Page 79 of For the Birds

“True,” Neely Kate said. “And I can handle thatpart.”

I shot her a glance out of the corner of my eye. “Beatin’ up Merv seems to have empoweredyou.”

A grin lit up her eyes. “You have noidea.”

Since Bruce Wayne had never told me what department Scooter’s girlfriend worked in, I decided to call him and find out. It seemed better than aimlessly wandering the store and drawing attention to ourselves by asking around.

“Hey, Bruce Wayne,” I said when he answered, putting him on speaker. “Can I ask you a few questions about Scooter? I have Neely Kate withme.”

“Still not investigating?” he asked in a drytone.

“Okay . . .” I conceded. “You know me toowell.”

“You’re good at it, Rose. You and Neely Kate are a force to be reckoned with. If you two are looking, I feel a whole helluva lot better. You’ll both find him . . . one way or another.”

That caught me off guard. “Do you think he might bedead?”

He was quiet for a moment, and when he finally spoke, he sounded subdued. “There are only three reasons someone would have snatched him. One, to get back at Skeeter, and that one could go either way. Two, if he heard or saw something he shouldn’t have, and someone felt threatened. He spends time at the Trading Post and One Eyed Joes, and everyone knows he’s Skeeter’s brother.”

“I can’t imagine that would have a good outcome,” Isaid.

“It wouldn’t.” He sounded guarded. “The third possibility is that it has nothing to do with Skeeter at all. Maybe Scooter pissed someone off. He’s runnin’ a few side deals of hisown.”

“Wait.” I held up a hand even though he couldn’t see it. “I thought Scooter wasn’t mixed up in that anymore.”

“He’s not with Skeeter.”

“What’s he doin’ then?” Neely Kate asked.

“Selling pot. He’s growin’ it in his field.”

“Well, crap,” I said. “That puts a whole new spin on it, doesn’tit?”

Neely Kate didn’t say anything.

“What are the chances he pissed someone off?” I asked.

“Everything’s a mess right now,” Bruce Wayne said. “So I’d say fifty-fifty.” He paused. “The fact you’re askin’ questions must mean you don’t think Buck Reynolds snatched him. That’s what everyone else is sayin’.”

“I’m certain of it,” I said. “Which means we need to be lookin’ in other places because nobody else is. Would Scooter’s girlfriend know details about his pot dealing?”

“She’s likely to know more than me,” he said. “Now that I’m travelin’ down the straight and narrow, he won’t tell me anything.”

“It’s safer for you that way. He’s bein’ a good friend,” Neely Katesaid.

“But we’re not as close as we used to be,” he said, soundingsad.

“Maybe Scooter should have taken the straight and narrow too,” I said. “Sounds like James gave him the chance when he cut him off from his world.”

“Sure, it sounds good,” Neely Kate said. “But it’s not so easy to do on a Walmart paycheck.” Then she added, “Besides, his brother does far worse.”

While she had a point, she definitely sounded judgey. Was she trying to make a point about James? I’d already told her it wasover.

“You’re right,” I said. “And I obviously wasn’t thinkin’ things through.” Probably in more ways thanone.

“I know Scooter’s made a few new friends since last fall,” Bruce Wayne said. “Jeanne will know who they are better than I would.”

“Okay,” Neely Kate said. “We’ll ask her. Do you know what department she worksin?”

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