Thirty-Five and a Half Conspiracies (25 page)

He stiffened. “
We?
”

I took a shallow breath. I had to be strong. I had to get him to go along with this. “I’ve agreed to help them.”

He stood, his mouth gaping open in disbelief. “Why would you do such a thing?”

I struggled to hold back my tears. “Because I’m the one who’s going to do it. I’m the one who’s going to get J.R. to confess.”

He shook his head and leaned forward. “Rose, sweetheart. I don’t know what they’ve told you to convince you of this, but there’s no way in hell it will work. J.R. Simmons is a dangerous man.” He stood upright. “I’d be shocked if he wasn’t behind your kidnapping tonight.” He pointed to the door, his voice rising. “How do you know these guys aren’t Part B of his scheme?”

“Because it’s
my
plan. My idea. I know it will work.”

Mason ran his hand over his face, looking like he was about to fall over from exhaustion. Skeeter was right. It might have been better to wait until the morning. I should have let Mason get a little sleep. But the risk would have been too great.

He took a breath and seemed to ponder something before he sat down next to me and took both of my hands in his, staring at me in earnest. “Listen, I don’t know what you’ve gotten mixed up in, but we can get out of this. Both of us. Just tell me exactly how they got you to agree to help them, and we’ll get this worked out, okay?” He gave me a soft smile, so full of hope that everything was going to be okay.

He was breaking my heart, and he hadn’t even left me yet.

I got to my feet and began to pace. “I’m sure J.R. is the moneyman backing Mick Gentry’s bid for Fenton County. There’s no way Gentry has the cash to do it on his own. He and his buddies robbed multiple places to get the money to make a bid at the auction on Thanksgiving Day, but he lost it all in the end. His strip club burned down. His drug operation in Big Thief Hollow has been knocked to the ground, and it’ll be a long time before it’s operational again. But Mick’s not the kind of man who believes in working his way up the ranks. He wants an instant power grab, so he found someone with deep pockets to help finance and support him.”

Mason gaped at me like I’d broken out in fluent Russian. “How do you know all that? I’ve been careful to keep as much of that mess as possible at the office.”

I ignored his question. “Who’s big enough to help and not afraid to get his hands dirty so long as he keeps lookin’ and smellin’ clean? J.R. Simmons has kept his hands out of the Fenton County pie, so there would be no reason for anyone to suspect him. But then I found out he hasn’t …” I swallowed my fear and continued. “He was in Fenton County twenty-five years ago. With the Atchison Manufacturing contract. So we know he’s been here before. He’s been looking for that journal, so he still has an interest in Fenton County. But even before I dug up this whole mess with Dora, J.R. had a master plan. One he’d been waiting to pull the trigger on for a while.”

Mason’s jaw was slack with shock.

“Your momma came to me last week and told me she had a feeling that you were in danger and that your life was tied to someone else’s. At first I thought it might be Joe, but then I realized I needed to think bigger. J.R. Simmons is out to destroy someone else in this town too. Your fate is tied to his.”

His eyes widened. “Skeeter Malcolm?” He jumped to his feet. “Oh, Rose.
What did you do?
” He was in a panic now. “Oh, God.” He scrubbed his hands over his face, then dropped them and grabbed my shoulders. “It’s okay.” He nodded slowly as if trying to convince himself too. “We’ll figure a way out of this. Malcolm’s in enough trouble that he doesn’t have time to mess with small fish like us.” He forced a smile. “He’s got to be more worried about his murder charges and the Lady in Black’s attempts to take over his territory.”

How had he heard that part?

He saw my confusion. “You and I put it together that Simmons is after Malcolm, so I called Randy on the drive home from Little Rock. He has a source who keeps him updated on all the rumors in the crime world. I figured if I could keep tabs on Malcolm, it might lead me to Simmons.”

I took a shallow breath. “Mason, the Lady in Black will lead you to J.R.”

He shook his head. “Finding her is like finding a needle in a haystack. She’s like a ghost. She doesn’t exist. She shows up at these meetings, and then she just disappears. No one knows where she lives. Rumor has it she’s from Louisiana, but there’s no evidence to suggest that’s true.”

