Die a Yellow Ribbon

by Teresa Trent

  “I guess so.”

  I stretched and yawned, the heat making me sleepy. It made sense. If that was how he figured it out, then instead of focusing on actual sisters, I needed to think out-of-the-box about any groups of three. I looked around and counted the columns on the courthouse. Four. The stoplights downtown. One. The banners advertising the Golden Pecan Treasure Hunt. Two—one placed at the beginning of Main Street and one at the end. After that, I was hard-pressed to think of anything. Given my obsession with Marie Kondo, I should be automatically thinking about things organized in little groups, and yet I had no clue. I decided to become one with my environment and sat quietly, observing everything in the town square. Josiah and Prim were resting on the gazebo steps drinking from water bottles. Maggie and Ruby were coming out of the Best Little Hair House in Texas, talking, of course. Rocky was walking into Earl’s. Everything was normal in Pecan Bayou. Nothing seemed out of place. A second later, Bosco and Earl exited Earl’s Java, Rocky hot on their trail.

  There was more than one way to become one with my surroundings. It was time to tackle the problem head-on. I rose from the bench.

  Leo jumped up. “What are you doing?”

  “I need to ask Bosco a question.” Leo placed his hand on my arm in an effort to hold me back.

  “Are you crazy? I don’t think he’s feeling too neighborly right now.”

  Like that disorganized junk drawer I conquered last week, I needed to straighten this three-sisters thing out. I had tackled worse than Bosco Brown in my day, even if he was six foot four and 230 pounds of pure muscle. I was five foot four and 130 pounds of pure…motivation. I approached Bosco and Earl as they were about to cross the street.

  “Bosco? Could I talk to you for a minute?”

  Rocky gave me a great big “go ahead” grin. Betsy Fitzpatrick, girl reporter. “I was just talking to these gentlemen about Sarah Butler. Seems she’s turned up missing.”

  Bosco, who seemed to propel himself by his muscled chest, stopped like a granite statue. “And I said we don’t know nothing about it. Ain’t that right, Earl?”

  Earl nodded.

  “I have a different question. One about the treasure hunt.” His focus intensified on me, making me feel like a mosquito to be swatted away.

  He grunted. “And what would that be?” As he scowled at me, it felt like my mosquito had turned to a cockroach discovered in the kitchen at midnight.

  “We are having the hardest time figuring out the three-sisters clue. You see…”

  He began to grin as I babbled on. He was enjoying this. This guy who was considered a reject of society six months ago now had people chasing after him for his expert opinion. He was clearly reveling in his new stature. He tapped on the side of his head.

  “You have to use your noodle.” He took me in with an appraising glance. “You’re just so pretty I’ll bet you don’t have to use that part too much, but me? I’m thinking all the time.”

  I wasn’t quite in agreement with his self-appraisal but decided to leave it alone for now. If I could keep him enjoying our conversation, maybe he would let something go about the three sisters. After the comments on my physical appearance, I needed to work fast because Leo was not going to put up with him saying things like that to me for very long.

  I beamed at him like a kindergarten teacher looking at a crayon drawing. “I can tell you’re thinking all the time. We’ve already tried to connect the one set of sisters in town to the clue, but it just didn’t work.”

  He folded his arms like a regal king of medieval times. I expected to hear a bugle call in the distance. “All I’m going to tell you, little lady, is to open your eyes. Enjoy nature.”

  Earl gave an abrupt nod making a signal that our discussion was finished. “Times a-wastin’ Bosco. We got to go.”

  “Oh, and one more thing,” I said as both men stepped off in the other direction. “What were you doing in Maximum Muscle?”

  Rocky almost fell off the curb. Bosco turned around and I was sure I saw his demeanor change. “Why do you think I was in Maximum Muscle?”

  “Caramel, chocolate, and coconut. You’re the only one I know who orders that mixture of coffee, and we found your empty cup in the back room. So again, I ask, what were you doing there? Were you doing some kind of business with Mark? Did something go wrong?”

