down my cheeks as I stood. Mason came back and pulled me into his arms. He kissed me, but I could taste the sadness on his lips, and it made me even more frightened.

“Mason, I’m so, so sorry.”

He cupped my cheek and gave me a sad smile. “I know. I believe you.”

I went to the bathroom, and when I came out, I found him at the kitchen table with a pad of paper. He was studying a list, but as soon as he saw me, he pulled the notebook with his questions from earlier on top of it.

“Are you hungry?”

I shook my head. “No. I’m too nervous.”

“Okay, but you should eat something before you go. You need your energy. Jed picked up food from Big Bill’s.”

“Okay.”

We spent the next two hours going over the questions and a variety of possible scenarios. Jed came in and out, listening in for a while before he left, but I never saw hide nor hair of Skeeter. After we’d been through every possible question, Jed came back in, looking grim.

“Rose, you need to get dressed so we can get you ready.”

Mason turned his head and gave him a hard look. “You said you were bugging the house.”

Jed gave him a wary glance. “We are, but we want her to wear a wire too.”

“What if he checks?”

“He won’t. But if he does, he’s still unlikely to find this.”

Mason stood. “What is it?”

Jed handed him a small, flat black object. Mason looked it over. “Can she wear it in her bra?”

Jed glanced up at me and looked uncomfortable. “Yeah.”

Obviously, he noticed a few of my dresses had been too low cut for me to wear one. Now I was worried to see what he’d packed. “Where are my clothes?”

Jed walked outside and returned with Neely Kate’s polka-dotted backpack.

Mason’s face hardened when his gaze landed on the backpack. “I see Neely Kate knew. She walked out of our house with that same bag last weekend.”

I wanted to say I was sorry, but it had lost its usefulness. I took the bag from Jed.

Skeeter had walked through the doorway after Jed, and he shut the door behind him. “Can it, Deveraux, we need her to stay focused. Heaping a mountain of guilt on her right now is only going to threaten the successfulness of this little field trip.”

Jed reached for the device in Mason’s hand, but he wouldn’t let it go. “The only person going near her chest is me.”

Skeeter snickered, but he called out, “I’d like a word with you, Deveraux,” as Mason started to follow me down the hall.

I stopped and turned around to face him. “Skeeter.”

Mason gave me a look of reassurance. “It’s okay, Rose. I want to talk to him too. Go get dressed.”

I went into the bathroom and dug through the bag, grateful I had several dress choices, one of which allowed me to wear a bra. I quickly stripped and stepped into the dress. I was still pulling it up when Mason knocked on the door, then opened it a crack. “It’s me.”

“You can come in.”

My back was to him as he shut the door behind him. He reached for the zipper at the base of my spine and slowly zipped it, then pulled my back to his chest. “I don’t know if I can watch you do this,” he whispered.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You mean tonight?”

He lowered his face to my hair. “Yeah. I’m not sure I can watch J.R. Simmons or his minions murder you. Last night was enough.”

I turned around and looked up at him, trying to stuff down my disappointment. I understood his decision, but I would feel better knowing he was there with me. “It’s okay. It’s safer if you’re not there.”

“Joe’s disappeared.”

My eyes widened, and I would have taken a step back if Mason’s arms hadn’t held me in place. “
What?
”

“He left the sheriff’s station last night after I watched your video, and no one has seen him since.”

“Kate do something to him?” I asked in a panic.

“Kate? No. I’m sure she wouldn’t hurt her own brother.”

I didn’t know what to believe about her.

“I’m sure he’s just distraught.”

I squeezed my eyes tight. That was only slightly better. So many emotions washed through me I had a hard time separating them out, but first and foremost was grief. I’d caused him this pain. I wasn’t sure I could live with the guilt. Still, I wasn’t sure there was a better way. “Do you think he’s okay?”

“Honestly, Rose, I’m not sure.”

I nodded and looked down at the buttons on his shirt. The one he’d worn the night before. How had my life changed so dramatically in such a short period of time?

“Malcolm just told me, but he didn’t want you to know. He didn’t want it to distract you.”

I looked up into his guarded eyes. “So why did you tell me?”

“Because you have a right to know.” He cleared his throat and looked down at the front of my dress. “I’m going to pin the mic on you now.”

I nodded, the lump in my throat too large to speak. He slid the small flat plastic inside my bra cup, securing it in place.

When he finished, he looked into my eyes. “You should probably take off your ring,” he said, sounding distant. “I’ll keep it for you until this is over.”

Fighting a fresh round of tears, I slipped it off and placed it in his open palm. Part of me wondered if I would get it back.

He slipped it into his pants pocket. “I love you, Rose Gardner. Despite everything.” He cupped my cheek and lowered his mouth to mine, giving me the gentlest of kisses. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”

I nodded, looking away as I blinked back tears.

“Malcolm gave me back my phone with the agreement I don’t answer any of my messages until this is all done. Merv’s going to drop me off at your landscaping office.”

That surprised me. “Oh. Okay.”

“Call me as soon as it’s done. I’ll be there waiting.”

“Okay.” But some deep selfish part of me thought that if he really cared, he’d stay with me. “I think you should go now.”

He looked taken aback by that.

My worry for Joe and the others, combined with the pain of Mason choosing not to stay, was liable to send me over the edge. I knew he’d stay if I broke down, but I didn’t want to force his hand. He’d made his decision, just as I’d made mine that cold November afternoon.

Everything had changed, and I only had myself to blame.

I lifted my chin, willing myself not to cry. I had to be strong. “I’m fine. Piece of cake. When I get the recording, I’ll bring it to you.”

He was clearly surprised by my matter-of-fact tone, but he nodded. “Okay.” He started to leave, then turned around. “Rose. Please don’t be hurt by this.”

I shook my head, my chin quivering. “I have no right to be hurt.”

He came back to me and pulled me hard against him, kissing me with a possessive fierceness that stole my breath.

I clung to him, and he lifted me up and sat me on the counter. He cupped my face in his hands, but I averted my gaze. It hurt too much. I choked back a sob.

“Rose.” The pain in his voice only stabbed deeper. “Rose. Look at me. Please.”

I lifted my eyes to his.

“Sweetheart, don’t give up on me, okay?” Tears flooded his eyes. “Leaving you right now is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

I released another sob. “Just go, Mason.” I tried to pull his hands away from my face, but he held on tight. “If you’re not going to help me, just go. I can’t do this.” I started crying harder, and I heard a hard banging on the door.

“Rose!” Skeeter called out. “What the hell is going on in there, Deveraux?”

Mason gave me another quick kiss, and then the door burst open and Skeeter dragged him out into the hallway.

“I should kill you for this, Deveraux!” Skeeter shouted as he shoved him against the wall.

“Skeeter!” I hopped off the counter. “Let him go!”

Skeeter’s eyes burned with anger. “I told him not to upset you!”

“I’m fine. I’m scared, and he was comforting me.”

Skeeter looked dubious, but he gave Mason a shove down the hall. “Get. If you can’t stay and help your own girlfriend, then what damn good are you?”

Mason gave me one last look before turning and walking out the front door.

“How long do we have before we need to leave?” I asked, wiping my cheeks.

“Twenty minutes.”

I nodded. “I can be ready.” I turned around and started to shut the door, but Skeeter blocked it.