Diana Anderson - Entering Southern Country 01 - Famous in a Small Town

by Diana Anderson

The morning of July 12th, Suzanne had just gotten out of the shower and glanced at the clock in her bedroom. She realized she hadn’t heard a sound from the baby. Amelia had awakened every morning on schedule, but that morning she was twenty minutes late. Suzanne had gotten dressed and hurried into the nursery. As soon as she saw Amelia, she knew. She didn’t look the same. Her color was gone and her skin was cold.

  She had lifted the baby out of the crib and held her to her breast. She walked a few steps toward the nursery door and collapsed to her knees. Her wail was heard by the housekeeper. Mavis had hurried to the doorway. Suzanne had sat on her heels and rocked the baby.

  The autopsy report said crib death. Suzanne didn’t have any other children. She didn’t want any other children for fear of another loss to this mysterious condition. She couldn’t handle another loss.

  She had spent the last twenty-eight years in her flowerbeds and what time she wasn’t in her beautiful flower and rose gardens, she took care of the rose gardens in the city park and volunteered at the local library. She read to the children and helped plan special events and activities for them. In October, as she had every year since the baby’s death, she worked on the annual toy drive for the local children.

  Why she’d stayed with Angus as long as she had was a mystery to her. She supposed that she didn’t want to live alone. There was one other person she had confided her misery to, and that person had suggested she leave him. When she said that she’d already committed one major transgression, she wouldn’t add to it with a divorce, that person suggested she get a pet. But that had been years ago, she still hadn’t gotten a pet.

  She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tissue. She blotted under her eyes and blew her nose. She stuffed the tissue back into her pocket.

  With gentle pressure, a hand touched her shoulder. She looked back over her shoulder at the silhouette that stood in the bright mid-day sun. She raised her hand to shade her eyes and then smiled at the man who stood behind her. He reached his hand out. She took it and stood up.

  32

  “Get it off of me!” Callie screamed as she ran into the den. She held up the skirt of her dress and glanced around the room.

  Maggie turned away from the fireplace mantle where she was dusting and looked at Callie. “Get what off of you?”

  Callie looked at Maggie and snarled her upper lip. “Not you.” She hurried toward the staircase. “Ted? Ted? Get down here this instant. I need your help.” She looked back at Maggie. “Is he up there? Is he even home?”

  “I saw him earlier walking the dog.” Maggie turned back to the mantle.

  Callie ran toward the foyer. The front door opened, and she jumped back at the sight of the dog. Ted followed with the leash in hand and closed the door behind him.

  “Where have you been?” Before he could answer, she added, “You were here for lunch and said you’d taken the rest of the day off. Then when I need you the most, you are nowhere to be found.”

  “I was walking the dog,” he said. He reached down and unleashed Gabriel.

  Gabriel walked over and sniffed Callie’s hand.

  She jumped back. “Get away from me, you mutt!”

  The dog scampered back.

  “What’s wrong with you, Callie?” Ted eyed her. “You scared him. He reached over and patted the dog’s head.

  “I need you to get this thing off of me.” She pulled up her skirt and twisted her leg around toward him.

  “What thing?”

  “This thing.” She pointed to the back of her right upper thigh.

  Ted stepped over, bent down, and looked. “It’s a tick.”

  “Yes, it’s a tick. Now get it off of me. Now!”

  “Well, there’s no need to get all excided. I’ll take care of it.”

  “No need to get all excited? You’re not the one with the damn thing attached to your ass. They carry diseases. You should know this. You’re a doctor, for crying out loud.” She dropped her skirt and pointed her finger at the dog. “He’s the one that brought this thing inside the house. I want him out of here.” She looked hard at Ted. “Do you hear me?”

  Ted shook his head. “That tick has been on you for awhile. Longer than that dog has been here. You could have picked it up anywhere. I’ll call the exterminator and get them to spray the yard.” He walked toward the hallway.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” she asked as she fisted her hands on her hips.

