“Sure, if it’s that important,” Wanda Nell said. “You want me to come to your office?”
“No, I think we’d better meet somewhere else.” He hesitated for a moment. “Is there a back way into the Kountry Kitchen? Some way you can get in and nobody can see you?”
“Yeah,” Wanda Nell said slowly. “There’s an alley that comes out on the street behind, right between the store and the old building next to it.”
“That’s good,” Tuck said. “Drive off like you’re going home, then circle back and wait for me back there. I’m coming right now.”
His phone clicked in her ear, and Wanda Nell punched the end button on her cell phone. This was strange and more than a bit upsetting. What was going on?
Chapter 17
She started her car and backed out of the parking lot. There was no traffic around as she pulled into the street She drove a couple blocks east of the Kountry Kitchen, then circled back. The alley she’d told Tuck about was dark, and she shut off her lights as soon as she reached the back of the restaurant She left her car running, just in case.
The minutes ticked slowly by, but Tuck was there seven minutes after he had hung up his phone. His sleek, dark Mercedes pulled up behind Wanda Nell’s Cavalier, and he quickly shut off his lights. There was very little light from the moon through the clouds and the nearest streetlight was too far away to provide much illumination in the alley.
A dark shape loomed outside Wanda Nell’s window. She rolled it down, and Tuck squatted so his face was level with hers. “Can we get into the restaurant from back here?” Tuck said, his voice quiet.
“Yeah,” Wanda Nell said. She rolled up the window, and Tuck stepped back to allow her space to get out of her car. He followed close on her heels as she moved carefully through the alley to the back door of the Kountry Kitchen.
Fumbling with the keys, it took her a moment to get the door open. Her hands were shaking a bit. This whole situation was unnerving her, and she wanted an explanation.
Tuck made sure the door was locked behind them, then said quietly, “Is there somewhere we can talk where no light can be seen from the street?”
There were no windows on this side of the building, not even in Melvin’s office, and Wanda Nell grasped Tuck’s arm to lead him to the office. She knew every inch of the building, and navigating in the dark posed little problem for her.
She hit the light switch when they reached the office, and she blinked at the sudden burst of illumination. She set her purse on Melvin’s desk and moved around to sit in the chair behind it She motioned for Tuck to take the only other chair, an old dining room chair with a wobbly back.
“What the heck is going on?” Wanda Nell demanded. “Why all this secrecy?”
“Sorry if I’ve frightened you,” Tuck said, “but I thought it might be for the best. To tell you the truth, I’m a little spooked.”
Now that Wanda Nell could see his face, she noticed the lines of strain in his forehead and around his mouth. “So what’s going on?”
“I had a little visit this evening at the office,” Tuck said. “I was working late. I’d sent Blanche and TJ. home, and I was by myself. The phone rang, and I answered, thinking it might be TJ. calling about something. But it wasn’t TJ.” He grimaced.
“Who was it?”
“Billy Joe Eccles,” Tuck said. “He wanted to come by and talk to me, he said, and I told him to come on over. He must have been downstairs the whole time, because by the time I made it out to the front of the office to unlock the door, he was there. And he wasn’t alone.”
Wanda Nell’s chest constricted. “Who was with him?” Her voice came out in a whisper.
“Hector Padget, the guy that runs the funeral home on Main Street, just down from Mrs. Culpepper’s house. Do you know him?”
Wanda Nell shook her head. “I’ve heard of him, but I don’t know him.”
“And there was another guy, a real mean-looking cuss. Nobody introduced him, and I don’t remember seeing him before.”
“What did he look like?”
Tuck thought for a moment “He was a bit shorter than I am, say six-foot, blond hair, very muscular, probably about thirty-five or forty. Oh, and he had a couple of tattoos, one on each forearm.”
Wanda Nell blanched.
“You know who he is?” Tuck asked.
