Bring Your Own Poison (11 page)

“No, I'm fine,” Jack said. “Let's just sit down and enjoy this. That chicken is making my mouth water.”

They filled their plates and sat down at the table. They ate in silence for a while.

“Have you talked to Lisa today?” Wanda Nell asked. She put her fork down and stared at her empty plate. Had she really eaten it all already?

“Just briefly this morning,” Jack said. “She called me and said she was doing fine. She told me how nice Mayrene was and how much she appreciated what Mayrene was doing.” He pushed his plate aside and picked up his tea glass.

Wanda Nell debated whether to tell him about Mayrene's reaction to his cousin, but for the moment she decided not to. Maybe by the time Lisa finished her shift at the hospital that evening she would have calmed down a bit and wouldn't get on Mayrene's nerves so bad.

“Mayrene took her to work. Are you going to pick her up?”

Jack nodded. “Yeah. I won't be gone that long. You don't mind, do you?”

“Of course not,” Wanda Nell said. “I might go with you, if Miranda's back by then. I don't want to leave Juliet by herself.”

“Okay,” Jack said.

“By the way,” Wanda Nell said, “I've been meaning to tell you, a policeman came by to talk to Lisa this morning. Mayrene is dating a cop now, a guy named Dixon Vance, and she asked him to come over.”

“How did it go?” Jack asked.

“He was very gentle with her,” Wanda Nell said. “He told her they would look into it, and for her to call the police department if she spotted this guy in town.”

“That's good,” Jack said. “I'm glad she's finally talked to the police here.”

“I just hope he'll be so busy being a cop in Meridian he won't have time to drive all the way over here and bother her. Of course, that wouldn't stop him from calling,” Wanda Nell said.

“First thing Monday, Lisa's going to call the phone company and have them disconnect her phone. She's going to get a new cell phone, too, and use that. He'll have a harder time getting hold of her new number.”

“That's a good idea,” Wanda Nell replied.

“She also needs to talk to Tuck and see what they can do, legally, to put a stop to this.”

“He'll know what to do,” Wanda Nell said. “But he's going to be pretty busy for a while. They've arrested Gerald Blakeley for the murder, and Tuck's his lawyer.”

“That's pretty fast,” Jack said. “They must think they have a good case.”

Wanda Nell told him the gist of her conversation with T.J. “And I'm not too convinced he did it either. I just think they're going a little too fast.”

“Maybe,” Jack said. “But you say Gerald Blakeley isn't still in love with the bride. What's her name again?”

“Tiffany Farwell,” Wanda Nell said. “I don't know her, but I have a vague idea I've seen her picture in the paper.”

“Probably,” Jack said. “I don't think I know her, though.”

“I know,” Wanda Nell said, getting up from the table. “Somewhere around here I know I've still got T.J.'s high school yearbooks, and there's bound to be pictures of her in those. Now where are they?”

She thought for a moment. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen them, but she thought they might be in a box in the hall closet. “You just sit and relax, and I'm going to look for them. Back in a minute.”

Wanda Nell rooted around in the bottom of the closet and found the large box she was looking for. She pulled it out of the closet and set it down in the hall. It was certainly heavy enough to contain yearbooks, she thought.

Pulling off the lid and setting it aside, she bent over and rummaged through the contents. There were a lot of loose papers at the top. She really ought to go through them at some point and see if there was anything important among them.

Under the layers of paper she could feel the hard binding of a yearbook. She pulled out the first one and glanced at the year. It was from when T.J. was a senior. That would do. She replaced the lid on the box and shoved it back into the closet.

Leafing through the yearbook as she walked back to the kitchen, she found the section with class portraits. The seniors came first, and she put a finger in to hold her place.

“Here it is,” she told Jack. She sat down next to him at the table and opened the book. “Here's the senior class the year T.J. graduated. She was in his class, he said.”

She quickly found the girl's picture. “She really is pretty,” Wanda Nell said.

“Yeah,” Jack replied. “But she has a pretty vacant look on her face, don't you think?”

“Somebody said she wasn't supposed to be all that bright,” Wanda Nell said. “Let's look for other pictures.” She flipped the pages back to the features section, and they found numerous pictures of the girl.

“Well built, too,” Jack commented when they found the picture of her as Miss Tullahoma County High School. The expensive-looking gown she wore left little to the imagination. Now that she saw the picture, Wanda Nell vaguely remembered that there had been a bit of furor at the high school because of that dress.

“Put your eyes back in your head,” Wanda Nell said. She poked Jack in the ribs.

