Leftover Dead

by Jimmie Ruth Evans

  Wanda Nell glanced at Jack. “Something happened this afternoon that you ought to know.”

  “What’s that?” King set his glass down.

  “I had a call from the school superintendent,” Jack said. “Evidently someone has gotten to him and complained about my current activities. He wants to see me to talk about what he thinks is unsuitable behavior of one of his teachers.”

  “Someone’s not happy about all this,” King said. “Pretty much what I expected. It was bound to break sooner or later. But you’d better be pretty careful when you get home.”

  “Speaking of which,” Wanda Nell said, “are we going to be able to go home tomorrow?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I know how to reach you. Now, you realize, when this thing comes to trial, you both might have to come back to testify.”

  “Of course,” Jack said, “and we’ll do what we need to.”

  “Would I have to testify, Rufus?” Miss Lyda asked.

  King nodded. “Yes, ma’am, you might.”

  “Oh, dear. Considering the circumstances, I know I shouldn’t be excited about that. But I’ve never testified in court before.”

  Wanda Nell could see that King was trying very hard not to smile. “Don’t you go worrying about that, Miss Lyda. When the time comes, you’ll do just fine.”

  “Thank you.”

  Before long they had finished supper, but not until after King had second helpings of Wanda Nell’s biscuits and gravy. He turned down an offer of dessert, saying reluctantly, “I’ve got to be going. Thank you all kindly for supper. I can’t tell you when I’ve enjoyed myself more.”

  Miss Lyda escorted him to the front door while Jack and Wanda Nell began to clear the table.

  “I’m glad we can go home tomorrow,” Wanda Nell said. “Though I guess I’m a little nervous about what we’ll have to face when we get there.” She wrapped the two remaining biscuits in plastic and put them in the refrigerator.

  Jack disposed of the chicken bones in the garbage can. “I know, honey, but we’ll just have to be on our guard. We have to use the situation to our advantage. Somebody’s nervous about what we’re doing, so it means we’ve definitely made progress.”

  “I just don’t want anybody else to die.”

  Jack came to Wanda Nell and pulled her into his arms. “I know, love. It wasn’t anything I thought would happen, but I still believe we’re doing the right thing, for Jenna Rae’s sake.”

  “You’re right.” Wanda Nell laid her head against his shoulder. “Something good has to come of this.”

  “Something will,” Jack said firmly before he released her.

  Miss Lyda came back from seeing King out. “Thank you, Wanda Nell. That was such a delicious meal. I tell you, I feel like a Christmas turkey, I had so much good food.”

  “Thank you, Miss Lyda. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Now, would you like some dessert? Jack bought some ice cream.”

  “Oh, my goodness, no. I do love ice cream, but I don’t think I could right now. Maybe later.”

  The ice cream stayed in the freezer, and for the rest of the evening the three of them chatted. Wanda Nell and Jack went to bed at ten, because Jack wanted to be up early for the drive back to Tullahoma.

  They had a quick breakfast the next morning with Miss Lyda, and Wanda Nell had to hold back a few tears as they said goodbye to her around seven o’clock.

  “We’ll call you and let you know what’s going on,” Wanda Nell promised.

  “We sure will,” Jack added, giving Miss Lyda a kiss on the cheek.

  “Take care of yourselves,” Miss Lyda said. “I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to you.”

  “Don’t worry about us,” Wanda Nell called. “You take care, and I’ll call you soon.”

  As Jack drove away, Wanda Nell looked back at Miss Lyda. She was waving, and Wanda Nell waved back at her until she could no longer see her. When Jack turned the corner, Wanda Nell faced forward.

  “It’ll be good to get home,” she said. “But despite everything that happened, I sure did like getting to know Miss Lyda.”

  “Me, too, honey. We’ll go back to see her when this is all over, and maybe she could come to Tullahoma for a visit. Don’t you think she and Belle would have a grand old time together?”

  Wanda Nell had to laugh at that thought. “They sure would, and I’ll bet Miz Culpepper would enjoy her. And Ernie, too. She and Ernie would get on together like a house on fire.” She sobered. “Speaking of Miz Culpepper, what are we going to do about her?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Jack said. “We’ve kind of hit a brick wall on digging up more about Howell and Margaret during their time in Tullahoma. Miz Culpepper obviously knows something about all this, and we may have no choice but to talk to her about it again.”

