“Billy Joe and Deke,” Padget answered grudgingly. “They’re the ones that run everything. I’m just a member.”
“Some hotshot you are,” Mayrene commented. “Just a lot of big talk and hot air.” Padget ignored her.
“So you think maybe one of them did it?" Wanda Nell kept pressing him, thinking he might knew more than he was willing to admit, despite his situation.
“I don’t know.” Padget shouted the words at her. “Jeez, woman, I’ve told you what I know. One of them could’ve done it. They’re acting pretty strange right now. Billy Joe might’ve got that crazy brother of his to kill her for all I know.” He shuddered. “That guy’s a nutcase. You don’t wanna get crossways of him.”
Wanda Nell and Mayrene looked at each other. “What do you think?” Wanda Nell said.
“I reckon that’s about all this peckerwood’s gonna tell us. Probably all he can tell us. He’s just a flunky.” The scorn in Mayrene’s voice caused Padget to start mumbling.
“You ain’t loose yet,” Mayrene told him. “So watch what you’re saying there, jackass.”
“I think you need to cut him loose now,” Wanda Nell said quietly.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Mayrene said. “I want to get the bastard out of my house for good.” She handed Wanda Nell the shotgun. “You hang onto this, just in case.”
Wanda Nell wasn’t keen on handling the shotgun, but she took it. Padget might try something, despite Mayrene’s threats. She watched as Mayrene untied him.
When the final rope was loosed, Mayrene stood back and regarded Padget sitting on the bed and rubbing his wrists in turn. “Now, if you’re smart the first thing you oughta do in the morning is hightail it to the sheriff’s department and have a talk with them.”
“What for?” Padget said, struggling to get dressed with some semblance of dignity.
“You’re even dumber than I throught,” Mayrene said in disgust. “Because they already know you’re involved in that club, and sooner or later they’re gonna come knocking on your door. If you go to them and tell them what you knew, well, they’ll take it easier on you.”
“How do they know I’m involved?” Padget demanded as he buttoned his rumpled shirt.
“Because they have a list,” Wanda Nell said. “They know who belongs to the club, and they also have a pretty good idea who was paying Fayetta hush money.”
By now Padget was looking green around the gills. He was pretty well screwed, and he was beginning to realize just how bad it was.
He slumped down on the side of the bed, trying to get his shoes on. Wanda Nell watched him, almost feeling sorry for him. He’d gotten himself into a hell of a mess, but anybody who’d participate in that kind of club deserved whatever they got.
All traces of defiance gone, Padget stumbled toward the bedroom door. Mayrene and Wanda Nell stood out of his way. He turned to look back at them.
“Are you going to the sheriff’s department?” Mayrene asked him.
Padget nodded. “First thing in the morning.” He turned and walked down the hall.
Taking the shotgun from Wanda Nell, Mayrene followed him. Wanda Nell trailed behind. Mayrene stood at the door, watching until Padget’s car was out of sight She closed and locked the door, then laid her shotgun on the coffee table.
She and Wanda Nell sank down on the sofa at the same time and sat staring at each other.
“That’s one way of getting somebody to talk,” Wanda Nell said. “Maybe you oughta go to work for the sheriff’s department.”
Mayrene grinned. “You just have to know how to talk to ’em, honey.”
“How’d you get him over here and tied up in bed like that?” Wanda Nell asked. She’d been dying of curiosity the whole time, but she hadn’t dared ask before.
Mayrene laughed, a deep, rolling sound that made her body shake. “Oh, honey,” she finally said. “That man’s been so hot to trot, all I had to do was say a few little words, and he was standing on my doorstep, his tongue hanging out like an old dog that ain’t had no water for months.” She laughed again. “I told him how excited I’d get, having a big handsome hunk of man tied up in my bed, and he couldn’t get tied up fast enough.”
“You never cease to amaze me,” Wanda Nell said.
“Sometimes a woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do,” Mayrene said. “And, Lord knows. I’m woman enough to get just about anything done.”
“Amen to that,” Wanda Nell laughed. “But why’d you decide to do something like this? Even for you, it’s a little bit on the wild side.”
