Bring Your Own Poison (3 page)

Melvin had shut off the back room and tacked a notice on the door that the room was reserved for a private party from seven-thirty until ten. Wanda Nell opened the door and slipped through.

Melvin had rearranged the tables and chairs to form a big square in the middle of the room. She counted twenty-five chairs there. This was going to be a pretty good–size party. Next she inspected the bar setup Melvin had provided. He had hired a bartender for the night, and the guy should be arriving around seven to get ready.

As Wanda Nell examined the rest of the room, she discovered the only thing Melvin had forgotten. There were no ashtrays on the tables, and Wanda Nell knew they would be needed. At every other bachelor party she had ever worked, the room quickly turned smoky. She went back up front to find ashtrays and to remind Melvin to take care of ventilating the room as much as he could.

Business remained slow for the next hour, and Wanda Nell relieved Ruby for a while. She would be working the front while Wanda Nell took care of the party. Ruby had offered to help her, but Wanda Nell didn't want the girl having to deal with rowdy men who had been drinking more than was good for them. She could handle them just fine, and Melvin would never be far away if she needed him.

At six-thirty on the dot, Wanda Nell looked toward the front door to see Jack Pemberton coming into the restaurant. She moved forward with a smile to greet him, but she halted when she saw the expression on his face.

Her heart did a flip-flop. Something bad had happened, and Jack was coming to tell her about it. For a moment she couldn't breathe.

Jack came up to her and reached out a hand. “What's wrong, honey? Are you okay?”

“Why are you asking me?” Wanda Nell demanded. “What's wrong with you? Did something happen to one of the girls? Or T.J.?” Her heart thudded in her chest.

Jack shook his head. “No, they're all fine. Sorry if I scared you.”

Breathing more easily, Wanda Nell said, “Then what on earth is wrong? The look on your face about scared me to death.”

Jack scowled. “It's my cousin, Lisa,” he said. “The guy who was stalking her in Meridian has found her here.”

“Oh, no,” Wanda Nell said. “How did he find her?”

“Somebody at the hospital where she used to work.” Jack's face was set in grim lines. “When Lisa started getting phone calls again, she said she called around at the hospital in Meridian and found out a cop had been asking questions about her. She figures somebody told him she'd moved to Tullahoma.”

“Didn't she tell them that the guy stalking her is a cop?”

Jack shrugged. “She only told a couple of people at the hospital where she was moving. One of them must have slipped up somehow.”

“Come on and sit down,” Wanda Nell said, leading Jack to the counter. The few tables in the open part of the restaurant were occupied. “Let me get you some ice tea.”

“I could use a stiff shot of bourbon,” Jack said as he followed Wanda Nell and sat down. “I'm so angry about all this.”

“Actually, I can get you some if you really want it,” Wanda Nell said. She could raid the liquor stash set aside for the party.

Jack shook his head, smiling briefly. “No, really, tea is fine. I was just talking.”

“What's Lisa going to do?” Wanda Nell said as she poured tea into an ice-filled glass. She set it in front of Jack. “Is she going to move again?”

“No,” Jack said after a sip of his tea. “At least, not for a while, anyway. She doesn't want to run anymore. At this rate, she'd have to move to the other side of the country to get away from this jerk, and she doesn't want to do that.”

“I don't blame her,” Wanda Nell said. “She should be able to live where she wants to and not have to worry about some piece of slime like that.” She shook her head. “I don't know what's worse, a guy like that stalking a poor girl, or marrying her and killing her for the insurance.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Jack stared at her.

Wanda Nell could have kicked herself. She couldn't believe she'd let that slip out. She glanced around. No one was sitting close to Jack. She leaned forward and spoke in a low tone. “It's this guy they're having the bachelor party for. Mayrene told me he was married twice before, and both his wives died in accidents.” She snorted. “Except nobody really thinks they were accidents.”

“And this guy is a cop?” Jack asked.

“Yeah,” Wanda Nell said. “Can you believe it?”

“I would have said it was hard to believe, before I heard about what Lisa was going through because of a cop. But now I'm willing to believe just about anything.” Jack's right hand tightened around his tea glass.

“When did this happen?”

“Just an hour ago,” Jack said. “I've been with Lisa, trying to calm her down, since not long after I called you to make sure you were up.”

“Where is she now?”

“At my house,” Jack said. “She'll be okay there for now, but it probably won't take the guy long to find her. I don't know what we're going to do. I think she should call the police, but right now there's just no talking to her. Maybe when she calms down she'll be more willing to listen to me.”

Wanda Nell placed a hand over his fist. “I know it's rough on you, honey, because you're trying to help her. You've just got to be patient with her. I think what we need to do right now is get Lisa to a safe place, somewhere this guy wouldn't think of looking for her. That will make her feel better.”

“But where?” Jack asked. “Out of town somewhere? She has to work.”

“I know,” Wanda Nell said. She surveyed the room again. It was a wonder Ruby wasn't hollering at her, because she sure hadn't been much help since Jack walked in the door. Ruby seemed to have everything under control, though. She smiled at Wanda Nell as she poured tea at one of the tables.

