“I know,” Melvin said tiredly, leaning back in his chair, his eyes closed. “It don’t make much sense, does it? I knew better, but it just happened. I wanted to marry her and try to be a daddy to those kids. For a while, I thought maybe I could talk some sense into her.” He sighed deeply. “But there was just something wild in her. Something I could never touch. I should’ve fired her and turned my back on her, but I felt sorry for those kids.”
“You’re a good man, Melvin,” Wanda Nell said softly, stretching out a hand to touch him lightly on the arm.
His eyes opened, and the bleak pain in them made her want to cry. “Didn’t do me or her much good, did it?”
“I don’t think anybody could help her,” Wanda Nell said. “You know what they say: you gotta recognize the problem and ask for help yourself, before you can do anything about it. You can’t save somebody that don’t wanna be saved.” She knew that well, from her own bitter experience with her ex-husband and her son. Bobby Ray had never really tried to grow up and face his responsibilities. TJ., thank the Lord, finally had, though Wanda Nell was more afraid for him now than she ever had been.
“I know you’re right,” Melvin said tiredly. “Sometimes I wondered why she just didn’t put a gun to her head. Or why I didn’t.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Wanda Nell said sharply. “You did what you could, and that’s a damn sight more than most men would’ve done. She wasn’t worth killing yourself over.”
Melvin shrugged. “I didn’t really mean it. Spending that time in jail made me think a lot. I guess I’ve learned a few things about women. I ain’t gonna be making a mistake like that again.”
Wanda Nell felt some reassurance at those words. It was going to take him time to get over this, but he seemed to be headed in the right direction. She hated to have him rake over any more of Fayetta’s life at this point, but she knew they had to do it.
“A little while ago, you said something like, ‘At first she just went out with married men.’ What else was there?”
“You know how she’d wanna take Friday night and Saturday off a couple times a month?”
Wanda Nell nodded.
“Well, she had some other job,” Melvin said, frowning again. “She wouldn’t tell me just what it was, but she did say it was working in a private club. That’s all she’d say, except that she made about fifty times more on those weekends than she could a whole week here.”
“And that’s all she told you?”
Melvin fixed her with a sharp glance. “You know something about it I don’t know?”
Wanda Nell hesitated. “Maybe. But if that’s all you know, then that’s all you need to know for now.”
“You mean, if I knew everything, it might mean I had more of a reason to kill her.”
“Something like that,” Wanda Nell said, made uncomfortable by the hurt in his face.
Melvin rubbed his forehead. “Damn, but I feel like going on a three-day drunk. I can’t take much more of this.” He pulled his cigarettes out of his pocket, shook one out of the pack, and lit it with the lighter on his desk. He exhaled smoke, turning his head away from Wanda Nell. “All I know was she kept talking about having more money, but I ain’t got a clue what she was doing with it.”
Wanda Nell almost told him, but she caught herself in time. If he didn’t know about that savings account, he was better off not knowing for now. Instead, she shrugged.
“What happened to it I wonder?’ Melvin asked. “The way she talked, it was a lotta money, and I don’t see where she was spending much, except on some clothes for her kids.”
“Good point,” Wanda Nell said.
Melvin’s eyes narrowed as smoke drifted around his head. “Maybe somebody killed her for that money. You thought about that? Maybe it all came down to money.”
Chapter 24
“Could be,” Wanda Nell said after a brief pause. “You have any idea how much money she had?”
“I’m not sure,” Melvin admitted. “She liked to talk big. Hell, you know how she was. Course, she didn’t talk about that kinda stuff in front of you. It was just me she was throwing it up to.” His tone had turned bitter again. “But if I believed half of what she was telling me, she had to have at least ten grand, maybe more, put away somewhere.”
“That’s a lot of money,” Wanda Nell said, “but what was she doing with it? Keeping it under her mattress?”
“I don’t know,” Melvin said. “Maybe she put it in the bank. She wasn’t fool enough to have that kind of money in the house.” He scratched his head. “Yeah, she must’ve put it in the bank.”
