Toni L.P. Kelner - Laura Fleming 02 - Dead Ringer

by Toni L. P. Kelner

  “But Nora—”

  “Is it enough?”

  I could tell that Aunt Daphine wanted to keep arguing, but maybe she could tell from Aunt Nora’s expression that there wasn’t any use. Instead she thumbed through the bills. “Yes, it’s enough.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes, Nora.”

  Aunt Nora nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll be getting back to start Buddy and the boys’ dinner now.”

  “Nora,” Aunt Daphine began again, but she satisfied herself with, “Thank you, sister.”

  “You’re always welcome to anything we have, Daphine. Don’t you ever forget that.” Aunt Nora nodded at me and Richard, and then left.

  Aunt Daphine just stood there for a long time, staring at the money. Finally she said, “I just can’t do it.”

  “You can’t do what?” I asked.

  “I can’t hand this money over to that son of a bitch!”

  I think that was the first time I had ever heard Aunt Daphine use that kind of language.

  “Nora and the others will never admit it, but I know how hard it was for them to come up with this money, and I’ll be damned if I’ll just give it away to that miserable excuse for a human being. It just wouldn’t be right.”

  “But Aunt Daphine,” I started to say. Then I stopped. I had never thought she should be paying him off in the first place.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Aunt Daphine said. “What about Vasti and Arthur? Well I don’t know what’s going to happen with them. The Gazette won’t come out again until Wednesday, so even if the blackmailer goes straight to Larry Parker, people might not even hear about it until after the election. Isn’t that right?”

  “Maybe,” I said, but I didn’t really believe it, and I didn’t think she did either. The news would get around, all right. If the blackmailer called the right people, it would be all over Byerly in a few hours, which would be plenty of time to ruin Arthur’s chances.

  “If the people in this town let something like that keep them from voting for Arthur, then they don’t deserve him as city councilor. I don’t think it’s going to make a bit of difference in this campaign, not one bit.”

  I nodded, mostly because she was expecting me to, not because I thought that what she was saying was true.

  She stood there all determined for a minute, and then I could almost see her deflate. “Who am I trying to fool? If I don’t pay this money, Arthur is going to lose. Maybe it won’t make any difference to some people, but there are as many fools in Byerly as there are anyplace else, and they’re the ones who are going to vote against him. And what is Vasti going to say? She’ll never forgive me, I know she won’t.” She looked at me. “If it were just me, Laurie Anne, I wouldn’t mind so much, but it’s not right to ruin everything that Vasti has ever wanted for her and Arthur.” She hefted the envelope of money. “I’ve got to do it, I’ve got to. I’ll pay back Nora and the others somehow, but I’ve got to pay that … that bastard. And I don’t know that he won’t tell people anyway, once he’s got the money.”

  I didn’t know what to say to her. Neither choice seemed right to me, and I couldn’t try to talk her into something I didn’t believe in myself. If only Richard and I had been able to find out who it was.

  “I’ve got an idea,” Richard said slowly. “Pay the money tomorrow, but let me watch for the blackmailer.” I started to object, but he said, “Isn’t it worth trying?” He looked back and forth between me and Aunt Daphine.

  “And if you catch him,” Aunt Daphine said, “we’ll get the money back so I can give it back to Nora?”

  Richard nodded. “That’s the general idea.”

  “Won’t he tell about me once he’s arrested?” Aunt Daphine asked.

  “Maybe Junior can do something about that,” I said. And let’s not forget that if we’re right, this person is a murderer, too. Who’s going to believe him?”

  Aunt Daphine thought about it for a long time, and then nodded. “All right, then. That’s what we’ll do.”

  “We don’t have to take the chance if you don’t want to,” I said.

  “No, I think Richard’s got a good idea, and you’ve just reminded me that this person is a murderer. Even if I was willing to let him get away with what he’s done to me, I can’t let him get away with killing Small Bill and Dorinda.” This time she had really made her mind up. This was the Aunt Daphine I had known all my life.