She nodded. “Tommy Eccles, Billy Joe’s half-brother. I’ve heard about him, and I’ve seen his picture in the paper. You’re right he is one mean sonofabitch.” Damn, but she wanted a cigarette. She clasped her hands in her lap to keep them from trembling. “People say he killed his mama and daddy, but nobody could ever prove it. He’s beat some people up, too, but most of ’em won’t testify against him. Billy Joe always takes up for him, even pays people off if he has to, to keep Tommy out of jail.”
“Damn,” Tuck said.
“What did they say to you?” Wanda Nell wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“Billy Joe and Hector came by, as they said, to let me know they were interested in Melvin’s case.” Tuck’s lips twisted in a sneer. “Said what a shame it was that a respected businessman should go nuts like that and murder a woman. That it would be better for everybody if he just owned up to it and did his time.”
“That’s crazy,” Wanda Nell burst out.
Tuck shrugged. “I thought about telling them I didn’t believe my client was guilty, but I could see it didn’t really matter to them. They want Melvin to confess to the murder, and if he does, they’ll make sure his mother and his two sisters are taken care of.”
“That’s bullshit,” Wanda Nell said hotly. “Melvin didn’t do it.”
“Whether he did or not,” Tuck said, “I don’t like those men trying to bully me or my client. The whole time they were in my office, the goon you called Tommy just stood there, staring at me. I tried to ignore him, but he made my skin crawl.”
“Did they threaten you?”
“Not in so many words. But it was pretty plain they expected me to go along with them. Eccles talked about how influence in the right places in town could make a real difference for someone like me. Crap like that And Padget just kept nodding, like a puppet with someone’s hand up his you-know-what.”
“What did you say?”
“I didn’t like the odds right then,” Tuck said wryly, “so I just told them I would carefully consider everything they had to say. That I would confer with my client and get back to them.” He shrugged. “Made me feel about three inches tall not to stand up to them.”
“You did the right thing,” Wanda Nell said.
“Maybe,” Tuck said, “but I can’t hold them off for long. They’re going to want an answer, and if I don’t give them the answer they want, well...” He shrugged again.
“We can always go to the sheriff,” Wanda Nell said, “and tell him about it. I don’t think he’d stand for something like this.”
“We could,” Tuck said, “but how long do you think it would be before some kind of ‘accident’ occurred?’ He laughed bitterly. “That was just one of the nice things Billy Joe mentioned before they left. How they hated to see accidents happen to people. If the sheriff did anything it would be after the fact, and that would be too late, at least for me.” Wanda Nell went cold all over. She was terrified, but at the same time she was getting madder and madder. She’d be damned if she’d let those sons of bitches get the better of her, or Tuck.
“What I’m wondering,” Tuck said, “is why they’re so interested in this case in the first place. It must have something to do with that list of names you gave me. Could Fayetta have been blackmailing all of them? But I don’t see how she could. It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Yeah, it does,” Wanda Nell said. She stood up and reached in her pocket for the key card she had found. She leaned over and handed it to Tuck.
He examined it curiously. “What is this?” he asked. “And what’s the Deer Stand?”
“It’s a private club, and I think tha
t’s what all this is about,” Wanda Nell said. She told Tuck everything that Katie Ann had told her while Tuck sat there openmouthed.
“You have got to be kidding me,” he said when she had finished. “Don’t that beat all.” Then he frowned. “Hang on a minute.” He looked down at the card again. “So that’s what they meant.”
“What did who mean?” Wanda Nell asked when Tuck fell silent.
Tuck looked up at her and opened his mouth to speak, but before a word came out, they both heard a sound coming from outside, from somewhere near the back door.
Tuck switched off the light, and they both sat very still, listening intently in the darkened office. Wanda Nell held her breath, feeling her pulse racing. Had someone followed Tuck here?
The sound coming from outside had stopped.
She could hear Tuck breathing shallowly, not far from her. Slowly she started to reach out her hand to find the phone on Melvin’s desk. She couldn’t see anything, so she tried to remember exactly where everything was.
Her hand touched the receiver. The sound came again. She listened intently for a moment, then relaxed.
Almost laughing with relief, she told Tuck in normal tones to turn the light back on.