“Don't worry, honey,” Jack said. “She may have some nice curves, but look at her face. Don't you see?”

Wanda Nell did see. Tiffany Farwell was drop-dead gorgeous, but when you really looked in her face, there wasn't anybody home. She had such a vacant look in her eyes, Wanda Nell felt sorry for her.

“I've seen her before,” Jack said, continuing to study the picture. “It was only a couple of weeks ago, too. I had no idea who she was at the time, though.”

“Where'd you see her?” Wanda Nell asked.

“Lisa was having some car trouble,” Jack said. “She managed to make it to the hospital, but she called and asked if I would come by after school and take a look at it for her. I was out in the staff section of the parking lot of the hospital, poking around under the hood of her car, when this bright red BMW convertible came zooming by. I wondered who was driving it, so I stopped what I was doing and watched.”

“And?” Wanda Nell said when he paused.

“The driver parked the car and got out. It was her,” Jack said, pointing down at the picture.

“Is that all?” Wanda Nell said, feeling disappointed.

“No,” Jack said, “that's not all. She sat down on the hood of the car. She was obviously waiting for someone, and it was only about five minutes before someone came out to greet her.”

“Did you recognize that person?” Wanda Nell wanted to poke him again. He was dragging this out deliberately, because he knew how impatient she was.

Jack grinned. “I sure did, because he's my doctor. Tony Crowell.”

“Okay,” Wanda Nell said, “he may be her doctor, too. He's mine, and I take the girls to him, too.”

Jack grinned, lasciviously this time. “He may be her doctor, but I doubt he greets all his patients the way he greeted her.”

“What do you mean?” Wanda Nell asked, though she was beginning to see where this was leading.

“They weren't that far from where I was,” Jack said, “and I had a pretty clear view of them. He had his hands all over her, and she wasn't trying to stop him.”

“But she was supposed to be getting married to someone else,” Wanda Nell said slowly.

“Not from the way she was acting that afternoon, she wasn't,” Jack said.

Wanda Nell stared down at Tiffany Farwell's picture. If she was having an affair with the doctor, that meant Tony might have had a motive to kill Travis Blakeley. And who better than a doctor who would be right there when his victim collapsed?

Wanda Nell voiced her thoughts to Jack. “What do you think?”

“It's possible, I guess,” Jack said, frowning. “But do you really think Dr. Crowell would kill somebody?”

“I sure wouldn't want to think so,” Wanda Nell said. “Ever since his daddy retired a few years ago, I've been going to him. He's always seemed like a real nice, caring man. Just like his daddy always was.”

“But if he's really in love with Tiffany Farwell…” Jack said. He shrugged. “Is he married?”

“No, I'm pretty sure he's not,” Wanda Nell said. She thumped the table with her hand. “This is really stupid. Why would he have to murder Travis Blakeley if he's in love with Tiffany? Tiffany didn't have to marry Travis. She could have told him she was in love with someone else, and that would be the end of it.”

“Maybe,” Jack said. “But what if she was afraid of Blakeley?”

“That's true,” Wanda Nell said. “He might have threatened her, I guess. But that just sounds crazy. He could have found some other girl to marry if she dumped him.”

“Isn't she worth a lot of money, though?” Jack said. “Her father was supposed to be pretty rich, and she was his only child, right?”

“Yeah, that's true,” Wanda Nell said. “According to what I heard, she is pretty well off.”

“Maybe Blakeley didn't want to let go of a woman with that kind of money.”

“From what Mayrene told me, he collected a lot of life insurance when his first two wives died.” She shivered. “Lord, this is creepy. What kind of monster was he?”

“If he killed his wives—or had them killed—for the money,” Jack said, his face darkening, “then he deserved what he got. Men like that shouldn't be allowed to prey on women, or anyone, for that matter.”

“No, they shouldn't,” Wanda Nell said. “Look, I think we need to tell Tuck about this. He needs to know anything that could help him defend Gerald.”

“Sure,” Jack said. “I'll tell him about it.” He paused for a moment, regarding her with an odd expression. “Why are you so intent on helping in this case? I know you saw it happen, but otherwise, does it really involve you directly?”

“No, not really, I guess,” Wanda Nell said. “I don't really know Gerald, and he could be guilty, I reckon. But it did happen right in front of me.” She paused. She had to be completely honest with Jack. “Mostly I guess I'm just really peeved with Bill Warren. The way he's acting really makes me mad, and maybe I just want to see him get a black eye. Instead of him giving one to someone else.”

“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Jack said, half humorously.

Wanda Nell grinned. “Yeah, you better remember that, buddy.”

