Wanda Nell barely stepped inside the trailer before she heard the sound of a siren approaching. “Miranda, it’s me,” she yelled. “Where are you?”
Miranda came running out of the back of the trailer, Lavon clutched in her arms. She was crying, tears streaming down her face, and Lavon was wailing loudly, frightened by all the noise. Wanda Nell threw her arms around Miranda and hugged her and the baby tightly to her.
“It’s okay now, honey,” Wanda Nell said. “I’m home. It’s okay.” She said the words over and over, and Miranda’s sobbing slowed.
“Ma’am, what’s going on here?”
At the sound of a man’s voice behind her, Wanda Nell reluctantly released Miranda and Lavon, turning to face the sheriff’s deputy who stood in the doorway.
“Thanks for getting here so quickly, Deputy,” Wanda Nell said. She stopped for a deep, calming breath. “My daughter called me and said someone was trying to break into the trailer. I told her to scream real loud and then to call 911. I got here as fast as I could.”
“Let me just have a look around outside,” the deputy said. “Y’all just take it easy. Everything is going to be okay now.”
He vanished.
Wanda Nell ignored the open door and guided Miranda and Lavon to the couch. Miranda had stopped crying, but Lavon was still sniveling. Wanda Nell pulled him into her arms and rocked him gently back and forth until he quieted.
“Tell me what happened,” she said softly.
“Lavon and me was taking a nap, Mama,” Miranda said. “We was lying down on my bed, and I had just gotten him off to sleep when I started hearing a funny sound outside. I thought maybe I’d heard a car drive up, but I didn’t pay no attention to it. I thought it was just one of the neighbors coming home or something.” She paused for a breath.
Wanda Nell nodded encouragement, and Miranda continued. “It was real quiet, and then I heard something like somebody jiggling the doorknob. I kept the door locked after you left, just like you always tell me, Mama.”
“Good,” Wanda Nell said fervently.
“I waited a second, and then I could hear a scraping kind of sound, and that’s when I called you.”
“Did they get the door open?”
Miranda shook her head. “I don’t think so. Then, when you told me to start screaming, I did. And poor Lavon was so shook up he just laid there for a minute or two.”
“You heard a car drive away,” Wanda Nell said. “Did you hear any more noises at the door?”
“Nope,” Miranda said. “I think I scared off whoever it was, Mama.”
“Ma’am.” The deputy reappeared in the doorway, then stepped inside. “I didn’t see anything outside. Whoever it was is long gone by now.”
“Tell the deputy what you told me, honey,” Wanda Nell said, and Miranda repeated her story.
The deputy listened, then excused himself for a moment. He squatted on the stoop with the door halfway open, and Wanda Nell could see him examining the doorknob.
When he came back in he was frowning. “Well, ma’am, there sure looks like somebody was messing with your door. I can see what looks like some fresh scratches around the lock, so I reckon somebody was trying to break in here.” He pulled out a notebook. “I’ll report it, but I don’t think there’s much we can do. Probably somebody thinking they could break into a trailer or two because it didn’t look like nobody was home.”
“Maybe,” Wanda Nell said. She didn’t think this was a random break-in, but she doubted she could convince the deputy of that, at least not without a long and involved explanation. She peered at his name tag. “Will you do me a favor, Deputy Garrett?”
“If I can,” he said.
Wanda Nell gave him her name and the other information he wanted, then she said, “If you’ll make sure you report this to Chief Deputy Johnson, I’d sure appreciate it.” Deputy Garrett was obviously curious, but Wanda Nell merely said, “I know he’ll be interested to hear about this. If you’ll be sure to tell him.”
Wanda Nell could easily have called Elmer Lee herself, but she didn’t want to have to deal with him right now.
“Yes, ma’am,” Garrett said. “I’m going to check around the trailer park, see if anybody heard or saw something. But I think y’all can relax now. I doubt whoever it was will be back.” Tipping his hat to her, he left.
Wanda Nell wasn’t so certain they’d seen the last of the would-be burglar, but she didn’t want to alarm Miranda unnecessarily.