  Chapter 36

  We stopped at the grocery store to get something to fix for dinner and then went over to Aunt Daphine’s house to make our plans. Then Richard and I ran a few errands before we drove back to Aunt Maggie’s and went to bed. Our plans didn’t include much time for sleep.

  I was so nervous that I hadn’t expected to get any rest at all, but the alarm woke me at four in the morning. I nudged Richard awake and while he got dressed, I tiptoed downstairs to make coffee and pour it into the Thermos Aunt Daphine had loaned us. Then I made up a batch of sandwiches. Richard was going to be staking out the graveyard for at least several hours, and maybe most of the day.

  I had that trembly feeling that I usually associate with the first day on a new job, but I thought I was acting pretty calmly up until I realized that I had made Richard twelve ham sandwiches. I packed them into a bag anyway, and threw in some of Aunt Maggie’s cookies and some fruit. A cooler with canned Cokes rounded up the menu.

  Richard came into the kitchen and he whispered, “How do I look?”

  He was wearing navy pants, a black sweatshirt, and dark blue sneakers.

  “Like a cat burglar. Very dashing.”

  He checked the clock. “I better get going. How about a kiss?”

  “You bet,” I said, and kissed him thoroughly. “You remember the way to the graveyard, don’t you?”

  “Of course.”

  “You don’t have any books in there, do you?” I asked, patting his pockets.

  “Of course not.”

  Convincing him not to carry a book had been tough, but he eventually admitted that he did tend to immerse himself in what he was reading, and that would seriously limit his usefulness as a spy.

  I walked him to the back door, and hugged him hard. “You be careful.”

  “I will be,” he promised. “I’ll see you later.”

  I watched him as far as I could, then sat down at the kitchen table to wait. We had decided that Richard would have to walk, because we didn’t want to risk leaving a car parked anywhere nearby and we didn’t want anybody to see me dropping him off. It wasn’t far, and I had given him detailed directions.

  Leaving that early had been necessary for a couple of reasons. First, this way no one would see him arrive and get himself settled. Second, we wanted to make sure to get our arrangements in place before anybody who might be watching us started the morning shift.

  These arrangements included the next step, which was a tap on the kitchen door. I looked outside to see who it was, and then let Linwood in.

  “Is Aunt Maggie still asleep?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said, but from behind me I heard Aunt Maggie say, “No, I’m not.” She looked at us with both eyebrows raised and said, “Do you need me to do anything?”

  “Just try to pretend that I’m Richard,” Linwood said with a grin. “Only I don’t talk funny like he does.”

  “Richard had to go out,” I said, “but we don’t want anybody to know he’s gone. Linwood’s going to stay here and let himself be seen from a distance, dressed like Richard.” It was Linwood and Sue’s trick that had given me the idea, though I didn’t tell Aunt Maggie that, and when we called him the night before, Linwood had said he’d be glad to help.

  Aunt Maggie just shook her head, and said, “I wonder if other families have to put up with this foolishness.”

  I started to explain further, but she held up one hand. “Don’t even bother. If you want Linwood to be Richard, that’s fine with me.” She went past us and started to make coffee.

  Linwood yaw
ned. “Do you mind if I get some more sleep?”

  “Go ahead. I don’t need you as Richard for a while yet.”

  He went up to one of the spare rooms, and I went back to my own. Again, I hadn’t expected to sleep, but again, I was wrong. The alarm woke me in time to get showered and dressed for church. Aunt Maggie had already left for the flea market, and I got Linwood up and dressed in one of Richard’s shirts. When I started out the door toward church, I turned to wave and Linwood waved back. Unless somebody had had a telescope trained on the house, no one would have been able to tell who it really was. “You take an aspirin and go back to bed,” I called back to him. “I’ll give your apologies at church.”

  We probably could have gotten away without Linwood’s presence. I could have just yelled back at an empty house. Still, both the murderer and Junior were smart, and we didn’t want to take any chances we didn’t have to.

