Silence filled the room. Hick stared at Adam.
Adam held up another letter. “I’m sure their opportunities to talk were limited. It’s clear that whatever problem Gladys was helping Susie with was critical and Susie was so terrified of being found out that she couldn’t bring herself to name it even in a private letter.”
Hick sat down at his desk and put his head in his hands. “Jesus Christ.”
“Appears Susie Wheeler was pregnant.”
“Appears,” Hick repeated. His mouth set in a thin line. “You know what that means?”
Adam nodded, his face grim. “Let’s get Doc. We’re gonna need his help.”
It was evening when the three men traveled up the driveway to the residence of Reverend Ted Wheeler. Fireflies had begun to wink from the tree line at the back of Wheeler’s yard, and the air was finally cooling, the humidity mostly gone after the afternoon storm. The Wheeler house was a large, formidable brick structure, somewhat ostentatious for the town of Cherokee Crossing and second in size only to the dilapidated dwelling of Miss Audie Briggs. The three men strode across the lawn and climbed the wide steps to a large wraparound porch.
Their knock was answered by Mrs. Wheeler, a small, timid woman who had spent her life in the shadow of her husband. Smiling, she opened the door wide. “Won’t you come in?”
The Reverend Wheeler entered the foyer from his study and regarded the men coolly. “I expect you have come to bring me good news?”
“Not exactly,” Hick replied. “We need to speak with you in private.”
“Can I get you gentlemen something to drink?” Mrs. Wheeler asked. “I just made a fresh pot of—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Wheeler interrupted.
Mrs. Wheeler looked surprised, but one glance from her husband sent her scurrying from the room.
“We can talk in my study,” Wheeler said. They walked inside and he closed a set of white pocket doors behind him. Not inviting them to sit down, he took his place behind his desk, but remained standing. “Now what is it I can do for you gentlemen?”
Hick took a deep breath. “I’m not going to beat around the bush with you, Reverend. Did you know your daughter and Gladys Kestrel were corresponding quite extensively before Susie’s murder?”
A hint of surprise flickered across his face, but his voice was flat, controlled. “I was not apprised of all of Susie’s doings.”
“But you kept a pretty close eye on her.” Adam said.
The reverend’s head swiveled toward Adam. “I did as any loving father would. May I ask where these questions regarding my poor Susie are leading? The child has been gone from this earth for fourteen years.”
Hick glanced at Adam and Doc Prescott and back to Wheeler. “Reverend, we have reason to believe Susie was pregnant and was getting advice from Gladys Kestrel.”
“Get out!” The command burst forth as a roar from somewhere deep within Wheeler’s chest, bouncing off the walls, seething with barely controlled violence. His face was purple with rage, his eyes flashed fury, and his presence filled the room even though he had not moved from behind the desk. “How dare you come into my home with such lies, such slander. Get out or I’ll throw you out!”
Hick’s voice was calm, measured. “Here’s how it’s got to be … we need to exhume Susie’s body. That’s the only way we’ll know for sure. We have good circumstantial evidence, but we want proof.”
“What does any of this have to do with anything?” the Reverend demanded. “Because I criticize your lack of progress, you want to drag my daughter’s reputation through the mud? By God I’ll get a lawyer and sue you for all you’re worth.”
Hick tried to look unconcerned and continued as if Wheeler had never spoken. “There’s two ways we can go about this. Doc’s got an affidavit stating you and Mrs. Wheeler have decided to move Susie to another cemetery due to her headstone sinkin’ in the sand. You sign it, we do the exhumation at night. Doc examines her while we send Murphy on a wild goose chase. She’s back at the cemetery in the morning and nobody knows. Or, you fight this and we go and get a court order. Evidence may have been missed at the time of the burial, and that will be good enough for the judge. There’s publicity, it will be in the paper and, if we’re right about this, the world knows that Susie was pregnant when she was murdered. The choice is yours.”
The Reverend appeared taken aback. He sank into his chair and regarded the three men before him with contempt. “What does this mean? Why does this matter … now? Why can’t my daughter rest in peace?”
