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Unnamed
Other Titles by Denise Grover Swank Rose Gardner Mysteries TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES TWENTY-NINE AND A HALF REASONS THIRTY AND A HALF EXCUSES FALLING TO PIECES (Novella) THIRTY-ONE AND A HALF REGRETS THIRTY-TWO AND A HALF COMPLICATIONS PICKING UP THE PIECES (Novella) THIRTY-THREE AND A HALF SHENANIGANS ROSE AND HELENA SAVE CHRISTMAS (Novella) RIPPLE OF SECRETS (Novella) THIRTY-FOUR AND A HALF PREDICAMENTS THIRTY-FIVE AND A HALF CONSPIRACIES THIRTY-SIX AND A HALF MOTIVES Rose Gardner Investigations and Neely Kate Mysteries FAMILY JEWELS TRAILER TRASH FOR THE BIRDS Magnolia Steele Mysteries CENTER STAGE ACT TWO CALL BACK CURTAIN CALL Bachelor Brotherhood ONLY YOU UNTIL YOU ALWAYS YOU The Wedding Pact THE SUBSTITUTE THE PLAYER THE GAMBLER THE VALENTINE Off the Subject AFTERMATH REDESIGNED BUSINESS AS USUAL The Curse Keepers THE CURSE KEEPERS THIS PLACE IS DEATH (Novella) THE CURSE BREAKERS THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING (Novella) THE CURSE DEFIERS THIS IS YOUR DESTINY (Novella) The Chosen C
Unnamed
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Text copyright © 2018 by Denise Grover Swank All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake Romance are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781542048217 ISBN-10: 1542048214 Cover design by Faceout Studios
To Trace: you’ve always been too devious for your own good.
CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE CHAPTER THIRTY CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHAPTER ONE This felt a lot like rock bottom. I was sitting at the bar in Magnum, an upscale Vietnamese and Portuguese fusion restaurant, sipping a glass of white wine while I tried not to dwell on the fact that the restaurant was named after a condom. Okay, so it probably wasn’t named after a condom, but it might as well have been. I hadn’t had a decent job in almost eight years, and I was trying to decide whether to accept a nude photo shoot or star in my own personal version of hell—a reality TV show. I’d been looking for signs everywhere, and this seemed like a flashing billboard. My grandmother was the one who’d gotten me into the habit of looking for signs. As a lifetime member of Sweet Briar, Alabama Calvary Baptist Church, I was positive she would tell me to run far away from the photo shoot, regardless of the name of the restaurant. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t talked to my grandmother in years—nine, to be exact. She always seemed to pop up in my head when I needed tough lov
CHAPTER TWO “Shit. This is bad,” I said as I watched the video phone footage on TMZ while balancing a bag of frozen peas on the knuckles of my right hand. Lucky for me, I’d been captured on half a dozen camera phones, all showing me from various angles punching Richard Abbott, a forty-three-year-old mechanic from Omaha, Nebraska, in the face. My front door opened, and I whipped around to see Marina walk in carrying a brown paper bag. I pushed out a breath of relief. I was so tightly wound, I wasn’t sure I could handle this alone. I hadn’t called her, but I wasn’t surprised she’d come anyway even though she was supposed to be working. “What in the hell happened?” she asked, walking toward me. “I just snapped,” I said, turning back to the TV as the host discussed what had led to my emotional breakdown. “I’ll say,” she said in awe. “Have you been taking kickboxing or self-defense classes on the sly? Because that was quite a punch.” “No.” I groaned and began to pace again. “Just hot yoga.”