“What are they going to do, Mama?” Miranda asked.
Wanda Nell sighed. “Probably nothing. There’s not much they can do. Especially since you didn’t see anybody, or see the car. Maybe if somebody else in the trailer park did, they’ll have something to go on. But I doubt it.”
“Does this have something to do with Uncle Rusty?”
“I don’t know, honey,” Wanda Nell said. “I’d be willing to bet it does, but I don’t know why somebody would be trying to break in here. What could they possibly want?”
“Maybe they thought Uncle Rusty hid something here, you know, like the time those men came in here and tied me and Juliet up with duct tape because they thought Daddy hid something here.” Miranda’s eyes widened as she talked, and Wanda Nell was afraid she was going to start crying again. Just thinking about that episode gave Wanda Nell nightmares.
“Could be,” Wanda Nell said, her tone brisk. “But we’re not going to worry about that right now. Rusty was hardly here long enough to hide anything. If he did hide something, he probably left it over at Mayrene’s. But if your screaming scared them off, then maybe they won’t come back as long as they think somebody’s at home.”
“I don’t want to stay home by myself anymore,” Miranda said. “I don’t want to be here with just me and Lavon and somebody trying to break in, Mama.”
“I know, honey,” Wanda Nell said. “We’ll have to think of something, but I don’t know what.” Right about now, if she could have gotten her hands on him, Wanda Nell would gladly have wrung her brother’s neck. It was because of him, she was sure, that all of this was happening. “If Mayrene can’t come and stay with you, I’m sure T.J. will, so don’t you worry about it. I’ll make sure somebody’s with you.”
Mayrene would be home around five, and she wouldn’t mind staying with the girls overnight. She had done it before, and as long as she had her shotgun with her, she wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone. Ordinarily Wanda Nell wasn’t too keen on having a loaded gun in the trailer with her daughters and her grandson, but these were special circumstances.
Maybe the girls and Lavon would be okay until Mayrene got home from work. Wanda Nell wouldn’t be leaving until four, when the bus dropped Juliet off, so that left just an hour when they’d be on their own.
She gave Lavon back to Miranda and went into the kitchen to use the phone. She punched in the number of the beauty shop where Mayrene worked. After a brief chat with the girl who answered the phone and scheduled appointments, she asked for Mayrene. Her foot tapped restlessly on the floor until her friend came on the line.
“What’s up, girl?” Mayrene’s cheerful voice boomed in her ear.
Wanda Nell explained what had happened as quickly as she could, and Mayrene didn’t say a word until she had finished.
“They sure as hell better not come around my trailer trying to break in,” Mayrene said, “or they’re going to get their backsides blasted off.” She muttered a few words under her breath. “Now don’t you worry, honey, I’ll look after the girls and Lavon tonight. You go on to work and don’t even think about it. You know they’ll be safe with me.”
“I know,” Wanda Nell said. Mayrene was capable of defending herself and the kids, she knew that. “But do you want me to ask T.J. to come over, too?”
“You can if you want to,” Mayrene said, “but we’ll be all right. You going to leave at four for work?”
“Yeah.”
Mayrene was silent a moment. “I was just checking the book,” she said. “I
can get out of here at three. I’ve got Dixie Abernathy coming in at three-thirty, but she won’t mind coming tomorrow instead. I’ll tell her it’s a family emergency.”
“Are you sure?”
Mayrene assured her it was no problem and said she’d be there as soon as she could. Wanda Nell hung up the phone, greatly relieved.
Glancing at the clock, Wanda Nell wasn’t surprised to see that it was almost noon. She went back into the living room to ask whether Miranda was hungry. She was starving, and she was going to fix something for lunch.
While Wanda Nell made some sandwiches, Miranda fed Lavon his lunch. Miranda spoke to her a time or two, and Wanda Nell responded, but her mind was intent on mulling over everything she had learned that morning and the implications of the attempted break-in.
