Bring Your Own Poison

by Jimmie Ruth Evans

  Wanda Nell couldn’t help it—she fell out laughing. “You idiot,” she said when she could catch her breath.

  Jack pretended to be wounded. “Now, I really appreciate that. I really do. See how she treats me?” He appealed to T.J.

  “You’re not dragging me into this,” he said, standing up. “I’d better get going. I don’t know how long Tuck will be down at the jail, but I want to be home when he gets there.”

  “Good night, honey,” Wanda Nell said, standing up to give him a good-bye hug. “Be careful.”

  “I will,” he said. “Good night, Jack.” He headed for the door, but he stopped with his hand on the knob. “Mama, I almost forgot. Juliet was coughing some today. I think she may be coming down with a cold.”

  “I’ll check on her,” Wanda Nell said, frowning. “It’s probably just allergies. All kinds of stuff blooming right now, and she’s allergic to some of it.”

  “Probably,” T.J. said. “Good night.”

  As the door closed behind her son, Wanda Nell looked down at Jack. “Let me just go take a peek at Juliet, and I’ll be right back.” Jack nodded, and she headed down the hall toward her youngest child’s bedroom.

  Juliet’s door stood ajar, and Wanda Nell pushed it open. Tiptoeing closer to the bed, she knelt over her sleeping daughter. She placed a hand gently on Juliet’s forehead, hoping not to wake the girl. Her forehead was cool and dry, and Wanda Nell relaxed. No fever, at least. Juliet stirred in the bed, but her eyes remained closed.

  Wanda Nell listened to the girl’s breathing for a moment. She thought she detected a slight rasp to it, but nothing bad enough to worry much about tonight. She would keep an eye on Juliet the next couple days. Juliet sometimes had sinus infections, and Wanda Nell hoped she wasn’t getting one now.

  Back in the living room, Jack waited for her on the couch. “How is she?” he asked. He took off his glasses and set them on the coffee table. Wanda Nell smiled. She knew what that meant.

  Resuming her place beside him, Wanda Nell said, “She seems okay now. No fever, but I’m going to have to watch her in case she’s coming down with a sinus infection.”

  “Poor girl,” Jack said. “I hope she isn’t. They’re so miserable.”

  “They sure are,” Wanda Nell agreed. She laid her head on his shoulder again, and he hugged her closer to him. Their lips met, and Wanda Nell enjoyed herself thoroughly for the next few minutes.

  When Jack pulled away, Wanda Nell smiled at him. “You’re getting pretty good at that,” she teased.

  “I’m willing to practice as often as you like,” Jack said, his face solemn. “I like to be the best at anything I do.”

  Wanda Nell smiled. She let him practice a while longer, but finally she pulled away. She was so lucky, she reflected for the umpteenth time, that she had a good man like Jack, and not some psychopath after her.

  Abruptly she sat up. She had forgotten all about Jack’s cousin, Lisa, and her problems.

  “I’m so sorry, honey,” Wanda Nell said. “I just remembered about Lisa. Is she okay?”

  “Relax, darling,” Jack said, rubbing her arm. “I think you’ve got a pretty good reason for forgetting about her. She’s okay. She’s actually next door with Mayrene. Turned out that sleeping pill she took didn’t work too well, so I was able to talk her into coming over here tonight.”

  “Good,” Wanda Nell said, relaxing against the back of the couch again. “I was afraid she was going to be too stubborn to let us help.”

  “It took me a while,” Jack said, frowning. “She kept saying that she didn’t want to put anybody else in danger.”

  “Has the guy shown up in town yet?”

  “I’m not sure. I think it’s just phone calls so far,” Jack said. “But Lisa thinks she might have spotted him yesterday, sitting in a car in the parking lot when she left work at the hospital.”

  “That’s creepy,” Wanda Nell said. “What did she do?”

  “She went back inside for about half an hour and had something to eat at the cafeteria,” Jack answered, “and when she came out again, the car was gone. She drove home, but a few minutes later her phone rang.”

  “And it was him?”

  Jack nodded. “According to Lisa, he didn’t say anything about being in Tullahoma, but she’s convinced it was him in the parking lot.”

  “How do you stop something like that?” Wanda Nell asked.

