KeShawn shook his head. “Then you better watch out. She that crazy, she gonna do something to hurt you.” Wanda Nell shuddered. “Thank the Lord she didn’t have a gun with her.”
“You better tell the police about her,” KeShawn advised. “Maybe get one of them restraining orders, something like that.”
“Wouldn’t do no good,” Wanda Nell said. “The high-and-mighty widow of high-and-mighty old Judge Culpepper. Who do you think they’re gonna believe, if I go accusing her of attacking me?” She shook her head. “Ain’t nobody gonna believe me, even with a witness.”
KeShawn grinned ruefully. “And especially that witness being me. That the way it is in this little town.”
“Yeah,” Wanda Nell said, disgusted by the thought. “But thank you for sticking up for me. I really don’t know what mighta happened if you hadn’t been here.”
“Don’t worry about that,” KeShawn said. “I’ll be keeping an eye out for you, least while you’re here. We ain’t gonna let that old woman hurt you round here.”
“God bless you, KeShawn,” Wanda Nell said fervently, shaking his big hand.
KeShawn grinned again, then walked on to his car. Wanda Nell retrieved her purse and her keys, unlocked her car, then sat there staring into the distance while KeShawn drove off.
Out of habit, she locked the doors and turned the key in the ignition. The engine purred, but she sat there, lost in thought. Mrs. Culpepper hadn’t really hurt her with that big purse, mostly just startled her. She had taken the blows on the back of her head, and her thick blonde hair had cushioned her. Plus the fact that the old woman had been too drunk to hit her very hard. Her knees ached from contact with the asphalt, and she would have to take care of them when she got home.
A wave of rage hit her. Damn you, Bobby Ray, she thought fiercely. Even dead, he was still making trouble for her. It didn’t matter how much she had loved him, he had messed up their marriage and helped screw up their kids. And now, getting himself killed, he had made things even worse.
For a moment, Wanda Nell wondered what would happen if she just started driving. Where she’d go, she had no idea, as long as it was somewhere besides Tullahoma, Mississippi. She could be in Memphis in less than two hours, and maybe she could lose herself in the big city.
Then she laughed bitterly at her own crazy notions. No way she was gonna run off and leave her children and her grandson. Her mama and daddy, God rest their souls, had raised her to be responsible, even when being responsible hurt like hell. Even when it meant feeling like your life was being sucked away from you every second and you couldn’t ever get it back.
Wanda Nell wiped away angry tears with the back of one hand. Nope, she wasn’t going anywhere. Stand and fight, that was what her daddy had always said.
And the good Lord knew that’s what she was gonna do.
She put the car in gear and drove home, squinting into the rapidly rising sun.
Ten minutes later, turning in at the entrance to the trailer park, she raised a hand in greeting, waving at whoever sat in the sheriff’s department car parked discreetly near her trailer.
Wanda Nell had barely stepped out of her car when she heard her neighbor across the way, Janette Sultan, calling out her name. Just what I need right now, Wanda Nell thought sourly.
“Wanda Nell,” Janette said, coming towards her, hands clutching her housecoat around her. “You okay?”
Wanda Nell did her best to put on a pleasant face for Janette, but she was too tired to make much of an effort. “About as well as could be expected, I guess.” She took a couple of steps toward the door of her trailer. She never had had much use for Janette and her whiny ways, and a little show of sympathy now wasn’t going to change that.
Janette came right along with her, her face alight with curiosity.
“How long is the sheriff’s department gonna be sitting there?” With a jerk of her head she indicated the nearby official car.
“I don’t know, Janette,” Wanda Nell said. “Long as it takes to catch whoever broke into my trailer.”
“That sure was awful, Wanda Nell.” Janette shivered. “And to think I never heard a dadblamed thing. I slept right through it all.”
“Yeah, that’s too bad,” Wanda Nell replied. “It’s a shame you had to miss it all.”
“Now look here, Wanda Nell,” Janette said, “I can’t help but be worried about something like that going on here. What if those men had broke in on me, and me all alone?”
Wanda Nell had to bite her tongue to say what she really wanted to say. “Those men weren’t after you or anything you had to offer,” she finally managed to get out. “And it wasn’t your ex-husband they killed, either. So I don’t think you got too much to be worrying about, Janette.”