  “And hope that she won’t have another spell with her heart.” Wanda Nell sighed heavily.

  “We’ll have to take that into account,” Jack agreed. “But if the only way we can move forward is by finding out what she knows, we may have to. If nothing else, maybe T.J. can talk to her. She finds it hard to say no to him.”

  “That’s true. He’s real sweet with her, and he’ll know how to talk to her.”

  The miles sped by, and they stopped once, in Jackson, for gas and a restroom break. They reached home around eleven-thirty, and Wanda Nell was relieved to see that everything was okay. After they brought their things in from the car, they went into the kitchen for something to drink.

  “What time are you going to talk to the superintendent?” Wanda Nell asked. She poured water into two glasses and handed one to Jack.

  Jack glanced at his watch. “I’ll call his office in a few minutes and make an appointment. Tuck told me he had a light afternoon, so he should be able to go with me.”

  “Good.”

  “What will you do?” Jack asked.

  “I’m going to call the Kountry Kitchen. Now that we’re back, I need to get back to work. I don’t want to push Melvin too far.”

  “He understands what you’re doing.” Jack grinned. “Besides, he has a soft spot for you, and you know it. I’m just glad he lets me in the front door.”

  Wanda Nell blushed. “Oh, he got over that ages ago. He likes you. Believe me, when Melvin don’t like somebody, you know it.”

  “That’s good. Then I don’t have to worry about somebody slipping poison in the gravy when I eat there.”

  “You better call and make that appointment,” Wanda Nell said, ignoring his teasing remark. “And I’m going to get on the phone, too.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Jack pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and punched in a number.

  While he was involved in his call, Wanda Nell went to the kitchen phone and punched in the number of the Kountry Kitchen. Melvin answered after three rings, and Wanda Nell told him she was back and ready to work the afternoon and evening shifts.

  “Good. Come on in as soon as you can. One of the girls ain’t feeling so hot, so we sure could use the help.”

  “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.” Wanda Nell hung up the phone and turned to face Jack.

  “So you’re going in right away?”

  Wanda Nell nodded. “What about you?”

  “I’ve got an appointment at two. I’m going to call Tuck now and see if he can meet me there.”

  “Call me as soon as you’re done,” Wanda Nell said. “I want to know how it goes.”

  “I will.”

  Wanda Nell gave Jack a quick kiss before she headed for the bathroom to freshen up. Ten minutes later she was ready to leave for work.

  “Tuck will meet me there,” Jack told her. “In the meantime, I’m going to do a bit of work on the computer.”

  After they shared a longer kiss, Jack moved his car out of the way so Wanda Nell could back hers out of the carport. She waved goodbye and drove toward the highway into Tullahoma.

  She was actually looking forward to being back at work. She liked staying busy, and she knew i
f she’d stayed home the rest of the day, she would have been fidgeting and looking for housework to do. She had almost suggested going along with Jack and Tuck to the superintendent’s office, but she knew it was better for her not to be there. Her unruly temper might make the situation worse. Better that Tuck was going. He wouldn’t lose his cool the way she often did.

  Her cell phone rang, startling her. She fumbled for it in her purse. She really didn’t much like talking on it while she was driving.

  Her fingers grasped the phone, and she pulled it out. A quick glance at the screen revealed a familiar number. She opened the phone and put it to her ear. “Hello, Ernie. How are you?”

  “I’m doing fine, Wanda Nell.” Ernie’s voice boomed into Wanda Nell’s ear. “Where are you? Are you and Jack home yet?”

  “We are. In fact, I’m on my way to work. My boss said they need me, so I’m going to be at the Kountry Kitchen the rest of the day.”

  “I’ll be on my way there in a few minutes. I need to come into town anyway, and I’ve managed to dig up something interesting. I’ll see you in about thirty minutes.”

