Die a Yellow Ribbon

by Teresa Trent

  Ruby perked up a little bit. “Thank you. At least there are some members of your family who have their heads on their shoulders. I knew I could always count on you to see things realistically, Betsy. But enough about me. We need to talk about how we will be the victors in finding the golden pecan.”

  “About that,” Maggie said. “I may not be able to help you out with it.”

  “What do you mean?” Ruby was clearly taken aback. “We had a plan. I don’t think I can execute this without you.”

  “Danny’s center is closed on Saturday, so we’ll have him along.”

  “That’s okay. The more, the merrier, right, Danny?”

  Danny gave an infectious grin and pumped his fist in the air. “Right!”

  “Nevertheless, he can get us distracted.”

  “Lighten up, Maggie. It will be fun! I was thinking about this last night, and I decided I’ve been going about it all wrong. When I’ve done this in other years, I wracked my brain thinking about the best place to hide something, but I was always thinking about it from my perspective. This year I had an epiphany.”

  “Pray tell what?” Maggie shooed Danny’s hand away from his fourth helping of cookies.

  “I need to think like Rocky.”

  Thinking like Rocky was something that would be extremely hard for Ruby. She had her own take on the world, which involved fashion, hair, and gossip. Rocky was more current events, sports, and…gossip. Maybe she could get insight into him.

  “And how do you propose to do that?” I asked.

  Ruby switched her focus from my aunt to me. “Why through you, of course.”

  Her gaze intensified as she gave me a smile that would make the Cheshire Cat wince. I placed a hand on my throat. “Me?”

  “Yes. You. You are the inside track to the Pecan Bayou Gazette and all its doings. Who else works with Rocky and knows his every thought?”

  “His son, Nicholas?”

  “Yes, I suppose so,” she agreed. “But I don’t have the access to Nicholas that I have to you. Tell me, because I’m sure all you newsies know. Where is Rocky going to hide the golden pecan?”

  My mouth dropped at her blatant question. “Even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you. It wouldn’t be fair. I may work with Rocky, but I have no idea how he thinks. It may surprise you, but sometimes I wonder if he’s even thinking at all. Sorry, Ruby. I’m not your edge in this competition. Rocky doesn’t tell me this kind of thing. Besides, he knows my own family will be hunting for it. There’s no way he would share anything like that with me.”

  Ruby reached for a cookie, took a bite, and then smiled. “You misunderstand me, Betsy. I’m not asking you to tell me where the golden pecan might be. I’m asking you to give me insight into Rocky’s habits. Where does he get his coffee, for instance?”

  “Where we all do. We only have one coffee shop in town. Earl’s.”

  Ruby bit her bottom lip causing just a tiny bit of lipstick to stain her teeth. “I suppose you’re right about that. Okay. Where does he go after work? What does he do?”

  “Well, okay. Some nights Rocky goes out to dinner with what he calls the widow of the week.” Rocky was single, slightly handsome, and in his fifties, which made him quite the catch for the newly-unencumbered crowd. “But he’s been trying to cut back on that. Said he’s gaining too much weight.”

  “If you ask me,” Maggie said, “I think some of these ladies are on to him. He’s not coming over to their house to explore a new relationship. He’s mostly coming over to dig into a new casserole.”

  “Okay. If not there, where does he go?”

  “I don’t know.” I had never taken this much time to think about, much less talk about my boss. “He might spend time with his son. Sometimes he goes home. He might go over to one of the two bars in town—but he isn’t much of a drinker. He’s only there listening for any scoops on town news on a slow day.”

  “Not much there to work with. Who is his best friend?”

  Everyone knew that my father and Rocky were close. They were often on either side of a criminal case, but it didn’t matter. They had a shared history.

  My aunt’s brows furrowed. “Good grief, Ruby. It’s like you never met the man. You’ve been living in the same city as Rocky for the last fifty years. Who do you think his best friend is?”

  “Judd. I just thought he might have another. Maybe he’s changing as he ages, branching out a little bit.”

  I shook my head. “And now you can see trying to get insight into Rocky’s thinking is a waste of time.”

  Trying to get into a man’s mind can be tough, especially if you fear he might never have had one to begin with.