Janette took that like Wanda Nell had slapped her face. Red with anger, she whirled around and stalked back to her trailer. Wanda Nell heard her door slam as she opened her own door.
Wanda Nell was too tired to care whether she had made an enemy of Janette Sultan. At the moment she had other concerns on her mind.
Juliet was in the kitchen, packing her lunch for school. Wanda Nell glanced at the clock. “Morning, sweetie pie. I’m sorry I forgot to get your lunch ready last night.”
Juliet grinned. “That’s okay, Mama. I don’t mind.” She stuffed her lunch into her backpack and came out of the kitchen to give her mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I better go wait for the bus.”
“Yeah,” Wanda Nell said. “It oughta be along in a few minutes. Now, you sure you want to go to school today?” She examined Juliet with concern.
“I’m fine, Mama,” she said, “really I am. Don’t you be worrying about me. I’ll be better off at school. You get some rest, okay?”
With that, she was gone. Wanda Nell went to the door and watched until Juliet was out of sight. She wasn’t too worried about her daughter’s safety. The spot where Juliet waited for the bus was only a few feet from where the man from the sheriff’s department was parked.
Wanda Nell gave a brief thought to having a piece or two of toast, but she decided she needed sleep more. There was not a sound coming out of the room at the other end of the trailer where Miranda and the baby slept. Miranda was lucky Lavon was such a good baby. He would play quietly in his crib while his mama slept on. She would get up about nine o’clock, and Lavon would be ready for some breakfast.
For a moment, Wanda Nell was tempted to tiptoe down the hall and sneak Lavon from his crib. She had a longing to hold him in her arms, make sure he was safe. She loved him fiercely, even though she was still angry at Miranda for getting herself pregnant before she finished eleventh grade.
Right now, she needed sleep. If Lavon was hungry, he’d let his mother know, and Miranda could shift her lazy self out of bed and feed him. Wanda Nell turned and went to her own bedroom.
She set the alarm for two P.M. and hoped she really could get almost seven hours of sleep. She had to show up for her shift at the Kountry Kitchen tonight. Melvin wouldn’t take it too kindly if she begged off again.
Her body aching with tiredness, she took off her clothes and slipped on a nightgown. She examined her knees. They weren’t as bad as she thought. A little red, and maybe a bruise or two, but nothing worse, thank goodness.
The bed felt cool and welcoming as she slid between the sheets. Making herself comfortable, she closed her eyes and tried to relax.
A pounding on the door awakened her sometime later. Groggily she stared at the clock. One-thirty. She lay back on the bed. Who on earth could be at the door?
Wanda Nell sat bolt upright. What if it was old lady Culpepper? Scrambling out of bed, she reached for a robe and pulled it on as she almost ran down the hall toward the door.
There was no sign of Miranda anywhere as Wanda Nell paused before the door. The pounding resumed, and Wanda Nell peeked through the peephole.
It was Elmer Lee Johnson.
Wanda Nell unlocked the door and snatched it open.
�
�What do you mean, pounding on my door like that, Elmer Lee?” she demanded. “You about scared the daylights out of me. What is it you want?”
“I need to talk to you, Wanda Nell,” Elmer Lee said, pushing his way past her into the trailer. Deputy Taylor, just behind him, offered Wanda Nell an apologetic shrug as she entered the trailer.
“Then what is so damn urgent that you come around here banging on my door like a wild man?” Wanda Nell said, her hands crossed over her chest. She was very conscious of standing in front of a man she despised wearing only a light robe over her nightgown. “Have you caught those men who busted in here?”
Elmer Lee laughed. “That’s what I wanna talk to you about, Wanda Nell. We ain’t found no trace of any men like those girls of yours described, and I wanna be damn sure y’all aren’t just making the whole thing up.”
Wanda Nell stared at Elmer Lee like he had stepped right off a spaceship from Mars.
“You are out of your ever-lovin’ mind, Elmer Lee Johnson,” she said when she could finally get her tongue and lips working. “I sure am glad there’s a witness to hear me say you are plumb crazy, there ain’t no two ways about it.” Deputy Taylor coughed, maybe in warning, but Wanda Nell was too angry to care.
