“I guess you’re right. Bad things ought to come home to roost. I can’t help wondering, though, if even Elmer Lee, going in there as the sheriff, will be able to get them to talk if they don’t want to.”
“They might not admit anything,” Ernie said. “You’re right about that. But rattling their cages, as they say, might get some kind of reaction.”
“I’m just wondering if there isn’t another way to get into the nursing home and try to talk to them.” Wanda Nell stared off into space for a moment. She smiled. “You remember my friend Mayrene Lancaster?”
“Of course.”
“Well, you know she’s a beautician, and she works for the best beauty salon in town. Mayrene doesn’t do it herself all the time, just fills in for the girl who does it on a regular basis, but she sometimes goes to the nursing home to do hair for the ladies, and to cut the men’s hair if they want a trim.”
Ernie grinned. “I see the glimmerings of a plan, I do believe. Mayrene can get in there and ask a few questions, stir things up a little bit.”
“Yes,” Wanda Nell said, “but I was thinking maybe she didn’t have to go by herself. I could go with her, and between the two of us we might be able to talk to both Miz Connor and Mr. Dewberry. It might be less threatening if I was to do it, rather than the sheriff and Jack.”
“It’s certainly worth a try,” Ernie said. “Are you going to suggest it to Jack and Elmer Lee?”
“All they can do is say no,” Wanda Nell replied.
“Whatever happens, good luck. And let me know as soon as you know something more.” Ernie started gathering her things together. “This time I really do have to get going, and you probably have to get back to work.” She rose from her chair.
“I sure do,” Wanda Nell said with a guilty start. The restaurant was still quiet, with only a couple of customers, but she really needed to get ready for the dinner crowd. She gave Ernie a quick hug and followed her to the front of the restaurant.
After Ernie was gone, Wanda Nell got started on what her mama would have called her “busywork”—checking the sugar dispensers, salt and pepper shakers, and the supply of napkins and clean cutlery. While her hands did the tasks, her mind was occupied elsewhere. She kept thinking about her idea of going to the nursing home in the guise of beautician’s assistant. She knew Mayrene would go along with the idea. Mayrene was always up for something like that. The question was, what would Jack and Elmer Lee say?
Wanda Nell decided she had better find out. Excusing herself for a few minutes, she went into the restroom and locked the door. Pulling out her cell phone, she speed-dialed Jack. He answered on the third ring.
“Hey, darling, what’s up? I’m still here at the Sheriff’s Department.”
“How’s it going?” Wanda Nell asked. “What does Elmer Lee think?”
“He thinks we’re on the right track. He trusts Ernie’s information and her take on the people involved. But he’s a little concerned about confronting them without something more concrete to go on.”
“That might take a while,” Wanda Nell said.
“He’s hoping to talk to one of the judges, but the particular judge he wants to talk to isn’t available for a couple of days. So Elmer Lee’s thinking we should back off until he’s had a chance to talk to the judge.”
“I see,” Wanda Nell said. “Well, I have an idea. It might work, but it might cause a real mess.”
“What is it?” Wanda Nell could tell by his tone in those three words that Jack was anxious.
Quickly she explained, and when she finished, he didn’t say anything at first. “Well, honey, what do you think?” she finally asked.
“I think it’s just crazy enough to work. Who knows? Let me ask Elmer Lee real quick.”
Wanda Nell could hear the rumble of the men’s voices, but not what they were saying. Jack was probably holding the phone so she couldn’t. She was getting impatient, knowing she ought to get back to work, when Jack came back on the phone.
“He’s a little nervous about it,” Jack said. “And he wants us to think carefully about it, but he’s not saying not to do it.” He laughed. “Hang on a minute, he wants to talk to you.”
“Wanda Nell.” Elmer Lee’s voice boomed in her ear.
“Yes,” she answered, holding the phone away a little. “What is it, Elmer Lee?”
“I probably ought to have my head examined, but I’m thinking it won’t hurt to stir things up a little. And being that it’s not official, with me doing the stirring, it ought to be interesting to see what happens. I don’t think you’re in any danger, or I wouldn’t be agreeing to this. I hope you realize that.”
