“Well, let’s see,” Wanda Nell said slowly. “Way I figure it is, there’s somebody trying to throw his weight around in this situation, and it ain’t you.” She paused a moment “No, not you. But maybe somebody like the president of a bank?”
Elmer Lee finally met her gaze. “What do you mean? Bank president? Where’d you get a crazy idea like that?” His tone was mocking, but his eyes had registered the truth. He knew what she was talking about alright.
“I can’t help but hear things around here, Elmer Lee,” Wanda Nell said. “You pick up a lot of talk about other people’s business, one way or the other.” She held up a hand when Elmer Lee started to speak. “That’s all I’m gonna say. Don’t push me. Besides, I got something to show you.”
“What?”
She slid the passbook out of her apron and laid it on the table.
“What’s this?” Elmer Lee stared at it with suspicion. “And where’d you get it?”
“I found it here in the closet where we all keep our stuff,” Wanda Nell explained. “Just pick it up and look inside.”
He picked it up and opened it. His eyes widened slightly as he began leafing through the pages. After a minute or so, he put the book back on the table and regarded Wanda Nell thoughtfully.
“Where the hell did she come by that kind of money?”
Wanda Nell shrugged. “She didn’t make it here, I can tell you that. If we made that kind of money, I’d have done paid off my trailer and bought me a new car, that’s for dang sure.”
Elmer Lee picked up the book again and stuck it in his shirt pocket. “I may need you to come in and make a statement at some point about finding it,” he said. He stood up. “I’d better get back. You think about what I said, Wanda Nell.”
She stood up and looked him straight in the face. “Thanks for the warning, Elmer Lee. I appreciate your concern.” She said it without sarcasm. For once, she really meant it. In his own rough way, he was doing what he thought was a good thing. It didn’t matter that she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him.
He nodded. “I’d feel a lot better if I knew you was going to do what I asked.” He sighed heavily. “But I ain’t counting on it.”
Wanda Nell laughed. “You’re softening up in your old age.”
He snorted and started walking away from her.
“Hang on a second, Elmer Lee,” she called after him. He turned back to look at her. “What is it?”
“Y’all gonna let Miz Vance go into Fayetta’s house to get what she needs for those kids?”
“I done told the lawyer she could do that. Tomorrow morning, in fact.” Elmer Lee’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What bidness is it of yours?”
“I’m going with her to help out,” Wanda Nell said. “You didn’t know that?”
“I for damn sure didn’t," Elmer Lee said, “but I might’ve known.” He rubbed a hand tiredly over his face. “In that case, I reckon I’m gonna be the one there at the house in the morning while y’all are poking around. Y’all be there at nine, alright?”
“I’ll check with Miz Vance,” Wanda Nell said, “and I’ll let you know if she can’t come then, for some reason.”
“You do that.” Elmer Lee turned and stalked off.
Wanda Nell watched him go. He stopped for a minute to chat with Katie Ann, who appeared to be quite happy to flirt with him. Wanda Nell had to admit that Elmer Lee was actually pretty good-looking, at least to other women. Katie Ann was welcome to him.
She headed for the front, and by the time she’d reached the kitchen door, Elmer Lee was gone. A couple of men came in, and Katie Ann greeted them. Wanda Nell left her to it and went back to Melvin’s office to use the phone there.
After a quick call to check on her daughters and grandson, Wanda Nell called Tuck Tucker’s office. The lawyer was out, so she left a message with Blanche for him to call her when he had a chance. Then she busied herself with making sure the restaurant was going to have the supplies it needed for the coming week.
None of the suppliers, all local, gave her any trouble about continuing deliveries. By now everyone in town probably knew that Melvin was in jail, but he’d done business with these places for so long, they were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Wanda Nell had just finished talking with the last one when the phone rang.
“Wanda Nell, it’s Tuck. What did you need to talk to me about?”
She filled him in on the savings account book she had found. She figured TJ. had probably already told him about Deke Campbell’s visit.
Tuck whistled into the phone. “Mr. Campbell is looking better and better as an alternative suspect.”
