Page 51 of Trouble Comes in Threes

Neely Kate, on the other hand, wasn’t feeling as generous. She propped a hand on her hip. “So you saw the truck drive back there, and you decided to stroll out there and watch them dig a grave like it was a spectator sport?”

Anger washed over his face, but fear flickered in his eyes before he masked it. “I don’t have to tell you shit! You’re not the Lady in Black.”

“The Lady in Black doesn’t exist anymore,” I said, keeping my voice neutral. “And you’re lucky we’re talking to you at all. So if you want our help, take a deep breath, get your temper under control, and tell us what we need to know, or go on your way.”

“So you can turn me in?” he spat, getting more agitated.

I was still on the ground, eye level with him, and I could tell Bruce Wayne was worried I was in danger. I didn’t think the kid would hurt me, but I also wasn’t going to give him the opportunity.

I got to my feet. “I’m not sure why you came to me, Austin, but when I was the Lady, there were rules that the people I dealt with had to follow. They either treated me with respect or dealt with their issues on their own. No one’s forcing you to stay here. I only know your first name, and as far as I can tell, you haven’t committed any crime. You wouldn’t be the first person to witness a murder and keep quiet, and you sure won’t be the last. You sit here for a moment and consider your options while I talk to Bruce Wayne about business that actually makes me money.”

Austin’s eyes were narrowed to slits, and his hands were clenched at his sides, but he remained silent other than his heavy breathing.

I walked over to the curb, leaving Bruce Wayne and Neely Kate to follow, then turned to face them as we formed a loose huddle. “How did this come about, Bruce Wayne?”

He cringed. “I’m so sorry, Rose. The kid showed up, acting desperate and asking for the Lady in Black. I asked him why he came to me, and he said some other guy had told him I was a contact for Lady. He told me he’d witnessed a murder and needed protection.” He shifted his weight and crossed his arms over his chest. “I never should have called you.”

“No,” I said, glancing at the kid. He was still sitting on the grass, his face buried in his hands. “You did the right thing. If someone’s looking for Lady, I need to know. Do you buy that he knew about me from his father’s involvement with Dermot?”

Bruce Wayne shrugged. “It’s possible.”

“It seems weird that some guy told him to come to you,” Neely Kate said. “Who is this guy?”

“I don’t know,” Bruce Wayne admitted.

“Do you think it’s a setup?” Neely Kate asked me.

I blinked in surprise. “A setup?”

“It just seems weird that this kid would show up nearly three years after everything went down, looking for Lady.”

It felt like my nightmares about Hardshaw were coming to life, but I told myself to calm down. Hardshaw was dead and gone. It was just an ironic twist that this boy had shown up looking for Lady at around the same time as the murder in Pickle Junction.

“Agreed,” Bruce Wayne said, “but then again, if he grew up hearing stories about the Lady in Black, he’s probably blown her up to be some kind of superhero.”

I snorted. “Superhero?”

He didn’t crack a smile. “You faced down some pretty dangerous people and took charge of the county’s criminal element.”

“Plus, some of the stories have probably been exaggerated,” Neely Kate said.

I looked her dead in the eyes. “Thanks?”

She shrugged.

“Besides, I never successfully took charge,” I countered with more force than I’d intended. “I tried to unite the underworld to deal with Hardshaw and failed miserably.”

“I’m sure others tell it differently,” Bruce Wayne said. He toed the ground with the tip of his boot. “In fact, I know they do.”

My eyes widened. “What?”

“I’m not surprised this kid came to you, but everything else is fishy,” he said, lifting his gaze. “He shows up looking for help, then says he recognizes you as the sheriff’s wife from the newspaper.” His jaw tightened. “What seventeen-year-old kid reads the newspaper, let alone recognizes the wife of the sheriff from it? How many photos have there been of you in the paper as Joe’s wife? One? Two?”

“Three,” I said under my breath. The Henryetta Gazette had also written an article about our landscaping business last year, but that had been about me, not Joe. “So why’s he really here?”

“I don’t know,” Bruce Wayne said. “But I’d like to find out.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” Neely Kate asked.

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