Page 147 of Family Jewels

Neely Kate lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “Like I told you. We were just helpin’ out a friend.”

His mouth pressed into a frown, and he looked dubious. “It’s a good thing that that’s all it was, because I know you wouldn’t be going around calling yourselves private investigators. You need to have a license to do work as a PI; otherwise, it’s a felony offense.”

I tried to hide my shock, but Neely Kate didn’t look all that surprised. “Well, it’s a doggone good thing we were just helpin’ a friend then, isn’t it?” Then, presumably in an effort to change the subject, she said, “So tell us about your trip. What kept you in El Dorado for three days?”

Joe shot me a worried glance, then shifted his gaze to his sister. Leaning his elbows on his knees, he said, “I wasn’t in El Dorado, Neely Kate. Not the entire time.”

“Where were you?”

“New Orleans.”

“What kind of family business took you to New Orleans?”

Joe waited a beat before diving right in. “I got a tip that Ronnie was down there, so I went to check it out.”

I expected her to be angry, but she just looked confused and anxious. “Oh. It was a false alarm, right? No one else has found anything.”

Joe remained silent for several seconds, then said, “Neely Kate, I think I found him.”

The color left her face, and I thought she was going to pass out. “What?”

He leaned forward and grabbed her hand. “It took me two days. I needed to head back home for my shift tonight, but I followed one last lead to the bus station and saw him. I’d intended to make him sign your divorce papers, but he got on a bus headed to Memphis. It took off before I could reach him.”

“Memphis?” She shook her head. “No.You must have seen someone else.”

He grabbed his phone from his pocket and pulled up his photos. “You tell me. Is this him? There are several photos on there, but . . .”

“But what?”

“You might not like what you see.”

She snatched the phone from him. The photo was of a couple standing next to a bus in a tight embrace. They were kissing, and the next several photos portrayed them in escalating stages of groping. Then there was a photo of the man looking down at the blonde woman. I had to admit that his profile looked a lot like Ronnie’s. But when Neely Kate swiped to the next photo, I gasped.

Ronnie was facing the camera full-on, his arm wrapped around the small blonde woman. But the biggest shocker was the ring on his left ring finger. He was wearing a wedding ring, and it wasn’t the one Neely Kate had given him less than a year ago.

Ronnie Colson had married someone else, and he wasn’t even divorced yet.

***