by K C Hart
“You’re right.” Katy padded to her side of the bed and pulled off her slippers. “I’m just overwhelmed from everything I learned tonight. We didn’t get a chance to ask Todd about the key.”
“No, but tomorrow is a new day.” John climbed into bed beside her. “What did you do different with the roast this time? It was really good.”
“I looked up an easy recipe online. I added a pack of dry ranch salad dressing to the bullion broth when I put it in the pot.”
“Well, I actually really liked it this time. You need to hang on to that recipe.”
“Uhh, thanks…I guess.” She turned off her lamp and rolled over to face her husband. “Are you sure Moose is okay out there?”
John turned off his lamp and eased down in the bed. “He’s fine, I promise. I checked on him while you were straightening the kitchen. He ate his food and drank his water. Everything is okay.” He leaned over and kissed her goodnight. “Thank you for supper. I didn’t say it right a minute ago, but you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Thursday morning, Katy and John sat at the bar for their usual morning chat before heading to work. “I’ve got two patients today, then I’m meeting Misty for a late lunch,” Katy said, sipping her morning coffee. “I need to check on Emma either today or tomorrow. It’s according to how my day goes.”
John put the last bite of breakfast in his mouth. “You know, these frozen pancakes ain’t too bad. I think I like them better than the waffles.” He laid the fork on the plate and wiped his mouth. “Don’t you have a final practice at the auditorium tonight?”
“Yeah, we find out what order we’ll play in.” She stacked John’s dirty dishes on top of hers. “We know The Babes go last since they’re the only ones who’ve won in the past, but the rest of us have to wait and see.”
“How will they decide for the other groups?”
“I don’t have a clue. Misty and I talked about it last night after church, but nobody seems to have a clue what Edna has planned.” She loaded their plates in the dishwasher. “I’m going to try to talk to Todd today. I’m anxious to hear what Floyd Perkins had to say.”
“Offer him food. That usually brings him around.”
“Maybe I’ll see if he wants to eat lunch with us.” She closed the dishwasher and pushed the start button. “And speaking of food, you are on your own for supper tonight.”
“No problem. I’ll fish around and find something.”
She was running late. Mr. Cleveland’s visit had gone well. Stella was back up and about, and Mr. Cleveland had decided they would not be moving to the nursing home. They were even planning on attending Pam Newman’s memorial service, but Katy decided not to mention that she now owned Moose.
The next visit was supposed to have been a simple admit but turned into a two-hour marathon. The poor old lady lived alone except for her fifteen cats which contributed to the living conditions being less than adequate. Empty cat food cans were littered everywhere through the house and her new patient was clawing at flea bites. It was definitely time for the daughter to take her home with her. Katy had contacted the daughter, and while she waited for her to come, she coaxed the patient into taking a bath and washing her hair. She then trimmed her fingernails and toenails, which, before Katy worked on them, resembled talons. When the daughter arrived, she showed her how to give the patient her medications and finally, she assisted in calling a local animal rescue group to pick up all of the cats except one. She helped gather up the cats, feeling assured that the rescue group would find them all good homes, then dashed out the door.
Katy had planned to stop by Johnnie Mae’s after her last visit before meeting Misty and Todd but had decided to run home and take a quick shower. After that it was already one-thirty-seven, and she was scheduled to meet them at The Burger Barn at one-thirty. Johnnie Mae would have to wait. She wheeled into the restaurant parking lot and spotted both of their vehicles sitting near the entrance.
“I ordered a cheeseburger and fries for you.” Misty scooted over to let Katy in. “Is that okay? That seems to be your new favorite.”
“Perfect.” She dropped her purse between them and looked across the table. “Alright, Todd, tell me everything you found out.”
“Why, Aunt Katy,” the corner of Todd’s lips curled up lazily, “I’m beginning to think the only reason you invited me to lunch is to pump me for information.”
“Guilty,” Katy said, rolling her eyes. “Now tell me what you know.”
