by T. J. Jones
"Wrong side to see the driver. Don't know, it was a car, four wheels and a dark color. I don't see so good that far away."
"And that was it, you went to bed?"
"I heard her go inside, and her fighting with Al some, then it was quiet and I fell asleep."
"What time do you think that was?"
"I never miss Fallon and they were still yelling when it ended. Must have been midnight by the time they were done. Can't hear words, but I hear the noise."
"So Al is lying." I stated the obvious. "He wasn't asleep by ten, and he must have known she talked to Wally."
"And you told the investigator about all of this?" Maggie reiterated.
"Not about Wally, I ain't stupid. The cops made up their minds and they're probably right. Even if Al did shove her down those steps, nobody seen it and there's no way to prove it."
"Unfortunately, you're probably right about that. Did you see Wally again? Did he come back and try to talk to her, after the fall?"
"No, but he found out some way, 'cause I saw him at the funeral. He was in a bad way, crying and carrying on and I was wanting to talk to him, but afterwards he just disappeared."
"Was he alone?"
"People all crowded together, I couldn't say. Wasn't anybody hanging on him like family would."
We all stood up and Maggie wrapped the old woman in a hug. "I'm sorry you lost your friend Mrs. Lewis, and I hope it was just a fall. I'm afraid we'll never know."
The old woman wiped at her eyes. "She's in a better place, I know that for sure."
We had the address and contact name for the shelter where Wallace's sister had picked him up. It was a solemn ride. When we pulled up to the shelter, Maggie finally spoke.
"The Wheels of Justice don't always work, do they?"
"We can't be sure what happened. But you're right, it didn't get looked into like it should have."
"Is that because she was a poor black woman, or because Harrison was just too damn lazy to get out of his chair?"
"Some of both I would imagine."
"Do you think the cops at home would have done a better job investigating if Davey hadn't been gay? It wouldn't have changed anything for him, but it makes me wonder. If they had taken it seriously, maybe Sam would still be alive, or my Dad."
"Considering the people involved, I don't think those things would have changed Maggie. Susan Foster and the group she works with are better cops than Harrison or the bunch of losers that ignored your brother's murder. Sooner or later they are going to get the people responsible for what happened to Davey."
"And my Dad?"
"I wish I could say he didn't deserve what happened to him, but you said you want me to be honest with you."
She shook it off and smiled. "The good news is it doesn't seem likely Wally killed Lainey. Maybe the woman here can tell us something helpful."
"I remember Wallace very clearly." The homeless shelter that Wally had stayed at wasn't very large: two dozen beds, a small kitchen, and a couple bathrooms with stall showers. The smiling woman walked over to a post and lifted a clipboard from it. She flipped back several pages and ran her pen down a list. "We sign people in, even if we're not sure if the names they give us are real. You said the twenty-third, right? Here's Wally right here. Came in about nine o'clock in the evening and called his sister the next morning bright and early. He was on a suicide watch because he was so distraught, cried himself to sleep, poor thing."
"And he just walked in off the street, nobody dropped him off?"
She shrugged and looked at her notes. "No. Most of the people that come in here don't have somebody to call like Wallace did. They come alone and leave alone."
"We really appreciate your help."
Chapter Nine
I called Detective Harrison on the way out of town and gave him a piece of my mind. It was a futile gesture but it made Maggie and I both feel a little better. It was early so we decided to drive straight back to Georgia and check on Wally. He was parked on his couch watching television in an old pair of ragged pajamas.
"No problems today. Older kids came by and gave the younger ones a talking to. Good kids, those three. Bo, he was asking after you, Maggie." The old man chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "You get your business done in Jacksonville?"
Maggie was abrupt. "Some of it. Our lives would be easier if you just told us where Lilly is, Wally. We know you know."
"Note said she had to run off, cause of her Daddy. Why don't you ask him what become of her? Note said she would call when she could, and I'm still waiting. Y'all don't need to be hanging around if you don't want, I'll be fine here. Sherriff was by today, says he'll keep an eye on me. I ain't complaining mind you, I like the company."
