I grinned, but then remembered why she was here. “Have you talked to Ronnie?”

“No.” That one word was delivered in such an emphatic tone, I decided to leave that subject alone.

After pouring myself a cup of coffee, I set the table and took the syrup out of the cabinet.

“I figured we’d need a hearty breakfast to get us through this morning.” Her words had an ominous sound.

My hand froze as I lifted my coffee cup to my mouth. “Why am I suddenly afraid you’re gonna take me out into the woods and re-enact Naked and Afraid?”

She gave me a look that suggested my statement was as ludicrous as if I’d announced I no longer knew my own name. “Don’t be so dramatic. We’re gonna have target practice. I figure it’s gonna take a while since you’re so inexperienced.”

“Oh. I almost forgot.” I took a sip of coffee as she brought a plate of pancakes to the table and sat down. “I left the gun Jed gave me in his car.” We could have used one of Mason’s guns, but I didn’t feel like volunteering that information. This had seemed like a good idea last night, but now I was having second thoughts.

“Lucky for you, I grabbed it while you were changing. It’s already in my purse.”

“The only bullets I have are in the gun.”

She groaned in exasperation. “I’ll go buy some. I already checked Mason’s stash in the basement, and you need a different caliber. You’re not gettin’ out of this. If you’re gonna start pullin’ a gun on someone like Mick Gentry, you need to practice. You need to get used to the feel of the weapon you’re carrying and how it fires.”

In the light of day, what I’d done the previous night seemed incredibly stupid. I was lucky that none of us had gotten killed. “I think I screwed up last night.”

Neely Kate shook her head. “No. I think you did the right thing. You had to shake that guy up to get him to take you seriously. But—” she stabbed a pancake and put it on her plate “—if you’re gonna use a gun, you need to know how to use it.”

What we were doing was crazy. This was a Bonnie and Clyde, Thelma and Louise level of insanity. I had to let Neely Kate know what a predicament we were in. “Neely Kate, you killed a man in my vision last night. Doesn’t that freak you out? It sure scares the heck out of me.”

She stopped slathering her pancake with butter and looked me in the eye. “Was one of the guys trying to kill you?”

“Kill us. And yes, but you just whipped out your gun and shot him. No hesitation. You weren’t even freaked out!”

She gave a quick nod and then returned to her task.

“Neely Kate. Could you really do such a thing?”

“Didn’t you?”

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“You killed Daniel Crocker in November.”

“He was gonna kill Mason and Joe!”

“And the man in your vision was going to kill you. And me and Jed. How is that any different?”

“But the you from last night—both in my vision and in the warehouse—was so different. Where did that come from?”

She was quiet for a moment, and when her eyes met mine, they were dead serious. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answered.”

What in the world did that mean? But she was right. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know all of her deep dark secrets. At least not right now. I had more than I could handle at the moment. But as soon as this mess was sorted out, I was digging in with a backhoe.

When we finished breakfast, I gave Neely Kate the keys to my truck. I tried to give her money, but she waved it off and ran out the door to pick up more food and ammunition. I grabbed my phone and called Mason’s mother while I cleaned up the kitchen.

“Good morning, Rose.” Maeve’s greeting was so warm I felt the comfort all the way down to my toes. But then she continued in a hushed, conspiratorial voice. “Have you made any progress?”

“Actually, yes, on several fronts. In fact, I have a question for you about one of them. I need your help.”

“You know I’d be more than happy to help in any way I can, whether it involves Mason or not. What do you need?”

“Mason said you might know how to read shorthand.”

“Oh, my. I used to back in the Stone Age.” She chuckled. “What makes you ask?”

“I have a photocopy of a page covered in shorthand. I need it translated. I have no idea what it says, but I can’t take it to just anyone. It might contain sensitive information.”

She hesitated. “I see.”

“Do you think you can look at it and try to read it?”

“Of course, but can it wait until after lunch? I’m helping Violet with the shop. She has an appointment this morning, so she asked me to help cover the store.”

That surprised me. She’d been gone the day before too. “Yeah, sure. I wonder why didn’t she ask me?”

“She probably doesn’t want to bother you. We all know you have more pressing issues to deal with at the moment.”

I wasn’t so sure, but then Maeve was always looking for the good in people. When had I stopped?

“In any case,” she said. “I’d love to look at it after lunch. Why don’t you come by the house around one?”

“Thank you, Maeve.”

I felt better that Maeve was going to take a stab at deciphering the page, but we still were no closer to figuring out the significance of the key. With any luck at all, the page would tell us.