“Because Gladys seems to have taken a great interest in Susie’s murder recently. Enough of an interest that it may have led to her own death.”
“But there you have it! Abner Delaney’s boys found out that Gladys was poking around and they shut her up.”
“Does that make sense to you?” Adam stepped forward. “Their daddy is already dead. What would they have to gain?”
“For that matter, what did Abner Delaney have to gain from Susie’s death in the first place?” Hick said.
Wheeler placed his hands flat on the desk as if ready to launch himself. He stared up at the three men with a sneer. “Now I suppose you’re going to tell me Abner Delaney didn’t kill Susie?”
“Think about it.” Adam put an index finger to his temple. “Abner Delaney didn’t know Susie. What was his motive?”
“His motive was his lack of concern for human life.”
Hick shook his head. “I want you to stop and think about this. Set your hatred aside, Reverend Wheeler. Abner Delaney was respected by everyone he came into contact with. Someone who had never done as much as steal a loaf of bread. Someone who provided for his family in spite of ignorance and poverty, suddenly, inexplicably, murders your daughter in the woods? Does that make sense to you?”
“As if you can make sense of those people.” Wheeler spat. “Violence runs in their blood.”
“Did you follow Abner’s trial?” Hick said.
“Of course I did. I was there every day looking at that animal who took my Susie’s life. I was glad when they executed him. Glad. I would have pulled the switch myself.”
“Did you notice that Abner’s attorney never offered a defense?”
“What defense can you offer when your client is guilty as sin.”
Hick closed his eyes and sighed, knowing full well there was no convincing him. “You know, Roy Michaels only brought Abner in to shut you up. I don’t intend to make that same mistake. I’ll be damned if I tiptoe around you to keep you calm and quiet. The ball’s in your court. What’s it going to be?”
Wheeler stared up at the three men with hate in his eyes. “You still haven’t told me what good digging up my poor child will do.”
“Don’t you get it?” Adam asked. “If Susie was pregnant, her baby had a father. That, in and of itself, would have been a motive.”
It was clear the very thought of this was more than distasteful to Wheeler. He shuddered and the muscles along his jaw clenched and unclenched while Hick, Adam, and Doc waited. Finally Wheeler spoke. “Susie was seeing Ronnie Pringle. They courted right here in my parlor. How can you even believe this of her?”
“Her letters to Gladys weren’t explicit, but it was clear she was seeking advice for something Gladys had experienced. She was going to Memphis,” Hick said.
Wheeler’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Susie was planning to go to Memphis. Gladys was going to give her an address, but we don’t know if Susie ever got the information.”
Dumbfounded, the reverend whispered. “Susie was going to Memphis?”
“We speculate she was going to have the baby in Memphis and put it up for adoption. Everyone knows Gladys knew of an agency.”
“Susie was going to Memphis.” Wheeler’s voice was barely audible.
“If that baby had been Ronnie’s,” Hick said, “I think Susie would have told him. Everyone expected them to marry anyway. The fact that she was so secretive, that she was so
frightened makes me think there was someone else involved, someone she might have felt she needed to protect. If we confirm she was pregnant, it may help us get to the bottom of all of this.”
“What?” Wheeler asked his eyes flitting from Adam to Hick.
“If Susie wasn’t pregnant, we’re back to square one,” Hick admitted.
“So you want to dig up my child to satisfy a hunch?” Wheeler shook his head, clearly upset. A resolute gleam came upon his face. “If I sign that paper and she’s not pregnant I’m going straight to Murphy, you understand? I’m going to tell him how you men bullied me and threatened my baby’s reputation and how shameful this all is. And then I’m going to my lawyer. I will accuse you of slander. Susie can’t defend herself from your accusations.”
Adam and Hick looked at each other. “It’s a chance we’re willing to take,” Hick said.
Wheeler looked up at Doc Prescott. “And you? Jake, you’re a part of this?”
