Thirty and a Half Excuses (18 page)

“Look who just walked up.”

From her tone of voice, I was half afraid to look. The last person I expected be walking straight toward me was Miss Mildred.

Crap.

I forced a cheerful greeting, “Good morning, Miss Mildred.”

“There ain’t nothin’ good about a morning when murderers and thieves are running around our neighborhood.”

She had a point.

“Is there something I can help you with Miss Mildred? Do you want me to get Violet?”

“No. I came to see you.”

I took an actual step backward in shock. “Me?”

“I just said so, didn’t I?”

“Well, yeah…”

“I want to know what progress you’re making in solving Dorothy’s murder.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I know you’re looking into her murder. I want to know what you know.”

I wasn’t sure what the police department was saying about her death now, but I sure didn’t want to get into this with Miss Mildred. Denying it seemed the best way to get rid of her. “We don’t know it was a murder.”

She shook her head. “Poppycock. Of course it was a murder and I want to know what you’ve dug up.”

I shook my head. “I’m not investigating her death.”

“Why the Sam Hill not?”

“
What
?”

“You’ve solved two murders this summer, and you can’t be bothered with the murder of your neighbor?”

I held up my hands. “Wait! No. It’s not like that. I just fell into those other two cases. The police will take care of this one.”

Mildred’s face scrunched in disgust. “You really think the Henryetta Police Department can find evidence laying right in front of their noses?”

“Well… no…”

“I know you’ve been snoopin’ around. I’ve seen ya, and I hear things. I heard you got the new DA to get an autopsy, and as much as I hate the thought of them cutting up that poor woman, maybe they’ll finally find out for sure what killed her. I also know you started working for that high falutin’ TV minister just about the time Miss Dorothy died, so don’t you tell me you ain’t investigating.”

“Well…”

“What are you gonna do about it?”

I leaned closer and lowered my voice. “Miss Mildred, with all due respect, I’m flattered that you think I can find out who killed Miss Dorothy and Miss Laura, but my boyfriend will kill me if I try.”

Her face scrunched in disgust. “The guy you spend all your time fornicating with in the front yard? Maybe you two can take a break so you can find the killer.” She turned and walked away, and my mouth dropped open as I watched her get into her car and leave. She hadn’t even gone through with the pretense of buying something.

“What just happened there?” Neely Kate asked.

“I have no idea,” I muttered. “Miss Mildred thinks I should try to solve Miss Dorothy and Miss Laura’s murders.”

“Well, are you going to?”

I swung my gaze to her. “No. Of course not.”

“Yes you are.”

Irritated, I put my hands on my hips. “Why does everyone keep insisting that I am? Shoot, Joe almost broke up with me over my involvement with exonerating Bruce Wayne. I know when to leave well enough alone.”

“Deny it all you like, but you and I both know you’re already involved.”

I pursed my lips. “Whatever you think I’ve done has been accidental. I’m leaving this for the police.”

“You’re really not going to try?” she asked, incredulous. “You
do
realize that you have something the police don’t have that can help you find her killer, right?”

“Wits?”

“No,” she laughed. “Your gift.”

“My curse. And no, there are so many problems with that idea. For one thing, I have to be right next to a person to have a vision. And two, I have to concentrate if I
want
to have one.
That
won’t look suspicious at all. And three, you know what I see comes out of my mouth instantly. They’ll know I know. How dangerous is that? And who’s to say I’ll even see anything incriminating? Not to mention that the police can’t press charges based on what I see.”

“But Mason knows about your visions. He might be able to use them.”

“How? He can’t mention something like that in court. And you still didn’t address the fact that what I see is like Russian roulette. I can’t choose my visions.”

“That’s because you need to practice more. You purposely had a vision with Joe and with me. How many other times have you done it on purpose?”

I turned away and began to straighten up flats on the shelves. “None.”

“Why not?”

My eyes widened with frustration. “Because it’s a horrible thing, Neely Kate. I fight it every day of my life. Purposely using it is crazy.”

Neely Kate grabbed my arms and pulled me to the end of the aisle. “No, Rose, it’s not a horrible thing. God gave you this talent, and you should use it. When you used it with Joe, you saved his life. What if you hadn’t used it? He’d be dead right now.”

