Buried in Secrets

by Denise Grover Swank

  Her eyes narrowed. “And you thought you’d stop by and…?”

  “Miss Selena,” I said, scooting forward on the sofa and setting my glass on a coaster on the coffee table in front of me. “Ashlynn asked me to drop her off at the county jail so she could see her mother. She said her father had forbidden them all from visiting Pam, but Ashlynn wanted to go anyway. Since I was already headed to Ewing, I took her. I dropped her off at the jail, and she told me to be back in forty-five minutes. Only she didn’t come out when she said she would. I waited nearly a half hour longer, and when I went in to check on her, they said she’d never signed in to visit Pam.”

  “Maybe she changed her mind and went to work.”

  “I was worried enough about her that I went by the pharmacy, and she didn’t show up there either.”

  She frowned. “While I love Ashlynn, she’s not always the most responsible person in the world.”

  “But why would she ask me to take her to the jail, then not go in?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe she changed her mind. Her boyfriend was arrested for possession several months back. I’m fairly certain she went to see him while he was in jail. Maybe she remembered what it was like and changed her mind.” She shrugged. “She’s a flighty girl.”

  “So you’re saying I have nothing to worry about? Because I would feel responsible if something happened to her.”

  She waved her hand in dismissal. “She’s fine. She probably called a friend to give her a ride.”

  I nearly told her that I’d only brought Ashlynn because she’d struggled to find a ride, but I suspected she’d downplay that as well.

  “Well, if you hear from her, tell her I’m worried,” I said.

  “You hardly know her. Why would you be worried?”

  “Because, like I told you, I feel responsible for her after dropping her off. I worry that I should have stuck around to make sure she got in safely.” Then I added in frustration, “She is pregnant, you know.”

  “Of course I know,” she said, sounding irritated. “I was the one who took her to the doctor for her first prenatal checkup. I was also the one who took her to get birth control, fat lot of good that did her since she didn’t take the pills.” She released a sigh and some of her anger faded. “While I do question why you’re so concerned, believe me when I say it’s unfounded. This is typical for Ashlynn’s behavior. Her parents were at wit’s end with her, and I worry that her father will kick her out on her keister. Then again, maybe that’s what she needs.”

  “She’s counting on you for help.”

  “I’m sure she is, and while I plan on giving her plenty of tough love, I won’t let her and her baby sleep out on the street.” She grimaced. “Only don’t tell her I said that.”

  While I was still worried, Selena knew her better than I did. “She won’t hear it from me.”

  “Good.” She took a sip of her tea. “I’m not surprised Ashlynn wanted to see her mother, but I am surprised she defied her father. No one does that. Maybe that’s why she didn’t go inside. She realized it wasn’t worth risking his wrath.”

  “Maybe.” The more I thought about it, the more likely that seemed. Her father might not be a good man, but she was probably dependent on him. Even more so now that she’d lost her job. Maybe she was flighty, like Selena had said, but I also suspected she was trying to protect her baby. Her mother was a lost cause. Her baby needed her more. “Ashlynn said her mother has a public defender, but I’m worried that he’ll consider her case cut and dry and not try to get the best possible sentencing for her.”

  She shook her head. “I love Pam with my heart and soul. She’s like the daughter I never had, but she killed that man in cold blood. All her apologies and excuses won’t bring him back.”

  “Has she apologized?” Then a new thought hit me. “Have you seen her?”

  “I went to see her yesterday, but it was like she was in a catatonic state. When I asked her why she did it, she got a glazed look in her eyes and started mumbling, ‘I’m sorry.’” Selena shot me a look of disapproval. “Why are you insertin’ yourself into this family’s lives? Why are you so concerned about the children in Drum? Why are you livin’ with the grandfather of the boy you saw murdered?” She leaned closer. “What are you up to?”

  My mouth parted in surprise. “I just like to help people, and now that Drum’s my home, I want to give back to my community.”