  Chapter 4

  On the morning of the long-awaited treasure hunt, Pecan Bayou’s finest and maybe-not-so-finest gathered at Benny’s Barbecue to get ready for the opening ceremony. Birdie’s Diner had a sign posted outside that read, CLOSED FOR THE TREASURE HUNT. Earl’s Coffee had a temporary staff that was rumored to be taking forever, so the town descended on Benny and family. Town residents were enjoying a cup of coffee and one of Benny’s wife’s signature ginger muffins to start what would be an exciting day. Benny and Celia had four children, and it was a family affair as they attempted to wait on customers.

  Because the hunt was such an exhausting endeavor, lasting twenty-four hours from 10 a.m. on Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday, many people had decided to work in teams with an agreement that if one of the team members found it, they would take the cruise together or split up the cash reward.

  Libby Loper, daughter of the late cowboy star, Charlie Loper, donated the prize, so she wasn’t eligible to compete. Libby sat with Maggie and Ruby Green at one of Benny’s tables. Ruby had convinced Maggie to go with her on the hunt on the condition that Maggie did not have to flirt with middle-aged Romeos. I was teamed up with Leo and the kids, one of many families competing to find the golden pecan.

  Rocky was flitting about from table to table, trying to get a few short quotes from the contestants. He walked up to Ruby’s table, pad in hand.

  “So, do you think you’re going to win the golden pecan, Ruby?” Rocky asked.

  “I’m going to try,” she said. She leaned forward just slightly. “Let me ask you something. Did you hide the pecan someplace similar to where you hid it last year?”

  Rocky stopped scribbling on his pad and looked up over his reading glasses. “You know, I didn’t go to one of those ivy league schools, but I don’t think it would be very smart to hide it in the same place as last year.”

  Ruby batted her false eyelashes at him making me think of a scene in Bambi. “And just where was that? I can’t recall.”

  “I can tell you that,” Libby said, her turquoise bracelets dangling as she picked up a cup of coffee and took a quick sip. “He hid it over behind NUTV. Don’t you remember that? It was in a cardboard box next to the dumpster. Very clever.”

  “Oh yes,” Ruby nodded. “So, you’re a hide-it-in-plain-sight kind of guy, then.”

  “Don’t forget, I found it two years ago when the prize was a thousand dollars,” Aunt Maggie said.

  Ruby snapped her fingers. “Right. You did! It was in the pecan grove at the other end of Main Street. Hmm.” She looked at Rocky again. “And it would appear you tend to hide things around established businesses in Pecan Bayou, right?”

  “Why do I get the feeling that you’re getting more information out of me than I am of you?” Rocky put his pad away. “That’s for me to know and you to find out. The only hint I’ll give is to follow the yellow tag. Or better yet—” He began to sing, “Spy a yellow ribbon on the old pecan tree.”

  Half an hour later, we were standing in the heat and blaring sun in Pecan Bayou’s town square. Rocky stood with Vic Butler, and next to Vic was his beautiful wife Sarah, who was attempting to bring a cardboard box onto the raised platform. Everyone else had on practical clothing for what could be a dusty treasure hunt, but Sarah wore a clingy red dress and four-inch black heels. All she need
ed was a sparkling sash to complete the picture. The dress did little to conceal her ample cleavage, and she looked more like she was going out to dinner than to a treasure hunt. My stepson, Tyler, noticed her struggle and went to lift the box for her. Before he could get his hands on the box, he was bumped out of the way by Mark Valencia.

  “Let me do it, kid. She needs a real man for the job.” He flashed a smile at Sarah, who acknowledged him with a grin playing on the corners of her lips.

  “Really, I’m fine,” she said. “This young man—” Her gaze shifted to Tyler.

  “Tyler.”

  “Yes. Tyler and I have it under control,” she said, pulling away from the owner of Maximum Muscle.

  “Come on, baby. I think you need a knight in shining armor right now, not a kid. I’m just the guy.” It was obvious Mark wasn’t used to taking no for an answer. Sarah and Mark could have been a perfect match, both being more attractive than the average person. She could have landed a job on the television show Baywatch in the ’90s. I could see her bouncing down the beach in a red swimsuit, rescue board in hand. Mark was the six-pack-ab guy women imagined in romantic novels. They looked like the perfect trophy couple.

  “You’re sweet,” she smiled.