  “For one thing, Lisa needs to talk to a lawyer and see about getting some kind of restraining order. That’s the first step. Once she’s done that, she’ll have a little more leverage with the police.”

  “I’m sure Tuck would help her,” Wanda Nell said.

  “I told her that,” Jack replied, “but she’s hesitating for some reason. I think she’s so scared of him, she’s afraid of doing anything, even trying to protect herself.”

  “Then we have to do it for her, I guess,” Wanda Nell said. “We can’t just sit by and let this guy terrorize her, or do something worse.”

  “I know,” Jack said, “but she’s so hard to deal with sometimes. I’ve been trying to help her without involving anyone else, but I’m about at my wits’ end with her, I can tell you.”

  Wanda Nell squeezed his hand. “You’re doing what you can, and maybe Mayrene and I can talk some sense into her. She can’t hide from this guy for the rest of her life. There has to be some kind of solution, other than her moving away again.”

  “I sure hope so,” Jack said. “Besides, even if she moved to California or Alaska, I’m not sure this guy would stop harassing her.”

  They sat in silence for a moment. Wanda Nell started yawning, and with one look at her, Jack yawned, too. After a moment, he smiled at her. “I’d better get home and let you get some sleep.”

  She could read in his eyes that he didn’t want to go, and she didn’t want him to go either. She would have liked nothing better than to take him to her bedroom and spend the rest of the night with him. But she couldn’t do that with Juliet asleep in the next room, and Miranda and Lavon at the other end of the trailer. It just wouldn’t feel right to her. She even felt guilty about the kissing they had been doing earlier.

  “I know,” Jack said, his voice soft. He stood up. “Come on and lock the door behind me. Then you go on to bed. I’ll talk to you in the morning.” He moved toward the door, and Wanda Nell got up from the couch and followed him. They kissed once more before Jack left.

  After she closed and locked the door behind Jack, Wanda Nell leaned against the door and closed her eyes. It was getting harder and harder to send Jack home alone, but what was she going to do about it? She wasn’t sure she was ready for marriage just yet.

  Sighing, she pushed herself away from the door. She moved quietly down toward the bedroom where Miranda and Lavon slept, and she pushed the door open to peek inside. Both her daughter and her grandson were sound asleep. Wanda Nell smiled at the sight of Lavon, his head resting on the body of his bunny.

  She tiptoed away from their room toward her own. She couldn’t resist one last check on Juliet. She checked her daughter’s forehead again. No fever, but her breathing still had that little sound to it. Sighing, Wanda Nell left Juliet’s room and went to her own to prepare for bed.

  She was out of her clothes and into a nightgown in record time. Her body ached as she slipped under the covers and pulled her pillow under her head. Getting comfortable, she willed herself to relax. She was determined not to think about the events of the evening. She wanted a peaceful night’s sleep.

  She woke up a couple times during the night, tossing and turning a bit before falling back asleep. By the time she woke on Sunday morning around eight, she felt good despite the interrupted sleep.

  Leaving her bathroom several minutes later, Wanda Nell picked up a housecoat and slipped it on. She tied the belt loosely as she walked down the short hall toward the living room and kitchen.

  Juliet sat at the table, toying with the cereal in her bowl. She looked up, her face wan, as her mother
entered the room.

  “Morning, Mama,” she said.

  “Good morning, sweetie,” Wanda Nell said. “You don’t sound like you feel too good. Are you getting sick?”

  Juliet shrugged. “I guess so. I don’t feel all that good.” She grimaced. “My throat’s a little sore this morning, and my nose is getting stuffy.”

  Wanda Nell felt her forehead. “You’ve got a little fever, too. Have you taken anything?”

  “No, ma’am,” Juliet said.

  Wanda Nell went to the cabinet over the sink where she kept a few medications on hand. Selecting a bottle of liquid sinus medicine, she measured out a dose into the accompanying plastic cup and brought it to Juliet. “Drink this, honey.”

  Juliet made a face. “That stuff tastes awful.” She took the cup, however, and drank down the contents. She made another face as she handed the empty cup back to her mother. “Yuck. It’s even worse than I remembered.”

  “I know,” said Wanda Nell, smiling in sympathy. “But it will help. You’ll get sleepy soon, and resting will be good for you, too.”

