“I’ve got some things I need to take care of,” Wanda Nell said. “I’d better be getting back to town.”
“Okay,” Ernie said. “Rusty will stay here with me, and he can meet Porter and tell his story to him. You should be back here by six-thirty.”
“That’s fine,” Wanda Nell said.
“Good,” Ernie said. “And in the meantime, I expect Rusty wouldn’t mind having a good bath and a little rest. I can wash your clothes for you while you’re doing that.”
Rusty looked slightly embarrassed, but all he said was, “Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”
“I’ll see you later then,” Wanda Nell said.
Ernie escorted her to the door. They paused on the threshold, and Wanda Nell turned to the older woman. “I don’t know how we can ever thank you for all your help,” she said.
“Don’t you even think about it,” Ernie said, smiling. “It’s my pleasure. I want to see justice done as much as you do.”
Impulsively Wanda Nell hugged Ernie, and Ernie patted her firmly on the back. “I’ll see you later,” Wanda Nell said as she pulled away.
“Be careful,” Ernie called as she hurried to the pickup. Then the door closed behind her.
Wanda Nell drove back to Tullahoma as fast as she dared. The early afternoon traffic was surprisingly heavy, and several times she fumed over getting stuck behind something slow moving. As she drove into town, she got out her cell phone and called T.J. to let him know she would soon be there.
“Mama, what’s been going on?” T.J. said. “Tuck and I have been getting nervous, but I didn’t call because I knew you’d get mad.”
Wanda Nell laughed. “Now, honey, I wouldn’t get mad at you. I might be slightly annoyed if you interrupted me, but don’t you two start worrying over me. I’m just fine, and so is Rusty. I’ll be there in a few minutes and I’ll explain everything.” She ended the call before he could say anything else.
As she approached the square she debated whether to drive to the back of the building and go in the rear door or simply to park out front. At this point, did it really matter if the guy following her realized he had been tricked?
Just to be safe, Wanda Nell decided on the former course of action. There was no harm in letting the guy think she had been inside the building all this time. Wanda Nell hoped he been bored out of his mind and desperate for a pee all the time she was gone. It would serve him right!
She made a slight detour in order to approach the square indirectly. Her revised route brought her to the back of the office building without her having to drive around the square. She got out of the truck and locked it, glancing around to make sure no one could see her. The alleyway was deserted except for T.J.’s truck.
Upstairs in Tuck’s office, Wanda Nell offered a breezy greeting to his new secretary, then proceeded back to Tuck’s office, where she found him and T.J. waiting impatiently.
“Thank the Lord you’re okay, Mama,” T.J. said, jumping to his feet and enveloping her in a fierce hug.
“Amen to that,” Tuck said, also hugging her when T.J. released her.
“I’m just so relieved I was able to find Rusty,” Wanda Nell said, “alive and in one piece. But I tell you, what he’s been through is pretty awful.”
Tuck buzzed his secretary and asked her to hold his calls. “Now, Wanda Nell, we want to hear everything.”
As quickly as she could, Wanda Nell told them the events of her day. When she reached the point of divulging everything Rusty had told her, she felt her stomach contract. The horror on the faces of the two men mirrored her own countenance, she had no doubt. When she had finished*, both Tuck and T.J. had a few choice words for the rapists.
“What are you planning to do?” Tuck asked. “I’ll help in any way I can. If Ms. Golliday wants to pursue a case against them, I’ll take her on for free. There’s no statute of limitation on rape in Mississippi.”
“I don’t know about that,” Wanda Nell said. “I haven’t met her yet. I’m sure Rusty will talk to her about it. Frankly, I hadn’t even thought about that.”
“It’s an option,” Tuck said. “Not to mention a paternity suit.”
“That might be necessary,” Wanda Nell said. “Once we figure out which one of them is really Lily’s daddy, she and her mama might have to go to court to get any assistance from him.”
“In the meantime,” T.J. said, “what’s the plan?”
“Rusty and I are going to throw a little party out at Ernie Carpenter’s house tonight at seven, and the guests of honor will be Bert, Marty, and Tony Campbell. Y’all want to be there, too?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” T.J. said, grinning. “I have a feeling they’re going to be real sorry for themselves by the time you get through with them. Mama.”
