Wanda Nell shrugged. “I’ve thought about that. But the way Bobby Ray was killed, I just don’t know. It don’t seem like the way some professional hit man would kill someone, does it?”
It was Mayrene’s turn to shrug. “I can’t see them using a plastic flamingo, if that’s what you mean.”
“Exactly,” Wanda Nell said. “Now, you’re the one that watches all those crime shows on TV. Don’t it seem to you that if it was some hit man that whacked Bobby Ray they would have just made him disappear somewhere? They surely would’ve been smart enough not to leave his body around here.”
Mayrene nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I bet they would’ve have dumped him in the Mississippi River with some concrete shoes.”
“That whole flamingo thing is just too weird,” Wanda Nell said. She shuddered. “I’m going to pull every dang one of ’em up, and go dump ’em in the trash. I should’ve done it before now. I don’t think I can ever stand looking at ’em again.”
“I don’t blame you, honey,” Mayrene said. “And I’ll help you.”
The phone rang, and Wanda Nell half-turned in her chair. Mayrene got up to answer it.
She listened for a moment, then held the phone against her ample bosom. “It’s that Deputy Taylor, honey. You wanna talk to her?”
“I guess,” Wanda Nell said, starting to rise from her chair.
“Here she is,” Mayrene said into the phone. She handed the receiver to Wanda Nell, who sat down again.
“Hello,” she said. “What can I do for you, Deputy?”
“There’s something I thought you ought to know,” Taylor said, her voice low. “I heard about your conversation with Deputy Johnson.”
“Yeah, I’ll just bet you did,” Wanda Nell said. “He was pretty mad by the time it was over.”
“Yes, he was,” Taylor replied. “But that’s not what I’m calling about.”
Wanda Nell waited for a moment, but Taylor didn’t say anything. “I’m listening.”
“I could get in a lot of trouble for telling you this,” Taylor said, “but I think you should know that your son is really in trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
Again, the deputy hesitated, until Wanda Nell wanted to scream at her.
“I know I was the one that arrested him,” Taylor said in a rush, “but it was Deputy Johnson had me do it. I mean, he was the one that told me where to go to find out about the argument your son had with his daddy, and all that And once I found all that out, he’s the one that decided to arrest your son.”
“Okay,” Wanda Nell said. “I can understand all that, but it don’t really surprise me. Is that what you wanted to tell me?”
“That’s not all,” Taylor said. “You know that money we got from you? That this other fella was after?”
“Yeah.”
“That wasn’t near all of the money that’s missing from that robbery. It was only about ten grand or so.”
Wanda Nell drew in her breath sharply. “So you mean the rest of it’s still missing?”
“Exactly,” Taylor replied. “About ninety grand more. And Deputy Johnson is after it.”
“Well, yeah,” Wanda Nell said, puzzled. “They’ve got to find it.”
“You don’t understand,” Taylor said impatiently. “I don’t mean he’s trying to find it for the sheriff’s department. He was in on the whole thing, and he’s trying to get his hands on it so nobody else can find it.”
Chapter 16
Wanda Nell felt cold to the bone. With that much money at stake, Elmer Lee might do anything to get his hands on it.
Like see that her son went to prison for two murders he didn’t commit.
“Are ... are you sure about that?” Wanda Nell asked, her voice faltering over the words. “How do you know that?”
The deputy sighed loudly into the phone. “I’ve heard some things, and seen some things, too. Things I wasn’t supposed to see or hear. And if Deputy Johnson finds out too soon, then I’m going to be in one hell of a mess.”
“We all are,” Wanda Nell replied flatly. “But how in the devil are we gonna stop him? Elmer Lee’s one of the boys, and you know how that goes. Who’s gonna believe you and me if we start telling people he’s crooked?”
“We can figure that out later,” Taylor said impatiently. “I don’t have time to worry about it right now. We’ve got to get the proof, and then it won’t matter.”
“What kind of proof are you talking about?”
Again, Wanda Nell heard a sigh. “The money, Miz Culpepper, the money. We got to find that money before he does. ’Cause if he finds it first, then your son’s going to prison, probably death row. You get me?”