  Bosco’s bottom lip curled. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”

  Leo stepped forward. “But you were doing business with Mark Valencia, weren’t you?”

  “What’s it to you? And before you ask me the next part, yes, I do have an alibi.”

  Rocky stepped over next to me, creating a unified front. “What?”

  “I’d rather not say. It’s personal.”

  “Not good enough,” Rocky said. “We’re talking murder here. We have a killer walking loose among the citizens of Pecan Bayou. Your alibi is going to have to be public knowledge, especially with your record.”

  “Public knowledge?” The big man paled.

  Leo stood behind me, putting his arm around my shoulder in a proprietary way. “And if you don’t want to go back to prison—”

  Earl blew out an exasperated sigh, clearly impatient with our impromptu questioning. “All right. Fine. I’ll tell you. He was getting a boil taken off his butt down at Dr. Lee’s office. Heard enough, or do you want pictures?”

  “Do you have a clear shot—” Rocky started but I cut him off.

  “Thanks,” I called after Earl and Bosco as they walked away from us. Bosco took on an embarrassing slump after the disclosure of his emergency medical procedure.

  “I guess even big guys like Bosco get boils on their butt,” Leo said. “Sort of levels life’s playing field for the rest of us, doesn’t it?”

  “I have to get to the Gazette,” Rocky scowled. “And you, young lady. Keeping back important information like finding that cup in Maximum Muscle. When were you going to tell me about that?”

  “I wasn’t sure it was anything. I’m still not sure. Just because I find something out doesn’t mean I want it in the paper.”

  Rocky looked shocked. I had taken the name of cheap sensationalism in vain. “You really don’t have ink in your blood.”

  “Nope, and sometimes I think you need a transfusion of the red stuff every once in a while. Are you going to put in the paper that Bosco was getting a boil removed?”

  Rocky’s eyebrows rose. “Of course not. I’m not a monster, you know. I’ll just say he was having surgery on his derriere. Sounds good, using French like that. Half the town will think he was having surgery at the ice cream shop.”

  As Rocky walked away, I realized that Bosco’s fairly solid alibi shook me. I was sure he was our murderer. He was a big burly guy with an attitude and a prison record. How could he not be the murderer? Now I had to go back to square one.

  Thirty minutes later Maggie, Ruby, Leo, my father, and I sat around our kitchen table. “Well, that’s that,” I said. “There is no way Bosco Brown could have been the murderer.” None of us were getting any further with the clues to the hunt or Mark’s murder, so I decided it would be best if we came together to share information. Aunt Maggie and Ruby had agreed as well as my father, who was glad to be out of the heat.

  “I just wish Mr. Bosco Brown would have shared that with the police department,” my father said. “You would think a man who is coming off a prison sentence would want to be nothing but honest with the police. It boggles my mind what ex-cons do.”

  Leo, who was about to sink his teeth into a ham sandwich, suppressed a grin. “I think this would be a good time to practice understanding. Give the guy a break.”

  Aunt Maggie bristled. “Give him a break my foot. He has been nothing but a bully this whole time, and the fact that he got a little bit embarrassed doesn’t bother me one iota. I guess karma got him for pushing over an old lady.”

  While we discussed Bosco, I kept my eye on Coco in the next room playing with her dollhouse. After our last unf
ortunate experience with the paint on the wall, she seemed subdued. I felt calmer now that everything was back in its place. The walls had been cleaned, and my daughter also seemed to be where she should be. Zach had put Butch in the tub, so his tail had returned to its natural shade. As Marie said, it is important to find a moment of joy in all the chaos the world has to offer. I could only hope that my good luck would continue. I turned my attention back to the adults.

  “The thing is,” I said. “If it’s not Bosco, then who?”

  Ruby piped up. “She’s your little detective, Judd. She just can’t leave a mystery alone. You’d think with all this deductive reasoning, she would have found the golden pecan by now.”

  My father gave me a patient smile. “Yes, but this time I know she will restrain herself,” he said, giving a side look not unlike the one I just gave Coco.

