Wanda Nell nodded.
“If it was you that found the body, Miz Culpepper,” he continued, “then I guess I’m gonna have to ask you to show me and my men just where you found it.” He stood there, arrogant as a peacock, with his hands resting on the gun belt around his waist while he eyed her up and down.
“Go on, Wanda Nell,” Mayrene said, “I’ll stay here with the girls while you show Lieutenant Johnson here what you found.” Her eyes urged Wanda Nell to be strong and not to let her temper get her in trouble, even if Elmer Lee was acting like a jackass and doing his best to rile her.
“Thank you, Mayrene,” Wanda Nell said. She stood up, and Mayrene came forward to take her place on the bed between Miranda and Juliet. Lavon, sensing the tension in the room, had begun to whimper again, and Mayrene took him from his mother and cushioned him against her ample bosom, rocking him gently to calm him.
“Come on, then, Lieutenant Johnson,” Wanda Nell said, stalking out of Miranda’s bedroom and into the hall. She didn’t wait to see if Elmer Lee was following her.
“I guess it’s the maid’s day off today,” Elmer Lee said as he walked behind her through the trailer’s living room.
Wanda Nell stopped and whirled around—so quickly that Elmer Lee almost walked right into her. “That ain’t a bit funny, Elmer Lee,” she hissed at him. “Some men broke in here last night and did this. And they frightened my girls and tied them up.”
“Whoa, Wanda Nell,” Elmer Lee said, throwing up a hand. “Now just cool off a minute. Are you serious?”
“Yes, I’m serious,” Wanda Nell replied. “Serious as a heart attack.”
“What the hell is going on here?” Elmer Lee asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “What have you got yourself into, woman?”
“It’s not me, Elmer Lee, that’s got into anything,” Wanda Nell said, working hard to keep a hold on her temper. “It’s your good ol’ buddy Bobby Ray Culpepper who’s responsible for this.”
“Is it Bobby Ray’s body you found?” he asked, reaching out and taking hold of her arm. His grasp was so tight she winced from the pain.
Wanda Nell jerked her arm away from him. “Yes, Elmer Lee. It’s Bobby Ray out there in the woods.”
“Then come on, woman, and show me.” Without apology, he brushed past her and slammed out the front door of the trailer.
Wanda Nell stood still for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths to steady herself. If she didn’t watch it, she was going to end up in jail for assaulting an officer of the law.
She followed Elmer Lee outside, and the sunlight had her blinking for a few seconds. Elmer Lee was talking to a young woman in uniform.
“Get in there and talk to those girls, Taylor,” he said. “Find out what happened to them, and take a look around the trailer.”
“Wait a minute, Lieutenant Johnson,” Wanda Nell said. Elmer Lee turned to face her. “I don’t want nobody talking to my girls without me being in the room with them.” She knew Mayrene would do her best to look after the girls until she was back with them.
Elmer Lee stared at her for a moment. “Well, you heard Miz Culpepper, Deputy. No talking to the girls unless she’s present. But I still want you in that room.”
Deputy Taylor said, “Yes, sir,” then moved around him to approach the front door of the trailer. She cast Wanda Nell a sympathetic glance as she strode by her.
Elmer Lee made an impatient gesture, telling Wanda Nell to get moving.
Wanda Nell squared her shoulders. She had to face this. It was obvious that Elmer Lee intended to make this as hard on her as he possibly could. She was not going to let him get to her.
Somehow she got her feet and legs to working, and she led the way to the woods where she had found Bobby Ray’s body. Elmer Lee and three of his men followed right behind her. The blanket of pine needles and fallen leaves muffled their footsteps. The sun, now higher in the sky, peeked its way. farther into the woods, but as she walked into the coolness of the shaded areas, Wanda Nell shivered. She tried to breathe shallowly to avoid the stench she knew was not far away.
She came within about ten feet of where Bobby Ray lay behind the bushes, then stopped. With a hand that quivered only slightly, she pointed to the pink flamingo.
“There,” she said, “behind those bushes.”
“What the hell?” Elmer Lee muttered. He moved forward cautiously, eyes on the ground, making a circle around to the other side of the bushes.
Wanda Nell turned her back. She wasn’t going to watch, and Elmer Lee couldn’t make her. She walked a few steps away, back toward the edge of the woods and closer to the sunlight. Shivering again, she rubbed her hands up and down her arms to warm herself. She tried to focus her thoughts on something, on anything other than the horror behind her in the bushes, but it was no use. Now that she was close again, she kept seeing Bobby Ray’s dead body in her mind.