“Oh, I was sitting here, feeling real sorry for myself,” Mayrene said. “It was just the beer talking, but I decided I was gonna do something about it. Figured some good might as well come of the whole blamed mess. So I stirred up the pot a little.”
“You dang sure did,” Wanda Nell said, suppressing a yawn. “Maybe this’ll be what the sheriff’s department needs. If Padget goes and talks to them, they can’t just ignore it.”
“I sure as hell hope not,” Mayrene said. “They damn well better do something about that so-called club, or I might just have go out there and accidentally set it on fire.” She grinned wickedly.
She was probably kidding, Wanda Nell thought, but with Mayrene, you never could be sure. Right now she was too tired to worry about it She leaned forward and gave her friend a big hug. “I’m going to bed, and I advise you to do the same,” she said. “And make sure your door is locked, just in case.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Mayrene said. “Ol’ reliable and me are gonna be just fine. Ain’t nobody gonna come around here and mess with us.”
Shaking her head, Wanda Nell left Mayrene’s trailer. Opening her own door, she slipped quietly inside. Everything seemed still as she tiptoed down the hall to her room.
She lay in bed for a while, slowly relaxing, trying to keep her mind from worrying too much about Hector Padget and Mayrene’s rash behavior. I’ll think about it tomorrow, she told herself. She snuggled down into the bed and drifted off to sleep.
When she woke later that morning, she sat up in bed and stretched. She had slept soundly, and she felt good. For a moment, what had taken place in Mayrene’s trailer just hours ago seemed like a strange dream.
She glanced at the clock. It was nearly nine. Yawning, she pushed herself up from the bed and went into the bathroom. Emerging a few minutes later, she advanced into the living room and then the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot that Juliet had probably made. There was no sign of either of her daughters or her grandson.
Miranda should be at work by now, and Wanda Nell hoped she was. But where were Juliet and Lavon? For a moment, Wanda Nell’s heart skipped a beat.
Then, in the silence of the morning, she heard the sound of her grandson’s laugh, coming from somewhere outside. Relaxing against the counter, she realized Juliet had taken him outside to play. From the sun streaming through the windows, it looked like a fine morning to be outside.
She sat down at the table and sipped at her coffee, her thoughts skipping around various subjects. She wondered if Hector Padget had lived up to his promise and gone to the sheriff’s department yet. If he knew what was good for him, he had. Otherwise he’d have Mayrene breathing down his neck. Wanda Nell had to grin at that thought.
She heard a car pull up outside the trailer. Maybe it was TJ. coming to see her. Her stomach knotted up. She knew they needed to talk, but was she really ready for it?
Someone knocked on the door, and she hurried to answer it. She swung the door open.
Katie Ann stood there, her head down. Then she looked up into Wanda Nell’s face, and Wanda Nell gasped in shock.
“Good lord, girl, what happened to you?” Wanda Nell reached out to pull Katie Ann inside.
“I walked into a door,” Katie Ann said bitterly. She touched one hand to her bruised left cheek and eye. Her hair hadn’t been brushed, and she wore clothes that looked like she’d dug them out of a dirty clothes hamper.
> Wanda Nell glanced over the girl’s shoulder and spotted a pickup. It looked familiar. Where had she seen it before?
She was closing the door behind Katie Ann, ready to take her into the kitchen, when she remembered. That was Tommy Eccles’s truck. But, thankfully, there was no sign of Tommy Eccles.
“Come on into the kitchen,” Wanda Nell said, “and let’s put some ice on that.”
“It don’t matter,” Katie Ann said, allowing herself to be propelled along. “I don’t care what it looks like, or how much it hurts.” She burst into tears.
Not knowing what else to do, Wanda Nell wrapped her arms around the younger woman and put Katie Arm’s head on her shoulder. She made soothing noises, and slowly the sobbing eased. Katie Ann pulled her tear-stained face away and rubbed her face tiredly.
“I’m sorry,” she said, letting Wanda Nell lead her into the kitchen and sit her down in one of the chairs.
“About what?” Wanda Nell asked gently, taking a chair across from her.
“You’ve got every reason to hate me,” Katie Ann said, “but I came here to tell you how sorry I am about everything.”
