Page 83 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“I called Dermot because I told the boy I couldn’t help him.” When Joe didn’t say anything, I added, “I couldn’t very well bring him here like in the old days. We’ve got a house full of kids.”

“Why is this boy hiding from my department?” he asked with a hard edge to his voice.

“I never said he was hiding from the sheriff’s department. He saw something and now he’s scared the people he witnessed will hunt him down and kill him, and I know it’s true because he started to leave, and I forced a vison and saw him murdered.”

“Did he witness one of the murders?”

Did I admit what I knew? Joe would try to track him down, and that would not go well. My reputation as Lady would become worthless. Then again, I wasn’t the Lady in Black anymore, so why did I care? Nevertheless, it still mattered to me, and I realized I’d told Joe too much.

Joe took several breaths, his hands clenched at his sides, before he looked me in the eyes and asked with a tight jaw, “Have you reprised your Lady in Black role?”

I gasped. “You think I’d do that?”

“I don’t know, Rose,” he shot back angrily. “Would you? You took a meeting with Dermot today.”

“Dermot is my friend, and you damn well know it!” I shot back. “He saved my life and the life of your daughter upstairs, so you be careful how you talk about him!”

“I’m bringing him in to question him about these murders tomorrow,” he said. “And then, come to find out, you had a rendezvous with him today.”

“A rendezvous?” I demanded in an undertone, worried our argument would wake the kids. “Are you kidding me right now? I told you someone showed up for the first time in nearly three years, wanting to see the Lady in Black, and the first thing you’re doing is accusin’ me of running around behind your back playing dress up?”

“We both know you weren’t dressin’ up at the end!” he shouted, his face red.

I gasped and took a step back. “I think we need to stop this discussion before either one of us says something we can’t take back.”

His jaw worked, but he didn’t say anything.

I strode past him and up the stairs, peeking in on Ashley. She was on her side, facing the door.

“Why is Uncle Joe mad, Aunt Rose?” she asked in a small voice.

My level of anger at Joe ratcheted up multiple levels. She was already upset about my nightmare, and now she’d heard us arguing. “He’s not mad at me, honey. He’s just tired and cranky.”

“But I heard him yelling at you. Is he mad that you had a bad dream?”

“No of course not, silly,” I said, walking into the room and leaning over to tuck her in. “Grown-ups yell, and sometimes for no good reason.”

“But Uncle Joe doesn’t yell very much.”

“I know, but like I said he’s really tired and he had a hard day. Don’t worry. I’m okay, and he’ll feel better in the morning.”

“Are you sure?” she asked sounding scared.

“Of course. Uncle Joe loves us, and he’d feel awful knowing he upset you.”

“Okay. I love you, Aunt Rose.”

“I love you too.”

I left her room and shot a glare down the stairs, which was pointless since I could still hear Joe clanking around in the kitchen. I checked on the other kids, who were all sound asleep in their beds. Muffy had rejoined Hope, curled up on her bed, which meant she’d probably made a beeline for the stairs as soon as she heard us arguing.

As I got ready for bed, I mulled over how our discussion had gone. I could admit that he had a right to be upset that I hadn’t told him sooner about Austin asking for Lady, but he’d gone too far when he’d accused me of purposely reprising my Lady in Black role.

I was so mad that angry tears streaked my face, but I brushed them away and climbed into bed. I tried to settle down, but all I could see was the face of the woman on the floor in the warehouse, and the hole that had appeared in her forehead before she collapsed to the floor. How was I going to find out who she was? Something inside me screamed that I had to save her.

Was I putting my family at risk by trying?

Chapter Seventeen

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