  “But, Dad—” I was about to go into a persuasive argument that would change his mind immediately.

  “Don’t you ‘but Dad’ me,” he said, wadding up his napkin. “This is a police matter.”

  This wasn’t the first time my father had made an effort to keep me out of his business. I would try, but he always needed me in the end. He couldn’t deny that. “Okay, if this is a police matter, let me ask you as a concerned citizen—just who else you have in mind?”

  Coco came running in, holding a hair fastener. “Did it come out again?” I asked as she placed it in my hand. This had become an attention-getting ritual with my daughter. Whenever she felt bored, she pulled out her hair fastener and asked me to fix it.

  Ruby pulled her chair over. “Don’t forget there’s a hair professional in the room. Come over here, Coco.”

  Coco beamed at Ruby’s indulgence. “Thank you, Aunt Ruby.”

  Ruby deftly took hold of the hair elastic, but before placing it in Coco’s hair, she reached down and put her arms around my daughter, giving her a squeeze. “I can’t tell you how much I love hearing that, baby girl.” She pulled the strands of Coco’s hair up, placing it into a ponytail. “Oh, to have hair like this again.” She looked over at me. “How much longer are you going to let it grow before you trim it?”

  “From the amount of work it’s getting to be, it won’t be long now,” I said.

  Coco pouted. “No. I want my hair as long as a Disney princess.”

  “Spoken like a person who doesn’t have to brush her own hair,” Leo said. Yes, in this household, even dads had to take a turn at the snarls and tears.

  “Go on and play now,” I said.

  “Mom—”

  “You heard me.”

  She continued. “I wanted to ask Grandpa if he would help me take off my training wheels.”

  My dad reached over and tweaked her nose. “Not today, munchkin. I’m busy with this treasure hunt. Can you take a rain check?”

  “What’s that?” Coco asked.

  I stood and turned her by the shoulders to face the living room. “Never mind, we’ll get those training wheels off eventually. I promise.”

  “You already said that.” She pouted again.

  “And I meant it. Now go and play.”

  She turned around and left the room, her ponytail bobbing.

  “Now,” I said, returning to the business at hand. I zeroed in on my father, who was in the middle of crunching into a potato chip. “Who are you thinking about as your next suspect?”

  “And you are asking me this as a concerned citizen. Is that how you put it?”

  “Precisely,” I said, pleased he wasn’t shutting me down yet.

  “Yes, we’re all concerned,” Maggie agreed, strengthening my public inquiry. I gave her a smile.

  He used his napkin and then said, “Bunny Donaldson. She definitely had the motive, and I hate to say it, but after taking her shotgun away, I’m beginning to think that she was just crazy enough.”

  “I do believe you’re right about Bunny being crazy, but I don’t see her committing murder for the environment,” Ruby added.

  The walkie-talkie my father had placed on the table began to buzz. “Attention all units, we have a suspected shooting at the residence of Bunny Donaldson.”

  “Damn. She must have had another gun. And that’s my cue to exit.” Dad rose from the table. “This may just be the answer to all of your questions.”

  He was getting away before I could delve deeper into his theories on Bunny. “Be sure to keep us in the loop.”

  He turned with a mischievous smile. “Don’t I always?”

  After everyone left to resume the treasure hunt, Leo helped me clean up and then waited as I put dishes in the dishwasher and straightened the counters back to their originally organized glory.

  “Are you finally finished?”

  “I know this takes time, but in the end, you’re going to thank me because you now have a neat house. It takes just a few minutes to organize something, and then you can reap the benefits and go about your day enjoying clutter-free living.”

  “Great.” The enthusiasm of his words did not reach his voice. It was obvious the prospect of having a neat house up against a wife who can’t stop cleaning was beginning to wear on him. “Can we go now? I’ve been thinking of some ideas for the three sisters. In a group of three, right?”

  “What have you come up with?”

