A Body in the Trunk

by Elizabeth Spann Craig

  “Three or four veggies?” asked Jen, pen hovering over her order pad.

  “Go for it, Miles. You only live once,” said Myrtle.

  “Four. The peach slices, rice and gravy, corn pudding, and fried okra.”

  Jen rushed off to get their orders in and Miles said, “I have the feeling that my order isn’t as healthy as it could be. It might even have more calories than your pimento cheese slaw dog.”

  “Well, not if you count my fries. At least it will taste good. At this point in my life, I’m trying to avoid bland food. If I’m eating, the stuff should taste good,” said Myrtle. She glanced across the room and started waving at someone. “It’s Elaine! With Jack.”

  Elaine walked up to them with a smile and with Myrtle’s grandson, Jack, in tow. Despite spending much of her day on the floor with a preschooler, she looked remarkably tidy in appearance with her smooth, black bob of hair, white Capri pants, and crisp blue top. Jack, who was a very busy nearly-three-year-old, was wearing brown overalls and a big smile. He handed a toy truck to Myrtle.

  Myrtle drove it on the table for a minute, making impressive truck noises, before handing it back to him. “Won’t you sit with us?” she asked Elaine. “I think we took the last free table.”

  “Thanks, but we’re just here to pick up our takeout. They’re not quite finished, so I’ll hang out here until it’s ready,” said Elaine. “I meant to call you to see how you and Miles were after your traumatic day. Red said you were fine.”

  Myrtle made a face. “How would Red know? Never mind, Elaine. We’re fine, aren’t we Miles?”

  Miles nodded. “Myrtle and I have become quite accustomed to discovering dead bodies. It’s not at all traumatic for us now.”

  Jen brought their food and Myrtle handed a French fry to Jack, who grinned at her again. “Fry,” said the little boy in a whisper.

  Myrtle said, still smiling back at her grandson, “But I’m glad to see you, Elaine, because I did have a question for you. Are you and Jack still going on those nature walks from time to time?”

  Elaine said, “Oh, yes. And I’m getting lots of inspiration for my yard during those walks. Did Red tell you that I’ve taken up gardening? Well, I guess I’ve always done some gardening and dabbled in garden club and that kind of thing. But now I’m really trying to do some real landscaping.”

  Myrtle and Miles exchanged a quick, wary look. Elaine had a multitude of hobbies and none of them ever went according to plan.

  “I even had some landscaping ideas for your yard, Myrtle, if you wanted to let me have a go at it,” said Elaine eagerly.

  Myrtle figured that Elaine couldn’t make the yard worse than it already was, considering it was under Dusty’s tender ministrations. “That sounds lovely, dear. But what I wanted to ask is if you were on a nature walk yesterday, specifically.”

  Elaine said, “Jack and I were, actually. Lyle was supposed to go over identifying poisonous plants and I wanted to make sure that I could recognize poison ivy and poison oak and sumac. The whole thing was going to be a challenge because I had Jack with me; I wasn’t sure how I was going to get close enough to really study the poison ivy without getting Jack covered with it. Then I thought, ‘Oh! I’ll just use my cell phone to zoom in and take pictures. Then I’ll have the photos to refer to later.’”

  Miles said, “And the nature walk went as planned?” He speared several bits of fried okra on his fork.

  Elaine shook her head. “No, as a matter of fact, it didn’t. We’d just gotten going when it started pouring down rain.”

  Myrtle and Miles looked at each other. It was the same rainstorm they experienced when they were driving Clara to look for Neil.

  Myrtle said, “I suppose the rest of the walk was canceled?”

  “Rescheduled. I persuaded Lyle to cover the poisonous plants another time, since I really wanted a primer,” said Elaine. “It was a shame. Jack really needed a good walk yesterday, too.”

  “What do you think of Lyle Solomon?” asked Myrtle. She gave Jack another French fry and watched him gobble it up.

  Elaine shrugged. “He seems very knowledgeable. But he’s a little weird, too. I get the impression that caring for his yard is a tremendous part of his life. He really didn’t want to have to cancel because of the rain, but everyone was leaving.”

