“You’re not like that anymore,” I said softly.

“I’m still workin’ on it.” We were both silent for a moment. “If she contacts you again, will you please let me know?”

I wasn’t sure what good it would do, but if our roles had been reversed, I’d want to know too. “Of course.”

“Thanks. Now tell me about the details of your accident yesterday afternoon.”

“Joe,” I groaned. “I already told Deputy Miller everything.”

“Maybe you missed something.”

“I didn’t. There wasn’t much to tell.”

He paused. “Fine. I’ll read the report, but I may call you with some follow-up questions. And if you feel unsafe at all, promise me you’ll tell me.”

“Joe.”

“Promise.”

Something in his voice caught my attention. “Do you think I’m unsafe?”

He chuckled, but it sounded forced. “You’re always unsafe.” This sounded like more than his general you’re always in trouble attitude. What did he know or suspect that had him worried about me, but not worried enough to lock me away in witness protection? My breath caught.

Mason.

It only confirmed the fears I’d had since December. No matter how much Joe and Mason protested the danger was over, I wasn’t so sure. Someone was still after my boyfriend. At least they were taking my claims seriously now.

“If I feel unsafe, you’ll be one of the first people to know.” And I meant it.

I hung up and looked into Neely Kate’s questioning gaze. “I think you figured out the gist of that conversation.”

She didn’t say anything.

“He says Kate has her own agenda: one-upping Hilary. Her goal is to get me and Joe back together.”

“Oh, my stars and garters.”

“He’s trying to get her to leave me alone. But he says she’s determined.”

She lifted her chin, a spark filling her eyes. “Then it’s a good thing we’re even more determined.”

I grinned. “Yeah, I guess so.”

The waitress brought out our food, a club sandwich for Neely Kate and a house salad with dressing on the side for me.

Neely Kate cast me a curious glance. “Since when do you get dressing on the side?”

I didn’t answer for a moment, but when her gaze turned to a glare, I caved. “Since I’ve started wearing certain dresses.”

Her eyes widened.

“They’re tighter than anything I usually wear. They show my fat rolls.”

Her head jutted back in disbelief. “What fat rolls?”

I sighed. “Neely Kate, I’m self-conscious enough about wearing skin-tight dresses, I at least want to look good in them.”

She leaned forward and hissed, “No one even knows who you are!”

I set down my fork. “I know who I am.”

“And so does Skeeter,” she whispered.

“What does that mean?”

“Are you trying to impress him?”

My anger billowed. “No. I can not believe you just insinuated that!”

“Then why are you still going along with this madness?”

I scowled. “You know darn good and well. A deal’s a deal. And besides, I’ve got one month down without incident. Only five to go.”

“He’s gonna call you again. Don’t be thinkin’ he won’t.”

I picked up my fork. “He already did.” I kept my gaze on my bowl. “I have to meet him tonight.”

“Rose!” When I didn’t respond, she lowered her voice. “What do you have to do?”

“I’m meeting Jed at eight to go to a business meeting.” I lifted my eyebrows. “And before you ask, no, I don’t know what I’m doin’ there. He said it was with a few associates, so I suspect I’ll be lookin’ for traitors.”

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in an exaggerated swoop. “Just the same ol’, same ol’.”

I groaned. “What would you have me do, Neely Kate? Tell Mason? It’s eatin’ away at me, but can you even begin to imagine what he’d do if he found out?”

Some of her irritation faded. “It wouldn’t be pretty.”

“No. It wouldn’t.” I stabbed my lettuce with more force than necessary. “I wish I wasn’t in this situation, but if I could live that night at Gems over again and I was forced to either let Mason die or coerce Skeeter into helping me, I would do the exact same thing.” I looked into her eyes. “I love him, Neely Kate, and I don’t want to lose him. Please stop fightin’ me on this and help me.”

She closed her eyes, then pushed out a breath before opening them and grabbing my hand. “You’re right. If I had to make the choice between letting Ronnie burn up in a fire or six months of indentured servitude with the Fenton County crime boss, I’d pick working with Skeeter.” She squeezed my hand. “I’ll help you.”

“Thank you.”

“But we only have another couple of hours until I have to get home for my doctor’s appointment, so right now we’re gonna work on figurin’ out who killed Dora.”

I pulled my notebook out of my purse. “I’m gonna list everything I’ve found out from Mason’s file and Dora’s journal.”

“Good idea.”

“Mostly Mason had a bunch of facts in his file. Dora was born in Shreveport. I already knew her parents died when she five and she moved to the farm to live with her grandparents.” I scribbled down notes as I spoke. “After high school, she went to technical school and moved to Shreveport for a couple of years before returning to Fenton County and getting a job at Atchison Manufacturing.” I looked up at Neely Kate. “In her journal she said she was worried about getting caught, which plays along with Mason’s note about the extortion scheme. It also explains why she was eager enough to leave Atchinson Manufacturing that she quit and found another job two months before I was born. The question is whether or not she played a direct part in the extortion.”