“The Lady in Black has already set up a meeting with Mick Gentry’s backer. Tomorrow night at ten p.m.”

His eyes narrowed. “Did Malcolm tell you that?” He shook his head. “Why does he need you or me, anyway? What’s he getting out of this? And that story about my mother saying our fates are tied together is not an answer.”

I rubbed my forehead. “You asked me who saved me tonight.” I held his gaze with mine. “It was one of Skeeter’s men. He was watching the restaurant when he saw the guy carry me out of the back. He followed them to the cabin, and he called Skeeter on the way. They discovered Jed and dragged him into the room where I was being kept, but his orders were to protect me. So he beat the crap out of them, and they brought me here.”

“Malcolm’s men have been following you?” The terror in his eyes was nearly my undoing, but I had to keep going.

“I told you the truth in the text I sent you. Jed heard them plotting to kill me. They were supposed to video it with a time stamp and send it to you while you were in the sheriff’s office. They wanted you to watch me be murdered. Skeeter refused to let me go home after that. He’s worried they’ll kill me. So he brought me here to protect me.”

Confusion washed over his face like he’d been given a bag of spare parts and told to build a toaster. “Was he the one who posted your bail?”

“No, but he wants to know who did.” I licked my bottom lip. “He
was
the one who convinced Carter Hale to represent me.”

Anger burst on his face. “We’ll be finding you new representation in the morning.”

I didn’t respond. We had bigger things to worry about.

“Okay.” He took a deep breath and softened his expression, as though he worried his emotional pendulum would scare me. “It’s okay. We just need to figure out why Skeeter Malcolm is interested in you.”

I forged on, wondering whether all this buildup would help, or if it would be better to just rip off the Band-Aid. “Remember the extra blood stain on the factory floor? The one you asked me about? That was from one of his men.”

“They were at the factory to hurt you?” he asked in dismay. “Are they aligned with Joe?”

“No. They can’t stand Joe. They think he’s in allegiance with his father. Jed was there to protect me.”

“
Last week?
”

“And the fire at Gems … Skeeter knew I was there. When he realized I was in trouble, he sent his men in to get me. He and Jed were the ones who dragged you out of the burning building.”

“
What?
” He grabbed the sides of his head and gave it a couple of shakes, then dropped his hands. “How long has he had you under his thumb? Why didn’t you tell me? I would have figured out a way to help you!”

I fought the tears burning my eyes. I had to keep it together. “I’m the one who went to him.”

He grabbed my shoulders, fear washing over his face. “Why would you do that, Rose? What did you hope to gain from him?”

“Information. I wanted to trade information with him.”

He dropped his hold and took a step back, panic filling his eyes. “County secrets? You were feeding him inside information?”

“
No!
” I shook my head. “I swear to you, I never told him anything that was a county secret.” But then I realized that wasn’t entirely true. I’d told him about the knife in Mason’s drawer. I’d told him that Joe was fixing to pin the double murders on him.

“Then what? What could you possibly have that he wanted?”

I broke down, hiccupping on a sob. “Information about the robbers.”

He shuddered as it hit him. “
The bank robbers?
That was back in November!”

I gave him a pleading look. “I needed to get my money back. I found out the men who’d stolen it were going around the county, stealing more money to make a bid at the auction for Crocker’s business.”

He took a step backward, horror washing over his face.

“It was supposed to be a simple trade. I would tell him what I knew, and then he would find them. It was in his best interest to find them. Once he did, he’d get my money back for me, and the deal would be done. But Skeeter’s a smart man.” I shook my head in a slow swing. “He wanted to know how I got my information. So when he threatened me, Bruce Wayne told him about my visions.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, and then opened them as he gasped for breath. “Bruce Wayne?”

“I convinced him to set up the meeting. He’s regretted it ever since. But Skeeter found out about my visions. And he figured he could use my ability to his advantage. He forced me to have a vision in his office, and I saw his death at the auction.”

