Bring Your Own Poison

by Jimmie Ruth Evans

  Wanda Nell patted her daughter’s knee before putting the car into gear again. “I know it’s hard, honey. But it’s good for him to have other babies to play with. And it’s good for you, too, to get out of the house and work. You need to be around other people, too.”

  “I know, Mama,” Miranda said.

  Thus far Wanda Nell had avoided bringing up the subject of Teddy. So much had happened since she and Miranda had discussed the situation yesterday morning, and she didn’t have time right now to go into it. “Just one thing, Miranda,” she said, as her daughter was preparing to get out of the car at Budget Mart.

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Have you talked to Teddy yet?”

  Miranda shook her head.

  “Okay, well, I think you need to do it tonight, okay? You can’t put it off any longer. Promise me you’ll tell him tonight.”

  “I will, Mama,” Miranda said, sighing heavily. “Can I go now?”

  “Yes. Have a good day, and I’ll see you later,” Wanda Nell said. She watched Miranda walk into the store, her shoulders hunched. Shaking her head, she drove off.

  Wanda Nell glanced at the clock and decided she had time to go through the drive-through at one of the fast food places. She really was hungry, and she might get a headache if she didn’t have some more caffeine.

  She ordered a sausage biscuit and a large Diet Coke. As she drove toward downtown and Tuck’s office, she ate her food, enjoying every bite of it. She had finished by the time she parked her car on the square across from the office building.

  It was only about eight-thirty, but Wanda Nell figured the boys were probably in the office by now. She took her drink with her after locking the car.

  She rode the elevator up to Tuck’s office, and she was pleased to see the lights already on inside. She opened the door and walked in. Tuck’s secretary smiled. “Good morning. You go right on back. I know they’re expecting you.”

  “Thanks, Ginger,” Wanda Nell said. She opened the inner office door and stepped through. Tuck’s office was just a few steps away down the hall. She knocked on the open door, and Tuck looked up from his desk. T.J. stood nearby, sipping something from a mug.

  Tuck stood, and T.J. moved forward to give his mother a hug.

  “Good morning, Wanda Nell,” Tuck said.

  “Morning,” she replied. “I’m a little early, I hope that’s okay?”

  “Of course,” Tuck said with a smile. “Have a seat, why don’t you?”

  T.J. held out the chair for her. “Can I get you something, Mama? We have some muffins, if you want one.”

  “I’m fine, honey,” she said, smiling up at her son. “You sit down and don’t worry about me.”

  He grinned at her and sat down in a chair beside Tuck’s desk.

  Tuck stood and held out a piece of paper to her. Wanda Nell took it and glanced down at it. It was a list of names.

  “This is the list of men who were at the bachelor party,” Tuck said, and she nodded. “I thought you could look over it and tell me if anything occurs to you. We’re trying to identify all the men on it and figure out what connections they had with Travis Blakeley.”

  Wanda Nell scanned the list. As before, she recognized several of the names. But now she realized something wasn’t right about it.

  “There’s a name missing,” she said, surprised. “I didn’t realize it before, but one man’s name isn’t on here.”

  “Whose?” Tuck and T.J. said in unison.

  “Barnard Roberts,” Wanda Nell said, puzzled. “I know he was at the party, because I saw him talking to Gerald Blakeley.”

  “I wonder why his name wasn’t on the list?” Tuck said, frowning. “Surely the police talked to him.”

  Wanda Nell stared at him. Her mind flashed back to that night, and the aftermath of the party. She called up pictures of what happened after Travis Blakeley collapsed. Finally she shook her head.

  “He wasn’t there,” she said. “He left sometime before Elmer Lee and the others got there.”

  Twenty-three

  The three of them stared at one another, trying to puzzle it out.

  “Are you sure about this?” Tuck asked.

  “Yes, I am,” Wanda Nell said. “I can’t remember seeing him after Travis Blakeley collapsed on the floor. He must have left in all the confusion.”

  “Otherwise he would have still been there when Elmer Lee and his men arrived,” T.J. said.

  “And Bill Warren,” Tuck added.

  “It sure looks suspicious,” Wanda Nell said.

