I glanced in the rearview mirror. She was wrong about that. I threw the car in reverse and drove backward. The deputy ran after me, but I found another exit and backed up past it before putting the car in drive and turning out of the parking lot.

I dug my phone out of my purse. “Neely Kate? I need you to meet me somewhere.”

“Okay, where?”

I took a deep breath. “I don’t know . . . Um . . . how about the parking lot of Jonah’s church?”

“But I thought Jonah was out of town until Saturday. Isn’t he doin’ that special holiday themed televangelist Jeopardy taping?”

“He is. That’s not why I’m meeting you there. I’m kind of running from the law again.”

“What?”

I looked into the rearview mirror to see if the deputy was following me. “I’ll explain when I see you.”

“That’s what you said this morning.”

“So now I have more to tell you. Can you meet me really soon? And we need to take your car so she won’t track me.”

“Who?”

“Deputy Hoffstetter.”

I got to the parking lot before Neely Kate, not that I was surprised. The hospital was five minutes from the church, and Neely Kate was a good twenty minutes away. I used the opportunity to call Bruce Wayne.

“Hey, Rose,” he said, sounding cheerful. “Good news! Mason’s call lit a fire under our penny-pinching landlord, and the fuse box is getting fixed today. What are you up to?”

“If you’re at the office, you might want to be prepared for what’s about to show up on our doorstep.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means a deputy’s probably gonna come by lookin’ for me.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing. Not this time. I swear it. Someone’s trying to kill Mason, and Joe’s assigned a deputy to watch out for me. Only Deputy Hoffstetter thinks that means protective custody.”

“Whoa, whoa,” he said. “What do you mean someone is trying to kill Mason?”

I filled him in on what I knew from Joe, keeping the Skeeter part to myself, but in the last month or so, Bruce Wayne had gotten really good at reading between the lines. “How does Skeeter Malcolm play into this?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’d heard rumors that the Lady in Black was spotted last night, but I didn’t want to believe it.”

I groaned. “Bruce Wayne . . .”

“You’re supposed to let me help you, Rose.” The hurt in his voice was like a stab in the chest.

“It’s too dangerous for you, Bruce Wayne. You’re on probation. You can’t get mixed up in this.”

“We’re partners, Rose. The only reason you’re tangled up with him is because I was stupid enough to set up that meeting. You need to let me help you.”

“I’m done with him.”

“The hell you are.”

“I’m done with him for today, then.”

“Rose.” His voice was heavy with disappointment.

“He said he could help me find out who was trying to kill Mason. How could I pass that up?”

“How about letting Joe take care of it?”

“Because, officially, Joe’s no closer to finding the culprits, while I found two of them last night.”

“Did you tell Joe?”

“No.” I swallowed. “They were Skeeter’s men. They wanted to pin it on Skeeter, so he’d go to jail, and they could take over. He took care of it.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“You think Skeeter’s men are going to betray him and walk free?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Rose.”

“Then what?”

“How do you know Skeeter’s not behind it all and duping you into thinking he’s helping?”

“I had visions, Bruce Wayne.”

“Did you have any visions that specifically told you Skeeter wasn’t behind the attempt on Mason’s life?”

I scowled. Of course, I knew there was a chance Bruce Wayne was right, but my gut instinct, which I’d learned to rely on, told me it wasn’t true. “No, I guess not.”

Bruce Wayne was silent for a moment. “Skeeter’s bad news, Rose. Stay away from him.”

“I told you. I have no plans to see him again.”

“If he calls you, don’t answer.”

Neely Kate’s car pulled into the parking lot. “Neely Kate’s here, so I have to go. I just wanted to warn you about Deputy Hoffstetter.”

“If you need me, call.”

I was getting all kinds of offers for help today. “Thanks, Bruce Wayne.”

Neely Kate stopped her car next to mine. I started to get out, but she shook her head and climbed out from behind the wheel. “We can’t use my car, Rose. I barely made it here. Something’s wrong with it.”

I suppressed a groan. “Okay, we’ll make this work. Surely she won’t think to look for me at Billy Jack’s.”

“Why does Joe have her trailing you anyway? Does he not want us to visit Billy Jack?”

“No. Someone tried to kill Mason yesterday.” I repeated what I’d told Bruce Wayne as I drove down side streets in an attempt to avoid Deputy Hoffstetter.

“Then what are you doing runnin’ around?” she asked. “I know you don’t want to spend all day cooped up with that cranky woman, but this isn’t worth risking your life for, Rose. If someone’s after Mason, they might be after you, too.”