“I don’t know.” Jonah paused. “But I do know one thing: Bruce Wayne would never hurt you, and he wouldn’t allow anyone else to either.”

“I know.” I blinked to keep from crying. “Do you know the secret code?”

“No, not yet, but I’m meeting a guy tomorrow who might be able to help.”

“Be careful, Jonah. I’d hate it if you got hurt helping me.”

“Hey, Bruce Wayne is my friend too. I want to find him as much as you do. Besides, people are more likely to share information with Reverend Jonah than they are with a police officer.”

“Still…”

“One more thing that might be on your side: Crocker’s men are getting irritated. They understood his need for revenge, but they think it’s taking too much time and effort. There’s some grumbling in the lower ranks that might actually bring about his downfall within.”

“If only we could be so lucky.”

“I’ll let you know if I hear anything. Be careful, Rose.”

“Bye, Jonah.”

I laid under the bed for several minutes, telling myself that as long as I was under it, I could worry as much as I wanted over whatever I wanted, but as soon as I crawled out, I had to let it go.

I couldn’t ignore the fact that Bruce Wayne had run to Crocker’s guys a month ago. He could very well be there now. But Jonah was right. Bruce Wayne would never hurt me. After the last time, he’d promised to tell me if he was in trouble and I’d learned he didn’t take promises lightly. I had to trust him.

I also realized that I’d more than likely told Jonah more about our location than was wise. I needed to let Mason know. I started sliding out from under the bed, when something shiny caught my eye. I reached for it, and my hand jerked back when I realized what it was. Tucked between the bed slats and the box spring was a gun.

Why was there a gun under Dora’s bed?

Chapter Fifteen

I found Mason in the office, still absorbed in his work. I stood in the doorway and leaned against the frame for nearly a minute before he looked up.

A tired smile spread across his face. “Hi.”

“Hi. I found out a few things I think you should know about.”

He set his pen down on his legal pad and leaned back in the seat.

I moved into the room and circled the desk, resting my bottom on the edge of the desk so that I was facing Mason. “I found my bag and unpacked it. You put my purse in there. Thank you.”

“I thought you might need it.”

“My cell phone was in there.”

He watched me, unconcerned. “I put it in there so it wouldn’t get lost.”

“I had a missed call from Bruce Wayne.”

That got his attention. He bolted upright. “Did he leave a message?”

“Yeah.” I played it for him, watching his face, surprised by how little he reacted.

“This is all there is?”

I nodded. “But look at the time it came in. A little before Crocker’s guys showed up at the motel.”

His mouth pursed. “I noticed.”

“Mason, there’s something else.”

He looked up at me, waiting.

“My phone rang immediately after I played the message and I answered without thinking. It was Jonah.”

He looked startled at first, then relieved when I mentioned Jonah’s name.

“I asked if he had any information about Bruce Wayne, and he didn’t but he did find out something about Crocker’s guys.” I shifted my weight. “They’ve been recruiting a lot of new people and they needed something to help them recognize each other. They all wear St. Jude’s medallions.”

Mason blinked. “How did he find out?”

“He didn’t say. It must be one of the sources he’s been contacting about Bruce Wayne’s whereabouts. But Thomas has a St. Jude’s necklace. He was wearing it on Halloween night. And I found one on my front porch after it was trashed. The police found one in Miss Dorothy’s backyard after the break-in.” I paused. “And there was one on Bruce Wayne’s dresser.”

His squeezed his eyes shut and leaned back in his seat, rubbing his forehead. “Damn.”

“Did you know about the St. Jude’s medallions?”

He shook his head. “No. We knew there was something, but we didn’t know what.”

“Jonah also said there was a secret code or password, but he hasn’t found out what it is yet.”

He stared at the wall for several seconds before looking up at me. “We don’t either.”

“There’s one more thing.”

He chuckled. “You provide one more clue we’ve been searching months for, and I’ll deputize you on the spot.”

“What?”

He shook his head. “Never mind. What else?”

“I found a gun stuffed underneath Dora’s bed.”

His mouth gaped. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.”

He stood and moved around the desk. “Show me.”

I led the way upstairs and Muffy trotted along behind us, probably confused about why we kept going up and down the stairs. When we reached Dora’s room, I got to my knees and pointed under the bed. “There.”

He dropped to the floor and scooted into the small opening between the floor and the bed frame. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

“I wonder if she bought it for protection.”