Realization flooded Mason’s face, and he shook his head. “No.”

I forced myself to continue. “I didn’t want to do it, but he intimidated me into agreeing. My job was simple. Keep him alive so the vision didn’t come true. If I did as he asked, I’d get my money back and everything would be fine.”

“No.”

“But then he called me a few weeks later, knowing exactly what carrot to dangle. He’d caught word that your life was in danger.”

“How altruistic of him,” he spat in disgust.

“He was worried you’d be murdered and it would be pinned on him. My job was to figure out who was behind it. That’s what I’ve been doing.”

Mason looked totally shell-shocked, but I continued. “I found his turncoats. Skeeter was sure they were the same ones after you—” I took a breath, “—but obviously he was wrong.”

Mason just watched me in horrified silence.

“After that, I told him I was done. He couldn’t make me do it anymore. But you were in Gems.” I started to cry. “Skeeter was behind the building, and he found Rich Lowry dragging me out back. Lowry figured it out because of how pissed off Skeeter looked. He was about to break my neck to goad him, but Skeeter shot him instead. You were still inside, so I begged him to go back in and save you. He refused to do it, and he made sure I couldn’t run in there myself. So I made a bargain. Six months of service for your life.”

His eyes filled with tears, and I could feel tears coursing down my own cheeks. “Rose.”

“I didn’t want to do it, Mason, but I’m damned good at it. Last week I met with Scott Humphrey. I had a vision of him meeting Mick Gentry. They talked about their list. They were waiting for the order to off Skeeter and then they were gonna move on to the next name on the list. I was sure it was you.”

He stared at me, emotionless.

“I needed to know who was behind that list. Before I had the vision, I told Humphrey I wanted to meet Mick Gentry. I said I had Skeeter’s permission to negotiate a truce. But in the vision Gentry said he wouldn’t meet with me until Skeeter was out of the way. So after I got out of jail and found out that Skeeter was missing, I told Jed to set up a meeting. I knew it was dangerous, but your leads weren’t panning out quickly enough. I couldn’t sit back and let you be killed when I knew I had at least a small chance of saving both of us. After the vision I had of you dead, I knew time was running out. And I
know
J.R. Simmons is the mastermind. The only way I could think to stop him was to meet with him as his equal and take him down with his own arrogance.”

His eyes glistened with unshed tears, and he looked dangerously close to breaking down.

“So tomorrow night at ten o’clock, I’m meeting with Mick Gentry’s backer. I need your help to figure out if we can use what he says against him legally. I need you to help me figure out what questions to ask. How to bait him and get him to confess.”

His mouth dropped open in shock.

“I know you probably hate me right now, and I understand.
I do
. But just know that in almost every single instance, I did this to save your life. And I’d do it again in an instant.” A fierceness radiated through me. “Because it was the only way to save you.”

His face softened. “Rose.”

I choked on a sob. “I hoped to God you’d never find out. I hated lying to you. I hated the secrets. I hated that I was jeopardizing your job. But the bottom line was that I was saving your life. You told me you’d do anything to save me, and this is proof that I’d do anything to save you.”

When he didn’t say anything, I started crying harder.

“But the sad truth is Rose Anne Gardner couldn’t do it, no matter how much she wanted to help. There was only one person who could save you. And you know who it is. I think part of you has known for weeks. You just didn’t want to believe it.”

I lifted my chin. “Mason,
I
am the Lady in Black.”

H
e blinked
as if he’d just awakened from a nightmare. He cleared his throat. “This started the week of Thanksgiving?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“And you met Mick Gentry last night while I was in Little Rock?”

“Yes.”

“You’re meeting Gentry’s backer tomorrow night? What solid evidence do you have that it’s J.R. Simmons?”

“Only my instincts and a lot of circumstantial hints.”

“So Malcolm’s making you do this? He’s got you tucked away here until you do his dirty work?”

I shook my head, tears still streaming down my cheeks. “No, I told you. This part was my idea. I decided to use my role to save all of us.”

