Wanda Nell laughed. “I wouldn’t be surprised, believe me. I think she may be just what your grandmother needs, though. When I was there yesterday, your grandmother was fussing up a storm about Belle and the things she said, but I can tell you this: she sure was enjoying herself, and Belle didn’t seem like it bothered her a bit, the way the old battle-ax talked to her.”
“I wonder if Belle would go for it,” T.J. said.
“I bet she will,” Wanda Nell replied. “Seems to me she must be pretty lonely, too, living all by herself there in Coffeeville. Except for her cat, that is.” She frowned. “I wonder if your grandmother will let her bring her cat. She was carrying on about it yesterday.”
“She will,” T.J. said, grinning. “Grandmother doesn’t think anybody knows it, but she likes animals. She keeps putting out food in the back yard for this old tomcat that comes around. I just act like I don’t know she’s doing it. She may carry on about it, but I bet you her and that old cat of Belle’s will be getting on just fine.”
“Good. Then when you tell your grandmother about yourself and everything, you can maybe talk her into inviting Belle to live with her. I think Belle would do just fine, taking care of her and that big old house.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me, and I know it’ll make Tuck happy.” T.J. beamed.
“He really does mean a lot to you, doesn’t he?” Wanda Nell couldn’t quite bring herself to use the word “love,” because she was still trying to get used to the fact that her son was gay.
“I love him, Mama, and he loves me,” T.J. said simply. “I can’t believe how lucky I am, and sometimes it scares me.”
“He’s pretty dang lucky too, if you ask me,” Wanda Nell said around the lump in her throat. “You think it’s going to be okay, the two of you living together?”
T.J. shrugged. “We won’t know till we try, but I think we’ll be just fine. I’m not going to mess this up, I can promise you that.”
“I’m not really worried about you messing it up, or him either,” Wanda Nell said softly.
“You mean you’re afraid other people won’t like it, the two of us living together.”
Wanda Nell nodded. She was so afraid someone would hurt them.
“We can’t hide forever,” T.J. said gently. He reached out and clasped her hands in his. “And if somebody don’t like it, well, they’re just going to have to get used to it.” He gave her hands a final squeeze, then released them.
“Now you go on to work and don’t worry about the girls. Me and Mayrene will take care of them.”
Wanda Nell leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, honey, I appreciate it.”
Juliet came in just before she left, and Wanda Nell explained the arrangements for the evening. Juliet sighed. “I sure hate all this, Mama.”
“I know, baby,” Wanda Nell said, cupping her youngest child’s chin in her hand. “I hate it, too, but until they catch the guy, I want y’all to be safe.”
Locking the front door behind her, she got in her car and drove off to work. As she drove, she prayed silently that everyone would be safe tonight.
At the Kountry Kitchen, everyone was talking about the latest murder. Wanda Nell mostly listened without entering into any of the conversations as she waited on customers. She was relieved not to hear any mention of her brother’s name. The less public talk there was about him, the better, as far as she was concerned.
Around eight-thirty, Wanda Nell was at the counter, filling up Junior Farley’s glass with tea, when the door opened, and Marty Shaw walked in.
She had known Marty since they were both kids. His father, the sheriff, and her father had once been good friends, and she and Rusty had played sometimes with Marty and his older sister, Becky. After her daddy and the sheriff had a falling out, they didn’t spend any time with the Shaw family. Marty had been a year behind her in school, so she saw him around school all the time, but neither of them went out of their way to speak to the other.
At first Wanda Nell didn’t think much about Marty turning up at the Kountry Kitchen tonight. He came in from time to time, but with the kind of money he made running the biggest car dealership in town, he usually went somewhere more expensive. When Ruby Gamer, who had gone over to the table to wait on Marty, came up to Wanda Nell, saying he had asked for her, she thought it was a bit odd.
“You don’t mind?” Wanda Nell asked, frowning. “Doesn’t matter to me,” Ruby said. She was very easygoing, and Wanda Nell really enjoyed working with her. “You’re welcome to him.”
Wanda Nell walked over to the table. “Hi, Marty. How are you doing?”
