“He just will not listen to reason, and I don’t know what else to do to make him understand. He has a position to uphold, and I expect him to do it.”
“Position? What position?” Wanda Nell said. “What are you talking about?”
“He is a Culpepper,” Mrs. Culpepper said primly. “And it is up to him to carry on the name into the next generation.”
“Miranda’s already done that for you. You’ve got a great-grandchild with the Culpepper name.” Mrs. Culpepper hated to be reminded that Lavon was illegitimate and bore his mother’s last name.
“That’s not the same thing,” Mrs. Culpepper said sharply, “and you know it, Wanda Nell. You know what I mean. Lavon is a sweet boy, but he can’t really represent the family the way TJ. and his own son can.”
Mrs. Culpepper had a rude awakening coming, and Wanda Nell took a bit of malicious satisfaction from that. Once the old witch found out the truth about her grandson, she might just have a stroke and die right that minute.
Then Wanda Nell felt ashamed of herself. She knew how hard it was going to be for T.J. to face up to his grandmother and tell her the truth. He hadn’t even been able to talk to his own mother yet Mrs. Culpepper would probably kick him out of her house and take away the truck she’d bought him. This whole thing was such a mess. Why did TJ. have to be different?
“Now, you listen to me a minute, Miz Culpepper,” Wanda Nell said, trying to get her thoughts in order. She had to be careful not to blurt out anything. “I don’t think you need to be rushing TJ. into anything. He’s only twenty-two. He’s got plenty of time to think about things like a family and all that. He needs some time to figure out what he wants.”
Mrs. Culpepper opened her mouth to speak, but Wanda Nell rushed on. “Now, you know what he was like there for a while. He was as wild as he could be, always causing me grief and worry. I never knew from one minute to the next if he was gonna get himself killed or end up in jail. I’m just so proud of the way he’s turned himself around. It took a lot of guts for him to make a change like that, and I think we should all give him time. Just be thankful he’s finally acting like an adult, and don’t push him.”
Mrs. Culpepper’s mouth had snapped shut into a prim line, but now she relaxed a tad. “I guess there’s some sense in what you’re saying.”
Pressing home her advantage, Wanda Nell continued in a softer tone. “He’s trying so hard to please everybody. He loves you and appreciates everything you’ve done for him. I know that, and so do you. He’s doing his best to take care of you. Do you really want to drive him away?”
She gazed earnestly at Mrs. Culpepper, and for a moment the old woman’s vulnerability showed in her face. Then the mask was back on.
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “He is a good boy. You just didn’t know how to handle him, Wanda Nell. If you had, he wouldn’t have got into all that trouble as a teenager. I should have taken him in years ago.”
Oh, yeah, that was just what TJ. needed all right, Wanda Nell thought, wishing she could say the words aloud. Instead, she held on to her temper.
“I’m not going to argue that with you, Miz Culpepper,” she said. “It’d just be a waste of my time and yours. I need to be getting back to work, if you’re done saying what you came to say.”
“I’ll give him some time,” Mrs. Culpepper said as she stood up. “But I’m not going to forget about this. He needs to put down his roots.”
Wanda Nell walked away from her. If she spoke to the old battle-ax again right now, she didn’t know what she might say. She stopped near the counter in the front dining room and watched Mrs. Culpepper stalk away. When the old woman was out the door, Wanda Nell breathed a sigh of relief. Now she could get back to work and forget about the old biddy.
Except that she couldn’t, she found while she was checking through the invoices on Melvin’s desk. Why did the old witch have such a bee in her bonnet about TJ. meeting a girl, getting married, and having a baby? What was so dang important about it right now?
Could Mrs. Culpepper be dying? Was that it?
Wanda Nell considered this idea. The good Lord knew what kind of shape Mrs. Culpepper’s liver was in. All those years of heavy drinking might have taken their toll.
Or she could have cancer. Wanda Nell seemed to remember that Mrs. Culpepper’s only sister had died about twenty years ago from breast cancer.
