“He probably doesn’t want to worry you.”

“Is his job in trouble?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.”

Anger burned in my chest. “You’re just trying to stir up trouble between us.”

“I’m not, Rose. I swear. And while there’s no love lost between Mason and me, I’d rather work with him than the actual DA.”

“I don’t want to keep this from him. It’s too important.”

“I know. Just give me until next week.”

“No.” I steeled my back. “I’ll give you until the weekend.”

He started to protest, then stopped. “Okay.”

I turned around and started up the porch steps.

“Rose.”

I looked over my shoulder at him.

“Tread carefully around Hilary. I’d truly kick her out of town if I had the authority, but I don’t. Try not to rile her up.”

His words rekindled my anger. “I’m done hiding from the world, Joe Simmons.”

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way. But until this is sorted out, try to avoid her if you can.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard,” I said sarcastically. “Why don’t you tell her the same thing?”

I walked back into the house, worried that Maeve would be upset that I’d stayed outside for so long with Joe. But she seemed more concerned about the leak under her kitchen sink.

“The inspection showed some issues, but I got the house for such a steal we didn’t make the owner fix them.” She put a large plastic bowl under the pipes. “This should take care of it for now.”

“That won’t work for long,” I said.

She sighed, and I reached down to help her up. “But it’ll keep the floor dry for the time being. I’ll just have to remember to keep emptying the bowl.”

“I thought the realtor said he was going to give you the names of some repairmen.”

“He did, but none of them seem to be in a hurry to run over for nickel-and-dime repairs.”

We finished putting the meatloaf together, making a double batch so Neely Kate could take one home to bake for her and Ronnie. I was impressed, though not surprised, that Maeve had already gone grocery shopping and picked up all the essentials.

Neely Kate looked beat, so I offered to drop her and her meatloaf off at her car so she could get home to put it in the oven. Maeve cut another couple of generous slices of cake and put them on a plate for my friend to take with her.

“I’m gonna get as huge as a whale if I keep hanging out with you, Maeve,” Neely Kate joked as she put her coat on. Then she winked. “I’m sure Ronnie won’t mind.”

“You’re welcome here anytime,” the older woman said with a warm smile, looking pleased as punch. She’d only been in her house for a couple of days, but it was already obvious the move had been a good decision.

As soon as we got in my car, Neely Kate started grilling me. “I hope you gave Joe an earful about Hilary.”

“Neely Kate, he doesn’t want her here any more than we do. He says he’s really done with her, and I think he means it this time.”

“Hmm.” She pressed her lips together.

I cast a glance at her, wondering if I should come clean about J.R.’s fabricated evidence, but there was no telling what she’d do. I couldn’t risk it.

I pulled into an empty space several spots from her car. “Are you worried about telling Ronnie that you got fired?”

She shook her head with a grin. “Nope. I’ve decided it’s a blessing in disguise. You’re right, I’ve hated that place all along.”

“Then do you want to go to Sugar Branch tomorrow and look for Nikko?”

She threw her arms around me. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure if you’d still want to help me after what happened today.”

“Hey.” I gave her a squeeze and leaned back to look at her. “We have to find Dolly Parton, don’t we? It’s the next place to look.”

“Do you want me to come by your office? If you’d like, I can get an accounting program set up on your computers before we go.”

“Really?”

She shrugged and opened her door. “Sure. Turns out I have loads of time now.”

“See you in the morning, Neely Kate. Take it easy tonight, okay?”

“I’ll give it a try.” She shut the door and waved. I watched her walk to her car, deciding I had just enough time to run home and get Muffy before Mason showed up for dinner.

My phone rang as I pulled out of the parking space, and I cringed when I saw who was calling.

“Skeeter, you haven’t bothered me for two weeks, so why do you keep calling me now?”

“I need you to come read someone.”

“Skeeter!”

“It’ll just take a minute, and he’ll never know it’s you. We’ll put a hood on him.”

A hood? “Who is it?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

“Are you holding him hostage?”

“No.”

“Then how are you gonna explain the hood to him?”

“He thinks it’s something kinky.”

I gritted my teeth. “I am not—”

He laughed. “Relax, Lady. I’ve got it covered.”

What was gonna be uncovered was what had me worried, but I didn’t say anything. If I continued down this path, it was going to end badly. There was no doubt about it.