Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery Book 2)

by Jimmie Ruth Evans

  “Yes, it is. That’s the club I’m talking about. I don’t know how much hunting they do, but according to what I heard, they do a lot more besides hunt.”

  Elmer Lee expelled a long breath into the phone. “You can’t just haul off and make accusations like that especially about some of the men on that list. You could get in trouble if any of them ever find out you’re talking about something like this.”

  “I know that,” she snapped at him. “That’s why I’m expecting you to do something about it though I don’t know why. Are you too scared of those men to investigate the way you should? Are you just gonna sit back and let Melvin be railroaded?’

  “I am conducting this investigation,” Elmer Lee said, his temper obviously beginning to get the better of him, “and you just better mind your own business, Wanda Nell. I’m tired of you interfering and telling me how to do my job. I know what I’m doing, even if you don’t think so.” He slammed the phone down.

  Pissed off but satisfied, Wanda Nell clicked her own phone off. She didn’t really think Elmer Lee would let all those big shots just walk all over him, but it didn’t hurt to let him think she thought he would. The madder he was, the more likely he was to get something done.

  What should she do now? Go home and relax for a couple hours before going to work?

  No, she felt too restless for that. The girls would be fine on their own. She needed to do something. But what?

  She looked at her watch again. She had plenty of time before she needed to be at the Kountry Kitchen. Maybe she’d take a little drive out around the lake, near the state park. See if she couldn’t find a certain road.

  Her mind made up, Wanda Nell set off.

  Chapter 20

  Wanda Nell turned on the radio and sang along with Faith Hill on her way out to the lake. She drove by the turnoff to the trailer park and kept going. Soon she was crossing the lake itself, over the dam erected back in the 1950s to help with flood control.

  Having crossed the dam, she slowed down and began looking for an old oak tree damaged by lightning. This side of the lake was mostly woods. Part of the area belonged to a state park that skirted the lake to the east and south. Wanda Nell hadn’t been on this side of the lake in years, but she knew the area was still largely undeveloped. Prime hunting ground, as a matter of fact She would have figured the club was out here somewhere.

  She had driven about three-quarters of a mile when she spotted the tree. An immense tree of great age, it was dying slowly from the lightning strike. To one side of it Wanda Nell spotted a gravel road. She hesitated for a moment. There was no other traffic. More than likely no one would be out here this time of day, so she ought to be safe enough if she wanted to snoop around a little.

  She turned onto the gravel road and drove slowly down it. Trees and bushes crowded densely on either side of her car, and the sunlight, such as it was on this gloomy day, had difficulty penetrating the canopy of leaves above her. Once her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she felt better. She didn’t want to have to turn on her lights, just in case.

  After almost half a mile, she came to a gate and a fence. The fence stretched out on either side and disappeared into the woods. The gate sported a sign that read: Private Property. No Trespassing. To her left was a gizmo situated on top of a post, about level with her car window. She pulled up and examined it This seemed to be where they used the key cards to gain access to the club. For a moment Wanda Nell wished she had held on to the key card. It would have made her snooping easier.

  She sat in the car for a moment and decided what to do next Should she just turn around and head back? She eyed the fence. It looked pretty ordinary, though it could be electrified. She figured she could probably squeeze under it if she wanted to.

  But what could she do with her car? There was just enough room here, in the small clearing around the gate, for her to turn around and head back out She hated to leave her car sitting here in case somebody came driving up the road. She thought about it a moment longer, then decided she’d take her chances. She turned the car around and left it unlocked, in case she needed to get into it in a hurry.

  Opening the glove compartment she pulled out a flashlight she kept there for emergencies. She tested the batteries. They seemed strong enough. She wouldn’t turn it on unless she had to, but it was big and heavy enough to use as a weapon if need be.

  Approaching the fence and squatting beside it she decided she could worm herself under it without too much trouble. She might get a bit grubby, but she’d deal with that later.