  “To get a pair of tweezers and some alcohol.”

  Callie relaxed her shoulders. “Good idea. I could use a stiff drink. This has made me so upset. It’s a miracle I haven’t had a heart attack.”

  She walked over to the sofa, and stretched out on her stomach, and rested her head on a throw pillow. “I can’t believe this is happening to me. I could have a scar from this.”

  Maggie walked over to an end table in front of a window near a side chair. She cut her eyes toward the sofa and studied Callie a moment and then turned back to her dusting.

  “Are you listening to me?” Callie turned her head and looked around the room before spotting Maggie.

  “Ma’am?” Maggie bit down on her tongue and squeezed her eyes shut.

  “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?” Callie glared at her.

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Wallace. I was so wrapped up in my chores that it just slipped out. I’ll do my best to see that it doesn’t happen again.”

  “How old do you think I am anyway?”

  Maggie looked straight ahead and stared at her own reflection in the window pane. She thinned her lips and then said, “Thirty-two?” Although she had her back to Callie and couldn’t see her, she cut her eyes to the right and waited.

  “What?”

  Maggie squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out, “Twenty-nine?”

  “No, I’m thirty-two,” she lied. “I can’t believe you guessed it right off the bat. Are you from Louisiana where they do all that hocus pocus stuff and can read palms, and cards, and minds, and stuff like that?”

  “No ma …” she cleared her throat, “my family is from around here.”

  “Oh.” Her voice sounded disappointed. “That’s too bad. I really need to have my fortune told. You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who does that sort of thing, would you?”

  “No, I can’t say I know anyone that’s into that sort of thing. Nobody at my church reads cards. They just read the bible.”

  “That’s too bad. So you go to church?”

  “Yes.” Maggie stepped over to a picture on the wall and wiped down the frame.

  “Tell me, what’s the purpose of going to church? I mean, I don’t get all of this Jesus stuff.”

  “Well, you’d have to know Him to understand.”

  Ted entered the room.

  She eyed what he carried with him as he walked toward her. “It’s about time. I’m in pain here.” She frowned. “I thought you were going to fix me a drink.”

  “This is rubbing alcohol. You can fix yourself a drink when I’m through.”

  She was quiet a moment and then asked, “Is it going to hurt?”

  33

  Raven padded to the edge of the pool, let her towel drop to the concrete, and then dove into the water. The water was cool even in the hot July sun. She came up for air at the other end, turned, and swam back. She made several laps and then glided to the side of the pool. She folded her arms over the edge and rested her chin on her hands.

  She had thought to set up the funeral and then leave without attending, but decided to tough it out with her mother and stay on another day or two. She had placed an ad in the newspaper and hoped someone would adopt Gabriel. He was a great dog and needed a good loving family to take him.

  She caught sight of movement to her left. She turned her head in that direction. Salvador was sitting in a chair at a patio table, eyeing her.

  He smiled. “You seem to be enjoying yourself. Maybe you’d like company?” He stood up and tugged the hem of his shirt over his
head.

  She lifted herself out of the pool, grabbed her towel, and wrapped it around herself.

  “Bashful, I see,” he said.

  “Raven?” Ted said as he came out of the patio door with two glasses of ice and a pitcher of lemonade on a tray. “Maggie made us some iced cold lemonade. Would you care for a glass?”

  Raven looked toward Ted and then back. Salvador was gone.

  “I’d love some. Thank you.”

  Ted set a tray on a table nearest the patio door. She walked over and sat down in a chair. He filled two glasses. She lifted hers and took a long drink.

  “Mmmm, this is good.”

  “Maggie is the best thing that has come along in my life since before you arrived.”

  Raven blushed. He eyed her a moment. When she had blushed, a small area between her eyes near the hairline turned a darker shade of red.

  “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I just meant that having you here has been a pleasure. Maggie even said so. She said you are a refreshing change.”

