When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,41
been acting strangely for longer than six months. Violet asked to move in with me in August. She must have gotten proof of whatever he was doin’ at around that time.” I narrowed my eyes. “But let’s say he is working with them. What do you think they’re havin’ him do? I know he wasn’t watching Neely Kate or me because he avoided us every chance he got.”
“Maybe he was keeping an eye on something else,” Mason said.
James? But as soon as the thought occurred to me, I doubted it. James had promised me that Mike wouldn’t give Violet any trouble over moving in with me—and he hadn’t. He also hadn’t given her any grief about taking the kids whenever she wanted them.
I shook my head. “I have no idea who or what that could be, and honestly, my head hurts just thinkin’ about it.”
Worry filled his eyes. “Then I should leave and let you get some rest. We’re just speculating at this point, and I need to get back to the office anyway.”
Both of us stood.
“Thanks for agreeing to meet with me, Mason.”
He nodded, and his gaze dipped to my stomach again. He started to say something—then cut himself off by clearing his throat. For a moment, I thought he’d leave without saying his piece, but he met my eyes and said, “I wish things had been different.”
A lump formed in my throat. “I used to wish that too. I hope you find what you’re lookin’ for, Mason, because in the end it wasn’t me.”
He nodded, his eyes glassy. “I wish you the best, Rose.”
“And you too.”
“I’ll let myself out.” He turned and walked through the living room. Seconds later, I heard the latch of the front door.
I sat back down as tears flooded my eyes. I wasn’t entirely sure why I was crying. Mason and I would never have worked in the end, and I didn’t regret that we weren’t together now. But a part of me did feel the loss of the simple life I’d envisioned with him. The possibility of normalcy.
My life was anything but normal now.
But I didn’t have time to dwell on the life I would never have with Mason. The life I knew I didn’t want any longer. I needed to find James and make him tell me everything he knew, which was easier said than done. I couldn’t just waltz into the pool hall, and I no longer had James’s cell phone number. The only other way I knew to get ahold of him was through Carter Hale, but I doubted Carter would want to get involved. Plus, James would likely refuse to see me.
Which meant I had to go to his house.
Today was Thursday. James used to go to his house on Thursday nights. Had he stuck to his routine?
I was about to find out.
The baby gave me a hard kick, as if reminding me I wasn’t alone in this, and I pressed my hand against the side of my stomach. Fear washed over me. How would James react when he saw me? Would he try to hurt us? Last summer, I would have said never. But I no longer knew what to expect or believe. It was best, I figured, to expect nothing good.
My phone rang, and I felt a stab of guilt when I saw Joe’s name on the screen, quickly followed by relief. I wasn’t sure what I’d tell him about James, but I was thankful to hear his voice. It was a measure of how much I’d come to rely on him over the last few months.
“Hey,” I said. “Have you found anything?”
“No, darlin’,” he said, his voice full of sympathy. “Not yet.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Like I said in my message, I discovered a few things.” Then I told him about Sonder Tech—the bushes and my vision of Calista, although I kept the racy parts to myself. (Which I didn’t feel guilty about in the least.)
“You didn’t get a last name for Calista?” he asked.
“No. But I told Neely Kate, and she planned to tell Jed.”
He hesitated, then said, “I think Jed should hold off on doin’ anything.”
“Why?” I asked. “The Erickson case has something to do with the kids, doesn’t it? Do you have a lead from that note?” Then I quickly added, “And before you ask, no, I didn’t tell them about the note, even if I have no idea what it said.”
“We’re holdin’ it for evidence,” he said carefully.