Murder by the Slice

by Livia J. Washburn

  “I suppose you’d all like to know about the funeral,” Joel said.

  Actually, Phyllis hadn’t planned on attending the funeral. She hadn’t known Shannon that well. But she couldn’t say that to Joel, not here and now, so she just nodded along with Carolyn and Marie.

  “It’ll be at Victory Baptist Church at eleven o’clock tomorrow morning,” Joel went on.

  Marie reached across the table and patted his hand. “Russ and I will be there,” she said. Phyllis and Carolyn just murmured noncommittally.

  “I’m thinking about establishing some sort of … memorial … in Shannon’s name. I haven’t decided what to do yet. Something for the school, maybe.” Joel looked around the table. “Any suggestions you might have would be more than welcome.”

  “We’ll think about it,” Phyllis promised. “There are always a lot of things a school can use that aren’t provided for in the budget.”

  Joel smiled again. “I know. Believe me, I know. Shannon preached that sermon to me many times. And I know she was right. I shouldn’t have begrudged her the time and effort she spent on the … school.” His voice began to break a little. “If I hadn’t … then maybe we—we wouldn’t have …”

  He had to stop and draw in a deep breath as he struggled to control his emotions. Marie squeezed his hand and smiled sadly at him.

  Phyllis couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man. She knew that Shannon had been sincere about wanting to help the school, but at the same time, the question of her involvement with Russ Tyler still remained. Was it possible that she had piled so many jobs on Marie and kept her busy just so she would be out of the way and wouldn’t notice that her husband was having an affair? It could have been that way, Phyllis decided.

  “What about Kirk?” Marie asked in an obvious attempt to get Joel’s mind on something else. “How’s he doing?”

  Joel shrugged and shook his head. “Who knows how

  Kirk is doing? I’ve never been able to get a handle on that kid. Sometimes he seems pretty broken up, and sometimes he acts like he doesn’t even care that Shannon is gone. They didn’t get along very well, you know. I don’t think he’s ever forgiven her for sending him to military school when he was sixteen.”

  “She sent him to military school?” Carolyn said.

  Joel nodded. “Yeah. She didn’t have any choice, the way he was acting. Running with the wrong crowd, getting in trouble with the law, probably messed up on drugs …” He gave a heavy sigh. “Shannon thought the school could give him some discipline that she couldn’t. I agreed with her. I’d tried to be a father to the kid, to help him grow up, but he wasn’t having any of it. So I thought military school was worth a try.” He laughed hollowly. “I guess it didn’t take. Kirk came back as sullen as ever. Shannon convinced him to go to college, but he dropped out after a semester. He can’t hold a job, and he started hanging out with the same bums who got him into trouble in the first place.”

  “We saw a young man leaving just as we got here,” Phyllis commented.

  “Yeah, that was Lane Erskine. He’s actually not as bad as some of the others. He used to be pretty wild, but he’s settled down some, I think, since he had a kid and got married … in that order, by the way. But I still wish Kirk would go back to school or try to get a decent job or—or something! I know it drove Shannon crazy thinking that she had raised a failure for a son.”

  Phyllis had seen the way Shannon treated Kirk, and it had been a dysfunctional relationship on both sides, as far as she was concerned. Joel didn’t need to hear that right now, though. She said, “I’m sure that in time he’ll straighten out. Nearly all children are vexations to their parents at times, but sooner or later they grow up and make us proud of them.”

  Joel grunted, as if to say that when it came to Kirk, he would believe it when he saw it.

  Marie said, “I guess we’d better be going,” and got to her feet. Phyllis and Carolyn stood up, too, as did Joel. Marie went around the table and gave him a hug. “If there’s anything Russ and I can do to help, you just let us know,” she told him.

  Joel nodded and managed to smile again. “Thank you,” he said. He looked over at Phyllis and Carolyn. “And thank you for the food, too. It’s very kind of you.”

  “You take care, now,” Carolyn told him. Phyllis just gave him a smile and a nod.