“How dare you come into my home,” Wanda Nell went on, “and accuse me of lying like that, Elmer Lee? I know you hate me, but this is just too damn ridiculous!”
She tried to get ahold of her temper before she made the situation any worse. Clamping her mouth shut, she stood there and stared at Elmer Lee.
He was glaring right back at her, and she figured the only thing keeping him from slapping her up one side and down the other was Deputy Taylor being in the room.
“Now, Wanda Nell, don’t you go getting hysterical on me,” Elmer Lee said. “I swear, woman, you been on the rag ever since high school. No wonder Bobby Ray...” He broke off as Deputy Taylor coughed again, a good bit louder this time. “Now let’s just calm down here, okay? I need to talk to you, and it won’t do nobody any good you getting all riled up with me.”
Wanda Nell had to do something or she was going to scratch his eyes out. “I’m gonna make some coffee. Either of you want some?”
The two deputies shook their heads. “Then sit down somewhere, and I’ll be right back,” Wanda Nell instructed as she walked into the kitchen.
While she poured water into the coffeemaker and measured out the coffee, Wanda Nell kept telling herself she needed to watch her temper around Elmer Lee. It didn’t do her one bit of good popping off at him like she’d done, and if she didn’t watch it, she’d find herself sitting in jail.
Back in the living room, she found the two deputies sitting on the couch. Wanda Nell perched on the edge of a chair and faced Elmer Lee. “Okay, now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”
“I wanna talk to you about this story you and your girls told me, about some men breaking in here and so on.” Elmer Lee held up a hand to warn Wanda Nell not to interrupt. “I’m trying to believe you, Wanda Nell, but it ain’t easy. See, the way I reckon it, you coulda got those girls of yours to go along with you. You put together this story about these men breaking in here, and it looks like they musta killed Bobby Ray, too. Isn’t that what you think? I mean, those guys are the killers?”
Reluctantly, Wanda Nell nodded.
“Well, I’ll tell you, Wanda Nell,” Elmer Lee said, using a tone like she was a retarded child, “me and my men have been talking to all your neighbors here, and you wanna know something real interesting?”
He paused, obviously waiting for Wanda Nell to speak. She refused to give in. She stared back at him, not saying a word.
Elmer Lee let the silence lengthen, then finally he started talking again. “What’s really interesting, Wanda Nell, is that we talked till we was blue in the face to every single person in this here trailer park, and you know what? Not a damn one of ’em heard a thing that night.”
Still Wanda Nell refused to speak.
“Oh; I almost forgot,” Elmer Lee said, giving her an evil grin, “one of your neighbors did hear one thing. Seems like that gal across the row heard you screaming at Bobby Ray out there in the road at some point.”
It had to be Janette Sultan, Wanda Nell figured. How she musta loved being able to dish some dirt.
The welcome scent of fresh-brewed coffee caught her attention. Without excusing herself, Wanda Nell got up from her chair and went to the kitchen. Take it easy, she told herself. Don’t let him get to you. Don’t be stupid. She poured herself some coffee, added cream and sugar, and stirred it for a moment. She took a couple of sips, enjoying the warmth.
Slowly Wanda Nell walked back into the living room with her mug and sat down again. Before Elmer Lee could say anything, she spoke, “Yes, Elmer Lee, I did yell at Bobby Ray. I told him I wanted him out of this trailer, and I told him I didn’t want him ever coming back. And that was the last time I saw him.”
“Alive, you mean,” Elmer Lee said nastily.
“Yeah,” Wanda Nell acknowledged, trying hard not to see Bobby Ray’s dead body in her mind.
“How do you account for the fact that not a single person in this trailer park heard or saw anything, other than you yelling at the victim?”
“I don’t know, Elmer Lee,” Wanda Nell said. She drank from her coffee cup before continuing. “Everybody in this trailer park works hard for a living, just like me. They all come home tired at the end of the day, and they go to bed. Most of ’em got to get up early, and they can’t stay up all night waiting and watching for something to happen.”
“ ’Specially if there ain’t nothing to see,” Elmer Lee said.
