by R. Jean Reid
“One guy stubbed his toe getting the hose out, that’s all I know of,” he told her.
Sheriff Hickson found her. “Big mess,” was his comment. “You’ll be wading through paper for a few days.”
“Who did this?” Nell asked. To soften what had sounded like a demand, she added, “Any ideas?”
“After that front page, about half the town.”
“Nothing like a small suspect pool,” Nell sarcastically commented. Then she asked the obvious question: “Why are you here and not the police?” This had happened within city limits.
“Got the call. Decided it’d be faster to just get moving on it.” He gave Nell a sidelong look. “Besides, I suspect Whiz Brown has ceded jurisdiction over anything near the Crier building.”
“Do you think he did it?” Nell asked. She hoped such a direct question might get a direct response.
“Whiz ain’t got the balls, pardon my French. We did pick up J.J. a while back, so the timing is suspicious for the Jones boys, and they’re stupid enough to have not gotten it through the window.” Not giving Nell a chance to ask the question, he continued. “Yeah, we’re running them down, ain’t gonna wait for the police to give ’em a week to wash their hands. Gonna be a Jones family reunion at the jail tonight. They’d have to grow another brain to be smart enough to hide all the evidence. ”
“If they didn’t do it?” she queried.
“You riled the mayor. He’s been comfortable all his life, but now it looks like discomfort is comin’ his way. He’s hard up for money; had too much fun at the casinos over in Biloxi and now he’s paying for it. Now, that’s a rumor, so don’t you go quoting me on the front page,” he said sharply.
“I only print what I can verify,” Nell said.
“Can’t sell the property with that polluted factory on it, only thing he can sell is being mayor. Looks like he’s about to lose. Might make a man desperate. But I can’t see him doing it himself and he don’t have the money to hire anyone for this kind of stuff. Then, of course, there’s all them other names you blazed across the front page. Might have pissed off—pardon my French—some murderers.”
“My, I’ve been a busy girl, haven’t I? But men who murdered fifty years ago probably aren’t up to firebombing buildings, if they’re still alive. Besides, going after me isn’t going to do much about you on their trail. Assuming you are.”
“Already called the FBI to consult. Doing what I can, Miz McGraw, but fifty years is a long time.”
“And as for the property stuff, they would have been better off burning down those files. Scaring me off won’t stop others from looking. Plus the statute of limitations has passed.”
“Still, when you piss people off, you just never know what you might run into.”
“That almost sounds like a threat, Sheriff.”
He turned to look directly at her. “Nothing of the kind, Miz McGraw. Just stating a fact.”
Nell was prevented from questioning him further by the arrival of Dolan. The greeting he exchanged with the sheriff told Nell that Sheriff Hickson had called him as well. Probably at the same time, since Dolan lived on the other side of town. Nell guessed the sheriff felt some man should be around. Jacko was the next to arrive. She couldn’t tell if the sheriff had called him, too, or if he was plugged in enough to have this news quickly reach him.
Nell gave them the information she’d gotten from the fire chief.
“I’ll stay here,” Jacko volunteered. “Someone’s got to guard the building.”
Nell started to protest, but the sheriff added, “That’s fine. I’ll leave a car and one of my deputies here as well. They won’t be back, but anyone could get into your building, and you don’t want that.”
Nell glanced at her watch. She both needed to get back to Josh and Lizzie and she needed to take care of everything. She told the circle of men around her, “My kids are home alone and I need to get back there. What else needs to be done here?”
“You go on back to your kids. We’ll take care of things,” the sheriff decided for them. Get the little woman home, Nell heard in his undertone.
“This is my paper and my building,” Nell retorted angrily. “I can’t do it all, but I’m a big part of any ‘take care of things.’ Understand?”
The sheriff obviously thought he was doing her a favor. The look on his face told her he didn’t appreciate having his favors rejected. “Guess I’ll let you handle it, then.” He walked away.
