“What?” Neely Kate asked.

“I think they could have convicted you in a court of law.”

Neely Kate put her hand on her hip. “Then why’d you help me?”

He laughed and held out his hands. “I’m a defense attorney. It’s in my blood, I guess. I just can’t help myself.”

Neely Kate gave him her best stare-down, and he didn’t flinch. Crappy doodles, he was good.

I turned to Neely Kate. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.” I purposely avoided using Mason’s name. “Do you want me to take you back to your car?”

“You don’t have to leave, Rose. I can find another way to the town square.”

“The town square, you say?” Carter asked, looking amused. “I’m headed that way to my office now. I can give you a lift.”

Neely Kate put her hands on her hips and gave him a sassy look. “What are you even doin’ here, anyway?” she asked. “Are you ambulance chasin’?”

“Neely Kate!” I gasped.

He chuckled before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a business card. “Here’s proof that I am who I say I am.” He pointed to the card. “You’ll notice right away that it says defense attorney and not ambulance chaser.”

“Oh, I know who you are,” Neely Kate said. “I’ve heard all about you.”

He laughed. “Is that so?”

“I’m married, Mr. Hale.”

“It’s only a ride to the courthouse. I’ve saved you from these fumbling fools who call themselves security officers. Surely I don’t plan to ravage you in broad daylight on the way to the courthouse.” He winked. “I’d save that for after dark.”

Neely Kate tried to look horrified, but it was easy to see she was amused. “Well, as long as you don’t take six hours to get to the courthouse, we should be good.”

“I do know a long way . . .” he teased.

I pulled Neely Kate to the side. “Are you sure? I don’t know how long Mason’s gonna be getting his CT scan. I’ll have plenty of time to take you back.” I shifted my eyes toward Carter Hale who stood three feet away with his arms crossed, looking like he’d caught the world by its tail. “He looks too cocky.”

“I know all about Carter Hale’s exploits,” she said with a grin. “Even if I were single, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to get caught up in his web of lies. He’s a love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy, and god love ’im, he’s soon to run out of women in Fenton County.” She laughed. “I’m safe, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll text you when he drops me off.”

“Good. But don’t be thinking about going to find Billy Jack without me, okay? He’s bound to still be ticked off at us. We should go together.”

She gave me a hug. “If you need me for anything, call me. And keep me updated on Mason.”

“Okay.”

She walked out the door, with Carter following behind her. He tried to put his hand on the small of her back, and she shoved it off as though it were a white-hot poker. I almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

Chapter Twenty

I went back to Mason’s room to wait for him, the receptionist shooting me a hateful glare as I passed. A short while later, Neely Kate texted me to say she’d made it to her car, safe and undefiled. I wasn’t used to sitting around, so I started thinking about Dolly Parton again, trying to piece together the clues we’d found about her disappearance and Nikko’s, but we were still missing too much information.

After a half hour Mason still hadn’t returned, and I started to worry, but the door opened several seconds later, and the orderly pushed Mason back into the room. He’d changed clothes and was now wearing a blue hospital gown. And he didn’t look happy about it.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, getting to my feet.

“They refused to tell me anything,” Mason complained. “But I feel fine. It’s a waste of time.”

The orderly tried to help Mason out of the chair and onto the bed. Mason grabbed the opening in the back of his gown and shot the orderly a frown. “I have a cut on my forehead and a pounding headache. I’m not a damned invalid.”

I laughed and gave the poor hospital worker a sympathetic look as I said to Mason, “You do seem to be feeling fine.”

The orderly hurried for the door, and Mason called after him, “Would you please send a doctor in here to stitch up my head so I can get the hell out of here?”

The poor guy mumbled something unintelligible and left the room.

“You really should be nicer to them, Mr. Cranky Pants,” I said, moving next to him.

His face broke into an ornery grin. “You mean like shouting something about Ebola in a crowded waiting room?”

“For the record, Neely Kate regrets that. Especially after hospital security threatened to call in the cops.”

He sat up. “Does she need help?”

“No, an attorney was sitting in the waiting room, and he got her out of it.”

His back stiffened. “Which attorney?”

“Carter Hale. Do you know him?”

His mouth pursed. “Oh, I know him all right. What was he doing here?”

I paused. “You know, he never told us. He heard Neely Kate talking to a security guard and cited some court case to get her off the hook. Neely Kate knew of Carter and accused him of sitting in the waiting room to chase ambulances.”