Letter to Belinda

by Tim Tingle

  “Yes, I would say that it is definitely time for a break, Mr. Lee!” Then, to the crowd, “Mr. Lee will take a quick ten minute break, then will return to sign more copies of his new book! Please hold your places in line, and he will be right back!”

  As Travis headed for the back of the store, he asked, and was told where to find the water closet. He spent half of his ten minute break on the toilet, trumpeting out the gas he had fought so hard to hold in during his signing. He certainly hoped no one else came in while he was still here, because the smell was sure to knock them for a loop. He hoped the exhaust fan could clear it out before he passed out.

  He flexed his writing hand, and ran cold water over it in the sink, and massaged the sore hand muscles that until now, he didn’t even know that he had. With four minutes left on his break, he emerged from the water closet, and accepted an ice cold beer from a store attendant. “A bit tiring, eh, Mr. Lee?”

  “You can say that again.” He chugged the beer, then grabbed a couple more cookies, and a cold Coca-Cola. He figured the sugar rush would do him good, as he headed back to his table.

  He signed books for two more hours, and then took another break, during which time he saw Angel talking to the manager. He wondered what she was doing so far from London. Seeing him on break, she came to speak to him.

  “My, my! But aren’t we getting to be popular! Hello Travis!”

  “Hello Angel.”

  “The news that the Queen was at your signing yesterday has generated great interest from the British public! And then your statement to the press earlier this evening just seemed to seal it! Travis, you have become wildly popular!”

  “And that, along with a few shillings, will buy me a cup of cold coffee.”

  “Travis, I think you are greatly underestimating your popularity. You are certainly making a name for yourself!”

  “So I have to go until 10 p.m.?”

  “Yes, if you can. You should be grateful for every minute you have in the spotlight, because that will make you even more famous. Particularly if you continue to spout your ‘Mark Twain-ish’ rhetoric!”

  “That’s good to know. So I didn’t offend anyone by making that statement?”

  “I’m sure you did, but most Brits can appreciate sarcastic humor! I thought it was great! You nailed it!”

  “I didn’t know you were going to be here today.”

  “Yes, I came here to personally escort you back to London tonight after you have finished up. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “No, as long as I get back to London, I don’t care if I ride in a train boxcar.”

  “I think we can do much better than that. Please accept my apology for the extended hours, but I am sure you will agree with me, that we must strike while the iron is hot.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. Well, let me get this thing over with, so that we can be on our way. See you later.”

  “Yes, I will see you later.”

  32

  Janice had been up all night waiting on Travis to call her back. She had dozed off at 4 am, and slept until Rebecca got up to go to her summer classes. They met in the bathroom.

  “Did Dad call you last night?”

  “No, I haven’t heard a thing. But I’m thinking that what I should do is go to the police and tell them everything. What do you think?”

  “I think you should. You should explain that you didn’t know what Penelope had done, until you heard the news, then you felt that the right thing to do was to call the police. That way, they will know that you had nothing to do with the murder, or the arson. Does Dad have a lawyer?”

  “A lawyer? Do you think I will need a lawyer?”

  “Possibly, if they try to arrest you. But I don’t think they would, because you have been forthright in coming forward with what you know. Still, if Dad has a lawyer, maybe you should call him for advice.”

  “Well, we don’t have a lawyer, though, with the trouble that Travis stays in, we probably should have one. Some of Travis’ friends probably know some good lawyers. I’ll call Homer.”

  “Homer, he’s the CEO of that company that makes night vision glasses?”

  “Yes, and other things. I’m sure he can recommend a lawyer that can advise me. His number is on Travis’ desk. I’m calling him!”

  “Let me know if I can help.”

  Janice called Homer’s home number, and got Homer’s wife, who gave him Homer’s office number. She called the office, and got Homer. She quickly explained the situation, and he responded.

  “Yes, Janice, I think you should definitely talk to a lawyer, and I know just the man you need. Let me give him a ring, and he will call you right back.”

  “Thanks, Homer.”

  She waited impatiently, pacing the floor for 20 minutes until the phone rang.

  “Mrs. Lee?’

  “Yes!”

  “This is Saul Lugman. I am senior partner in the law firm, Lugman, Hammer and Shepherd. I understand that you find yourself in a precarious legal situation?”

  “Yes, I do. But first, are your fees very expensive?”

  “Very expensive, Mrs. Lee. But your initial consultation is both free and completely confidential. I can tell you if you need legal representation. But even if you need me to represent you, Homer has told me that he will pick up the bill, since I am on retainer for him, and he is such a close friend of your husband. So don’t worry about the cost.”

  “Okay. Then let me explain . . .”

  “Mrs. Lee, Homer has already told me basically what has happened, and we do not need to discuss this over the phone. Can you come to Arlington this morning?”

  “Yes.”

  “Our office is on Main Street, right beside the old McAbee Theater. Do you know where that is?”