  “Nobody gives back to their community in Drum.” She shook her head. “You’re up to something, I just don’t know what it is.”

  Not only had I not gotten answers, I’d just made this woman suspicious of me—which was exactly what I’d set out not to do. “I don’t know what to tell you, Miss Selena. Hank needed someone to take care of him after Seth died, and I needed a place to stay. It worked out well for both of us. As for the children, I love kids. When I saw that little girl struggling, and I knew how to do the problem, it would have been wrong to stay silent. Helping made me feel like I was doing something good. Something important.”

  “Are you a saint?”

  I forced a short laugh. “No, I’m definitely not. But I don’t think caring about others is reserved for the religious. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be nearly as many charities.”

  One of her eyebrows lifted. “And the Crimshaws?”

  “It’s just like I told you. I’m worried about Pam and her family. Maybe I didn’t know Pam very well, but what she did shocked me to my core. If she could do something like this, then it feels like anyone could, you know?”

  “So why get mixed up with her family?”

  “Because if I’m shocked, they must feel like they’re living in the Twilight Zone. I only want to help them and, if I can, figure out a way to somehow help Pam. Maybe she had a psychotic break. Maybe what she really needs is a psych evaluation, not life in prison.”

  Selena studied me for a long moment. “Pam’s mentioned you, you know.”

  I jolted in surprise. “Oh?”

  “She liked that you started tutoring kids. She said you were sweet. A lot sweeter than the other waitress. The loud one.”

  I laughed. “Ruth. She’s not one to pussyfoot around.” I tilted my head to the side. “But she sure knows how to handle the men on game nights.”

  Selena’s shoulders seemed to relax. “I told Pam that I thought you were up to something. Nobody’s that nice, but she insisted you were the real deal.” Her eyes narrowed. “Tell me why you’re really livin’ with Hank.”

  It occurred to me what she was hinting at. “If you think I’m living with Hank to find his fortune, you’re dead wrong. There’s no fortune to be had. If he had money, it’s long gone. I suspect he spent it all on his wife’s medical care.”

  “Hank used to make money hand over fist back in the day. He had a whole enterprise goin’ on. Hired almost as many people in this town as Bart Drummond did in his lumber business.”

  While Marco had said he was the largest marijuana distributer in eastern Tennessee, and I knew he’d had employees, I’d had no idea his operation had been so big.

  “Surely you knew he was a drug dealer,” she said in surprisingly kind tone.

  “Yes, but he hasn’t been for years. Or so I’ve been told.”

  “He turned away from it a good decade ago. Mary hated it all, and when she got ill, she asked him to give it up. Surprisingly, he did. For some reason, they’ve lived out in that rinky-dink house since they were first married, even when he was making big money. I asked Mary once why she didn’t force him to move her somewhere nicer, and she said they had a tie to the land, but I always suspected Hank was just bein’ tight-fisted.” She gave me a smug look. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a fortune buried on his land. Along with a few bodies.”

  I wasn’t sure about the bodies, but I was about the fortune. “The man’s roof was leaking so badly we had to put a bucket underneath the ceiling until we could get a repairman out, and even then we piecemealed it. Hank’s flat broke, so if I were t
here for his money, I’d be wasting my time. And before you ask again, it’s just like I said—I needed a place to stay and he needed help. He let me live there rent free in exchange for cooking his meals and taking care of him. Now we’re friends, and I wouldn’t move somewhere else even if I could afford to.”

  “Carnita says you’ve checked out diabetic cooking books.”

  “I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Miss Selena.”

  “Just tryin’ to figure out why you’re living with a man twice your age.”

  Lots of people were curious, but few were bold enough to continue pressing the matter. “You’re getting a little personal.”

  “And so are you with all your questions about Pam and her family.”

  She had a point. “I promise you that I’m only trying to help, but I understand and appreciate your concerns.” I got to my feet. “I won’t take any more of your time.”

  “Why are you really here?” she asked, turning to face me as I headed for the door.

