“The old lady may’ve had a heart attack,” Elmer Lee said, “so they’re going to check her out. Pemberton’s gonna be okay. Looks like the bullet went clean through his leg. They don’t think it even hit the bone.”
“I’m glad he’ll be okay,” Wanda Nell said, “but poor Charlesetta. It was just too much for her.”
“I’m sorry y’all had to go through all that, and I hope the old lady’ll be just fine,” he said. He looked away. “I knew that girl was desperate, but I didn’t think she was stupid enough to try something like this.”
“She must’ve had some reason to get spooked enough to try it, though,” Wanda Nell said.
“I’m pretty sure she must’ve overheard me talking to the sheriff,” Elmer Lee said. “I thought she was somewhere else, but I reckon she wasn’t, after all. I was telling him we’d found a connection between that dispatcher and someone in our department.” He wiped his face with a handkerchief, then stuffed it into his pants pocket.
“So she figured she’d better get the money quick as she could, and get the hell out of Dodge.”
“Something like that,” Elmer Lee said. “You want the doctor to check this young lady out?”
Wanda Nell turned to Juliet. “You okay, honey?”
“I just want to go home, Mama.”
Wanda Nell looked up at Elmer Lee. “Can I take them home now?”
Elmer Lee nodded.
“Wanda Nell!”
Elmer Lee stepped back, and Wanda Nell looked up to see Mayrene hustling toward them. “Wanda Nell, what’re we gonna do with the old battle-ax? We can’t leave her here alone.”
“Oh, Lord,” Wanda Nell groaned. “I forgot all about her. And if she hadn’t done what she did, no telling what might’ve happened.”
“What did she do?” Elmer Lee asked.
“She whacked that bitch of a deputy in the back with her cane,” Mayrene said, laughing. “I bet she damn near broke the woman’s spine, too. Hell, I hope I’m that tough when I get to be her age.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Wanda Nell said dryly, and they all laughed. Even Elmer Lee joined in.
Wanda Nell stood up, handing Lavon to Miranda. “But I guess we need to do something about her. You’re right, we can’t just leave her here by herself. I don’t think she’s capable of looking after herself anymore.”
“How about I stay the night with her?”
“Mayrene, after all you’ve done, I can’t believe you want to do this.”
Mayrene shrugged. “Oh, hell, honey, her and me’ll get along just fine. And it’ll only be for one night. We’ll find something to do with her tomorrow.”
Wanda Nell gave her a hug. “You’re priceless, you know that.” Linking her arm with Mayrene’s, she motioned for the girls to follow them.
“Uh, Wanda Nell,” Elmer Lee called. “You’re forgetting about one thing.”
Wanda Nell stopped and turned. “Yeah, what is it?”
“The money,” Elmer Lee said. “You have any idea where Bobby Ray hid it?”
Wanda Nell laughed. “Yeah, I think so. I’m not sure, but I bet you’ll find it in the closet in his old bedroom. There’s a crawl space over the closet ceiling, and you just push a board out of the way to get up there. And it’s probably in a laundry bag or something like that.”
“Hell, I’d forgotten all about that place,” Elmer Lee said, then swore under his breath. He strode past them toward the house.
“When’d you figure that out?” Mayrene asked as they continued their progress back to the house.
“Part of it was Charlesetta saying something to me yesterday about Bobby Ray always bringing home dirty laundry. I didn’t realize at the time she meant he really brought his dirty laundry home.” She shook her head in disbelief. “The man couldn’t even wash his own clothes. Anyway, that was one thing. The other was seeing those dirty magazines of Bobby Ray’s that we took from his room at Miss Turnipseed’s.” Wanda Nell whispered now so the girls wouldn’t hear her. “I remember him telling me one time about that crawl space. That’s where he hid anything he didn’t want his mama to find. Like his dirty magazines.”
Mayrene laughed all the way into the house, and Wanda Nell couldn’t help laughing right along with her.
Wanda Nell stood in front of her closet, picking out something to wear to Bobby Ray’s funeral. The only black dress she had was the one she’d worn to her mother’s funeral. She pulled it out of the closet and held it up against her. She’d put on a few pounds in the last six years, so she hoped it would fit.
