Page 67 of Family Jewels

“She was just leavin’.”

I held out my hand to him. “Hi, I’m Beth Ann,” I said, giving him the name I’d used with Hugh Wagner in the pawn shop. “Trixie and I had a mutual friend.”

He looked me up and down again like he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. “Who?”

“Rayna Dyer.”

His eyes shuttered closed. What did he know?

“I didn’t catch your name,” I said.

“Buck Reynolds.”

Oh my word. Trixie was friends with Buck. The same Buck who wanted the necklace.

I had to have a vision.

I didn’t have anyone to help cover for me, which meant I had to be careful. “Thanks so much for talkin’ to me, Trixie. I just wanted to talk to someone who knew Rayna. This whole thing’s been so hard.” I slid out of my seat and walked around behind Buck’s seat, resting my hand on his shoulder and focusing on whether Buck was going to talk to Trixie about Rayna.

The vision came quickly. I was sitting next to Trixie in a car, her face gripped tightly in my hand. “What did you tell her?”

Fear widened her eyes and her nostrils flared. “Nothin’, Buck! I swear!”

“If you told her, I swear to God, I’ll—”

“I didn’t tell her nothin’!”

The vision ended, and I found myself back in the bar, staring into Trixie’s pissed off face. “You’re gonna hurt her for talkin’ to me.”

Trixie looked startled, and Buck’s shoulder stiffened under my hand. “What did you say?”

I was in deep trouble.

Chapter 13

Flashing a weak smile, I put my hand to my head. “I think that wine went straight to my head.”

“You didn’t even drink it,” Trixie said.

“I know, right?” I said. “So weird . . . I think I’d better go.”

I started to walk away before realizing I hadn’t paid for the drinks. With a groan, I walked to the end of the bar and flagged Luke. Leaning in, I said in an undertone, “I’m paying for that woman’s Long Island iced tea and my wine, but my purse is over at my table in the restaurant. Can you send the bill over to me?”

“Since I only work a few nights a week, I’m not sure about all the rules,” he said. “But I think it’s probably okay.”

This probably bordered on stupid, but I leaned a little closer. “Can you do me a favor? I think that woman might be in trouble. Could you give her a note from me without letting him see it?”

The bartender’s smile wavered.

“Just try.”

“Okay.” He handed me a napkin and a pen, and I quickly scribbled:Trixie, call me if you need help. 501-555-2638

I folded it over and handed it to him. “Thanks.”

“No guarantees,” he said.

When I turned around, Trixie and Buck were both watching me with open suspicion. There was no way I was going to drag Levi into this, so I headed for the bathroom, leaned against the counter, and waited.