Page 53 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“Why don’t you want to call Joe?” Neely Kate asked.

That was a question I was struggling to answer myself.

The most logical solution was to call Joe, but something was holding me back.

And that something scared the wits out of me.

Chapter Twelve

I slid my cell phone out of my pocket and pulled up my contacts. Once I found Dermot, I took a breath to think this through. Did I really want to travel down this road? I had four kids and a husband—a life I loved—to consider, but it worried me that this boy had come searching for Lady, and Dermot would probably be able to provide more answers than Joe.

The kid saw the phone in my hand and jumped to his feet. “No police!” he shouted.

The landscaping crew paused their work and cast questioning looks in our direction, but maybe we’d found good help after all because they resumed their tasks without any fanfare.

“She’s not calling the police, you fool,” Neely Kate called over to him in disgust.

He hesitated, then sat back down.

“Is he hungry or thirsty?” I asked Bruce Wayne. “Maybe giving him some food will help settle him down.”

“I already gave him some water and my sandwich for lunch.”

I offered him a smile of thanks, then placed the call.

The phone rang for a few seconds before a gruff voice said, “Rose?”

“Hey, Dermot,” I said softly. “Long time, no talk.”

“Yeah,” he said, sounding sleepy, and I realized I’d probably woken him.

“Sorry to bother you so early.” Only it wasn’t that early. It was after ten a.m. “I have a situation here, and I’d appreciate your input.”

He paused. “That sounds ominous.”

“A teenager showed up at Bruce Wayne’s worksite, asking for protection from the Lady in Black.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you offering it?” he asked.

Was I? Why was I even considering this? “I don’t know yet. I need more answers, and some of his story seems a little too contrived.”

“I see.”

I wasn’t sure what that answer meant. It had been several years since we’d worked together, and I no longer knew his tells. “You don’t have to get involved in this, Dermot. I just thought…”

“That I’d want to know? I definitely want to know. You and your kids are important to me, and I don’t like that someone is asking about Lady after all this time.”

I wasn’t surprised by his answer. Dermot had helped deliver Hope in the woods in a breach delivery while we’d been in the middle of a dangerous situation. I’d named him her godfather, and he used to check on her from time to time after everything had died down, but I hadn’t talked to him in over a year.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“Still at the worksite.”

“Send me an address. I’m gonna swing by and have a little chat with your new friend.”

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