CHAPTER THREE Two days later, the production company put me on a red-eye from LA to Atlanta. Marina had pouted big-time when she’d realized she couldn’t come with me, but I’d promised to call her often and fill her in on the details. My plane was supposed to land around six in the morning, and Lauren’s assistant, Karen, was scheduled to pick me up on the curb at six thirty. Instead, my plane had mechanical issues that delayed our takeoff, and Karen picked up my two bags and me at seven thirty. She gave me a strained glance when I got in the car. “Lauren’s going to be pissed.” “She can’t be angry over something that was out of your control,” I said, fastening the seat belt as she punched the gas pedal and tore away from the curb. “She’s not going to be angry with me.” Her sympathetic look told me all I needed to know. “I presume we’ll start filming soon after we get to Sweet Briar,” I said, leaning my head back on the seat. I’d barely gotten any sleep on the plane. “Everyone will be rea
CHAPTER FOUR Bill, another cameraman, hopped into the back of a pickup truck and filmed us as we drove the ten blocks to the McBrides’ house. As soon as we were alone together, Dixie turned in her seat to face me. We were going about ten miles an hour—apparently it was easier to film us that way—so I was able to shoot a glance at her every now and then. “So,” she said, “Maybelline started a Facebook page for Sweet Briar gossip—” “Maybelline? The one who owns the café downtown?” She laughed. “How many Maybellines do you know?” Touché. “She hears all kinds of things at the café and then posts about them online,” Dixie continued. “People tell her things, knowin’ she’ll post their stories without usin’ their names.” “I don’t think I’m gonna like where you’re going with this . . . ,” I said. She grinned. “Today, she posted about your encounter with Luke. Someone called it a reunion of star-crossed lovers.” I rolled my eyes and groaned. “There’s even a photo. Looks like there’s still a spark
CHAPTER FIVE I found Dixie sitting on the porch step, staring out into the backyard. I sat down beside her and wrapped my arm around her back. “How’re you doin’?” “I’m fine,” she sniffed out. I leaned my head into hers. “I’ve been a really crappy cousin, but I want to be a good one now. If you ever want to talk about your parents or anything, I’m a pretty good listener.” I bent down to catch her tear-filled gaze. “And I’m pretty good at opening a wine bottle too. Even my friend Marina says so.” Dixie laughed and swiped an escaping tear. “It’s so stupid. I have no right to these feelings.” “What feelings? Grief?” I asked in disbelief. She didn’t answer for a moment. “Even if I was entitled then, they’ve been gone nine years.” “You lost your parents, Dixie, and Pawpaw too. You’re entitled to your grief.” I paused, then decided to address the elephant in the room. “Momma didn’t tell me much, but I know you didn’t intentionally start the fire. It was an accident.” “Accident or not, they’re
CHAPTER SIX After I parked on Main Street, we walked the half block to the café. Dixie opened the door and motioned for me to go in first. Walking into Maybelline’s Café was like stepping into the past. I’d spent a lot of time here when I was a kid, and even more on my trip home the summer I was seventeen. I’d gotten to know Maybelline pretty well, so I wasn’t surprised when she called out my name. “Summer!” “Hey, Maybelline.” The elderly woman with shockingly orange hair waddled toward me and pulled me into a bear hug. “I was wondering how long it would take you to show up here. You’ve been gone too long, girl.” “I know,” I said. “But I’m back now, and I’m starving for one of your country-fried steak dinners. We have to be back in about thirty minutes. Should I order something else?” Perhaps I should have for the sake of my figure, but I wasn’t doing the Alpha photo shoot, so maybe it didn’t matter too much. A mock scowl scrunched up her face, and she pointed to an empty booth. “Order
CHAPTER SEVEN We were a few minutes early, but Lauren must have put the fear of God into everyone, because we were the last to arrive. At 1 p.m. sharp, a woman showed up at the door. I was sure she was just another gawker, but Karen rushed out to greet her. Lauren looked up from her tablet. “Okay. Let’s not waste any time. That’s our next client, Mrs. Peabody.” Dixie looked surprised. “What’s Summer investigating for Nettie?” “She’s looking for proof her husband is a philanderer.” Dixie burst out laughing. “The whole dang town knows that.” Lauren shot her a withering glare. “We’re still lining up cases. We’ll need some easy ones too, to help round out the episodes.” Dixie turned to me. “I thought the whole point was to solve mysteries.” I shrugged, still trying to figure out the real point of this show. I was beginning to think Lauren and I had two entirely different expectations. I knew some reality shows were scripted, but if Dixie was right about Mr. Peabody, this bordered on ridicu