“I do,” Wanda Nell said, “and I appreciate your concern. After all, what could either one of them do right there in the nursing home?”
“I reckon you’re right. So when are you going to do it?”
“I have to call Mayrene first,” Wanda Nell replied. “But I’m hoping maybe tomorrow morning. Look, I really have to get back to work. Tell Jack I’ll talk to him later.” She ended the call before Elmer Lee got any more chatty.
She speed-dialed the beauty shop, and when the receptionist answered, she asked for Mayrene. “Tell her it’s Wanda Nell, and it’s real important.”
“Okay, honey. Just hang on there, and I’ll get her.”
A few moments later Mayrene’s voice came on the line. “Hey, girl, what’s up? Is something wrong?”
“No, everything’s okay,” Wanda Nell said. “Look, I’ll explain it all to you later, but I need your help with something.”
“Sure thing. What?”
“When’s the next time Nadine is supposed to go out to the nursing home to do hair?”
“She usually goes Thursday or Friday. Hang on.” Wanda Nell heard her yell a question at Nadine. After a moment Mayrene spoke into the phone again. “She’s supposed to go tomorrow morning.”
“Great. Do you think she’d let you go instead? Tell her I’ll make up for any tips she’d lose. And don’t ask me why right now, but I need to go with you.”
“Okay, girl. Hang on a minute. Nadine, come over here.”
Wanda Nell waited a short time. “It’s okay by her, so we can do it. We need to be out there around eight, though. Is that okay?”
“Sure. And thanks. I promise I’ll explain everything tonight, or in the morning. It’s real important; otherwise I wouldn’t ask.”
“I know that,” Mayrene said. “I got to get back to Doris Cooper right now, or else that head of hers is going to start looking like a Brillo pad. I’ll get all the details later.”
Wanda Nell thanked her and ended the call. She then discovered that she needed to use the restroom after all, and when she was done, she hurried out. “Sorry, got a bit of an upset stomach,” she said by way of apology to Patsy.
“It ain’t exactly Grand Central Station here at the moment,” Patsy said. “But now that you’re back, I think I’ll slip out back for a cigarette. Okay?”
“Sure, go ahead.” With everything that was going on, Wanda Nell wished she could join Patsy. She had given up smoking nearly three years ago, but sometimes she still missed it.
Soon customers began to trickle in, and Wanda Nell had plenty to keep her busy. Mayrene dropped by after work to check in with her. Wanda Nell didn’t have much time to tell her everything, but she was able to share enough of the details to satisfy her friend’s curiosity for the time being.
“Okay, honey,” Mayrene said. “I’d better get going, ‘cause Dixon’s stopping by later on, and I need to cook up a little something for us. You be ready to go about seven-thirty or so in the morning, okay?”
Wanda Nell said she would be ready, and Mayrene headed out the door after leaving money on the counter for her coffee and apple pie.
The rest of the evening passed quickly. Wanda Nell had no time to call Jack again, but she knew he’d be waiting up for her when she got home. As she pulled her car up beside the trailer, she reflected on just how wonderful it was t
o have Jack to come home to, along with Juliet. Her life sure was different now, and she thanked the Lord for that every day.
Jack was sitting on the couch watching television when she came in. He turned the volume down and got up to greet her with a kiss. “That sure is nice,” Wanda Nell said. He smiled.
After a few moments Wanda Nell pulled away. “Has Juliet gone to bed already?”
Jack nodded. “She said she wanted to read a while.”
“I’ll just go and say good night,” Wanda Nell said. “I’ll be right back.”
She walked down the hall toward her daughter’s room. Light shone dimly through the half-open door, and Wanda Nell paused just inside the door. Juliet was fast asleep, her book at her side. Smiling, Wanda Nell tiptoed in, picked up the book, and placed it on the bedside table. She clicked the light off and tiptoed out again, pulling the door almost shut.
Back in the living room, she joined Jack on the couch. “Are you ready for bed, honey?” he asked. “I know you’re pretty tired by now.”
“I am,” Wanda Nell admitted. “But it feels good, being able to sit here with you for a little while. Nice and relaxing, before we go to bed.”