“He sure is,” Wanda Nell agreed. “What are you gonna do about it?”
“Good question,” Tuck said. “I’ve been making some discreet inquiries, and for now, I don’t want to do anything too aggressive. Show my hand. You know what I mean.”
“Yes,” Wanda Nell replied. “I bet he’s pretty mean when he’s riled. Campbell, that is, and you don’t wanna rattle his cage too much just yet.”
“Exactly,” Tuck said. “Thanks for calling. I appreciate the information.”
Before finishing the call, Wanda Nell told him about the appointment to get into Fayetta’s house. She didn’t tell him that Elmer Lee was planning to be there himself.
She made one more call, to Agnes Vance.
“I talked to somebody in the sheriff’s department, Miz Vance,” she said, “and they said you could get into the house at nine tomorrow morning. That okay for you?”
“I think so,” Mrs. Vance said. “I’ll have to ask one of my neighbors to watch the children. You want to meet me there, or do you want to come by here first?”
“I’ll just meet you there,” Wanda Nell said. “And let me know if there’s any problem. I’ll be at the Kountry Kitchen until closing tonight.”
By now it was almost four-thirty, and business would soon start picking up a bit. Finished with her chores in the office, Wanda Nell went back out front.
The late afternoon regulars started trickling in, and Wanda Nell and Katie Ann stayed pretty busy. A lot of them were asking about Melvin, and Wanda Nell got real tired talking about it but she tried to answer their questions in a friendly way.
The evening dinner crowd was larger than usual. Wanda Nell realized it was because of the murder, and though it irritated the heck out of her, she consoled herself with the fact the restaurant was making good money. She was, too, considering the tips the customers were leaving her.
About eight o’clock, a familiar voice greeted her while she was busy cleaning off a couple tables in the back dining room.
“Good evening, Wanda Nell. How are you?”
Wiping her hands on her apron, Wanda Nell turned around to smile at Jack Pemberton. An attractive man about her own age, he was her daughter Juliet’s English teacher at Tullahoma County High School. They had been out a few times, and Wanda Nell liked him a lot. He was kind, thoughtful, and awfully sweet. The only trouble was, he had a master’s degree, while she had barely finished high school. Wanda Nell felt that difference keenly every time she was around him, though he never did anything deliberately to make her feel inadequate.
“I’m doing okay, Jack. How are you?”
“Hungry,” he said, grinning. The light glinted off his round, rimless glasses.
Wanda Nell stared at him for a moment. Dang, but he sure was cute. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and give him a big kiss. She was sure he wouldn’t mind that but the restaurant was pretty full. She wasn’t going to put on a show and embarrass them both.
Smiling instead, she said, “Have a seat then, and let’s get you something to eat.”
He pulled out a chair at the table she indicated. “I’ll be right back with a menu and some tea.”
“How about the usual?” he called after her.
“You got it,” she said over her shoulder. He worked out at the high school gym and ran a lot otherwise al
l the chicken-fried steak, gravy, and mashed potatoes he ate at the Kountry Kitchen would have made him overweight. As she went to the kitchen to turn in his order and get him his tea, she wondered idly what he looked like when he was working out. She’d never seen him in anything but a jacket and tie, but she figured he must have a pretty decent-looking body underneath.
“Who’s that hunk in the back dining room?”
Katie Ann caught her as she was coining out of the kitchen. Wanda Nell blushed bright red, as if the other woman had read her thoughts.
“He sure is hot,” Katie Ann continued, her voice low. “And he went right past me the minute he saw you. That your boyfriend?”
“Kinda,” Wanda Nell said. “We’ve been out a few times. His name is Jack Pemberton, and he’s a teacher over at the county high school.”
“I wouldn’t mind letting him teach me a few things,” Katie Ann said archly.
Wanda Nell didn’t find that particularly amusing, and Katie Ann could see that.
“Sorry,” she apologized. “I should keep my big mouth shut.”