“In that case,” Wanda Nell said, “how could someone get ahold of it by killing her? I guess it’d belong to her kids now, wouldn’t it?’
“I guess so,” Melvin said. His face darkened. “But I bet those kids won’t ever see a dime of that money, if somebody ain’t swiped it already.”
“Who’d’ve swiped it?”
“Deke Campbell for one,” Melvin said bluntly. “I know for a fact he was one of the men Fayetta went out with sometimes, and I bet you anything he was giving her money. And if she put it in his bank, I bet you by now it’s gone. I wouldn’t put anything past that bastard.”
“But there’d still be some kind of record, wouldn’t there?” This was giving her a headache, acting like she didn’t know about Fayetta’s savings account. From what she could tell, Melvin didn’t know for sure that Fayetta had banked the money, and that was a point in his favor.
“Sure there would,” Melvin agreed, “but with them computers, I bet you ol’ Deke can do anything he wants with the records. He’d find some way of making that money disappear, and ain’t nobody gonna find it.”
“But Fayetta would’ve had some kind of paper records, surely,” Wanda Nell said, pushing the point further.
“Yeah,” Melvin said, shrugging, “I guess she would. But whoever went in there and killed her could’ve taken what records she had. I bet you the sheriff’s department didn’t find no records like that.” He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on his desk.
“That’s possible,” Wanda Nell said. She felt funny about continuing to deceive him, but it was for his own good. Still, she had to admit Melvin had a point. Deke Campbell could have decided the only way to stop Fayetta from bleeding him and the other members of the club completely dry was to kill her and then make sure the money and all trace of it disappeared. That way no one could link him or anyone else to Fayetta.
Too bad for him, Wanda Nell thought with a feeling of satisfaction. I put a little kink in that plan when I turned over that passbook to Elmer Lee.
Even if Deke Campbell managed to manipulate the bank’s records somehow, there was at least some evidence that the account, and the money in it, had existed at some point I bet Deke Campbell would sure like to get his hands on that passbook, Wanda Nell thought.
Why hadn’t she thought of that before? For a moment forgetting where she was, Wanda Nell played with the idea of using her knowledge of the passbook to trick Deke Campbell into making some kind of move, one that would get the sheriff’s department interested in him.
How could she make that work?
“Wanda Nell.”
She came back abruptly from her thoughts at the sound of Elray, the dishwasher, calling her from the kitchen.
“What is it?” She stepped out into the hall.
Elray said, wiping his hands on his apron, “That new girl, she be calling for you. Looks like it getting busy out there.”
“Thanks,” Wanda Nell said “I’ll be right out.” She turned briefly back to Melvin. “Back to work, I guess. You hang in there, you hear? We’ll get it all sorted out, one way or another.”
Melvin nodded as he reached for another cigarette. “I’ll come out in a few minutes. I got a couple more things I need to do in here first.”
Back out on the floor, Wanda Nell didn’t have much time to think about Fayetta’s murder for a while. The customers kept coming in a steady s
tream, and she and Katie Ann stayed very busy. Whatever suspicions Wanda Nell harbored over Katie Ann’s involvement in the murder, she had to admit the girl was a top-notch waitress. She certainly didn’t seem to mind hard work.
With Melvin back at his place at the cash register and helping bus tables, Wanda Nell could concentrate more on her customers. She enjoyed the people, for the most part, and usually they responded by leaving her generous tips. They got the occasional jerk who wasn’t satisfied with anything, but Wanda Nell handled customers like that with a firm hold on her temper. She had never yet been rude to a customer, though she had been sorely tempted many a time.
Around seven o’clock, Jack Pemberton returned with his cousin Lisa. Wanda Nell didn’t have much time to chat with them, but she did hear they had found a nice house for Lisa to rent. In the same neighborhood where Jack lived, it was only a short drive from the hospital where Lisa would be working.
“Sounds like everything’s working out just fine,” Wanda Nell told Lisa as she topped off her tea glass.