Wanda Nell shivered. She tried to speak, but couldn’t. The image of T.J. locked in a cell, waiting to be executed, filled her mind, and she couldn’t block it. Seeing her distress, Mayrene reached out and with warm hands started rubbing Wanda Nell’s arms.
“Are you still there, Miz Culpepper?”
“Yes,” Wanda Nell whispered into the phone. The fit, or whatever the heck it was, had passed, and she was beginning to feel stronger. “Yes, I’m still here. What do you think I should do?”
“Like I said, we got to find that money. If you can think of anywhere your husband might have hidden it, you need to do that.”
“I just don’t know,” Wanda Nell said. “I don’t think it’s here, but I’ll check on that. And if it’s not here, then I don’t have the foggiest idea where it could be.”
“Just keep trying,” Taylor said. “I gotta go now. I’ll check in with you later.” The line went dead.
“What the heck is going on?” Mayrene demanded as Wanda Nell shut off the phone and laid the receiver on the table. “I thought for a minute there you were gonna pass out on me.”
Tersely Wanda Nell repeated what Deputy Taylor had said to her, and when she was done, Mayrene whistled. “Hell, Wanda Nell, talk about being between a rock and a hard place.”
“Amen,” Wanda Nell said. “But this just means I’ve got to do something, Mayrene. The deputy’s right, I’ve got to try and figure out what Bobby Ray did with the rest of that money.”
“All right, but how?”
“First off, I’m going to sit Miranda down and have a good, long talk with her. I’ve got to make sure Bobby Ray didn’t give her the rest of the money and tell her to hide it somewhere.”
“Good point.” Mayrene nodded several times. “You can’t ever tell what that girl might get up to.”
“Tell me about it,” Wanda Nell said grimly. She got up from the table and stalked down the hall to Miranda’s bedroom.
Knocking on the door, Wanda Nell pushed it open. Miranda was sound asleep on her bed, and Lavon was playing quietly in his crib. Wanda Nell went to him and picked him up, checking his diaper. She was relieved to find it dry. Lavon giggled and chattered away, and Wanda Nell hugged and kissed him, telling him what a good boy, what a handsome boy he was.
Thank the Lord he’s such a good child, Wanda Nell thought. Otherwise Miranda would’ve hightailed it out of here, and left me to look after him. Setting the baby down again, she bent and gave him one final kiss. He went cheerfully back to his toys.
Wanda Nell turned to find Miranda regarding her warily, one eye open. That eye snapped closed, but too late. “I know you’re awake,” Wanda Nell said softly. “I want you to get up and come into the kitchen with me. Lavon’ll be fine in here for a few minutes by himself.”
“But, Mama,” Miranda started to protest as she propped herself up in the bed on one elbow.
“No buts, Miranda,” Wanda Nell said, her voice steely hard. “You get up and get in that kitchen, or I’ll come in here and drag you out. Your choice.”
“Yes’m,” Miranda said. “Can I at least pee first?”
Wanda Nell tried not to laugh. “Of course, honey.” She turned and left the room.
Some five minutes later, Miranda joined her mother and Mayrene in the kitchen. She plopped herself down
in the chair opposite Wanda Nell and stared sullenly at her mother.
“I need to talk to you about something, Miranda, and you’re gonna have to promise me to tell me the absolute truth, you understand?” Wanda Nell leaned forward, both hands on the table, palms down. She stared hard at her daughter.
Miranda shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Jeez, Mama, whatta you think I done now?”
“It’s not so much what you might’ve done, Miranda, but what your daddy might’ve asked you to do.” Wanda Nell forced herself to relax in her chair. “I found that money you hid in Lavon’s diaper pail. Was that all your daddy gave you to hide?”
“Yeah.” Miranda stared back at her mother.
“I want you to understand how serious this is, honey. That money came from a casino in Greenville. Your daddy and somebody else stole that money from the casino, and it belongs to them. And if you have any idea where it is, you need to tell me. Finding that money may help get your brother out of jail.”