She slipped the dress off the hanger, unzipped it, and stepped into it. Pulling it up and thrusting her arms through the sleeves, then zipping it as far up as she could, she was pleased to find that it was only a little tight through the waist. She could make it through a few hours in this dress, if she didn’t take any real deep breaths.
She took the dress off and laid it across the bed. Padding in to the bathroom, she stood at the mirror and began working on her hair and makeup. She wanted to look right for the funeral. She didn’t want old Miz Culpepper making any catty remarks about how she wasn’t dressed properly for the occasion.
Wanda Nell grinned at her reflection. She had to admit, the old battle-ax had really surprised her, whomping Deputy Taylor in the back with her cane. Meanness had its uses, and the old lady had saved her granddaughter’s life with that vicious blow, maybe even saved all their lives.
“The nerve that little tramp had, standing there bad-mouthing my son,” Mrs. Culpepper had fumed. “I would have given her a few more, if I’d had the chance. And her threatening a grandchild of mine with a gun! It’s a good thing she’s dead.”
Though it pained her to be beholden to her former mother-in-law for anything, Wanda Nell had to give her a heartfelt thank-you for what she had done. “Both your granddaughters and your great grandson appreciate it very much,” Wanda Nell had said. The old lady scowled, but Wanda Nell could tell she was pleased.
Besides having Juliet come through the ordeal unhurt, the best thing about it all was that T.J. was out of jail. Tuck Tucker had gone to work immediately, and the sheriff’s department had cooperated, so that TJ. was released as quickly as possible. The sheriff had also pulled strings to get the autopsy on Bobby Ray rushed through, so they could release the body for the funeral.
The downside was that T.J. was staying with his grand-mother. Her maid, Charlesetta, had suffered a heart attack, and the doctor had told her she had to take it easy. He advised her to retire, and Charlesetta was thinking about it. In the meantime, T.J. volunteered to stay with Mrs. Culpepper and keep an eye on her. Wanda Nell wished she could have him with her, but since the old lady had written a check to Tucker without batting an eye, she wasn’t going to complain too much. Besides, if anyone ccaild get Mrs. Culpepper to lighten up and treat her granddaughters and great grandson decently, T.J. could.
Hard to believe that three days had passed since that nerve-racking ordeal. Wanda Nell never had made it to her shift at the Kountry Kitchen that evening, but Melvin was being real nice about it. Since then she hadn’t missed a minute of work at either the restaurant or at Budget Mart, and she felt like things were finally back to normal.
The only interruption in the routine was Bobby Ray’s funeral this morning. Mrs. Culpepper had set it for ten at the funeral home, just down Main Street from her house. Burial would take place at the cemetery a few blocks away where Bobby Ray would rest beside his father.
Wanda Nell gave her makeup one last check, sprayed her hair for the final time, then went back into her bedroom to dress. Panty hose, dress, and low-heeled black pumps— she looked, she decided, like a proper mourner. She reached up into the back of the closet and pulled out a hat- box. Inside lay a black hat with a veil that had once belonged to her mother. An ornate hatpin rested in the box beneath the hat. She’d worn it once before, to her mother’s funeral.
Wanda Nell took the hat to the mirror and placed it on her head. S
he fiddled with it for a moment, getting it set just right, then pulled the veil down to study the effect. Perfect. She slid the hatpin into place and moved her head about a bit. The hat sat firmly on her head.
Pulling the veil up and over the brim, Wanda Nell then grabbed her handbag and went to Juliet’s bedroom to check on her. Glancing at her watch, she saw they had a half hour to get to the funeral home.
“Ready, baby?” she asked from the doorway.
Juliet, dressed in a becoming black sheath and black pumps, turned to her mother with a nervous smile. “I guess so, Mama. I don’t really want to go, but I guess I have to, don’t I?”
“Yes, baby, you do,” Wanda Nell said with sympathy. “I know you didn’t know him that well, but he was your daddy. And it’s proper to go and say good-bye.” She held out her arms, and Juliet came to her for a hug.
“You look real nice, Mama,” Juliet said, pulling back after a moment.
“You do, too, sweetie,” Wanda Nell said. “Remember to thank your grandmother for the dress and the shoes.”
Wanda Nell had about fainted from shock when the old woman gave her a check to buy dresses for Miranda and Juliet to wear to the funeral. She had wanted to argue, but Mrs. Culpepper brushed aside any protests.