“Donnie is being let out on bail. Brock’s statement pretty much sealed his fate with the drug charges.” Todd rolled a toothpick between his fingers. “He’ll be charged for dealing and some other charges related to that, but not murder.”
Katy leaned back in the booth and slapped both hands against her cheeks. “Good grief. Poor Emma. This is going to crush her and Tubby.” She waited as the waitress passed out their drinks. “Did you figure out anything new about the auditorium key?”
“No, unfortunately nothing new about that.” The conversation paused again as the waitress returned with their food. After prayers were said, Todd looked across the table. “You’re looking mighty worked up about all of this, Aunt Katy. I think you may need to take a step back for a while.”
“Oh, I’m fine, it’s just been a doozy of a day.” She blew out a puff of air. “It’s just that everybody knows poor Emma is innocent. That’s what gets my goat. It’s so obvious that the evidence was planted, but there isn’t anything we can do about it.”
Misty patted her hand. “That’s why we have to figure this thing out.”
“What did Floyd Perkins have to say?” Katy asked, squirting an enormous pile of ketchup in the corner of her plate.
“Not much until we showed him several pictures of him and a fancy-dressed lady we found in Rob’s storage locker.” Todd sipped his Coke. “Floyd’s been carrying on with this big-time drug dealer’s sister for over two years now.”
“Is that who he’s been going to see every Saturday night?” Katy asked, her eyes bugging out.
“Now, how did you know about that?” Todd crossed his arms over his chest. “And why haven’t you told me about it?”
“His momma complained about him always going to Jackson and staying overnight, then not being home for church on Sundays.” Katy shrugged her shoulders. “It didn’t seem that important at the time.”
“Anyway,” Todd sighed and shook his head. “That’s how Rob hooked him into bringing a pot delivery home to Skeeterville every weekend.”
“I don’t think what he was doing was very smart, but why didn’t he just own up to seeing the woman?” Misty asked. “They’re both adults. She can’t help it that her brother’s a thug. Why didn’t he stand up to Rob and refuse to be his gopher?”
“Because,” Todd pointed a fry toward Misty. “She is also married to the owner of The Velvet Slipper.”
“Wow…the club owner’s wife. That can’t be good.” Katy shook her head. “To be such a nerdy-looking guy, he sure does lead a shady life.”
“No wonder he put Donnie’s daughter back in as lead of the school play,” Misty said. “Rob had his hooks in him deep. Once all this gets out, his career is over.”
“And none of this helps us figure out how that key got in Emma’s guitar case,” Katy sighed. “We’re no closer now than we were before.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Todd said. “At the least, all of this will expose Rob Clay’s true character. This shows that several people had a good reason to want him dead.”
Katy drooped her shoulders. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Wait, I’m not finished. Emma said that when Rob Clay was using his guitar every week during her lessons at Donnie Gibson’s house, she left her guitar unattended.” Todd slowly twirled another fry in his dwindling pile of ketchup. “And she also left it unattended every week at Tubby’s band practices. She said she would bring it but would be too embarrassed to try to pl
ay, so she left in her vehicle, and the doors usually weren’t locked.”
“So that gave a lot of opportunities for somebody who hated Rob to set Emma up!” Misty exclaimed.
“That’s good,” Katy said, her voice revealing how tired her body felt. “I just hope it’s enough to keep her out of prison.”
“Now we have to get a list of everybody that was in and out of those two places every week while Emma was away from her guitar.” Todd popped another fry in his mouth. “That might be easier said than done.”
The smile slipped from Misty’s face. “That’s going to be a lot of work, gathering all those names.”
Katy sat back up and stuck the last bite of her cheeseburger in her mouth. “But it will be worth it if it will help clear Emma’s name.”
“How will you figure out who all of those people are?” Misty sucked on the straw in her empty glass, then turned it up and poured a few nuggets of ice into her mouth. “Are you going to get the student list from Donnie?”