  Wanda Nell found a spot where the ground dipped a little lower under the fence. She poked around with her flashlight. The last thing she wanted to do was roll over a snake. She shuddered at the thought: she was terrified of snakes.

  Satisfied that no snake was lurking under this bit of fence, she got down on the ground and wriggled under. Up on her feet again, she brushed off her clothes and slowly walked beside the fence until she was in the road. As long as she stuck to the road, she thought, she was less likely to get in trouble.

  The road led her up a small hill, the incline steep enough to leave her slightly short of breath. When she reached the top, she paused for a moment, looking ahead.

  A building stood in a clearing about a hundred yards away. A large area had been paved, with parking spaces marked. Wanda Nell was relieved to see that none of them were occupied right now. The building itself was pretty ordinary, just a big block of concrete with two large double windows on either side of the front door. There was no sign indicating the name of the place, but Wanda Nell felt confident she was in the right place.

  Wanda Nell approached the building cautiously. All around her the woods were quiet, except for the ordinary sounds of nature. Feeling a tad unnerved, Wanda Nell resisted the impulse to keep looking over her shoulder. There was no one watching her. She was simply jumpy.

  She tried the front door but wasn’t surprised to find it locked. Next she peered into the windows, flashing her light through them to see what she could.

  Not that much, as it turned out. The windows on one side belonged to some kind of storeroom. Wanda Nell could make out the outlines of boxes and canned goods on the shelves. She flashed her light over the boxes, some of which were labeled. One had the logo of a popular brand of condoms. Evidently the club members bought them in large supply. Wanda Nell grimaced in distaste and moved on.

  The windows on the other side belonged to what looked like a bedroom. Wanda Nell could see a bed, a table beside it, and a couple of chairs. That was all.

  Suddenly she whirled around. What was that sound?

  She didn’t see anything.

  Feeling foolish, she turned back to the windows. Probably just a rabbit, nothing more scary than that.

  She moved along the side of the building, flashing her light through windows as she came to them, six in all. Most of the rooms appeared to be dormitory-style bedrooms, or rooms with beds, she corrected herself. Nobody lived here. Just slept here when they were hunting. Or used the rooms for other purposes. She pressed grimly on.

  She had gone around the back of the building and had started up the other side when she came to a room that looked like someone was actually living in it Clothes were strewn around, and she spotted a pile of beer cans on the floor. For some reason, this made her uneasy. She decided she’d found out all she was going to by coming out here. Time to get the heck out of Dodge and back where there were other people around.

  She paused as she came to the edge of the building. She couldn’t see anything in the clearing. Feeling a bit foolish, she ran across the clearing and down the hill toward the gate. She scooted under the fence as quickly as she could, not even stopping to check for snakes.

  Back in her car, she dropped the heavy flashlight on the seat. She stuck her keys in the ignition, fired up the car, and drove as fast as she dared back through the woods.

  She stopped to check for oncoming traffic when she came to the blacktop road. To her left the road cu
rved sharply away from her, and she really couldn’t tell whether anything was coming. To her right all was clear. She pulled onto the road to her right and stomped on the accelerator, relieved that she was getting away from the place. She wasn’t sure she had learned anything helpful, but at least she knew where it was now.

  Wanda Nell glanced into her rearview mirror. She frowned. A big pickup had come up behind her. He must have been coming around that curve when she was pulling out onto the road.

  She sped up, but the guy in the truck hung right on her tail. She felt her heart begin to pound. The road ahead was straight and clear. Why didn’t he just go around her if he was in that big a hurry?

  Deliberately she slowed down to force him to pass. The big truck moved out into the other lane and started around her. Wanda Nell breathed a sigh of relief.

  Her relief quickly turned to horror. The pickup didn’t move ahead. Instead, the driver was keeping pace with her, pulling over into her lane, like he was trying to force her off the road. His right blinker was on.

  She looked up. The driver was leaning over, pointing.

  He wanted her to pull over.

  She didn’t want to. She had a bad feeling about this.

