by Riley Adams
“Isn’t that Holden Parsons? Bless his heart—he’s eating at the food court. And him all used to eating at great restaurants all day for his reviews.” Tudy pulled a long face. “It makes me sad—it’s just like Oliver losing his job. Men without jobs are really like lost souls. They don’t know what to do with themselves.”
Evelyn was fully in Lady Bountiful mode now. “Let’s go over and talk to him. The poor man! Eating fast food when he used to eat out at the best places in town.”
Holden, although he was as gracious as usual, looked embarrassed at eating tacos at the food court.
“What are you ladies doing today?” he asked in what Lulu thought was an effort at distracting them from his tacos.
“Evelyn and Tudy were kind enough to help me look for a dress to wear for a special occasion. Floral-print dresses were apparently not going to cut it,” said Lulu.
“Sounds fancy. Where are you going?”
“Oh, Lulu and I are going to Big Jack’s fund-raiser at his lake house. Looks to be quite a shindig. The Memphis paper will even be there to write it up,” said Evelyn in a careless voice, dipping her egg roll into some soy sauce. She took a bite. “Salty!” and shook her head. But she went right back to dipping the egg roll again.
Holden’s eyes widened. “The paper will be there? I’ve been trying to talk to those guys for a week now—I want to step back into my old job now that Adam isn’t writing for them anymore. Think maybe I can somehow get an invitation?”
Lulu said, “Since you’re taking up some professional photography assignments, why don’t we see if Big Jack would have you come and take pictures at the fund-raiser for your campaign?”
Evelyn slapped the side of the table. “That’s perfect! Then you’ll have a gig and a chance to butter up the people from the paper and see if you can find out what they’re doing about the empty restaurant critic spot.”
Tudy frowned. “Won’t the paper bring their own photographer?”
Evelyn waved her hand dismissively, “They usually take three or four pictures then head off home. They’re not there to provide publicity photos. Big Jack will want good pictures of himself looking mayoral and maybe some with him standing with different local celebrities. The paper wouldn’t be taking those kinds of photos. Here, I’ll give him a call.”
A few minutes later, she hung up her cell phone, flushed with success. “It’s all set. He said it was a brilliant idea! He could use some more pictures for his mailers and his website.”
Holden crumpled up his trash and put it on his plastic tray. He beamed at the ladies. “That’s wonderful! And I’d never have known if I hadn’t seen y’all here today. Thanks, Evelyn! I’ll see you and Lulu this weekend.”
Evelyn and Lulu said good-bye to Tudy in the parking lot. “Thanks, girls,” she said, giving them huge hugs. “You just don’t know what good medicine this was for me today. I feel better just having talked to y’all.”
As she drove off, Evelyn said, “Lulu? I hate to say this, but you’re my private eye, so you need to know. After Tudy saw Oliver with Ginger, she did not spend the rest of the day in her bed. I saw her driving around myself—when I was on my way back home from the police department.”
Lulu felt her head start pounding. As soon as she wrapped her head around one idea, here came another to set her mind spinning. “Tudy! So . . . you think that Tudy might have killed Ginger? Because she was jealous or worried that she was going to take Oliver away from her?” Lulu was quiet for a moment. “Evelyn, I somehow just can’t picture Tudy pulling out a gun and blowing someone away.”
“She could do it, Lulu. Remember—Tudy grew up in Texas.”
Lulu frowned at her in puzzlement.
“Don’t mess with Texas—those women know how to shoot . . . and straight, too. Tudy wouldn’t spare a second thought for Ginger if she’d been messing with her marriage.”
Lulu was glad to have Big Jack’s fund-raiser as a distraction from the case. Her head was still swimming from all the suspect possibilities and she still hated to think that one of her friends was responsible for two murders.
Lulu was also glad she’d gone shopping when she saw all the gussied-up people at Big Jack’s fund-raiser. Lulu had a feeling that most of the dresses there cost more than her mortgage payment.
The party was in Big Jack’s expansive backyard, smack-dab on the lake. The caterers had put up huge tents strung with strings of white lights. The band was a short ways away (so it was easier for people to talk) playing a set of crowd favorites, judging from the dancing on the floor set up under a separate tent.