She heard Elmer Lee mutter an oath. By now he could see how Bobby Ray had died, pinned there by her plastic flamingo. As soon as the police would let her, she vowed, she was going to get rid of the damn things. After this, she couldn’t ever bear the sight of one of them in her yard.
Dimly she could hear Elmer Lee issuing orders to his men. Memories she had tried to suppress came rushing back to her. Memories of a young, tender, and loving Bobby Ray, the one she had been so desperate to marry. She remembered the look in his eyes when their son T.J. was born, how proud he had been of their little boy, how much love there was between them. When had it begun to go wrong?
“Oh, Bobby Ray,” she whispered into the cool air. “I did love you, and I know you loved me, at least for a little while.” The tears had started streaming down her face, and she fumbled in her pocket for a Kleenex.
“Feeling sorry?” Elmer Lee asked, circling around to stand in front of her. She’d been so lost in her memories that she never heard him approach. “It’s too damn late now, Wanda Nell. You shoulda thought about it before you stuck that damn flamingo through his neck.”
Stunned, Wanda Nell could only stare up at Elmer Lee. His face twisted into a mask of hatred, and suddenly she was afraid. Surely he wouldn’t strike her, right here in front of witnesses. He looked like he wanted to kill her.
“You’re crazy, Elmer Lee,” Wanda Nell finally managed to say, taking a step back from him. “You’re damn crazy if you think I did that.”
“You hated him, Wanda Nell,” Elmer Lee said, his voice calm and reasonable. He stepped close to her again. “Everybody knows that, and nobody’s gonna be surprised you did this to him.”
“I didn’t,” Wanda Nell said, her anger building. This time she held her ground. “I didn’t do this, Elmer Lee. I couldn’t have. Do you seriously think I could get Bobby Ray to lie there on the ground and be still while I stuck that flamingo’s legs through his neck?” She laughed bitterly. “That’s about the stupidest thing I ever heard, and coming from you, that’s saying a lot.”
“You watch your tongue, woman,” Elmer Lee said, his voice rough with hatred. “I don’t know how you lured Bobby Ray out here in the woods, but you did it somehow, and then you knocked him on the head with something.”
“You’re crazy, Elmer Lee,” Wanda Nell said. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. She knew Elmer Lee despised her, but to believe she was capable of killing Bobby Ray like this, well, that was downright nuts.
“You knocked him on the head, Wanda Nell,” Elmer Lee said, bending his head down so that he was almost breathing in her face, “and then you took that flamingo and drove it into his neck. He probably bled to death, Wanda Nell. Did it make you feel good to do that to him? Did you stand there and watch?”
“What’s going on here?” A deep voice barked out the question from somewhere behind Elmer Lee, and Wanda Nell was so relieved she could have screamed.
“I’m just interviewing the witness who found the body, Sheriff,” Elmer Lee said, taking two steps back, then turning to face his boss.
A florid-faced, heavyset
man in his early sixties, Jesse Stanford had run the Tullahoma County Sheriff’s department for nearly twenty years. There had been occasional whispers that he wasn’t as honest as he claimed to be, but Wanda Nell had known him all her life. He and her daddy had once been good friends, though they’d had a falling- out when Wanda Nell was about sixteen. She never knew what it was about, because her daddy had died less than a year later. He would never speak about it. Still, she reckoned, the sheriff would be fairer to her than Elmer Lee ever dared to be.
“Didn’t sound much like an interview to me,” Stanford replied. “Sounded more like an accusation, Lieutenant.”
Elmer Lee didn’t say anything, but his cheeks reddened, Wanda Nell noticed with vicious satisfaction.
“Miz Culpepper,” the sheriff said, his voice formal, “is there anything you’d like to tell me about this so-called interview?”
Wanda Nell hesitated. She could get Elmer Lee in a lot of trouble if she told Sheriff Stanford just how rough he had been with her. He might even take Elmer Lee off the case and investigate it himself. But maybe just knowing the sheriff was looking over his shoulder would make Elmer Lee toe the line.
She caught Elmer Lee’s eye. He was daring her to say something.
“I was explaining to Elmer Lee here, Sheriff,” she said, “that I had nothing to do with this. Except that I found the body, of course.”