CHAPTER EIGHT We spent the next two hours at the house of the town harlot, aka Becky MacDonald, because Karen had arranged for Nettie’s husband to be there. I took the camera Lauren had provided and snuck around the house, peeking into the windows and taking photos. Then I got multiple shots of Nettie’s husband running out the front door toward his truck. Thankfully, Becky and Earl supplied plenty of drama, from her running out in her lingerie to him tripping over a tree root as he tried to pull a shirt over his head, so I didn’t catch any more grief from Lauren for being too boring. The topper was the policeman who showed up claiming someone had turned me in for being a Peeping Tom. Since he put a pair of handcuffs on me, I suspected that someone had been Lauren. The next stop was staking out the disability-claim guy in his doctor’s parking lot. That was a whole lot less interesting, so either Lauren had some surprise planned, or I was going to have to come up with something fast. Kar
CHAPTER NINE “This is harassment, Luke,” I snapped. “You’ve had officers watching us all day, and now this. You know I didn’t do anything wrong. I expected better from you.” Guilt flashed in his eyes, but his anger flared up as quickly as an Alabama thunderstorm. “You’re disrupting my town. You blew in like a tornado and disrupted my life twelve years ago, and here you are disruptin’ it again.” I searched deep for an ember of anger to stoke, anything that would overtake the pain that was about to make me burst into tears. “I have no intention of disrupting your life again. That’s not why I’m here.” “I’m the damn police chief, Summer. You’re disruptin’ the town, which means you’re disruptin’ me.” He turned away. “If I had my way, I’d kick your whole damn circus out of the city limits, but your producer promised something to Mayor Sterling and swayed the whole city council, and now I’m hamstrung.” That perked up my interest. “Promised what?” “Probably money for that stoplight he’s wantin
CHAPTER TEN “Summer,” my mother said in a snippy tone, “you’re back in town and didn’t bother to tell me.” I pushed out a breath. I was going to kill Lauren. And all this was being captured on camera. If Lauren expected us to reshoot Momma’s grand entrance, I would walk right out of this house. “Momma,” I said, trying to keep my tone civil, “I just arrived this morning.” “I hear you got a new business,” she said, walking into the room. “You’re a detective now. A real one.” My stepfather followed, staying multiple steps behind her. His black hair had gone mostly gray, but he still had the same browbeaten look he’d worn since shortly after he’d married my mother. “Hello, Summer,” he said softly, unable to look me in the eye. “Hi, Burt.” “What in the Sam Hill are you doin’ here, Beatrice?” Meemaw asked while slapping a spoonful of potatoes onto her plate. Momma lifted her chin. “We’ve dropped by for dinner.” “No one invited you.” My mother laughed. “Invited? But we’re family.” She pointed
CHAPTER ELEVEN The next morning after we got into the truck to head into town, I saw that Dixie was glued to her phone. “Everything okay?” “There’s been a murder,” she said with her eyes still fixed on the screen. “In Sweet Briar?” I asked in shock. “Yeah. It’s on Maybelline’s Facebook page.” “Who?” “She doesn’t know. Only that a body was found behind Ruby Garwood’s garage. Cale found it while he was driving home last night. Luke’s keepin’ it all hush-hush.” “When was the last time there was a murder in this town?” “The county has ’em from time to time, but I can’t remember the last time someone was killed in city limits.” She paused for a moment. “So what’s that mean for our show?” “I don’t know,” I said. “Nothing, I suppose. Otto’s disappearance seems to be the only real thing we’re investigating if you don’t count the workman’s-comp case, and honestly, I’m not convinced that’s real.” I gasped. “Do you think it could be Otto?” “Oh, golly,” she said. “I hope not.” She continued to loo
CHAPTER TWELVE We spent another hour staking out Earl at his next honey’s house. This one was less eventful, which I wasn’t sure was such a good thing given Lauren’s push for drama, and afterward we headed back to the Dollar General in the hopes of catching Otto’s cronies off guard. I wondered if they would even be there at eleven in the morning, but sure enough, they were lounging at the table, looking less clean-cut than the day before and already three sheets to the wind. Since Karen and Lauren weren’t surprised to see them, and each of the guys had a half-empty bottle of Jim Beam, it wasn’t hard to deduce what Karen had been up to when she’d disappeared for a while an hour earlier. Chuck didn’t want to risk hooking microphones up on two drunk guys, so he pulled out the overhead mike, and Dixie and I started questioning Al and Fred. I held out my hand. “Hi, I’m Summer, and I want to ask you a few questions about your friend.” Fred shook my hand with a wicked glint in his eyes. “Tiny
CHAPTER THIRTEEN The moment I met the elderly Reverend Timothy Miller, I knew he was a patient man. Lauren was pacing his office with a scowl on her face, but Reverend Miller sat at his desk quietly drinking tea while everyone scurried about his office. Tony had his camera set up behind one of the guest chairs, and Bill’s camera was to one side of the desk, practically pointed at the other one. “Where the hell have you been, Summer?” Lauren snapped. “I got lost,” I said, crossing the room to the minster’s desk. “Hi, I’m Summer. Thank you so much for meeting with us today.” With Lauren’s tight schedule and need to follow everything by the script, I had a feeling she wouldn’t approve of our questioning the Dollar General employees. Better to keep it to ourselves, especially since we hadn’t discovered anything. “You got lost in the Dollar General?” Lauren asked in disbelief. “Have you been inside the Dollar General?” Dixie asked. “There’s miles and miles of discounts.” Lauren stared at he