“It’s okay,” Wanda Nell said, relenting with a slight smile. “It’s not like we’re going steady or anything.”
Going steady. Wanda Nell winced inwardly. That sounded very high school. She was too old for that.
“You know what I mean,” she said hurriedly.
“Yeah,” Katie Ann said. “But considering I just started a new job, the last thing I’m gonna do is get the boss lady mad at me by making a pass at her boyfriend.”
Wanda Nell just smiled, deciding not to answer. She brushed by Katie Ann and took Jack his tea. He seemed like he wanted to talk, but Wanda Nell had too much to do.
“If you can hang around a little while,” she told him, “things oughta start slowing down before long.”
“Sure,” Jack said with a smile, pulling a book out of his jacket pocket “I’m in no hurry.”
An hour later only a few tables were still occupied. Katie Ann had proved to be a very capable waitress, and Wanda Nell felt considerably relieved. She sat down with Jack for a few minutes to have a glass of tea and eat a sandwich.
“You’re not usually this busy on a Monday night,” Jack said when she had finished the sandwich.
“No,” Wanda Nell replied. “It’s because of the murder.”
“Murder?” Jack said, sitting up straight in his chair. “What murder?”
Wanda Nell stared at him, puzzled. “You must be the only person in Tullahoma who hasn’t heard.”
“Maybe so,” Jack said, frowning. “I was in Cleveland all weekend, remember? I told you I was going over to visit a friend of mine who teaches in the history department at Delta State. I just got back late this afternoon.”
“Oh, yeah,” Wanda Nell said. “With everything that’s been going on, I forgot, I guess.” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Well, Fayetta got herself murdered this weekend.”
Jack stared at her, aghast. “You mean the woman who usually works evenings with you? I wondered why you had somebody new.” He shook his head. “What happened?” Wanda Nell explained. Jack’s expression of concern grew more pronounced the longer she talked.
“But I know Melvin didn’t do it,” Wanda Nell concluded.
“I guess I know you well enough by now,” Jack said, “to believe you when you say that. But if Melvin didn’t do it who did?” He dropped his voice. “Do you seriously think the president of the bank is involved?”
Wanda Nell shrugged. “He’s gotta be somehow, else why would he come by here and try to threaten me?” She told him what Campbell had said to her.
Jack’s face flushed with anger. “The sonofabitch! Who the hell does he think he is?”
Wanda Nell almost grinned. She’d never heard Jack use such language. “Now don’t be getting upset. He don’t scare me a bit.”
“Even so,” Jack said, cooling off slightly, “he’s got no business talking to you that way. He needs a good thrashing.”
This was a side of Jack she’d not seen before. He was beginning to sound just a little too territorial to suit her.
“Hold on, cowboy,” Wanda Nell said lightly, “before you saddle up and head over for a shootout.”
Jack laughed, then held up a hand in apology. “You’re right Wanda Nell. I’ve got no right to act that way. Besides, I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself.”
“Yeah, I am,” Wanda Nell said firmly. “But that don’t mean I don’t need a strong arm to rely on now and then.”
“My arm is at your service, fair lady,” Jack said, leaning forward in his chair and dipping his head, like a courtier bowing to a queen.
Wanda Nell glanced around. The back dining room was deserted now, except for her and Jack. Their table was shielded from view of the front room. She got up from her chair and went around to his. Leaning down, she kissed him. His arms encircled her and pulled her down into his lap.
When the kiss ended, they were both a little breathless, and Jack’s glasses had fogged over. He took off the glasses and stared into her eyes.
“I think you ought to know, Wanda Nell,” he said, his voice husky with emotion, “I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you.”
Chapter 12
Wanda Nell froze. This was the last thing she was expecting. They’d only really known each other for a couple months. She couldn’t deny the physical attraction between them, and Jack was certainly the nicest man she’d met in a long, long time. That said, this was moving just a little too fast for her peace of mind.
The silence stretched on a beat too long.
“Sorry, Wanda Nell,” Jack said, his face averted. “I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that.” He was going to say something else, but Wanda Nell laid a finger across his lips.
