“I’m ready to eat, Aunt Rose,” Ashley said as she came down the hall. “I washed my hands really good.”

I started to break loose, but Mason’s arm stayed behind my back. “Did it have something to do with our run-in with Malcolm this morning?”

“No.” I patted Mason’s chest. “It was probably nothing, but I’ll tell you all about it later. I told the chief deputy sheriff when I saw him earlier.”

He tensed. “It must have been something if you told Joe. Was he concerned?”

“No,” I prevaricated.

“Not even after our run-in with Malcolm this morning?”

“Mason,” I sighed, hoping he didn’t realize I was glossing over the fact that I hadn’t told Joe about Skeeter. “That was nothing. I’m fine.”

He didn’t look convinced.

I looked over my shoulder. “Maeve, I need to talk to Mason in private. It will only take a few minutes.”

“Take your time.”

I smiled at Ashley. “You go ahead and start eating, and we’ll be back inside in a minute.”

Her head bobbed. “Okay, Aunt Rose.”

I led him out to the front porch and pulled him close to help keep both of us warm. I told him pretty much exactly what I’d told Joe—about the vision today, recognizing Eric from church a few weeks ago, and the fact that Mick was responsible for Mr. Sullivan’s death. As I’d done with Joe, I led Mason to believe that today’s recent vision had jogged that particular realization loose.

I could see the disappointment in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me weeks ago?” Hurt filled his voice.

“I’m sorry, Mason. Truly, I am.”

He was silent.

“What do you think my vision meant? Before now, I’ve never felt bad after one before, and the sensation hung on for several minutes.”

“I don’t know, but I think you need to stay away from the Burger Shack.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to talk to Joe about checking up on that manager to be on the safe side, as well as digging more into the vet.”

“But that’s just it, Mason. Nothing bad happened in my vision.”

“Maybe not, but it’s affected you all the same, and that has to mean something.” His voice hardened. “In the meantime, promise me you’ll stay away.”

“I promise.”

He hugged me and held me tight. “You scare me to death, the things you get into. Maybe I should quit my job so I can follow you around all day and keep you out of trouble.”

“You’re presuming I’m in the market for a bodyguard.”

He nibbled my ear. “It would come with perks.”

“I thought, as your potential employer, it was my job to offer the perks.”

“I am definitely open to negotiation. What kind of benefits package are you offering?”

Laughing, I broke free and grabbed his hand. “We’ll save the negotiations for later.”

After we ate, we helped Maeve for another hour, making a lot of progress between the four of us. Around eight, I realized I needed to get Ashley home, since it was a school night. As I bundled her up in her coat, my phone rang. I breathed a sigh of relief that it was my best friend and not the largest current thorn in my side.

“Hey, Neely Kate,” I answered in surprise. She typically took her grandma to bingo on Tuesday nights. “What’s up?”

“Dolly Parton’s still missing.”

“Oh,” I said, standing up and grabbing my own jacket.

“I was wondering how your day looked tomorrow. Do you think you can go with me on my lunch break to talk to her best friend?”

“Can’t you just call her?” I asked as Mason picked up his coat and gave me an inquisitive look.

“Tabitha and I don’t get along lately,” she said with a tight edge to her voice. “She wouldn’t answer my call. Trust me.”

“Do you think she’ll talk to you in person?”

“I’m hopin’ she’ll talk to you in person.” She paused. “Will you help?”

“Of course, I will. What time do you want to go?”

“She tends to sleep late, so I’m thinking around noon. Lunchtime will work. Can we take your truck? She’ll know my car.”

Whatever had happened between the two women must have been fairly recent. Neely Kate had replaced her beat-up clunker with a used Toyota in August, right after her wedding to Ronnie. “Sure. Just come over to my office, and we’ll leave from there,” I said before I hung up, hoping this meant I could get out of eating more of Neely Kate’s gourmet messes.

“What’s going on?” Mason asked, concern in his voice as he helped me with my coat while Maeve said goodbye to Ashley.

I knew how disappointed Mason was about everything I’d been keeping from him—not to mention the whole Lady in Black secret, which he still didn’t know . . . and hopefully never would—so I wanted to be on the up-and-up with him. But now I was worried about what he’d think of our mission to find Dolly Parton.

“Neely Kate’s cousin is missing.” His eyes widened in alarm, but before he could say anything, I added, “It’s not the first time. According to Joe, this is apparently a common thing with her. She takes off for a few days, her momma files a missing persons report, and then she turns up again. Neely Kate’s aunt called to file the latest report last night, but the sheriff’s office isn’t going to follow up on it just yet.”