When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,69

Neely Kate said, bending over her phone as she sent Jed an update text.

I considered texting what we’d found to Joe, but for one, I suspected he was already looking into the Denny Carmichael angle, and two, he’d have a conniption if he knew what Neely Kate and I were up to. But we hadn’t put ourselves in any danger yet, and as long as we continued to play it safe, we wouldn’t.

Jed texted back seconds later saying that he’d take it from here.

“What the Sam Hill does that mean?” Neely Kate asked, pivoting on the seat to face me.

“Probably exactly how it sounds. That he’ll handle it from here on out.”

“He’s cutting us out? You’ve got to be kiddin’ me!”

“You have to admit that things have gone to whole new level now that we know the electrician was working for Carmichael.”

She blew a raspberry. “We already knew Mike had some association with Denny. Skeeter told you as much.”

I held up a hand. “Look, I’m not sayin’ we should stop. I’m just tellin’ you what he’s likely thinkin’.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she grumbled.

“We just need to figure out where to go next.”

She pressed her lips together while she gave it some thought. “The way I see it, we’ve got a couple of angles we can work. One, we can try to find out definitively if Sonder Tech is working for Hardshaw. Or we can look into who loaned Mike money.”

My brow shot up. “How do you plan to figure out either of those things?”

I already had a feeling I wouldn’t like what I was about to hear.

She made a face. “Sonder Tech might prove a bit embarrassing after yesterday.”

I shook my head adamantly. “I am not goin’ back there.”

“Rose, you need to have a vision.”

“I already did, and look what happened!”

“Well, today you’ll be askin’ a different question. You’ll be askin’ if they’re workin’ with Hardshaw.”

I had to admit it wasn’t a horrible plan, but I had no idea what would happen if I showed my face there again. Would they run me out? Still, if there was a chance it could help us find Ashley and Mikey, I couldn’t let embarrassment hold me back.

“Fine,” I muttered. “We’ll do it your way.” A pleased smile crossed Neely Kate’s face, but she knew better than to say anything on the drive. Several minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot and turned off the truck, trying to calm my nerves.

“It’s gonna be okay, Rose,” Neely Kate said. “I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as you thought. In fact, I’ll bet most of the people there didn’t even notice.”

“I sure as Pete hope you’re right. I’m supposed to be a professional.”

“It’s gonna be okay,” she repeated, then opened her door and got out.

“Wait,” I called after her as I got out of the truck and tried to catch up to her, but she was already making a beeline for the front door. “Neely Kate! Hold up!”

We didn’t even have a plan, for Pete’s sake.

She stopped short when she reached the edge of the building. “The azalea bushes.” She stared at the dead bushes. “Those were here—at Sonder Tech?”

For a moment, I was stuck on the fact that I hadn’t told her about that yet. I’d told Joe, Bruce Wayne, and Dermot, but somehow I hadn’t gotten around to telling Neely Kate. Maybe because I’d been so distracted by the mess with Calista. Then it struck me why Neely Kate had turned pale. She’d buried Pearce Manchester, the son of one of the Hardshaw Three, under azalea bushes.

“Neely Kate. I didn’t put it together.”

She swallowed and pulled her gaze from the bushes. “This was a warnin’ to us.”

“Maybe not. Stewart seemed pretty shocked when I suggested they’d been intentionally poisoned. It could be a coincidence.”

“You don’t seriously believe that, do you?” she asked.

“Look, while I’m not disputin’ that the poisonin’ was likely intentional, why would Hardshaw poison their own bushes? They’re supposedly friendly with Sonder Tech’s owner. And the fact that they poisoned azalea bushes doesn’t mean a doggone thing. In the south, you can throw three rocks and one of them is bound to hit an azalea bush.”

She nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.”

“I’m not sayin’ it doesn’t mean anything. But the warnin’ might not be for us.” I drew in a breath and steeled my back. “Come on. We’re goin’ in.”

Wrapping an arm around her, I steered her toward the double glass doors, still unsure of how best to handle this. I’d just ask