Big Jack looked to be in hog heaven. He was laughing his big, hearty laugh, shaking hands right and left, and politicking just as hard as he could. If there had been babies there, he’d have kissed every single one of them. He was in his element.
Lulu felt like she was in her element, too. Not being around the chichi people or the glamorous designer clothing—but the food. There were crab cakes, cremini mushrooms, roasted carrots, and pan-roasted duck. But Lulu’s favorite were the jumbo shrimp glazed with a homemade peach sauce that melted in her mouth. “Evelyn,” said Lulu with a happy sigh, “I’ve died and gone to epicurean heaven. Have you tried these shrimp?”
Evelyn said, “No, I fixed myself a vegetable plate. I’m not ordinarily a girl who loads up with a lot of greens, but these creamy collards are the best things I think I’ve ever put in my mouth. Aunt Pat’s barbeque aside, of course.”
Lulu nodded, “Oh, Aunt Pat’s recipes are marvelous—but this food is special.” She walked to a buffet area lined with chafing dishes to see what other wonders were being offered. She bet she could figure out that peach sauce for the shrimp. It wouldn’t work well for the barbeque restaurant, but she sure would love to serve it for a party.
A few hours later, guests finally started leaving. Lulu and Evelyn had already taken off their heels and were chatting and people watching. Lulu was about as stuffed as she’d ever been.
Holden walked up to them, beaming.
“How did the photography go tonight, Holden?” asked Lulu.
“It looked like it was going great to me,” said Evelyn, after taking a swallow from her wineglass. “Every time I saw Holden, he was taking a picture of Big Jack with some bigwig or other. And Big Jack’s grins made him look like the cat that ate the canary.”
Big Jack sauntered up in time to catch the end of what Evelyn said. “Amen to that. I did eat some canaries. This has been my most successful fund-raiser ever. And Holden, great job recording the moments. I should have some fantastic pictures for my campaign flyers.”
Holden smiled modestly. “It did seem to go well, I have to admit. Everybody acted like they wanted to pose.”
Evelyn laughed. “Well, of course they do! They’re all gussied up and look like a million dollars. After all the money they spent on manicures, pedicures, and dresses and hair, they want it memorialized for all time!”
“It surely went much better than my last gig. Oh, sorry, Lulu.” Holden’s bald head turned pink.
“Taking the pictures for Aunt Pat’s didn’t go well?” asked Lulu, surprised. “I didn’t think that would be a problem.”
“It wasn’t! At least, taking pictures of the restaurant and downtown Memphis wasn’t a problem. But then I took some snapshots of people—you know, like we talked about. For the wedding party to see before they hired me? Some people just flat-out told me that they didn’t want their picture taken. Maybe if folks aren’t looking their best, they’re not as wild about having their picture taken.”
Holden fidgeted a moment, then said, “And taking pictures can make more trouble than just complaints from unwilling subjects. Before we even talked about my taking pictures professionally, Lulu, I followed Ginger around for a couple of days to try to take some pictures of her.” He gulped. “She’d just irritated the stew out of me the day before and I thought I’d tail her and see if I could irritate her back by maybe catching her in some sort of compromisi
ng moment or doing something bad. Maybe even something illegal.”
Lulu took a deep breath. “When you were taking these pictures . . . were they right before her murder?”
“Not right before, but I did snap some from that day. But then I went off to lunch after that, so I didn’t see anything that would help the police out.” Holden looked like he couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or not. “I mean, the last thing I took was her talking to Oliver in that parking lot.”
Lulu said sharply, “You actually saw the two of them together?”
“Saw them? Yes—I even took a picture of them. I thought it was kind of weird to see them together. I didn’t think they weren’t friends or anything. And it didn’t exactly look much like a friendly discussion. They were waving their hands around, their faces were red, and Ginger looked like she was yelling.”
