Bring Your Own Poison

by Jimmie Ruth Evans

  Wanda Nell stepped aside, and Tiffany walked past her into the back room. This early in the evening, the room was still vacant. Wanda Nell could talk to the girl without anyone overhearing.

  “Here?” she asked. She glanced around, cowering a little, almost as if she were afraid.

  “Yes,” Wanda Nell said. “The party was in this room.”

  “Did you see him die?” Tiffany asked, turning to stare at her. Her whole body was trembling.

  “Yes, I did,” Wanda Nell said. This was getting more and more creepy by the moment. What was the point of all this?

  Her legs a bit shaky under her, Tiffany wandered over to a table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Wanda Nell followed her and sat down across from her. “Are you okay, honey?”

  Tiffany blinked, breathing deeply. “They told me he’s dead, and that it happened here.” She shivered. “But I’m afraid they’re just telling me that. What if he really didn’t die?” Her eyes implored Wanda Nell, and Wanda Nell was astonished to read the fear there.

  Impulsively, she held out a hand to the younger woman. Tiffany stared at it for a moment before she grasped it. Wanda Nell almost gasped aloud. Tiffany’s hand was ice cold.

  “He really did die,” Wanda Nell said gently. She hated having to recall that scene, but it was obvious this poor girl needed reassurance. “I was here when it happened, and people I know and trust told me he died.”

  Tiffany relaxed. “Good.” Her hand went limp in Wanda Nell’s grasp, and Wanda Nell released it.

  “Weren’t you supposed to marry him?” Wanda Nell asked as gently as she could.

  The girl nodded, her lower lip trembling. “I thought he was so handsome, at first. And the way he looked in his uniform. He was so, you know, manly. He was always telling me how beautiful I was, and all kinds of things.” She closed her eyes. “But I didn’t really love him.”

  “Why were you going to marry him, then?” Wanda Nell said.

  “He asked me first,” Tiffany said, opening her eyes and frowning at Wanda Nell. “It was on our second date, and it was real romantic. He said it was love at first sight, just like in the movies.”

  “I see,” Wanda Nell said, though she really didn’t.

  “I had my wedding dress already picked out, and Mama and I had planned everything,” Tiffany said. “Ever since I was seventeen.”

  “You said he asked you first,” Wanda Nell said. “So does that mean someone else asked you to marry him?”

  Tiffany nodded. “But by then it was too late. I’d already said yes to Travis.” She sighed. “But Tony is so much nicer than Travis.”

  Wanda Nell knew she must be talking about Tony Crowell.

  “If you liked Tony better, why didn’t you just tell Travis you didn’t want to marry him?”

  Tiffany stared at her, her face paling beneath the makeup. “I did. But Travis said I had to marry him.”

  “You didn’t have to marry him if you didn’t want to,” Wanda Nell said. “Surely he didn’t want to marry you if you were in love with somebody else.”

  “Travis didn’t care,” Tiffany said, staring down at her hands. “He said we were getting married, and I’d sure enough be sorry if I tried to dump him.”

  “What did he mean by that?” Wanda Nell asked. She was not surprised Travis Blakeley had threatened the poor girl. It certainly explained a lot.

  “He told me not to tell anybody,” Tiffany said. She looked like she was going to faint.

  “But he’s dead, honey,” Wanda Nell said firmly. “He can’t do anything to you now.”

  “That’s right,” Tiffany said, hope dawning in her eyes. “He’s really gone, and now he can’t hurt my mama.”

  “Did he say that he would hurt your mama if you didn’t marry him?”

  “Yes,” Tiffany said. “He said it would be a shame if Mama wasn’t around to see her grandchildren.” Just saying the words made Tiffany go pale again.

  “Did you tell anybody about this?” Wanda Nell asked.

  Tiffany didn’t respond. She stared at Wanda Nell.

  “I know you said Travis told you not to tell anyone,” Wanda Nell said. “But maybe you did tell somebody. You did, didn’t you?”

  Tiffany licked her lips, and for a moment Wanda Nell thought she wasn’t going to answer. Tiffany’s head dropped, and the words came out in a whisper. “I told my mama.”