“In this situation,” Jake replied, “when there are the lives of two young men at stake—”
“Men.” Wheeler snorted and shook his head. “Animals more like.” He drew in a deep breath. “Give me the form. I want to hear nothing more of this until you come crawling for forgiveness because of what you’ve put me through here tonight. Of course, her mother will hear nothing of this until after my lawyer contacts you.”
Jake put the affidavit on the desk in front of Reverend Wheeler and he signed it firmly and then glared at them. “Now, gentlemen, if you don’t mind, get the hell off my property.”
12
The plan was simple enough. Hick took Jake back to his office with instructions to wait for the arrival of the coffin. In the meantime, at 9:45 p.m., Adam would hurry from the station with the squad car’s lights and siren blazing. Presumably, Wayne Murphy would follow. If Hick knew Wayne, he would be waiting for just such an occurrence. But if he didn’t take the bait, they would be in trouble.
“He’ll follow come hell or high water,” Adam said with a laugh. “I’ll lead him on a wild goose chase he won’t soon forget.”
“Where you gonna go?”
“I reckon he’ll follow me all the way to Pocahontas. Once I get there, I’ll just switch off the lights and get a cup of coffee. That’ll make him madder than hell and ought to give you plenty of time to get the coffin to Doc’s office.”
“Seth McDaniel’s got the back hoe ready,” Hick said. “I’m sure he finds this all a little strange, but I trust him.”
To pass the time, Hick lit a cigarette and began looking through the box they had taken from the school. Susie Wheeler’s student file was there and seemed intact. Thumbing through it, Hick saw she was an exceptionally good student and well liked. She had few absences, good grades, and was involved in several after school programs, including the Music club, Pep club, and student council. He held up the picture clipped in her student record, the last photo made of Susie. There was a sweetness in her expression, a child-like innocence. How could someone like Susie end up murdered?
“Hick.” Adam’s voice said cutting through his musings. “It’s time.”
“You ready?”
“Yeah. Let’s do this.” Adam’s eyes shone with excitement. “I’ve been waitin’ for a chance to teach that bastard a lesson.”
With that, Adam took a deep breath, winked, and rushed from the building, making as much noise as possible. He opened the trunk, for no good reason, and let it fall with a bang. Then, he climbed into the driver’s seat, started the car, and turned on the lights and siren. He revved the engine and let the siren wail for a minute, then took off down the road, fast enough to be interesting without being dangerous.
Hick stood back in the shadows and watched through the window. For a moment, he feared their plan hadn’t worked because the newspaper office remained dark, quiet. Then the door opened and Wayne Murphy emerged, hobbling out to his car, stamping his shoes on his feet, and buckling his belt. Murphy dropped his car keys and Hick imagined him cussing a blue streak. He climbed in his car, slammed the door, and sped off after Adam. Hick watched the car until it was out of sight and then slipped out the back door of the station and walked to the cemetery.
Seth McDaniel, the undertaker, waited with his two oldest sons. “You sure ol’ man Wheeler’s okay with this?” Seth was wiry, with dark eyes, sallow skin, and few teeth.
“He don’t like it much,” Hick said. “But he signed the affidavit to exhume her.” Hick produced the affidavit with the angry signature of the Reverend Ted Wheeler. Once the autopsy was complete it would be as if Susie was never exhumed. She would be back in the grave, and Hick would make the affidavit disappear.
“Why can’t it wait until morning?”
“Seth, I can’t tell you anything yet. Just make it so nobody knows Susie ain’t here anymore. Cover this up the best you can. Hopefully, Susie’s back at rest before anyone notices she’s gone.”
Seth spit a stream of tobacco juice onto the grass and screwed his face up. “I don’t like it one bit, but I abide by the law.”
Seth took the backhoe and began to remove dirt. The smell of soil filled Hick’s nostrils and his feet grew cold standing in the wet grass. The damp settled through the seams in his leather shoes and into his socks. Luckily, disinterring the coffin took very little time. The delta soil was so sandy it was harder to keep dirt from washing away than from settling in. Many of the tombstones were sinking at odd angles and several graves appeared as if their inhabitants had tried some sort of escape.