  “It certainly does,” Tuck replied. “But what’s the connection?”

  “What do you know about him?” Wanda Nell asked.

  Tuck shrugged. “He’s a prominent businessman here in town, and he gives a lot of money to charity. I haven’t crossed paths with him more than a couple of times, as far as I can remember.”

  “Mayrene says he owns a factory out in the industrial park,” Wanda Nell said. She told Tuck and T.J. the rest of what Mayrene had told her, about her friend Teresa and spotting Roberts at the casino with a woman.

  “Interesting,” Tuck said. His fingers steepled, he rested his chin on them while he thought.

  “And he was at the casino the same night Mayrene saw Bill Warren there,” T.J. said. “That makes it even more interesting.”

  “But what is the connection in all this? I thought maybe he was a friend of the Blakeley family,” Wanda Nell said. “But that’s probably wrong.”

  “I’ll go look him up on the Internet,” T.J. said, rising from his chair.

  Wanda Nell shook her head. “No, hand me the phone. I’ve got a better idea.”

  Tuck pushed his phone to the front edge of his desk. Wanda Nell leaned forward and picked up the receiver. She punched in a number.

  “Grandmother,” T.J. said, grinning as he read the number. He sat back in his chair. “Gossip central.”

  He and Tuck laughed, and Wanda Nell shushed them.

  “Good morning, Belle,” she said. “This is Wanda Nell.”

  “Put it on speaker phone,” Tuck said softly. He pointed to a button. Wanda Nell punched it. Tuck motioned for her to put the receiver back in its cradle. Belle’s voice was already coming through, loud and clear.

  “…nice that you called this morning, Wanda Nell. I was just saying to Lucretia a few minutes ago how nice it would be to talk to you and find out if you’ve made any decisions about the wedding yet. I can’t tell you how excited Lucretia is. She tried to hide it, but I know she’s excited.”

  “That’s really kind of her,” Wanda Nell said. “But we really haven’t had any time to make plans yet, Belle.”

  “I understand,” Belle said, “and surely you know if there’s anything I can do, all you have to do is ask. I’ve made a lot of wedding cakes in my day, and I would be so proud to make one for you. And a groom’s cake, too. You think about that and let me know. Of course, if you decide you want a professional, I’ll understand. I think my cakes are pretty good, but I’ve never been a professional baker. I thought about it a few times, but I just never could get up the gumption to do anything about it.”

  Belle paused for a breath, and Wanda Nell seized her chance. “Thank you, Belle, I really appreciate your offer. I promise you I’ll think about it. Now, I’m sorry to be abrupt, but I really need to talk to Miz Culpepper about something. Is she where she can come to the phone?”

  “Well, bless my soul, Wanda Nell, she’s sitting right here, and from the look on her face, she’s about ready to have a stroke. I’ll give her the phone right now. Here, Lucretia, it’s Wanda Nell, and she wants to talk to you.”

  There was a brief silence, and then Wanda Nell, Tuck, and T.J. heard the strident tones of Lucretia Culpepper. “…the most infuriating woman the good Lord ever put on the face of this earth. Don’t you ever listen to yourself, Belle? Good grief, I swear they’ll have to keep your coffin open for three days after you die until you stop talking.”

  Tuck and T.J
.—and even Wanda Nell—were having a hard time keeping a straight face by this point.

  “Wanda Nell! Are you there, girl?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I’m right here,” Wanda Nell said hastily. “How are you this morning?”

  “Other than the fact that Belle is about to send me straight to Whitfield, I guess I’m doing just fine,” Mrs. Culpepper snapped. Whitfield was the state mental hospital, and Mrs. Culpepper had begun referring to it on a regular basis, ever since Belle had come to live with her.

  “Did you want something?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Wanda Nell said. “I wanted to ask you about somebody here in town.”

  “Who?”

  “A Mr. Barnard Roberts,” Wanda Nell said. “He owns a factory.”

  “I know that,” Mrs. Culpepper said testily. “I expect I know more about him than you do, Wanda Nell. He used to go to my church.” She paused. “That’s who I was trying to think of the other day.”

  “What do you mean?” Wanda Nell exchanged glances with T.J. and Tuck.

