“Me and Junior will be right there. You just stay put.”
Thaddeous shut off the radio, and put the truck in gear.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I heard part of what Loman and you were saying, but now I’m going to find Conrad and hear it all. Are you coming?”
I knew I’d never be able to talk him into waiting for the police, and I wasn’t about to stay there alone. “Let’s go.”
He drove slowly through the pouring rain until we hit Gilmore and turned toward town. A minute later one of Byerly’s police cruisers zoomed by, followed closely by a county police car, but they took no more notice of Thaddeous than he did of them.
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“I got home and Mama was all upset that you had run out like that. She kept talking about Paw having been murdered. I looked at the map you left for Richard, and thought you might could use a hand. I didn’t know what was going on, but I brought the shotgun, just in case. I guess it’s good thing I did.”
He didn’t speak again during the fifteen minutes or so it took us to reach Conrad’s house. I had no idea of his intentions and was afraid to ask. We pulled up in front of Aunt Ruby Lee’s house, and Thaddeous got out and walked toward the back, shotgun in hand. I followed him.
Thaddeous didn’t go to the front door, but instead walked across the soggy lawn toward the open garage door where I could hear the sound of hammering. Conrad was placing a two-by-four into place on a half-finished picnic table. He saw us, and smiled.
“Hey there Thaddeous, Laurie Anne. Come on in out of the rain. Ruby Lee and the kids went shopping, so I could use some company.” We stepped in, and then Conrad saw what Thaddeous was holding. “What’s the shotgun for?”
Thaddeous said, “Loman’s dead.”
Conrad let the board fall onto the concrete floor and turned white as a sheet.
“I want you to tell me what happened to Melanie and Paw,” Thaddeous went on.
I watched as Conrad’s usually cheerful face crumbled. “Oh Lord, Thaddeous, I didn’t mean for it to happen, not any of it. You’ve got to believe me.”
When Thaddeous’s expression didn’t change, he directed his words toward me. “Where do you want me to start?” he asked uncertainly.
“You better tell us everything, from the beginning,” I said gently.
He swallowed hard, and then began. “I was up at the lodge, and we had been drinking, maybe a little too much. When we ran out of beer, I went to get us some more. I was about halfway to the 7-Eleven when I saw her by the side of the road. Melanie, I mean.
“She said she was out of gas. I told her I’d take her to a gas station, but she said she’d rather I take her home, that her Daddy would come pick up the car later. I’d known Melanie since she was just a little thing, but I don’t think I ever noticed how pretty she was until she got into the truck beside me.
“We were driving along and she smiled at me, so I put my hand on her knee. When she pushed it off I just thought she was playing hard to get, you know how women are sometimes. By then we were on that old tobacco road by Ellis’s house, and I pulled off the road and put my arms around her, just to get a little kiss, but she shoved me away and jumped out of the car.”
I was chilled, hearing how close my suspicions had been to the truth.
“She ran into the tobacco shed, and I was afraid she’d get hurt in there as dark as it was, so I followed her. I tried to tell her I wasn’t going to hurt her, but she screamed and hit me.
“I got mad and grabbed hold of her arms to stop her from hitting me, and with the booze in me, I just got carried away. I didn’t hurt her none, but I pushed her onto the floor, and, well…”
“Finish it,” Thaddeous said.
“Afterwards, she was crying, and I was trying to tell her I didn’t mean to hurt her and that everything was all right. Then I heard Ellis yelling for me. It scared me as much as if the Lord himself had called my name, and I didn’t want him to find us like that.
“She was going to scream, so I put my hand over her mouth to stop her. She was fighting me, and then she bit me so hard I couldn’t think straight. I reached around with my other hand and found a board or something, and I hit her with it. She quit fighting me, but it wasn’t until after I heard Ellis drive away that I realized that she wasn’t breathing anymore.”
Conrad’s knees buckled as if they could no longer hold him, and he sagged onto a cedar bench, flinching when Thaddeous took a step closer.
“Then what?”
