Page 91 of Family Jewels

“James, I have to go.”

“Keep the damn phone on. Don’t hang up.”

Setting the phone on the seat next to me, I came to a stop on the shoulder of the two-lane road. I watched in my rearview mirror as a lanky officer climbed out of his patrol car, hitched up his pants, and started to meander toward me.

“It’s Officer Ernie.” Lord only knew why he’d seen fit to pull me over, but I hadn’t been on his radar for months. Maybe he’d missed me.

I rolled down the window as he approached.

“Rose Gardner,” he drawled in a confrontational tone. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Officer Ernie, what seems to be the problem?”

“What are you doing driving around in the middle of the night?”

“I don’t see that it’s any of your business, but if youmustknow, I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to take a drive.”

He started whirling his hand around in circles. “Just drivin’ around at three in the morning.”

“Like I said, I wish I could be sleepin’,” I said. “But it begs the question, what areyoudoin’ up? I thought you worked days.”

“There’s trouble afoot, Rose Gardner, and where there’s trouble, you’re usually not far behind.”

“Trouble?” I asked innocently. “What kind of trouble?”

“Don’t you go sassin’ me, little missy.”

I took a deep breath. “Officer Ernie. I’m not up to any trouble. Like I said, I couldn’t sleep. I’m driving around trying to sort out a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

I resisted the urge to tell him again that it was none of his business. “I’m worried about my sister.”

“Violet?”

The genuine concern in his voice sent a pang of guilt through me. “She’s supposed to come home in a few weeks, but she might be coming down with a cold. It could turn into something serious because she’s immunosuppressed.”

“I’m sorry. Violet’s a sweet woman. She’s been in my prayers.”

My mouth dropped open in shock.

He took a step back and gave me a curt nod. “You go on with your drive, but be careful. There was some trouble up at the Trading Post earlier tonight, a big fight with some gunshots fired. We haven’t figured out who’s behind it yet.”

I gasped, truly in shock. The Trading Post? The coincidence wasn’t lost on me. “Oh my word. Thanks for the warning.”

“You headin’ back to your farm now?”

“No,” I said, still reeling from the news about the shooting. “But I’ll head back soon.”

I rolled up the window as he walked back to his car. He was clearly waiting until I pulled back onto the highway, so I started driving and hoped he didn’t follow me. How would I explain pulling into the abandoned fertilizer plant? But he did a U-turn and headed back into town.

I pushed out a loud sigh of relief, then realized I’d forgotten that James was still on the phone. “James, what do you know about the shootings at the Trading Post?”

“I wasn’t part of it, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That’s where Crocker’s men hang out. It’s also where Raddy met the guys he plays poker with. I bet the shooting has something to do with Raddy and that stupid necklace. That’s why he’s so desperate for help.”

“Which makes him dangerous.So where the hell are you going?”

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