  “When we were talking about the girl who was supposed to get married,” Mrs. Culpepper said. “Can’t you remember anything? You were the one who came to me, after all.”

  “Yes, ma’am, of course I remember,” Wanda Nell said, trying not to get irritated. “So what is his connection to Tiffany Farwell?”

  “He’s her stepfather,” Mrs. Culpepper said. “I told you her mother married again, and that’s who she married.”

  “I see,” Wanda Nell said, and she did see. A number of things fell into place. She had halfway suspected that this was the connection, but it was good to have Mrs. Culpepper confirm it.

  “You could at least say thank you, Wanda Nell,” the old lady snapped. “Good gracious, normally you have better manners than that.”

  “Yes, ma’am, thank you very much,” Wanda Nell said in a meek tone. “I really appreciate your help with this. I can’t talk about it now, but you’ve helped a lot.”

  “That’s all right,” Mrs. Culpepper said. “I’m sure you’re very welcome. Now when is that scamp of a grandson coming to see me? And Tuck. He’d better come along, too.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be by to see you soon,” Wanda Nell said. “Now I really have to go, but thank you again for all your help.”

  “Good-bye,” Mrs. Culpepper said, and the phone clicked off.

  Tuck hit the button on his phone as Wanda Nell leaned back in her chair. “You’d better go see her soon,” she said.

  “We will,” T.J. promised. “And you were right, Mama. That was better than the Internet, and a lot more entertaining.” He laughed. “Belle is such a hoot.”

  “She is,” Tuck said, grinning, “and listening to the two of them carry on like that, well, it must be what Lucy and Ethel would be like if they were together in a nursing home.”

  Wanda Nell couldn’t help laughing. “You’re probably right.” She sobered. “But tell me what you think, now that we know what the connection is.”

  “I’d say it was pretty obvious,” Tuck said. “Barnard Roberts had a very strong motive for killing Travis Blakeley. We don’t have any idea what his relationship with his stepdaughter is like, but I don’t think any man would want to see a young woman he cared about married to a man like that. Roberts may also have been trying to protect his family’s financial future given what you heard about Travis Blakeley.”

  “Exactly,” T.J. said. “And the connections to Bill Warren are pretty suspicious, too.”

  “Yeah,” Wanda Nell said. “They sure are. I’ve been thinking a lot about that. Bill has probably lost a lot of money gambling, and if his bosses find out about it, he’s going to be in big trouble.”

  “And there’s a rich man with a problem to solve,” Tuck said.

  “So Roberts gives Bill Warren money to either botch the investigation or pin it on someone else,” T.J. said in tones of disgust. “And Gerald is the most likely, because he used to be in love with Tiffany and hated his brother.”

  “That’s the way I figured it,” Wanda Nell said. “But how is anybody going to prove it?”

  Tuck turned to T.J. “Why don’t you see if you can find out what it is Barnard manufactures at his plant?”

  T.J. nodded. “Yeah, I got you. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He left the room, headed for his own office nearby.

  Tuck picked up his phone and punched in a number as Wanda Nell watched, curious. Tuck spoke into the phone. “This is Hamilton Tucker, calling for Sheriff Johnson. Is he available?”

  He put his hand over the mouth of the receiver. “They’re putting me through.” He removed his hand. “Elmer Lee, good morning. How you doing?”

  Wanda Nell could hear only Tuck’s part of the conversation, but it was enough.

  “Can you spare a few minutes to come to my office, Sheriff?” Tuck listened for a moment. “I assure you, I wouldn’t ask you if it weren’t really important.” He paused again. “Yes, that’s right. I think we’ve got some very important information about that case.” He listened a moment longer. “Thanks. We’ll see you in a few minutes, then.” He put down the phone.

  “We need to turn this over to Elmer Lee,” Tuck said.

  “Yes, I see that,” Wanda Nell said. “I guess if anybody can get proof, he will.”

  T.J. came back then. He sat down in the chair beside his mother and crossed one leg over the other. He looked at Wanda Nell and Tuck in turn, and said, “Bingo!”

  “Tell us,” Tuck said.