“Nonsense,” Mrs. Culpepper had said. “The girls should be properly dressed for such an occasion.” She paused. “It’s the least I can do.” After that, Wanda Nell kept her mouth shut. Mrs. Culpepper had also taken T.J. shopping herself, to buy him a black suit. He was going to be one of the pallbearers, along with Elmer Lee Johnson and several of Bobby Ray’s old buddies from his high school days.
“Let’s go check on Miranda,” Wanda Nell said. “Bring your sunglasses, baby, you’ll need them for the cemetery.”
“Yes, Mama,” Juliet said.
“Miranda, are you ready?” Wanda Nell called down the hall from the living room.
“Yes, Mama,” Miranda answered. “Be there in a minute.”
Miranda had asked their neighbor, Janette Sultan, to babysit Lavon during the funeral, and Janette had agreed. Still in shock over the fact that someone had broken into her trailer, Janette was being awfully nice to Wanda Nell and the girls. Wanda Nell suspected that Mayrene had sat Janette down and had a long talk with her.
With her dark coloring, Miranda was beautiful in her black dress. Wanda Nell sighed. The girl was too pretty for her own good, but over the last few days, Miranda had been like a different person. She had helped clean the trailer, did the laundry without complaint, and had even managed to cook dinner twice. Wanda Nell wondered how long it would last, but in the meantime, she made sure Miranda knew how much she appreciated it.
Wanda Nell reminded Miranda about sunglasses, and Miranda patted her purse. A knock sounded at the door, and then the door opened and Mayrene stuck her head in. “Ready?”
“We’re ready,” Wanda Nell said. The girls followed her outside, and she locked the door.
Mayrene was driving them to the funeral in her stately old Cadillac. It was a lot more comfortable than Wanda Nell’s small car, and she appreciated Mayrene’s support. This was going to be a difficult morning, and Wanda Nell couldn’t wait for it to be over.
“Y’all all look real nice,” Mayrene said as they got into the car. She was quite a picture herself in a lacy black dress that did little to hide her ample bosom or her other generous curves. A saucy little hat with a wisp of a veil perched atop her hair, and Wanda Nell couldn’t repress a smile. Mayrene had her own way of doing things, no doubt about it.
On the brief drive into town to the funeral home, Mayrene quizzed Juliet about Jack Pemberton. “Has he come back to school yet, honey? I bet everyone’s talking about what a hero he is.”
“Yesterday was his first day back,” Juliet said. “He has to use crutches for a while, and he told us the doctor said he was really lucky. The bullet went right through his leg. It missed the bone, and it also missed the main artery. So he’s going to be just fine.”
“Thank the Lord for that,” Wanda Nell said. She had visited Pemberton in the hospital the day after he had been shot, and she’d had to struggle to find the proper words to thank him for what he’d done.
“No need to thank me, Wanda Nell,” he said, blushing. “I’m glad I was there. I’m very fond of Juliet, and I couldn’t just stand there and let that awful woman hurt her.”
“I’ll never forget what you did,” Wanda Nell said, her eyes tearing a little. “And here you are, in the hospital, and no telling what it will cost.”
“Now, don’t you worry about that,” Pemberton told her, smiling. “Juliet’s grandmother has already been by this morn-ing, and she told me that she would take care of everything.” “Good for her,” Wanda Nell finally managed to say. The old witch was full of surprises.
After a couple more minutes of awkward conversation, Wanda Nell stood up to leave. She was nearly out the door when Jack Pemberton called her name.
“Can I do something for you before I go?” she asked, turning back to face him.
He blushed again. “Well, I was just wondering, could I maybe take you out to dinner sometime?”
Wanda Nell smiled. “I’d like that, but maybe let’s wait a month or so, okay? Maybe this summer, when school’s out?”
Pemberton smiled back. “I’m going to hold you to that.” Wanda Nell had waved goodbye and gone on to her shift at the Kountry Kitchen. Since then, she had gone back and forth over it in her mind, wondering whether he really would call to ask her out, and whether she would really go. He was a very nice man, but he was much better educated than she was. What would they have in common?
Then she told herself firmly that was a bridge she could cross later. In the meantime, she needed to focus on getting her life and the girls’ lives back to normal as quickly as possible.