  And Mama probably told several people, Wanda Nell thought. That was the reason Travis Blakeley had to die. His threat to Tiffany had been all too real. With his history and the rumors that surrounded him, anyone would be terrified by such a threat.

  This meant that Dixon Vance and both Dr. Crowells could legitimately be considered suspects now.

  “Do you remember when you told your mama about it?” Wanda Nell asked.

  Tiffany nodded. “It was on Friday.”

  That meant there was plenty of time for someone to plan to murder Travis Blakeley at his bachelor party and rescue Tiffany from a very bad mistake in judgment.

  “Travis must have wanted to marry you really bad if he threatened you like that,” Wanda Nell said.

  “Yeah, he did,” Tiffany said. “He always talked about how beautiful I am.” Her face clouded. “But he talked a lot about all the things he was going to buy when we got married. He said he wouldn’t have to work anymore.”

  “I see,” Wanda Nell said. She felt so sorry for the poor girl.

  “You know what? I think he didn’t really care about me,” Tiffany said. “I think he just wanted to marry me because of all the money my daddy left me.” The way she spoke it sounded like it was the first time the idea had occurred to her.

  Wanda Nell wanted to comfort her, but there wasn’t much she could say. “Some men are like that,” she said. “I know it’s awful, but it just happens that way sometimes. You’re very lucky you don’t have to marry him now.”

  “I sure am,” Tiffany said, sounding happier. “Now I can marry Tony. He asked me again last night.”

  “That’s nice,” Wanda Nell said. As far as she could tell, Tiffany hadn’t made the connection yet between Travis Blakeley’s sudden death and her own good fortune. How would she react if she knew someone had murdered Travis to save her from marrying him?

  Another thought struck her. She might as well ask, because Tiffany seemed a little too dim to understand the import of the question. “Tiffany, honey, did Travis know about you and Tony? That you really wanted to marry him instead?”

  “Yeah,” Tiffany replied. She screwed her face up like a little child who knows she’s done something bad but doesn’t really know why. “I guess I kind of told him the other day.”

  “When you told him that, did he say he would hurt Tony, too?”

  Tiffany nodded.

  “Did you tell anybody about that? Like Tony, maybe?”

  Tiffany ducked her head. “I guess I might’ve.” Her voice was barely audible. “Like maybe my mama and Tony.”

  “It’s okay, honey,” Wanda Nell said in soothing tones. “You couldn’t keep something like that to yourself.” She paused. The next bit was going to be difficult, she knew. “The thing is, Tiffany, now you need to tell the sheriff what you just told me. Can you do that?”

  “Why? Why do I have to talk to the sheriff?” Tiffany’s mouth set in mulish lines. “Now that he’s really dead, I don’t have to talk to a policeman ever again.”

  “It’s information the sheriff needs to know so they can figure out who murdered Travis,” Wanda Nell said.

  Tiffany had to think about that for a moment, and Wanda Nell could see that it took some effort. Finally, Tiffany spoke. “I guess so, but my mama’s not going to be happy about that.” As she said the words, her eyes widened, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

  “What’s the matter, honey?”

  Tiffany just shook her head, her hand still over her mouth.

  Wanda Nell made a shrewd guess. “Your mama told you not to talk to anybody about any of this, didn’t she?
”

  If anything, Tiffany’s eyes widened even more. Her hand dropped from her mouth. “How did you know that?”

  “I’m a mama, too,” Wanda Nell said. “I understand why your mama told you that. She just wants to protect you. But it’s not that simple, honey. This affects other people, and somebody innocent could get hurt. You wouldn’t want that, now would you? You’re a nice girl, aren’t you?”

  Tiffany nodded. “Yes, ma’am. But who might get hurt?”

  “Gerald Blakeley. They’ve put him in jail because they think he murdered his brother.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Tiffany said, frowning. “Gerald’s really nice. He was always so sweet to me. He asked me to marry him a long time ago, back in high school.” She shook her head. “But I couldn’t marry him. He’s only a boy.”

  “He’s a nice boy,” Wanda Nell said, “and he needs your help, honey. That’s why you need to talk to the police and tell them just what you told me. Okay?”