  “Well, nothing specific, but I thought we might just drive around town and see if we can see something in a group of three. Part of my job is observing anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes you can’t see an anomaly in your observations until you really start looking at things on a minuscule level. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to put on our scientific hats and drive through town looking for any groups of three.”

  Take it down to the small details. This idea was just short of genius. We had been way too big-picture up until now. After making sure Coco would be supervised, I felt like home was under control. We headed out again with Leo’s idea giving us new inspiration. If Bosco and Earl could figure it out, I was sure we could. We drove up and down the streets, counting trash cans, yard statues, even real estate signs. Every time we found anything of there were three of, we would search the area for a clue box, looking anywhere for the telltale yellow papers flapping in the wind.

  “I don’t know if this was such a good idea,” Leo said, sounding discouraged.

  “No, it’s a great idea. We just have to stick with it. I know we’re going to figure this out. Let me text Maggie and see if she’s gotten any further.” I quickly sent a message her way, and she reported they were at the community church where everything was in threes. Even so, they weren’t having any luck. They had resisted going over to Bonnie Donaldson’s house, and I was pretty proud of myself for putting it off, but after counting trash cans for twenty minutes, the idea of going on there was becoming quite a temptation.

  “Let’s drive down Bunny’s street,” I said.

  Leo raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t it be wiser to stay out of your father’s hair while he’s trying to deal with Bunny?”

  “Yes, but I’m sure it’s all over by now. Who knows what we might learn,” I assured him.

  “Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt anything, and we’re not coming up with the answer to the three sisters, anyway.” I was shocked Leo gave in. When we drove down Bunny’s street, the canopy of beautiful elm trees provided much-needed shade to the cozy street.

  Leo parked a few houses down, as Bunny stood in front of her home, arms stiff to her side, fists clenched. My father stood in front of her. “I didn’t do anything that was against the law except protecting my property. Read the statutes, Judd. I have not broken any law.”

  “Miss Donaldson, we’ve been going through this for the last half hour, and I’m not arresting you. I’m telling you just because somebody crosses your lawn doesn’t mean you have the right to shoot them without provocation.”

  “Just a minute, let me get one of them digital recording gadgets so that I can get down that you have threatened my Second Amendment right
s.”

  Leo began to laugh. “He has his hands full with her. I would hate to have to go up against that crazy eco-terrorist.”

  Curious neighbors, treasure hunters, and several children were watching the entire exchange. We found a place to stand on the edge of the neighbor’s lawn under the shade trees. After such an active day, and our quick lunch, I was starting to get a little tired. I spotted a dip between two of the lower branches in the tree and attempted to sit on it. When I did, I spied what looked like a camouflage cover over a small yellow slip of paper. Jumping up suddenly, I uttered, “Oh my God.”

  “What?” Leo rose suddenly. “Is it a bug? Did a bug land on you? Where is it?”

  I motioned to him from where I was standing. “Come back here and look at what I’m looking at.”

  A couple of other bystanders also followed my words and backed up.

  There, hidden among three beautiful elm trees—two in the front and one in the back—was a camouflaged clue box. We had found the three sisters.

  Leo rushed over and picked up a piece of yellow clue paper and began to read.

  You have found the sisters one, two, three

  And now you are almost free.

  Follow the clues where it’s cold and dank

  And put that cruise trip money in the bank.

  Leo turned to me. “There’s a clue box at the bank?”

  “Maybe, but what around here is cold and dank? It certainly isn’t the bank. It does rhyme nicely, though.”

  The other contestants who had been watching the Bunny scene now riveted their attention to us. We had finally solved the clue, but because I jumped up, everyone else found out about it too. Prim and Josiah came running up, waving their cell phones in the air. I hadn’t even seen them watching Bunny and my dad.

  “Word has it you found the three-sisters clue. We were down the street.”

  Any chance of an advantage we might have had was ruined. Thanks to the popularity of texting in Pecan Bayou, everybody was now on an even playing field. Aunt Maggie and Ruby came riding upon a scooter-round.