  “I already told you. I’m very concerned about Ashlynn. You know her better than I do, but I can’t shake the worry that she might be missing. If there’s a chance I was the last person to see her, I feel it’s my duty to do something about that. And two, I’m worried about Pam. You’re right, of course—nothing can justify what she did. Jim Palmer’s never coming back. But I don’t believe she’d just shoot a man in cold blood, not without a good reason. If Pam really did have some type of psychotic break, or if she knew Mr. Palmer and thought she was avenging some wrong, then it seems like that should be taken into consideration at her sentencing.”

  Her face softened. “You really do care about her. Why?”

  “I’ve heard the justice system isn’t always fair here, so if I can help Pam in any way, then I aim to do it.”

  She pursed her lips for a moment, then grimaced and motioned for me to sit back down. “I may regret this, but I guess you’ve fooled me too.”

  I stayed in place. “I’m not trying to fool anyone, Miss Selena.”

  “Okay, poor choice of words,” she said. “I’m a math teacher, not an English professor. I deal with numbers and logic, not daydreams and fancy thinkin’.”

  I gave her a long look, then sat down. “Sometimes daydreams become reality. Do you know anything that could help Pam? Sandy said she was taking medication for depression.”

  “Not lately she wasn’t. Rob insisted that taking an antidepressant was a sign of weakness. He told her it was all in her head.”

  I pulled my small notebook out of my purse and turned to the next available page. “When did she start taking them?” I asked, uncapping my pen.

  “You’re takin’ notes?”

  “We have to present a clear, accurate account. You bet I’m taking notes.”

  The suspicion had returned to her eyes, but she continued. “Around the time of Thad’s accident. She’d been havin’ a rough time leading up to it. He was givin’ her and Rob fits with his bad behavior. Drinkin’ and sassin’. Gettin’ in trouble at school. Rob blamed her for it, of course. Said her coddlin’ was part of the problem and she needed to let him handle it, but his way of handlin’ it was with a belt and his hand. He beat that child badly enough that one of the teachers at the middle school turned them in to child protective services. The social worker made a home visit, but Rob convinced them he was exercising his parental rights and it didn’t cross the line into child abuse. It scared Pam something fierce, knowing she’d nearly lost him and Ricky too, and Thad rebelled even more. Then he and his friend got drunk and stole Pam’s minivan. They hit that poor man on Highway 25 out on the way to the overlook. If she was depressed before, she fell into a pit of grief after. Thad and his friend were hurt, but not as badly as that unlucky man in the other car. They were all in the same hospital in Greeneville, and Pam had to see the poor man’s family and deal with their anger. She couldn’t eat. Couldn’t sleep. Her doctor put her on some type of medication, but she wouldn’t tell me what. She hid it from Rob, and I didn’t even know she was still takin’ the pills until she told me about three months ago that Rob had found out and belittled her. She quit cold turkey and was nearly suicidal, but it all worked out. Or so I thought until I heard about that poor insurance agent.”

  We were both silent for a moment, the only sound was my pen on paper as I hurried to make notes.

  “So it really might have been some kind of psychotic break,” I said. “You can’t just quit those kind of drugs. You have to be weaned.”

  “I tried to tell her that,” Selena said. “But Rob insisted.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking,” I said, “why did she stay with him? It sounds like she wasn’t happy.”

  “And where would she go?” Selena asked. “She used to run a home daycare, but to do that you need a house, and there was no way Rob would let her keep the house. He would have kicked her out, and he sure as hell wouldn’t have let her take the boys. Those kids were her whole world. She stayed so she wouldn’t lose them.”

  I pushed back my rising despair. There was so much poverty here, so many women trapped in dire situations without the money or the resources to escape. But then Emily Drummond had stayed with Bart for the same reason—for fear she would lose her children—so maybe it wasn’t just limited to the impoverished.

  “Did the other boy’s family blame Pam and Rob for the accident?”