  “I guess so.” Tiffany frowned again. Wanda Nell wasn’t sure the girl could work out just why what she had to say could help Gerald.

  They both heard a ringing sound, and it was coming from Tiffany’s purse. She opened it and pulled out her cell phone. “Hello.” She listened a moment. “I’m at that restaurant, Mama, and I’ve been talking to a real nice lady.”

  Wanda Nell was close enough to hear the sharp tones, but not the words, emanating from Tiffany’s phone. Evidently Mama wasn’t too happy about Tiffany being there and talking to someone.

  “Okay, Mama,” Tiffany said. “I’ll be right home.” She shut the phone and dropped it back in her purse. “Mama wants me to come home right now.” She stood up. “It’s been real nice talking to you, ma’am.”

  Wanda Nell stood, too. “It’s been nice talking to you, too, Tiffany. Now, I know your mama wants you to come right home, but you think about what I told you. About how you need to talk to the sheriff and tell him what we talked about. It’s real important, okay?”

  Tiffany nodded, and Wanda Nell had to be content with that. She was afraid that once Tiffany was back under her mother’s protective wing, she would never go to the sheriff’s department. Mama might very likely do her best to keep Tiffany from talking to anyone, because no matter how dim Tiffany was, Wanda Nell had an idea her mother was a lot sharper.

  Ruby Garner stepped into the back room. “Hey, Wanda Nell, that policeman’s here again, and he wants to talk to you.”

  “Okay,” Wanda Nell said. Her stomach knotted up. Ruby must mean Bill Warren. He was the last person on earth she wanted to see right now.

  She followed Tiffany into the front room, and Tiffany continued on to the door, oblivious as before, while the male customers got an eyeful.

  Bill Warren stood by the cash register. Wanda Nell watched him for a moment as he watched Tiffany. The look he gave the beautiful girl was nothing like the looks she was getting from the other men. That was when Wanda Nell had no further doubts about what Tuck and T.J. had told her. Bill obviously knew who the girl was, but he might as well have been looking at a cow or a dog walking by.

  Tiffany went out the door, and Bill Warren turned away. He caught sight of Wanda Nell and walked forward to meet her.

  “I need to talk to you,” he said.

  “I’m at work, in case you hadn’t noticed,” Wanda Nell said. “Besides, I don’t have anything else to say to you.”

  “I’m investigating a murder,” Bill said, “and if I have to talk to you, I don’t care where it is. You get your tail back here on the double.” He walked past her, heading for the back of the restaurant. He didn’t look back.

  Wanda Nell felt her blood pressure shoot up, and the top of her head throbbed. He had some nerve, talking to her like that. If she could have put her hands on a baseball bat or a sturdy piece of lumber, she would have knocked his head off. She didn’t care who was watching.

  She stomped after him, determined to give him a piece of her mind.

  Bill stood waiting for her in the center of the back room.

  “You’ve got a hell of a nerve, talking to me like that,” Wanda Nell said. “I don’t care who you think you are, don’t ever speak to me like that again. You hear me?” She got right up in his face, and she was pleased to see him flinch.

  “Chill, Wanda Nell,” Bill said. His face had reddened. “You’re going to have a stroke one of these days, you keep on acting like that.”

  Wanda Nell didn’t reply. She simply stood there, glaring at him hard enough to strip the paint off the walls.

  “I just needed to talk to you,” Bill said, not looking at her. “It occurs to me you really got bent out of shape when we were talking earlier, and you got the wrong end of the stick. You didn’t really think I wanted you to lie about seeing Gerald Blakeley put something in the victim’s drink, did you?”

  What was he up to now? He was sounding almost apologetic, and that was a far cry from the way he had been earlier in the day.

  Wanda Nell didn’t say anything. She wanted to think about this for a moment.

  The only answer she could come up with was maybe he had got wind of the fact that she had gone to see Elmer Lee. If that was true, then it meant that Bill was probably afraid of Elmer Lee and what he might do. She got a certain grim satisfaction out of that. She wanted to see him squirm.

  Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Wanda Nell said, “I don’t think I got the wrong end of the stick at all, Bill. I’d have to be about as dense as a fence post not to understand what you were getting at. So don’t come in here and try to pretend it didn’t happen.”

