A step on the porch brought Mabel quickly to the door, where she caught sight of Jack raising his knuckles to the door frame. He looked just as handsome as the night before. She gestured for him to be quiet and to come in. “The girls are still sleeping,” she said as she motioned him to the table. “Have a seat and I’ll bring you a stack of pancakes.”
Jack placed his Stetson on the hat rack by the door and sat down.
“Are there any left for me?” Nona’s voice came from the doorway on the other side of the room. Her hair was a curly mess that hung around her face. The T-shirt that hung from her shoulders was old and faded. Her shorts were frayed at the hem, the color dimmed from too many washings. She had made no attempt to make herself presentable.
“You didn’t need to get up,” Mabel said as she brought a plate to Jack.
“I’ve slept enough. Besides, Maggie and I want to go to that little cove and go swimming this morning.”
Simon’s fork rattled against his plate. “I don’t think so,” he said as his eyes swept over her. “Not unless you want me or Jack to go with you.”
“We can go by ourselves. Sorry to disappoint you.”
“Can’t say that disappointment is the right word for it.” Jack grinned. “I’d say it’s downright heartbreaking.”
Mabel chuckled. “You’re just as big a flirt as Simon!”
“But not as noisy and mouthy,” Nona pointed out as she seated herself at the table, helped herself to the pancakes, and reached for the butter.
“Thanks a lot!” Simon groused.
“I’ve got more pancakes on the grill.” Mabel had seen the muscle tighten in Simon’s jaw when Nona spoke, and she knew he was gritting his teeth. She wanted to defuse an argument between the two if possible and was surprised that Simon hadn’t retorted. Instead, he turned to Jack.
“Should have a pretty full day ahead of us. The electrician is coming out to wire the new building. The delivery truck should arrive with the paneling and flooring. Oh, and the plumber will be here tomorrow.”
“What kind of a carpenter is this fella you hired?”
“His name’s John Hogan. I had a visit with him last night. He’s been working on a construction project down in Little Rock. He gave me the names of several people for references. His tools looked good. Old, but well taken care of. We’ll know within a few hours if he knows his business. If not, we’re not out anything.”
“’Cept the time it’ll take to find a replacement,” Jack pointed out.
“I suppose so.” Simon looked across the table at Nona. “When they arrive, you might want to go over and get acquainted with his wife. See if they need anything to help them get settled.”
“Why? I’m not staying here.”
Jack’s fork paused in front of his mouth. “Where are you going?” he asked.
Nona’s eyes passed over Simon before turning to settle on Jack. “I’m not sure just yet. I need to find another job and get Maggie enrolled in school before the September term begins.”
All was silent in the kitchen as the four of them digested Nona’s words. Nona’s mind was in turmoil. While kissing Simon had been sweet with possibilities, the fact that men were looking for Harold scared her. That they would hurt her or Maggie was terrifying. Simon had sworn he could protect them, but could he? She couldn’t be sure he was genuinely concerned with her and Maggie’s welfare. If he was linked to the mob, he would say anything to make sure she stayed with him. It was too great a risk to take. The men in the boat had already made an attempt to get Maggie once; she couldn’t wait around for them to do it again.
Nona got up from the table and carried her plate to the sink. “I think I’ll go out and throw a few sticks for Sam Houston.” No one said a word as she walked out the back door.
She’d only gone a few yards, the early morning sun working to burn off the mist that hung over the lake, when she felt a hand grasp her elbow tightly. She knew who it was before she even turned.
“You’re trying my patience.” Simon glared angrily.
“And you’re giving me a headache. Guess that makes us even.”
“Not quite,” he said as the familiar mischievous grin spread across his face.
Looking at his face, she swallowed the swear word that came to her lips. From around the corner of the cabin, Sam Houston trotted toward them with a large stick in his mouth. The dog stopped and Nona reached down to pat his head. She took hold of one end of the stick, but he refused to let go, then suddenly changed his mind and dropped it. Nona snatched it off the ground and tossed it toward the lake. The dog ran after it, his tail wagging furiously.
