Yup, finally they'd come. After the murders was over. They all wanted to talk to us bout how we'd helped solve the crimes.
"Now other people are wanting to write our whole story," Tully said. "If we write it, we control it. Yes, we have to show the good and the bad. But at least we'll know it's the truth."
Well. Two yeses. We'd all agreed a decision to go ahead had to be unanimous. Seventy-five thousand dollars apiece was a lot a money. But we were a team. We'd do this together or not at all.
Deena looked to me. "What do you say?"
There was so very much to say. I'd done a lot a ruminatin over the last three months. "Do you know all my customers—except the Bradmeyers—was nice enough to keep me on cleanin their houses? That's a gift from God." I rubbed my lip. "Tell you what, though—I ain't snoopin no more. Done learned my lesson on that."
Tully smiled.
"But I'm so tired a workin, and this opportunity would allow me to quit. I'd love to stay home and read my literature. Volunteer more at church. Plus I agree with Tully. Half the story's out there anyway but all switched round, with guesses in between. I want to set it straight."
Deena's eyebrows shot up. "So we have three yeses?"
"Yes, ma'am, we do." I raised my lemonade. "Here's to our book!"
"That's amazing!" Tully raised her glass to clink against Deena's, then mine.
"And the future of Amaryllis." Deena raised her glass higher.
We clinked again.
I took a victorious drink. Set down my glass. "You know the other reason we need to write this book? Cause Amaryllis deserves a second chance. Trent wrote bout the town when it was still in the grip a despair. Our book'll show how we got through it, with God's help."
"Yeah." Deena firmed her lips. "That's right."
I plunked my hands on the arms a the chair. "So. We gon write it like the editor wants? Each a us doin our own part, plus Trent's article in pieces?"
Tully nodded. "I think so. You think The Jackson Bugle will let us use the feature?"
I gave her a sly look. "I already checked."
Deena chuckled. "So you want to call the editor tomorrow mornin and tell her our decision, Cherrie Mae?"
"You bet I will. First thing."
As the baby slept, we talked bout our futures. How with the book money Tully could go to college. Deena could take a vacation once in awhile. And I wouldn't have to clean other people's toilets. I could work full-time on my part a the book. After that was done, I could sit and read all day if I wanted. All day. I couldn't stop smilin, just imaginin it. "Plus I can visit my son and daughter more often, see my grandbabies."
I smiled even more at that.
Our conversation turned to Amaryllis, our businesses and churches. Then to the police.
"Did you see Ted Arnoldson's house is up for sale?" Deena shook her head. "I hear he's movin away. Where, I don't know. Although he can't move far."
"So sad." I still mourned over Ted, as I did Trent and Mayor B. Ted had already pled guilty to his crimes, but with a clean previous record, he got off with a hefty fine and probation.
Deena tsked. "I still stay Chief Cotter's ego got in the way of solvin the murders earlier."
"But he did give us credit for helping him," Tully said.
"Only cause he had to. Reporters were findin out everything anyway. Otherwise he'd have claimed to crack the case all on his own."
I had to admit she was probly right. "Well, what matters is, Amaryllis is finally healin, thanks be to God."
"Yes." Deena nodded.
I stared at my closed curtains, thinkin bout it all.
Deena nudged Tully. "Look at her. What do you bet she's thinkin up a quote about now."
Tully smiled. "Bet you're right."
Now how did they know that?
They focused on me, eyebrows raised.
I nodded slowly. They wanted a quote—they'd get one. "'Neither man nor angel can discern hypocrisy, the only evil that walks invisible, except to God alone.' John Milton."
Tully tilted her head, thinkin that one over, then nodded. "Amen to that." She raised her glass.
Deena held hers up. "All too true."
I reached for my lemonade. We clinked our agreement one final time.
Cherrie Mae Devine's Quotes
* * *
Chapter 1
"My mind rebels at stagnation."
Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of the Four, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Chapter 7
"Behold where Ares, breathing forth the breath of strife and carnage, paces—paces on." Chorus, Electra, by Sophocles
"Man's conscience is the oracle of God."
The Island, by Lord Byron
Chapter 9
"Crime is common; logic is rare."
Sherlock Holmes, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Chapter 13
"The games one plays are not the games one chooses always."
Essex, Elizabeth the Queen, by Maxwell Anderson
Chapter 17
"Justice, while she winks at crimes, stumbles on innocence sometimes."
Hudibras, by Samuel Butler
Chapter 19
"Circumstances may accumulate so strongly even against an innocent man, that directed, sharpened, and pointed, they may slay him."
The Mystery of Edwin Drood, by Charles Dickens
Chapter 20
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."
Algernon, The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde
Chapter 23
"A slovenly dress denotes a disorderly mind."
Don Quixote, Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes
"The best laid schemes of mice and men go often askew."
To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough, by Robert Burns
"Fear of danger is ten thousand times more terrifying than danger itself."
Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe
Chapter 26
"What anxious moments pass between the birth of plots and their last fatal periods."
