“Fine.”

My phone vibrated and I found a text from Mason.

I can’t get away for lunch. The sheriff’s department has confined me to the courthouse. Joe said he’d take care of our errand. Do you feel safe?

I stopped at a stop sign and answered. I have it now. I’m fine. I’ll see you tonight. <3

Fifteen minutes later I pulled into the parking lot of the pool hall. It was early enough that there weren’t many cars there. I figured it would make finding Dirk Picklebie a whole lot easier.

“Do you see Skeeter’s car?” Neely Kate asked.

“I don’t know what he drives.” Which was strange, but true. “I’ve only seen the car Jed drives, which isn’t here, but I think he parks in the back. If I were a betting woman, I’d put my money on them being here.”

“What are you gonna do if you see them?”

“Ignore them. I can’t let on to anyone that I’m intimately acquainted with them.”

Her eyebrows rose and she teased, “Just how intimately acquainted are you?”

“Not how you’re suggesting, and you good and well know it,” I grumbled as I opened my door and hopped out.

I took a deep breath before opening the door and walking into the place. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the gloom that seemed to be the pool hall’s defining feature. There were a few guys in the place, none of whom I recognized. So far, so good.

Neely Kate pointed toward a table in the back. “I bet that’s him.”

A man who looked like he was in his late fifties was bent over a table, pool cue in hand. He made a shot, then rose and grabbed a bottle of beer off a tall table. His flannel shirt was faded and his graying hair was in desperate need of a trim. He looked like he’d hit hard times. Two teens huddled around a table in front. They shot us a look of alarm, then relaxed when they realized we weren’t truant officers.

I took a deep breath and pushed my anxiety away. What was I so nervous about anyway? Maybe because Skeeter was expecting an answer from me in less than twelve hours and I still didn’t know what to tell him. Unfastening my coat, I walked up to the bar and grabbed the bartender’s attention. “I’ll have two of whatever he’s having.” I pointed to the back.

The bartender—a college-age-looking kid—shook his head and squinted toward the back. “Him?”

“Yep.” I leaned closer. “Do you know who he is?”

He leaned over the bar. “Dirk Picklebie and he’s a major loser. You’re wasting your time with him.” He gave me a cocky smile. “Sit here with me, baby.” He looked over my shoulder and his smile widened. “Your friend too.”

I glanced back at Neely Kate. “You want a beer?”

She shrugged and gave me a half-smile.

I turned back to the bartender. “Make it three.”

He shook his head in confusion. “Okay,” he muttered as he walked to the cooler.

I glanced down at my clothes. I was wearing jeans, a scoop-neck peasant-style shirt, and my brown boots with a three-inch heel. I wasn’t overly endowed, so the modest neckline left a lot to the imagination and the heels made me look like I wasn’t about to muck out a barn. There was a good chance one of us was going to have to do a little flirting, and since Neely Kate was still sporting her grunge look, that probably left me with the job. Great.

The bartender set the bottles on the counter and started popping the tops. “He fancies himself a pool shark. Don’t be makin’ any bets with him.”

“Really?” Neely Kate’s eyes lit up.

The bartender handed Neely Kate her beer and winked. “I’ll be over here, more than willin’ to keep you pretty ladies company.”

“Thanks.” I grabbed two of the bottles. “We’ll keep that in mind.”

Neely Kate winked. “Start a tab.”

As we moved away from the bar, she said, “I have an idea.”

“Does it involve trying out your new Taser?”

“No…well, maybe… If we need to escape.”

I stared at her for three full seconds. “Okay, sounds good. What’s your plan?”

“Let’s play a game with him and pretend to suck. Then let me do the rest.”

Fortunately for her, I didn’t have to pretend.

“You start talkin’ to him after I make the introduction, then I’ll jump in,” I said.

“Okay.”

She followed me back to the pool table. Dirk was leaning over, the pool cue in his hand, as he eyed his next shot, but his gaze shifted to my stomach and slowly rose to my face after taking a slight delay at my bust.

I held out one of the bottles. “Hi. You look thirsty.”

He straightened up and lowered the pool cue to the table as his gaze shifted from Neely Kate and back to me.

Neely Kate shifted out her hip. “My friend and I are here ’cause we want to learn how to play pool. We saw you back here, and I said, ‘Rose, he looks smart. I bet he can teach us.’” She turned to me. “Ain’t that what I said?”

I nodded, then took a sip of my own beer while still holding out the other one out to him. “Sure is.”

A shit-eating grin spread over Dirk’s face as he grabbed the bottle from me and clinked it against mine. “I think I can manage that.”

Neely Kate gave him a smile full of innocence. “Well, ain’t you sweet?” She turned to me. “Ain’t he sweet, Rose?”