Mother Finds a Body

by Craig Rice

  “I know a place where the sun never shines …”

  “No sense in getting them excited,” he said between notes. “After all, the stuff can’t walk away.”

  He was right about that, of course, but he forgot that it could be carried away.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Mother and Mamie had left the trailer. The burned-out powder was in the saucer and the towel was folded neatly beside it. A note written on brown wrapping paper was propped against the lamp: Have gone calling. Love, Mother.

  “Probably telling the folks about me being a lumberman,” Biff said. He rolled up the paper and carelessly shoved it into his pocket.

  The screen door was closed but unfastened. Biff let the dogs out. Then he hooked the monkey to a chain on the hitch and entered the trailer. I followed him. The sun was sinking and it left shadows on the enamel top of the stove. There was a whisky glass upturned near the coffeepot. A drop of liquor spilled over the shiny surface.

  Biff wiped it up with his finger and smelled it.

  “Looks like Mamie had herself a nip before they went calling,” he said.

  He opened the pantry door and looked inside. Everything was arranged neatly. The salt and pepper and things we used more frequently were toward the right. In the back were the bulky supplies like flour and coffee.

  Biff began piling the groceries on the stove. When the pantry was empty he lifted up the shelf paper and looked under that. Then he examined each package and jar before he put it back where it belonged. He emptied the coffee tin into a piece of paper. He went through everything just as carefully. A half loaf of bread caught his attention. He took a knife and removed the soft inside part, then he broke it up into small crumbs.

  “They must have been frightened into hiding the stuff some other place,” I said as Biff closed the pantry door.

  “It certainly wasn’t in any of those boxes or anything. Or it was such a little bit that it couldn’t count.”

  “It only takes a little bit,” Biff replied. He gave the guinea pig the bread crumbs, the crust he wrapped in paper and threw into the wastebasket.

  “In case anybody asks us who ate the bread, all we say is ‘mice.’”

  “You say it to everybody but me!” Gee Gee stood on the steps, looking in at us. Behind her stood Mandy and Dimples. Mandy’s mouth was wide open.

  “Am I screwy or am I?” he asked. “Corpses I can understand, but what the hell you expect to find in the groceries is beyond me.”

  Biff sat down on the foot of the bed and rested his elbows on his knees. He paid no attention to the trio as they came into the trailer.

  “It’s got to be around here someplace,” he said almost to himself. “Stands to reason they got it stashed where they can get it quickly. It costs too much dough to take a chance on hiding it out-of-doors.”

  “Well, what are we waiting for?” Gee Gee asked suddenly. “Let’s tear the joint apart until we find it.”

  She pulled off her beret and rolled up her sleeves. “I’ll tackle the front room with Gyp. You three handle the bedroom.”

  Opening the closet door, she began dragging out the clothes. She threw them on the day bed carelessly.

  “You examine ’em,” she said to me, “and I’ll get ’em out. Squeeze all around the hems and seams carefully. Pockets, too. I read in the paper once where they smuggled dope across the border in heels of shoes even. Some dame had diamonds in the cavities of her teeth. They can’t fool me, though. If it’s here, I’m the little girl who’ll find it.”

  We found everything but heroin or occaine. We found sand from Santa Monica, stubs from the drive-in theater, crumbs from a nutburger, one false fingernail, sixteen cents in pennies, a dried-up Martini olive, and $4397 rolled up in a page of the Racing Form and tucked into a knothole in the back of the bedroom closet.

  Mandy found the money. It was in small dirty bills. His hand shook as he counted it the second time. “Jeesuss, I never saw so much dough in one lump in me life,” he said.

  Dimples threw open the closet door and crowded her bulk inside the stuffy two-by-four room. She ran her hands down the sides of the walls and tapped with her knuckles on the ceiling.

  “Maybe there’s more,” she said breathlessly.

  Biff shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said slowly, “and I don’t think we’ll find the stuff now, either.”