  I started out across the field toward the church. It was a nice day, I was glad to see. I would have hated it if Richard had been sitting out in the rain all day. Aunt Nora, Uncle Buddy, Thaddeous, and Willis drove up just as I got to the door, and I went in with them.

  “Where’s Richard?” Aunt Nora wanted to know.

  “He’s not feeling very good,” I said louder than was strictly called for, “so I told him to go back to bed. Sometimes he gets hay fever at this time of the year, so I’m hoping that that’s all this is.”

  Aunt Daphine arrived shortly after that, but she and I made a point of not sitting next to one another or talking about anything in particular. I knew she was thinking about Richard, just like I was, because she and I both kept missing the places to stand for hymns and prayers during the church service.

  I must admit that I didn’t pay much attention to the sermon because of wondering if the murderer was right there in church with me. Not everybody in Byerly goes to that church of course, but I couldn’t help but look at people and try to see if I could tell from their faces. I couldn’t.

  The plan was for Aunt Daphine to go to the graveyard straight from church, so she politely but firmly turned down Aunt Nora’s invitation for Sunday dinner. I did, too, using Richard as an excuse. Both Aunt Daphine and I were nearly out the door when Vasti loudly called to her from the front of the church.

  “Mama! Thank goodness I caught you! Where on earth are you off to in such a hurry?” She clattered toward us.

  “I’ve got something I need to do,” Aunt Daphine said tersely.

  “Can it wait? I need your help typing position papers for Arthur.”

  “I don’t think so, Vasti. Maybe tomorrow.”

  “But they’ve got to be done right away,” Vasti wailed, “and you know I can’t type. Mama, Arthur could lose the election if you don’t come right now.”

  “Can I help?” I put in quickly. “I’m a pretty good typist.” It was a side effect of being a computer programmer. “I don’t have any plans for this afternoon.”

  “What about Richard?” said Aunt Nora, coming up behind us.

  “I’ll check on him before I go,” I said, forcing a little laugh. “If it’s hay fever, all he’s going to want to do is sleep anyway.”

  “There you go, Vasti,” Aunt Daphine said. “Laurie Anne can help you. Bye now!” She was gone before Vasti could object.

  “I guess you’ll be all right,” Vasti said unenthusiastically.

  I said, “Glad to help. Let me go check on Richard and change out of my good clothes, and I’ll be over at your place in forty–five minutes.”

  “Can you make it faster? We’ve got an awful lot to do.”

  “I’ll try.” As soon as I got back to Aunt Maggie’s, I explained the situation to Linwood.

  “Sorry about leaving you here alone all day,” I said.

  Linwood snorted. “Are you kidding? This is the most rest I’ve had in weeks. I’m going to set myself in front of the television and watch the ball games all day long.”

  “Just be sure to stay away from any windows,” I reminded him. “And don’t answer the telephone.”

  “I know, you told me already. Hey, does Aunt Maggie keep any beer in the house?”

  She didn’t, but he seemed satisfied with a Coke. I left him in the den with a note for Richard explaining where I was, and changed into jeans so I could drive to Vasti’s house.

  Even though I had taken a little less than half an hour, Vasti was alternating between looking out her window and looking at her watch when I arrived. She wanted to put me to work right that minute, but Arthur insisted that I eat a sandwich first. I had to make it myself, of course, but I didn’t mind that. Then I got to work trying to make sense of Vasti’s notes.

  It wouldn’t have been so bad if Vasti hadn’t kept changing her mind, but I tried to keep telling myself that that’s how Vasti works. Fortunately she had a PC with word processing software for me to use, or I probably would have strangled her. As it was, I could just keep smiling and making the changes she wanted.

  I suppose I should have been grateful for the distraction. If it hadn’t been for Vasti, I would have been stuck at Aunt Maggie’s with Linwood all day, and I hate watching football. Time went a lot faster this way, and I only glanced at my watch every five minutes or so instead of staring at it constantly.

  I kept telling myself that there was nothing to worry about. Aunt Daphine was going to deliver the money just like before. She was to spend a few minutes at Uncle John Ward’s grave, put fresh flowers out, tuck the envelope into the flower pot, and then leave. The toughest part would be not looking around to see if she could spot Richard.