  As they left the house, she noticed that the clouds had thickened even more. The sky looked like there might be rain before nightfall. That could ruin trick-or-treating for the kids.

  But considering the atmosphere in the Dunston house, gloom was more than appropriate… .

  Chapter 18

  On the way back to Marie’s house, Carolyn said, “I don’t believe we’ll be going to the funeral, if you think that’s all right.”

  “Sure,” Marie said. “It’s not like you were all that close to Shannon, or even knew her for very long. I understand, and I’m sure Joel will, too, if he even notices that you’re not there.”

  “How long did you know her?” Phyllis asked.

  “Oh, gosh … since our kids were in preschool together? Yeah, I guess that’s when I met her. She was a lot different back then, let me tell you. Still really … driven, you know, but not like she was later. She just wanted to do the best she could for her kids. She hadn’t really gotten into the whole supermom thing yet.”

  “I guess you saw her a lot at school activities and things like that.”

  “Oh, yeah. Trips to the zoo and the museums and the Stockyards. And Girl Scouts for a while, until the kids got tired of it. And of course once the kids were all in regular school, there were PTO meetings. That’s where Joel and Russ first met. They hit it off right away.”

  Phyllis wanted to ask how Russ and Shannon had hit it off, but she didn’t think that would be a very good idea.

  “Our families weren’t really close close, you know,” Marie mused, as Phyllis drove back toward her house. “But we saw a lot of each other for a while. We could tell that Shannon and Joel were drifting farther and farther apart. Russ was planning to have a talk with Joel, try to help him, you know, but he never did. Shannon and Joel separated before Russ got a chance to talk to him. And then the divorce went through quick after that. Poor Joel was like a deer caught in the headlights. Once Shannon made up her mind, he never had a chance.”

  “People ought to be able to get along,” Carolyn said, “especially when they have children.”

  “Yeah. Why, if Russ ever told me we were getting a divorce, I’d kill his ass.” Marie laughed. “Well, not really, of course. But I wouldn’t ever let anything interfere with my marriage. It comes first. I guess Shannon never really felt that way.”

  I guess not, Phyllis thought.

  And the way Marie had threatened to kill her husband just now was only a figure of speech. A rather tasteless one, under the circumstances, but clearly that hadn’t occurred to Marie. She didn’t really mean that she would commit murder to save her marriage.

  Did she?

  “Here we are,” Marie said as Phyllis pulled up in front of her house. “Thanks for the ride. I appreciate not having to go over there by myself. It was easier with all three of us.”

  “We were glad to do it,” Carolyn said. “I’ll see you at church, dear.”

  “Yeah,” Marie said as she got out of the car. The chilly wind whipped in through the open door. “Bye-bye.”

  She shut the door solidly and turned to go up the walk toward her house. As Phyllis pulled away from the curb, Carolyn said, “She’s really a nice young woman. A little too salty in her language for my taste, but I suppose it could be worse. My goodness, some of the young people today swear like sailors—even the women!”

  Phyllis knew that was true. She had heard stories from some of the other retired teachers about kids as young as first and second grade coming to school and spewing obscenities that threatened to turn the air blue around their heads. And of course the only place they could have learned those words was at home. Or day c
are. But the filthy words had originated in somebody’s home, that was for sure.

  As they got back to the house and Phyllis pulled into the driveway, she saw Sam come out the front door and start toward his pickup. His long legs carried him quickly along the walk, and his face wore a concerned expression. Phyllis stopped the car in the driveway, opened the door, and stood up to call over the top of the Lincoln. “Sam! What’s wrong?”

  He stopped and looked around at her. He wore boots, jeans, and a denim jacket over a flannel shirt, and looked more like a weathered old cowboy than a retired basketball coach and history teacher.

  “Got a call from the sheriff’s department,” he said.

  Phyllis’s heart leaped into her throat. Ever since Mike had become a deputy, she had hated those words for their potentially ominous portent.

  “What is it?” she asked, her voice tight with the strain she felt.

  “They’ve arrested Gary Oakley.”