  “Yes, I do. What time?”

  “As soon as you can get here. I will move all my appointments back when you get here.”

  “I can be there in 20 minutes.”

  “Great.”

  * * *

  With an incredible sense of relief, Janice parked in front of the legal offices, and went in. The secretary told her that Lugman was waiting in his office. She opened the door and saw him stand up from behind his desk. He doesn’t seem sleazy at all, she thought, as she met him. Travis had always referred to lawyers as being sleazy lawyers, so that had always been her perception of them. But this man looked like a distinguished member of the State Senate.

  “Welcome, Mrs. Lee! Come in and sit down, and we will get right to your case.”

  “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.” She told him the whole story, beginning with her trying to help Penelope several weeks ago, and the horrible incest that had come to light in the process. Then she told what happened the day before, when Penelope called her, wanting her family Bible, back, and was shattered when she told her that she had taken her Bible to her Dad’s house. Penelope could never, never face her father to ask for the Bible back, so Janice suggested that they arrange a bogus meeting at the park, and while her Dad was at the park, Penelope would slip into the empty house and get her Bible.

  Janice told how she had waited outside in her Blazer, while Penelope went into the house to get the Bible. Ten minutes later she came out with her Bible, and wearing a heavy brown coat, and an obvious blood stain on the tail of her blouse.

  Janice carried her back to her boyfriend’s house, then later heard on the news that Bob Deason’s house had burned to the ground, and Bob’s charred body had been found inside. That was when Janice decided to call the police, but called a lawyer instead.

  “Hmm. Yes, I can see how you might be considered an accessory to the crime, after the fact. But the fact that you wanted to voluntarily go to the police, that just displays that there was no intent on your part to commit a crime. Do you
want my professional advice? Go to the Sheriff’s office right now, and tell them the same thing you just told me. If you want, I will accompany you to the police station as your legal representative, to make sure they treat you fairly.”

  “Will I be arrested?”

  “I would say no. Since you are a wife and mother, and not likely to slip out of the state, I see no reason for them to hold you. However, they will most likely want to arrest Penelope Jones, and charge her with arson, and murder. To be perfectly honest with you, Mrs. Lee, the best thing you can do at this point is plead ignorance. You know nothing of what Penelope may or may not have done inside the house, other than pick up her Bible. You told me that you did see blood on her blouse, and asked her about it, and she said she cut her finger. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, that’s what she told me.”

  “Then that’s what you tell the police. Don’t speculate. Don’t offer any possible explanations for the blood, other than what she told you. Let the police do their own speculating and guessing.”

  “Okay.”

  “So are you ready?”

  “Ready for what?”

  “To go to the police?”

  “You mean right now?”

  “Yes Ma-am. The sooner you get this information into the hands of the police, the better for you. If you’d like, you can leave your Blazer here, and I will drive you there myself.”

  “But if they arrest me . . .”

  “It ain’t gonna happen! If what you just told me is the truth, then there is nothing they can hold you for.”

  “Well, okay then. I just hate to get Penelope arrested.”

  “Listen, if she is guilty, then they will eventually get her anyway. But by you coming forward, and telling what you know, you are washing your hands of any involvement.”

  “Oh my! This is the mess I get myself in, by doing something that Travis told me not to do!”

  “Who is Travis, and what did he tell you not to do?”

  “Travis is my husband, and he told me weeks ago that if Penelope came to me wanting help again, to just say no! But I didn’t listen to him, and now here I am talking to you!”

  “Where is your husband now, Mrs. Lee?”

  “In England, with a college group on a field trip.”

  “So he is a college professor?”

  “No, he’s a coal miner and a writer.”

  “Oh, your husband is Travis Lee, the writer! I have heard about him from Homer, but I didn’t make the connection before now. I think my wife is reading his book.”

  “He said over in England, ‘The Relic’ is #1 on the best-sellers list.”

  “Is that a fact? I’ll have to tell my wife that. She will want to get his autograph.”

  “If you can take care of this mess for me, I will make sure you get an autographed copy of all his a books.”

  “So he has more?”

  “Yes, but they are not published yet. He took his next manuscript to England with him, to show the publisher.”

  “Sounds great. Well, let’s go over to the police station, and get this over with, shall we?”

  “Yes, let’s do that!”

  They got in Lugman’s SUV and drove only a couple of blocks, to the County Courthouse, and the adjoining County Sheriff’s Department headquarters.

  “Mrs. Lee, let me do the talking, as your lawyer, until they ask you for your statement, then you just tell them the same thing you told me. Nothing more, nothing less. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Inside, Lugman introduced himself, and asked to see the officer in charge of the arson investigation in Laurel Grove. He said his client may have valuable information in the case. Officer Smitherman came out to meet them. “I’m told you may have a tip on the arson investigation?”

  “More than a tip, officer! My client can tell you the name and address of the most likely suspect.”