My eyes filled with tears at the thought. This went against everything I’d believed to be true my entire life. Momma had literally beat it into me that my visions were evil. While part of me was beginning to think differently, it was a hard lesson to unlearn.

“Your vision for me and my wedding was a beautiful thing. You said so yourself. You said it made you so happy. How can that be bad?”

I shook my head, no retort springing to mind.

“God gave you this for a reason. Rose.”

“And what if Momma was right? What if it’s a demonic talent?”

“You seriously don’t believe that, do you? You’re the sweetest person I know.”

I glanced away. “I don’t know.”

“Just think about it, okay? I hate to see you do this to yourself. Violet is wrong. Hiding yourself from people close to you can’t be a good thing and you know it. You need to give people a chance. You’re just presuming the worst of ‘em.”

I nodded. Deep down, I knew she was right. But knowing it and believing it were two different things.

Chapter Fourteen

A little after lunchtime, there was a lull in customers, so I snuck away to check on Bruce Wayne and David. I’d intended to visit before the nursery opened, but I hadn’t wanted to bring the kids. Muffy had done great around the shop, and she’d entertained several children while their parents shopped, but I decided to take her with me to the church.

When I pulled up the guys were sitting in the shade, eating their lunch. Bruce Wayne started to stand, but I waved him back down. “Don’t get up. I’m just here to see how you’re getting on.”

“We’re almost done.” David said through a mouthful of sandwich.

Muffy jumped out of the car and made a beeline through the grass.

“What is that?” David asked, watching her.

“It’s my
dog
.”

“It’s an ugly thing, ain’t it?”

If one more person besmirched Muffy’s looks, I wasn’t going to be held responsible for my actions. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” I frowned my disapproval. I was a firm believer in if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. “She’s a good dog.” I added defensively.

Muffy wandered past David, and he began frantically waving a hand in front of his face. “I thought you said it was a dog. She smells like a skunk.”

I shrugged. “Muffy has some fiber issues.”

Bruce Wayne chuckled as Muffy stopped next to him, and he scratched behind her ears. “I think she’s cute.”

Somewhat appeased, I spun around to appraise the front of the church. “It looks beautiful.” And it did. I had a good view of the front of the church along with the east side. It had been an overgrown mess, and they’d cleaned out the weeds, trimmed the bushes, and planted the flowers.

“All that’s left is the mulching,” Bruce Wayne said, getting to his feet.

I hadn’t brought it to the job site yet since I hadn’t thought they’d be this far along. “Bruce Wayne, don’t let me disturb you on your break.”

“I’m nearly done.” But the half-eaten sandwich in his hand told me otherwise. Muffy followed him as he walked toward me.

“Are you gonna need help loading the mulch in the truck, Miss Rose?” Bruce Wayne asked.

“Um…” I hadn’t thought that far ahead, distracted by everything else.

“How about I ride back with you to the nursery and help load?”

“What do you have left to do here?” From the looks of things, they were almost done.

“We’ve got a small batch of flowers to plant. David can take care of that while I go with you.”

To my surprise, David agreed. “I can handle it.” Maybe he was worried I’d make him help load the truck. He might have gotten out of the loading, but he was going to get plenty of opportunity to unload. I kept that part to myself.

Bruce Wayne gathered the rest of his lunch and got into the truck with me. Muffy sat between us, studying Bruce Wayne, who was quieter than usual.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

He swallowed, glancing at me before looking straight ahead. “Yeah.” He reached for Muffy’s head and began to rub.

“Thanks for all your hard work this week. You’ve really helped me out of a bind.”

“No, thank you. It feels good to be working. I like this job because I can see that I’m doing something that makes a difference. I’m making something better, even if it’s just plants.”

I smiled. “I understand. I started gardening when I was a girl. One of the reasons I loved it was because I could plant something and take care of it and watch it grow. It was magical. It still is.”

“Yeah, I get that,” he said softly. “I like that too, but I also like how I
feel
when I’m working.”

“And how’s that?”

He took a deep breath. “It’s hard to explain. I ain’t necessarily good with words.”