If the old lady was dying, Wanda Nell could dredge up some sympathy for her. She had been bitter and lonely until TJ. had come back into her life. For years before he died, her son hadn’t had much to do with her, and her late husband, old Judge Culpepper, had been a notorious skirt-chaser.
Frankly, Wanda Nell thought the old woman was just plain too mean to die. She’d live to be a hundred and drive them all crazy, one way or another. Even T.J. confessing the truth about himself probably wouldn’t kill her.
Maybe that was it!
Startled by the thought, Wanda Nell leaned against Melvin’s desk and considered it. What if Mrs. Culpepper had somehow sensed the truth behind TJ.’s reluctance to go out with any of the girls she had selected? Maybe she thought she could force him into getting married anyway and giving her the grandson she wanted. All for the sake of the grand name of Culpepper.
The more Wanda Nell considered that the more she figured it was probably the truth. Mrs. Culpepper was a lot sharper than she acted sometimes, and TJ. might have been careless around her, let something slip or said something that clued the old lady in to the truth.
She still had no idea what she was gonna say to TJ. when he finally got up the nerve to talk to her. But he needed to clear the air, and soon. Not talking about it wasn’t doing any good.
Wanda Nell forced herself to concentrate on the invoices. It was almost time for Ruby and Ovie to leave, and Katie Ann should be arriving pretty soon for the evening shift.
When she had finished with the invoices, Wanda Nell let herself think about Katie Ann. She needed to sit that girl down and have a talk with her. Maybe if she really pushed Katie Ann, she could get her to tell everything she knew about Fayetta and the club.
Wanda Nell stopped in the kitchen to chat with Margaret, the cook. She checked to make sure deliveries had been arriving properly and with the right items. Margaret had a complaint about some of the produce they’d been getting, and by the time Wanda Nell had discussed it with her and promised to take care of it, it was nearly two o’clock.
Ruby had already left so she could get to an afternoon class on time, and Ovie was nursing a glass of iced tea near the register. A couple of men occupied one table. Wanda Nell didn’t see any other customers.
“No sign of Katie Ann yet?” she asked Ovie, frowning.
“Not yet,” Ovie said. “She’s been coming in on time up to now.”
“Yeah, she has,” Wanda Nell agreed. “Wonder why she’s late today?”
“You want me to hang on for a while? I can stay till three or maybe four, if you need me to.”
Wanda Nell appreciated the offer, but she knew Ovie was tired and ready to go home. She didn’t know what she’d do, though, if Katie Ann didn’t show up. Who was she gonna call? She wracked her brain for names.
“I’m sure Katie Ann’ll show up in a few minutes, or at least maybe call,” Wanda Nell said. “If you don’t mind hanging around till I hear from Katie Ann, one way or another, I’d appreciate it. And if you can think of somebody I might could call, I’d appreciate that too.”
“I’ll think on it, honey,” Ovie said. “And I’ll hang on, just in case.”
Wanda Nell went back to the office and dug out the card Katie Ann had filled out. She called the home phone number Katie Ann had written down. The phone rang eight or nine times, but no one answered. Frustrated, Wanda Nell hung up and went back out front.
The door opened, and Katie Ann rushed in. “Sorry I’m late, Wanda Nell,” she said, a little out of breath. “My old car wouldn’t start, and I had to call a friend to come give me a ride to work.”
<
br /> “That’s okay,” Wanda Nell said. “You could’ve called me, and I’d’ve come and got you.”
“I didn’t think of that,” Katie Ann said. “Next time I will, but my friend didn’t mind.”
“I reckon I’ll be heading home,” Ovie said. “Bye, y’all.” Purse in hand, she departed.
“Let me just put my stuff away, and I’ll be right back, Wanda Nell,” Katie Ann said on her way to the back. She paused at the kitchen door. “That’s a great haircut, by the way.” She disappeared into the kitchen.
Ovie and Ruby had both admired her new look earlier, assuring her that it took at least five years off her age. She wondered what Jack Pemberton would think. He was used to seeing her with long hair. All of a sudden, she had a hankering to see him. What if she called him and asked him to come over for dinner?