Dolan cast a quick glance after him and then one at Nell. He was silent, then merely said, “Damn, I wish I could get inside and get all the insurance information.”
Nell dug in her purse and found her wallet. In it was a card with the name and number of their insurance agent. “I guess we should call him tonight. We’re awake, why shouldn’t he be?”
Dolan took the card from Nell’s hand. He’d had the most contact with the insurance people. As he dialed, Nell and Jacko walked toward the building. The door, old oak, was badly burned and would have to be replaced. Several of the windows were broken, both from the fire and the water pressure.
“Weather is supposed to clear tonight,” Jacko said, following her gaze. “We can get those boarded up tomorrow.”
“What a mess. What a fucking mess,” Nell said.
He seemed unfazed by her cursing. “Yeah, it sure is. And this is just the outside.”
“It’s going to be a marathon of replacing everything from computers to copy paper to get the paper functional again.” Nell felt exhausted. She half regretted her feminist streak. She could have played the little woman and been on her way home by now.
She headed back over to Mike, Jacko following. “When can we get back in?” she asked him.
“Fire seems out, but we need to check everything. You got a key? Door’s gone, but you might prefer we open what’s left rather than chop through.”
Nell dug the key out of her purse and gave it to him.
He continued. “A few more hours. Just to make sure nothing’s smoldering and no structural damage.”
Dolan rejoined them. “Ten a.m. tomorrow, we have an appointment. Better to see the damage by daylight, I guess.”
“Can probably get in by then,” Mike told them.
They all stared at the building scarred by fire and water.
Finally Dolan said, “Who would have done this?”
“I don’t know. Who have you pissed off lately with your hard driving business deals?” Nell said. She meant to relieve tension, but she was embarrassed to find herself starting to cry. It was something Thom could have pulled off, but her voice was dry and strained. She almost reached out to hold Thom’s hand. But Thom wasn’t there, just these men she knew only from small pieces of her life. She stumbled away, trying to gain control, hastily wiping her sleeve across her face.
The silence from the group was awkward and strained. Mike finally said, “Nell, why don’t you go on home? There’s not a lot you can do here now.”
With a final wipe of the sleeve, Nell turned back to them. “Yeah, why don’t I do that,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. Taking a deep breath, she added, “I’m sorry, it’s just been a rough … few months.” She was acutely aware of the smoke still heavy in the air, and that she stood outside the group of men. Everything rushed in: Thom’s death, the attack on Josh, the burning of the Crier, the long-ago deaths found in the woods; they all coursed through her head. “Let me get home,” she managed before she stumbled away from them.
After a few feet, she felt a hand on her elbow. Dolan, guiding her. Nell let the tears steam down. They said nothing until he had handed her into the car. “You going to be safe driving home?” he asked.
Nell nodded, then managed to say through her tears, “Yeah, I’ll sit here for a bit. Thanks.”
“Okay, get some rest. It’ll help.” He softly closed the door for her a
nd went back to the other men.
Nell watched the scene, which was blurred by tears. She tracked Dolan until he became another vague shape. She wondered if they were shaking their heads at the little woman breaking down.
“Goddamn it!” she cursed. “I’ve got a fucking right to break down!” She gripped the steering wheel as tightly as she could. “Thom! Why the fuck aren’t you here?”
After the outburst, she sobbed. Then, remembering her promise to get back home, she roused herself, roughly swiping the sleeve across her face. She started the car, wiped her face one final time, and pulled out.
When Nell got home, there was a big boat of a car in the driveway and every light in the house was blazing.
She felt too exhausted to go inside and face what was waiting. How in hell had Mrs. Thomas, Sr. known that Josh and Lizzie were alone? It was likely Mrs. Thomas had heard about the fire—for all Nell knew, the sheriff had called her, as she’d been a sensible little woman who’d stayed at home—and come over to make sure her grandchildren were safe.