“There’s one male that’ll do what you say.” Simon chuckled.
“That’s because he’s a good boy.”
Sam Houston snatched up the stick and ran back to them. Much to Nona’s chagrin, he dropped the stick at Simon’s feet instead of hers. Simon winked at her as he picked it up and tossed it so hard that it carried out into the water. The dog dashed off after it but pulled up short after going just a few feet into the lake. He barked excitedly, his eyes locked on something in front of him.
“Sam Houston! Come!” Nona called.
The dog ignored her and kept barking at the water. Simon moved toward the shoreline and Nona followed.
“Wait, Nona,” Simon said forcefully.
“What? Why?”
“Stay right where you are. Something’s out there.”
Nona looked past Simon and in the direction that Sam Houston was staring, but because of the mist she couldn’t see anything. The dog continued to bark. “What are you talking about? I don’t see anything.”
“Stay right here! I mean it, Nona. Wait here!” Simon walked down to the water, pulled off his boots, and waded out to where Sam Houston stood. The dog was still barking. As he neared the animal, Simon began to make out an object floating in the water.
“What is it?” Nona called.
“Oh, my God!” The words shot out of Simon before he could check himself. There, floating facedown in the blue water was the body of a man, judging from the clothes. The first thought that flashed through his mind was how he was going to get the body to shore without Nona seeing it. He composed himself quickly, grabbed hold of the man’s belt, and turned to shout at Nona. “Go to the house and tell Jack to come here!”
“But what . . . ?”
“Don’t stand there! Move!”
Mumbling under her breath, Nona walked back up the path to the cabin and stomped up onto the porch. Banging the door open, she stalked into the room. Jack was still sitting at the table talking to Mabel.
“Simon wants you down at the lakeshore, but I don’t know why,” she huffed to Jack.
“All right.” Jack drained his coffee cup, put on his hat, and tipped the brim to Mabel, who beamed back up at him.
“All of a sudden he’s in a bad mood, so you better hurry,” Nona said.
“Okay, I’m gone. Thank you for the breakfast, Mrs. Rogers. It was delicious.”
“You’re very welcome, Jack. But call me Mabel.”
Nona followed Jack out onto the porch and they both peered down toward the lake. Sam Houston was still barking as he ran along the shoreline. They could see Simon pulling something from the water.
“I can’t tell from here what it is,” Jack said.
They were halfway down the path to the lake when Simon shouted at her.
“Stay back, Nona! Don’t come down here!”
Nona slowed as Jack hurried on to help Simon, but she never stopped. Apprehensive but curious, she approached the two men, who were peering at what seemed to be a water-soaked bundle of clothes. When she was near enough to glimpse the white face, she stopped.
Simon looked up at her, frowned, and said curtly, “Well, if you’ve got to see, come on.”
Taking another step, Nona looked down at the man Simon had pulled out of the water. It was the most gruesome sight she had ever seen. His head and face had been bashed in. His eyes were gou
ged out. It looked like he’d been beaten to death. Her hand flew to her mouth and she squelched the sudden urge to throw up.
“Who is he?” she asked breathlessly.
“I don’t know,” Simon said as he looked up and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “Here comes Russ. Maybe he’ll know.”
“What ya got there?” the fisherman asked as he approached. He stopped dead in his tracks, and when he saw the face of the dead man, his jaw dropped. “Oh, my Lord! It’s that Leasure fella! He’s the one who left his wife here. What happened? Did he fall out of a boat?”
“No,” Simon hissed sharply. “Someone beat him to death.”
“You sure?” Russ asked.
Simon grabbed the dead man’s head and turned it so that Russ could see the back. “Look at this. Someone worked him over with a club before they threw him in the water.”
“Jesus Christ!” the older man murmured.
Nona turned quickly from the body and put one hand to her stomach. The last thing that she wanted was to be sick in front of Simon, so she purposefully walked back to the cabin. Mabel stood on the porch.