“I didn’t know what to do. I drove up to the 7-Eleven and called Loman at the lodge. He told me to go back to the shed and wait for him. When he got there, he said we’d have to move her because if she was found there, the police would suspect everyone connected to the Burnettes. He put her in the back of his truck. She was all limp, and I started shaking when I saw her. Loman told me to clean myself off, and then he went back into the shed to see if he could find anything to show we had been there. He found the board I hit her with and said he’d burn it, but we couldn’t get the stain out of the floor. He said we’d put her in Marley so everyone would think the niggers did it. I thought that was real smart—Loman’s always been smarter than me.
“I didn’t want to take her clothes off and leave her naked like that, but Loman said we had to get rid of everything in case there were any traces of me. He made me do it while he kept an eye out. She was still warm, and for a minute it looked like she was still breathing.” He wrung his hands. “Loman said he’d burn the clothes later, and then we drove over to Marley. We made sure there wasn’t anyone watching, and then I carried her over to the dumpster and put her in.”
He looked beseechingly at me, but when I didn’t even try to hide my revulsion, he went on. “I wanted to go home after that, but Loman said we had to go get the beer I’d been sent for, and then we picked up my truck so I could follow him back to the lodge. He told everyone I had had car problems someplace miles away from where we’d been and nobody thought anything of it. We thought they’d find the body right off, but when they didn’t, Loman called the police and told them where to find her and that niggers had done it.”
“What about Paw?” I asked.
“Loman was as mad as a wet hen when he found out about that. I was so scared that night that I forgot to tell Loman that Ellis had seen my truck. Then, that Sunday, Ellis called me. He’d come by and looked for me, but then he saw Melanie’s pocketbook where she had left it in the front seat of my truck. He thought I was out there fooling around on Ruby Lee, so he left as soon as he saw it.
“He hadn’t decided whether he should talk to Ruby Lee or not, but then he heard about Melanie being missing. The paper told what Melanie’s pocketbook looked like, and Ellis knew it was the one he had seen in my truck. He asked me straight out if I knew where Melanie was.
“I couldn’t lie to him. I had to tell him what happened.” Then he held his head up a little. “Only I didn’t tell him about Loman. I didn’t want to get him in trouble.”
He sounded just like a little boy who had been caught cheating and wouldn’t tell who his co-conspirator was.
“Ellis said I was going to have to go to the police, and if I didn’t, he’d call them himself. I told him I had to talk to Ruby Lee first, and he said he’d wait until that evening, but if I hadn’t turned myself in by then, he’d go see Junior Norton himself.
“As soon as Ellis hung up, I called Loman, and he said we’d go talk to Ellis together. Only Ruby Lee wouldn’t let me go. Loman said for me to just keep my mouth shut and he’d take care of Ellis.”
“Then you knew what he was planning to do to Paw?” I said.
“No, I swear I didn’t. I thought he was just going to talk to him. When I heard about Ellis getting hurt, I never thought that Loman could have had something to do with it. When I asked him later on if he talked to Ellis, he just told me to shut up.”
“You’re lying,” I said. “You didn’t care whet
her Loman killed Paw or not. You wouldn’t have called Loman like that if you hadn’t expected him to do something.”
Conrad drew his hand over his forehead, and brought it down wet with sweat. “I swear I didn’t know. I never meant to hurt nobody.”
Thaddeous slowly lifted his shotgun, and aimed it at Conrad’s midsection. Then he stared at Conrad for a long time. I’ll give Conrad credit. He didn’t even flinch. Finally I touched Thaddeous’s arm.
“Thaddeous, why don’t you go call the police?”
He hesitated a minute longer, then lowered the shotgun and said, “I believe I will.” I wasn’t sure who was more relieved when he went into the house, me or Conrad. Maybe it was Thaddeous himself.
Chapter 39
The police showed up quickly, and after volleys of questions, they bundled Thaddeous, Conrad, and me into squad cars to drive us to the station. I saw Aunt Ruby Lee and the kids arrive just as we were driving away, and thanked the powers that be that I didn’t have to be the one who told them what had happened.
