Diana Anderson - Entering Southern Country 01 - Famous in a Small Town

by Diana Anderson

  Cal nodded to him, opened the door, and went inside alone. She sat at the table and looked none to happy about being there. He walked straight to the table, placed his hands on it, and leaned in close to her face. Cal knew the best way to get anything out of anyone, was to pretend he already knew everything. His gut feeling was the only thing he had to go on. He hoped that he played it right.

  “You stole two million dollars and a handgun from the Rayburns.”

  She gave her head a quick shake. “No!”

  “Salvador says different. He said that you took the money.”

  She gave her head another quick shake. “No, no, no! Salvador would never say that.”

  “He’s gotten a really good lawyer. A lawyer that’s well known in this town for getting people off by laying the blame on someone else.”

  Her eyes widened.

  He pointed a finger at her and jabbed it toward her with each account. “You’re going to take the blame for the stolen money, and you’re going to take the blame for Jorge’s murder, and you’re going to take the blame for the murders of Wanda and Virgil Neal, and you’re going to take the blame for Gaylene Peterson’s murder.”

  “I do not know a Gaylene Peterson.”

  “It doesn’t matter if you knew her or not. You’re getting the blame for it along with everything else. Salvador gave you up. You’re going to prison, and he’s going free.”

  “Oh, no!” She shook her head. “He would never say that.” She smirked. “You just want me to think he said that.”

  “Mrs. Wallace was the one who got him the lawyer. She came to see Salvador right after he was arrested. She told him that she was getting a divorce so they could be together. He was very pleased to hear that. He really loves that big house of hers and all that money.”

  She lost her smile. “Mrs. Wallace has seen him? Here?”

  He nodded.

  She looked down at the table.

  “He’ll be eating in her big fancy dining room under her crystal chandelier while you’re eating from a plastic tray alongside other convicts. He’ll be sleeping on her satin sheets while you’re trying to sleep on a bunk bed. And at night, when you’re lonely, he’ll be holding her in his arms.” He leaned down closer to her face. “He gave you up, Lupe. Said he had no part in this. If you take the full blame, you’ll take the full ride, and in the state of Mississippi—that’s the death penalty.”

  He let her think on it.

  After a minute passed, she said, “I took the money and the gun from the Rayburns’ safe. Jorge and I buried the bag of money in the woods not far from the trailer where Jimmy Ray’s brother lived.” She looked up at Cal. “I killed Jorge. He was lazy and weak, but Salvador killed that man and his wife. Not me. I saw him do it. I was there. I had borrowed Salvador’s car and went back for the money. I did not like it being there. I was going to take it and leave Salvador, but it was gone. I told Salvador it was gone. That man had taken the money from the woods. I knew this. Who else could have taken it? The money was not his property. That money was mine.” She poked a thumb to her chest. “I worked hard for that money.” She snarled her upper lip. “On my knees, I had to please that old man Rayburn while Salvador screwed the rich man’s wife and swam in her fancy swimming pool.” She looked away. “He did not think that I knew he cared for her.” She jerked her head up and looked at Cal again. “But I knew. I am no fool.” She pointed a finger at Cal. “Do not let him get away with this and blame it all on me.”

  He waited a beat and then asked, “If you didn’t kill Gaylene Peterson, then who did?”

  She shrugged. “I told you, I do not know this Gaylene Peterson.”

  “The woman who worked the nightshift in the office at the Deluxe Inn.”

  She shook her head. “I did not go into that office. I do not know this woman.”

  An hour and a half later, Cal walked out of the interrogation room. Lupe had been arrested and read her rights. As Porter escorted her down the hallway toward the jail, Miller came through the door with Angus. Angus was in handcuffs and was being taken to the courthouse to appear before the judge at his bail hearing.

  When Angus saw Lupe, he barreled down the hallway toward her with the deputy on his heels. Lupe tried to hide behind Porter, but Porter kept a tight grip on her arm. Miller caught up with him, grabbed his arm, and slammed him against the wall. Angus raised his handcuffed wrists and pointed a finger at her.