"Camille wants us to keep trying to find Lilly." Maggie touched his shoulder. "You don't remember the car ride you took? The time you went to Charleston?"
He frowned at her and huffed out a reply. "I said I ain't never been there! Why you keep asking? I'm plumb beat, time I go to bed."
"Okay, will we see you in the morning?" Maggie asked.
"Suit yourself, I'll be here." He mumbled and shuffled toward his bedroom. "Lock the door on your way out."
We left my truck there and drove back toward the motel. "I made him mad by asking again, but it's hard to believe he doesn't remember being there for five days, especially after seeing Lainey and then going to her funeral three days later."
"People lie, even nice old guys like Wally. He thinks he's doing it for a good cause and that Lilly will thank him. It seemed like she led him along some. Maybe he was giving her money."
"They were both getting something out of the friendship, she learned to sculpt and he had company. Doesn't mean that he gave her money, but if he did, would that be so horrible?"
I chose my words carefully. "I guess, during the times Wally's mind isn't playing tricks on him, they're both consenting adults. But after what we saw in Miami, and the thing with your Dad, I'm surprised you aren't a little cynical about the age difference."
"Rosalyn Cabello was fourteen when the White Devil locked her in a dog kennel and raped her, it's not even close to the same thing. You were running around Miami without me, shooting people, why didn't you shoot him too?" She was suddenly angry and I lashed back without thinking.
"I could have and I thought about it, believe me. I had to go to Miami myself because Cletus Johnson had shot a hole in your leg, remember? You insisted we go to Atlanta. Was that my fault too?" We were both tired and it could have escalated into our first real fight but she stopped it.
"You could have shot the Diablo?" She asked quietly. "Why didn't you?"
How was I ever going to tell her that the Diablo was her uncle, still alive and well? "Because, he was unarmed and helpless at the time. I'm not going to kill someone in cold blood, even someone I know deserves it."
"Did he kill my brother, my brother Davey?" She whispered, blue eyes staring through me.
"No. But he was in business with the people that did. A lot of people were." We had rushed into dangerous territory and I wasn't ready for that conversation. "Maggie, it's complicated. Diablo, your Dad, Davey, they were all involved one way or another in something much bigger than they knew. International, people protected at the highest levels of several governments, and organized crime. There's a lot I have to tell you and I will, but this isn't the time or place. Can we just focus on what we're doing here, because the rest of it is out of our hands. I will tell you everything I know but I need some time, and please trust me on this, so do you. Okay?"
I was afraid to tell her how deeply her father and uncle had been involved, and maybe she was afraid to hear it, because she let it go.
"I'm starved, want to stop at the Outhouse and eat?"
I laughed. "Doesn't sound very appetizing when you say it like that, but I am hungry."
If I'd known Levi Davis was in the bar, I might not have gone in there. Then again, I might have. Maggie and I took our table near the kitchen agai
n and each ordered a beer and burger. The bar was quiet, just one other couple and three men sitting at the bar. Levi, Kyle Davis, and a third man, an older black man. I nodded in their direction.
"You whip the Davis brothers, I'll take the old guy."
Maggie snickered. "Behave yourself. We start a fight and the Sherriff will run us out of town. Don't tell me you want to argue with that guy."
"He is impressively huge, that's for sure. What does your Sensei say about fighting a guy that big?"
"Don't!" Maggie giggled. "But I don't need a wise old Japanese man to tell me that. Fighting any guy is hard, because pound for pound they're usually stronger. You can be faster and use their weight against them, but if someone like the Sherriff or your buddy Cletus lands a solid punch, it's game over. I teach the girls in my classes to avoid situations where they have to fight, but if they have to, then fight dirty."
Levi Davis had glanced in our direction once or twice, and now he seemed embroiled in an argument with his brother. The third man was tending to his beer, but he looked at us repeatedly as well.
"Think that might be Lilly's Dad?" I asked the redhead. "Right age, and he works with those guys. Don't imagine it would be a good time to ask about his daughter's whereabouts."