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Dixie was right—it was a beautiful day. It was the middle of April, and being so close to the Gulf of Mexico, Sweet Briar and Bixley County heated up a lot faster than the rest of the country. But we were enjoying a good spell—the expected high was in the midseventies, and the sun was shining. We stopped off at Mama Jane’s, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that only sold fried chicken and the fixings out of the window of what looked like a dilapidated shack. Dixie had called ahead, and they had a huge bucket of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and rolls waiting for us when we pulled up. I realized too late that I only had fourteen dollars in my wallet—not nearly enough to pay for the twenty-five-dollar lunch, and my credit cards were mostly maxed out. But Bill, in his effort to impress Dixie, was already hopping out of the truck to pay for it. The looks my cousin was giving him suggested that she was actually into him, but I worried that acting was in the
CHAPTER FIFTEEN I woke to Dixie’s voice. Something soft was under the back of my very sore head. “Summer? Oh, my God, Summer? Do something, Bill!” “I’ve already called 911,” he said, sounding uncharacteristically serious. I blinked my eyes open and saw Dixie’s tear-streaked face staring down at me. I realized the something soft was her legs. My head was on her lap. “Oh, thank God,” she said in a broken voice. “She’s awake.” “Otto,” I gasped. “He’s over there.” She tilted her head to the side. Several tears fell down her cheeks. “We moved you away from him once we realized you’d fainted.” Was that what had happened? It all came rushing back, along with the horror of the final seconds before I blacked out. I sat upright, then winced and grabbed my head as sharp pain shot through it. “There’s someone out there.” “What are you talking about?” she asked, her eyes full of concern. “There’s no one out there. Bill looked.” I glanced back and forth between them, trying to piece everything toget
CHAPTER SIXTEEN There was a cold rag pressed to my head when I woke up, but my eyelids felt too heavy to open. My head was still killing me, and the smell of vomit made me nauseated all over again. I released a moan and tried to sit up. “Whoa,” Luke said in a soothing tone as he gently pushed me back down. “You need to lie still.” “What happened?” I croaked out. “After your amazing reenactment of Linda Blair’s scene in The Exorcist, you passed out.” The amused tone in his voice made me feel more relieved. He didn’t hate me. “And Lauren?” “She ran out screaming, and the rest of them ran with her.” “That almost makes it worth it.” I cracked an eye, relieved to see he’d changed into a scrub shirt. “You should let your momma see you wearing that,” I said. “She always wanted you to be a doctor instead of a cop.” “Momma died a couple of years ago.” I cringed. “Luke, I’m so sorry. I know how close you were to her.” He didn’t say anything, but I could tell his guard was back up. “And your dad?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN We spent the next five minutes trying to make heads or tails of it, but murder was the only conclusion that fit. “It can’t be anything else,” Dixie said. “One, there’s no doubt he was scared last Sunday. Everyone’s said so. Something had him spooked. Two, he would never drink Jim Beam. Three, even if he died at the lake, how’d he get out there?” She narrowed her eyes. “You said the janitor at the church told you about the bike, right?” “He told me he saw it there when he was fishing yesterday.” She cocked her head, scrutinizing me. “Old Pete doesn’t fish.” “Old Pete? Why would they call a guy in his twenties Old Pete?” “Old Pete’s seventy years old.” My mouth dropped open, then I leaned my head back into the pillow, staring at the ceiling. “Then who did I talk to?” “Are you sure you talked to anyone? You hit your head pretty hard, and your memory is hazy.” I shot her a look. “Dixie, I told you about him before we even left the church.” “True.” She tapped her chin. “So
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN “Now what exactly are we going to do?” I asked. Dixie grinned. “When we’re not shooting with Lauren, Bill’s gonna sneak his camera out of the supply room at the office and follow us while we go around askin’ questions about Otto’s death.” “Everyone knows everyone else’s business in this town. How are we going to keep it a secret from Lauren?” “Nobody likes that Yankee,” she said with a snort. “They won’t tell her out of spite.” “If Lauren finds out . . .” “She won’t. And just think how satisfying it would be to find out who killed Otto and shove it in that deputy’s face.” “True . . .” “But to find out who killed Otto, we need to find out how he died, and I know his body is in the morgue.” I sucked in a breath. “You better not be thinkin’ what I think you’re thinkin’.” “I’m not suggestin’ we go do the autopsy ourselves.” “Then what are you suggesting?” “We should go down there and see if we can find the report.” “I don’t do dead people, Dixie.” “No crap. You passed out