“But Rose,” he pleaded with me. “You still don’t know for sure J.R. is Gentry’s backer, so you’re planning on risking your life for possibly nothing.”

“No! Even if the backer doesn’t turn out to be J.R., which seems really unlikely given everything we know, he’s still supporting a terrible person and ordering terrible things.
I
can put a stop to that.”

“What if he doesn’t even show? What if he sends his men to kill you and be done with it?”

“The Lady in Black is bigger than me. Those men respect her. She has power. J.R.
will
be there. He’s beyond curious to meet her.”

“And you think you can keep your identity from him with a
hat?
”

“It’s worked up until now.”

He was quiet for several seconds, but then his shoulders stiffened. When he looked at me again, he was all business. “Simmons wants Malcolm dead, and I think your theory that he’s going to make it look like Malcolm murdered me makes sense. But why does he want to meet with the Lady … you?”

“Just like you, Skeeter was raising money and property to get me out of jail. But Sam Teagen bailed me out before he could get everything together. Jed had put together one hundred thousand cash, and he showed it to Mick Gentry. I told him it was just the beginning of what I planned to invest in Fenton County, but I didn’t deal with middlemen. I needed to meet with his backer. If nothing else, J.R. is going to want to meet with the potential competition and size me up.”

He wore the distant look he got when he was working out a problem. “You must be on to something. It looks like it worked.”

“I told Gentry that I would share my own plans for the county, but I knew his backer had plans as well and he had to share them with me. I said I didn’t want to run Fenton County on my own and I was looking for a business partner. I gave him forty-eight hours to let me know. He texted late last night, a little over twenty-four hours later. I told him I’d set the location, so now we need to figure out where would work best.”

He sat down on the kitchen chair, still all business. “So your plan is to meet him and get him to incriminate himself?”

I sat next to him. “And record it, but it has to be admissible in court. Which means we need a court order, right? Do you think you can get one?”

His eyebrows lifted. “On what grounds?”

And that was the first big clue that Mason wasn’t taking this as well as he appeared to be.

“That he’s backing a known criminal who has murder charges against him.”

“First of all, the DA dropped all of Gentry’s charges yesterday afternoon. Second, he’s never been convicted or even charged with any other crime. Yes, he owned Gems, but there was nothing illegal about it.”

“Mason! You were investigating Mick Gentry yourself! You were trying to catch him bribing you.”

“But I didn’t, did I?”

“But Joe was working with you!”

“And Joe turned against me in the meeting with the state investigator.”

“Are you really telling me that I can meet with J.R. Simmons and there’s nothing we can do to make sure what he says can be used against him?”

“Let’s back up a few steps and focus on why Skeeter Malcolm is so interested in you.”

My breath stuck in my chest. “I told you.”

“Okay, then let’s discuss what role the Lady in Black actually plays.”

I nodded, biting my lip. “I go to business meetings with Skeeter and interview some of the attendees.”

“And what does that entail?”

“I meet with them and ask them a few questions. Then I force a vision.”

“And you blurt it out in front of them?”

“Well, yeah. But I always play it off somehow. And Jed is there to intervene.”

“Oh, Jed.” He nodded, and it was impossible to miss the disgusted look on his face. “I want to know more about Jed in a minute, but first I want to know what questions you ask.”

“To focus the visions?”

“Both. Interviews and visions.”

I took a breath, trying to concentrate. “It depends on the situation. I’d start off by asking what they did for Skeeter to kind of warm them up and get a feel for them. The first time I did it, I followed up with two questions. One was if they knew anything about the attempts on your life.”

“And the other?”

“If they had turned on Skeeter.”

“So you were helping him.”

“He wasn’t going to let me sniff out your murderer if he didn’t get something out of it.” I sounded more indignant than I’d intended.

“Well, I guess I wouldn’t expect anything less from a known criminal and thug,” he said.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “No. I suppose not.”

“Have you ever done anything illegal?”

“Questioning them probably isn’t illegal.”

“I would venture not, but have you done anything else?”

