Page 119 of Family Jewels

“That’s just it, Rose, he hasn’t. What he’s done is curtailed it. Wagner wants to branch out into the sex industry.”

“He wants prostitutes?”

“Skeeter hasn’t been tolerant of the idea because most pimps treat their women like shit. He’s all for a woman making the call on what she does with her body, but in a lot of cases, once they start working for someone, they’re treated like dogs. Skeeter’s trying to put a stop to that.”

He’d told me that he had rules for women and children. Here was the evidence.

“What if he can find a new venture?” I paused. “Or maybe we can figure out something else he wants.”

“Rose, the man is a ruthless, greedy bastard. Men in this world don’t negotiate.”

“Isn’t it worth a try?”

“Skeeter will never approve.”

“Give me until tonight. Neely Kate and I will keep searching for the necklace—because if we don’t find it, I suspect this war’s goin’ down sooner rather than later. But if we can deliver it, maybe we’ll have the opportunity to negotiate.”

“There’s no way in hell he’ll let you go.”

“Jed,” I said in frustration. “Aren’t you both tired of the turmoil? Sure, James can squash them, but if they survive, he’s gained more enemies. If we can find a solution that appeals to their mercenary sensibilities, he’ll gain allies instead, even if they’re shaky. Can I at least give this a shot?”

“You’re putting your lives at risk, Rose.”

“Then you can come as backup when I meet Buck. Bring Merv and Miguel.” I paused. “I had a vision of James earlier in the week. It was a vision of tonight. I saw you both in the pool hall under heavy gunfire, and then the place caught on fire. You and James were trapped behind the bar with the bartender. I can’t let that happen, Jed. You can try to lock me up somewhere, but I’ll figure a way out.”

When he didn’t protest, I knew I had him.

“Fine,” he said after a long pause. “But I’ll have to run this by Skeeter, and there’s no way in hell you two are going off on your own.”

“Jed—”

“No. If you’re gonna keep looking for the necklace, I’m gonna keep followin’ you. We’ll talk to Skeeter about the other. It’s the best you’re gonna get.”

It wasn’t close to good enough. We could get so much more done if we lost our tail, and I was confident that Buck wouldn’t hurt us. He had too much riding on the possibility that we might succeed. Besides, Jed might not approve of the place I wanted to go next.

“Fine,” I said. Neely Kate’s mouth dropped open in protest. “But first Neely Kate and I have to go inside to talk to Jonah about hiring a few of his guys for a job next week.”

“Fine, but don’t be gone too long.”

He hung up, and Neely Kate gave me a dubious look. “We’re not really goin’ with Jed, are we?”

“No, we’re going to borrow Jessica’s car. I know she parks it at the back of the building. That way, we can escape sight unseen and keep investigating. We’ll save time if Jed isn’t trailing us. Besides, it’ll give us more freedom to question people.”

“This is crazy.”

“You can stay behind if you want,” I told her. “You can walk away right now.”

“As if,” she scoffed. “I’m in this just as much as you are.”

“Then let’s do this.”

We both got out and walked into the church. Jessica was still at her desk, and she greeted us with a huge smile.

“I really hate to ask this,” I said, “but is there any way I can borrow your car?”

Her mouth parted in surprise, and she looked back and forth between the two of us. “My car’s in the shop.”

My heart sank. We hadn’t come up with a plan B.

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