“I will.” Jack laughed. He got up and retrieved the phone. “What's the number?”

Wanda Nell gave him Tuck's cell phone number, and he punched it in as she spoke.

“Hey, Tuck, this is Jack. How's it going?” Jack listened for a moment. “Good. Look, the reason I'm calling is, I think I have some information that might be useful in your present case.”

Jack quickly explained what he had seen, and when. “Yeah, I'm sure who it was,” he said. “Right. Talk to you later.” He hung up the phone.

He folded his arms and stared down at Wanda Nell. “Now, what do you say we forget about murders and so on, and just concentrate on relaxing?”

Wanda Nell laughed. “Sounds good to me.”

For the rest of the day, they did just that. Wanda Nell looked in on Juliet regularly, checking her temperature, making sure she drank enough water, and dosing her with the sinus medication. She decided she would take her to the doctor the next morning, just in case, even though she didn't seem to be getting any worse.

Teddy Bolton brought Miranda and Lavon home around seven, and Lavon was so worn out, Miranda put him to bed right away. Teddy stayed and visited with Wanda Nell and Jack for about half an hour before excusing himself, saying he had to be up early the next day for work. Miranda followed him out to his car, and while she was gone, Jack turned to Wanda Nell.

“Do you think he's really serious about Miranda?”

“He sure seems to be,” Wanda Nell said. “He's told me he wants to get married, but he wants to save up some money first.”

“How do you feel about them getting married?” Jack asked.

“I was a little nervous about him at first,” Wanda Nell said, “but the more I've gotten to know him, I really like him. I think he's good for Miranda.”

“I like him, too,” Jack said. “He's very mature for his age, and I think he's got his head screwed on right.” He paused. “If he and Miranda get married, that would be a big burden off your shoulders.”

“Yes, it sure would,” Wanda Nell said, eyeing him curiously. He was up to something, and she was beginning to suspect what it was. “I think I could count on Teddy to look after her and Lavon.”

“Yeah,” Jack said. He glanced at the door, evidently watching for Miranda. “So if that happens, do you think you might be willing to think about marriage yourself?”

Despite the fact that she kept telling herself she wasn't ready for marriage yet, she had actually been thinking about it. Not having to ride herd on Miranda all the time would certainly make her life easier, and as time wore on, she was getting more and more impatient to sort out her own life. She loved Jack and wanted to be with him. She had been reluctant at first, because her first marriage had left a lot to be desired. Jack was very different from Bobby Ray, though, and she knew that. Maybe she should just stop hemming and hawing and admit that being married to Jack would be a good thing.

Wanda Nell clasped one of Jack's hands in hers. He watched her face intently. “Yes, I would,” she said.
There, that wasn't so hard after all.

Jack smiled, and the love and desire in his face made Wanda Nell feel like she was melting inside. He leaned forward and kissed her.

The sound of giggling brought them back to reality with a thud. Miranda stood over them, arms akimbo. “Get a room, you two,” she said, smiling. “I can't leave you alone even for a minute.”

“Miranda!” Wanda Nell could feel herself blushing. “What a thing to say.” Beside her, Jack was laughing.

“I'll have you know, young lady,” Jack said, trying to sound stern, and failing, “your mother and I are now officially engaged.”

“What?” Wanda Nell stared at him.

“Well, I suppose it's not completely official,” Jack said. He stood up, reached into the pocket of his jeans, and brought out a small box. “Maybe this will make it official.” He held out the box to Wanda Nell.

Hands trembling, Wanda Nell accepted the box and opened it. Nestled inside was a beautiful diamond engagement ring. From the cut, she figured it was an old ring.

“It was my grandmother's,” Jack said. “She gave it to my father, and he gave it to me after my mother died.”

Wanda Nell couldn't speak. She just sat and stared at the ring.

Jack got down on one knee, pushing the coffee table aside as he did so. He clasped one of Wanda Nell's hands and said, “Wanda Nell, will you marry me?”

The lump in her throat felt so big Wanda Nell was afraid she wouldn't be able to respond. She swallowed hard. “Yes, Jack, I will.”

Had she really said those words aloud? Her mind was so fuzzy, she wasn't certain what was real and what was only in her mind.

Evidently she
had
spoken the words, because Jack removed the jewelry box from her shaking hand, took the ring out of it, and placed it on her left hand. Wanda Nell stared down at it for a moment. It was so beautiful. Bobby Ray had never given her an engagement ring.

Miranda was hopping up and down, squealing with excitement. Juliet appeared in the room, rubbing her face tiredly. “What's going on? Is everything okay?”