Sempronius, Cato, by Joseph Addison
Chapter 28
"In this world you've just got to hope for the best and prepare for the worst and take whatever God sends."
Charlotta the Fourth, Anne of Avonlea, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Chapter 29
"Misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows."
Trinculos, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare
Chapter 32
"It is the nature of truth to struggle to the light."
Man and Wife, by Wilkie Collins
Chapter 33
"Silence is of different kinds, and breathes different meanings."
Villette, by Charlotte Bronte
Chapter 35
"It is no use, lying to one's self."
Dr. Rank, A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen
Chapter 37
"Let the winged Fancy roam, Pleasure never is at home."
Fancy, by John Keats
Chapter 39
"Time comes stealing on by night and day."
Dromio of Syracuse, Comedy of Errors, by Shakespeare
Chapter 42
"To fair request, silent performance maketh best return."
Virgil, The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri
Epilogue
"Neither man nor angel can discern hypocrisy, the only evil that walks invisible except to God alone."
Paradise Lost, by John Milton
Discussion Questions
1. In the prologue an unnamed character is talking to Chief Cotter. As the story progressed, who did you guess th
is character was?
2. How did you respond to the excerpts from Trent Williams's Pulitzer prize-winning article, "Gone to Ground"? What reasons do you think the author had for including them in this format?
3. What did you think of the dialect of the three main characters? Did it help characterize them for you? Did you find it at all distracting?
4.As the story progressed, who did you think was the killer? Did your opinion change?
5. Did you relate more to one of the three main characters than the others? Which one?
6. Could the story have been told as well in third person?
7. All the characters in this book, including the three main characters, struggled with some form of hypocrisy. How did Cherrie Mae, Deena, and Tully each struggle with this issue?
8. If each of these three characters had told the full truth from the beginning, would things have gone easier for them?
9. Has hypocrisy ever crept into your life—or into the life of someone you know—in a way that surprised you?
10. If you were in Cherrie Mae's situation, how would you have handled it?
11. If you were in Deena's shoes, what would you have done?
12. How about Tully? What would you have done in her situation?
13. What classical quote from Cherrie Mae did you like best?
14. What was the biggest surprise for you in this story?
15. What did you learn from this story?
Acknowledgments
My thanks to these wonderful people who generously gave their time to help me research this story:
Elsa James of Cielo Salon in Redwood City, California, provided background information regarding Deena's work in her hair salon.
Dan Blackledge, raised in Jasper County and a member of the Men's Garden Clubs of America since the mid-eighties, told me about Jasper County history, as well as imparted valuable information about planting and tending amaryllis flowers in Mississippi.
Keith Wilkerson, who has studied the history of Jasper County and created a Web site for that information, graciously answered questions about when my town of Amaryllis could have been founded, and what the county was like at that time. Keith's Web site is at: http://webpages.charter.net/hondapotamus/jasper.htm.
Jeff Herrin, investigator with Mississippi's 13th Circuit Ct. District, answered questions regarding law enforcement issues for the state and for Jasper County.
Peggy and Earl Schneider of Wisteria Bed and Breakfast in Laurel, Mississippi, provided a beautiful and historic place for me to stay as I researched nearby Jasper County. I enjoyed the ambiance and the conversation.
Rhonda Dyess, receptionist at Bay Springs City Hall, was warm, kind, and so very helpful. I'll be ever grateful to Rhonda for introducing me to the real Cherrie Mae and to Josephine Brown.
I also must thank the real Cherrie Mae (last name—Gammage), who granted me an interview. I hadn't expected to use her name in this story, but it was so perfect for my character, and she said she'd be "honored" if I did. The Cherrie Mae in this story is purely fictional and is in no way meant to represent the real person. Rhonda Dyess says Cherrie Mae Gammage has a hundred crowns waiting for her in heaven because of the daily Christian help she extends to her community, black and white alike. I think Rhonda is right.
As it turned out, both Rhonda's and Cherri Mae's voices were used in the book trailer for Gone to Ground. Cherri Mae Gammage, of course, plays Cherri Mae Devine. And Rhonda is the voice of Deena. (The book trailer can be viewed on my Web site.)
Thanks also to Bay Springs resident Mama Jo—Josephine Brown—for granting me an interview. Mama Jo cooks for many people in Bay Springs, including the high school football team (now there are some big appetites!). Through Mama Jo I learned (among other things) about turnip greens and pot liquor.
Bobby Cole Jr., jailer of Jasper County, was kind enough to take me on a tour of the jail and answer my myriad questions.
All of the above people know their stuff. Any factual errors in this book are my own.
My thanks also to the people of Bay Springs. I've tried to represent your town accurately. If I fudged a few small details, please know it was only to help my story.
Finally, I must give recognition to the real winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in the Feature Writing Category: "Fatal Distraction" by Gene Weingarten. His gripping article can be read at the URL found in this book for Trent Williams' fictional "Gone to Ground."
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