“Evening, Wanda Nell,” he said. “Long time no see. How have you been?”
“Pretty good,” Wanda Nell said. “How’s your wife doing?” She had almost asked after his first wife, but she remembered in time that he had recently remarried. His new wife, Tiffany, was about twenty years younger than Marty.
“She’s doing fine,” Marty said, his face glowing for a moment. “I can’t tell you how happy we are. It’s a blessing to have a woman like her.”
“That’s good,” Wanda Nell said. It really wasn’t any of her business, but she didn’t think much of a man his age who took up with a girl who had barely turned twenty. She started to ask after his parents, but he forestalled her.
“I hear your brother’s in town,” Marty said abruptly. “How’s he doing?”
“Far as I know, he’s just fine,” Wanda Nell said, instantly on the alert. Why would Marty Shaw be interested in her brother? They hadn’t had much to do with each other since they were both teenagers, so why this sudden curiosity? What the heck was Marty up to?
Did this mean he was somehow involved in this mess?
“Yeah, Rusty was here for a couple of days,” Wanda Nell continued, trying to keep her tone as casual as possible. “But then he had to head back to Nashville.” She wondered how Marty would react to the lie.
“That’s too bad,” Marty said easily. If he knew she was lying, he certainly didn’t show it. Head bent, he scanned the menu. “I haven’t seen him in a coon’s age. Thought it might be fun to see him and see how he’s been doing.”
“Too bad you missed him,” Wanda Nell agreed. “Maybe next time he comes to town, y’all can get together.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have his address in Nashville, would you?” Marty asked, dropping the menu on the table and glancing up at Wanda Nell. “I’m going up there on business soon, and if I have time, maybe I can look him up.”
This was getting stranger by the moment, Wanda Nell reflected. “You know, I don’t actually have his address,” she said, offering him her best sheepish look. “It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but Rusty and I ain’t been what you’d call close in a long time. He just don’t confide in me the way he did when we were kids.” There, she thought, maybe that’ll put an end to this foolishness, if Marty has anything to do with it.
“That’s too bad,” Marty said, a sympathetic expression on his face. “I remember now how close y’all were when you were kids.”
There was something in his tone that made her uneasy. She tensed slightly.
“I bet y’all used to tell each other everything,” Marty went on. “Anytime one of you got in trouble, the other one was there to help out.” He stared hard at her, any trace of sympathy gone, and she sensed a hidden meaning in his words.
“Yeah,” she said, feeling suddenly nervous. She had to watch what she said very carefully, and she wasn’t even sure why. “We were, when we were kids. But you know how it is with teenagers, everything changes. Suddenly you don’t want to talk to your big sister any more.” She watched him relax as she said those last words.
“And then when Daddy died,” she continued, “well, things really changed. Mama had a real hard time with Rusty after that, and I had my own troubles to worry about.” She knew perfectly well Marty would know what she was talking about. Her and Bobby Ray Culpepper getting married had caused a scandal.
/> Marty nodded. “The people around this town sure do like to talk behind your back,” he said, the bitterness evident in his voice. “Everybody’s always minding everybody else’s business. I don’t like that, do you?”
Wanda Nell shook her head.
“People need to stay out of my business,” Marty said. He stared straight at Wanda Nell.
She shrugged as if what he said meant nothing to her. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Now, what can I get you?” She had her pen poised over the order pad, ready to write.
Marty didn’t respond for a moment. He just looked at her. Then he ordered country-fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, and iced tea.
“Coming right up,” Wanda Nell said. She walked away to the kitchen to turn in his order.
The rest of the time Marty was in the restaurant, he made no further reference to their conversation. In fact, he had very little to say to Wanda Nell the few times she approached his table. He didn’t seem to be eating all that much either. He just picked at his food. She breathed a big sigh of relief when he paid his bill and left, but she grimaced when she saw the meager tip he had left her.
“Cheap jerk,” she muttered as she tucked the dollar bill into her pocket. The next time she had to buy a car, she sure wouldn’t be buying one from him.