  Phyllis frowned. “Who?”

  “That custodian I knew up in Poolville. You met him the other day at the carnival, after all the uproar. You know, out in the parking lot.”

  Phyllis remembered the man now. She also remembered that Gary Oakley had been acting a little suspiciously that day, asking Sam to help him get away from there without being questioned by the deputies. He had told some story about needing to get home to feed his dogs, but at the time Phyllis hadn’t been sure she believed him.

  “What did they arrest him for?” she asked now.

  “They think he killed Mrs. Dunston,” Sam said.

  “Dear Lord!” Carolyn exclaimed. She had gotten out of the Lincoln and was standing close enough to hear what Sam and Phyllis were saying. “You mean that nice man we talked to is a murderer?”

  Sam started to shake his head, then stopped and shrugged instead. “That’s what the sheriff thinks. I don’t know whether I believe it or not, though. I knew Gary pretty well, and he never seemed like a killer to me.”

  “Why did he call you?” Phyllis asked. “Don’t people who have been arrested usually call their lawyer?”

  “Usually. Maybe he doesn’t know any lawyers and wants me to find one for him. Or maybe he wants to borrow money to pay for a lawyer. I don’t know. He just asked me to come see him, so I reckon I’ll go.”

  That was so much like Sam, Phyllis thought. A friend called for help, and he answered without hesitation.

  But in this case, the friend might actually be guilty of a very serious crime. If the accusation was true, would Sam be able to see that in time to protect himself from getting involved with Gary Oakley, or would his friendship blind him to the truth?

  “Why don’t I go with you?” Phyllis suggested.

  Sam frowned slightly. “I think I can handle this—”

  “Of course you can, but a lot of the deputies know that I’m Mike’s mother, and so does the sheriff. I just thought it might make things go a little smoother if I was along.”

  Sam shrugged again and seemed mollified. “Well, sure, I’m always glad for your company, Phyllis.”

  “Just let me put my car away while you’re warming up your pickup.”

  She knew that engines didn’t have to be warmed up as much as they did in the old days, but it seemed like the right thing to say, anyway. Quickly, she finished pulling the Lincoln into the garage, and then got out to join Carolyn on the front lawn for a second.

  “Be careful,” Carolyn said. “If that man’s really a murderer, there’s no telling what he might do.”

  “We’ll be in the middle of the sheriff’s department,” Phyllis pointed out. “I think we’ll be safe enough.”

  At least, she hoped that was the case.

  Sam had the pickup running. He started to get out and open the door for her, but Phyllis waved him back into his seat and opened the door herself. Such gestures were nice, but she was no shrinking violet who required them of the men around her. As she slid onto the seat beside Sam and closed the door, she thought how … manly the cab smelled. It wasn’t any particular scent she could put her finger on, but rather a blending of aromas that served as a reminder of the fact that the person who spent more time than anyone else in this truck was male.

  The closest route to the sheriff’s department was along two sides of the square, out the old Fort Worth highway past the farmers’ market, and over the railroad overpass. The sheriff’s department and county jail were on the left just past the overpass. It didn’t take long to get there, but Phyllis had time to ask, “Did Mr. Oakley say anything else besides telling you he’d been arrested?”

  “Nope,” Sam replied. “He sounded pretty shaken up. Asked me if I could come see him. I said I’d be right there.”

  “Remember a couple of days ago at the carnival how he wanted to catch a ride with you, because he thought maybe the deputies wouldn’t question him as he left?”

  Sam took his eyes off the road to look over at her, but only for a second. “What are you sayin’, Phyllis?”

  “It just struck me at the time that he seemed a little nervous, like he didn’t want to talk to the deputies.”

  “Like he had something to hide, you mean?” Sam shook his head. “I don’t want to believe that’s true. But I remember now, he did mention that.” His hands tightened on the wheel. “What do I do if the sheriff asks me about it?”

  “You’ll have to tell him the truth. You can’t lie to the law.”