“I’m sure sorry you had to go through that, Miz Culpepper,” Stanford said. “And I know Lieutenant Johnson here appreciates everything you’re doing to cooperate with my department. Isn’t that right, Lieutenant?”
“Yes, sir,” Elmer Lee said, his voice toneless.
“You have an ID on the victim?” The sheriff watched his subordinate closely.
“Yes, sir,” Elmer Lee responded, not looking at Wanda Nell. “Bobby Ray Culpepper. Miz Culpepper’s ex-husband.”
Sheriff Stanford drew in a deep breath. “As I recall, Lieutenant, Mr. Culpepper was a good friend of yours. Maybe I should assign someone else to this investigation, you being so close to the victim and all.”
“If you think that’s the best thing to do, sir,” Elmer Lee said, his face becoming animated again, “but I promise you I can handle this.”
The sheriff stared at Elmer Lee for a long moment, while Wanda Nell watched in fascination.
“Okay, then, Lieutenant,” Stanford finally said. “You’re in charge, but I’m going to keep a close eye on this, you understand me?”
“Yes, sir,” Elmer Lee said. “Now, if you don’t mind, sir. I’m going to take Miz Culpepper back to her trailer and continue interviewing her there.”
The sheriff nodded, and Elmer Lee gestured for Wanda Nell to precede him. While the sheriff walked around them to inspect the crime scene, Wanda Nell gratefully headed out of the woods. Elmer Lee was right behind her.
She had gone only a few steps before she halted, remembering her purse, which she had dropped somewhere in the woods.
“What is it?” Elmer Lee asked.
“My purse,” Wanda Nell said. “I dropped it here somewhere when I found the body.”
Elmer Lee muttered something under his breath. “Hold on a minute, then.” He stalked back to talk to his men.
While Wanda Nell waited for him, she wondered why he hadn’t said anything to the sheriff about what had happened at the trailer. Didn’t he believe her?
He’d better not try to say that she and the girls had made the whole thing up, Wanda Nell decided angrily. He’d have a fight on his hands if he did.
Surely there had to be enough evidence to convince him. Somebody in the trailer park must have seen something.
“Come on, Wanda Nell,” Elmer Lee said, startling her.
“Where’s my purse?” Wanda Nell demanded.
Elmer Lee sighed heavily as he took her arm to guide her out of the woods and back to the trailer. “Surely even you realize I can’t let you have that purse back, Wanda Nell. You dropped it at the crime scene, and it’s evidence now.”
Wanda Nell gritted her teeth to try to keep from shouting at him, or jerking her arm loose from his grip. “Well, then, Elmer Lee, when do you think I might get it back? My driver’s license is in there. My credit cards, my cash, and everything. How am I supposed to drive to work if I don’t have my license?’
“We’ll get it back to you as soon as we can, Wanda Nell,” Elmer Lee said. They had reached the yard in front of her trailer, and he dropped her arm.
Wanda Nell rubbed the spot where he had been holding her. “Look here, Elmer Lee. You just better get it through your head, right here, right now, I did not kill Bobby Ray. And every minute you spend trying to prove I did, well, the real killer is making a jackass out of you.”
“We’ll see about that, Wanda Nell,” Elmer Lee said. His whole body had tensed, and once again Wanda Nell had the feeling that it took all he had not to let loose and slap the pee-waddin’ out of her.
Someone coughed from behind them. Both Wanda Nell and Elmer Lee spun around. Deputy Taylor stood there, her face solemn.
“I just wanted to tell you, Lieutenant,” she said, her voice stiff and official, “that Miz Lancaster wanted to move the young ladies and the baby over to her trailer. I didn’t think that would be a problem, sir.”
Thank the Lord for Mayrene, Wanda Nell thought. Always looking out for her and her girls.
“Is that so, Deputy?” Elmer Lee said. “You’re taking a lot on yourself, Deputy, and next time you might want to clear something like that with me first. You got that?”
“Yes, sir,” Deputy Taylor said. Her face slowly reddened, and Wanda Nell sympathized with her. Trust Elmer Lee to be pig enough to humiliate her in front of someone, instead of waiting to reprimand her when no one else was around.
“Come on, then,” Elmer Lee said. “I need to talk to those girls and find out what allegedly happened in that trailer there.” He jerked his head sideways to indicate Wanda Nell’s place.