  Myrtle said archly, “So if Lyle were using the nature walk as an alibi for Neil Albert’s death, then the alibi is no good.”

  Elaine looked startled and didn’t notice Jack taking a fistful of Myrtle’s French fries and stuffing them into his mouth. “What? No. Why would Lyle want to kill Neil?”

  “Why would he give a false alibi?” asked Myrtle with a shrug.

  “And a pretty gutsy one at that,” said Miles. “Lying when the police chief’s own wife could negate his alibi.”

  Elaine said, “Obviously he didn’t want anybody to think that he might have done it. But I still don’t understand why he would do it. This is a guy who only cares about nature and spending time in it. He doesn’t really seem like the violent type.”

  “Have you ever paid attention to Neil’s yard?” asked Myrtle, raising her eyebrows.

  Elaine frowned in thought. “Well ... not especially. I’m usually so distracted when I drive down our street. Jack always seems to become ravenous as soon as he’s in the car. I’m ordinarily fishing around for a bag of Cheerios or something, instead of studying the state of people’s yards. But I think I’ve noticed that Neil’s yard isn’t exactly manicured. Is that what you’re getting at?”

  “Precisely!” said Myrtle, thumping her hand emphatically on the table. When Jack looked at her in amazement at the sound she made, she gave him the remainder of her French fries as reparation.

  “Why would that offend Lyle?” asked Elaine. “He’s not the yard police.”

  “You may not know this, but Lyle Solomon lives directly next door to Neil,” said Miles helpfully.

  “Ohhh,” said Elaine. She paused, and then nodded. “I see. Well, in that case, I hate to be the one who completely ruins Lyle’s alibi, but he was not on a nature walk yesterday. At least, not with any of his group. Perhaps he took a solo walk?”

  A woman at the register called out, “Clover? Order ready to go!”

  “That’s us!” said Elaine. “Let’s go take it home, Jack. Aren’t you hungry?” She gazed at her son in bafflement.

  Jack shook his head. Myrtle winked at him.

  Thirty minutes later, Myrtle and Miles were quite full, themselves. Myrtle had decided to order the peach cobbler to make up for the fact that she’d not eaten any French fries. “So, have we decided?” demanded Myrtle.

  Miles started up the car. “Decided what?”

  “Where we’re heading off to next. Are we going to follow up with Lyle and ask why he lied about where he was last night? Will we scrounge up Tarleton and find out more about his public squabble with Neil over his job?” asked Myrtle. “Should we check back in with Clara and see how Dusty did with her lawn and if she’s remembered anything else that could be helpful?”

  Miles said, “How about none of the above? That so-called healthy lunch did me in. I feel a nap coming on.”

  “We can’t nap while there’s a murder to solve!”

  “All right then, why don’t we go back to your house and watch Tomorrow’s Promise while I digest my food and try staying awake?” said Miles. “I don’t think I’ll be good for anything until I’ve rested for a little while.”

  “I suppose so,” said Myrtle.

  They settled into Myrtle’s living room, Myrtle in her comfy armchair and Miles looking very drowsy on the sofa. They were just hearing Arlena tell Rohan that she didn’t love him when the doorbell rang.

  Myrtle frowned. “Guests during Tomorrow’s Promise? Must not be someone who knows me very well.”

  She walked to the door and peeked out the side window. She turned to give Miles a startled look and then quickly opened the door. “Tarleton Fleming! What a pleasure to see you
! Please come inside. I was just thinking the other day that it’s been a long while since I’ve seen you.”

  A graying man with faded good looks stepped inside. His shoulders were stooped as if he carried the weight of the world on them, and his face seemed to reflect the same. As usual, he wore good quality clothing that had seen better days, but which were scrupulously preserved and cleaned.

  “Miss Myrtle! It’s so good to see you.” He peered across the room and saw Miles quickly rising to his feet. “And Mr. Bradford? Good to see you, too.”

  “Yes, Miles and I were just watching our favorite soap opera,” said Myrtle.

  “And call me Miles, please,” said Miles. He added in a splutter, “I wouldn’t ordinarily watch a soap opera, but there is this one particular storyline that has me hooked.”