Big Jack interrupted loudly, “You know, Holden, I bet you totally misinterpreted what you saw. They were probably just shopping at the same place and started talking in the parking lot. And maybe it looked like they weren’t getting along because they were talking about Adam—Oliver wasn’t Adam’s biggest fan and maybe Ginger was singing his praises like she’d been doing at the funeral. But it doesn’t mean that Oliver was about to shoot Ginger.”
Holden said quickly, “No, of course it doesn’t. Like I said, it wasn’t even at the time of the murder—and it was on the other side of town. I just thought it was odd seeing them together, that’s all.”
“Shouldn’t you turn the pictures over to the police?” asked Lulu hesitantly. “They’d want anything that might help them piece together Ginger’s last day.”
Big Jack said with a big laugh, “Which sounds like a good thing to do, Holden, until you think about what you just said. You were irritated with Ginger so you followed her around with a camera to take pictures and irritate her back. And you were with her the day she died. Might want to rethink turning them in, you know?”
Holden cringed. “No. No, Lulu, I don’t want anything to do with that. It’s not going to help the police out anyway—there’s nothing there.”
“Do you mind if I see the pictures, though? I’d like to just take a closer look, that’s all. Maybe there’s something in the pictures that can give us a clue,” said Lulu.
Evelyn cracked up. “You should see your face, Holden! Didn’t you know that Lulu was trading in her spatula for a magnifying glass? She’s a crime investigator now . . . mostly to help me out.” Evelyn, deep in her wineglass now, gave Lulu a tight hug. “She’s the best friend ever. And if I manage to keep out of jail, I’ll owe it all to her.”
Holden nodded. “I see. Well, I’ve got them on the camera and I could e-mail them to you when I get back home, so you could see them. I was planning on taking a closer look at them myself, anyway. Then I’ll send them over to you.”
Big Jack said, “I’ve got a great idea, y’all. Now that the guests have left, why don’t we head out on the boat for a while? It’s the perfect night for a boat ride. We could bring a little food with us—and some wine bottles of course.”
“I’d love to go, but I can’t swim,” said Holden. “Which isn’t ideal for a boat ride.” He gave a nervous laugh.
“I have life vests,” Big Jack offered.
“Maybe next time? I probably need to be getting back, anyway—it’s a long drive home and I’m not staying at the lake like y’all are.”
After he left, Evelyn said, “I guess I should feel bad about not offering to let him stay at my place. But it wouldn’t have been as much fun as a girls’ weekend. Plus I have a feeling that we’d be listening to his hard-luck story about getting kicked out of his newspaper job the whole time.”
The night was warm, but the boat cutting through the water on the lake stirred up a breeze that made Lulu fold her arms up to her chest.
Evelyn, used to boat excursions on her own ski boat, curled up into a corner and was asleep in less than five minutes.
Lisa, Big Jack’s wife, stayed behind to talk to the caterers but packed up a plate of food before the boat pulled away. Although Lulu had thought she’d never eat again after all the delicious food she’d put away, she somehow couldn’t resist munching on moist cheese biscuits. As the boat moved through the water, she looked at the huge houses lining the lake. All of them were lit up like they were having parties, too. And the moon sat right above the horizon, casting a glow on the water that looked like a path leading right up to it.
Big Jack cleared his throat and said, “Evelyn?” When there was no response from the napping Evelyn, he cut the engine and threw out an anchor. The boat gently rocked and Evelyn let out a small snore.
“I wanted to talk to you about something, Lulu, but I didn’t want to do it in front of Evelyn.” Big Jack sat next to Lulu at the front of the boat and spoke to her in a low voice. “You see, I’ve been real worried about a couple of things and I haven’t known what to do about it.”
Lulu dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “What kinds of things? You mean, with the murders?”
Big Jack nodded, pushing a strand of thick, black hair off his forehead. “I’ve solved those murders, Lulu. I’ve been thinking about it a lot because I was worried about both Oliver and Evelyn being accused. And Oliver had absolutely nothing to do with it. You know that, right?” He looked right in Lulu’s eyes. “I know I told you about how crazy he’d been acting right after Adam died, but he was just so shocked that he’d pushed Adam down the stairs. But he’s totally free and clear.”