  Bill’s nostrils flared, and his face reddened again. “I swear, Wanda Nell, you screw with me, and you’re going to be real sorry.”

  “Funny,” Wanda Nell said, smiling, “I was just about to say the same thing to you.” The smile disappeared, and she said, “Now get the hell out of here, and leave me alone.”

  Bill didn’t move. He tried to stare her down, but finally he turned away. “I’m going, but I want to know one thing.”

  “What?”

  “What was Tiffany Farwell doing here? Did you call her and ask her to come here?”

  Wanda Nell laughed. “Why would I call somebody I don’t even know and ask them to come here? For your information, she showed up all on her own. She wanted to see where her fiancé died, the Lord only knows why.” She wasn’t about to tell him about the conversation she had had with the girl. “I showed her, and that was that.”

  Bill’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. She could tell he didn’t really believe her, but she didn’t care.

  Wanda Nell turned and walked away. She half expected him to call her back, but he didn’t. She headed straight for the women’s bathroom. She locked herself in and turned to stare at her face in the mirror. She was surprised her eyes hadn’t bugged out completely because Bill had made her so mad. Her head was throbbing, and she wet a paper towel with cold water. She wrung it out and pressed it against her forehead. Closing her eyes, she leaned against the wall and concentrated on relaxing.

  She wet the paper towel and wrung it out a couple more times. When her head finally stopped feeling like it was going to jump off her shoulders, she threw away the paper towel and left the bathroom.

  Bill Warren was gone, and for that she was thankful. She couldn’t take much more of him, or she really would have a stroke. She got busy helping Ruby clean off some of the tables, and soon she was feeling much better.

  Melvin had been absent while Wanda Nell had been talking to Tiffany and Bill. He reappeared, coming through the kitchen door, while Wanda Nell was pouring one of their regulars, Junior Farley, a cup of coffee.

  “Where’ve you been?” Wanda Nell asked Melvin.

  “Doing some paperwork back in the office,” Melvin responded with a scowl. “It seemed pretty quiet out here, and I was a little behind on some of it. Y’all didn’t need me, did you?”

  “No, not really,” Wanda Nell said. She would have to do somethin
g nice for Ruby, who had taken up the slack while Wanda Nell had been in the back room. Ruby never uttered a word of complaint, however, and when Wanda Nell had tried to thank her, Ruby would have none of it.

  Melvin looked around. “Where’s Mayrene?”

  Wanda Nell was surprised. “Mayrene? You mean she was here?”

  “Yeah,” Melvin said. “I came out a few minutes ago to get me some coffee, and Mayrene was waiting here by the counter. She was looking for you, but you were back there talking to that cop. I thought she said she was going to wait for you.”

  “I sure didn’t see her,” Wanda Nell said. “She must’ve decided not to wait for some reason.” She frowned. “I sure hope everything’s okay.”

  “She didn’t seem upset or anything,” Melvin said. “I would’ve stayed and talked to her, but I really had to get some of that work done before we get busy tonight.”

  Wanda Nell was debating whether she should try calling her friend when Mayrene came waltzing through the front door.

  “Where did you go?” Wanda Nell said. “Melvin just told me you were here a few minutes ago, and then you were gone. I was getting worried.”

  Mayrene shrugged. “Yeah, I was here, but I could see you talking to a man. I figured you might be a few minutes, so I went and got my car filled up next door. And now I’m back.”

  “Thank goodness nothing’s wrong,” Wanda Nell said, feeling mighty relieved. “It’s been such a day, I just knew something had to be wrong.”

  “Now, honey,” Mayrene said, “don’t get so worked up about things.” She sat down at the counter. “How’s about some iced tea?”

  “Coming right up,” Wanda Nell said. She fetched a glass of tea, a napkin, and teaspoon, and set them down in front of her friend.

  “That sure was a good-looking man you were talking to,” Mayrene said, “though you didn’t look real happy about it. He seemed real familiar to me, too, and I’ve been trying to figure out where I seen him before.” She frowned. “There was something different about him, maybe.”

  Wanda Nell didn’t say anything. It was obvious Mayrene didn’t know who Bill Warren was, and she was curious to hear what her friend would tell her.