  “You stole my money!” he yelled.

  “Suzanne’s money,” Cal said.

  “I took your money and your gun,” Lupe said. “If I had your gun now, I would shoot you dead right here.”

  Angus clenched his teeth. “How did you get into my safe?”

  Lupe squared her shoulders and smirked. “You video taped me, so I video taped you.”

  His brows drew together tight. “Video taped?”

  “Stupid, I put a camera on top of your bookshelf. I checked it every day, then one day …” with a slight turn of her head, she shrugged, and smiled, “you showed me the combination.”

  He gritted his teeth and sounded like a bull getting ready to charge. Cal motioned with his head for Porter to get her out of there. Miller kept a grip on Angus’ arm.

  Cal looked at Miller and said, “Get him over to the courthouse before he’s late. We sure don’t want the judge mad at us.”

  Cal turned. Hendrix was in front of him.

  “Boss, Mrs. Wallace is in custody.”

  “Here?” Cal took a step to go around him.

  “No. Yazoo City has her.”

  Cal waited.

  Hendrix continued, “She ran out of gas on Highway Forty-nine, heading south. A Yazoo County deputy pulled over to assist, but noticed the vehicle she was driving was of the same description of the one that went out with the BOLO. He checked the tag and … there ya have it.” He grinned.

  “What about the duffle bag?”

  “Nothing in the vehicle but Lansing’s uniform and Mrs. Wallace’s suitcase.”

  “When Porter gets back, get her to ride with you and go pick her up.”

  Hendrix nodded and left to answer the phone on Justin’s desk.

  Cal went into his office. He sat down at his desk, put his elbows up, and clasped his hands together. He heaved a big sigh. Where is the duffle bag?

  He ran a hand over his brow and lowered his gaze to Raven’s novel. He doubted he’d ever see her again and thought it was for the best. When she had come back, he’d thought his unspoken prayers had been answered. He had longed for her for many years, but now he couldn’t allow himself to think about her in the same way again.

  “Sheriff?”

  Cal looked up. Deputy Hendrix was at the door.

  “What is it?” Cal asked.

  “That was the Vicksburg Police Department on the phone. They’ve got the duffle bag we’ve been looking for. The money was still in the bag along with Deputy Lansing’s gun.”

  Cal tilted his head. “How’d it end up all the way down there?”

  78

  Late that evening the two deputies escorted Callie into the sheriff’s department. They were headed to the interrogation room when Cal stepped out of the door to his office. Hendrix was to her right and Porter to her left. Callie’s dyed red hair was a mangled mess, and she had a large pump knot on her forehead and so did Porter.

  Callie jutted her chin at Cal. “I want my attorney. My rights have been violated. These morons manhandled me.” She looked Porter up and down. “And this bull dyke attacked me.”

  Porter lowered one brow and raised the other as she looked down at Callie.

  Cal took a long breath and let it out. “What happened?”

  Hendrix cleared his throat. “We were about half way here when Mrs. Wallace said that she needed to go to the restroom. We stopped at a rest area. I secured the women’s bathroom and then Porter escorted her in.” He looked at Porter.

  Porter glanced at Callie and then looked back at Cal. “When I got her into the ladie
s’ room, she turned around and kicked the shit out of my shins, sir.”

  “Was she handcuffed?” Cal asked.

  “Yes, sir. I never took the cuffs off of her, sir.”

  “And?”

  “Well, sir, I guess I had my thinking all screwed up when I thought she wouldn’t be a problem because of her small size. But I was wrong. I had to wrestle her down to the bathroom floor. She head-butted me until I was cross-eyed, so I grabbed my Taser and zapped the shit out of her … , sir.”

  The corners of Cal’s mouth twitched. He nodded. After a few moments of silence, Cal was able to speak, “Get her to a phone so she can call her attorney, and then take her into the interrogation room. She can wait for her lawyer there.”

  “Interrogation room?” Callie asked as they led her down the hallway. “I’m not saying anything. So why are you taking me in there? You can torture me all you want, my lips are sealed.”