  Richard had suggested leaving a packet of fake bills rather than real money, but Aunt Daphine and I vetoed that idea. The blackmailer would know something was up if he opened the envelope and found newspaper clippings. He might realize he was being watched and come after Richard. Or he might go straight to the phone and tell anybody who would listen about Aunt Daphine. Or he might make a run for it, and we didn’t want to risk his getting away.

  Anyway, once she left the money, Aunt Daphine was to go home and wait for word from me or Richard. I suppose she could have come to Vasti’s, but I think she was too nervous to try to act normal. Besides, if the blackmailer did spill the beans about her and Uncle John Ward, she didn’t want Vasti to be there when she found out.

  Of course, I wasn’t nearly as worried about Aunt Daphine as I was about Richard. I kept trying to tell myself that that was silly, too. He had assured me that he’d find a secure hiding place, and I had made him promise that if he did see the blackmailer pick up the money, he was not to approach him. All he was supposed to do was to make sure that he could identify the person, and as soon as the coast was clear, get to the nearest phone and call for help.

  What danger could there be? The only thing was, I was sure that having killed twice already, the blackmailer would likely do it again if provoked.

  Vasti’s phone rang a lot that day, but it was never Richard calling. Aunt Daphine would have delivered the money at about the time I got to Vasti’s. Of course, we had no way of knowing when the blackmailer would come to get the money. We were pretty sure that it would be before dark, because there aren’t any lights in the graveyard, but that was as close as we could get. All I could do was wait.

  Chapter 37

  I finally got everything typed to Vasti’s specifications at about five–thirty, and I drove as fast as I dared to Aunt Maggie’s house. It was completely dark by the time I got there.

  “Richard!” I called out as soon as I opened the door.

  Aunt Maggie was in the kitchen. “Which one do you want? The real one or Linwood?”

  “I’ll settle for either.”

  “Well, Linwood left a few minutes ago. He said he’d make sure nobody saw him.”

  “Had he heard from Richard?”

  Aunt Maggie shook her head.

  “Damn!” I reached for the phone and dialed Aunt Daphine’s number.

  “Aunt Daphine, this is Laura. Have you h
eard from Richard?”

  “No. You mean you haven’t either?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Do you think something’s wrong?”

  “Of course not,” I said, trying to convince myself. “It’s just now gotten dark, so he’s probably waiting a while to make sure nobody sees him. You haven’t heard anything else, have you?” Meaning, had she heard from the blackmailer?

  “Not a word.”

  “You just sit tight. I’ll call when I know something.”

  I hung up the phone, and then looked out the door in the direction from which Richard should be returning.

  “Trouble?” Aunt Maggie asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “He should have been back by now.” I checked my watch. I didn’t want to rush over there just in time to scare the blackmailer away and ruin everything.

  “Where is he anyway?” Aunt Maggie asked.

  “At the old graveyard,” I said. I was thinking about the graveyard, dark and secluded and suddenly very dangerous.

  “Has he been there all day?”

  I nodded. “How long has it been dark?”

  “It was nearly dark when I got back half an hour ago.”

  “Aunt Maggie, how long would it take to walk here from the graveyard?”

  “Maybe ten, fifteen minutes.”

  That meant he should have been back at least fifteen minutes ago. “Something’s happened,” I said. “Something’s wrong.”

  “Now, don’t get all upset. I’m sure everything is all right,” Aunt Maggie said.

  “I’m going out there,” I said. “Do you have a flashlight?”

  “There’s one in my car. I’m coming, too,” she said, leaving no room for argument. “You write him a note in case he comes home while we’re out looking for him.”

  I did so and we left it taped to the front door. Then I let her drive while I stared out the car window into the dark. I had never been to the graveyard at night, had never realized how far it was from everything else in Byerly.

  “There it is,” I said. We parked at the gate, and ours was the only car around. With the surrounding trees, it was pitch black inside the gate.