“That’s part of it. I’ll have to talk to Tubby about the practices, find out where they were held and all that.” Todd took a deep breath. “I’m sure he’ll be very cooperative. Then I’ll have to talk to Donnie about everybody who was in and out of his house during those lessons. We already have a list of people that Emma gave us to use as witnesses to prove that she was telling the truth about why she was meeting Rob Clay every week. It’s going to be a lot of work, and I imagine it will take a while.”
“Yeah, because I still think Donnie Gibson is hiding something.” Katy waived the waitress over to refill their drinks. “There are still two things that you did not mention. The engagement ring that Brock said Rob was going to give to Pam.” Katy held up finger number one. “And all the pictures that he was using to blackmail Johnnie Mae Smithers.” Her eyebrow arched as she held up the second finger
“We didn’t find an engagement ring, and we went over every inch of that place and emptied out every bag and box.” Todd took a long slurp from his refilled Coke. “The sheriff and I talked about that. We’re thinking that either Rob got cold feet and took the ring back, or he never meant to give it to Pam to start with and had already given it to some other woman. Or he pawned it.”
“I can’t say that any of those things would surprise me after what we’ve found out about the man. I was just hoping for Pam’s sake that he was actually going to do the right thing for once.” Katy looked from Todd to Misty. “But I guess I knew the odds were against it.”
“And I haven’t seen all of the pictures yet. There are a ton of them, so Johnnie Mae’s blackmail photos will probably turn up.” Todd slid out of the booth and put on his hat. “Well, ladies, thanks for the lunch. I’ll see y’all tomorrow night at the big shindig, if not sooner.”
“Ugg,” Katy stood and rubbed her stomach, “I should have gotten the salad.”
“Each one of you will pull a straw. The short one will go first, the middle one will be next and the long one will go third. Then, of course, The Babes will finish everything up.” Edna looked around the stage at the musicians then glanced back at Katy. “This will make everything completely fair, so no one will think they are being cheated. Now, pick a representative from your bands to come pull.”
“I’ll do it.” Sarah looked around at the other four ladies. “That is, if none of you mind.”
“Go for it,” Misty said. “It’ll be what it will be.”
The other ladies nodded and watched as Sarah and the two men from the other groups walked over to Edna and three other members of the PTA. It turned out that the scheduled practice wasn’t really for the bands to go over their songs but to decide the order of the program, where everyone would be placed and a lot of general stuff that none of the groups were really interested in.
Katy looked at the back of the auditorium where Emma was sitting. Since her arrest she refused to be left by herself for even one hour of the day. Tubby said that she wasn’t scared. She just figured that if somebody else turned up dead, she would be sure that she had a rock-solid alibi. She had taken a leave of absence from the bank. While Tubby went to work every day, she either went over to Mrs. Simmons or spent the day with his Pawpaw Bill.
Katy stepped away from her group and over to Tubby. “How are y’all doing?”
Tubby wrapped a massive arm around Katy’s shoulders and gave a light squeeze. “We’re making it. Sheriff Reid came by today and has got Emma making a list of everybody that she’s ever seen at our practices out at the old barn and everybody she remembers seeing at her guitar lessons.” He ran his hand across his smooth jawline. “She made me shave off my beard, too. Said that I looked like something the cat drug in and the kittens didn’t want.”
“I’m sorry y’all are having to do all that work. Are there a lot of people to try to remember?”
“Yes ma’am. Sometimes the practices have thirty or forty people who just drop by and hear us play, and the people vary.” He looked across the auditorium and waved at his wife. “It seems to be helping her cope, you know, having something to do that might help the situation.”
“I’m glad she’s doing okay.” They looked across the stage.as Joe Phobs walked back toward them. “Looks like it’s time to see where we all fit in tomorrow night.” She squeezed Tubby’s arm. “I like the clean-shaven look better on you, too. I better head back to my group. I just want you to know that I’m praying for both of you and doing everything I can to make this right.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Katy. I know you’re doing your best.”
