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“We got this.”
    Taylor rose from the bench, the folder digging into her rib cage. Did they have it? It certainly didn’t feel like they did. It felt more like a train racing out of control toward a ravine where the track had fallen. Taylor hoped she could find the brakes before they went over the edge.

Chapter Five

    “How is it that you find trouble wherever you go?” Neely Kate asked as she and Rose walked back to the hotel.
    “ Me? ” Rose stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, her hands on her hips. “ You’re the one under suspicion for murder.”
    Neely Kate pursed her lips, deep in thought. “Huh. Now that you mention it, this is a switch. Detective Taylor usually thinks you’re the guilty one.”
    Rose scowled. “Through no fault of my own.”
    “Maybe so, but he’s usually gunnin’ for you just the same.” She shrugged. “I’m starvin’ and I remember seeing a restaurant on the way back to the hotel that looked like it had good po’boy sandwiches.”
    Rose laughed despite the anxiety in the pit of her stomach. “I swear you’re gonna eat your way through New Orleans.”
    Neely Kate looped her arm through Rose’s. “You make it sound like that’s a bad thing.”
    “Hey, it sounds like as good a plan as any. Besides, I’m hungry too.” She tried to sound lighthearted, but she was worried that Neely Kate was in serious trouble. At least in Henryetta, Rose had her boyfriend, Mason Deveraux, the Fenton County assistant DA, or Joe Simmons, her ex-boyfriend and now nursery business partner, who used to work for the Arkansas State Police until recently taking over the vacated chief deputy sheriff position in Fenton County. In New Orleans, their only ally was a woman who claimed to be a PI.
    Rose felt guilty questioning her credibility, but Taylor Beaumont had said she saw ghosts. But Rose knew that while Neely Kate was drawn to drama like a raccoon was to a campground Dumpster, she didn’t make things up and she’d never been prone to hallucinations. And even if Taylor had been making fun of her somehow for supposedly seeing a ghost, there was no denying the floating folder that shot out of the brick wall.  
    So did that mean Neely Kate finally found a supernatural gift? Could she now see ghosts? Why hadn’t she seen them before? Maybe the psychic had been the real deal and shaken something loose in Neely Kate’s head.  
    No matter, there was no denying Neely Kate was ecstatic at the news. She was currently humming “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”  
    “Neely Kate,” Rose murmured, worried about stealing her friend’s newfound joy. “Maybe I should call Joe.”
    Neely Kate narrowed her eyes. “Why would you call Joe? You promised no landscaping or nursery work while we’re here.”
    “This isn’t about work…well, at least my work.” She paused and steeled her shoulders. “It’s more in line with Joe’s work. As the chief deputy sheriff.”
    “Why?”
    “ Why? ” Rose rolled her eyes. “Because you’re a suspect in that poor woman’s murder and Taylor admitted that Detective Savoy is just as lazy as Officer Ernie, if not more so.” She heaved out a breath as she scowled. “And I didn’t think that was even possible.”
    “I didn’t do it, Rose. I didn’t kill her.”
    “Crappy doodles, I know that.” Rose shook her head, dismissing the statement as nonsense. “But the police here don’t seem to care about the truth, so it wouldn’t hurt to have a little backup waiting in the wings.”
    Neely Kate’s mouth pursed. “No. You’re not calling Joe.”
    “You have to get over your animosity toward him. He’s a permanent fixture in Fenton County now. And if he’s there, you might as well use him to your advantage. I think you need him now.”
    She shook her head. “He’s never gonna help me. He knows I can’t stand him.”
    Rose offered her a soft smile and tucked a strand of Neely Kate’s hair behind her ear. “Neely Kate, you can’t hold a