CHAPTER NINETEEN I jerked the sheet out of her clenched fist and covered his face back up. Once his face was out of sight, she seemed to get ahold of herself. Her arm snaked around my waist. “Let’s get you back to your chair,” she said quietly. I let her guide me out of the room and back to the wheelchair while I cradled my stupid IV bag like a baby. It was then that she realized it was no longer attached to me. “The blood was from you,” she murmured, picking up the blanket that had been on my lap off the seat and then helping me into the chair. She took the bag, hung it back up, and stuffed the end of the tube under the blanket. The camera went in along with it. “I saw him yesterday, Dixie,” I said, looking up at her. “I saw him arguing with the mayor behind Maybelline’s restaurant, and he was the one who dropped the money in the parking lot.” I couldn’t tell Luke that I’d seen him before because I wasn’t supposed to be down here. Still, the information I had was important. It was loo
CHAPTER TWENTY After I hung up, I bolted out of bed so fast the room began to spin. I put a hand on the sloped ceiling and waited for it to pass, but the sounds of more banging spurred me into action. I knew I shouldn’t rush into something, especially if bullets were flying, but I couldn’t hide in Dixie’s room like some scared little girl. Even if I felt like one. I clung to the side of the wall as I descended the steps, hoping the dizziness would fade. I strained to hear any sounds, but the downstairs was oddly silent. As I reached the bottom step, I realized both my cousins had weapons, and I was defenseless. I peeked around the corner into the dining room and saw it was empty. I heard more noises out behind the house, and the sound of a car engine. I left the staircase, grabbed a crystal candlestick from Meemaw’s hutch, and entered the kitchen through the swinging door. It was quiet again, but the back door was open. An exterior light was on, and I saw three figures in the shadows n
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Teddy and I went into the kitchen, and he made me sit at the small two-person table shoved up against the wall while he set the kettle on the stove. “Maybe you should go back to bed, Summer.” I shook my head. “I could never go back to sleep.” Which was a lie. I was about to pass out in my chair, but it didn’t feel right to go to bed while Luke was here investigating. “Then how about we go hang out in the living room after I get your tea made? I hate these old, rickety chairs.” “Okay.” About five minutes later, Dixie came inside and saw Teddy fixing my tea. “I want a cup of tea,” she said in a good-natured whine. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll make you one too.” But he turned back and grinned at me, and I felt grateful that I was here with them. I started to cry again. “Summer?” Dixie asked, sounding worried. “Why are you cryin’? Are you feelin’ bad?” “No. It’s because I’m so happy.” “Happy? You’re sittin’ in Meemaw’s chair that’s about to collapse underneath you at two in th
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO When I woke up the next morning, I was glad I’d sent Lauren a text saying we would be in late. In fact, part of me was sorry I said I’d go in at all. I was pretty sure I’d benefit from sleeping the day away. But I had a new incentive to make this show work—Teddy and Dixie had reminded me that we were a family. The show had to succeed so we could pay off that loan. Then I could figure out where I fit in here. Still, I couldn’t let go of the conversation I’d overheard between Teddy and Dixie the night before. I needed to talk to Teddy and find out what financial issues he was dealing with regarding the farm, but I was also worried about how he’d come up with the extra cash. I was particularly worried after Dixie had suggested his strategy might not be on the up-and-up. After I showered and went into the kitchen, I was surprised to see my grandmother in front of the stove frying bacon. Dixie was still in the shower, and there was no sign of Teddy. I almost walked out, b
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE “Summer?” Luke asked in a low voice, next to me now. “You ready?” “Yeah.” “Don’t forget she needs to be back by one fifteen,” Dixie said, sounding a little too pleased with herself. “Yes, ma’am,” Luke said with a grin. He put his hand at the small of my back as he guided me to the door. Karen gave him a long, appreciative glance, but Lauren scowled. “You got yourself a new admirer,” I teased when we were on the sidewalk. “Your boss?” he asked in disgust. “I think I’d rather become a monk.” I laughed, and he looked down at me, a slow smile spreading across his face. “What?” He shook his head. “Nothin’.” “No,” I said, feeling self-conscious. “What?” For a moment I thought he wasn’t going to answer, but then he smiled, and his eyes lit up with warmth. “I always liked your laugh.” Heat spread through my body, pooling between my legs, and I resisted the urge to slap myself. Really, Summer? You are so easy. But I wasn’t, and I knew it. Not with other men anyway. Yet I al