“You mean about spying on me and Melvin at the Kountry Kitchen?”
Katie Ann nodded, evidently not surprised that Wanda Nell knew.
“Why’d you come to tell me that?” Wanda Nell said. “I mean, this morning, of all times. What’s happened?”
“The shit’s done hit the fan, that’s what’s happened,” Katie Ann said bluntly. “Somebody’s gone to the sheriff’s department, talking all about that damn club, and now everybody’s stirred up.” She rubbed the left side of her face. “And that bastard tried to take it out on me.”
“You mean Tommy Eccles?”
“Yeah,” Katie Ann said. “But I fixed his little red wagon.”
“What did you do?”
“Can I have a glass of water?” Katie Ann asked. “I didn’t realize how thirsty I am.”
Wanda Nell got up to fill a glass with water for her. She handed it to Katie Ann, who took a long swallow.
“Thanks,” she said, setting the glass down on the table. “Well, I was sound asleep in my bed when it all started happening. My guard dog, that bastard Tommy, was in the other room.” She broke off as she caught the look on Wanda Nell’s face. “You thought he was my boyfriend.”
Wanda Nell nodded.
“He makes my flesh crawl,” Katie Ann said, shivering. “I was terrified he was going to do something to me. They had him watching me, making sure I did what they wanted. I didn’t have any choice. Tommy made it clear what would happen if I didn’t do what they wanted.”
“You poor thing,” Wanda Nell whispered. Katie Ann might be putting on a big act, but Wanda Nell didn’t think so. Her fear and disgust seemed all too real.
“Anyway,” Katie Ann said, “I was sound asleep, and Tommy got a call from somebody. The next thing I know, he’s in my room, screaming at me about something, and then he hit me. I don’t know what he thinks I done, the bastard, but evidently somebody went to the sheriff’s department and told ’em all about what was going on at the club.” Hector Padget had come through after all, but for the moment, Wanda Nell wasn’t going to explain any of that to Katie Ann. Instead she asked, “How’d you get away from him? I mean, you’re driving his truck. Where is he?”
Katie Ann laughed. “The dumb bastard. He made the mistake of turning his back on me after he hit me a couple of times. I picked up a real heavy lamp and whopped him upside the head. He never knew what hit him.”
“So you just left him there? He’s gonna come after you,” Wanda Nell said nervously. “And I don’t want him here, not with my daughter and my grandson here.”
“Don’t worry,” Katie Ann said, laughing again. “He ain’t going nowhere for quite some time.”
“What do you mean?”
The look in Katie Ann’s eyes chilled her. “I told you, I fixed his little red wagon. When I knocked him out, I tied him up with some clothesline. Then I got a baseball bat out of the closet. He ain’t going nowhere.”
The way she said it she might just as well have said she wanted eggs for breakfast or was going shopping for a new dress. Wanda Nell didn’t know what to do or say. She didn’t want to set Katie Ann off again. There was no telling what she might do. But should she try to call the sheriff’s department? Had Katie Ann killed him? Was he lying there, badly injured, maybe dying?
“Don’t worry about him,” Katie Ann said, perhaps reading Wanda Nell's thoughts. “I called the sheriff’s department before I left. Somebody’s done come and picked up what’s left of him by now.”
Wanda Nell didn’t say anything, couldn’t think of anything to say.
“I’m sorry,” Katie Ann said quietly after a long moment of silence. “I’m sorry they made me spy on you.”
“I can understand,” Wanda Nell said. “They didn’t give you any choice.”
“No, they didn’t,” Katie Ann agreed. She drank the rest of the water in her glass, then held it out to Wanda Nell for more.
Slowly, Wanda Nell got out of her chair and refilled the glass from the tap. She stood sideways, a little worried about turning her back on Katie Ann, but the girl just sat there, staring off into space.
“Thank you,” she said when Wanda Nell handed her the refilled glass. She drank about half of it, then set it aside. “Can I ask you some questions?”
“Sure,” Katie Ann said. “I owe you that much.”
“What was it you were looking for?”
Katie Ann shrugged. “Well, one thing was that key card you found. That was Fayetta’s, and they didn’t want nobody else finding it. They sure didn’t like it when I told them you beat me to it on that one.”