  “Roberts’ plant makes different kinds of plastics,” T.J. said. “And guess what? They use cyanide in various processes. According to what I read, hydrogen cyanide is very toxic, as a salt or even in gas form. I’m guessing that some form of it was put in Travis Blakeley’s drink.”

  “So Roberts had easy access to cyanide,” Wanda Nell said.

  “Yes,” T.J. replied, “and I did a quick check on him. He has two degrees in chemical engineering, so he would surely know how to handle the cyanide.”

  “That’s it, then,” Wanda Nell said.

  “Not quite,” Tuck said. “It all still has to be proved, and I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. It will probably be easy enough to prove that Roberts had access to the poison. But of course, there still isn’t any official word on how Blakeley died. Not that I’m doubting it was cyanide, you understand, but we still have to keep that in mind.”

  “I wouldn’t take any bets against it at this point,” T.J. said.

  “Neither would I,” Tuck replied. “The hard part is going to be proving some kind of connection between Roberts and Bill Warren. Elmer Lee might be able to make a pretty good case against Roberts, though of course, if what we suspect is true, Bill Warren is going to do his best to derail it.”

  “They can’t be allowed to get away with it,” Wanda Nell said. “We can’t let poor Gerald Blakeley go to prison, or maybe even death row, for this.”

  “We won’t,” Tuck said. “Believe me, I’ll do everything I possibly can to free him.”

  His buzzer sounded, and he answered the intercom. His secretary announced the arrival of the sheriff. “Please send him in,” Tuck said. He released the button and stood.

  The door opened, and Elmer Lee strode in. The moment he spotted Wanda Nell, he grimaced. “I might have known,” he muttered.

  T.J. stood. “Here, Sheriff, take my seat, please.”

  “Thanks,” Elmer Lee said. “Morning, Wanda Nell.” He nodded before looking straight at Tuck. “So what’s so important I had to come over to your office?” He sat down.

  Tuck reclaimed his seat, and T.J. pulled another chair close by. “I thought it might be safer if we talked here, in view of what you told us the other day.”

  “What was that?” Wanda Nell said sharply, responding to the look of annoyance on Elmer Lee’s face.

  “There’s a leak in my office,” he said shortly. “Somebody there is feeding stuff to the state police district office. And it’s the same person, I’m pretty
sure, who’s been behind the harassment.”

  “Do you know who it is?” Wanda Nell asked.

  “Not for sure, but I think I have an idea,” Elmer Lee said.

  “What are you doing about it?” Wanda Nell said, frowning at him.

  “You let me take care of that, Wanda Nell,” Elmer Lee snapped at her. “I think I know my business better than you.”

  “Yes, of course you do,” Wanda Nell said. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m so worried.”

  “I know, and I don’t blame you,” Elmer Lee said, his tone gruff but not unkind. “I’m doing my best to see that nobody gets hurt. You’re just going to have to trust me.”

  “I do,” Wanda Nell said.

  Elmer Lee let a brief smile cross his face, but then he was all business. “So what’s up?”

  Tuck explained everything clearly and succinctly, and Wanda Nell admired the way he laid out the case. If she had been on a jury listening to him, she would certainly have believed him.

  “It looks pretty bad,” Elmer Lee said when Tuck finished. “But I just don’t know.”

  “Can you think of any other explanation?” Tuck asked.

  Elmer Lee shifted in his chair. “No, I can’t. I’m not saying you’re not right. I guess I’m saying it’s going to be harder than hell to prove.”

  “But you’re going to try, aren’t you?” Wanda Nell asked.

  “Yeah, I am,” Elmer Lee said. “But I’m going to have to be mighty careful about it, because I don’t want Warren getting wind of what I’m up to.”

  “Maybe there’s some way to force his hand,” Wanda Nell said. “Bill’s, I mean.”

  “Now look here,” Elmer Lee said, “you just mind your own business. I don’t want you getting tangled up in the middle of this. Something bad could happen to you if you do. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, I do,” Wanda Nell said, frost in her voice. “And for your information, I wasn’t talking about me doing something. I was thinking maybe you, Mr. Sheriff, could do it.”

  “Like what?” Elmer Lee’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked at her.