Nell fumbled in her purse for a tissue and gave her nose a loud blow. She didn’t bother checking her face in the rear-view mirror; it had to be a mess, and knowing would do little to aid her composure. Closing the car door noisily enough to give them fair warning she was back, Nell crossed the lawn—she’d had to park in front of the house instead of in the driveway.
Both the lights and her mother-in-law’s countenance were blazing when Nell entered.
“Nell! How could you leave the children alone?” she demanded.
“Mother, I had to see how much damage there was.”
“And leave them here? It would have been better if you’d taken them with you than left them here alone.”
“I didn’t know if anyone was hurt,” Nell said. “I didn’t want them to see that.” She had covered a few fires and she knew burned bodies were a grisly sight—and smell. Her mother-in-law, without the benefit of experience, probably thought a little blood might have been the worst of it. With Josh and Lizzie there, she didn’t feel like spelling out in graphic detail what they might have witnessed.
“You could have brought them with you and left them in the car.”
Nell realized she could have done that—it certainly would have been preferable to this scene—but she hadn’t thought of it, equating home with safety and wanting her children safe. “I didn’t know how bad it would be. I didn’t want them there.” She wasn’t going to concede Mrs. Thomas’s point.
“They need to have a mother who puts them first! Who isn’t more obsessed with digging old bones, rehashing old wounds, and flirting with new men!”
“Goddamn it! That’s not fair!” Nell yelled back. As she’d had no control for her tears, now she had none for her anger.
“Watch your language!”
“They’ve heard it before. From Thom! We’ve got a lot more to worry about than goddamned words!”
“Yes, we do. And that’s why they’re coming with me,” Mrs. Thomas announced imperiously.
“Coming with …? No, they’re not!”
“Joshua has already been attacked. The Crier building burnt down. Are you going to keep them here until this house is burned, too?”
Nell felt frozen. There was too much truth to her mother-in-law’s words for her to ignore. What if the sheriff hadn’t captured the Jones brothers and they were on their way here? What if, when the morning light came and whoever had tried to burn the Crier realized they hadn’t succeeded, they decided on a different method of attack? With a crushing sense of defeat, Nell realized it would be close to impossible for her to get the Crier back in shape and be with Josh and Lizzie as much as she needed to be. Sending them off with Mrs. Thomas was galling, and she wondered if it would damage her already fraught relationship with them.
She asked, “Why do you think that they’ll be safer at your house than here?”
“They won’t be at my house. We’ll be out of town. I have no intention of staying here.”
“What about school?”
“They can miss a few days. Surely the police will settle this soon.” In the time waiting for Nell, Mrs. Thomas had thought her argument through.
Nell glanced away from her, with a brief thought of grabbing Josh and Lizzie by the hand, running out to her car, and driving off to … she had no idea. The best she could do would be a night or two in a hotel somewhere, and she still had to be here to take care of the Crier. It was too much, just too much. “I’ll be right back,” she suddenly said and ran to the bathroom.
Staring at her face in the mirror, not liking what she saw—a tired, middle-aged woman, her eyes puffy and red—Nell didn’t like any of her choices, but she needed a moment out from under her mother-in-law’s glare. Pride or my children’s safety? She didn’t want to concede to Mrs. Thomas, but even if she kept them locked up here, some maniac could still throw a firebomb in the window. She could haul them along to sort through the waterlogged remains of the Crier office, but that wasn’t a guarantee they would be safe. The bomber had stuck once; he might come again. What if she was the real target? Keeping them near her would make them less safe.
I could just cash in my insurance, close the paper, and call it a day, Nell thought. But that would be giving them what they wanted. It had been a cowardly attack on an empty building in the middle of the night. No, she would fight and make what compromises she had to until they became too great. Nell filled a glass from the tap and used it to slake her thirst and help swallow her pride. She would let Mrs. Thomas have Josh and Lizzie for the weekend, and after that they’d have to see.
For form’s sake, she flushed the toilet before exiting the bathroom.