  Tyler blushed, placed the box on the stage, gave an awkward bow, and stepped back next to me. “She’s beautiful,” he said under his breath.

  If there were such a thing as a pheromone catcher, I would have landed a netful. Tyler was smitten. To me, he was still a child, but according to the calendar, he was on the edge of adulthood, and today he was getting a good look at a real woman. Well, almost real.

  My gaze drifted across the crowd. By my count, most of the town had shown up for the hunting of the golden pecan. This not being my first treasure hunt, I could easily classify the hunters into three groups. The first group was in it for fun and would last just a couple of hours. Then there were the more serious hunters like Maggie and Ruby, who would most likely make it for at least eight hours. Finally, there was the die-hard group that would power through until the golden pecan had been found. You could pick them out pretty easily because none of them were smiling. They reminded me more of Navy Seals going into combat rather than fun-loving Texans hunting for a goofy pecan.

  Maggie and Ruby looked adorable, fanny packs attached, sun visors on, and each wearing a matching set of binoculars. Ruby had augmented her appearance with a bright orange vest so that Maggie would not lose track of her. It was an unusual wardrobe choice for her, but at least no hunters would be taking her down today.

  “You sure are bright, Miss Ruby,” Tyler said with a grin.

  “Well, thank you. I wasn’t sure if this matched my complexion, but I wanted to be especially visible when I give a hoot and holler after I find that golden pecan.” You could find Ruby across Sleeping Beauty’s overgrown forest with that vest.

  Danny stood behind Aunt Maggie, his hand up over his eyebrows as he gazed at the sun.

  “Morning, Danny,” I said.

  “Hey, Betsy,” he answered. “It’s too hot today.”

  “It sure is,” Ruby said. “That’s why your mama and I need to find the pecan fast.”

  “Good luck, ladies,” I said before going to find the rest of my family.

  “And good luck to you, baby girl.” Maggie adjusted her visor and leaned closer. “I just know somebody in our family is going to get this cruise.”

  “You may as well go home right now,” a low voice said from behind Aunt Maggie and Ruby. Earl Brown of Earl’s Java stood behind them with another gentleman who looked vaguely familiar.

  Earl stepped forward next to the man who had interrupted us. “I don’t know if you ladies have met my brother. This is Bosco. He just got back from a, uh, long business trip and wanted to get here to hunt for the golden pecan.”

  “I didn’t know you had a brother, Earl. Where have you been hiding him all these years?” Ruby asked.

  Earl stuttered a bit. “Oh, he’s been around. Mostly upstate.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been pretty tied up with business. You could say I couldn’t get away.” Earl’s brother Bosco had on brand-new blue jeans, and I could still see the tell-tale threads on the back waist where a tag formerly resided. His crisp plaid shirt still had the folding lines of a newly purchased garment. On his head was a spotless Astros ball cap. He was not as heavy-set as Earl and had the build of a wrestler. When he smiled, he revealed the gap of a missing bicuspid. “Like I said, you may as well give up. If there’s loot out there to find, I’m your man. I guess you could say I’ve made a career out of finding things.”

  Maggie tipped up her sun visor a bit to meet Bosco’s eyes. “Let me tell you, Mr. Bosco. Don’t underestimate two old ladies. We will most certainly find that golden pecan. We know this town backward and forward. You, my friend, are a visitor.”

  Bosco rumbled into a deep throaty laugh, making the sound echo over the sounds of the crowd milling around them. “So, you say, but my brother Earl has been living here serving you coffee all these years. If he doesn’t know as much as you know, he’s not as smart as I thought he was. Why don’t you go on home and knit a potholder, little lady? That’s more to your suiting. This right here is a man’s game, and I could use that money from the cruise. I may go on a trip or I may buy myself a brand-new car. One of those sporty types. I need some wheels these days.”

  Earl stepped forward while at the same time putting an arm across his brother to pull him back. “You ladies are some of my most loyal customers. We wish you luck. My brother’s just a little excited. May the best man or woman win.”

  Stan, the manager from NUTV and Howard Gunther, our local paranormal enthusiast, made their way through the crowd and took their place next to Ruby and Maggie. NUTV was the town’s TV station bought for Stan by his parents twenty years ago. We always thought it was their way of keeping him in our tiny town and away from the bright lights of the city. He wanted to be in the entertainment industry, and what better way to do it than have a TV station? It was low-budget and featured shows like Bowling with Beulah and The Farm Report, but he was happy with it. Stan loved to wear bow ties, and today he had one on with matching yellow suspenders and navy chino pants.