Lisa nodded shyly. “I can’t wait to get moved. I just want to get away from Meridian.”
“I don’t blame you,” Wanda Nell said. “We’re not gonna let that guy bother you here.” She laughed. “If he shows up here, I’ll just get my friend Mayrene to have a little talk with him. Her and her shotgun. He’ll leave you alone after that, or Mayrene’ll have him singing soprano in the church choir.”
Jack laughed. “If anyone can do it, Mayrene can.”
Lisa looked dubious. “I don’t want anyone to get in trouble because of me.”
“Just wait till you meet Mayrene, honey,” Wanda Nell said with a big grin. “She won’t get in any trouble, and she’ll enjoy every minute of it.”
As Wanda Nell left them, Jack was telling Lisa all about Mayrene and the events of a couple months ago.
By nine-thirty most of the customers were gone, and business was winding down for the night. Katie Ann had gone to the office with Melvin for a talk, the first time they’d had to get acquainted since Melvin had returned.
When Katie Ann came back out front, she told Wanda Nell that Melvin wanted to see her.
“He sure is a nice guy,” Katie Ann said. “Seems like a real good guy to work for.”
“He is,” Wanda Nell said, pausing on her way to the office. “You be square with him, and he’ll be square with you. Can’t ask for better than that.”
“No, I guess not,” Katie Ann said with a slight frown. “Are you sure he didn’t kill Fayetta?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Wanda Nell said, her tone firm. “You just put that idea right out of your head. Somebody else did it. I don’t know who, but it sure as hell wasn’t Melvin.” With that, she pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen, leaving Katie Ann to handle the front.
“What’s up?” she asked Melvin when she reached his office.
He expelled a plume of smoke. “I got a little favor to ask.”
“Sure,” Wanda Nell said, waving a hand to stir the smoke around. “You’re gonna have to air this place out, you keep smoking like that in here.”
“Sorry,” Melvin said.
“I’m not complaining,” Wanda Nell said, grinning. “If I can’t get it from smoking myself, I’ll take it second-hand. I sure do miss it.”
“You’re better off giving it up,” Melvin said, stubbing out his cigarette. “I oughta quit too. Maybe tomorrow.”
“Uh-huh,” Wanda Nell said. Melvin talked about quitting periodically, but he never did anything about it. “What’s that favor you wanted?”
Melvin reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out an envelope. “Would you give this to Fayetta’s mama?” He slid the envelope across the desk, and Wanda Nell picked it up.
Surprised by the thickness of it Wanda Nell resisted the urge to peek inside. “What’s this?”
“What I owe Fayetta,” Melvin said. “And a little extra for those kids. I reckon Miz Vance can use it. Fayetta was always saying how her mama don’t have much money.”
“Don’t you want to give it to her yourself?”
Melvin shook his head. “No. I figure it’ll be better if you give it to her. She never did like me much, and I’d just as soon not see her if I don’t have to.”
“I don’t mind taking it to her,” Wanda Nell said. “And you’re right. I’m sure she can use it. With four kids to feed, she’s gonna need all the help she can get.”
“Yeah,” Melvin said. “And you can bet none of their daddies are gonna pitch in. They never did before. Even the one Fayetta was married to. That was Red Sutton, and he ran off right after Shawn was born.”
Wanda Nell debated a moment before she asked, “You have any idea who the other daddies are?”
Melvin shrugged. “Not really. I can guess on a couple of ’em, but Fayetta never would talk about it.”
“Why didn’t she try to get child support from any of them?”
Melvin shot her a look.
“Oh, I get it,” Wanda Nell said slowly. “You mean every one of them was a married man because she liked going out with married men.”
“That’s what I figure,” Melvin said. “I know she got money out of some of ’em occasionally, but nothing real regular. She could’ve caused a big stink if she’d wanted to, but she never did.”
“Until just recently,” Wanda Nell said, tucking the envelope into her pocket. “Then she must’ve changed her mind for some reason. Decided she wanted money and didn’t care how she got it.”