  “Oh yes, and I think they considered suing, but they changed their tune. She only had to deal with a lawsuit from the guy in the other car.”

  “Do you know why the other family decided not to sue?”

  “Not a clue, but Pam didn’t seem all that surprised. I think she was numb by then.”

  Was this the smoking gun that Bart had given Pam a favor?

  “Does the family live in Drum?” I asked.

  “Out by White Rabbit Holler”

  “No kidding,” I said. “I live out in White Rabbit Holler. What’s their last name? Maybe I know them.”

  “The Genslers. Their son is Spencer, and I taught both of his parents. Donald and Kay.”

  Pursing my lips, I shook my head. “Don’t know them, but Hank might.” I wrote down their names, then asked, “Do you know if Pam knew Jim Palmer?”

  She shook her head. “No. She never mentioned him. Travis Keeling is her agent, and before that, she had an agent with State Farm. Jim Palmer’s an independent agent.” She grimaced. “Or I guess he was.”

  “Could she have known him from somewhere else? Maybe their kids were on the same sports teams?”

  “The boys don’t play any sports. Poor Ricky tried to play football, but he wasn’t much good at it. Quit his sophomore year—mid-season.” She shook her head. “Rob was fit to be tied over that.”

  “Did you know Jim Palmer? Did you have him as a student?”

  She gave me a tight smile. “Yes. He was also my insurance agent, and his daughter, Laurie, was in my geometry class last year.”

  I’d just found my source of information about Pam’s victim.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “What about Jim’s wife?” I asked, my pen poised over the notebook.

  “No,” she said with a frown. “Jim met Melinda at college and brought her back to Ewing.”

  “I heard Jim’s father owned the agency before him.”

  “That’s right. Jim, Sr. died from cancer about a decade ago. When the kids were small.”

  “And Jim had two children?” Marco had mentioned that fact, but it wouldn’t hurt to verify it.

  “A girl and a boy. Laurie was a freshman last year, and her brother Pete is in middle school.”

  “It sounds like Jim was well liked. I saw signs and flowers outside the office.”

  “Oh, yes,” she said, still frowning. “One of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He coached his kids’ sports teams and his business sponsored plenty of others. He was a strong presence in the Ewing Small Business Club. He even helped organize a food drive every year.”

 
; “Can you think of any reason why someone would hate him?”

  “Jim?” she asked in surprise. “No. That’s what’s so shocking about Pam murdering him. Even if you can look past the fact that she was the one who pulled the trigger, Jim was the last person you’d expect to be murdered.”

  “So he didn’t have any enemies?”

  “Not that I knew of,” she said. “Just a likeable guy.”

  “And his wife?”

  She didn’t answer, and I looked up to see her mouth shifted to one side. She gave me a hesitant smile. “I don’t know anything for a fact.”

  “I’ll take that into account.”

  “She never much cared for Ewing. It was no secret she wanted Jim to sell the business and move to Memphis—where she’s originally from.”

  “Memphis to Ewing,” I said. “That had to be quite the culture shock.”

  “I guess you would know,” Selena said. “Since you dropped here from Atlanta.”

  “True,” I said. “If they met in college, I wonder what she was studying.”

  “Oh, I know the answer to that one,” Selena said. “She was studying to be a nurse, only she never finished. She was a year behind Jim, and she got pregnant toward the end of her junior year. Jim was planning on comin’ back to run his daddy’s business, so she dropped out and they got married and moved back here.”

  “So she gave up her dreams to become a wife and mother in a town with a population of eight thousand?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Do you know if she had a job?”

  “She opened a home goods store in downtown Ewing, but it went under. After that, she worked for Jim some.”

  I paused and looked up at her. “How long ago was that?”

  “I don’t know…five years? Six? She made a go of it for two years, but then finally threw in the towel. They nearly lost the house after that.”

  If this was a Bart favor, maybe it wasn’t Jim who’d asked for the favor. Maybe it was Melinda.