The three of us were separated as soon as we reached the station. I was led to a tiny room with a coffee machine and a tiny refrigerator, and questioned by a dyspeptic looking county policeman equipped with a legal pad and a tape recorder. I told him everything, from the time Paw had first told me that his accident was an attack to Conrad’s confession. Although he asked for clarification on a few points and seemed bewildered by all the names, he mainly just nodded and scribbled. Once I finished, he said, “I think that’s all we need,” and left the room before I could ask him anything in return.
Now what? Was I going to be arrested? Probably not, because they hadn’t read me my rights. Did that mean I couldn’t use the phone? What about Thaddeous? I didn’t know whether or not what he had done had been strictly legal, but Loman had been about to shoot me, so that should count for something.
The door to the room opened, distracting me from my questions. It was Richard. The two of us held onto each other for a long time.
“What are you doing here?” I finally asked.
“I got back to Aunt Nora’s house about an hour after you left. She was all upset, and told me you had gone out, followed shortly thereafter by Thaddeous. So we went after you.”
“Aunt Nora came, too?”
“I didn’t want her to, but I didn’t have a choice. All of you Burnettes are as stubborn as mules. Anyway, we couldn’t get to the tobacco shed. The police had it blocked off. I tried to tell them that my wife was in there, but they just brushed me off. Then we saw them carrying off a body on a stretcher, and no one would tell us who it was.
“That’s when Aunt Nora took over. She said to tell Junior that she was her mother’s best friend from high school, and if Junior didn’t come over, Aunt Nora would tell her mother. Junior was there in less than a minute.”
“I’m not surprised. I’ve met Mrs. Norton.”
“Anyway, Junior tried to calm Aunt Nora down, but Aunt Nora demanded to know what had happened to you and Thaddeous. Of course, Junior didn’t know where you two were. When she told us that it was Loman’s body that had been found, we didn’t know what to think. That’s about the time the call came in from Aunt Ruby Lee’s house, and we followed Junior back here.”
“Do you know about Conrad?” I wasn’t going to call him “Uncle” anymore.
“Most of it. Conrad killed Melanie, and Loman helped him cover it up and killed Paw to keep him quiet.”
I nodded, and told him the rest of the story, concluding with, “I’m sorry I gave you such a scare. It never occurred to me that the murderer would come after me. As a detective, I’m a decent computer programmer.”
“You did fine. I’m just grateful that you’re all right.”
“What happened with Arthur?” It seemed like forever since I had suspected him. Or Thaddeous.
“Though it hardly matters now, he and Thaddeous were together Friday night for a perfectly innocent reason. One of Arthur’s regular customers is a jeweler who is giving Thaddeous a good deal on a brooch for Aunt Nora’s Mother’s Day gift in return for a generous trade-in allowance from Arthur. They went to the jewelry store Friday night to negotiate, but since Thaddeous wanted it engraved, Arthur had to go back on Sunday to pick it up.”
“So why didn’t Arthur tell Vasti where he had gone?”
“Would you tell Vasti a secret?”
The county policeman came back in, looking happier with his digestion, and said, “You’re free to go. Your story checks out.” He escorted us to the front desk, where we found Thaddeous arguing with a young deputy I recognized as Trey Norton. Aunt Nora and Junior were looking on in exasperation.
“I’ve got a permit, don’t I? It’s my shotgun, and I mean to take it home,” Thaddeous said.
“It’s evidence,” Trey replied, “and it’s not leaving this station.”
“Then I’m staying, too.” Thaddeous showed every sign of abiding by his decision, while Trey looked just as determined to prove him wrong.
“Thaddeous, you let me handle this,” Aunt Nora said. She turned to the police chief. “Junior, you know that shotgun has been in my family for generations.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I want you to swear to me that it won’t be hurt, and that you’ll return it personally when all this is taken care of.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll take care of it.”
She nodded. “Come on, Thaddeous. Let’s go home.” She turned and saw me and Richard.
“Laurie Anne?” she said cautiously. “Are you all right?”
“I think so.” We hugged, and Aunt Nora kept her arm around me as we walked through the rain to the rental car. I let Thaddeous ride in front with Richard, while I climbed in back with Aunt Nora.
“Junior said they’d bring Thaddeous’s truck and the Buick over to the house this evening,” Aunt Nora said.
“I suppose you want to know what happened,” I said.