  “Hello, Maggie,” Howard said. “I’d say we have a track record for finding things, being charter members of the Pecan Bayou Paranormal Society. Maybe we’ll spot a ghost as a bonus.”

  “Good morning, ladies,” Stan added. “Feels like a beautiful day. The last time we all worked together was the investigation of the old tuberculosis hospital. This should be fun.” Howard gave Stan a grin and rubbed his palms together in anticipation. The two men made a strange, mismatched pair. Stan, dressed in his familiar bow tie, was as ever, incredibly neat. Howard Gunther looked a little like he had slept in his Hawaiian shirt and wrinkled khaki shorts. Stan would not only be participating in the contest but was carrying his camera and planned to do a few segments for the local cable access channel.

  Birdie and a team of four waitresses all dressed in their customary blue Birdie’s Diner uniforms stood with their arms entwined. “Did we miss anything?”

  “Now, how are you going to make two tickets into four, Birdie?” Ruby asked.

  “Not a problem. We decided to divide the cost of the cruise tickets and then pay the rest out of tips.”

  “Some of us decided that. I say we draw straws,” Beulah Simpson said.

  “You be quiet, Beulah. Let’s give it to the waitress who has made the most in tips this year,” Stacey Norman interrupted, her eyes glaring at Beulah.

  “You be quiet. I’ve made more in tips than you.”

  “Have not.”

  “Have too.”

  Birdie might have a larger team, but whether or not they could agree on anything was going to be an issue.

  “Yeah, and if you win, I’ll have a big week at Earl’s selling coffee,” Earl smirked. “Once they’ve tasted my fine beverages, they may never come back.”

  “You might hav
e the coffee, but we have the pie. They won’t stay long,” Birdie responded. There was a friendly rivalry between Birdie and Earl, especially after Earl decided to add breakfast burritos to his menu.

  Mark Valencia walked to the center of the assembled group and held up his hands, hailing the attention of the crowd. “Hey, everybody. If you want to get into the best shape of your life, I have some coupons for the outstanding supplements at Maximum Muscle.” He held up red rectangular pieces of paper splayed out like a poker hand, and several of Tyler and Zach’s classmates from the high school walked over to grab them.

  “Can I have a coupon for muscles?” Danny asked Maggie.

  “You already have muscles. You don’t need a coupon,” Maggie answered quietly.

  “It’s trash,” Bunny yelled out from the back of the crowd, raising a thin arm. “Don’t put that poison in your body, boys. You’re better off drinking herb tea than that commercially prepared God-knows-what powder.”

  “Not true,” Mark yelled back. Tyler stepped over, and Mark handed him a coupon.

  “This will bulk me up?” Tyler asked.

  “You’ll look like Arnold Schwarzenegger within the week,” Mark promised. “Come by, and we’ll discuss a supplement plan for you, kid.” Mark continued to hand out coupons and ignored Bunny as she kept shouting about the evils of bodybuilding drink mixes.

  Leo made his way through the crowd with Coco balancing on his shoulders, Zach trailing behind him. After a couple of hours, we decided the boys would take little Coco back to the house. I was surprised to see my father bringing up the rear of our brood.

  “My, my, we have quite the gathering today, darlin’,” he said.

  Mayor Obermeyer called out from the stage, “Judd Kelsey, come up here. We need the law to start our festivities.”

  “Yes, we need you, Lieutenant Kelsey,” Vic said as Sarah stood behind him. “We want to talk about appropriate behavior during the Golden Pecan Treasure Hunt.” His wife smiled adoringly at him as he spoke. I loved my husband too, but it was rare you would see me showing such adoration in public. I glanced over to see Tyler’s eyes glued to Sarah’s every move as he held the Maximum Muscle coupon to his chest. Nothing like the hormones of a seventeen-year-old boy to make you believe in the power of lust. Behind him, I noticed Mark, now out of coupons, had his arms folded across his muscled chest. Even though he was years older than Tyler, he looked just as taken by Sarah’s charms.