  Ernie ended the call before Wanda Nell could reply. Amused and slightly exasperated, she dropped her phone back in her purse. She’d just have to be patient until Ernie showed up at the Kountry Kitchen, but she couldn’t help wondering what Ernie had dug up.

  Twenty-three

  Wanda Nell reached the Kountry Kitchen a few minutes later, and she met Betsy coming out the door, purse clutched to her stomach.

  “Thanks, Wanda Nell.” Betsy’s face was pale and her voice strained. “I got some kind of stomach bug.”

  “You go on home, and take care of yourself,” Wanda Nell said.

  Betsy nodded, and Wanda Nell watched for a moment until Betsy made it to her car. She wasn’t so sure Betsy should be driving herself home, but she lived only a couple of miles away. And she seemed to be driving okay.

  Wanda Nell opened the door and walked into the restaurant. The front dining room was packed, and from what she could see of the back dining room, it was pretty full, too. She nodded at Melvin as she hurried by him and went in the back to put away her purse. Less than a minute later she was out front, ready to dive in. Patsy pointed out Betsy’s tables, and Wanda Nell went to work.

  She barely noticed when Ernie came in. Melvin escorted Ernie to a table in the back dining room, and it happened to be one of Wanda Nell’s.

  “Hello, Ernie,” Wanda Nell said with a smile. “As you can see, it’s still pretty busy, so I might not be able to talk for a while.”

  “I can see that.” Ernie had a slightly sheepish expression on her face. “Sometimes I lose all track of time, now that I’m not working to a schedule anymore. I didn’t really stop to think that it was still lunchtime.”

  “It’s okay,” Wanda Nell said. “Now, can I get you something?”

  “I haven’t had my lunch yet, so I might as well eat. I’m actually hungry. What’s good today?”

  Wanda Nell recited the day’s specials, and Ernie chose the pot roast with carrots, English peas, and mashed potatoes. “And a glass of iced tea, sweetened.”

  “I’ll be back with your tea,” Wanda Nell promised. She headed for the kitchen to turn in Ernie’s order and fetch the tea.

  Forty minutes later the lunch crowd had thinned out to a few lingering over dessert, mostly in the front dining room. Wanda Nell came back to Ernie’s table with the tea pitcher and refilled her glass. Ernie pushed away an empty dessert plate. “I don’t know when I’ve had better apple pie.”

  “There’s more,” Wanda Nell said, and Ernie considered it for a moment.

  “No, I’m going to be good.” She wagged a finger at Wanda Nell. “And don’t try tempting me any further. I’m going to need to walk the fifteen miles home as it is, just to work off that heavenly—and fattening—lunch.”

  Wanda Nell grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Do you have time now to sit down for a few minutes?”

  “I do,” Wanda Nell said, taking a seat at the table. “I just have to keep an eye open in case I’m needed. What did you dig up? I’ve been dying of curiosity ever since you called.”

  Ernie reached for her tote bag and pulled out a few pieces of paper. She held them while she answered Wanda Nell. “I started thinking about ways to figure out just who this Margaret was, and I wondered if perhaps she had gone to school here in Tullahoma.”

  “Good idea. So far T.J. hasn’t had any luck finding out where she and Mr. Howell got married. If they did.”

  “I would certainly hope they did.” Ernie’s tone was a bit severe. “I’m sure T.J. will find the record somewhere. In the meanwhile, though, I started my search for Margaret.” She indicated the papers she held. “We have a collection of school yearbooks at the Historical Society, going back over seventy years. I figured if Margaret went to school here, I could perhaps find her in a yearbook.”

  “So you just looked for girls named Margaret? I’m sure there were a bunch of them.”

  “There were. But I narrowed down the time frame, given what we know about this particular Margaret. It’s not much, of course, but it gave me a place to start. Jenna Rae would be about fifty by now, had she lived, so I started working backward from there.”

  “According to Miss Lyda—I told you about her—Margaret was pretty young when Jenna Rae was born.”

  “Probably not much more than sixteen or seventeen,” Ernie said. “Based on that, I was looking especially for a Margaret who probably dropped out of school before graduating.” She handed the papers she had been holding to Wanda Nell. “These are copies I made from the yearbooks. Take a look through them.”