The longer Wanda Nell spoke, the larger Miranda’s eyes got. By now they were fairly popping out of her head.
“Mama, I swear I don’t know anything about any other money. You got to believe me. Daddy didn’t give me any more than what you already found.”
“You swear to me, Miranda?”
Miranda’s head bobbed up and down. “I swear, Mama. And you know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt T.J. I swear if I knew about any more money, I’d tell you.”
Wanda Nell studied her for a moment. Miranda had never been a good liar, and Wanda Nell believed she was telling the truth. For her brother’s sake, Miranda would tell her the truth.
“I believe you, honey.” Wanda Nell smiled at her, and Miranda smiled back in relief. “But that night your daddy was here”—she didn’t say the night he died—“did he say anything about where he’d been or where he might be going?”
Miranda frowned in concentration. “Well, he said he’d been out drinking the night before, and he was still paying for it. He didn’t feel too good.” She paused a moment. “And he said he was planning to go back to Greenville the next day. Said he was going to get his stuff, ’cause he was moving back to Tullahoma to stay.” She burst into tears.
Wanda Nell got up and went around the table to take Miranda in her arms. “I’m sorry, honey. I wish he could’ve moved back here.”
“He was different, Mama, I swear he was. He said he wanted to spend more time with me and Lavon and Juliet. He didn’t like not seeing us.” Miranda spoke in short bursts, between sobs. “Why did somebody have to kill him?”
“I don’t know, honey, I don’t know,” Wanda Nell whispered to Miranda’s hair as she cradled her daughter’s head against hers. “I wish it could’ve been different, sweetie, I surely do.” Wanda Nell held her until the sobs eased. “Go wash your face with cold water, honey,” she told Miranda gently. Miranda kissed her mother’s cheek, then left the kitchen. Wanda Nell sank down into her chair. Mayrene was eyeing her sympathetically.
“What now?”
Shrugging, Wanda Nell reached for the bag of chips. She stuffed a couple in her mouth and chewed while she thought. When she had finished them, she said, “You wanna go with me to Greenville in the morning?”
“For what?”
“I wanna talk to Bobby Ray’s landlady. Could be she knows something about all this. It might be a waste of time, but it’s better than just sitting here.”
Mayrene regarded her for a moment. “I reckon I can get the day off from the shop. But what about you? Don’t you have to work at Budget Mart tonight?”
“Yeah,” Wanda Nell said. “But I figure I can come home in the morning, get Juliet off to school, catch a couple hours’ nap, then we can drive over there. Shouldn’t take long, and we can be back by the time Juliet gets out of school.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Mayrene said, “but how are you gonna find this landlady?”
“T.J. told me her name, and she don’t live too far from the casino,” Wanda Nell replied. “She can’t be that hard to find.”
“Okay,” Mayrene said. “I’m game, if you are.”
“Good. Let’s leave about nine-thirty or ten, how’s that? We can be in Greenville before noon, have a couple hours to talk to this lady, then get back here by three-thirty.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Mayrene got up from the table and deposited her empty glass in the sink. “But what about Miranda and Lavon? Do you think they should stay here by themselves tomorrow?”
“No. I don’t want them here by themselves. Miranda’ll be happy to go and spend the day with one of her friends.”
“Good. Well, I guess I’m gonna get along home. You want me to stay with the girls tonight while you’re at work?”
Wanda Nell hated to ask Mayrene to do it when she’d done so much already, but she was leery of leaving the girls and the baby alone in the trailer without someone responsible. Mayrene must have read the indecision in her face, because she laughed.
“Honey, it’s not a problem. I don’t mind, I really don’t. Don’t you even think twice about it.”
“Thank the Lord for friends like you,” Wanda Nell said, smiling.
“At the end of the day, honey, that’s all that matters,” Mayrene said. “It’d be nice to have a big strong man around, but you and me neither ever had much luck with men. So we gotta rely on ourselves.” She grinned. “And my shotgun.”
Wanda Nell laughed. “Can’t argue with that.”