  Myrtle rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever.” Then she took Tarleton by the arm and led him over to the sofa. “Won’t you have a seat? Maybe I can have the opportunity to get you hooked on a soap opera?”

  Tarleton smiled at her. “I’d love that, but I really can’t today. I just wanted a few minutes of your time and then I’ll get out of your hair.” He hesitated. “This is very hard for me. Perhaps it’s good that both of you are here so that I won’t have to repeat myself at Miles’s house—I’m sure I’d have ended up there. You see, I’ve found myself unemployed.”

  Myrtle saw the effort with which it took him to say the words and hurriedly interjected, “I’ve just found out about that. I’m so sorry. It sounded like it all must have been very unfair?”

  The last bit was definitely a question and she wondered if Tarleton would answer it. He appeared very reluctant to talk about the bank. Actually, he appeared very reluctant to talk, at all. He seemed generally embarrassed.

  Tarleton nodded. “Yes, although we all know that life isn’t fair. At least, we know it by the time we’ve reached our ages. I’d arranged for a job for a new neighbor of ours—you probably know him. Neil Albert.”

  Myrtle said, “Yes. Although I suppose we should say, under the circumstances, that we knew him. You’ve heard about his tragic death yesterday?”

  Tarleton flushed. “I have. I heard about it right away because I was visiting with someone else and they knew about it. It’s the small-town information network.”

  Miles said glumly, “The gossip here is faster than the internet.”

  Myrtle shot him a repressive look. “So you were visiting someone last night? When it happened?”

  Tarleton shifted a bit. “No. I heard about it first thing this morning, when word was just breaking. Last night I was out driving. I needed to de-stress, so I took to the car and went for a ride in the country.”

  “And did that help?” asked Miles curiously. “I always think driving is fairly stressful.”

  Myrtle gave him another repressive look.

  “It did, but only for a short while. That’s when I decided that I needed to be proactive instead of wallowing around in my unhappiness. Which is why I’m here,” said Tarleton.

  He seemed to be on the verge of changing the subject, which was the last thing that Myrtle wanted. She said, “I’m shocked about the bank. Positively shocked. Whenever I thought of the bank, I thought of you.”

  She was now shocked to see tears welling in Tarleton’s eyes. Myrtle, who had a horror of seeing people cry, quickly rummaged around for the tissues in her purse.

  Chapter Eight

  FORTUNATELY, WHEN SHE’D handed the tissues to Tarleton, he appeared to have collected himself.

  “Yes, it was a shock for me too, especially how it all played out. As I mentioned, I found our new neighbor a job with the bank. With his previous banking experience in Boston, it was only too easy to do so. But then, higher up the chain in the bank, they decided to make some changes. Neil is ... was ... quite a salesman. He could sell all sorts of bank products. I’d always felt that my role at the bank was more to be a friendly face—the community face of the bank,” said Tarleton in a gruff voice. He struggled again to maintain control and stop the imminent flow of tears.

  Miles asked, “Do you have any leads in terms of a new job? Or, considering the circumstances, can’t you get your old job back? Now the bank needs a manager again.”

  Tarleton shook his head. “I was so upset when I was fired that I burned a few bridges. I had no idea there would be a vacancy in the position so soon. I’ve also heard from my old coworkers that the bank is planning to hire from without. Finding another banking job would be tough. There simply aren’t a lot of high-level jobs available. Plus, there’s the fact that I’ve lived in Bradley all my life. I’m not wanting to move away and start a new life at a different bank at sixty years of age. That’s why I’m here today, Miss Myrtle. I’ve decided that I’m going to scale back my lifestyle and try to do a variety of different things to make my living here.”

  Myrtle frowned. She’d always thought that Tarleton had a relatively modest lifestyle. Scaling back was going to be tough. “What types of things are you looking to do?”

  “Well, I was talking to Red and he mentioned that maybe you had some things around the house that I might be able to help you with. Small repairs and whatnot. Errands. Maybe even some mowing or yardwork,” said Tarleton.