  “I like Maggie. She’s been nice to me.”

  “Unlike your mother.”

  Raven looked away.

  “You’re mother says after the funeral that you maybe staying on a few more days.”

  “I’m considering it, but I really need to get back home though. However, I need to find the dog a nice home.” She looked back at Ted. “She’s upset about me staying longer.”

  “Oh?”

  Raven eyed him a moment and then chuckled.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You make a terrible liar, Ted.”

  He laughed and nodded. “Okay, she was upset, but I want you to stay as long as you like, and I’m hoping you’ll come back and visit soon.”

  “I’m not going to lie and tell you I’ll be back at all. I don’t plan on ever returning. I didn’t want to this time, but for some reason I’d felt it was the right thing to do.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t expect you to.” She looked out across the yard. “I have only bad memories here.”

  “Even as a child?”

  She turned back toward him. “If I talk about it, I’ll be saying bad things about your wife that you might not want to hear, and I wouldn’t say or do anything to hurt you. So it’s best I keep it to myself.”

  He nodded. “I understand.” He looked away for a moment and then back at her. “Hey, would you like to take Gabe into town to the park for a long walk?”

  “To the park?”

  “Yes. We need to see how he is around other people. Of course, we’ll have him on a leash. There should be some folks there walking the paths. I hear the rose garden there is in full bloom.”

  She stood. “I’d love to. Let me get changed. I shouldn’t be too long.”

  “Take your time.”

  34

  Suppertime at Janie’s Diner was busy as usual. Most town folks loved a good home cooked meal over fast food any day of the week and that’s what Janie served.

  Cal slid into a booth across from Carl Gentry. Carl raised the cup to take a sip of his coffee but stopped and looked over the rim at Cal.

  “Sheriff?”

  “How you doing, Carl?”

  “I’m all right. Is everthin’ okay?”

  “Sure. I just wanted to ask you a few questions.”

  “Shoot. Ask away.”

  “You knew Virgil’s brother, right?”

  “Yeah, I knew Jimmy Ray. Stayed clear of him when I saw what he was into. You know, makin’ drugs and such.” He took a sip of his coffee and then set down his cup.

  “I heard that he might have had a girlfriend, but the only body recovered from that blast was Jimmy’s. She just disappeared. Everyone that was questioned hadn’t seen her close up enough to identify her or even knew her name.”

  “Well, ain’t nobody ever asked me. I don’t know if the one I saw comin’ out of his trailer one time was his girlfriend, and I don’t know her name, but I seen her up close.”

  Cal raised his eyebrows. “You know who she is?”

  “Hell, yeah! She’s a standin’ right there at the counter.” He looked over Cal’s shoulder and nodded toward the front of the diner.

  Cal turned in his seat and looked. A petite Mexican woman with long black hair stood at the counter. He watched Janie walk over with a takeout bag and a to-go drink and hand it to her. He slid out of his seat and took long strides toward the counter. She turned and headed toward the door.

  “Wait!” he called out.

  She stopped and looked over her shoulder. Her dark eyes grew large when she saw him. The Styrofoam cup hit the tiled floor, burst, and spattered Coke and ice across the room. The bag dropped from her hand. Upon contact with the floor, the bag burst, the top of the to-go plate flew open, and food spilled out.

  She sprinted toward the door, grabbed the handle, flung it open, and then darted out onto the sidewalk. She took off running and cut across into the street.

  Cal burst out the door, and it wasn’t long before he was on her heels. Her shorter legs were no match for his longer ones. He reached out, grabbed her arm, and whipped her around to face him. Her feet tangled under his, and they both went down onto the pavement. She fought against him with her fists. His hat fell off of his head.

  “Stop it! Calm down! I only want to ask you some questions.” Cal wrestled her arms behind her and slapped his handcuffs on her wrists.

  “Then why you cuff me?” she asked out of breath.

  “Because you assaulted an officer.”