"You go up there and I'm leaving. I'll pick up the pieces at the jail tomorrow morning. You're about to be forty, act your age."
"I was kidding. I don't think old Evert knows where she is either. Sounded to me like she wanted out of this town to get away from him as much as anything. Hope we can find the girl with the orange hair tomorrow, she's about our last hope. Jane swore she doesn't know, and she said Clara probably didn't either, but it won't hurt to ask. We'll have to feed Wally more pie. I think he's getting tired of our company."
The Davis brothers had lowered their voices, but I could see they were still disagreeing about something. I was speculating that Levi wanted to resume our quarrel. If all three of them came over it would get ugly. Our food came and we had just started eating when suddenly Levi slammed his beer bottle on the counter and walked out the door, giving Maggie and I a scathing look as he went by. Half a minute later, the older man that I was sure was Evert Franklin, sauntered on past and followed him out the door. Kyle glanced in our direction, then returned to his beer and the game that was playing on the big screen. I may be a Neanderthal, but I breathed a sigh of relief. One Davis brother, even the toughest one, wasn't nearly as worrying as three men to deal with.
We had just finished eating when Kyle Davis walked over to our table. I expected the worst. Instead he walked up to the table and smiled, pulled his cowboy hat off and nodded to me, then spoke to Maggie.
"I heard there was a problem at the Diner yesterday morning Ma'am, and that Levi was disrespectful to you. I want to apologize for him, 'cause he's too stupid and mean to do it for himself. Our Daddy, he's a hard man sometimes, but he always taught us to respect a lady. Levi gives you any more trouble, no disrespect to you Mr. Slater, but I'll have to have a chat with him."
"Thank-you Kyle, that's very sweet." Maggie extended her hand and he shook it briefly then put his hat on, preparing to leave.
I spoke up. "All we want is to find Lilly and prove Wally didn't have anything to do with her disappearing. Is there anything you can tell us that would help with that?"
"Old Evert, he wasn't any kind of a father after his wife died, and now he's a drunk. I think he figured if Lilly stayed with Lee things would work out better for her, and for him. But Lee's like Levi, he gets an idea in his head and there's no changing it. He was bound and determined him and Lilly were meant to be together, and she was bound and determined they weren't. It got ugly, and didn't end well. Lee and I got into a pretty good scrap over it and that's mostly why Levi wants to make trouble for Wallace. Evert's just stirring the pot, sticking with Levi. They don't believe that old man did anything to her any more than I do, but like I said, Levi is stubborn. He didn't like that I gave Lee a beating, but he had it coming and then some. I got word he slapped Lilly around, and I wasn't about to let that go."
"Where do you suppose she is?" I asked.
"Anywhere but here, I guess, happier for it most likely. Levi gives you any more trouble, Miss Maggie, I'll have that chat with him. Night folks."
Maggie stared after him. "Is have a chat, hillbilly for an ass whopping?" She looked at me and laughed. "Wow Slater, I am crushing on that boy, so bad."
Okay, now I was a little jealous.
Somehow, we missed Clara the next morning. Wally was his cheerful self, happy to see us again, and all seemed forgiven from the night before. He was in his garage early, chiseling away on a different figurine. It was one I hadn't seen, not a figurine exactly, but a bust of a beautiful girl. He grinned from ear to ear when the three high-schooler's walked into the garage and recognized his depiction of Lilly.
"That is so beautiful." The young girl exclaimed. "And it looks so real, except maybe it's even prettier than Lilly. What do you think Bo?"
"I don't know, Lilly is pretty hot. Looks just like her to me."
"Do you have any pictures of her Wally?" Maggie asked him.
"No need, I see her up here." He pointed at his head. Obviously, the neurons that connected her memory to his hands worked very well, because the face of the girl he had produced in the wood seemed to be staring out as us, a wistful look in her eye and a shyness in the curve of her full lips. He had managed to make the block of wood do everything but draw breath.