“I carried a gun on Tuesday night. And I pulled it on Mick Gentry. Oh, and I left the county to meet him.”

He jumped to his feet. “You did what?”

“I know all of those things violated the terms of my release.”

“I don’t give a shit about violating your release right now!” he shouted. “
You pulled a gun on a known murderer?
You barely know how to use one!
”

“I had to,” I said quietly. “He was out of control.”

“
That’s because he’s a goddamned psychopath!
” His voice was so loud it shook the pictures on the walls.

The front door flew open, and Skeeter stood in the opening. His expression was guarded, but his hands were clenched at his sides. “Good evening, Mr. Prosecutor.”

Rage filled Mason’s eyes. “It’s no longer evening, and I’m no longer the prosecutor. But I guess that’s all part of your repertoire, isn’t? Spinning things to your advantage.”

Skeeter ignored him and turned his attention to me. “Is everything okay in here, Rose?”

Rage exploded from Mason’s body, and he pushed me behind him. “How dare you insinuate that she’s unsafe with me? I’m not the one who put her alone in a room with dangerous criminals.”

Skeeter shrugged, his face empty of emotion. “When I need a job done, I hire the right person. Rose is definitely the right person.”

Mason looked like he was about to launch toward him, so I grabbed his arm and held him back. “Mason. I was never alone. I had Jed.”

Skeeter’s eyes twinkled. “Until you took matters into your own hands with Humphrey. You locked Jed out and spent a good five minutes or so alone with that psychopath.”

I gasped, my fingers digging deeper into Mason’s arm to hold him back. “What on earth are you doin’, Skeeter Malcolm? That’s not helping!”

Mason pulled loose from my grasp. “What is this really about, Malcolm? It must have been quite a feather in your cap to get the ADA’s girlfriend to work for you.”

Skeeter grinned. “You have no idea. Too bad I couldn’t tell a soul.”

Mason’s body tensed again, and my own anger rose up. “Skeeter!” I shouted. “
Stop
.”

Surprisingly, he did.

I turned to Mason, pleading with him. “It may have started off that way, but by the end, he had my safety in mind at all times. In fact, at the meeting last week he told his men that my protection was more important than his own.”

“Why?” Mason asked suspiciously, his gaze moving from me to Skeeter and back.

“Because she’s a very valuable asset,” Skeeter said. “I take care of the things that matter to me.”

Mason’s hands clenched at his sides. “What the hell are you insinuating?”

“I’m not insinuating a damned thing, but you sure feel guilty as hell about something, don’t you? Maybe because she was snatched out from under your nose and I was the one to save her.”

“Skeeter! Stop it!” I grabbed Mason’s arm, my temper rising. “Mason has done everything in his power to help me.”

A sardonic grin lifted Skeeter’s lips. “But it’s not enough, is it?”

“What the Sam Hill are you doin’? You’re supposed to be getting’ him to help, not turning him away. And if you’re gonna berate him for letting me get kidnapped, you didn’t put a stop to it either!
So stuff it!
”

He clamped his mouth shut, and Mason’s eyes widened in surprise.

I sighed. “We’re all too tired to have a productive conversation. Maybe we should get some sleep and discuss this in the morning.”

“Good idea,” Mason said, grabbing my hand. “Rose and I will be leaving now. We’ll be sure to contact you in the morning.”

Skeeter stepped in front of the doorway, his eyes cold. “Ahh … that’s not gonna happen, Mr.
Former
Prosecutor. Rose isn’t going anywhere. Like I already told you, I protect my property.”

“I am not your property, Skeeter Malcolm!” I shouted. “So you get off your high horse!”

He leveled a cold hard gaze on me, and if I hadn’t known he truly had my best interests in mind, I would have been terrified. “You most certainly
are
my property. You made a deal, and you gave me your word. We are still well within your six-month term.”

“What on earth are you doin’?” He had already freed me from that agreement, but something clicked and I realized what he was up to.

“This is called kidnapping, Malcolm,” Mason said, wrapping an arm around my waist. “And I think my fiancée has been through enough.”