  He began tidying up the trailer, replacing the bureau drawers and hanging up the clothes. Mandy tried to help but he was too dazed. One hand was useless anyway, the money was gripped too tightly in it.

  “Jeesuss, I could buy me a chicken farm or a selling plater,” he mumbled.

  “Yeah, you could,” Biff said, “only you ain’t. The dough goes to the cops and it goes to ’em tonight. We’ve had trouble enough without sticking out our chins for a lousy four thousand bucks.”

  “Four thousand, three hundred and ninety-seven, and if it’s lousy, I’ll still sit still for it,” Gee Gee said grimly.

  “It wouldn’t be yours by any chance?” Dimples asked suddenly. Her eyes were unfriendly, and a hard line made her mouth. “You sure remember the amount close enough.”

  “If you didn’t remember it so close yourself,” Gee Gee snapped, “how do you know I did? If it was mine, I’d admit it, angel pants. For that kind of dough I’d take my chances.”

  “Chances on what?” Biff asked.

  “Don’t give me that,” Gee Gee replied quickly. “You know damn well that dough came from the sale of the dope. Think you’re playing with kids?”

  Mandy handed the money to Biff reluctantly, as though he wanted just one more feel to convince himself that it was real.

  Biff folded it carefully and shoved it in his back pocket. He put the spread back on the bed and punched up the cretonne pillows. Then he looked around the trailer to see if everything looked as usual.

  “Not a word about this to Evangie,” he said, patting his back pocket. “We’ll go into the village for dinner, and I’ll scoot over and see the sheriff while you’re all eating. If it belongs to any of you,” he said, letting his eyes travel slowly from Gee Gee to Dimples and finally to Mandy, “you’d better tell me now.”

  “What about Gyp?” Mandy said, not maliciously, but as though it was as improbable for me to have that much money as it was for any of them.

  “She’s never had more than a quarter at one time in her life,” Biff said. “Evangie sees to that.”

  Gee Gee lifted the glass from the lamp and touched a match to the wick. A yellow light flickered and brightened as she replaced the bulb.

  “What’s with the electricity?” Dimples asked. She turned up the light switch. There was a dull click but no lights.

  “It’s the cord again,” Gee Gee replied. “This time it looks like Rufus has been chewing on it or something. I saw it this afternoon and then when Evangie got home I was too excited to remember it.”

  I hadn’t realized how late it was until darkness fell. Mother had never visited that long before, I was suddenly frightened. I felt as though I had been running. My breath was short.

  “Why doesn’t Mother come home?”

  “She’s probably around the camp someplace,” Biff said casually. “I’ll go give a look.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Mandy said quickly. “With that dough, you ain’t walking in the moonlight alone, brother. Not that I don’t trust you or anything, but you never can tell what’ll happen.”

  “How right you are,” Biff said as they left. Gee Gee jumped up and locked the door behind them. She stood with her back braced against the wood-veneer paneling and looked down at her hands. They were trembling.

  “I need a drink,” she said.

  “And me,” Dimples said. “Say, what happened to that guy with my five bucks? He’s been gone a couple hours. I tell ya I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw this trailer. He’s probably bending an elbow in some bar and guzzling up my five spot. I knew I should have …”

  She stopped and
stared at Gee Gee and me. We must have all felt it at the same time. It was a tight feeling of terror that caught in my throat. I could feel a chill travel up my back.

  “My Gawd,” Dimples whispered, “he’s killed her, too.” She looked wildly around the trailer, then she ran her hands through her yellow, wiry hair and shrieked, “He’s killed Evangie like he killed the others.”

  I pushed Gee Gee away from the door and threw it open. As I ran toward the office I heard her slap Dimples.

  “Shut up,” she said. “You’re nuts. Stop it now.”

  The trailer park was dark. The dim lights from the trailers didn’t travel any farther than their own doorsteps. Low murmurs from the various radios seemed to follow me as I ran toward the trailer I thought Mother might have visited. Little Johnny’s father opened the door when I banged on it. He squinted out into the darkness.