Business was so slow after that, they actually were closed and heading out the door by nine-forty-five. Wanda Nell made it to Budget Mart early for her shift, so she sat in the break room for a while and put up her feet until it was time to start work.
She pulled out her cell phone and called home. Might as well check in with Mayrene while I have a few minutes.
“Everything’s real quiet, honey,” Mayrene said. “Juliet and Lavon are both tucked up in bed, and me and Miranda are watching an old movie.”
“Any word from Elmer Lee? Or anything else?” Wanda Nell tensed as she waited for the answer.
“No, not a word,” Mayrene said. “I sure wish I had better news for you.”
They chatted a little bit longer, then Wanda Nell ended the call and put her phone away. Knowing that Mayrene was there with the girls and the baby reassured her.
All that night as she busily restocked shelves, she kept mulling over Marty Shaw’s visit to the Kountry Kitchen. There were too many questions buzzing around in her brain.
If Marty was involved in whatever was going on, what was his connection with Bert Vines and the two dead men? That was something she had to find out.
If Marty was connected to those guys, how come he was asking her about getting in touch with Rusty? Shouldn’t he know that Rusty was missing? Or was he just being really devious?
But then, maybe Rusty hadn’t been kidnapped after all. Maybe he was hiding out somewhere and just wanted everyone to think he had been kidnapped.
That might explain part of why Marty was so anxious to get information from her. They were all looking for Rusty, and no doubt they were hoping to get ahold of whatever it was he had. Wanda Nell was convinced Rusty had something, probably something that meant trouble for Bert and Marty. But what could it be?
Was Rusty safe wherever he was? Wanda Nell wanted very much to believe he was still alive. Whether he had been kidnapped or whether he had hidden himself away didn’t matter so much as long as he was alive.
Chapter 13
She was completely drained, her head pounding, by the time her shift ended that morning. Wearily she climbed in her car and drove home, blinking into the rising sun.
At home she stayed up long enough to see Juliet off to school and to sit at the table while Miranda and Lavon had breakfast. Desperately worried though she was, she needed sleep. She knew she should be doing something to find Rusty, but if she collapsed from exhaustion she wouldn’t be doing anybody any good at all. So she crawled into bed and was soon asleep.
When the alarm went off that afternoon, she woke up to hear loud voices coming from the living room. She lay there for a moment, yawning, trying to wake up. As soon as she was alert enough to recognize one of the voices, all she wanted to do was pull the covers over her head and stay there. That wouldn’t help matters, though. Instead she got up, washed her face and brushed her hair, then dressed quickly.
In the living room she found Miranda arguing with her grandmother. Belle Meriwether, apparently oblivious as usual to the acrimony around her, had Lavon on her knee, bouncing him up and down. Lavon was giggling and having a good time, thankfully as unaware as Belle of the argument going on.
“Good afternoon,” Wanda Nell said, raising her voice to be heard over Mrs. Culpepper’s strident tones. “This is an unexpected pleasure, Miz Culpepper, Belle. What brings y’all here this afternoon?”
Startled, Mrs. Culpepper broke off in midsentence. She turned slightly to glare at Wanda Nell. “It’s about time you got up, Wanda Nell. What do you mean sleeping all day? No telling what goes on around here while you’re sound asleep.”
“This is about the only time I get to sleep,” Wanda Nell said, her tone sharp. “You know very well I work all night at Budget Mart. When else am I supposed to sleep?”
“I sure would hate having my days and nights mixed up like that,” Belle said, still bouncing the baby on her knee. “I don’t know how you do it, Wanda Nell, I really don’t. I think I’d be real confused all the time, doing things at the wrong time of day. I guess you probably take a bath in the afternoon before you go to that restaurant, don’t you?”
Without waiting for an answer, and barely pausing for a breath, Belle rambled on. “I like taking my bath in the morning when I get up. That way I feel like I’m starting the day off right, but I guess for you, your day really starts in the afternoon, doesn’t it? I mean, that’s when you get up, after all, and that’s like me getting up after sleeping all night.” She beamed at everyone and, mercifully, didn’t keep talking.