“What about the sheriff?” Tuck asked. “Is he going to be invited? Or anyone from his department?”
“I’m going to ask Elmer Lee to join us, along with a couple men he feels he can trust. But I’m going to ask him to come at seven-thirty.”
“Do you think he’ll go along with this? You asking him to do something is like waving a red flag in front of a bull,” Tuck said.
“Will Elmer Lee and a couple of deputies be enough?” T.J. asked, frowning.
“The rest of us will be there, and I don’t think those three jerks will try anything. Besides, we also have an ace in the hole, in case the sheriff does show up.”
“Who’s the ace?” Tuck asked.
“A retired state supreme court judge, Porter Tillman,” Wanda Nell said. “He’s a good friend of Ernie Carpenter’s, and she’s going to make sure he’s there. She says he’s very well connected and that he’ll be able to make sure the sheriff can’t get Marty out of this or cover any of it up.”
Tuck whistled. “I’ll say he can. He has connections all over the place, not just in Mississippi, but in Washington, too. I’d hate to be on his bad side. We may have us a new sheriff pretty soon, if Shaw gets in Tillman’s gun sights.”
“I think it’s about time he retired,” Wanda Nell said. “After all this, I don’t have much respect left for him. I can’t ever forgive him for the way he treated my daddy and my brother, not to mention poor Veenie Golliday. She deserved a helluva lot better than what she got.”
“Sounds like a pretty good plan,” T.J. said. “So you’re just going to invite them to show up, and then hit them with everything you know about what they did?”
“Yeah,” Wanda Nell said, “and doing it in front of a lot of witnesses will make sure the story gets out, one way or another. They won’t be able to cover it up after this.” “What about reprisals?” Tuck asked. “Aren’t you afraid that they might try to get back at you or one of your family?”
“They might,” Wanda Nell said. “I’ve thought about that. But I can’t just stand by and let them get away with all this. One of them, or maybe all three of them, murdered Reggie Campbell and made Scott Simpson kill himself. They need to pay for that, and they need to pay for what they did to Veenie Golliday. And they damn sure better be willing to help Lily.” She paused for a moment. “I don’t like the idea of putting my family at risk, but once all this gets out, I don’t think they’ll dare do anything.”
“I’m with you, Mama,” T.J. said. “We can’t let this go. We’ll take care of ourselves.”
“And speaking of that,” Wanda Nell said, “I’m going to have to arrange for Miranda, Lavon, and Juliet to stay with Miz Culpepper tonight. Do you think you could pick Juliet up from school, T.J.? Take her home to get some clothes and stuff for Miranda and Lavon, too?”
“Sure, Mama, no problem.” He glanced at Tuck, and Tuck nodded approval. “You want me to call Grandmother and ask her?”
“If you don’t mind,” Wanda Nell said with relief. “She’ll probably take it better coming from you. And please explain to Miranda. Maybe by tomorrow things will be kinda back to normal, and they can all come home.” I hope, she thought, and added a quick prayer.
“There’s one
thing I’m still a little puzzled by,” Tuck said. “Wanda Nell, you said your brother told you he had proof, that he had recorded Reggie Campbell confessing to what happened. Where is that proof? Will he be able to produce it quickly?”
“You know, I had forgotten about that. I meant to ask him where it was, but so much was going on,” Wanda Nell said, frowning. “Let me call him right now.” She got up from her chair and went to the phone on Tuck’s desk.
She punched in Ernie Carpenter’s number and waited. Ernie picked up on the fifth ring, and Wanda Nell asked to speak to Rusty.
“I think he may still be in the shower,” Ernie said. “Let me check.”
After a few moments Ernie was back. “He’s just getting out of the shower now, Wanda Nell. He’ll pick up the phone in a second.”
“Thanks,” Wanda Nell said. She tapped her foot on the carpet while she waited.
“What is it?” Rusty asked a couple of minutes later.
“I’m here talking to Tuck and TJ.,” Wanda Nell said, “and Tuck reminded me about this proof you said you have. That recording you made of Reggie Campbell. Where is it? What if we need to show it to somebody?”
“Do you know how to use a computer?” Rusty asked.
“No,” Wanda Nell said. “What does that have to do with it?”