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR It felt weird driving in a police car with Luke, but it could have been worse. At least I was sitting in the front seat. “So if you aren’t officially investigating this case, should you really be questioning Reverend Miller?” I asked as he pulled into the parking lot of the church. “I’m asking questions about incidents that happened in my town. There’s nothing wrong with that.” “So why are you really bringing me along? Because I don’t believe for one minute you want me to help you investigate a real case.” “The truth?” “Yes.” “Dixon thinks you’re making up the guy you talked to here. If we can put an ID on this guy, then I can question him and hopefully find out why he set you up and what he knows about Otto’s death. So I really want to find this guy, especially since Otto’s time of death falls during the time you don’t have an alibi.” Fear skated down my back. “You mean while I was sleeping? I thought he died of alcohol poisoning.” Luke leaned closer. “Doc Bailey t
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE By the time Lauren called it a day at six thirty, I was beyond exhausted. I’d forced myself to look attentive for the last thirty minutes while a woman told me her house was either haunted or her ex-husband was harassing her. We promised we’d get to the bottom of it. Since these cases all seemed to be preplanned, I’d bet good money that Lauren would have us insist it was the ghost, specifically the one that old-timers said roamed the streets of Sweet Briar. I suspected the legend was pure prime-time gold in her eyes. “We have an eight-a.m. call time tomorrow, so everyone be on time,” Lauren said as the crew began to pack up. “And, Summer,” she said, turning to me, “your little staycation is over. You’re going back out in the field tomorrow, so be prepared. We’ll be lucky to finish filming on time as it is.” Only Lauren would consider working from a chair while recovering from a concussion a staycation, but I was too tired to argue with her. Besides, we both wanted t
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX “It’s like this,” Dixie started to say, but Luke held up his hand in warning. “I want Summer to explain this one, Ms. Smooth Talker.” I glanced from Dixie to Bill and then finally back to Luke, whose eyebrows had risen in anticipation of my answer. Double shit. My brain was still addled, and that’s probably what he was counting on. But then he’d known we were out at the lake looking for information about Otto—he didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. Dammit. Nevertheless, I gave him a saucy look and said, “I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.” “Really?” he asked, looking amused. “I know you’re off your game, but I expected something better than that.” I blew out a breath. “I’m not sure we should talk about it here.” “If you weren’t gonna talk about it here, what were you goin’ to do?” “Interview someone.” “Summer!” Dixie protested. Bill hadn’t finished his approach to our table, and he looked liable to turn and run back out the
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN “We need to go there tomorrow,” I said to Dixie. “Do you think Bill’s still on board?” “Luke didn’t scare him off. He said he’d go with us wherever we need to go at lunch tomorrow and after we quit for the day.” “Thank goodness,” I said, then thought of something else. “I wonder what he’s doin’ with all the video. I was led to believe they dump it every night and the video editors go through it all the next day and pick out the usable footage.” “I was worried Lauren would figure it out, so I kind of asked him the same thing. He said he’s been saving our stuff to an external hard drive, but he’s worried because it takes a lot of memory. He said something about saving it on a cloud.” That made sense. I leaned back on the seat and closed my eyes. My head hurt from thinking too much. “What are y’all planning to do with this secret footage?” Dixie asked. “Are you gonna replace Lauren’s show?” “Not replace . . .” I hedged. “Supplement.” One more thing to worry about. But
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Everyone was a little shaken up after the incident, but Dixie took it upon herself to play mother hen. “I’m fine, Dixie,” I insisted. “Things like that used to happen fairly often when I was on Gotcha!” What I didn’t say was that I’d always been surrounded by security back then. They’d been left to deal with fans like Sebastian while I was swept away to another event or party or filming. We shot a few more scenes, trying to find more cooperative neighbors with dogs so it wouldn’t look like we’d found Fifi’s boy toy so quickly, but most of the neighbors who were home had seen the incident and kept wanting to talk about it on camera. Finally, Lauren threw up her hands and declared it was lunchtime. “Already?” someone said. “It’s only eleven.” “This isn’t about food or eating!” Lauren shouted. “This is about everyone getting their shit together before we pick up the next case. Be over at 351 Oak Street at twelve.” “The haunted house?” Tony asked. “That’s the one. Summ