Jack pulled her close, and she rested her head against his shoulder. They sat quietly for a few minutes, and Wanda Nell was beginning to feel drowsy. Yawning, she sat up. “I guess I’d better get on to bed.”
“I’ll come with you. It’s been a long day, and I’m pretty tired myself.” Jack followed her down the hall to their bedroom.
When they were in bed, the lights off, and getting comfortable, Wanda Nell asked, “Are you sure you don’t mind me going to the nursing home in the morning?”
“No, I know you and Mayrene will be careful,” Jack said, after a big yawn. “And what could happen there? You might not find out much, but like Elmer Lee said, maybe stirring things up a little will produce some kind of results.”
“I’m not afraid, at least not for me or for Mayrene. It’s the stirring up part I’m thinking about. Or I guess I’ve been thinking about it more and more since I first came up with this idea.”
“I’ve thought about that, too,” Jack admitted. “It does make me a bit nervous, because we’re not sure what we’ll be stirring up. One other person has already died because of all this, and I don’t want to see anybody else murdered.” He sighed. “But I just keep going back to Jenna Rae. Thinking about her, and how terrible this whole thing is. I think we have to do it for her sake.”
“You’re right. I’m just praying that nobody else gets hurt, unless it’s somebody who really deserves it. Like the person who killed her.”
“That’s what we have to focus on,” Jack said. “And just watch out.”
They talked for a few more minutes, but they were both worn out from the events of the past few days. Soon they were sound asleep, and when the alarm sounded the next morning, Wanda Nell came out of a sound sleep as Jack turned it off.
“What time is it?” she asked.
Jack picked up his glasses from the nightstand and looked at the clock. “Six-thirty,” he said, yawning. “I think I’ll get over to the school for a run this morning. What time are you and Mayrene leaving?”
“In about an hour.”
“I probably won’t be back by then,” Jack said. “Y’all be careful, and call me right away if anything happens.”
“I will,” Wanda Nell promised.
Juliet was already in the kitchen when Wanda Nell walked in. “How about some breakfast, Mama?”
“What’s on the menu?” Wanda Nell glanced at the stove.
“I’m cooking some bacon,” Juliet said. “I thought I’d make a quiche for later. Belle gave me a recipe.”
“Sounds good. I think I’ll just have some toast and coffee this morning, honey. But you be sure and save me some of that quiche for later. I’m looking forward to tasting it.”
“Thanks, Mama.” Juliet went back to her bacon. “I’m glad you don’t mind me cooking.”
“Darling, if it’s something you want to do, and you like doing it, then you go right ahead.” Wanda Nell laid her head against Juliet’s.
“Even if I wanted to go to cooking school instead of college?” Juliet asked.
Wanda Nell paused. She had always thought Juliet would be the one of her children who would actually go to college and get a degree, and she was disappointed to think that Juliet didn’t want to. Suppressing a sigh, she said, “We can certainly talk about that, honey. You’ve still got some time to make up your mind about things.”
“Okay,” Juliet said. “I promise I’ll think about it.”
“Good.” Wanda Nell popped a couple of slices of bread into the toaster and poured herself a cup of coffee while she waited. She buttered and ate her toast and had a second cup of coffee.
Wanda Nell was ready and walking out her door at seven-thirty. She met Mayrene outside. “I’d better take my own car,” Wanda Nell said. “I’ll have to be at the Kountry Kitchen at eleven-thirty.”
“That should be enough time,” Mayrene said. “Before we go, though, tell me just who it is you want to talk to. Last night you didn’t exactly say, and I’m curious.”
“Evangeline Connor and Jackson Dewberry. They’re the two we think are connected. Dewberry could be Jenna Rae’s father, or it might have been Miz Connor’s husband.”
Mayrene’s eyebrows shot up. “Honey, if you’re going to talk to Miz High-and-Mighty Connor, I hope you had a tetanus shot recently. That old biddy is something else.”
“So you’ve done her hair?”
“I sure have. And she’s as hard to please as an old maid on her wedding night.” She laughed. “But if you keep telling her how young she looks, and how much you love her hair, she’s a little easier to handle.”