  Myrtle said, “Well, not that I wouldn’t want to outsource my yard to someone else, but I already have a yardman. I will admit that Red isn’t great about coming over and fixing all the little things that need to be fixed here. That’s probably why he mentioned it. I do have a small list of things I’d like done. Some are repairs, for instance, the spigot handle outside is broken, and I have a towel rack that’s about to come off the wall at any instant. I’d also like a couple of pictures hung. Oh, and I think it’s about time for the smoke detector batteries to be replaced.”

  Tarleton was looking more cheerful now. “That would be wonderful. How about errands? Red said that you don’t drive.”

  Myrtle said, “Red would say that. I don’t have a car, but I can drive. I’ll keep you in mind if I need something.” She paused. “I suppose Red also mentioned that I’m not made of money as a retired schoolteacher? I’m not sure what your going rate is.”

  Tarleton cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable about talking about money. This from a man who’d been a banker his entire life. “Red mentioned something about his subsidizing anything you wanted to have done. Considering, he said, he wasn’t having to do the work, himself.”

  “That makes sense,” said Myrtle. “Well, good. Would you like to start tomorrow?”

  Tarleton flushed and said earnestly, “If there’s something that I can fix and stay out of both of your way, I’d be happy to get started right now. I have a tool chest in the car.”

  Myrtle asked, “I’m sure that must have been expensive—getting a set of tools.”

  “Oh, no ma’am. I’ve had these tools all my adult life. I was always fiddling with things at my house, when I wasn’t busy at the bank,” said Tarleton. “My father was quite the handyman, and I grew up helping him fix things.”

  “I’d no idea you were so handy. All right, I’ll come up with a list. We’ll leave the living room out of the list so that Miles and I can watch our soap,” said Myrtle.

  Miles colored at this, which was the desired effect.

  “I’ll go get my things, then,” said Tarleton.

  “Before you get started, I did have one more question for you,” said Myrtle. “I know that Neil must, understandably, not be your favorite subject, but I was wondering if you knew of anyone who might have wanted to kill him.”

  Tarleton blinked at her and then said, “Oh, that’s right—you write for the newspaper. But you won’t use my name?” His voice was anxious. “I’d rather not get on anyone’s bad side right now, considering that I need to ask people for work.”

  “I never reveal my sources when they’re off-the-record,” said Myrtle with a sniff.

  Tarleton nodded, as if he hadn’t really expected any less from Myrtle. “All
right, then. Let’s just say that I’ve noticed a couple of odd things about Neil. As I mentioned, I took him under my wing when he arrived in Bradley; I found him a bank job and I introduced him around town. While I was introducing him, I noticed that he did a double-take when he saw Holt Kelly. And Holt didn’t look all too pleased to see Neil, either.”

  “Really?” Myrtle’s eyes gleamed with interest.

  Miles frowned. “Holt Kelly? I don’t think I know him.”

  “He’s at the high school,” said Myrtle. “He’s the principal there, as a matter of fact.”

  “That’s right. And when I asked Neil about it, he acted like he didn’t know Holt at all—that he simply reminded him of someone else. But I knew differently because Holt had clearly recognized him, too. I don’t know what’s happened between them, but there’s definitely something there,” said Tarleton. “And there’s one other thing, since you’re letting me be confidential.”

  “What’s that?” asked Myrtle.

  “When Neil and I were working at the bank together, we had just closed up for the night and were heading for the parking lot. There was someone by Neil’s car, waiting for him,” said Tarleton slowly.

  “And who was this person?” asked Myrtle.

  “Adelaide Pound. Although Neil didn’t look pleased to see her. Actually, he looked very annoyed.”

  Miles asked, “Did she appear to be there for bank business?”

  “No. It seemed completely personal. It appeared to me that the two of them were having some sort of ... relationship,” said Tarleton. He made a face. “That sounds awful for me to say. I don’t like to gossip. But that’s the truth of it.”

  Myrtle said, “Thanks for letting us know, Tarleton. I’ll jot down a little list for you, since Red has you on retainer.”

  He smiled a relieved smile at her. “That would be wonderful. Thanks so much.”

  Tarleton walked out to get his tools and Myrtle said, “Now let’s turn our show back on, or else we’ll be completely lost.”

  Miles seemed uneasy. “It’s not the end of the world if I don’t watch it. I could go on home.”