It dawned on me that we hadn't seen any photographic evidence of the girl. Maggie pulled out her phone and took a picture of the carving, so that was something. There had to be yearbook pictures, and I made a mental note to find one. But all the pictures in the world wouldn't do us any good if we didn't have a flesh and blood girl to compare them to. If Wally knew where she was, he was being very stubborn about telling us. We needed Clara.
Rose, the girl in the little trio of our high school friends wasn't sure about Clara.
"She's kind of a loner, like Lilly was. When either one of them hung out, it was usually with each other, you know?" I admitted I knew nothing about high school girls, but Rosie promised to look for her in school. "I'll tell her your looking for her, but I can't promise you that will help. Her Daddy's been in some trouble and she's likely to run, thinking you’re the law. She doesn't care for the Sherriff any, that's for sure. I'll tell her you want to talk to her if I can find her between classes, but best bet is to catch her walking by. Have Maggie do it, she sees you, she'll think you’re a cop for sure."
It wasn't clear to me if I should be offended by that.
We took Wally to lunch again. It was a cheap trick, trying to bribe him with a pork chop and Apple pie, but we were getting desperate. The hope was that as he became more comfortable with us, he might trust us with Lilly's location. Bonnie waited on us, dispensing coffee and gossip in equal doses.
"I hear Levi and Kyle about got into it last night at The Shit-shack." She shared.
"Bonnie come on, we have to eat." I groaned.
She blinked. "I'm the waitress ain't I? You think I just come over here to chat?"
"We were at the bar last night." Maggie put in. "They argued a little, but there wasn't much to it."
"Don't encourage her." I looked up at Bonnie. "How could you possibly know anything about that? We were the only ones in there."
"I hear things, Smarty-butt, like I said. Bartender was already in for his grits. Call me when you're ready to order." She put her nose in the air and stomped away.
"Why would anyone in their right mind call their bar the Outhouse? It's like they're asking for it." I fumed and picked up the menu.
"Lilly, run off and married someone else." Wally said glumly.
Maggie looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry Wally. I know you miss her, but it was Lainey that married someone else, remember? That was a long time ago."
"Wasn't all that long ago, just a bit." His eyes were glazed over, and I noticed he was shaking again,
like the day we had the encounter with Levi. Beads of sweat dotted his face.
"Wally, are you feeling okay?" I asked, and Maggie put a hand on his forehead.
He jerked away and looked around the restaurant as if he were lost, then his eyes came to rest on one of the pictures of Maryetta hanging on the wall over the counter and he sat staring at it. He reached for his water and I could see his hand was shaking even more than before. "Damn, that Lainey." He shouted, suddenly loud and aggressive. "Black girl can't be no Jew. Damn Lainey, and damn Lilly too."
"It's okay Wally. Nobody's a Jew." Maggie shook her head at me, wide-eyed as she rubbed his shoulder. I reached for my phone, thinking about calling for an ambulance. I was no medic, but it seemed like more than dementia, possibly a stroke.
Bonnie appeared suddenly with a glass of orange juice. She slammed it down in front of Wally, then snapped her fingers loudly and waved them in front of his face. "Wallace, drink this orange juice, right now." He reached out a shaky hand and hoisted the glass as she watched. She looked over at me. "Seen him like this before. He's a diabetic you know. Damn fool is too proud to use a pill box, so sometimes he takes too many pills. Late lunch like this, his blood sugar drops too low and he gets all wonky. Couple minutes, he'll be fine. Lilly used to tend to those pills for him, now he has to figure it out for himself. So order your food, I don't have all day."
"Wonky?" Maggie snickered after she walked away. "Takes all kinds, but that Bonnie is amazing."
"Now I'm the one crushing on somebody." I admitted.
"Swears too God damn much." Wally mumbled and drank the last swallow of his juice. "Lilly never swore like that."
When school ended we took our posts, sitting on lawn chairs in front of Wally's garage waiting for Clara to come by. How many skinny black girls with orange hair could there be? Rose walked up and told us that she had talked to Clara, but that it sounded like she wasn't wild about the idea of talking to us. I was afraid we would miss her and that she might take another route home to avoid us.