  “Ah, nip it!” Porter said, “You’ll squeal like a stuck pig.”

  Cal went into his office, closed his door, and burst out laughing. After he was composed, he grabbed his hat off his desk, went back out, and on into the lobby. He looked at Justin. “C’mon.”

  Justin jumped up from his chair and rounded his desk. “Where are we going?”

  “Get something to eat. I’m starved, and I know you didn’t take lunch either.”

  A few minutes later, they walked into Janie’s and sat down at a booth near the front. Janie walked over and tapped Cal’s shoulder to get him to scoot over so she could sit down beside him.

  She nodded at Justin and then looked at Cal. “Well?”

  “What?” Cal asked.

  “You know ‘what’. Don’t make me beg.”

  He laughed and filled her in on what had happened the past twenty-four hours, but left out the vital details. The last thing he needed was the judge throwing out pertinent evidence because of a leak.

  “Angus and Callie are in jail?” Her eyes went wide.

  Cal and Justin nodded.

  The waitress walked over, and took their order, and then left.

  “Who’d a thunk it?” Janie mulled it over. “Is Raven still in town?”

  Cal shook his head. “She’s back in New York. I doubt we’ll ever be seeing her again.”

  “That’s a shame.” Janie’s lips thinned. “So you finished the book?”

  “I read it. It was good,” Justin said.

  Cal glanced at his deputy. Justin shifted in his seat and looked out the window beside their booth.

  “I finished reading it,” Cal said.

  “Did you talk with her about it?”

  Cal glanced at Justin again and then looked at his mother. “Somewhat.”

  Janie didn’t say more. She understood that Cal didn’t want to talk about it in front of his deputy. When their meal arrived, she left the table.

  While they were eating, Justin had kept glancing up at Cal. After one too many times, Cal asked, “What’s on your mind?”

  He set his fork down beside his plate and looked at him. “That novel. I’ve heard what people are saying. That it’s all true.”

  Cal held his fork over his plate but didn’t look up. “Yeah, that’s what they’re saying.”

  “In your opinion, what do you think?”

  Cal could feel Justin’s eyes on him. He didn’t want to talk about it, but he knew that he couldn’t keep running away from the subject. “For the most part, it’s true. At least the things that I have first hand knowledge. The rest—you’d have to ask Raven. She’s the author.” Cal set his fork down and picked up his tea glass. He took a long drink.

  “I’ve heard the older folks say that we’re the author of our own lives.”

  Cal set his glass down and looked at Justin. “So, your point.”

  “Well, I don’t think that’s always the case. Sometimes you’ve got to be one of the characters in someone else’s novel too, and the character that portrays you in their novel, might not be the same type of character portrayed in your novel.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following you. You think Raven’s novel is fiction?”

  “In my opinion, if Callie Wallace had everyone in this town believing that Virgil was Raven’s father for over twenty-eight years, and all the while having your father, Angus, believing that he was her father, then who can believe anything she’s ever said?”

  Cal looked down at the table.

  Justin continued, “Raven left home when she was around eighteen years old. For those eighteen years, Raven was just a character in Callie’s novel.”

  Cal gave his head a quick shake and then said, “So you’re saying that you don’t believe everything in Raven’s novel is true?”

  “As an officer of the law, I’m supposed to go by all the evidence and if all of the evidence isn’t there, then there’s nothing to build a case on. So … no.”

  “So you’re saying that you think Raven lied in her book?”

  His brows squeezed together. “No. What I’m saying is … she told a story that she thought was entirely true based on what she’d been told from a woman who had been lying to her for eighteen years.”

  79

  The interrogation room intimidated Callie even with her lawyer present. Cal had come into the room like a man on a mission. He slapped a manila folder on the table and sat down across from her. Her attorney sat up straight in his chair, squared his scrawny shoulders, and eyed the folder through the thick and smudged lenses of his black horn-rimmed glasses. Not a single dark, wavy hair on his head was out of place due to the amount of hair gel that kept it slicked back. He had not been Callie’s first pick of attorney, nor her second choice, not even at the bottom of the list, but all the others had read Raven’s novel and considered Callie a lost cause, and too, Ted had cut off her credit cards and her access to the bank account. So, she was stuck with the appointed court attorney, Thaddeus Kingston.