“Are you sure?” he hissed the question at her.
“Yeah, it’s just the cat.”
Tuck flipped the switch, and they blinked at each other. “Cat? What cat?”
“Come on and I’ll show you.” She got up from the desk and walked down the hall to the back door. Tuck followed slowly.
Wanda Nell opened the door, and a small dark shape slipped inside. She reached down and scooped the cat up into her arms, pushing the door closed with her shoulder. “Hey, buddy,” she said softly, scratching the cat under the ears. “You just about scared the life out of us, you know that?”
The cat purred and rubbed his head against Wanda Nell’s hand.
“Where’d he come from?” Tuck asked.
“He’s been hanging around back here for months now,” Wanda Nell said. Carrying the cat, she moved toward the kitchen. Tuck came along. “He might belong to one of the houses nearby, but I think somebody threw him out. He’s real friendly, and I’ve been thinking about taking him home. Poor little guy.”
She stopped in front of the big walk-in refrigerator. Opening the door, she stepped in and hunted through the shelves until she found some leftover chicken. With her free hand, she pulled some meat from it, then asked Tuck to shut the door behind them.
With the cat in one hand and the chicken in the other, Wanda Nell walked back to Melvin’s office. She put the cat and the chicken down on top of the desk and sat down. The cat started gobbling the food right away.
Tuck reclaimed his seat across from her.
“Thank the Lord it was only a cat,” he said, “and not that goon Tommy Eccles. I didn’t think anyone had followed me here, but when we heard that noise, I was afraid maybe I hadn’t been careful enough.”
“No kidding,” Wanda Nell answered. Finished with his meal, the cat sat on his haunches and began to groom himself. Wanda Nell rubbed his back and he started purring.
“If you don’t take him home,” Tuck said suddenly, “I will. If he’ll go with me, that is. My cat died a month ago and I miss having one.”
Wanda Nell smiled. “Then he’s all yours. I’d take him, but I’m not sure how good he and my grandson would get along. Maybe when Lavon’s a little older.”
Tuck reached out tentatively to touch the cat, and the cat allowed himself to be stroked by this strange hand.
”I think he likes you,” Wanda Nell said.
“Good.” Tuck continued to rub the cat and the purring got louder.
“Now, before this little guy scared us to death, you were saying something about that card I handed you,” Wanda Nell said. “What’d you do with it?”
“Oh,” Tuck said, looking puzzled for a moment He stuck his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket “Here it is.” He held it in his hand and examined it again. “I remembered being approached by two men at a Rotary Club meeting. It was a couple of months ago now, I guess. They started quizzing me, asking me all about hunting. Asked me if I liked to hunt. Told me they had a club I might want to join. When I told them I didn’t hunt as politely as I could, they backed off. And now I’m wondering if this was the club they were talking about. I think both their names were on that list you gave me.”
“I’m glad you don’t hunt,” Wanda Nell said. The cat now that he was no longer receiving attention, curled up on the desk and went to sleep.
“I don’t hunt, and I certainly wouldn’t have been interested in their little extracurricular activities, either.” He grimaced.
Wanda Nell didn’t know what that one word meant but she got the gist of it. Then she felt cold again. She could just imagine what they would have done with Tuck if he had joined and then wouldn’t play along.
“Exactly,” Tuck said when she looked at him. He had read her mind easily.
“How do you keep people from finding out?” Wanda Nell said suddenly. Then she felt embarrassed, but went doggedly on. “I mean, do people know? Do you tell them?”
“I’m pretty open about it,” Tuck said. “But it’s not a topic that comes up in day-to-day conversation. If it does, it does.” He laughed. “And you know how it is, the way we Southerners do things. If you don’t flaunt it and throw it in everybody’s faces, they’ll leave you alone as often as not.”
“I guess so,” Wanda Nell said doubtfully. She recognized the truth of what he said, but she still worried.