Mayrene drove the car around to the back of the funeral home, and one of the employees directed her where to park for the procession later to the cemetery.
They entered the funeral home, which had once been one of the old family mansions on Main Street, through the back door. Hector Padget, the funeral director, met them and escorted them personally to the viewing room.
As they came into the room, T.J. moved forward to greet them. He had been sitting with his grandmother on a nearby sofa. He gave Miranda and Juliet quick hugs, then held his mother for a longer embrace.
“Thank you, Mama,” he said quietly.
Wanda Nell searched his face. He looked older somehow. The past few days had taken a toll on him, on all of them really, but T.J. had a new set to his shoulders. There was a maturity about him now, Wanda Nell decided, that he’d never had before. Her wayward son had finally grown up. “I love you, honey,” she said softly back to him. “And I’m real, real proud of you.”
T.J. offered her his arm and led her forward to the casket. Wanda Nell braced herself. She hated this part. Gazing on the dead always made her want to faint, and she was glad of T.J.’s support.
“He looks so peaceful,” she said finally. She closed her eyes for a moment as the memories, good and bad, came flooding into her mind. The wave of grief she felt almost brought her to her knees. She had loved him deeply, and some part of her had kept on loving him, no matter what he had done.
Opening her eyes again, she held out a shaking hand and stroked his arm. The tears came, and she didn’t resist when T.J. turned her head to his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. He let her cry, and she could hear him crying quietly with her.
After a moment, she felt two other pairs of arms encircle her and T.J. The girls lay their heads on her shoulders, and they stood that way until Mayrene came and gently drew them away.
Wanda Nell fumbled in her purse for a handkerchief, and Mayrene led Miranda and Juliet over to a sofa in the next room. After drying her eyes, Wanda Nell followed T.J. to where Mrs. Culpepper sat.
Bobby Ray’s mother gazed upon Wanda Nell with red- rimmed eyes. Wanda Nell could see that grief had reddened her ey
es, and not liquor, for once. Impulsively, she held out a hand to her former mother-in-law, and Mrs. Culpepper grasped it like a lifeline. She motioned for Wanda Nell to sit beside her. T.J. stood at her other side.
They sat in silence for a few moments. Then Mrs. Culpepper drew a ragged breath. “Burying a child is the hardest thing you can ever do, Wanda Nell.”
“Yes’m,” Wanda Nell said, patting her hand. “I still can’t quite believe it all happened.”
“He was such a sweet little boy,” Mrs. Culpepper said. “So loving. But he was mischievous. Always getting up to something. But his father and I were so happy that the Lord had finally blessed us with a child, we let him do just about anything he wanted.” She sighed heavily.
“And that was our mistake,” she continued with a sob. “We brought him to this, Thaddeus and I. Thank the Lord, his father isn’t here to see this day.” She broke down then, her body shuddering with the force of her grief.
Wanda Nell hesitated for a moment, then reached out and drew Mrs. Culpepper gently to her. They cried together for a while, then gradually Mrs. Culpepper quieted. She squeezed Wanda Nell’s hand as she sat back against the sofa.
“Can I get you anything, Granny? How about you, Mama?” T.J. asked.
Mrs. Culpepper smiled up at him through her tears.
“Could you get me some water, T.J.?” He nodded, then glanced at his mother. Wanda Nell shook her head.
T.J. moved off, and Wanda Nell sat there, wondering what to say to Mrs. Culpepper. Before the silence grew too awkward, people began to approach them to offer condolences. For the next fifteen minutes, neither Wanda Nell nor Mrs. Culpepper had time to do anything other than listen and occasionally respond with a thank-you.
Mayrene, Wanda Nell noted at one point, was keeping a close eye on Miranda and Juliet. After bringing his grandmother a cup of water, T.J. circulated among the visitors, and Wanda Nell glimpsed him briefly chatting with the lawyer, Tuck Tucker. Tucker had his hand on TJ.’s arm, and T.J. was smiling down into the lawyer’s face.
Then Mr. Padget came to signal them it was time for the services to begin. T.J. escorted his grandmother into the family section of the chapel, and Wanda Nell came behind with Mayrene, Miranda, and Juliet. There was no other family to sit with them.
Flamingo Fatale (A Trailer Park Mystery Book 1) Page 26