But how would he interpret it? Would he make more out of it than just a friendly invitation?
Wanda Nell dithered a moment, then decided she didn’t care.
The two men who had been taking their time with their lunch came up to the register then to pay. Wanda Nell took their money and thanked them. Katie Ann returned, and Wanda Nell told her she’d be back in a minute.
In the office, she picked up the phone and punched in Jack’s home number. He was teaching summer school in the mornings, but in the afternoon he was usually at home writing. He was working on a true crime book, and he hoped to be finished with it by the time school started again in August.
Normally she wouldn’t call and interrupt him when she knew he might be writing. If he didn’t want to come to the phone, he’d let the machine take the call.
The phone rang three times, and Wanda Nell was mentally composing the message she would leave, when a woman’s voice answered.
Slightly confused, Wanda Nell didn’t respond at first. The woman repeated her hello.
“Uh, hello,” Wanda Nell said uncertainly. “I’m trying to reach Jack Pemberton. Maybe I called the wrong number.”
The woman laughed. “No, it’s the right number. But he’s out running an errand right now. Can I take a message?”
“Uh, no, that’s okay.” Wanda Nell was almost stuttering, she was so taken aback. “I’ll call back later.” She dropped the phone on the cradle.
What the hell was some woman doing at Jack’s house in the middle of the day? Especially when he’d just told her he thought he was falling in love with her?
He had never mentioned having a maid, and Wanda Nell doubted the woman was a cleaning lady. She’d sounded too educated and refined for that.
Jack hadn’t mentioned having a sister, either. The woman had sounded too young to be his mother, and anyway, she thought Jack had told her his mother was dead.
So who was she?
Chapter 22
Damn it! She already had more crap to deal with than she needed, and now this. What did he mean, taking up with some hussy so fast? How dare he?
She was working herself into a good hissy fit when common sense began to prevail.
Just because she had told Jack she needed time didn’t mean he’d run out and found himself the first available woman to console himself with.
Cool down, she told herself. Her temper had gotten the better of her for the moment.
Jack wasn’t that kind of man; she was sure of it. She just had to trust him. There was probably some innocent explanation for why that woman was at his house in the middle of the day.
The irony of the situation hit her. Here she’d told Jack she needed time to think, and the minute she thought he’d taken up with some other woman, she was acting like a jealous harpy.
I guess that answers one question anyway, she thought.
If she was this jealous at the thought of Jack having another woman, it meant she really did care about him. She shied away from saying the L word yet but she had to admit she did have strong feelings for him.
Haul your carcass back out there and get to work, she advised herself, and stop thinking about it
She walked back out front. Katie Ann was going from table to table, refilling the napkin holders and gathering salt and pepper shakers that needed to be topped off.
She glanced up at Wanda Nell. “I sure do like that new haircut. Where’d you get it done?”
“Lucille’s Style Shop, down by the county high school on the old state highway. I got a friend that works there, and I finally let her get me in the chair.”
“You look a lot better, if you don’t mind me saying so,” Katie Ann said.
Wanda Nell did mind, but the phone ringing just then kept her from saying so. She walked to the cash register and picked up the phone sitting beside it. “Kountry Kitchen,” she said.
“Hey, Wanda Nell, it’s Tuck,” the voice announced. “Got some good news for you.”
“I sure could use some about now,” she said. “What is it?”
“Melvin’s out on bond. Since he had no previous record, the magistrate didn’t set bail as high as I thought he would. Melvin was able to post it. I just dropped him off at home, and he said he’ll be at the Kountry Kitchen as soon as he has a shower and changes clothes.”
“That’s wonderful news,” Wanda Nell said. ‘1 completely forgot to ask you about that yesterday.”
“I know,” Tuck said. “So much was going on, I forgot to tell you last night that the hearing was set for this morning.”
“Oh, I’m so glad. I know Melvin’s real happy to get out of there.”
“He sure is,” Tuck said, “and now I just have to see to it that he doesn’t have to go back.”
“What did they say at the hearing?”