She would love to think that Reggie Campbell’s death had nothing to do with Rusty’s sudden reappearance in Tullahoma, but it would be too much of a coincidence if the two events weren’t related. Especially since, she reflected, Rusty had obviously riled up both Bert Vines and Scott Simpson over something. And, she reasoned, whatever that something was, it probably was connected to Reggie Campbell’s death.
But how?
What the heck was it that linked her brother with these men?
The most terrifying question, and the one that kept coming back to her again and again, was whether her brother was still alive.
If he was still alive, where the heck was he? Was he hiding out somewhere?
Or had someone kidnapped him? Why on earth would someone kidnap him?
And what was someone looking for in her trailer?
Another thought struck her, and she got up and reached for the phone again. Hitting the redial button, she waited. She said hello again and asked for Mayrene, not bothering with any chitchat this time.
“Anything wrong?” Mayrene asked when she picked up the phone.
“I forgot to ask you something,” Wanda Nell said. “Sorry to bother you again.”
“What is it?”
“Will you look around your place and see if maybe Rusty left something behind? I have no idea what they’re looking for, but I bet they didn’t know Rusty was staying with you. So whatever it is could be at your place.”
“Yeah, I thought about that,” Mayrene said. “And don’t worry, I’m going to have me a real good look-see soon as I get the chance. If I find anything, I’ll call you right away.”
Wanda Nell thanked her and hung up the phone. If there was anything to find next door, Mayrene would find it. Wanda Nell fervently hoped Mayrene would find something, because maybe it would help them understand what was going on.
After reassuring Miranda that she and Juliet and Lavon would be okay tonight while she was at work, Wanda Nell decided to try to take a nap. She was tired, and her head was aching slightly. If she didn’t get a little sleep, she’d never make it through her two shifts tonight.
Miranda promised to be sure she was up by three- thirty, and Wanda Nell left her and Lavon watching TV in the living room.
In her bedroom, Wanda Nell slipped out of her clothes and crawled into bed. At first she thought she would never be able to drop off. She was too tired, and her mind was too occupied with worries. She made an effort to relax, and soon she dropped off to sleep.
She came to sometime later, feeling wet lips on her face. Startled, she opened her eyes to find Lavon sitting on the bed beside her. He giggled and kissed her again. Smiling, she sat up in bed and pulled him into her lap for a cuddle.
A glance at the clock told her it was three-twenty-seven. “Okay, you little monkey,” she told Lavon, setting him on the bed beside her, “it’s time for your old grandma to get up and go to work. Though your old grandma would much rather stay here and play with you.” He was so adorable sitting there on the bed, his trusting little face staring up at her.
“Gamma stay,” Lavon said, or at least that was what it sounded like to Wanda Nell. She smiled and ruffled his hair. He kept chanting the words over and over.
“Miranda,” she called. “Can you come get Lavon? I need to get dressed.”
Miranda appeared a moment later and retrieved the baby. “He wanted to wake you up, Mama.”
“Well, it sure was nice to have a handsome boy give me a kiss to wake me up,” Wanda Nell said. “Made me feel almost like a princess in a fairy tale.” Lavon giggled and finally stopped chanting. He let his mother lead him out of the room.
Wanda Nell was dressed and ready to go a few minutes before four. Juliet had arrived home barely five minutes before that, and Miranda was telling her what had happened when Wanda Nell walked into the living room. Mayrene popped her head in the door right then, and she reassured Wanda Nell that she had everything under control.
Not for the first time, Wanda Nell wished she didn’t have to go off in the evenings and leave her children like this. There was no use in complaining, though. She had her jobs to do, and that was that. Sighing, she put her car into gear and drove off.
Monday nights were usually slow around the Kountry Kitchen, and tonight was no exception. Wanda Nell had a chat with her boss, Melvin Arbuckle, and confided in him all of what had happened since Saturday night.
“I’m sure sorry all this is happening, Wanda Nell,” he said. “That brother of yours sure has caused a big mess. I hope they get it all sorted out soon. I know Elmer Lee will do his best.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Wanda Nell said. “I just keep hoping he could do it a lot faster.” She went to check on one of her tables.
The night seemed to drag by, but finally it was closing time. A few minutes after ten Wanda Nell walked outside with Ruby and Melvin and headed for her car at the side of the building where they all parked.