“It’s a man’s body,” Nona explained. “Mr. Story thinks it’s LeAnn’s husband.”
A look of shock spread across Mabel’s face. “Oh, no! Poor LeAnn! She’s been waiting for him to come back. Is Russ certain it’s Mr. Leasure?”
“He would have been here when they checked in. He says it’s him.” A sense of sadness for LeAnn’s loss filled Nona. The woman had enough to worry about with her pregnancy. This could be too much for her. “How in the world are we going to tell LeAnn?”
“I’ll do it,” Mabel answered firmly. “But let’s wait until they’re sure.”
Nona looked over her shoulder at the window to Maggie’s room. The curtain was still pulled tight, but the young girl was certain to wake up soon with all the commotion. If she were to look out the window, she might see the dead body. The thought chilled Nona, but before she could move, Simon came quickly up the path, his face grave.
“Russ says it’s Mrs. Leasure’s husband,” he said when he reached them. “There’s no identification on him, but he swears it’s the same man that was with LeAnn when they arrived. I suppose I should go over and tell her the bad news. Would one of you like to go with me?”
“I’ll go,” Mabel answered. “And it would be best if I went alone.”
“You’re a treasure,” Simon said thankfully.
“I hate to have to tell the poor little thing, but it should come from someone she knows. Even though I didn’t like the fact that he’d left her alone, he was all she had. I don’t know what she’ll do now.”
“She can stay here until she decides what to do,” Simon said solemnly. “Tell her I’ll be by later.”
“I will,” Mabel answered and started down the road toward LeAnn’s cabin.
For a moment, Nona stood looking at Simon, seeing him with new eyes. He could be controlled and calm when he needed to be. It surprised her that he also could be so compassionate.
“Is Maggie still asleep?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Keep her in the cabin until we move the body. Jack’s gone to call the sheriff. Russ and John Hogan will help me put the body in one of the empty cabins. John is making a litter for us to carry it on.”
“All right,” she said weakly. Her stomach churned and her knees felt rubbery. She put her hand on one of the porch posts and steadied herself.
“Are you all right?” Simon asked. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her to him, holding her tightly. Nona didn’t resist and pressed her face to his chest.
“I’m okay.”
“I didn’t want you to see that.”
“What happened to him? Why would someone kill LeAnn’s husband?”
“I don’t know, honey,” Simon answered softly. “But someone wanted him dead. He could have been killed far from here and then dumped in the lake, but I doubt it. I think it happened nearby. He hadn’t been in the water very long. The sheriff will sort it out.”
“Simon . . . ,” Nona began.
Before she could say more, the quiet moment was broken when Maggie spoke from the doorway. “Have the two of you kissed and made up? I sure hope so! I wish you liked each other.”
“Maggie!” Nona pulled away from Simon, but his arm was still around her.
“Why was Sam Houston barking?” Maggie asked, trying to ease her sister’s embarrassment. Then, “Where’s Mabel? I saw her going towards LeAnn’s place. Is she having her baby?”
Simon leaned down and whispered to Nona, “Do you want me to tell her?”
Nona nodded and he moved away from her.
“We found the body of a man in the lake this morning,” he said bluntly. “We aren’t certain, but we think it’s Mrs. Leasure’s husband.”
“Oh, my gosh,” Maggie muttered, her forehead creased with worry. But as quickly as that look had come, it was replaced by wide-eyed excitement. “Can I see the body?”
“No, you can’t. It isn’t something you ought to see.”
Nona breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad that Simon had refused Maggie’s request, but she was even happier that Maggie hadn’t argued the point as she would certainly have done if Nona had raised it.
“Did Mabel go tell LeAnn?” Maggie asked.
“Yes,” Simon answered. “It would be nice if you spent some time with LeAnn later. I’m sure she’d appreciate it.”
“I will.”
Nona looked up at Simon and had to admit the man increasingly surprised her. In spite of the grave situation, she smiled.
Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.