“Wanda Nell, I’m not going to live my life in fear,” Tuck said gently. “I’m not going out asking for trouble, but I’m not going to turn my back on it if it comes my way. My parents taught me to stand up for what I believe in, and I do my best to do that.”
“What about your parents?” Wanda Nell knew she was prying, but if TJ. really cared for Tuck, then she felt she had a right to know something about his family.
“You mean do they know I’m gay7”
Wanda Nell winced slightly at hearing the word aloud. She nodded.
“Yes, they know,” Tuck said. “It was a shock at first, but they handled it pretty well. One of my cousins is also gay, and she came out long before I did. They had a little time to get used to having a gay person in the family before I told them about myself.”
“The only person I ever really knew was gay was this one guy I went to high school with,” Wanda Nell said, “and I remember what a hard time he had. All the guys always picking on him. Soon as he finished high school, he left here and never came back. Last I heard, he was living in Memphis.”
“That happens to a lot of gays and lesbians in small towns,” Tuck said. “It’s easier for some to find acceptance in big cities where they can blend in, find a lot more people like them.” He paused. “But there are still plenty of us who don’t leave, who stay in the small towns and get on with our lives. It’s harder sometimes, but I’d much rather live here than in a big city.”
“I don’t want TJ. to go away and live in some big city,” Wanda Nell said. “But if he’d be safer there...”
“I didn’t say it was any safer, Wanda Nell,” Tuck said. “Just easier to blend in. No matter where you go, there’s always going to be someone who hates you for what you are. You can’t get away from that.” He rubbed his forehead, and Wanda Nell could see the exhaustion setting in.
“No, I guess you can’t,” she said. “And I wouldn’t think much of you, or TJ., if you just tucked tail and ran.”
“You’re a pretty tough lady, you know that?” Tuck smiled at her.
“I’ve had to be,” Wanda Nell said honestly. “And I’m damned if I’m going to let anybody run over me.”
“Me either,” Tuck said. He stood up. “I’ll hold those men off as long as I can, but hopefully something will break soon. I’ll see if I can’t find out something more about this club without them finding out about it Surely somebody’ll be willing to
talk.”
“I’ll see what I can find out too,” Wanda Nell said. “Maybe I can get Katie Ann to talk to me. I know she’s holding back on me.” She too stood up. “And I think I may just go see Miz Vance in the morning. Maybe I can get her to talking. I bet she knows more about what Fayetta was up to than she lets on.”
Tuck moved close to the desk and rubbed the cat’s head. The cat sat up and stretched, then yawned. Tuck picked him up, and the cat nestled in his arms.
“Guess I’ll take him home with me,” he said. “What shall I call him?”
“How about Lucky?” Wanda Nell said. “Maybe he’s a good sign.”
“Lucky it is,” Tuck said, laughing. “What do you think, little guy? Are you going to bring us luck?” The cat meowed as if to say yes.
Wanda Nell waited until Tuck had made it to the back door before she turned off the office light They slipped outside, and she made sure the door was locked.
“What will you do with that key card?” she asked. The night was dark and cool around them.
“I’m not sure yet,” Tuck said. “I’ll probably turn it over to Elmer Lee Johnson.”
“Do you have to tell him how you found it?” All her worries about Elmer Lee’s trustworthiness came flooding back.
“Maybe not. But don’t worry, Wanda Nell. Elmer Lee’s not such a bad guy. I know you two don’t get along, but he’s a pretty decent guy.”
“I hope so,” she said fervently. “I sure hope so.”
They walked to their cars. Wanda Nell explained that the alley came out into the front parking lot of the Kountry Kitchen. “That way you don’t have to back all the way out.”
“Drive carefully,” Tuck said, before he and Lucky got inside the Mercedes. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Wanda Nell drove slowly to the end of the alley. She didn’t see any sign of traffic on the highway just up ahead, and she pulled slowly into the parking lot. All clear.
She drove through the parking lot and out onto the street then turned onto the highway. She glanced back to see Tuck’s car coming out of the alley. She breathed a sigh of relief as she hit the accelerator and sped toward home.
Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery Book 2) Page 16