“Go get packed for the weekend,” she quietly told her children. “It’s best if you stay with your grandmother for a few days.” Then she added, in an even quieter voice, “I’m sorry. I wish … we had some better choice.”
They looked at her, then at Mrs. Thomas. Lizzie started to say something, but Josh whispered, “Let’s go,” and they headed up to their rooms to pack.
“I want them back on Monday morning for school,” Nell told Mrs. Thomas. She hadn’t swallowed all her pride. “We’ll take things from there. The sheriff’s office has a good idea who did it, so someone will be in jail by then. Let me know where you are. I’ll call tomorrow night around five, to talk to Lizzie and Josh.”
“It may depend on what we’re doing,” Mrs. Thomas hedged, some of her pride also still undigested. “But I’ll leave a message.”
“Are you leaving tonight? It’s late.”
“No, we’ll go back to my place. I alerted Dorothy, and she, her husband, and their two boys will stay tonight. We’ll leave in the morning.”
Dorothy was Mrs. Thomas’s maid, someone she considered at her beck and call. It annoyed Nell; it was an attitude from a different era. She’d asked Dorothy once what she’d dreamed of doing as a young girl. Dorothy had answered slowly, chary at what she could reveal to the white daughter-in-law and finally saying, “The usual foolish stuff, being a singer or actress.” Looking back, Nell had only proven she was a guilt-ridden Northern woman who didn’t want to admit that her parents used racist words.
They waited in a tense silence until Josh and Lizzie, toting overnight bags, came down the stairs.
“Mom? What about you? You can’t stay here alone,” Lizzie said.
“Don’t worry,” Nell said. “I couldn’t sleep anyway, so I’m going back to the Crier to start digging through waterlogged paper. Jacko is there, plus two deputies.” Nell wasn’t sure what she would do, but telling them she was staying here by herself would only worry Josh and Lizzie.
“Well, it’s late,” Mrs. Thomas said. “Let’s get going, shall we?” She turned and headed out the kitchen door, which was closest to her car in the driveway.
Josh rushed to Nell and gave her a hug, then hurri
ed after his grandmother. Lizzie also gave Nell a hug, holding on for a long time. “You be safe, okay, Mom?” she whispered.
“I’ll be fine, honey. You take care of Josh and try to enjoy your trip.”
Nell watched them from the door. Lizzie’s long hug had cost her the front seat. Mrs. Thomas quickly drove away. When she could no longer see the taillights, Nell closed the door. She traversed the house, making sure everything was locked. She still had no idea what she was going to do.
As a wash of tiredness came over her, Nell decided she needed a few hours of rest, if not sleep. She grabbed the bottle of Scotch, stopped briefly at the bathroom for a perfunctory brushing of her teeth, and went upstairs to the guest bedroom. It was at the back of the house, away from the street and any window something could be thrown through. She found the travel alarm, set it just in case she dozed off, took a swig of liquor straight from the bottle, threw off her clothes, and climbed into bed.
twenty
Sunshine and an odd buzz woke her. Nell recognized the unaccustomed sound as the travel alarm. Glancing at it, she noted it was six in the morning. She started to lie back, but remembered Jacko had stayed the night. Someone should get there to relieve him, and she was the only someone available.
Nell rolled out of bed. As she stood up, she realized she was still tired. But I can’t be tired, she told herself as she made her way to the bathroom, almost tripping over the Scotch bottle.
She took a quick shower, leaving the water cold enough to thoroughly wake herself up. She quickly dressed, remembered to remove the Scotch bottle and put it back where it belonged. After grabbing a breakfast of a banana, Nell was out the door.
When she arrived, Jacko was sitting on the front steps. He was young enough to not look as tired as he should have. A sheriff’s department vehicle was parked out front, but the deputy was fast asleep in the front seat. Nell still considered that a vast improvement to the police, who were evidently fast asleep when someone firebombed a building half a block away.
“Good morning,” Nell greeted Jacko. “Or is good even possible?”