  But if she didn’t pull over, he might force her off the road into the ditch. She couldn’t outrun him. His pickup was a lot more powerful than her faithful little Chevy.

  Wanda Nell let her car coast to a stop on the edge of the road. The pickup stopped just ahead of her, out in the road blocking both lanes. The lake lay just ahead.

  Damn! Now she couldn’t drive around him when he got out of the truck. And even if she tried to turn around and go the other way he’d catch up to her before she got very far.

  Her hands closed on the flashlight and pulled it into her lap. She waited for the driver to get out of the truck and approach her. If she had to, she could always try to knock him out with the flashlight.

  With a shock, she recognized the man coming toward her. Tommy Eccles. She prayed that he didn’t recognize her.

  Her stomach knotted in fear. She felt the weight of the flashlight in her lap. If Eccles saw it, he’d know she’d been snooping.

  Quickly she stuck it behind her back and pulled her purse over next to her. She spotted a large drink cup that Miranda had left in the car and grabbed it

  Eccles planted himself by her door and leaned over. “Hey there, little lady. Did you know that was private property you was trespassing on back there?”

  Wanda Nell decided to do her best dizzy blonde routine. “Oh, you mean that road back there? Was that private?” She giggled. “I had to pull off the road somewhere, and that looked okay.” She giggled again and held up the drink cup. “I just didn’t think I could make it any further. I had too much Coke this morning.” She batted her eyelashes at him. “I know I don’t have to tell you what I mean.” She gave him a big smile, praying that he’d be taken in by her dumb act.

  Evidently it worked. He grinned at her. “That’s okay, honey. When you gotta go, you gotta go.” He crossed his arms and propped them on the window. “What’s a pretty gal like you doing all the way out here anyways?”

  “I been over in Oxford visiting my cousin, and I was on my way home this morning.”

  Eccles frowned. “This is kinda out of the way, ain’t it? You took the long way round if you was coming from Oxford.”

  She giggled again. “I know, but I kinda got lost somewhere. I get so turned around I don’t know which way I’m going. I ended up on this road, and I stuck to it. Ain’t that the lake there?”

  He got a patronizing look on his face. “You women drivers. It’s a wonder you can find your way out of a paper bag.” He laughed, and Wanda Nell wanted to smash him in the face with her flashlight.

  “Well, at least I know where I am now,” she said, forcing herself to giggle again. As long as he thought she was stupid, she’d be safe. “I better get going, though. My boyfriend’s expecting me.”

  “You sure you don’t wanna come back with me and have a little party?” Eccles leered at her in what he probably thought was a seductive manner. “I got a nice private place back there, and ain’t nobody gonna bother us. You and me could have us a real good time.”

  “I bet you know how to give a girl a good time,” Wanda Nell cooed. “But my boyfriend, he’s a real jealous type, and if I don’t show up soon, he’ll be real mad, and I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  Eccles didn’t like that. Wanda Nell was afraid he was going to try to force her to go with him. “Tell you what, stud, you just give me a call, and soon as I can get away from my boyfriend, you can show me that good time you’re talking about.”

  She wanted to gag, but if it meant she could get away from him, she had to keep up the act.

  Eccles grinned at her. “Sure thing, sugar. What’s your name?”

  “Lila Jane Ledbetter,” Wanda Nell said, pulling the name out of nowhere. “I’m in the book.” Jeeze, she hoped there wasn’t any Lila Jane Ledbetter in Tullahoma.

  “Okay, Lila Jane, I’m’a gonna call you.” Eccles stood up, tugged on his jeans, and swaggered back to his truck.

  “Thank you, Lord,” Wanda Nell whispered.

  Eccles turned his truck around, headed back toward the club, and he waved at her as he went by. Wanda Nell grabbed the steering wheel with shaky hands and headed back to town, resisting the urge to floor the accelerator.

  She’d been very lucky, she realized. If Tommy Eccles had known who she was, things could have ended very differently. She had thought she’d be safe, coming out here in the daytime in the middle of the week. How was she supposed to know Tommy Eccles was actually living at the club?