Skeeter snorted. “I’d rather subject her to my insufferable personality than a bullet to the head. Someone wanted her dead, and your measly bodyguard didn’t even realize she’d been snatched until the kidnappers were long gone. So no, Deveraux,
she’s not leaving my custody!
”

“Mason, it’s okay.”

He turned to me, his eyes blazing. “There is nothing okay about this entire situation.”

“I know, but you have to admit we’re safer here.”

“With Skeeter Malcolm’s men watching us?” he asked, incredulous.

“They saved me tonight, Mason. Jed almost died trying to save me. Skeeter would skin alive anyone who let anything happen to me.”

“You might as well accept it, Deveraux,” Skeeter said with a grin. “You are both my guests until the meeting tomorrow night. We’ll discuss the logistics in the morning, but until then, I suggest you retire for the night.”

I tugged on Mason’s arm, and he swung his gaze to me. I nodded slightly. “We’ll figure this out.”

There was still fire in his eyes, but he snugged me tight against his side, which told me my situation wasn’t totally hopeless. “Rose stays with me.”

Skeeter laughed. “You are
not
in a position to negotiate.”

“Skeeter!”

He waved a hand in dismissal and looked away. “Go. Rose knows which room to use. I’ll give you five minutes to use the restroom, and then I expect you to be in that room with the door closed behind you.” He started to open the front door, but turned back to deliver a final warning. “And don’t even think of trying to leave. We’re watching, and a couple of my men are trigger-happy.” Then he walked out, leaving me alone with Mason and all my biggest fears.

Mason pulled me into a hug, crushing me to his chest. “We’ll get out of this.”

“I know.” But I was certain we were referring to two different things.

We went to the restroom, and Mason insisted on standing outside the door while I was inside, acting like he was afraid to let me out of his sight. I couldn’t say I blamed him since I was feeling the same way. After we finished, we headed to the bedroom. Mason stopped short of entering the room.

“There’s a lock on the outside of this door.”

My heart raced, although I wasn’t sure why. I hadn’t noticed the lock before, but it stood to reason they’d lock Mason up so he couldn’t run away and spill what he knew. And truth be told, I wasn’t altogether surprised Skeeter wanted to lock me up too. I
had
tried to escape tonight. Twice. But my sense of betrayal came from the fact that Jed had been the one to steer me toward this room.

Mason hesitated, but though it clearly killed him to do it, he ushered me into the dark bedroom and shut the door behind us.

My voice broke. “Mason, I’m so sorry.”

I barely finished my sentence before his mouth found mine. He pulled me tight against him, as if he couldn’t get me close enough, and buried his other hand in my hair. His mouth ravaged mine, and I could barely keep up.

I clung to him, crying again. I couldn’t believe he was kissing me after my confession. That he still loved me after finding out the truth.

He pulled back, his hand sliding from my hair to my face. “You’re crying,” he whispered in horror. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. I’m just so scared.”

Mason led me over to the bed, and he sat down on the edge of the mattress, bringing me with him. I clung to him while we waited. A minute later, footsteps clomped down the hall, paused, and then walked away.

Mason got up and moved over to the single window. Light filtered through the panes, but I couldn’t make out anything outside. The room had been so dark when I made the bed, I hadn’t noticed.

“The panes are painted,” Mason said, coming back to sit by me. “It’s a very effective holding cell.”

“Holding cell?”

“No furniture. No curtain rods or lamps. I bet there’s not even a light bulb. Nothing to use as a weapon. I’m surprised there’s bedding.”

Of course it was a holding cell. How could I be so stupid? “There was only a bottom sheet,” I said, sounding disheartened. “Jed let me put on fresh linens.”

He sighed.

“Mason.” The tears were back, and I couldn’t stop them this time. “I’m so sorry.”

His hand found my face, and he leaned his close to me and whispered, “Shh. We’ve gotten out of worse scrapes than this one. At least Malcolm is more stable than Crocker. Or is he? You’ve had more experience with him than I have.”