“There it is,” Seth told Hick after several more scoops of sandy dirt were removed. Hick watched as Seth’s son Ben climbed down into the grave and put two ropes around the coffin. He climbed out and the four men stood silently, peering into the hole where the coffin rested in a muddy pool of water.
Seth McDaniel told Hick, “We’re gonna do this respectful but quick. You stand up straight and lift hand over hand. You feel your feet start to slip or like you’re fixin’ to fall, you signal and we stop until you get your footing. We drop the coffin, it’s gonna bust and I don’t treat my people like that. Got it?”
Hick licked his lips and nodded. The situation was unsettling and he felt a chill prick at his spine. Grasping the rope, he began lifting. The coffin was heavy and the rope burned his hands. The McDaniels were used to this sort of work, but Hick would have blisters in the morning. He slipped one time and bent over. “Stand up straight,” Seth barked. “You’ll throw your back out.”
After what seemed a very long time, but in reality was only minutes, the coffin was up from the hole. The four men shifted forward, the box dangling from the ropes and sat the casket on the grass in front of the grave. Then, using the handles on the sides, they lifted it into the waiting hearse.
Hick wiped his hands on his pants and shook Seth’s hand. “I appreciate you keeping this quiet.”
“I don’t like it none, but I like I said, I abide by the law. I’ll take her to doc’s office and leave her there. I’ll be back to get her tomorrow at dawn. Won’t need you to put her back.
Got a machine for lowering ’em. Ain’t all that often we lift ’em up.”
Hick nodded and watched as Seth climbed into the hearse and drove away. His sons wordlessly turned and walked away leaving Hick alone in the middle of the graveyard. As he stood there he couldn’t decide which would be better, to discover Susie was pregnant or that she was not. Either way, the business had been distasteful, and he was glad to begin the walk home in the moonlight.
He put his hands in his pockets as he walked down the gravel road. The sun had dropped below the horizon and the hum of crickets and toads filled the air. Hick enjoyed the nighttime. In spite of the fact that he never carried a gun, he felt safe and peaceful in the darkness. The darkness quieted his thoughts and stopped them from swirling and tormenting him.
As he neared the house, he was surprised to find Maggie sitting on the porch swing, cradling the baby. She looked rattled, her face was flushed and her eyes
were red when Hick got to the porch.
“What’s wrong?” he asked alarmed at her appearance.
She forced a smile. “Nothing, Hickory. I just got startled.”
Hick was unconvinced. Maggie was not easily frightened. “What startled you?”
She sighed. “I just came outside to watch the last piece of the sunset and to get some air. I heard something and that Delaney boy, the twin, came creepin’ around the corner. He purt near scared me to death. I hollered and I reckon I scared him too ’cause he took off running.”
Hick felt his stomach tighten. It had been a long day, he had not slept, and he was irritable and on edge. His blood raced through his veins and his heart began to pound. “Get in the house,” he ordered through gritted teeth.
“What?” Maggie asked with wide eyes.
“Get in the house! I’m goin’ after that little bastard.”
“Hickory,” Maggie began, but he interrupted her. “That boy’s got no call to come skulking around here when I’m not home.” He turned and headed toward the car.
“Hickory,” Maggie protested. “He didn’t do nothing. He just frightened me, that’s all.”
“Scaring you is enough,” he said slowly. “Lock the doors.”
With shaking hands Hick guided the key into the ignition, started the car, and sped off down the gravel road. He watched in the rear view mirror as Maggie stood helplessly watching, then she turned and went inside.
Hick’s heart thudded in his chest and blood throbbed at his temples. How dare that kid come onto his property and scare his wife? What was wrong with these people? Was the whole tribe murderous? He remembered Job’s surly face the day he and Adam visited their shack. What if he had hurt Maggie? What if he had laid a hand on her? His face flushed with anger, his jaw clenched, and his breath was coming in gasps. As he sped along the road a familiar figure came into view in the line of his headlights. He raced the car ahead of the boy and turned sideways into the ditch blocking him. The he jumped out of the car and pounced on Job Delaney, slamming him into the back quarter panel.
Behind Every Door Page 10