“Don’t even try.” Mayrene waved goodbye as she left the kitchen. A moment later, Wanda Nell heard the front door open and close behind her.
Glancing at her watch, Wanda Nell figured she had time to cook herself and the girls a good supper and still be able to get a couple hours’ sleep before work. She went to her bedroom and changed out of her good dress and slipped on an old housecoat.
She checked in on Juliet, who had her nose deep in a book. She talked to her for a few minutes, then headed back to the kitchen to cook.
Cooking wasn’t one of Wanda Nell’s favorite activities, but she had learned from her mama, who had loved cooking and had done it extremely well. Wanda Nell was more than competent. She just didn’t find the joy in it that her mother had done. She set to work making biscuits and getting a chicken ready to fry. They usually had fried chicken, biscuits and cream gravy, rice, and green beans for their Sunday evening meal, and Wanda Nell wanted to keep things as normal as possible.
By the time everything was done, it was a bit early for supper, but Wanda Nell called the girls in anyway. Miranda settled Lavon in his high chair and gave him a biscuit smothered with gravy to poke his fingers into. “Juliet and me’ll clean up tonight, Mama,” she said as she heaped her plate. “You get you a nap before you have to go to work.”
“Thank you, honey,” Wanda Nell said. Miranda sometimes offered, but even when she did, she had to be prodded into doing what she had promised.
Over the meal, Wanda Nell explained to the girls what she planned to do the next day. “And I don’t want y’all worrying about me and Mayrene, we’ll be fine. Juliet’ll be safe at school, and you should be fine with one of your friends, Miranda. Who can you and Lavon go and stay with all day?”
“Laquita won’t mind if we come over to her house,” Miranda said, after a moment’s thought. “She don’t work on Mondays.”
“Good idea,” Wanda Nell said. Laquita was a smart, attractive girl, and Wanda Nell wished Miranda would spend more time with her, instead of some of the no-account girls she knew. “We’ll drop you off on the way to Greenville, and we can pick you up on the way back.”
“Okay, Mama,” Miranda said.
“And we’ll pick you up at school,” Wanda Nell said, turning to Juliet. “So you wait for us there, okay? I don’t want you coming home on the bus and nobody being here.”
“Okay, Mama.” Juliet echoed her sister.
They talked of other things as they finished the meal, and the girls shooed Wanda Nell away to her nap when, witho
ut thinking, she started to clear the table.
Wanda Nell hugged each of them before heading for her bedroom. She had just stepped into the room when the phone rang. She scooped up the receiver on the second ring. “Hello.”
“Miz Culpepper, it’s me, Tracy.” The deputy paused briefly. “You thought any more about what we talked about earlier?”
“Yeah,” Wanda Nell said, slightly irritated at the younger woman’s insistence. “I have, and I can tell you definitely the rest of that money’s not here in my trailer.”
“Damn!” The deputy said. “It would’ve made things a lot easier if he’d left it there.”
“Well, he didn’t,” Wanda Nell replied sharply. “So we’ve got to look somewhere else.”
“Like where?” Taylor asked.
Wanda Nell didn’t appreciate this badgering attitude the woman had. “If you have to know,” she said, not bothering to hide her irritation, “I’m going to Greenville tomorrow to check into something.”
“Greenville?” There was an odd note in the deputy’s voice. “You think that’s safe?”
“Don’t you worry about that,” Wanda Nell said. “I may find out something there, I may not. But it’s worth taking the chance, don’t you think?”
“I hope for your sake you’re right.”
“I appreciate your concern, Deputy,” Wanda Nell said, working on keeping her temper. “But you let me worry about this, okay?”
“All right,” Taylor responded grudgingly. “But if you run into any trouble, call me. Maybe I can do something to help.”
“I will,” Wanda Nell said. “Good-bye.” She hung up before the deputy could say anything else. I’ve had enough of her for a while, she thought. I got to get some sleep. Slipping off her housecoat, Wanda Nell got into bed wearing just her bra and panties. She was bone-tired, but her mind was restless. She couldn’t stop thinking about what the deputy had told her earlier, about Elmer Lee being after the money.
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