  “Come in and have a seat.” In front of a running recorder, Janice told everything she knew, from her first encounter with Penelope and her incestuous family tree, right down to the events of the day before, when she took her to get her Bible from Bob’s house. She mentioned the part about the blood on Penelope’s blouse, and the excuse she gave.

  “So, Mrs. Lee, you think that Penelope Jones may have killed her father, and torched his house while you were waiting outside?”

  Lugman cut in. “No, that’s not what my client is saying! She is merely giving you the facts of what happened only minutes before the house went up in flames. My client is making no allegations that Mrs. Jones killed her father, or set fire to the house.”

  “But the fact is, she saw blood on Mrs. Jones’ blouse. That alone raises enough suspicion to assume that there was foul-play. Was it a large quantity of blood, Mrs. Lee?”

  “All I could see was the tail of her blouse hanging out beneath a heavy brown coat she had on.”

  “Wasn’t it pretty hot for her to be wearing a coat?”

  “She said it was a coat that used to belong to her when she was a girl. That was why she said she took it.”

  “But she was wearing it?”

  “Yes, and it covered her blouse, except for the tail that hung out the bottom.”

  “And that was where you saw the blood?”

  “Yes. On the tail of the blouse, and on her jeans.”

  “Mrs. Lee, why did you wait so long to report this? You said that you heard about the fire on the 6 p.m. news. That was 15 hours ago.”

  “My client was unsure of what to do, given the circumstances. She came to me this morning and asked me what she should do, and I advised her to immediately come forward, and so here we are. I think she has been very forthcoming with everything she knows. She wants to show that she had nothing to do with any crime that might have been committed, and is willing to help in any way she can.”

  “Is that right, Mrs. Lee?”

  “Yes, I had no idea I was doing anything other than taking her to get her family Bible from her Dad’s house. I felt like it was my fault anyway, that the Bible was at his house, so I felt obligated to help her get it back.”

  “Well it looks like we need to bring Penelope Jones in for questioning. Where can we find her?”

  “I dropped her off at her boyfriend’s house in Montevallo.”

  “Address?”

  “About the fourth house on the right, down Elm Street. Her boyfriend is in jail right now for trafficking drugs.”

  “I know the exact house you are talking about, Mrs. Lee.” Officer Smitherman got up and got on the police radio, and called one of his deputies in Montevallo, to pick up Penelope Jones for questioning on suspicion of Arson and murder.

  “I hope she won’t be mad at me for telling all this.” Janice said.

  “I wouldn’t even worry about that, Mrs. Lee. You did the right thing in coming to us. If we have any further questions, we will contact you. You might want to stay close to home for the next few days.”

  “Okay.”

  “Then you are free to go.”

  “I can go?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  * * *

  Rebecca had classes all day, and finally got home at 2:30. She found Janice in the kitchen, humming along with the radio, as she made preparations for supper.

  “I can tell you are feeling a lot better. What did the lawyer tell you?”

  “He advised me to go to the police, and tell the whole story, which I did. The last I heard, they were sending someone to bring Penelope in for questioning.”

  “So you are not considered a suspect?”

  “No, not according to my lawyer. I have washed my hands of the whole thing, by coming forward to tell what I know.”

  “That’s great, Mom! So what is the deal with Penelope? Are they
going to charge her with murder?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t heard. I intend to watch the evening news to see what they say. The noon news said there had been some new leads in the case, but didn’t give any details.”

  “So you did okay without calling Dad. Did he ever call you back?”

  “No, not yet. He is going to be in so much trouble when he does, though! Here I was, needing to talk to him, and he hasn’t returned my call yet! I know he got word to call me, because I left the message with his mother.”

  “Maybe he’s been just too busy.”

  “He’s going to think too busy, when I finally get to talk to him!”

  “I bet he will be proud of you, for handling this whole thing without him.”

  “Maybe. But about that, Rebecca, we need to talk. You and I are the only ones who know about this. Even the boys don’t know. So let’s not tell your father, Okay?”

  “Why?”

  “Because he will fuss at me for getting involved with Penelope again, after he plainly told me not to. I would just rather that he not know about it at all.”

  * * *

  But little did Janice know that this was not over. As they spoke, Penelope was being intensely questioned in the Sheriff’s office, and she was singing like a canary. Her story did not quite match up with the story that Janice had told earlier. In Penelope’s version, this whole thing was Janice’s idea. Which meant that Janice would soon be getting a visit from Sheriff Smitherman’s Deputies.

  33

  Across the Great Pond, Travis was enduring the last two hours of his book signing in Manchester, and was literally watching the clock. At 9:45 they announced that the store was closing, and the line was being cut off where it presently stood. Finally I will get out of here, Travis thought. He was seriously considering telling Angel that the rest of the book signings were off. He was supposed to be on vacation, and so far, it had not been much fun, because the signings required so much time. Or if he did the remaining book signings, that they were to limit them to two hours only.