“No, Jack, don’t apologize. I’m just a little surprised, that’s all.”
He put his glasses back on, then gently took her hand from his mouth. “I know, and here I am, acting like a teenager when I ought to know better.”
Wanda Nell grinned at him. For a moment, he did look a little like an eighteen-year-old, with his boyish face and the way his brown hair kept slipping down across his forehead. “I wouldn’t be sitting here in a teenager’s lap, honey.”
Jack laughed, still slightly tense. “No, I guess not,” He sighed. “But you’re not really responding the way I guess I hoped you would.”
Wanda Nell eased herself gently off his lap and back into her chair. “I’m gonna be honest with you, Jack. You’re the nicest thing that’s happened to me in a real long time. A man like you even looking twice at a woman like me... well, I still can’t quite believe it.”
Jack interrupted her, his voice indignant. “What do you mean, a woman like you? Why shouldn’t I look at you? You’re a strong, attractive, bright woman. Any man with sense would look at you and realize you’re something special.”
Unexpectedly, Wanda Nell felt the sting of tears in her eyes. “I don’t know what to say,” she said around the lump in her throat “You’re something pretty special yourself, you know.”
Jack grinned. “Two people as special as we are, then, ought to be together, don’t you think? We deserve each other.”
Wanda Nell couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, Jack, I like you an awful lot more than any man since... well, you know.”
“Since Bobby Ray Culpepper,” Jack said.
She nodded. “Yeah. And I loved him with all my heart, even after the way he treated me. After I kicked him out I started trying to work him out of my system, but when he died, I realized I hadn’t done it real well.” She paused a moment. “But I’m getting there. You’re helping, I have to say. You’re decent and kind and thoughtful, all the things he wasn’t. Things he never really knew how to be.”
“Sounds like a testimonial for a Boy Scout,” Jack said ruefully.
Wanda Nell grinned. “Yeah, but one helluva sexy Boy Scout”
He laughed. “Then I guess I don’t mi
nd too much after all.”
“You sure you want to get mixed up with a divorced mother of three? Not to mention a grandmother?” Wanda Nell said it lightly, but she was completely serious.
It was Jack’s turn to grin. “Yeah, but one hell of a sexy grandmother.” He reached for her hands. “Listen, Wanda Nell, you can try to discourage me as much as you want, but it’s not going to change the way I feel.”
“Then just be patient with me, okay? Give me a little time to finish working it all out.”
“I’m a very patient man,” he said. “And a pretty determined one. Maybe a little impulsive sometimes.” He shrugged.
“Thanks,” she said softly. She stood up. “I guess maybe I’d better get back to work.”
He stood and drew her toward him. “I’ll get out of your hair for now. But how about a good-night kiss?” He watched her face closely.
She didn’t hesitate. Her lips lingered on his. Finally, she pulled away. “I’d better send you home right now, mister,” she said, her voice huskier than usual.
He laughed at that. “Then come on up front and take my money.” He turned and headed toward the cash register.
She followed, slipping behind the counter to ring up his check. Their fingers touched as he handed her the money, and she felt the physical spark between them. He winked before he left, and she stood at the register, staring at the door longer after he had left. Lord, but he is one attractive man. She finally shook herself out of her reverie. She might be falling in love with him, too, but she just had too much on her mind at the moment. She’d think about it later.
From there, the rest of the evening was all downhill. Feeling oddly deflated now that Jack had gone, Wanda Nell tried to settle down to the business at hand. They had a few stragglers come in for a late bite to eat, but otherwise the restaurant was pretty quiet until closing time at ten. Between them, Wanda Nell and Katie Ann had the place in good shape to reopen the next morning at five, so they didn’t have to hang around long after the last customer had left.
Wanda Nell bade good-bye to everyone as she locked the front door of the restaurant. Walking wearily to her car, she was very thankful she didn’t have to go on to Budget Mart tonight for her regular shift. She was ready to crawl into bed the minute she got home.
Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery Book 2) Page 10
