But Neely Kate knew without me even telling her.

The front door opened, and Neely Kate walked onto the porch. Plopping down in the chair beside me, she said, “It’s supposed to warm up tomorrow.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Maybe we can go to the Tibeau job site and you can tell me what to do. It’s a small one. I think I can handle it.” She looked over and grinned. “You can bring a chair and look like the queen of Henryetta bossin’ your subjects around. I’ll even get you a tiara.”

I chuckled. “You hate people bossin’ you around.”

“I might make an exception in this one instance.” She stood and pulled me to my feet. “Enough mopin’. We’re having a girls’ night out. Dressin’ up and everything.”

I laughed. “You just want to have a reason to wear that new dress you ordered online.”

She propped a hand on her hip. “And what’s wrong with that?”

I instinctively touched my face. The swelling had gone down, but bruises still lingered. Neely Kate had experimented on me with makeup the day before and declared me ready for public. “Nothing. Just making an observation.”

“Come on. I’ll do your hair.”

I wasn’t sure whether to be excited or scared. The last time she’d fixed my hair, it ended up looking like a family of robins had made it their home.

But an hour later, Neely Kate and I were dressed to the nines—wearing dresses and heels, with makeup and styled hair that I’d approved. We walked into Jaspers and were led to a table for two.

Over the course of our dinner, I felt my heart begin to lighten a bit. That heavy gray cloud began to lift.

We were eating dessert when Neely Kate’s eyebrows lifted. “That’s Martha Peabody.”

“Oh?”

The small forty-something woman looked to be on her way to the restroom, but Neely Kate motioned her over. Martha changed course and sat down in the chair between us.

“Hey, Neely Kate,” she said, looking us over. “Don’t you two look nice tonight!”

I smiled.

“I heard about Gunther,” Neely Kate said, uncharacteristically ignoring the compliment. She usually milked them for all they were worth or at the very least acknowledged them. “Have you found out where he went?”

“No, but he’s been gone a week now. He just up and disappeared.”

My ears perked up. “Did you call the police?”

“Of course I called the police, but that Officer Ernie is a buffoon. He refuses to do a thing.”

“Has Gunther run off before?” I asked, irritated by this evidence of the continued incompetence of the Henryetta Police Department.

Martha laughed. “I should hope not. Gunther doesn’t have legs.”

“He’s a double amputee?” I asked in confusion.

Martha laughed. “No, he’s a garden gnome. But he’s very special. I won him as the prize of a gardening contest two years ago. You know, my neighbor Trinnie has been so jealous of me winning him. I’m certain she had something to do with it.”

“Sounds like you could use some help recovering Gunther,” Neely Kate said to Martha, though she gazed at me pointedly. “I’m surprised you haven’t gotten more tips with the five-hundred-dollar reward.”

My eyes widened. That could help pay the upcoming rent. The business was still cash poor, and things were tighter than ever now that Mason no longer lived with me and helping with the bills.

Five hundred dollars . . .

Neely Kate shot me a grin. “Martha, you don’t just need tips. You need someone to do a proper investigation.”

“Where on earth would I find someone like that?”

“I bet we could help you. Right, Rose?”

What was Neely Kate thinking? Sure, we’d solved some mysteries before, but truth be told, I’d stumbled into most of them. This would be our first case.

It was on the tip of my tongue to say no. I still wasn’t feeling one hundred percent, and despite our previous success rate, I wasn’t so sure we could help this woman.

But I couldn’t deny the excitement bubbling up in my chest, the anticipation of looking for clues. If we were going to start taking cases like Neely Kate really wanted, it would probably be good to start off small.

“Martha?” a woman called from the bar. “Are you coming?”

“I’ll be right there.” Martha gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. The girls in probate always come here on Thursday nights for margarita night.”

I cocked my head, starting to smell a rat. “And Neely Kate knows about this?”

“Of course,” Martha said. “She’s the one who started the whole thing a few years back.” She patted Neely Kate’s arm. “You should start coming again. We don’t care if you don’t work at the courthouse anymore.”

Neely Kate had set up this entire accidental encounter—not that it surprised me.

“I’ll see what I’m doin’ next week,” Neely Kate said, then leaned forward. “Now about Gunther . . .”

Martha turned to me. “Do you think you really might be able to get Gunther back?”

I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. Maybe I could do this. Maybe I could be okay.

It would start with finding a garden gnome. All I had to do was say yes.

“Rose?” Neely Kate prodded.

I turned to Martha and smiled. “Now what can you tell us about the day Gunther disappeared?”