  Callie sat straight in her chair, tossed her red hair off her shoulders, and said in a smug voice, “I told you earlier, Cal, I have nothing to say. So … you’re wasting my time, my attorney’s time, and I suppose, your time.”

  Cal studied her a long moment. The attorney lifted his wrist off the table and eyed his watch.

  “Well?” Callie said. “Are we going to—”

  “What color is your hair, Callie?” Cal asked as he watched her.

  Her mouth gaped. “Ugh! What’s that got to do with me being arrested?”

  “Sheriff—” Thaddeus tried to speak.

  Cal raised his hand for silence but kept his eyes on Callie. “What color is that? Penny red, orange red, or just plain red?”

  “Vivant’s roux number six, if you must know.”

  “Vivant?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She shifted in her chair. “It’s not a product or color I would have chosen for myself, but—”

  “So your hair dresser chose it for you.”

  “Well, no, but … .” She clammed up and stared across the table at him.

  “But, Salvador doesn’t know a thing about hair color, does he?”

  At the mention of Salvador’s name, the attorney leaned over and whispered in her ear. She turned and glared at him.

  “Do you think I’m stupid enough to tell him?” She looked back at Cal. “I bought it myself.” She leaned on the table toward him. “Now, when will bail be set? I want out of this place.”

  “Who’s going to post your bail, Callie?” Cal eyed her. “I know Ted won’t, Raven sure won’t, oh wait … no, never mind, he can’t.”

  “Who can’t?”

  “It doesn’t matter. “ He grabbed the folder, opened it, and held it up for his eyes only.

  “Who were you going to say?” She tried to peer around the folder.

  Cal sighed. “Salvador.”

  Callie was silent as she watched him scan over a page in the folder. After a minute, she asked, “Why can’t he?”

  Without looking up, Cal said, “He’s in jail.”


  “Why?”

  “He was arrested for several murders.”

  She stared at him and waited. When he didn’t offer more, she reached across the table and slapped the folder out of his hands. It landed on the table top. “Murders? Who all did he kill?”

  “The same murders that he says you helped him commit.”

  She flew up out of her chair. Thaddeus reached for her arm.

  “Calm down before you do or say something you’ll regret,” he said.

  She yanked her arm away from him. “I told you, I’m not stupid.” She looked at Cal. “Salvador’s a liar. I never helped him kill anyone.”

  “Your ex-husband and his wife.”

  “He killed them?” Her eyes widened. “I did not help him kill them.”

  “And Jorge Ramirez.”

  “Jorge is dead?” She shook her head. “I sure didn’t help him kill Jorge.”

  “And Gaylene Peterson.”

  “He didn’t help me kill her.” Her eyes looked vacant for a moment. “Cal, I meant to say that I didn’t help him kill her.” She eased back into her chair and leaned on the table toward him. “You know that I couldn’t kill anyone.”

  He picked up the folder and opened it again while he kept his eyes her. “You were born with a slight pigeon toed walk.”

  She straightened in her seat. “What’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Well, what’s it got to do with anything?”

  “You were seen at the motel with Jorge Ramirez.”

  “I wouldn’t be caught dead at that cheap motel.”

  “Which cheap motel?”

  “Deluxe Inn.” She shook her head.

  “How do you know that’s where he was staying?”

  Thaddeus raised his hand. “Mrs. Wallace, you really need to quit answering questions.”

  She ignored him “I don’t know. I’m just guessing. Where else would a poor Mexican stay?”

  “Gaylene said differently. She recognized you by the way you walked. She said that she’d seen you at the Deluxe Inn with Jorge.”

  “You’re lying. She swore she never told any …” Although her eyes were on him, she looked through him and then a tear spilled over her lower lid and trickled down her cheek. “Am I going to prison?”