He seemed to be waiting for Lulu to acknowledge that fact, so Lulu nodded. But inside she wasn’t so sure. Maybe Big Jack wasn’t so sure, either, but he was trying to keep his cousin from being a major suspect in a murder case—which couldn’t possibly be good for a mayoral campaign. Especially since Oliver had gotten Big Jack involved by showing up on his doorstep.
“And then I was worried that I was suspected of murdering Adam. Just because of that answering-machine message. Thank God the police haven’t let anything leak out to the press; the newspapers would have a field day if they thought I was caught up in blackmail and murder.” Big Jack scowled at the idea.
“What do you think happened?” asked Lulu, tilting her head to one side and endangering the bun of white hair that was carefully wound up on the top of her head.
“I think Ginger killed Adam. Don’t you? She was one mad filly at that guy, and she had every right to be. He’d done her wrong—out in public and everything. I mean, he also cheated on Evelyn, but they weren’t married. Well, not married at that moment, anyway—I know Evelyn used to be married to him. Ginger was breathing fire, though, that he’d broken up their marriage and was seeing another woman . . . or two.”
Lulu looked off toward the shore and Big Jack sighed.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “You think that’s real hypocritical of me, considering Adam was blackmailing me for the same thing. But from everything I’ve heard, Adam was real ugly to Ginger. That’s not the way I treat ladies.”
What a gentleman, thought Lulu wryly. She wasn’t so sure that Big Jack’s wife, Lisa, would feel the same way about his cheating. But she smiled at him.
“So you think Ginger got fed up with Adam’s attitude and shot him?”
Big Jack pointed a thick finger at her. “That’s exactly what I think happened. I think maybe she was having an argument with him, he mouthed off at her, and she had a gun with her and took him out. I don’t think it was something she planned on doing, but it was something she was prepared to do.”
“She sure seemed all cut up about it, though. She said she wanted to memorialize him forever, and avenge his death and all of that.”
Big Jack shrugged. “Self-protection. If she acts like someone else needs to be caught, then she’s diverted suspicion from herself. And I think the lady knew how to put on an act.”
“But that still doesn’t explain Ginger’s death. If Ginger killed Adam, then who killed Ginger? And why?”
&nb
sp; Big Jack looked bored. He shrugged his big shoulders. “She was probably a victim of a random act of violence. You know? Maybe some punk was planning on robbing her; she got her back up and wasn’t going to let him take her purse. And then he shot her—but got too freaked out to take her wallet.”
It was one explanation, but it just didn’t seem right to Lulu.
“There was something else I wanted to tell you,” said Big Jack, looking surreptitiously at the sleeping Evelyn at the other end of the boat. “I’ve been worried about our mutual friend over there.”
Lulu’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”
Big Jack opened his mouth, and then snapped it shut again and shook his head.
“Now you know you have to tell me now! What’s wrong with Evelyn?”
Big Jack looked broodingly at the water. “She’s a great friend of mine, Lulu. She’s helped build up my political career over the years. Even when I was just scraping by and stumping in the street, she always slipped me a little cash to help me out. She gave me more than just financial support, too—she talked me up to her fancy friends and introduced me to the right people. She’s been a huge help to me.”
Lulu tried not to be impatient. “So, spit it out, Big Jack. What’s wrong?”
He sighed again. “Okay. Well, I gave you my favorite scenario of what happened to Adam and Ginger. And that’s really what I’m telling myself I believe. But I did see Evelyn the day that Ginger died. And she was having a big argument with her.”
Lulu relaxed a little. “Oh. Don’t you worry about that, Big Jack. The police know all about Evelyn and Ginger’s argument outside that Beale Street restaurant. Pink was talking to Evelyn about it that same day. Some witnesses described a woman that looked just like Evelyn. And she did own up to it—but says that Ginger was very much alive when she left her.”
Big Jack hesitated again. “But see . . . that’s not where I saw them argue. My law office is right down the street, right? I saw her outside the parking garage. And she was waving around this pretty, tiny little gun. Looked like a toy.”