  Cal stood up and tugged her arm. She came to her feet. He glanced around the area. Folks had come out of the diner and watched. He leaned down and grabbed his hat off the pavement. He eyed his boots.

  “Geez!”

  Chunks of Janie’s daily special covered both toes of his boots. He cursed under his breath and jammed his hat back on his head.

  “You chase me.” She glared at him.

  “You ran.” He looked down at her. Her long black hair had fallen in her face.

  “I run ‘cause I was afraid.”

  “Afraid of what?”

  She scanned the area around her at the onlookers. “I can not tell you.”

  “Come on.” He tugged her arm and headed back across the street toward his squad car that he had parked in front of the diner.

  “Where?” She drug her feet.

  He walked on toward his car. He reached the car, opened the back door, and helped her inside. “We are going to have a talk somewhere private.”

  “I do not like private.”

  He shut the door, opened the driver’s door, and climbed inside. He started the car and drove the short distance down Main Street to the sheriff’s department.

  Cal walked through the door with the young woman. Justin was at his desk with a paperback in his hand. He didn’t look up. A bottle of Coke sat on a napkin and a bag of corn chips were within his reach. Justin scanned every line, and then he turned the page. His hand slipped inside the bag and pulled out a handful of chips. He opened his mouth, shoved them in, and crunched as he chewed.

  Cal stood in front of Justin’s desk and eyed him and then the book. The woman glanced around the room.

  Cal cleared his throat.

  Justin glanced over the top of the book, and his eyes grew large. The book fell from his hand and knocked over the Coke bottle. He jumped out of his chair, righted the bottle, and grabbed the napkin. He blotted at the liquid inching toward his paperwork.

  “Sheriff! I was just taking my break.”

  “So why are you so rattled?”

  Justin looked up. “Rattled? Me? No, sir, I was just … just.” He heaved a sigh. “I don’t rightly know.”

  “Maybe it’s the book your reading.”

  “Probably so. Christine suggested I read it.” He looked at the woman and then back at Cal. “Who’s she?”

  “I’m fixing to find out.” He led the woman toward the interrogation room.
He called over his shoulder. “Get a bag of chips and a Coke out of the machine and bring it back here.”

  Cal led her through the door and to a chair. He removed the cuffs and motioned for her to have a seat. He walked around the table and sat down across from her. She had dark circles under her bloodshot eyes, but he hadn’t smelled alcohol on her.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  She kept her hands in her lap and her gaze on the tabletop.

  The room was sparse except for the table and four chairs. A two way mirror was on the wall across from the woman. The walls were cinderblocks and painted light gray.

  Justin stepped inside and set the bag of chips and Coke on the table. “Do you need anything else?”

  “No, you can go back to reading your romance novel.”

  Justin’s face turned red. He ran his fingers through his hair and left the room.

  Cal scooted the bag and bottle across the table to the woman. She eyed him a moment and then grabbed the bag. She tore it open, took out a few chips, popped them into her mouth, and chewed. She uncapped the bottle and took a long drink.

  He watched her eat and drink for a few minutes and then he asked her again. “What’s your name?”

  She finished chewing and took another drink. She set down the bottle. “Are you going to deport me?”

  He tilted his head. “Is your name, Lupe?”

  She stiffened. “Am I in trouble?”

  “Let me ask the questions and then we’ll discuss yours.”

  She nodded. “Yes, my name is Lupe. Lupe Márquez.”

  “Why did you run from me?”

  “I was afraid.”

  When she didn’t offer more, he asked, “Afraid of me?”

  She nodded.

  “Why?”

  She looked at his shirt pocket, and nodded her head once, and then looked back at him.

  He glanced down at his badge. “Oh. Well, I’m not going to hurt you, Lupe. I just have a few questions I need you to answer.”

  “Then I can go?”

  “We’ll see.”

  She looked down at the now empty bag of chips.

  “You were seen coming and going from Jimmy Neal’s trailer. Was he your boyfriend?”