Page 42 of Family Jewels

“No!” she said in a panic. “We can’t.”

“Why on earth not?” I asked in dismay as I stepped closer.

“Because,” she said with tears in her eyes, “what if she’s about to tell me something important and I prevent her from doin’ just that?”

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. “Oh, Neely Kate. Surely you can see that she’s messing with you. It’s what she does. Remember the way she confirmed that you’re her and Joe’s half-sister? She’dnevergive you information without taking a pound of flesh.”

Neely Kate leaned her forehead on my shoulder and began to cry while I rubbed soothing circles on her back.

“When Joe comes back on Friday, you need to tell him,” I said.

“I can’t.”

I leaned back and held her teary gaze. “You can and youwill.”

“She says if I tell him about the letters, she’llnevertell me what else Momma said to her,” she hiccupped.

What a mess. Kate Simmons was a manipulative bitch who got off on hurting other people. There was little chance she’d tell Neely Kate anything, but Kate knew she had my best friend on her line with the hook sunk deep.

I leaned back and soothed Neely Kate’s hair from her damp cheeks. “Okay, we’ll do it your way for now, but how about I read the letters first from now on? And if there’s nothing helpful, I’ll won’t show them to you.”

Panic filled her eyes. “No.”

“Neely Kate. Has she given youanythingyet? Anything new to prove she’s going to tell you what you want to know?”

“No, but . . .”

“Then let me screen them for you.”

“No.”

“Why not?” When I could see she wasn’t going to budge, I decided to compromise. “Okay. I understand, but you don’t have to do this alone. Show me the letters, and I’ll help you figure out what she’s really up to.”

She shook her head. “No. There’s nothing in there you need to know about.”

The way she said it made me realize she was hiding something. “She’s put in something in there you don’t want me to see.”

“Things I’m ashamed of. Things from my past.”

I studied her face, trying to decide whether to press the issue. Neely Kate had told me that she’d left town for two years sometime after her high school graduation. She’d alluded to having some regrets about those years, but I had no earthly idea what she’d done, and it was pretty obvious she wasn’t going to tell me now. “Okay.” I smoothed her hair again. “But you know there’s nothing in those letters that is going to make me change my mind about you, right?”

The fear in her eyes suggested she was unconvinced.

I gave her a warm smile. “How about you go up and take a nice warm bath in my claw-foot tub? I’ll clean up the kitchen.”

She looked torn. “I can’t leave you down here with this mess.”

“Of course you can. I’ve left you with more than a few messes on those Tuesday nights I spent away from home.”

“I can’t believe Rayna’s dead,” she said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “Who do you think killed her?”

“We don’t know that shewasmurdered.”

“Do you believe she wasn’t?” Neely Kate asked.

“No.” I searched her eyes. “Do you think Raddy did it?”

“No. He’s not the murdering kind.”