Wanda Nell stepped in front of him and mounted the steps to Mayrene’s front door. She opened it and walked in. The two deputies came right behind her, and one of them shut the door quietly. All Wanda Nell could focus on was the sight of her two daughters, sitting on the couch with Mayrene. The older woman had an arm around each one. Juliet was quiet, seemingly asleep, but Miranda was crying, sobs wracking her body.
“I put the baby down to sleep in my bedroom,” Mayrene said. “He’s fine, don’t you worry about him.” She rubbed her head against Miranda’s. “Now, honey, don’t keep crying like that. You’re just gonna make yourself sick.”
Miranda just wailed louder. Wanda Nell knew the girl was upset because she had loved her daddy best of all. Even so, she wanted to jerk a knot in the girl’s tail. She was too tired to cope with all this drama.
“Miranda,” Wanda Nell said, her voice coming out way too sharp. “Miranda.” She spoke her daughter’s name again, only this time more gently, as she approached the sofa. “Honey, look at me. I know you’re upset. This was something awful, and I’m sorry all of it happened. But you’ve got to calm down, honey, and talk to these officers here. We’ve got to help them find out who did this to you and your sister.” And to your daddy, she added silently.
“Oh, Mama,” Miranda blubbered. “I’m scared.”
Wanda Nell sat on the edge of the sofa beside her older daughter and wrapped her arms around her. Juliet, awake again, watched in wide-eyed curiosity.
“Honey, it’s going to be okay,” Wanda Nell said, trying to soothe Miranda enough so they could get some sense out of her. “I know you’re scared, but nobody’s going to hurt you now.”
“Yes, they will, Mama,” Miranda said, almost screaming in her ear. “I saw them, Mama, and they know I saw them. They’re gonna come back and kill me!”
Chapter 4
“All right now, little lady,” Elmer Lee said. He came over to the sofa and squatted down in front of Wanda Nell and Miranda. “You just get ahold of yourself, now, and don’t you be worrying
about anybody coming back to get you. We ain’t about to let anything happen to you.”
As Wanda Nell stroked Miranda’s hair, the girl made an effort to get control of herself. “Good girl,” Wanda Nell whispered into her ear. In a normal tone, she said, “That’s right, Miranda. The sheriff’s department isn’t going to let anybody come and hurt you or any of us.”
“Okay,” Miranda said, her voice finally calm and at its normal pitch. “Can I have some Coke?”
Wanda Nell looked over her daughter’s head at Mayrene. “Sure you can, honey,” Mayrene said. “You just sit right there, and I’ll get you some. Juliet, you want some, too?” Juliet nodded shyly, then as Mayrene pushed herself up
off the sofa, she scooted over next to Miranda and her mother. Wanda Nell reached out to stroke Juliet’s hair, and her younger daughter offered her a tremulous smile.
Oh, dear Lord, Wanda Nell thought, please keep my girls safe. Please!
Exhaustion hit her then, and she wanted to go climb in a hole somewhere and sleep for a week. Her eyes stung with fatigue, and her whole body had turned to lead. The effort it took for her to turn and speak to Elmer Lee drained her further. “Go on, now, and ask your questions. We’re all worn out, and the girls and I need some rest.” She leaned back and watched the deputy tiredly.
Elmer Lee flashed her a hostile look, but Wanda Nell only blinked at him.
“Right, then,” Elmer Lee said, getting up off his haunches and pulling a chair close. He sat down in it and studied Miranda and Juliet for a moment
“Now, girls, I want y’all to think real careful about what happened to you, and any little detail you can think of, you tell me. Don’t matter how small or unimportant you reckon it may be, you just tell me anyway. Okay?”
Both girls nodded, and Elmer Lee leaned back in the chair. “Good. Who wants to go first?”
Miranda didn’t say anything, and Juliet watched her for a moment. “I guess I will, sir,” she said, her voice so thin Wanda Nell thought Elmer Lee would have trouble hearing her.
Mayrene came back with a tray and several glasses of Coke. She set coasters depicting Graceland on the coffee table in front of each of the girls and Wanda Nell, then placed glasses on the coasters. She offered the remaining two glasses to the deputies. Elmer Lee waved her away irritably. Mayrene glared at the back of his head before moving away.
Flamingo Fatale (A Trailer Park Mystery Book 1) Page 4