I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“I know he loves you—that’s why he’s so protective of you. But—call me a fool—I also believe he’ll never act on it unless you want him to.”

“Like how things were with you and me last fall.”

“Yeah. I want to trust you, Rose. Just be open and honest with me instead of trying to hide what you’re doing. I never want you to feel trapped by me. So if working with Skeeter to bring J.R. down is our best option, then you have my full blessing and support.” His voice broke. “But all I ask is that you come home to me when it’s all said and done.”

“Oh, Mason.”

“You don’t have to give me an answer. Just please give me updates, no matter how vague. Otherwise, I’ll go crazy.”

I could give him that. “No specifics.”

“I can live with that.” He paused. “I love you, Rose. I want this to work, but I know we need to fix some things. That’s what I wanted to talk about last night—only, I did a piss-poor job of articulating myself yesterday afternoon. I want to fix us, so go get the bastard and come home to me so we can get started.” Then he hung up before I could say another word.

Muffy started to whine, and I leaned over and rubbed her behind the ears. “Don’t give up on us yet, Muff.”

I felt like crying, but I smiled when she licked my nose.

Neely Kate appeared in the doorway to the bedroom. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, standing. I slid the phone into my front jeans pocket, then set Muffy on the floor. “I think I am.”

Skeeter and Jed were already seated at the table with empty plates in front of them, and with heaping plates of pancakes and bacon in the middle. I got situated in one of the empty seats, and Neely Kate handed me a cup of coffee, giving me a worried look. I wanted to reassure her that I was fine, but I really didn’t want to tip Skeeter or Jed off about my breakup with Mason. I needed to be on top of my game, and I sure didn’t want them worrying that I would be distracted.

“We need to get the bag,” I said, looking at Skeeter. I’d filled Neely Kate in on most of the details before we’d gone to sleep the night before. I could only presume Skeeter had done the same with Jed.

“I’ve already had one of my boys drive by the alley. It’s still under surveillance. There’s no way we can retrieve it yet.”

I sighed as I took a sip of my coffee. “What are we gonna do?”

He grimaced as he heaped three pancakes onto his plate. “Seems to me that the most important file in the stack—or at least the most intriguing—is the one about the Simmons’s housekeeper.”He returned the platter to the middle of the table. “You’re sure you didn’t see it before in Kate Simmons’s apartment?”

I looked at Neely Kate. “You saw more files than I did. Do you remember anything like that?”

She shook her head. “Nuh uh. I would have remembered because everything else had a direct connection to Mason.”

“And you’re sure you saw them all?” Skeeter asked. “Do you think you could have missed it?”

“Well, I suppose,” Neely Kate said. “But I don’t think so.”

Skeeter nodded, then turned to me. “Do you remember what you saw?”

“Not much. I was running out of time, so I just stuffed it into the bag. I made the connection because I recognized the address of one of her previous employers as Joe’s parents’ house.”

“So Kate’s interest in Roberta is new?” Skeeter asked as he attacked his pancakes. “Maybe because Anna showed up? The real question is why she showed up.”

“And also why Roberta left the Simmons’s house in the first place,” I added. “Do you think she told her granddaughter why she left?”

“No.” Skeeter shook his head. “Not a chance. But I know someone we can ask.”

“Who?” Neely Kate and I asked at the same time.

“Hilary Wilder. She might know something.

“I guess they grew up together, huh?” I asked.

“The way I heard it, Hilary spent more time at the Simmons house than her own,” Skeeter confirmed. “I’m not surprised. Her momma was a conniver and a schemer. She was a difficult woman to be around for any length of time.”

Neely Kate curled her upper lip. “Guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Skeeter shrugged. “Hilary was different back then—sweeter and naïve, as hard as that is to believe—and she took to Roberta, too. Everyone did.”

I had a hard time envisioning a non-conniving Hilary, but it gave me hope that there was still a good person buried deep down. If her mother had been terrible, it was no wonder she’d grown attached to Roberta.

“Kind of like Maeve,” I said to Neely Kate. “Everyone loves her like they loved Roberta.”

“Hilary might know something,” Skeeter said. “I think you should talk to her.”

“Me? You knew her. You talk to her.”

Skeeter shook his head. “Hilary’s smart. She was always at the Simmons’s house, and she saw me there with J.R. plenty of times. I wouldn’t put it past her to recognize me. And if she does, she’d be too scared to tell me anything. It has to be you two.”

“Well, there’s no way she’s talkin’ to me,” I protested. “She hates my guts.”

“Get Violet to talk to her,” Neely Kate said. “She and Hilary kind of became friends over the whole baby nursery thing.”

The blood rushed from my face. How could I have forgotten about Violet’s condition? “Violet can’t talk to her,” I said. “She’s leaving for Texas tomorrow.”

“Texas? What on God’s green earth is she gonna do in Texas?” Neely Kate asked in disbelief.

“I . . . uh . . .”

“No,” Skeeter barked. “I want it to be one of us.”

“I’m telling you,” I said, shaking my head, “she’s never gonna talk to me.”

“Then you’re gonna have to find a way,” he said, his eyes meeting mine.

“You’re really gonna send me off to talk to Hilary while J.R. Simmons is on the loose?”

“Hell, no,” he said with a snort. “Jed’s gonna go with you.”