  “It’s me,” I said breathlessly. “Is my—have you seen my mother?”

  “Well, no, I haven’t,” he said slowly. “I did see her this afternoon though. She was talking to some man in an automobile. Think she drove away with him, but I’m not sure. Why?”

  “Was she alone?” I asked, ignoring his question.

  “Yes, I think she was. There’s no trouble, is there? That sure was a terrible thing to happen to a sweet little woman like her. Imagine finding a body in your own bathtub! My wife and me was just listening to a report about it on the radio. My wife here has an idea about …”

  I left the man talking to himself and ran on toward the office. I should have telephoned immediately, I thought, instead of wasting time with stupid questions. I had a numb feeling, but I kept telling myself that nothing had happened—nothing serious, that is. I had seen Mother get herself out of so many scrapes that it was silly for me to think that anything could happen now. But the numbness made me dizzy. A feeble light in the office window showed me I was heading in the right direction; it helped clear my head, too.

  “Hello,” I said to the operator. Then I gave her the number.

  There was a click. Then I heard a ringing. The doctor answered the phone. I had reached him so quickly that I didn’t know what to say. At least I don’t remember what I said to him. He told me later that I sounded very calm.

  “She’s all right,” he told me. I do remember that. “She said she left a note for you. Didn’t you get a note?”

  “Yes,” I said. “We found it. I’m sorry if I bothered you. We, I got a little nervous. So much happening and everything. Tell her to stay at the sheriff’s and we’ll pick her up.”

  I placed the receiver back on the hook and leaned against the mouthpiece. It was as though my legs had suddenly collapsed under me and I was hanging in mid-air. I felt in my pockets for my cigarettes. Then I remembered that I left them on the stove. I remembered how frightened Dimples had been, too. I turned quickly to go back.

  I’m sure I wasn’t nervous when I went out into the darkness again. I closed the door behind me and walked briskly in the direction of our trailer. As my eyes became accustomed to the change, I thought I could see the outline of our house. It was so much larger than most house trailers and I thought I recognized the lean-to tent. It just seemed to be farther from the office than I thought it was. I couldn’t remember walking that far.

  It seemed to be getting darker, too. I stopped for a moment to get my bearings. Behind me the office light cast a weak glow. Ahead, there was nothing but darkness. I had a sudden impulse to run back to the office. There was light there, there was a telephone. Ahead, there was nothing.

  “Biff! Biff!” My voice startled me. It made me feel more alone to hear no answer. Then I ran. I ran as fast as I could right into the black void ahead. As I ran I heard myself screaming, “Biff! Biff!”

  Why don’t the people in their trailers hear me, I thought. Where were the lights from them? Where was the sound of their radios?

  I stopped still and held my breath. Then I began counting. “When I get to ten,” I said, “I’ll go back to the office and telephone. I’m just lost, that’s all. One, two, three …”

  I couldn’t go on. I forgot what came after three. I forgot which way to turn to the office. Instead of running, I made myself walk very slowly, very quietly. I could feel the dust brushing against my ankles as I moved one foot after the other. My hands were before me as though I were playing blindman’s buff.

  Then my foot stumbled on the bundle. I knew it was a dead thing even before I leaned down and touched the sticky substance that was blood. My fingers were stuck together when I pulled my hand away. I knew they were red with blood but I couldn’t see them. All I could see were strange lights crossing each other in front of my eyes. White lights like small spots that were coming closer and closer.

  Then I heard a mumble of voices, like the voices of the balcony boys urging me on during my specialty.

  “There should be music playing,” I said suddenly. “And I don’t work in a white spotlight. I should have a surprise pink or a special lavender. There’s no applause.”

  “Stop that gibberish, dammit.” It was Biff’s voice! I could feel him shaking me. “I won’t have you fainting again. Come on, pull yourself together.”

  There was only one spotlight now, and it was on the dead bundle at my feet. I felt Biff’s hand turning my face away from the light that was centered on the ground.

  “Don’t go looking at it,” Biff said gently. “We don’t want any more trouble from you now.”