“Jack just asked Mama to marry him,” Miranda said, “and she said yes.”

“Oh, Mama, that's wonderful,” Juliet said with a huge smile as she came forward to stand beside Miranda.

Jack stood, pulling Wanda Nell up with him. He gave her a quick kiss. With an arm around Wanda Nell, he faced the girls. “I'm glad you're pleased, girls,” he said. “I love your mother very much, and I'm going to do my best to make her happy.”

Wanda Nell still hadn't spoken. She saw the delighted expressions on her daughters' faces and realized they were truly happy for her. “I love Jack, too, and I'm going to do my best to make
him
happy.”

“We've got to call T.J. and Tuck,” Miranda said. “They have to hear about this, too.” She disappeared into the kitchen.

“And Mayrene,” Juliet called after her. She gave her mother and Jack hugs in turn. “I'm so glad. Mama, you deserve to be happy.”

“Thank you, honey,” Wanda Nell said. Everything still felt slightly unreal to her. She realized Jack must have planned this, but she hadn't suspected a thing.

“We ought to do something to celebrate,” Juliet said. “We don't have any champagne, but I'll see what we do have.” She went into the kitchen.

Miranda emerged a few minutes later as Jack and Wanda Nell were seating themselves on the couch again.

“T.J. and Tuck are coming over,” Miranda announced. “
And
they're bringing a bottle of champagne.” She giggled. “I've never had champagne before.”

“They shouldn't do that,” Wanda Nell protested. “We don't need champagne.”

“Yes, we do,” Jack said firmly. “This is something to celebrate, and the rest of us are going to overrule you. Right, Miranda?”

“We sure are,” Miranda said, giggling.

A knock sounded at the door, but before anyone could answer it, it burst open. Mayrene came in, leaving the door open behind her.

“Okay, let me see it,” she said, advancing on Wanda Nell.

Wanda Nell held out her hand, the ring flashing in the light from the lamps. Mayrene clasped her hand and examined the ring.

“That's gorgeous,” Mayrene said with a touch of envy in her voice. “Oh, girl, I'm so happy for you.” She leaned down and gave Wanda Nell a hug. “You, too, you rascal,” she said to Jack. “Come here and give me a hug.”

Laughing, Jack complied, and Mayrene threw her arms around him. She squeezed hard. “And you listen to me, buster, you better treat her right, or you'll rue the day you were ever born.” She gave him a big kiss on the cheek and let him go.

Rubbing his left arm, Jack said, “You don't have to worry about that.”

Mayrene had to hug Miranda and Juliet after that. The three of them were so excited, they were chattering nonstop. Wanda Nell and Jack sat on the couch, watching them and smiling. Wanda Nell still couldn't quite take it all in. She supposed it would sink in eventually.

T.J. and Tuck arrived a few minutes later, and Tuck wasted no time in opening the champagne they had brought. Wanda Nell didn't have any champagne glasses, so Miranda brought whatever she could put her hands on from the kitchen. When they all had champagne, except for Juliet who had water because of her medication, Tuck raised his glass.

“To Wanda Nell and Jack,” he said. The others echoed him. “Wanda Nell, you've done so much for each and every one of us. You give us so much every day, I bless the day you came into my life.” He paused a moment to clear his throat. “You and your family have brought me something—and someone—very special.” He looked at T.J., and T.J. gazed back at him.

Wanda Nell couldn't help it, she started crying. She couldn't remember when she had last felt so happy. All the people she loved best—except for her grandson—were here with her, and she would treasure this moment always.

“And here's to Jack,” T.J. said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “It takes a very special man for someone like Mama, and I'm glad he had the sense to recognize just how wonderful she is.” He raised his glass, and the others did the same.

“Thank you, T.J.,” Jack said. He had to clear his throat a couple times before he could go on. “You've all welcomed me into the family, and I love you all for that. Wanda Nell is the most amazing woman I've ever known, and I think I fell in love with her the first time I ever saw her. I'm the luckiest man in the world.” He hugged Wanda Nell to him, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Okay, enough of all this sappy stuff,” Mayrene said in a gruff voice. “Otherwise we'll have to have a contest to see who can cry the most.”

That brought laughter, and the mood lightened. Wanda Nell was grateful to Mayrene. She could always count on her best friend to interject a light note to the proceedings when necessary.

Tuck went around with the champagne bottle again, and it quickly emptied. Wanda Nell had kept her eye on Juliet during the celebration, and she could see that her younger daughter was very tired.

“Come on, honey,” she said, slipping an arm around Juliet's drooping shoulders. “I think you need to go back to bed.”