“Did anybody hurt you because of that?”
Katie Arm shook her head. “No, but when I told them about it, that’s when they started having Tommy watch me all the time. Like I was gonna forget what they wanted.”
“What else were you looking for?”
“Billy Joe told me Fayetta’d conned a lot of money out of him and some of the others. A hell of a lot more money than they were giving me, that’s for damn sure,” Katie Ann said bitterly. “I couldn’t believe it when I found out. If somebody else hadn’t killed the bitch already, I would’ve done it myself.”
“You didn’t kill her?”
“No, I didn’t, I swear it,” Katie Ann said, staring Wanda Nell earnestly in the face. “I’ve done a lot I’m ashamed of, but I didn’t kill her.” She broke off for a moment “I didn’t kill that bastard Tommy either, though I probably should’ve. If he finds me, he’s sure enough gonna kill me.”
“Not if you go to the sheriff’s department,” Wanda Nell said. “You need to go talk to them, and they’ll make sure you’re safe. You’re an important witness, and they won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Katie Ann said, though she didn’t sound too convinced. "
“I am right,” Wanda Nell said, putting every ounce of conviction she could into those three words. “I’ll even go with you, if you want me to.”
Katie Ann shook her head. “No, I can do it by myself, if I decide that’s what I should do.” She looked off at the wall, seeming to drift off.
Wanda Nell didn’t want to upset her, but she had to ask her another question. “Do you know which one of them killed Fayetta?”
“Who? You mean Billy Joe and Deke, and those guys?” Katie Ann shook her head. “I don’t know. They didn’t act like any of ’em had killed her. They just didn’t want anybody to know about their little club and what all goes on there. They were all scared shitless when they found out she was dead.”
“Don’t you think that’s why somebody killed Fayetta?” Wanda Nell asked. “I mean, wasn’t she pushing them too hard for money, threatening to blow the whistle on them if they didn’t keep paying her?”
Shrugging, Katie Ann said, “Maybe. But some of them guys, the kind of money they have, what they were pa
ying Fayetta wasn’t much. And they paid me and the other girls even less, the bastards.” She drank the rest of her water. “All Fayetta wanted was enough money for her and her kids to get the hell out of Tullahoma, once and for all. That’s all she was talking about lately. She was going to Nashville to live up there. Said the daddy of one of her kids lived there, and he wasn’t married no more. She thought she might get him to marry her and take care of her and those kids.”
“She never said anything about it where I could hear it,” Wanda Nell said, puzzled. “And I don’t think she told Melvin any of that, either.”
“She wouldn’t’ve,” Katie Ann said. She looked uncomfortable for a moment. “She didn’t like you very much, Wanda Nell, and she wouldn’t’ve said anything around you. She wouldn’t tell Melvin either. She just kept stringing him along, the poor bastard.”
“Well, it don’t matter now how she felt about me, or how I felt about her,” Wanda Nell said. “What matters is finding out who really killed her, so Melvin doesn’t have to go back to jail.”
“Why are you so convinced he didn’t do it?” Katie Ann asked.
“I just am,” Wanda Nell said simply. “He’s a good man, and I don’t think even Fayetta could’ve provoked him enough to make him kill her like that.”
Katie Ann just shook her head and stared at the wall. Wanda Nell waited a moment then asked gently, “What are you gonna do now?”
Sighing, Katie Ann stood up. “I guess I might as well go to the sheriff’s department They’ll find me anyway, since I’m driving the bastard’s truck.” She put a hand to her face and smiled. “But it’ll be a long time before he hits another woman, you can be damn sure.”
“You want me to come with you?” Wanda Nell asked, though at this point it was the last thing she wanted to do.
“No, I’ll be okay,” Katie Aon said. “Thank you, Wanda Nell. You’ve been a lot nicer to me than anybody else would have, and I appreciate that. And I’m sorry. For everything.”
Wanda Nell walked with her to the door and watched as she got into Tommy Eccles’s pickup and drove away. She debated for a moment whether she should call the sheriff’s department, but finally she decided not to. One way or another, Katie Ann would get there.
Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery Book 2) Page 24