“Everything,” Rusty said. “What about T.J. or that lawyer? Do they know anything about computers?”
“Sure they do,” Wanda Nell said, irritated.
“Then let me talk to T.J.”
Sighing, Wanda Nell motioned for T.J. to take the phone. “It’s something to do with computers,” she said, “and he won’t tell me.”
T.J. shrugged as he took the phone. “Hey, Uncle Rusty, what can I do for you?” He listened for a moment, then he started laughing. “No problem. I’ll get it, and we’ll make a couple more copies, just to be safe.”
He hung up the phone and turned to his mother and Tuck with a smile.
“So what is it?” Wanda Nell demanded. “What is it? Why is he being so mysterious about it?”
“I’m going to start teaching you how to use the computer soon,” T.J. said. “It’s really not that mysterious, Mama. Uncle Rusty has this recording in a computer file. It’s like watching a movie on the computer.”
“Where’s the computer file?” Wanda Nell asked. “What does it look like?”
“The file is actually stored on something. It’s what they call a thumb drive.” T.J. stuck out his pinkie. “It’s about the size of my little finger. You just plug it into your computer, and you can store lots of stuff on it.”
Wanda Nell shook her head. She felt completely stupid because she didn’t know any of this. T.J. and Juliet both spent a lot of time on computers, and she guessed she was going to have to learn about them.
“Where the heck then is this thumb drive?” Wanda Nell asked.
T.J. started laughing. “You’re never going to believe this, Mama. Uncle Rusty stuck it into the bottom of the makeup drawer in your bathroom.”
Tuck laughed along with T.J. and, after a moment, Wanda Nell joined in. Rusty was right. Her makeup drawer was the last place anybody would have looked. She couldn’t wait to tell Mayrene.
Chapter 27
From her vantage point at Ernie’s front door, Wanda Nell glanced nervously at the clock on a table nearby. It was already five to seven. Surely Bert, Marty, and Tony were coming. After the conversations she had had with each of them, she didn’t think they’d dare not show up. “I have something you want, and the only way you’re going to get it is to come talk to me,” she had said. “You give me what I want, and you’ll get yours.” When pressed, she had refused to say what she wanted, simply insisting on their coming to her. She had given them directions, but she was sure they knew exactly where the house was because Bert had followed her here.
Everyone was in place waiting for the “guests of honor.” Ernie Carpenter and her friend, Porter Tillman, occupied two chairs in the front sitting room, just a few feet away from where Wanda Nell stood watch. As Wanda Nell caught Ernie’s eye, the older woman nodded her head as if to say, “Don’t worry. They’ll come.”
In another room down the hall—Ernie called it the den—sat her brother Rusty, T.J., Tuck, and Mayrene, accompanied by her shotgun, Old Reliable.
Wanda Nell had called Elmer Lee Johnson at six- thirty to tell him to be sure to come out to Ernie’s house with a couple men he was sure he could trust. She had her fingers crossed he wouldn’t ruin everything by showing up too early.
“What the heck is going on?” he asked. “I don’t have time for any of your shenanigans, Wanda Nell.”
“Just listen to me, you big doofus,” Wanda Nell said, trying to keep her tone light despite her rapidly rising temper. “Something important is going to happen here tonight, and you need to be here. I’ll tell you this much. If you get here at seven-thirty, you’ll find my brother here. Plus you’ll be able to wrap this case up real quick.”
“If you know where your brother is, you better tell me right now,” Elmer Lee said, practically growling into the phone. “Don’t waste my time.”
“I’m not,” Wanda Nell said sweetly. “I just told you, if you get here at seven-thirty, he’ll be here. And not a minute before, you hear me?”
Elmer Lee muttered a few words under his breath, but Wanda Nell decided not to call him on it. The important thing was for him to show up on time. She had allowed for half an hour for the confrontation between Rusty and his three tormentors. If they didn’t show up soon, though, Elmer Lee might arrive right in the middle of everything.
Wanda Nell tensed suddenly. Headlights from a car swept across the front windows. They had finally arrived.
The house was completely still around her. Once more she glanced back at Ernie, who grinned encouragement. Beside her, the judge glowered. Wanda Nell was glad he was on her side.