  I didn’t have to look at it. I knew who it was, one glance had been enough. I think I knew even before I saw it in the light. In that one glance I had seen the knife gleaming as it stuck out of the man’s back. The knife wasn’t buried deeply. Hardly deep enough, I thought, to make him lie so still and quiet. His face was twisted and his eyes were open. They looked surprised.

  “It must have hurt him, Biff.” It was a silly thing for me to say but I know Biff wasn’t listening to me. He was listening to Mandy. I couldn’t see him but I recognized his voice.

  “He’s cold and stiff,” Mandy said quietly. “Look, he’s still got the five spot in his hand. Look how he’s holding it. Dimples can kiss that five good-by. They’ll never get it away from him now.”

  “Go on over to the office and call the sheriff,” Biff said. “Gyp and I’ll wait here.”

  Mandy went on talking as though Biff hadn’t spoken. He tugged on the five-dollar bill. Then he tried to force the dead hand open. “Boy, now I know what they mean by a death grip.”

  Biff had turned on his flashlight and I could see the look of wonderment on Mandy’s face change slowly to fright, then terror.

  “You mean I got to walk back there alone?” he asked.

  “Either that or Gyp and I’ll go and you can stay here with … him.”

  Mandy hesitated a moment. Then he got to his feet. “O.K., I’ll go.”

  He whistled loudly as he walked away.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  “Keep talking if you’re nervous,” Biff said as Mandy started back to the office.

  “I’ll be running too fast for that,” Mandy replied. Then he was gone.

  Biff handed me the flashlight to hold as he bent over the body at my feet. He was careful not to touch it. He just looked at it silently. Then he handed me a handkerchief.

  “Wipe off your hand, Punkin,” he said.

  All the red wouldn’t come off. It was like make-up, I thought. Some blood was on the flashlight. I wiped that, too.

  “Seems that he would have fallen on his face, doesn’t it?” Biff said. “If they got him from behind like this the force of the blow alone should have thrown him down. He’s been frisked, I think.”

  “Frisked?” I knew the word, but it sounded strange coming from Biff.

  “I mean that someone rolled him over to look through his pockets. See? This one is still turned inside out like.”

  “Don’t touch him,” I said, thinking more about the blood than the sheriff.

  “No, honey, I won’t. You’ve do
ne enough of that for all of us. What did ya do, fall over him?”

  Biff didn’t wait for me to answer. He took the flashlight from me again and let it play around the surrounding ground. As the light traveled I could see where I had made my mistake, Instead of turning a little to the right when I left the office, I must have turned left. Biff found a cleared space a few feet from the body.

  He put down his coat for me to sit on. Then he lit two cigarettes. We didn’t speak until Mandy came back. We could hear him whistling loudly. Then he sat down beside me. He was out of breath and beads of sweat were on his forehead.

  “I got the sheriff and the doctor,” he said after a moment’s rest. “I called the saloon, too. They’ll wonder why we’re late for the show. I just told ’em we had an accident. I thought it was better not to let this thing out until the sheriff takes a look.”

  “My boy,” Biff said, “you are getting to be a cop’s delight.”

  “I broke in the act already,” Mandy replied. “One more corpse and I’m ready for the big time.”

  We sat silently until we saw the headlights and heard the car drive up. The sheriff and the others gathered around what was left of Cliff Corny Cobb. Biff showed them the pocket that had been turned inside out. He explained how I had touched the body.

  “Were you three together?” the sheriff asked casually.

  I thought Biff hesitated before answering. “No,” he said finally. “Mandy and I separated a while back. We were looking for Evangie, and Gyp here went to telephone and got lost. I heard her screaming, guess Mandy did too, so we just followed her voice.”

  “That’s about right,” Mandy said.

  The doctor looked up from the body. He seemed to be puzzled about something.

  “When did you start all this traipsing around?” the sheriff asked. He had seen the doctor’s expression and must have recognized it.

  “Not more than a few minutes,” Biff said.