  Wanda Nell took the pages and began glancing over them. Ernie had drawn rings around the Margarets on each page, and Wanda Nell matched them with the photographs.

  “I also marked ones with names like Margie and Peggy. Any name that sounded like it could be a nickname for Margaret.”

  “I see that.” Wanda Nell examined with great care each of the girls whose name was marked. She had put aside three pieces of paper and was looking at the fourth one when she spotted a face that seemed familiar. She glanced at the name: Peggy Lewis.

  “Have you found her?”

  “I think maybe I have. I’ve seen only that one picture of Jenna Rae, but this girl, Peggy Lewis, reminds me of her. None of the others did.” She handed the piece of paper back to Ernie.

  Ernie glanced at it. “This is one of the girls who didn’t graduate with her class. This is her junior class photo.” She put the paper down.

  “If Peggy Lewis was Jenna Rae’s mother, how do we go about finding out who she worked for fifty years ago?”

  “There’s the rub, as Shakespeare would have said. But this gives us something to go on, and if your son can find a marriage license, that will confirm it.”

  “I’ll call him and let him know.” Wanda Nell stood. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

  “Of course,” Ernie said. “I’ll give this some more thought. Surely I know someone who could help us find out more about Peggy Lewis and who her family was.” She grinned. “I was in about the fifth grade when she was a junior, so I wouldn’t have known her.”

  Wanda Nell had to smile. Then she sobered as a thought struck her. “What would her family have done, do you think? Could they have thrown her out if she’d gotten pregnant?”

  “Given the time this happened, I’d say yes. Having a baby out of wedlock fifty years ago was pretty shameful, and though it’s hard to believe, some parents would refuse to have anything more to do with a daughter who shamed them in that way.”

  Thanks to Miranda, Wanda Nell knew all about it. She had been furious with her daughter, and maybe a little embarrassed, but she had never seriously considered throwing her daughter out and not having anything to do with her.

  “I know, dear.” Ernie patted her arm and stood to go. “Thank goodness, some things have changed. For some families, anyway.”

 
Wanda Nell nodded. “I just can’t help thinking about how sad all this is.”

  “It does you credit,” Ernie said, gathering up her things. “But we’re doing what we can, even though it’s been a very long time.” She gave Wanda Nell a quick hug.

  Wanda Nell got back to work, somewhat comforted, and Ernie waved goodbye to her a few minutes later as she left the Kountry Kitchen.

  A while later, when the lunch crowd was completely gone and the restaurant was quiet, Wanda Nell sat down for a few minutes to have her own lunch. After she ate, she went to get her cell phone out of her purse. She called T.J., and he answered right away.

  “Hey, Mama,” he said. “Y’all had quite a time down in Hattiesburg.”

  “We sure did.” Wanda Nell glanced at her watch, surprised to note that it was nearly three o’clock. “Have you heard any word from Tuck or Jack yet?”

  T.J. laughed. “Oh, yeah. They got back to the office about ten minutes ago. Sounds like Tuck put the fear of God into the superintendent. Tuck says the minute they walked into the guy’s office and he spotted Tuck with Jack, the guy started sweating. He knew who Tuck was, and that made him nervous.”

  “Good,” Wanda Nell said, mightily relieved. “Is Jack still there?”

  “He is. I’ll get him for you.”

  Wanda Nell waited a moment, and Jack came on the line. “Hey, honey, it’s okay.”

  “That’s what T.J. said. So he didn’t cut up too rough with Tuck there.”

  “He sure didn’t. He backed down pretty quick, so I’m not sure who scared him more, Tuck or whoever called to complain about me.” He paused. “I’m glad he’s off my back, at least for now. Who knows what will happen, though, once he reports back to whoever put him up to calling about me?”

  “Then the faster we figure this all out, the better. Honey, Ernie called me when I was on the way to work, and she came by here for lunch. She did some digging in old yearbooks at the Historical Society, and I think we may have found Margaret.”

  “Great. Tell me about it.”

  Wanda Nell gave him a quick rundown on what Ernie had done. “A girl named Peggy Lewis didn’t graduate. And from what I could see, Jenna Rae favored her.”