“Well, we are number three,” Sarah held up her straw. “Rough Edge is first and then The Tubs.”
“Alright, ladies,” Misty looked around the group. “The concert starts at seven tomorrow night, so be here in your T-shirts at six, ready to bring down the house. You have anything to add, fearless leader?”
Katy looked around the stage and then at her waiting band members. “Nope. By this time tomorrow night, it will all be over but the crying.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Have you peeked out yet?” Misty waved Katy over to the corner of the stage. She pulled open a slit in the curtain. “Look, it’s Laura Jean. She’s brought a big crew from the nursing home. That’s so sweet.”
Katy scanned the packed house. “I heard one of The Babes say that this is the best turn-out they’ve ever seen.” She pulled her face back from the curtain. “I imagine some of that has to do with this being the recent scene of a murder.”
Misty looked across the stage and wrinkled her nose. “Ugg…you’re probably right. I was thinking it is because The Moonlighters are performing.” They backed up and joined the others in their group behind the scenes as the curtain slowly opened.
“Would everyone please stand for the pledge?” The principal lead the town through the patriotic ritual, followed by a prayer; then turned the program over to Edna.
“Here we go, ladies,” Misty turned to the group. “Let’s make sure we’re ready to go on before The Tubs sing. I don’t want to miss them.”
“Oh, yeah,” Sarah chimed in. “I’m anxious to hear Joe sing the lead.”
Katy made her way behind the back curtain to the small room behind the stage. The high school seniors had cleaned the place up so the musicians could leave their instruments and cases safely out of harm’s way while they enjoyed the other bands’ performances. She eased her beloved Gibson from its case and sat on the edge of a metal chair to strum.
“That’s odd,” she strummed a G chord again. “The top E string is way off.” She slowly plucked the top string while the electric tuner counted the vibrations. Suddenly the string snapped from the guitar bridge and hung limp. “Oh man…I broke a string.” Katy looked around at the other musicians. “Great timing.”
“Do you have a spare?” Joe Phobs sat across from her, tuning his bass.
“Yeah, I picked some up this morning. They’re in my glove compartment.”
Joe laid his bass back in its case. “I’ll fetch t
hem for you. I should have time.”
“No, no, no.” Katy stood and waved Joe back into his chair. “You go on before we do. I’ll run get them.” She put her guitar back in its case. “I won’t be but a second.”
Katy stepped out the backstage entrance into the dusky parking lot. Mosquitos were out in full force this evening.
“Hello, Katy. Are you ready for tonight?”
Katy jumped and grabbed her chest. “Hey, Mrs. Johnnie Mae. You about scared me out of my skin. What are you doing back here?”
“I finally found a park out in the back forty by the road. I’m on my way to the front.”
“I’ll walk with you around the corner. I’ve got to get something from my car.”
“Good. I’ll enjoy the company.” She let Katy step in front of her as they began to weave between the tightly parked cars. “I got your note about an engagement ring.” Johnnie Mae slowed her steps. “Hold up a minute, honey, I don’t want to bump this sore leg.”
Katy looked over her shoulder and flashed a smile. “If we don’t hurry, we’re going to miss Tubby and the Tubs.” She waited while Johnnie Mae made it through a particularly tight spot. She would have to grab the strings and fly back if she was going to fix her broken string in time to play.
“Like I was saying. You were asking me about a ring.” Johnnie Mae stepped closer behind Katy. “What are you wanting to know?”
“I have a question about Rob Clay’s engagement ring.” Katy threw the words over her shoulder. But I’ll have to ask you later. We really need to get inside. “Katy sucked in a gulp of air as something sharp pricked her side. That was no mosquito.
“Don’t worry about getting inside, honey.” Johnnie Mae applied a little more pressure to the knife held to Katy’s ribs. “We’re going out to my car to have a talk.”