“I can’t help it if nobody but my girls saw those men, Elmer Lee,” Wanda Nell said, wrapping her hands around her mug of coffee. The heat of it helped her focus on keeping her temper. “Those men came here and broke into my house, and they tied up my girls. And I bet you they were the ones killed Bobby Ray. No way are you gonna pin this on me. You need to get out there and do your job and stop harassing me.”
“Soon’s I can find one reliable witness,” Elmer Lee said, “one witness who saw those strange men here in this trailer park, or even somewhere around town, then I guess I’ll start believing you. Until then, Wanda Nell, I’m gonna do my job as I damn well see fit.”
“Fine,” Wanda Nell said, hanging on to her mug instead of throwing the hot coffee into his face like she really wanted to, “you do your job. But I ain’t gonna just sit here and let you stomp all over me, Elmer Lee. My mama didn’t raise no fool, and I got rights. You for damn sure ain’t gonna take those away from me.” Maybe she ought to take Mayrene’s advice after all and call that lawyer.
Deputy Taylor coughed again, and both Elmer Lee and Wanda Nell glared at her. “Sorry,” she said, still sputtering.
“It’s my allergies acting up.” She got up from the couch. “You mind, Miz Culpepper, if I use your bathroom?” Wanda Nell just pointed. She was still too angry with Elmer Lee to risk opening her mouth.
As soon as Deputy Taylor left the room, Elmer Lee stood up and moved over in front of Wanda Nell’s chair. He stared down at her, his eyes sparkling with malice. “If you killed Bobby Ray,” he said, his voice low, “I’m gonna see you on death row, Wanda Nell. You just better count on that.” Without missing a beat, Wanda Nell responded. “And you just better count on being disappointed, Elmer Lee. I didn’t kill him, and there ain’t no way you’re gonna prove I did. Now get out of my house.” She stood up.
Elmer Lee watched her a moment longer, then stepped past her toward the front door. “Tell Taylor I’m waiting outside.” Then he was out the door, letting it close none too gently behind him.
Her hands trembling, Wanda Nell walked back into the kitchen for more coffee. As she tried to steady herself, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around.
Deputy Taylor stood there, a concerned look on her face. “Miz Culpepper,” she said, “you just hang in there, you hear? I know this is real rough on you
, but not everybody thinks like Elmer Lee. You know?”
Wanda Nell smiled faintly. She had no idea why this young woman was so determined to be friendly to her, but right now, she could use all the help she could get.
“Thank you, Deputy,” she said. “I appreciate that. And I’ll keep that to myself.”
Deputy Taylor nodded.
“Elmer Lee said he’d be waiting for you outside,” Wanda Nell continued.
“Yes, ma’am,” the deputy said. She touched her fingers to the brim of her hat, turned, and left. Wanda Nell heard the door open and close, and a few moments later a car engine revved up. The sound receded as she stood in the kitchen and slowly sipped at her coffee.
What am I gonna do? Wanda Nell wondered as she drank the last of her coffee. She moved to the sink to rinse out her mug, and she stared out the window over the sink, which looked out on her little carport. Her car was gone, which meant Miranda had taken the baby and gone off somewhere while she was asleep.
Probably gone to see that no-account girlfriend of hers, the same age as Miranda with two kids. Wanda Nell shook her head, thinking about it. She tried to keep Miranda away from that Paulette, but anytime she said something, Miranda just got mad. She kept praying that Paulette wouldn’t encourage Miranda to get herself into any more trouble, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.
Sighing, Wanda Nell turned away from the window. Thinking about Miranda only depressed her, and right now she needed to concentrate on this mess. Surely, she reflected, once they knew when Bobby Ray died, she’d be off the hook. She figured he had to have been killed after she was safely at work, with a number of witnesses to say she hadn’t left work, but she had no idea how long it would take before the sheriff’s department had that information. Until then, she was going to have to put up with Elmer Lee and his bullying. She would call that lawyer only when she had no other choice, she decided.
There was one thing she could do, though. She doubted Elmer Lee was looking all that hard for those men who broke into her trailer, and she could at least ask some questions, here at the trailer park, and later on at the Kountry Kitchen. Maybe somebody had seen them somewhere.
Flamingo Fatale (A Trailer Park Mystery Book 1) Page 8