“Their case was mostly circumstantial, but it was enough to convince the judge to bind Melvin over for indictment by the grand jury. The good thing is that he was allowed to post bond.”
“When’s the grand jury due to meet?”
“Not for another couple of months, and I’m confident that in that time Melvin will be cleared, one way or another.”
“Thank the Lord,” Wanda Nell said fervently. “I just want all this to be over and done with, for Melvin’s sake and everybody else’s.”
“Amen to that,” Tuck said. “Gotta go, Wanda Nell. Talk to you later.”
Wanda Nell put down the phone feeling lighter of heart than she had since Melvin first called her on Sunday morning.
“You look pretty happy,” Katie Ann said. “Did I hear right? They’re letting that guy out on bail?”
“Yes, they are,” Wanda Nell said, “and it’s about damn time.”
“You don’t think he did it?”
“No, I don’t,” Wanda Nell said sharply. “If you knew him, you’d know he couldn’t have done it.”
“I think I met him once, when I was at Fayetta’s and he stopped by,” Katie Ann said. She picked up her tray of supplies and moved on to the next table. “He was real good-looking, I thought, but he was kind of sharp with Fayetta.”
“Yeah, well, she could do that to anybody,” Wanda Nell said. “He’s a good man. Are you saying you don’t want to work here with him back?”
Katie Ann shrugged. “Not exactly. I don’t know him like you do, and it makes me a little nervous, I guess. But if he didn’t do it, who did?"
Wanda Nell wanted to say, You tell me. I know you’re not telling me everything you know.
Instead, she said, “I don’t know. But it seems to me, Fayetta made a lot of people angry, one way or another. Somebody from that club could’ve done it. Maybe she was threatening to tell somebody’s wife about what went on there.”
“Maybe,” Katie Ann said doubtfully. “But I wouldn’t be too sure about that. I’d look a little bit closer to home if it was up to me.”
“What do you mean, closer to home? You think one of her kids did it?” Wanda Nell shook her head in disbelief.
“No, silly, that mama of hers.” Katie Ann shivered. “She gives me the creeps. Always quoting the Bible at you, and talking about sin and hell and getting saved. She did
n’t approve of Fayetta and was always going on at her about those kids, and how she was ruining their lives.” She shivered again. “Maybe she did it, because she sure wanted to take those kids away from Fayetta and raise them right.” Wanda Nell stared at her. The more she considered Katie Ann’s theory, the more sense it made to her. Mrs. Vance was awfully fixated on raising those kids and making sure they didn’t turn out like their mama. She might have done it thinking she was saving the children.
But she was also very devout in her faith. How could she kill her own daughter? Could she justify that by saying that it was better to save the children, since her daughter refused to repent and give up her sinful life?
“Maybe she did,” Wanda Nell said slowly. “I can see what you mean, but it’s still pretty far-fetched. To think she’d kill her own daughter.”
“Yeah,” Katie Ann said, “but you should’ve heard how she talked to Fayetta sometimes. She talked to her like she was some dog off the street. They hated each other.”
“Then why did Fayetta even have anything to do with her?”
“Well, she was Fayetta’s mama. What was Fayetta gonna do, get a court order to make her stay away from them?” Katie Ann threw up her hands. “I don’t know. Sometimes she didn’t have much choice, I guess, when she needed somebody to look after those kids. Miz Vance is the only person I know of that those little hellraisers are afraid of. They sure wouldn’t mind me when I was looking after them.”
“Pretty sad,” Wanda Nell said, and it sure was. She thought about her relationship with her late mother and how different it had been from that of Fayetta and Mrs. Vance. She had been really lucky.
Talking about Mrs. Vance and Fayetta recalled her conversation with Mrs. Vance from that morning. What about that so-called social worker? She had meant to ask Tuck to check into that. She reached for the phone to call him back, but her hand froze halfway to it.
She was looking at Katie Ann, and Mrs. Vance’s words flashed through her mind. According to Mrs. Vance, the social worker had a mole on one cheek.
Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery Book 2) Page 20