“Ernie said she was the meanest woman she ever knew,” Wanda Nell said with a grimace. “What about Mr. Dewberry? Have you ever cut his hair or done anything for him?”
Mayrene shook her head. “Nope, never have. Some of the men have a barber come in. They don’t hold with having a woman cut their hair.” Glancing at her watch, she said, “We’d better get going, honey. They don’t like you to be late. The old biddies start clucking if you’re not there on time.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” Wanda Nell said. True to her word, she followed Mayrene into town and out the highway to the nursing home. She parked beside Mayrene in the parking lot and helped her carry in her equipment.
A large, relatively new facility, the Lake Tullahoma Senior Living Center served as both a nursing home and an assisted-living facility. Wanda Nell eyed the place with curiosity. The grounds were immaculate, and there were a few people sitting out on the porch, smoking and enjoying the morning sun.
Mayrene nodded and smiled at them as they approached the front door. Inside, she went straight to the desk to sign herself and Wanda Nell in.
“Morning, Darlene,” she said to the young black woman behind the counter. “This here’s my assistant, Wanda Nell.”
Darlene smiled at Wanda Nell.
“It’s down this way,” Mayrene said, leading Wanda Nell down one of the side corridors. “They have a little room set up like a beauty shop. All I have to do is bring my own scissors and so on. Everything else is here. There should be a sign-up sheet on the door, so we’ll know who’s coming and what they want.”
Sure enough, there was a sheet taped to the door. Mayrene pulled it off and handed it to Wanda Nell before unlocking the door with the key Darlene had given her.
Wanda Nell scanned the list. Five women and two men had signed up for appointments. Her eyes widened when she saw that Evangeline Connor had signed up for eight-thirty. Her heart began to pound a little.
Would she be able to find out anything? She followed Mayrene into the room, thinking ahead to the challenge of dealing with the meanest woman Ernie Carpenter had ever known.
Twenty-eight
Mayrene’s first appointment that morning, a small woman named Miss Roberta Simp
son, proudly told them she was ninety-nine. She also informed them she was looking forward to turning a hundred in less than three months. She had walked into the room with the aid of only a cane. Wanda Nell hoped she would be in that good of shape when she was sixty, much less almost a hundred.
While Mayrene worked on Miss Simpson’s thin hair, Miss Simpson chatted the whole time. She was lively, and when Wanda Nell asked her what her secret was for such a long life, Miss Simpson laughed and said, “Not minding my own business and eating right, dear. I’ve always been interested in everyone and everything, and I always eat sensibly. Stimulate the mind and feed your body right. That’s all it takes.”
By the time Miss Simpson was finished, Wanda Nell had almost forgotten about Evangeline Connor. When Mrs. Connor wheeled herself into the room, however, Wanda Nell felt her heart start to flutter. One look at the face of the thin, elderly woman in the wheelchair was enough to make her head start to ache. She had never seen anyone with such a sour expression. “Like all she’s ever done was suck on lemons her entire life,” Wanda Nell’s mother might have said, and Wanda Nell would have agreed.
“Why, Evangeline,” Miss Simpson said, her voice warm enough to melt butter. “Are you having your hair done today? How nice.”
Mrs. Connor stared at Miss Simpson. “I thought I smelled something old when I came in here. Why don’t you just go along, and let us get on with it?” She wheeled past Miss Simpson, barely missing the older woman’s feet.
Miss Simpson merely smiled. “One of the joys of being as old as I am, ladies, is being able to tell someone like Evangeline here to go to hell and then sleep easily at night, knowing it’s a forgone conclusion.” She turned and left the room, leaving Wanda Nell and Mayrene trying very hard not to laugh their heads off.
Another look at Evangeline Connor, however, sobered them both pretty quickly. “Good morning, Miz Connor,” Mayrene said. “Nadine couldn’t come today, so I came in her place. This here’s Wanda Nell. She’s going to be helping me.”
“I remember you,” Mrs. Connor said in a grudging tone. “As I recall, you’re competent at least.” Her gaze raked Wanda Nell up and down. “And what are you going to be doing?”
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