Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments Bonus Chapters: Rose Gardner Mystery by Denise Grover Swank Page B

had me totally fooled.” Embarrassment filled his words.
    “He had me fooled too,” I said, resigned. “But we need to focus on Rose. You’ll really help me? I’m not the ADA anymore, so it’s liable to be more dangerous.”
    He nodded, determination in his eyes. “Yes, sir. I’ll do what I can.”
    My throat tightened. “Thank you.”
    Deputy Miller glanced toward the living room window. “Do you need me to help with Muffy?”
    I realized Rose’s dog was still in the house, hysterically barking. “No. I can take her to my mom’s if need be.”
    He shifted his weight. “What are you gonna do now?”
    I fought my rising panic. “I can’t represent her, so I have to find her an attorney. I hope to God she listened to me and doesn’t say anything if they try to question her.” A new thought occurred to me, making me feel ill all over again. “Detective Taylor hates her. If he questions her, he won’t treat her kindly.”
    “She was arrested by the sheriff’s department.”
    I ran my hand over my head in frustration. “Henryetta P.D. will request the case. Her mother was murdered in the city limits. There’s likely to be a turf war over her.” Dammit. A new thought consumed me. “I’m more worried about how they’ll treat her during booking. We both know Hoffstetter hates her too. And I suspect she’ll be the one to strip-search her.”
    The young man grimaced. “I’ll stop by the county jail and check on her. I’ll call you when I know something.”
    “Thank you,” I forced past the lump in my throat.
    He nodded briskly, then hurried for his patrol car.
    As Miller’s taillights disappeared in the grove of trees close to the highway, I opened the front door and let Muffy out. She raced out of the house, sniffing the ground, then took off toward the highway.
    “Muffy!” I shouted, racing after her, worried she’d try to run after her mommy. But she stopped halfway down the drive and turned to face me, whining. I scooped her up into my arms and held her close to my chest, rubbing the back of her neck. “I know, girl. I feel the same way.”
    She was too distraught to leave alone, so I put her in the front seat of my car, then went to the porch to lock the front door. I put the key in the lock and stopped, leaning my forehead against the door as my fear and grief threatened to take over.
    I should have called ahead and warned her. I should have had her meet me somewhere. I had a feeling things would happen quickly, but not this quickly. Not on a Friday night. Panic welled up in my chest, but I beat it back into submission. I didn’t have time to give in to my terror. I had to find Rose an attorney and put him on retainer as quickly as possible before someone tried to question her.
    As I drove into town, heading for my mother’s house, I ran through the list of possible lawyers, multiple times, not happy with the one name that continued to stick. But by the time I parked in front of my mother’s house, I knew he was the best option. He was the only person in the county I was certain wasn’t on someone’s secret payroll.
    Mom opened the door with a look of surprise when she took in the sight of me holding a whimpering Muffy. Her shock quickly turned to worry. “Is Rose okay?”
    I couldn’t figure out how she knew something happened to Rose, but then it became obvious. Why else would I be standing on her stoop with Rose’s dog, both of us literally looking like we’d lost our best friend?
    “Joe . . .” My voice broke and I took a deep breath.
    Muffy leaped from my arms to Mom, who caught her and held the little dog close.
    “What about Joe?” She sounded worried.
    “He had Rose arrested.”
    “ He what ?” While I knew she’d be caught off guard, I was surprised by the sound of betrayal in her voice. “For what?”
    “Murder. He had her arrested for her mother’s murder.”
    She shook her head. “That’s not possible.”
    “It’s entirely possible. He’s doing this to