When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,94
I’d be back later to check on her.
I was a bundle of nerves the entire drive to Sugar Branch—worried about Joe. Worried about meeting Vera. Worried about James’s demands and Dermot’s suggestion that he might try to steal the baby. Worried about Muffy. Worried about the kids and even worried about Mike.
I sent Joe a text using my voice app.
I just saw Muffy. She’s still the same, but I told her how much we both love her.
He texted back right away.
Thanks for the update. I love both of you.
I had to save Joe, and I refused to give him up to do it. Our paths had branched together again, and I wanted to walk down it with him by my side—I wanted that with a ferocity that surprised me. No, I was going to figure this out as soon as we found the kids and this particular mess was over. Because I couldn’t accept any alternatives. My heart just couldn’t take it.
I didn’t have much longer to think on it because I pulled into the Stop-N-Go parking lot, and Dermot walked out of the store.
I parked in front of a gas pump and inserted my debit card as Dermot approached. Fitting the nozzle into the truck, I told Dermot, “You finish up here. I’m gonna go pee.”
“Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘You should have gone before you left’?” he asked with a smirk.
I gave him a sassy look. “I did.”
I didn’t tell him that I’d left the office nearly two hours ago.
When I came back out, Dermot was already in the backseat of the truck. I climbed inside and started the engine, taking a deep breath.
“It’s not too late to change your mind,” he said softly.
I’d had that very thought, but I couldn’t back down now. Not with everything on the line. I needed to get Ashley and Mikey back, and if Vera knew something, I had to risk going.
I lifted my chin and gripped the steering wheel. “Nope. We’re doin’ this.”
We drove the rest of the way in silence. When I saw the partially hidden sign that said Shute Creek Picnic Area, I turned onto the long dirt road that led to the creek and drove toward the pea gravel parking lot that was mostly gray packed ground. Three concrete picnic tables flanked the left side and a rocky beach was in front of us. There weren’t any cars in the lot and no sign of Vera.
“Don’t get out yet,” Dermot said from the backseat. “Wait and see if she shows herself first, and while we’re waitin’, get out your cell phone and call me. Then I can hear the conversation.”
“I don’t have a pocket to hide it,” I said, my anxiety rising. “Wait. I have a sweater with pockets in the back.” Unbuckling my seat belt, I tried to turn around to get it, but as with everything lately, my stomach got in the way.
Finally, Dermot, who was hunched down in the back, groaned. “Where is it? I’ll hand it to you.”
“Under your feet.”
He shifted and grabbed the gray sweater and handed it to me.
It took some maneuvering to get it on, and then I called Dermot. Once I was sure we were connected, I put the phone in my pocket.
We waited a couple more minutes, and I was beginning to doubt that Vera would show when she emerged from the trees next to the picnic tables. She was wearing a dress and the cardigan Preston had mentioned. Her hair was pulled back into a loose bun at the back of her head, but huge chunks had fallen out and hung around her face and down her neck. She gave me a wary look, then glanced toward the road as she took a few steps closer to a picnic table.
“She’s here,” I said quietly.
“Alone?” Dermot asked, lying on the backseat.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, go out and meet her.”
I opened the truck door and headed over, leaving my purse—and gun—in the truck. But it would have looked suspicious to bring my purse, and I hadn’t had target practice in months. Not when I worried it could hurt the baby’s developing eardrums. I was safer without it. Dermot would protect us.
“Vera?” I asked as I walked toward her.
“How do you know my name?” she demanded, her eyes wide with fright.
Oh, crap. She’d never told me her name. I’d heard it in a vision. “You accidently mentioned it when I saw you in December.”
“No, I didn’t,” she said defensively. “I was careful.”