“That’s okay, try.”

He twisted his hands in his lap. “It’s like I’m someone else when I’m working with the dirt. I feel like I’m important.” He swallowed again. “Like I’ve found somewhere I belong.”

I’d spent my entire life searching for that feeling. I’d only ever known it with Joe and the nursery. “I get that,” I finally said.

“I like this work. I know it ain’t David’s thing—he hates manual labor and sweating—but I like it. I’d like to keep working for you if you’ll have me.”

My shoulders cramped. I didn’t have any other work for him at the moment, but I wondered if I had anything else he could do. Bruce Wayne had finally found a place he fit, and I didn’t want to be the one to take it from him. “You’ve done a great job. If we have more work when this project is done, you’ll be the first person I hire. But I don’t have anything at the moment.”

He nodded, his mouth drooping with disappointment.

“I’ll be happy to give you a reference too, so that you can get another job until I have more work for you.” I turned to him. “I’m sorry. I wish I had something now.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he insisted. “You’re the only one who thinks I can make something of myself. You and Reverend Jonah.”

“Do you like Reverend Jonah?”

“I ain’t sure yet. He’s been nice to David and me, but I don’t like how he’s sniffing around you.”

I could tell it pained him to tell me that. I’d seen how Jonah treated him, but Bruce Wayne was also protective of me. “I’m glad he’s been kind to you two.”

He was quiet the rest of the way to the nursery, and he insisted on loading the truck by himself when I went in to check on how things were going. Violet was craning her neck to get a glimpse of Bruce Wayne.

“Is that
him
?”

“Don’t talk about him like that. He’s not an ax murderer, Violet.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “That you know of.”

“Stop it. I like him. He just needs someone to believe in him and give him a chance.”

“And that person is you?”

“It’s not just me who thinks that. Reverend Jonah has been nice to him too.” I figured that would have some effect on Violet, and I wasn’t wrong.

“Well… Still, be careful.”

I rolled my eyes, then glanced around the shop. “Where are the kids?”

“Mike picked them up while you were gone.”

“Oh.” I was sad I hadn’t seen him. Violet might be the one most likely going through the divorce, but I’d lost him too.

Neely Kate came inside, wild eyed. “Is that him? Bruce Wayne Decker?”

I nodded.

“How come you didn’t jump down her throat when she asked?” Violet protested.

“Maybe because she looks at him as a celebrity instead of a criminal.”

Violet’s mouth puckered before a customer walked up to the counter to check out, and then her face burst into happiness. It was scary how fast she could transform herself.

“So he’s working out, huh?” Neely Kate asked, watching Bruce Wayne load the truck.

“He’s a hard worker, and he’s really trying to do a good job. He asked me if he could keep working for me, because he really likes it. I wish I had something for him to do.”

“Have you read that book about gettin’ what you want?” She craned her neck as Bruce Wayne walked to the side of the building to grab another bag. “You’re supposed to just put it out there in the universe.” She stretched out her open hand. “And the universe gives it to you.”

I squinted in disbelief. “Let me get this straight. I just tell the universe what I want, and it’s supposed to give it to me? What if everyone asks for a million dollars? How would that work?”

She shook her head in irritation. “Why do you have to always be so literal? I’m sure it has something to do with karma. Have a little faith.”

“Faith? I’m supposed to throw my secret desires out there into the universe and some genie will answer my requests?”

Laughing, Neely Kate smacked my arm. “I didn’t say it has to be a secret. In fact, I think you’re supposed to tell people.” She gave me a wicked grin. “Now tell the universe what you want.”

I didn’t see the point, but I also didn’t see how it could hurt. “I want to have enough work to give Bruce Wayne a job.” I turned toward her. “So what do I do?”

She shrugged. “You just did it.”

“You’re kiddin’ me. That’s it?”

“Yep.”

I already knew it would never work. The job with the New Living Hope Revival Church had been a fluke. We weren’t a full-service nursery. For one thing, we didn’t have the stock for it. We hoped to expand our inventory next spring, but at the moment, we were just feeling our way around owning a nursery. There was no way Bruce Wayne could wait that long for a job.