As Wanda Nell approached her car she had the vague feeling that something was slightly odd. She stopped and stared at her car in the dim glow of the street lights.
Then she realized what was wrong.
Her two back tires had been slashed.
Chapter 11
“Melvin!” Wanda Nell screamed the name.
A door slammed, and moments later Melvin Arbuckle ran up beside her.
“What’s wrong, Wanda Nell?”
“Look.” She pointed at her tires.
Melvin swore. “What kind of bastard would do something like that?”
“I can think of two, right off the bat,” Wanda Nell said, her tone grim.
“You mean Bert Vines or the football coach?”
“Yeah,” Wanda Nell said. “Bert for sure knows what kind of car I drive, and he could have told Simpson. Either one of them could have done this.”
“Why?”
“As a warning not to meddle,” Wanda Nell said. “Bert was trying to threaten me this morning without coming out and saying anything real specific. Just like the other night when he was here.” She reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. Punching a button, she waited impatiently for it to come on. When it was ready, she called the sheriff’s department and reported the incident.
“Where did this occur, ma’am?” the dispatcher asked.
Wanda Nell told him.
“Ma’am, that’s something you should be calling the police department about,” the dispatcher said. “You’re in town, and they’re the ones that need to respond on this.”
“I realize that,” Wanda Nell said, though in her haste to call someone, she really hadn’t thought it through. “But this is related to a case the sheriff’s department is already working on. That’s why I need to get in touch with Deputy Johnson. He’ll know all about it.”
The dispatcher sighed. “All right, ma’am. You just sit tight, and I’ll see if I can get ahold of Deputy Johnson.”
Canned music started playing in Wanda Nell’s ear. “They’ve got me on hold,” she explained to Melvin.
“You want me to go in and call somebody at Budget Mart while we’re waiting?” Melvin asked. “ ’Cause it sure don’t look like you’re going to make it to work on time.”<
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Wanda Nell rubbed her forehead with her free hand. Her head was really starting to ache. “Yeah, if you don’t mind, Melvin. Tell them I’ll get there as soon as I can.” She waited while Melvin pulled a pen and a piece of paper from one of his pockets, then dictated the number. As Melvin loped off back to the front door of the restaurant, the music in Wanda Nell’s ear ceased and a voice came on the line.
“Wanda Nell, that you?”
“Yeah, Elmer Lee, it’s me,” she said, for once grateful to hear his voice.
“What’s going on now?”
Quickly she explained about her tires being slashed.
“All right, just hang on,” Elmer Lee said. “I’m on my way.”
Wanda Nell clicked her cell phone off, feeling slightly guilty. Elmer Lee had sounded pretty tired, and now he wasn’t going to be getting to bed anytime soon.
Melvin came back a couple of minutes later to report that her boss at Budget Mart understood about the situation. She was to come in when she could.
About ten minutes after that, Elmer Lee pulled up, and he and another deputy got out of the car. Wanda Nell recognized the lanky form of Deputy Garrett.
Other than nodding their heads at Wanda Nell and Melvin, neither deputy said anything at first. They both examined Wanda Nell’s back tires carefully. Elmer Lee used a powerful flashlight, and Wanda Nell flinched at the sight of the harshly exposed slashes.
“You got any idea why somebody would want to do this?” Elmer Lee clicked off the flashlight and stood up. He regarded Wanda Nell suspiciously.
This was the part Wanda Nell had been dreading. Elmer Lee was going to hit the roof when she told him what she had been doing.
“I guess because I was talking to a couple of people today about my brother and the murder,” Wanda Nell said.
“What people?” Elmer Lee cut in before she could continue her explanation.
“I was getting to that,” Wanda Nell said crossly. “Just hang on a minute.” She paused for a breath. “I went to see Bert Vines this morning. You know I told you I overheard him and Rusty having an argument, and then he showed up here the other night, quizzing me about Rusty. I wanted to ask him about all that.”
Best Served Cold (A Trailer Park Mystery Book 3) Page 10