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Phyllis chided herself for being a hypocrite. She hadn’t told Mike, Sheriff Haney, or anyone else in authority about seeing Shannon Dunston and Russ Tyler together in Fort Worth. That was withholding evidence, wasn’t it? Even though she had what she felt was a good reason in trying to protect Marie’s marriage. But at the very least it was a lie of omission. She had no business coming off so high and mighty with Sam.

  “I’ll talk to Gary first,” Sam said. “Maybe he’s got a good explanation for everything.”

  Phyllis found herself hoping that was true. She knew it would be a shock to Sam if it turned out that one of his friends was a killer. She’d been down that road herself a few months back, and she wouldn’t wish that on her worst enemy, much less on a friend like Sam.

  They turned left onto the side street that ran in front of the complex of buildings housing the sheriff’s department and the jail. Phyllis saw the high fences topped by razor wire at the rear of the place, enclosing the jail section, and as always the sight of them gave her a little chill. She couldn’t imagine being locked up, and was sorry some people made such bad choices that they had to suffer that fate.

  A few tiny drops of rain came down as they walked from the parking lot into the building. Phyllis had been here several times before with Mike, so she knew where to go and what to do. She told the deputy at the front desk who they were and why they were there. The deputy was a young woman with blond hair pulled back into a short ponytail. “Why, sure, Miz Newsom,” she said with a smile. “I was in your history class a while back, remember?”

  Phyllis had always been good with names, and she got plenty of practice remembering them, because teachers were always running into their former students. “Debbie, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, ma’am, it was Debbie Collins then. Debbie Hallwood, now.”

  “You married Mitch Hallwood?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Deputy Hallwood stood up. “I’ll go get Mike for you. I’m pretty sure he’s back in Sheriff Haney’s office.”

  She hurried down a corridor. Sam glanced over at Phyllis and said, “I reckon you were right about it being easier with you along. Remind me if I ever get arrested to be sure and call you.”

  “Oh, you’ll never get arrested. You’re too law-abiding.”

  He smiled. “You’ve just never seen my wild streak.”

  Phyllis found the idea that Sam Fletcher might have a wild streak oddly intriguing, but she put that thought out of her head a moment later when Mike came up the hall with a puzzled look on his face and
said, “Mom? Sam? What are you doing here? Debbie said it was something about one of the prisoners … ?”

  “Gary Oakley,” Sam said. “He called me, said he’d been arrested.”

  “That’s right.” Mike frowned. “He called you? We don’t listen in on prisoners, but when he refused to talk any more and asked for his phone call, we figured he was getting lawyered up.”

  “Cops really say that? Lawyered up, I mean. I figured it was just on TV.”

  Mike grunted. “Well, we probably say it more now than we used to … but, no offense, why did Oakley call you, Sam? What can you do for him?”

  “Reckon I’ll have to ask him. Maybe he just needed a friend to talk to, somebody who’ll believe him when he says he’s innocent.”

  Phyllis asked, “Is he innocent, Mike? Or do you have proof against him?”

  Mike shook his head and said, “I can’t really talk about that now.”

  “Can I bail him out?” Sam asked.

  “He hasn’t been charged yet, so bail hasn’t been set. He’s just being held for questioning right now. You can talk to him, but that’s about all.”

  Sam nodded. “Guess it’ll have to be enough.”

  “Okay. Come with me, then.” Mike looked at Phyllis. “Mom, you can wait out here.”

  “I can’t go with Sam?”

  “I’m afraid not. One visitor only, and Sam’s the one Mr. Oakley asked for.”

  Phyllis felt a flash of irritation, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good to argue. Mike might bend the rules a little when it came to telling her about what was going on in the cases he worked on, but not with something like this. Jail regulations had to be followed right to the letter.

  Sam looked over his shoulder at her and lifted a hand in farewell. “I’ll be back in a little while,” he told her.

  “I’ll be here,” Phyllis said.

  Then as Mike and Sam disappeared down the hallway, she sat down in a hard plastic chair to wait and tried not to sigh in frustration. She wanted to know what Gary Oakley was going to tell Sam.