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE We stumbled out to the living room while my fingers fumbled to call the police station. “Amber, this is Summer. Is Luke still there?” “He’s over at the impound lot with Deputy Dixon.” Dammit. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll call his cell.” “Why didn’t you tell her?” Dixie asked as I hung up the call. “Because that guy’s been dead for a while—probably since soon after I saw him, based on the fact he’s still wearing what he had on at the church and . . . his face. And Luke’s looking at the van with Deputy Dixon.” “We could call Cale or Willy,” Dixie said. “Luke would be furious. He’s going to want to see this himself.” “You should wait,” Bill said. “This gives you a chance to look around.” He’d lowered his camera and obviously wasn’t filming. “But if we look around, we’ll be tampering with a crime scene.” Beads of sweat dotted his upper lip. “So we’re careful. We can erase the last part of you finding the body and head back to his bedroom to snoop around. Then I’ll film you findi
CHAPTER THIRTY The next morning was more of the same made-up cases. We investigated the ex-husband of the haunted-house woman by following him as he drove from his house to work at the local bank. (Nothing happened.) We went to the city park and met an older woman who was sure someone was trying to steal her cat. (She brought her cat on a leash. And, of course, we took her case.) But I was nervous. Sebastian Jenkins was supposed to get out of jail this morning, and I had no idea if he’d start following me again. I should have felt better when I saw Willy Hawkins pull up to the curb in the park while we were filming to watch for a bit, but it only confirmed that Luke was worried too. When Lauren called for a lunch break, Dixie, Bill, and I didn’t waste any time before heading out to the Dollar General. We’d stopped by the strip mall the previous evening to talk to Otto’s friends, but neither of them had been there. Not knowing what else to do, Dixie and I had gone home for dinner with M
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE When we wrapped up for the day, Dixie drove up to Eufaula to pick up the photo. Although we had a working printer in the office, we didn’t have any photo paper. So she sent several photos to the Walgreens in Eufaula and left as soon as she could get away . . . which was sooner than I could. Lauren had insisted on keeping me late to show me some of the footage they’d been sending to LA to use for the show. It didn’t take long to realize it was a joke. It ranged from boring to downright campy. “I had to up our promotion game,” Lauren said, her mouth turned down. “I thought it best to give you warning . . . and show you why.” My heart fluttered with fear. “What does that mean?” She didn’t answer, only shook her head and walked away, but I saw what looked like worry in her eyes. Oh, God. What had she done? She’d sent Bill off to get B-roll of several of the places we’d gone, so I headed to Maybelline’s Café while I waited for Dixie to come back with the truck. I slid int
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO Dixie and I met Bill in front of Tommy Kilpatrick’s house a few minutes after seven. Tommy was under the impression we were coming over to bring his photo to him and film his reaction to it. He was eager for his fifteen minutes of fame. Little did he know, he already had it. When we knocked on the front door, Tommy yelled out, “Come on in!” We found him in his worn La-Z-Boy recliner watching a baseball game on TV. “Hey, Tommy,” I said. Bill was already filming the scene from the doorway. “I brought you that photo for your sister. In fact”—I glanced back at Dixie, and her lips twitched with a grin as she gave me an encouraging nod—“I brought one for you too.” “No shit!” he said, reaching for it. “That’s a damn good photo. I’m looking pretty buff.” I cringed but said, “You definitely are!” In the photo we’d selected, I was flung over his shoulder with my butt looking as wide as an 18-wheeler due to the angle, but he was wearing a goofy grin. Whatever it took. I still d
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE The supplier didn’t send another message, and I wasn’t sure whether to write back. What would I say? Sorry a guy hit on me and then there was a bar fight? It seemed better to say nothing. But I’d put plenty of thought into Otto’s special place, and I was pretty sure I was onto something. Whenever I was overwhelmed and sad, I went home to the farm. Sure, not for real—at least not over the last decade—but in my head. I would relive the happier times I’d spent with Meemaw and Pawpaw, Teddy and Dixie, and Luke. It made sense that Otto would do the same, which meant the place he had likely gone to was the land he’d owned with his family. On the way to our location the next morning, I called Gretchen to see if she could give me directions. “Do you happen to know who’s living there now?” I asked. “No one,” she said in a sad voice. “Otto still owned it.” “Do you mind if we check it out?” “No. You do what you need to do to find out what happened. I’ll text you the direction
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR A few hours later, I stared in astonishment at the float I was supposed to ride on. It was covered with fake cotton plants that looked like they were planted in a field. Giant bugs were plastered all over the side of the float and on some of the fake plants. “Is it too late to change my mind?” Luke laughed, and I shot him a warning look. Mayor Sterling walked by looking flustered and shouting orders to everyone. He seemed irritated that I wasn’t on the float yet. “Did I ever mention I was in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?” I asked Luke as I continued to stare down the bugmobile. It could have doubled as a float representing pest control. “Twice.” Luke grabbed my hand, and a grin quivered on his lips. “I believe you may have mentioned it in passing.” How the mighty had fallen. There was a set of steps next to the trailer, and I started to climb up while Luke still claimed my hand. “There’s nothing precarious about climbing up these steps,” I said, leveling a look at