A knock sounded at the door, and Wanda Nell forced herself to breathe in and out a couple of times to steady her nerves. Then she opened the door.
Marty Shaw pushed past her, with Bert Vines practically stepping on his heels. A man Wanda Nell recognized as Tony Campbell was a few steps behind the other two. She shut the door and turned to face the men.
Spying Ernie Carpenter and the judge, Marty Shaw came to an abrupt halt, and Bert Vines stumbled into him. Marty didn’t say anything to Bert. He turned and stared at Wanda Nell for a moment, and she had to fight hard not to look away from him. The depth of hatred she saw in his eyes chilled her right to the bone.
She took a deep breath, then walked past them, closer to Ernie and the judge. “Good evening, gentlemen,” she said with a bright smile. “I’m glad you could make it. If you’ll come with me, we’ll get this over with.” She didn’t give them a chance to say anything. She whirled and headed down the hall to the den.
As they walked past the sitting room, Wanda Nell glanced over at Ernie and the judge. Ernie winked at her. Then she said, “I haven’t seen you in ages, boys, but I am going to need to talk you, Bert, about my insurance. I think some changes are in order.” She laughed.
Marty spoke quickly. “How do, Miss Carpenter. It has been a long time.” Behind him, the other two muttered greetings before lapsing into silence.
“But where are my manners, boys?” Ernie said. “Let me introduce to my dear friend, Porter Tillman. Porter, I’d like you to meet three of my former pupils, Marty Shaw, Bert Vines, and Tony Campbell. I’m sure you’ll remember what all I’ve told you about them.”
Remaining seated, the judge, a stately, almost cadaverous man of seventy-two, inclined his head in greeting. His face was impassive, though Wanda Nell would have sworn she saw his nostrils flare for a moment.
“Boys, Porter is retired from the State Supreme Court. Isn’t that fascinating? He knows so many people, all over the state. Why, he even has a nephew in the Justice Department in Washington.” Ernie laughed again. “But don’t let me keep you from your meetin’.” She waved a hand in di
smissal.
The judge eyed them all for a moment longer before looking away.
That was about as subtle as an eighteen-wheeler, Wanda Nell thought. She had to hand it to Ernie, though. Only a steel magnolia like Ernie could make an introduction sound both utterly charming and sinister at the same time.
Marty, Bert, and Tony didn’t say anything further to Ernie or the judge. As Wanda Nell lead them to the den and opened the door, motioning them through, Bert muttered just loud enough for her to hear, “I can’t believe this freaking circus. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Y’all just come on in, boys,” Wanda Nell said. ‘Take a seat.” She pointed to three chairs arranged side by side. They faced an arrangement of a sofa and three chairs a few feet away. Rusty and Tuck occupied the sofa, and T.J. and Mayrene sat in chairs to one side. Wanda Nell had purposely wanted this to look like the setup for a trial. “Make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll introduce to some people.” Without waiting, she launched into her introductions. Bert and Tony sat down, but Marty remained on his feet, arms crossed over his chest, glaring at her.
“Y’all know my brother, Rusty,” Wanda Nell said. “And I know y’all are glad he finally turned up. Y’all sure have been anxious to see him. Even going to the trouble of following me around, thinking I knew where he was all this time.” She shook her head as if she were scolding a misbehaving child.
Rusty didn’t say a word to them. He simply sat in his chair and stared at them.
“What the hell is this?” Bert Vines stood up. “What kind of sick game are you playing, Wanda Nell?”
“Kinda interesting that you should mention sick games” Mayrene said. “Howdy, boys, I’m Mayrene Lancaster. I’m an interested bystander, you might say. I’m a good friend of Wanda Nell’s and Rusty’s, and I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.” She laughed. “Oh, and before I forget it, let me introduce my good friend here.” She reached behind her and pulled out her shotgun and placed it across her lap. The barrel was pointed straight at Bert. “I call him Old Reliable, because when I aim him at some filthy piece of vermin, he just never misses.” Wanda Nell was watching the three men when Mayrene brought out the gun. Privately she thought her friend might be overdoing it a bit, but she was more than satisfied with the reaction. Bert sat down, swallowing visibly, and even Marty took a step back. Tony paled, and Wanda Nell could see sweat beading on his forehead.
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