“And somebody didn’t want to play along and killed her,” Melvin said.
“Yeah.” Melvin would find out soon enough all the sordid details—the savings account, the blackmail list. As she thought the words, Wanda Nell realized she’d been overlooking some important evidence. She should have been paying more attention to the names on that list, although she also figured Elmer Lee Johnson should be following up on it. Things could be touchy, considering some of the names on the list, but that was his lookout.
When she got home tonight, she’d get that list out and go over it again. Try to identify all the names on it, for one thing, and then go from there. The killer was very likely one of the men on that list, or maybe several of them were involved in it together.
Whether it was a solo effort or a group enterprise, Wanda Nell felt like kicking herself for not paying more attention to the list. Now that she had told Mayrene about Hector Padget’s involvement, maybe she could enlist Mayrene’s help with the names.
“Wanda Nell.”
At the sound of her name, Wanda Nell blinked and focused on Melvin.
“Sorry,” she said. “Just woolgathering, I guess.”
“It’s about time to start closing up,” Melvin said. “I told Katie Ann she could go, soon as her friend gets here to pick her up. You don’t mind staying and closing up with me, do you?” He got up from his chair.
“No, that’s fine,” Wanda Nell said. “I’d better go check, though, and see if she’s ready to leave.”
She headed for the kitchen, Melvin right behind her. Melvin stopped to talk with the cook and the dishwasher, and Wanda Nell advanced to the door and peered through the small window in it
She had her hand on it and was about to push it open, when what she was seeing registered in her tired brain.
She recognized the guy talking with Katie Ann at the counter, just a few feet from the kitchen door.
Tommy Eccles.
Her stomach knotted in fear. What the hell was he doing here?
Chapter 25
Wanda Nell jerked her head back from the window and stepped away from the door.
She couldn’t let Tommy Eccles see her. She didn’t want him to know where she worked, or who she really was.
She turned around to find Melvin watching her, a puzzled look on his face.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Don’t ask now,” Wanda Nell practically hissed at him. “You just go out there and get Katie Ann and her fr
iend out of here. I’ll explain when they’re gone.”
She brushed past him and ducked into the hallway. Her back against the wall, she made herself breathe slowly and evenly.
Peeking around the corner, she didn’t see Melvin. He must have done as she asked. She leaned against the wall, trying to relax.
If Tommy Eccles was Katie Ann’s friend, that definitely tied her in. Otherwise, why would she be hanging around with a goon like him? Then Wanda Nell started shaking her head, realizing she didn’t need any more confirmation.
Katie Ann really had been a plant tire whole time. Billy Joe Eccles and Deke Campbell and the whole damn lot of them had put Katie Ann up to coming to the Kountry Kitchen looking for a job. They all knew Fayetta was dead, and they wanted somebody they could trust keeping an eye on things at the restaurant Somebody who could help them make sure, if at all possible, Melvin was the one who went to jail, and not one of them.
Wanda Nell thought of a few choice names she’d like to call Katie Ann to her face, and hoped she would have the opportunity to, once she was sure that Melvin was safe from having to go back to jail. She’d laugh in Katie Ann’s face when one of the men who’d put her up to this was in jail instead.
No wonder Katie Ann knows so much about Fayetta, she thought. She was working at that damn club with her. The realization made her sick at her stomach.
Katie Ann had seemed like a pretty nice girl. What did she want with working at a place like that? Especially when she could make a decent living as a waitress. She was single and didn’t have any kids, as far as Wanda Nell knew. Why would she lower herself to take a job like that?
She hadn’t lived Katie Ann’s life, or Fayetta’s, and it wasn’t her place to say why they’d made the choice to prostitute themselves. “Judge not, that you be not judged," Wanda Nell quoted to herself.
“What the heck was all that about?” Melvin’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Are they gone?” Wanda Nell demanded.
“Yeah, they’re gone, and so are Elray and Margaret, so it’s just you and me,” Melvin said. “What’s going on?”
Murder Over Easy (A Trailer Park Mystery Book 2) Page 22