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE “Summer, Bill,” Cale said. “Come on in.” My feet froze in place. “What are you doin’, Cale?” “Come on now, Summer,” he said good-naturedly, but his hand shook a little. “You’ve been pretty smart up until now. In fact, that’s why the three of you are here. You’ve put so much together already. Surely you can figure out the rest.” When I didn’t move, he motioned with his other hand. “Come on in. If you don’t, I’ll just shoot Dixie in the forehead.” Tears streamed down her face. “Run! Both of you, run!” Cale gave her shoulder a hard shake. “Shut up, Dixie.” I remembered I had the phone in my hand, recording all this. I was going to get him to admit to as much as I could. I walked into the room, and Bill followed. “I’m not leaving you, Dixie. Never again.” Cale made a face, but I could tell he wasn’t as cavalier about this as he was trying to act. “Summer,” he said, “I’m gonna need you to toss that phone on the floor. Can’t have you trying to sneak a call or a text.” I s
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX “Teddy?” Dixie called out. Teddy’s gaze turned toward us, and the self-assured look on his face instantly faded. “Dixie? Summer? What the hell are you doin’ here?” “What are you doin’ here, Teddy?” Dixie asked, but the dismay in her voice gave away her fear. “You’re selling drugs?” Cale started to laugh. “Teddy Baumgartner. I never would have expected it. I guess that explains the extra cash you’ve been spending on your farm.” His eyes hardened. “Gotta do what I gotta to do to take care of my family.” Cale’s eyebrows rose. “Funny you should mention that.” “Why’s my family here, Cale?” “They’re far too nosy.” Disappointment filled Teddy’s eyes. “I told you to leave it alone, Summer. Why the fuck didn’t you listen to me?” “Why the fuck are you supplyin’ drugs to lowlifes like Cale Malone and Ryker Pelletier?” Dixie asked in disgust. Teddy pointed to the door. “I want them gone, Malone.” “Not gonna happen, Baumgartner. They know too much, and I don’t trust your cousin o
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN The next morning Dixie and I were at the Darling Investigation office two hours before our call time. News had broken that I’d helped bring down a dirty Sweet Briar policeman due to my PI work, and my manager, Justin, had set me up with several morning news programs to talk about it. I had agreed as long as Dixie was allowed to sit with me. Since we already had a film crew, it was decided that they would hook their cameras up to the live feed and handle it themselves. When we walked in, the crew was already there waiting for us, with the exception of Bill and Lauren. Bill was currently in the Sweet Briar Hospital recovering from a gunshot wound to his chest, but thankfully the bullet hadn’t hit anything vital, and he was expected to make a full recovery. I hadn’t spoken to Lauren since the night before, but during all the questioning with the sheriff’s department, it had come to light that Bill had taken a lot of video of our side investigation, including the showd
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Summer Butler was born on a hot June day in 2016. I was looking ahead to wrapping up my Magnolia Steele series and was starting to think about a replacement. So while I was driving from Orlando, Florida, to Jacksonville, with four of my kids in the car, my developmental editor, Angela Polidoro, and I spent an hour brainstorming. We’d both agreed to think of ideas to discuss, but when she called, I had nothing. (I’d just spent two days pitching my book One Paris Summer to librarians at ALA.) But it worked out because Angela had two ideas—one, that the protagonist was a PI in a reality TV show, and the second was that the protagonist was also a former teen star. Since I’d just binged two seasons of UnReal, I was intrigued. We discussed several other ideas and ended the call with several potential plots. Since I was headed to the beach for a vacation with my kids, I told her I’d send her a synopsis soon. I suspect she didn’t expect one the next day. But once the wheels sta
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Denise Grover Swank is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of the Rose Gardner Mystery Series, the Magnolia Steele Mystery Series, The Wedding Pact Series, The Curse Keepers Series, and others. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomad, living in five cities, four states, and ten houses over the course of ten years before moving back to her roots. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in her own mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children (quite badly, if you believe her offspring). Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity—or so she leads you to believe. For more information about Denise, please visit her at www.denisegroverswan
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