  “I don’t feel like doing anything anyway,” Juliet said. She picked up her spoon and had a couple more mouthfuls of cereal. “That helps get rid of some of the bad taste.” She dropped the spoon into the nearly empty bowl.

  Wanda Nell picked it up and carried it over to the sink. She placed it in the sink and ran some water in the bowl. She was about to make coffee when the phone rang.

  She reached for the receiver. “Hello.”

  “Hello. Wanda Nell, is that you?”

  Wanda Nell started getting a headache the moment she recognized that voice. It was her former mother-in-law, Lucretia Culpepper. What on earth was she doing calling on a Sunday morning?

  Suppressing a sigh, Wanda Nell said, “Yes, Miz Culpepper, it’s me. Is there something I can do for you?”

  “There certainly is. Maybe you can tell me why Tuck’s car is parked in front of my house, and there’s not a sign of him or that grandson of mine anywhere around.” The old lady’s voice was tart, but Wanda Nell could tell she was worried.

  She was worried, too. What on earth could have happened to Tuck?

  Eight

  “Wanda Nell! Are you there?” Old Mrs. Culpepper’s voice shrilled in her ear as Wanda Nell tried to keep from panicking.

  “Now, Lucretia dear, don’t you go getting poor Wanda Nell upset. I’m sure there’s some logical explanation for this.”

  The new voice belonged to Mrs. Culpepper’s spinster cousin, Belle Meriwether, who had moved in with her a few months ago to keep house for the older woman and serve as her companion. As she usually did, Belle had picked up another phone so she could join in on the conversation.

  “Oh hush, Belle,” Mrs. Culpepper said. “I’m sure Wanda Nell’s not upset. Are you?”

  “I’m okay,” Wanda Nell said, exasperated with the old woman. “Tuck probably just had car trouble on the way home last night, and I guess in front of your house is where it happened.”

  “I sure didn’t hear a thing,” Mrs. Culpepper said. “Did you, Belle?”

  “No, Lucretia, I sure didn’t either,” Belle replied. “But you know how sound I sleep. Somebody will have to poke me with a stick, I reckon, when the angel Gabriel blows the trumpet to summon us all to glory. That’s how sound I sleep. But is it the angel Gabriel? Maybe it’s Michael, and is he an archangel? I’ll have to go get my Bible and check.”

  The moment Belle paused for a breath, Wanda Nell spoke, cutting Mrs. Culpepper off at the same time. “Let me call Tuck and T.J. and find out what’s going on. I’ll call you back in a few minutes, Miz Culpepper. Okay?”

  Mrs. Culpepper grumbled for a moment but then she agreed. Belle didn’t say anything more. Wanda Nell figured she had put the phone down and gone off in search of her Bible.

  If she hadn’t been so worried she would have had a good laugh over Belle. That woman could talk the hind legs off a donkey, but at least she meant well. She wasn’t malicious, the way Mrs. Culpepper could be when she had a mind to.

  Her hand trembling slightly, Wanda punched in the number of T.J.’s cell phone. Her breath shallow, she waited, hoping he would answer quickly.

  After four rings, Wanda Nell thought the call would go to voice mail, but then a sleepy voice spoke in her ear. “Hello, Mama. Is something wrong?”

  “Honey, that’s what I’m calling to ask you,” Wanda Nell said, her heartbeat starting to slow down a bit. “Are you okay? And is Tuck okay?”

  “We’re both fine, Mama,” T.J. said, more alert. “Tuck’s sound asleep right here. Let me go in the other room. I don’t want to wake him up.”

  Wanda Nell could hear the faint rustle of sheets as T.J. got out of bed. She waited as patiently as she could until he spoke again.

  “Okay now,” he said. “I’m in the kitchen. What’s going on? Why are you so worried, Mama?”

  “Your grandmother just called me, asking me if I knew what Tuck’s car was doing on the street in front of her house. That’s what I want to know, too. Did something happen last night?”

  “Sorry, Mama, I guess I’m just not awake enough yet,” T.J. said. She heard him yawn before he went on. “I’d forgotten about that. Yeah, Tuck had some car trouble on the way home last night. It happened while he was coming down Main Street, and he just happened to end up right there in front of Grandmother’s house. He called me, and I went and picked him up. There wasn’t anything we could do about his car last night, so we came on home. It was pretty late when we finally got to bed.”

