Page 67 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“Without Joe?”

That was the part that got to me. Joe. I desperately wanted to confide in him, but Dermot was better suited to find out whether something was going on in the criminal underworld. And if I told Joe everything, I’d have to admit that Dermot had some of his men protecting our family, which would never fly. I just hoped Dermot would find out something quickly. “I need more information before I tell him. Dermot’s men are going to keep watch over me and the kids. They’ll likely be more help than the deputies.”

He made another face that suggested he thought so too.

“Just be careful,” he repeated.

Neely Kate and I didn’t speak as we drove back to the office. I was too busy running everything through my head, and I suspected she was doing the same.

When I sat at my desk, I pulled up a design on my computer and tried to work, but it was hard to focus on which type of flowering bush to put on the south side of a house when I knew murderers were actively interested in the Lady in Black.

Neely Kate nibbled on crackers while staring at her computer screen.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said after a few moments.

“I hope so,” I said, still staring blankly at the screen.

The front door opened with a jingle of the bell on the doorknob, and I was surprised to see Jed walking in wearing jeans and his Carlisle Motors shirt. Jed rarely took off from work at lunch time. He was a family man, through and through, so he often took short lunches so he could finish up by five. The look on his face suggested this wasn’t going to be a friendly chat.

“What are you doin’ here?” Neely Kate asked as she swiveled her chair to face him.

“Why am I hearing from Dermot about you two getting involved with a witness to a murder?”

I cringed, but Neely Kate was more in the hot seat then I was in this instance.

She gave him a defiant glare. “I’m not speakin’ to you, Jed Carlisle. Hence, I didn’t tell you what’s goin’ on.”

“This is serious, Neely Kate!” he shouted, his face flushing, but I could see the fear flashing in his eyes.

“Dermot has it covered,” she said sweetly. “There was nothin’ to tell. Besides, the kid was lookin’ for Rose, not me.”

He swung his attention to me. “What does Joe make of this?”

Oh boy. “He doesn’t know yet,” I said.

“What do you mean he doesn’t know?” Jed’s voice boomed through the office.

“It seems pretty self-explanatory to me,” I said, my brows shooting up. “Besides, Dermot’s got men watchin’ me and the kids, so what’s Joe supposed to do?”

He started to say something, then stopped.

“Exactly. Dermot’s lookin’ into it, and when there’s something to actually tell Joe that won’t just make him worry, I’ll tell him.”

“He has a right to know, Rose,” Jed protested, then turned to his wife. “Just like I had a right to know.”

“I’ll tell him,” I said. “I swear. But there’s no point in calling him right now. The kids and I are safe, and he’s busy trying to solve a murder. The boy refused to talk to Joe—and trust me I tried to convince him many times?—”

“She did,” Neely Kate said, nodding her head. “Many times.”

“—so I figured it would be better to get Dermot involved than to just cut the kid loose.” I finished.

He pressed his lips together and stared at me.

“Do you honestly think I’d be stubborn enough to put my children in danger?” I demanded.

His face softened. “No.”

“Then trust me, Jed,” I said just before the alarm on my phone went off, telling me it was time to walk over to the restaurant and meet Randy. I grabbed my purse and stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to leave for a meeting.”

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