Ashley tugged on Joe’s arm again, and Mikey, who’d finally stopped playing with the shoes and put them on, tugged on the other.
“Come on, Uncle Joe. You can talk to Aunt Rose later,” Ashley said, trying to strong-arm him toward the door. “We have to get ice cream before Mommy comeshome.”
“Ice cream,” Mikey said, pulling on his otherhand.
I swallowed my worry and forced a smile. “You know Neely Kate—she’s gotten distracted by something. I’m sure she’s fine. Go ahead and take them to Dena’s, and I’ll call her and see what’s keepin’ her so long. I’ll have an answer by the time you three getback.”
“Okay,” Joe said with a concerned look. Then he pretended to let the kids pull him to the door. “Call me if you find out anything alarming.”
I grabbed my phone off my desk and pulled up Neely Kate’s number. When she didn’t answer, I told myself not to panic. There could be half a dozen reasonable explanations, but I was worried nonetheless. Joe was right. We’d inserted ourselves into the Fenton County crime world with that parley, and we hadn’t even bothered with a disguise—we’d gone as ourselves. Yes, I’d attended as the Lady in Black, but this time I hadn’t been wearing any kind of veil ormask.
Besides, Neely Kate hadn’t been herself over the last few days. And after her disappearance last week, that had me worried.