“I know most of it already,” Aunt Nora said, “but there is one thing I wanted to ask. When you and I talked the other night, did you know it was someone in the family who had killed Paw?”
“No, ma’am, not then. I don’t think I could have gone through with it if I had known sooner.”
She nodded.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Nora.”
“What on earth for? You did what you had to.” She patted my leg.
“I know, but I didn’t know how it was going to come out.”
“Of course you didn’t. There was no way you could have known.” Aunt Nora paused, and then said, “I should warn you. I talked to Buddy before we left the station, and he said that everybody is over at my house waiting for us.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“If you want, I’ll do the talking,” Aunt Nora offered.
I was tempted, but I took a deep breath and said, “No, I have to tell them myself.”
“Are you sure?” Richard asked.
“I have to face them sooner or later. They’re my family.” I just wasn’t sure that they’d want to claim me anymore. Aunt Nora must have known what I was thinking, because she put her arm around me and kept it there until we got to her house.
Chapter 40
As we approached Aunt Nora’s house, I saw that the driveway and the street in front of the house were filled with Burnette cars. I tried to steel myself as we went toward the door, but even so, I nearly turned and ran when we walked in and saw every adult member of the Burnette clan. Except Conrad and Loman, I reminded myself. And Paw.
Aunt Nellie had her arm around a red-eyed Aunt Ruby Lee in one corner, while Aunt Daphine was comforting Aunt Edna in another. Uncle Buddy, Willis, Uncle Ruben, and Sue seemed to be trying to calm down a wildly gesticulating Linwood. Vasti, Arthur, and the rest of the cousins were standing in an uncomfortable knot. Only Aunt Maggie, rocking slowly in Aunt Nora’s rocking chair, seemed at ease. It was she who saw us first and said, “Here they are now.” Everyone stopped talking, and turned toward us.
Aunt Nora went to Uncle Buddy, who in a rare public display of affection, kissed her. Thaddeous went and sat on the couch, saying nothing.
I stood looking at and being looked at by them all, feeling like a stranger. Richard put his arm around me protectively.
“Well, Laurie Anne,” Aunt Maggie prompted. “Are you going to tell us what happened?”
I swallowed hard and said. “I guess y’all know most of it.”
No one responded but Aunt Nora, who attempted an encouraging smile. I went on to give a bare bones description, trying to spare Aunt Ruby Lee, Aunt Edna, and their children as best I could, but knowing that there wasn’t a whole lot I could do. “That’s what happened,” I said finally.
“You’re lying!” Linwood said.
I flinched, but said as evenly as I could, “No, Linwood. I’m sorrier than I can say, but that is what happened.”
“You killed my daddy, that’s what happened!”
“I’m the one who shot him, not Laurie Anne,” Thaddeous said quietly.
“Maybe you’re the one who pulled the trigger,” Linwood said, “but she put you up to it. Sticking her nose where it didn’t belong, stirring up trouble. She deserves just what that slut Melanie got, if you ask me, and—”
“Linwood!” Aunt Edna said. “You watch your mouth!”
He turned to his mother, his eyes filling with tears. “But Mama, she killed Daddy!”
“Your father killed himself when he refused to put his gun down. Thaddeous shot in self-defense,” Aunt Nora said firmly.
“But if she had left well enough alone, it wouldn’t have happened. Daddy would still be alive.”
“If Conrad hadn’t killed that girl, none of it would have happened. Why don’t you blame him?” Aunt Daphine said.
Linwood looked at me, then at his feet, but said nothing.
“I blame Loman,” Aunt Edna said dully.
“Mama, how can you say that?” Linwood asked, aghast. “He was your husband.”
“And Paw was my father! Loman killed my father! He hit him, and then sat with us at the hospital, waiting for him to die. He dressed in his best suit to come to the funeral, put out some of his precious money to buy flowers for the grave, even comforted me when I was crying. That bastard took what Paw left him in his will! I took a lot from that man because he was my husband and your father, but I can’t ever forgive him that. I’d tell Loman that to his face if he were here. Maybe it’s just as well he’s not.”
Toni L.P. Kelner - Laura Fleming 01 - Down Home Murder Page 22