  Somewhat relieved, Wanda Nell asked, “What was wrong with his car? It’s only a couple of years old, isn’t it?”

  T.J. didn’t answer right away, and that made Wanda Nell more anxious. “What was wrong with his car, T.J.? Tell me the truth now.”

  “Okay,” T.J. said, expelling a long breath. “Something was wrong with his brakes. They started acting funny a few minutes after he left the jail. He thought he could make it home, but they gave out almost completely when he was coming down Main Street. He wasn’t going very fast, thank goodness. He was able to stop the car without hurting himself, and he was in front of Grandmother’s house when he stopped.”

  Mrs. Culpepper’s house on Main Street was only about seven or eight blocks from the town square, where the courthouse and the county jail were located.

  “Thank the Lord he’s okay,” Wanda Nell said. “But what was wrong with his brakes?”

  Again, T.J. paused before answering. “We think somebody cut his brake line while he was at the jail.”

  Wanda Nell went cold all over. “Good Lord, what if he had been going fast? He might have been hurt real bad, or worse.”

  “I know, Mama,” T.J. said. “I thought about that, too.”

  Wanda Nell heard the worry in his voice. “Has anything like this happened before?”

  “Not exactly,” T.J. said.

  “What does that mean?”

  T.J. sighed into the phone again. “Stuff has happened, but nothing as serious as this. Sugar in his gas tank a couple of times, his tires slashed three or four times. Just stupid stuff like that. Nothing really dangerous, just annoying as hell.” He paused a moment. “They’ve done the same thing to my truck a few times, too.”

  “Oh my Lord,” Wanda Nell said, appalled. “Who is doing this? Do y’all have any ideas?”

  “It could be anybody, I guess,” T.J. said, “but we figure it’s got to be somebody connected with the courthouse, or maybe the police department or sheriff’s department. Things usually seem to happen when our vehicles are downtown.”

  The building where Tuck had his office was on the square, just across the street from the jail and the courthouse. That meant anyone working around there had easy access to their vehicles.

  “And I don’t guess anybody would even think twice if they saw a cop or a deputy looking over somebody’s car,” Wanda Nell said.

  “Nope,” T.J. replied. “But it seems to happen most often when
we’ve had to work late, after most everything else downtown is closed for the evening.”

  “I’d love to get my hands on whoever is doing this,” Wanda Nell said. “I swear, if I had a gun, I’d go and shoot their you-know-whats off.”

  “I know how you feel,” T.J. said. “And if I ever catch somebody in the act, well, I don’t care who he is, I’m going to teach him a thing or two. Somebody may end up in the hospital, but it won’t be me or Tuck, I can tell you that.”

  “Oh, honey, I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Wanda Nell said. T.J. in his wild teenage years had been in a lot of fights, but he had never been badly hurt. He had put a couple guys in the hospital, though, and that’s how he ended up in jail. Wanda Nell hated even thinking about those days.

  “Other than that,” Wanda Nell said, “what can you do about this?”

  “Tuck has been keeping a record of it all, and we’ve talked to Elmer Lee Johnson about it, too, so he’s aware of what’s going on.”

  “What did he say?”

  “There wasn’t much he could say. Until there’s clear evidence of who’s doing this, he can’t do anything—the police either.”

  “Especially if it’s somebody on the police force or in the sheriff’s department who’s behind it,” Wanda Nell said. And as she said that, it hit her. “T.J., do you think Bill Warren had anything to do with what happened last night?”

  “I don’t know,” T.J. said. “I sure wouldn’t put it past him, but I doubt he’d do it himself. He’d put somebody else up to it. He wouldn’t get his hands dirty.”

  “That creep,” Wanda Nell said. “I’m glad I slapped him last night. I just wish I’d slapped him even harder a second time.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them.

  “What on earth are you talking about?” T.J. asked. “What were you doing slapping a state cop?” He laughed. “I sure would love to have seen it, though.”

  “It was at the restaurant last night,” Wanda Nell said. “He said something I didn’t like, and before I thought about it, I let him have it. Elmer Lee was standing right there, and he backed me up, thank goodness. He heard what Bill said, too, and he didn’t like it either.”