“Nobody cares when you take a bath,” Mrs. Culpepper said, “and what that has to do with anything, I don’t have the foggiest notion. No wonder you’re confused all the time, Belle.”
Wanda Nell exchanged amused glances with Miranda, who was struggling not to laugh even as she glared at her grandmother.
“I’m sorry, Wanda Nell,” Mrs. Culpepper said, her tone making her sound anything but contrite, “I forgot about you working all night at that place. Although why you want to work somewhere like that, I don’t know. I don’t think it’s really suitable, but then, you never think about how I feel.”
Wanda Nell started counting to ten, but she only made it as far as three when she couldn’t hold back any longer. “I don’t work there just because I’m bored and can’t find anything else to do.” She was getting really steamed. “I like to eat, and so do my daughters and my grandson. And we like to have a roof over our heads, and clothes to wear. Simple little things like that, and somebody has to earn the money for them.”
“Well, you could give up this old trailer anytime you want to,” Mrs. Culpepper said, unruffled by the venom in Wanda Nell’s voice, “because the Lord knows I’ve got more than enough room in my house for all of you. Why you don’t come and move in with me, I just don’t know. Then you wouldn’t have to work so hard, now would you? You certainly wouldn’t have to waste money on this trailer.” She sniffed loudly.
Wanda Nell stared open-mouthed at the old battle-ax. Had she suddenly and completely lost her mind? Only a few months ago Mrs. Culpepper had threatened to go to court to take Juliet and Miranda away from her, and now she was inviting them all to live with her? She resisted the urge to pinch herself to make sure she was awake.
Before Wanda Nell could respond to Mrs. Culpepper, Belle started talking again. “Why, Lucretia, what a lovely idea! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have this darling baby in the house all the time, and his beautiful mama? I tell you, Wanda Nell, Miranda is such a pretty girl. She reminds me of Lucretia when she was younger. You’re just the spitting image of your grandmother at that age.” Neither Belle nor Mrs. Culpepper saw the horrified look on Miranda’s face, Wanda N
ell noted.
“Considering that you’re nearly twenty years younger than I am,” Mrs. Culpepper said acidly, “I think it must be some kind of miracle that you can sit there and say that, Belle. What kind of fools do you take us for? Look like me, indeed.” She made an odd sound, but despite her protest, she appeared rather pleased by the comparison. Wanda Nell had to suppress a smile, though Miranda was still grimacing.
“Now, Lucretia, I know perfectly well how old you are, and how old I am,” Belle said in a reasonable tone. “I was actually pretty good at math in school, and I even thought about going to college and learning to be an accountant, but my daddy didn’t think girls ought to go to college.” She turned a wistful face to Wanda Nell. “Isn’t that incredibly old-fashioned? I sure wish I could have gone to college.” She sighed. “But even though you are so much older than me, cousin, I have seen pictures of you. You know that. And I know how beautiful you were when you were Miranda’s age.”
Maybe caffeine would help, Wanda Nell thought vaguely. Or maybe sending Belle to Whitfield, the state mental hospital, for a few weeks.
“I did have my share of beaus at that age,” Mrs. Culpepper said complacently. “But once I met Thaddeus Culpepper, I never looked at another man. No, there was never anyone else for me after that.”
Too bad the old man didn’t feel the same way, Wanda Nell thought. Old Judge Culpepper had been a legendary womanizer, and remembering that, Wanda Nell couldn’t help having some sympathy for his long-suffering wife.
She hated to break up this mellow mood, but she wanted to know what had been going on before she got up. “Seems like y’all must have been discussing something before I got up. What was it?”
Miranda, who had mostly been quiet since Wanda Nell walked into the room, opened her mouth to speak, but Mrs. Culpepper got in first.
“We were just discussing the news T.J. shared with me last night,” she said. Her face reddened a bit. “I thought at first he was playing some kind of terrible joke, just to get back at me for introducing him to all those lovely girls. He’s a very handsome young man, and he comes from a good family. At least, on his father’s side, he does.” Wanda Nell rolled her eyes at that. She had heard it all before, and there was no point in getting annoyed about it now, not when there were plenty of other things to deal with.
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