Chapter 10
AS THE LATE AFTERNOON SUN SANK behind the treetops, LeAnn sat on the back steps and looked out over Tall Pine Lake. A pair of ducks landed with a soft splash on the glassy surface. A cool breeze blew from the south. After being told of Ernie’s death, she had shed tears, but they’d soon stopped. She tried to grieve for him, to grieve for the loss of what they’d once had, but her love for him had died months earlier. She felt as if someone no more than a mere acquaintance had died. He’d broken so many promises that he’d taken away her respect, and, as her mother had once told her, without respect there was no love. Still, she was sorry that he had died in such a terrible way.
LeAnn had spoken with the sheriff for quite some time, but she hadn’t been able to shed any light on who might have killed Ernie. She’d suspected that he’d been involved in shady activities and was now thankful that he’d never shared any details with her. The sheriff had looked at her questioningly, finding it hard to believe that a wife would know so little about her husband.
LeAnn felt the movement of her child and silently spoke to it. It’s just you and me now, baby. Someday I’ll tell you about your daddy, tell you all the good things and leave out the bad.
The first few months of their marriage had been happy ones. Ernie had taken a job working with a water-well digger. He’d been a good-looking young man, well thought of by the people of Collins. But as time passed, Ernie had changed. Before long he’d become involved with unsavory men and ended up in prison.
For the year he was gone, she’d moved back with her parents and helped with the work on the farm. It had been difficult but she’d waited patiently for her husband to return to her. When Ernie finally had come back to Collins, he hadn’t been the same man she’d married. He was hard and ruthless. When she became pregnant, he grew even more uncaring. Because he was an ex-convict, it was hard for him to get a job. Finally, they decided to move to Little Rock, where, for a short time, Ernie worked as a mechanic, a skill he’d learned while in prison.
The pregnancy had been a bone of contention from the very beginning. Ernie had been angry and had wanted her to visit a woman in the Little Rock area who knew how to get rid of a baby. She’d angrily refused and he’d left her alone in a motel for over a week. It had been a time of fear and frustration. She didn’t know what sh
e would do or where she would go if Ernie didn’t come back. When he’d finally returned, his mood had changed dramatically. He was full of plans that he claimed would put them on easy street. He never confided the details of his plans and LeAnn had been afraid to ask. Now that he was dead, she’d never know.
Thinking back over the events of the day, she would never forget how relieved she’d felt after telling Mr. Wright she hadn’t known what to do about burying Ernie. It had been hard to confide her concerns to him, but he’d given her a reassuring smile and had told her not to worry, that he would take care of it. His kindness, as well as that of Mabel and Nona, had nearly overwhelmed her. She’d cried tears of gratitude, along with her tears of loss. Someday she would pay them back, all of them. Maybe it had been fate that had brought her here. Maybe the only thing that Ernie had ever done right was to bring her to this cabin and leave her. She would ask Mr. Wright if she might be able to stay at the camp and work for her room and board.
Now that Ernie was gone, things would be forever different. Poor Ernie! He’d wanted so much but hadn’t wanted to work to achieve it. All he’d wanted was for people to look up to him, even if they were the wrong kind of people. That he should have met the fate he had was sad but not unexpected. Still, she winced every time she imagined the pain he’d endured.
As she looked out over the peaceful camp, LeAnn caught sight of Maggie playing with her dog down near the shore. The breeze stirred the pines above her. Their scent wafted down to the porch and she inhaled deeply. Looking toward the future, she was surprised that she felt no fear for either herself or her baby. Somehow they would get along.
Jack Grant stood and wiped the perspiration from his brow. He and John Hogan, the carpenter Simon had hired, had been working on the new dining room and kitchen facilities since early morning. Simon had gone with the sheriff to take Ernie’s body to town, and now, as lunchtime approached, he still hadn’t returned. Even though Jack had been working, he’d managed to stay close to the cabin where Nona, Mabel, and Maggie lived. LeAnn was with the women when they called him for lunch.
On Tall Pine Lake Page 9