“But?”

“Look, Caroline this isn’t okay. Someone is trying to scare you. Someone is scaring you. This is a murderer who sees you as a threat, and I’m sorry you have to change your daily schedule, but it’s insane to go out right now. Do you think I could go play pool while you were off with our friends? Exposed. No. Don’t ask me to do it.”

She sighed, leaning back against the seat. “You’re right. Let me call everyone.”

But Beth wasn’t having it. “No way. We aren’t giving in to this guy. If anything happens, he’ll be stirring a big hornet’s nest.”

“No, Royal’s right. Some of you have children. Lily is pregnant. I don’t want to call any attention to you guys. It’s not worth the risk.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I really am. I’m a little wobbly right now. It’s sort of been a few weeks, you know? You guys have a good night and a good time. I’m going to call Melissa and tell her she’s still invited though if she feels up to it.”

“Yes, please do. And I’ll call her too to follow up. Hon, take a long hot bath and sleep in and just try to forget this mess for tonight. We’ll see you soon.”

“Thanks, Beth.”

Caroline hung up, called Melissa and reassured her she was all right. It wasn’t like Royal was going to let her out of his sight anyway. She hung up after promising to call the next day to check in.

He hated that she had to cancel a fun night with friends just when she was finally starting to build a life and community there in Petal. “I’m sorry… I know it’s unfair.”

She sighed. “You were right. I don’t want to be the cause of anyone getting hurt. But now you’re stuck with me. You’re not going to want me at your place alone either. I could go with you to the Pumphouse, but honestly just thinking about going there tonight makes me a little nauseated.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You and I are going home. We’re going to have dinner and I’ll let you try to beat me at Mario Kart again. Then we do lots of sexytimes.”

She burst out laughing.

Once they got back to the house, he checked out the inside, and once he’d done that, he headed out to make sure all the motion-detector lights were working while she started making dinner.

Shep texted her that he’d been thinking a lot and wanted to get together to talk if she had time that weekend, and if not he’d talk to her on Thursday.

It felt positive. He didn’t say much one way or the other but if he didn’t believe her, he’d just say so up front. Or drop the topic. Maybe argue? Certainly not mention a regular get-together if he was mad. Right?

She’d been buttering the bread she was going to pop under the broiler when she heard the front door open up.

“I just got dinner started. We had some chicken so I’m sautéing it now to get a good crust and then I’ll pop it into the oven.”

“Okay.”

He sounded odd so she looked up to find him coming into the room with her grandmother.

Caroline hadn’t even been able to tell him about that part of her messed-up day yet. She looked to Royal. “Yeah so when you got back inside I was going to tell you I finally connected with my grandmother today. In the hall. Outside a court room.” It was a memory she’d cringe over forever.

Her grandmother sniffed. “I don’t know what you expected. You’ve been avoiding me since the vulgar fistfight you got into at a restaurant in town.”

“And as I said to you, I didn’t engage in a fistfight vulgar or otherwise. Garrett and his friend Benji started on us. In front of a crowd, so if you’d like to talk to one of a dozen or so people, let me give you their names. But no. You come down to my place of work, one of the few places in this town when I do not have to worry if I’m measuring up, a place I am respected, and you came in there and started an argument with me in front of the judge I had just argued a motion to. That was vulgar.”

“You’ve done nothing but start fights and trouble since you came back to town. I’m really going to have to ask you to stop seeing Shep for a few months. I don’t like your influence on him.”

“That’s not going to happen. He’s old enough to decide for himself. And yes, I’m fine thank you. I figure you came out here to check on me after my home was broken into and vandalized and then my car was vandalized today. You must know,” Caroline said, cutting off her grandmother’s avenue of escape, “since you came out here instead of to my apartment. I’m a little—no actually—a lot shaken up because my mother’s real killer is poking around trying to freak me out.”

“You stop this right now.” Her grandmother’s gaze went so hard and sharp Caroline stepped back. “You will stop. Your father, Enrique Mendoza, killed your mother, my daughter, Bianca. He died in prison, and I’m sorry I didn’t get to see him take his last, tortured breath. Every time you tell someone that monster was innocent, it’s a slap to your mother’s memory. You don’t care about her. You never have. You were a selfish child and you’re a selfish adult. At least she’s not alive to see what a terrible person you’ve become. Stay away from my family.”

Caroline stood there, utterly stunned into silence. Her grandmother’s mouth was set in a hard, angry line on her face. This was a woman who was implacable. There was no talking to her at this point. She’d decided Caroline was the enemy and would slash her as hard as she could to wound her so she could get away.