  It had been foolhardy to come out here by herself, and she vowed not to do anything like this ever again. And what had she learned, after all?

  She thought about that. Was it significant that Tommy Eccles was living at the club? Why should they need someone living there, acting like a caretaker? Did they keep anything really valuable there?

  She wondered how long he’d been living there. Maybe only for a few days, maybe longer. Having someone on the premises probably meant that the club members were worried about something. But what?

  Maybe besides the big box of condoms there was evidence that a lot more than just hunting went on at the club. Fayetta’s death would have made them nervous, and having Tommy Eccles there meant they’d be prepared if someone came to investigate.

  That was the best answer she could come up with, and it would have to do for now.

  She had reached the other end of the lake and was nearing the turnoff to the trailer park. Should she stop by and check on the girls? She glanced at her watch. It was nearly twelve-thirty. She had spent more time than she realized on her little snooping expedition.

  At this point, she might as well just go on to work. She could do a little work in the office before it was time to relieve Ovie and Ruby.

  The lunchtime rush was in full swing when she arrived at the Kountry Kitchen. Ovie and Ruby had their hands full. The front room was packed, and several tables in the back dining room were filled as well. Wanda Nell frowned. Usually Melvin was here to take up the slack and run the register. If they were this busy, they might need temporary help. She might even need to work both shifts, and she would if she had to. She’d discuss it with Ovie when she had the chance.

  Forgetting about the office work momentarily, she dumped her purse in the back and slipped on an apron. Out front, Ovie and Ruby were grateful for the extra pair of hands.

  About an hour later, things had slowed down considerably, and Wanda Nell thought she might have a few minutes to do some office work before Ruby and Ovie left She was about to head for the office when she happened to glance toward the front door.

  At first she thought she was seeing things.

  No, she wasn’t That really was Lucretia Culpepper, her former mother-in-law, standing there, looking around with a superior smirk on her face. What the heck was she doing here? Feelin
g a dull throb start behind her eyes, Wanda Nell went to find out.

  Chapter 21

  The last thing Wanda Nell felt like right now was having to deal with Lucretia Culpepper. The old woman had never deigned to set foot in the Kountry Kitchen before, and Wanda Nell wasn’t sure she wanted to know what had made her do it today.

  Forcing a smile, she walked up to Mrs. Culpepper.

  “Afternoon, Wanda Nell,” Mrs. Culpepper said.

  “Afternoon, Miz Culpepper,” Wanda Nell answered. She examined the older woman. Since TJ. had been living with her, she was looking a lot better. She certainly wasn’t hitting the Jack Daniels the way she had been when her only company at home was her elderly black maid, Charlesetta. She appeared altogether sharper and more with it than she had in years. TJ. had seen to that.

  “What can I do for you?” Wanda Nell went on. “Let me show you to a table.”

  “I’m not here to eat anything,” Mrs. Culpepper said in a haughty tone. “I wouldn’t even be setting foot in a place like this if I didn’t need to talk to you, Wanda Nell. Where can we talk that’s halfway private?”

  “Follow me,” Wanda Nell said, her hands clenched at her sides. She wasn’t going to let the old woman get to her. She was going to keep her temper. She kept telling herself that as she led the way to the back dining room.

  “Is this private enough for you?” Wanda Nell asked, gesturing toward a table against the back wall.

  Mrs. Culpepper sniffed. “It will have to do.” She pulled out a chair and inspected it for dirt before she sat down in it She plopped her handbag on the table. “Well, sit down, Wanda Nell; don’t just stand there gawking at me like an idiot.”

  Sighing, Wanda Nell sat down across from her. “What was it you wanted to talk to me about?”

  “You have got to talk to TJ., Wanda Nell. Maybe he’ll listen to you. I have talked to that boy until I’m blue in the face.”

  Yeah, blue to match your hair, Wanda Nell thought snidely. The old witch always brought out the worst in her.