“There's a couple of possibilities,” Wanda Nell said. “But I think the best one's probably Mayrene.”

“I'm sure Lisa doesn't want to put anyone else in harm's way,” Jack said. “I don't know if she'd go for that, even if Mayrene was willing.”

“Lisa may not have much choice,” Wanda Nell said. “Besides, can you imagine some jerk like that getting the better of Mayrene and Old Reliable?”

Jack had to grin at that. “I guess you've got a point. Do you think Mayrene would help out?”

“Only one way to know,” Wanda Nell said. “I'll be back in a minute. I'll order you something when I go through the kitchen. You think you can eat right now?”

Jack nodded. “I guess so.”

“Right,” Wanda Nell said. She paused in the kitchen long enough to order a chicken-fried steak dinner for Jack before heading to Melvin's office. She wanted some privacy when she called Mayrene, otherwise she would have used the pay phone out front.

Melvin was just leaving his office when Wanda Nell neared it. “Something wrong?” he asked.

“I need to use your phone a minute,” Wanda Nell said.

“Sure,” Melvin said. After one look at her face he evidently decided not to ask questions. “I'll be out front.”

Wanda Nell shut the office door before going to the phone. She punched in Mayrene's number, hoping she was at home.

Mayrene picked up after three rings. “Hello.”

“Honey, it's me,” Wanda Nell said. Without giving her friend a chance to respond, she rushed on, “We need your help. That guy who was stalking Lisa, Jack's cousin, has found her again. We need to find her a place to stay where he wouldn't think of looking for her.”

Mayrene had a few choice words for the stalker. When she finished, she said simply, “She can stay with me. He won't find her here, but if he does, he may be going back to Meridian with less than he came with.”

“Thanks, I knew we could count on you,” Wanda Nell said, relieved. “You sure about this?”

“I'm not gonna sit by twiddling my thumbs while some jackass is bothering that poor girl,” Mayrene said. “I just want to see him try something while she's with me.”

“We haven't talked to Lisa yet about this,” Wanda Nell said. “She may not agree to it.”

“Y'all just get her to come over here,” Mayrene said. “I'll do the rest. That poor girl.”

“Okay, then,” Wanda Nell said. “I'll tell Jack, and he can talk to Lisa. He might bring her over there tonight.”

“I'll be ready,” Mayrene said. “I ain't going nowhere.”

Wanda Nell thanked her again before putting down the phone. On her way back out front she mulled over another idea. Finding Lisa a safe place to stay was the first priority, but after that, she was going to need a permanent solution to the problem. Lisa needed a good lawyer, Wanda Nell decided, and thankfully they didn't have to look very far to find one. There was a lawyer in the family now, and there wasn't anybody better.

Hamilton “Tuck” Tucker had helped her family out of more than one mess, and now he and Wanda Nell's son, T.J., were living together. Wanda Nell worried about them, afraid they would be attacked because of the nature of their relationship, but both men refused to be intimidated. They were discreet, but they didn't hide their relationship either. Wanda Nell loved them both and was happy her son had finally settled down and was making a good life for himself. She just prayed that someone else didn't take it all away from him out of hatred and fear.

Wanda Nell paused at the counter. The front of the restaurant had just about cleared out, and Ruby and Melvin were bussing a couple of the tables. “I'll be right back,” she said.

“No rush,” Melvin said.

Ruby just smiled. She didn't begrudge Wanda Nell any of the time she spent with Jack at work.

“Mayrene said she'd be happy to have Lisa stay with her,” Wanda Nell told Jack, slipping onto the stool beside him.

“She's a good friend,” Jack said.

“None better,” Wanda Nell agreed.

“Now I just have to make Lisa see that she needs to do this,” Jack said. “She's terrified, but she also doesn't want anybody else to get hurt if this guy suddenly gets violent.”

“Mayrene can handle herself,” Wanda Nell said. She had great confidence in her friend, but she knew the situation was potentially a pretty dangerous one.

“Lisa took some kind of sleeping pill,” Jack said. “She fell asleep before I left to come over here. She'll probably sleep the night through, so I'll talk to her about it in the morning.”

“Make her see sense,” Wanda Nell said. She stood up. “Your order's probably ready by now. Be right back.”

Jack's food was sitting in the window, and Wanda Nell brought it back to the counter. “Dig in, honey,” she said, placing the plate in front of him, along with a basket of dinner rolls.

“Looks good, as usual,” Jack said, eyeing the plate of chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. “If things are a bit calmer tomorrow,” he said, “you think maybe we can get away for a little while? Maybe take in a movie or something?”

“I'd like that,” Wanda Nell said. She bent to give him a quick kiss on the lips. “Now eat your dinner, and I'll get you some pie for dessert when you're done.”

Jack laughed. “I'm going to skip the pie tonight, honey. Either that or I jog home.” He patted his stomach. “You're fattening me up.”

Wanda Nell eyed him with a smile. “I got to slow you down so I can keep up with you,” she said. “Can't have you running away from me.”

“I'd never do that,” Jack said. For a moment his eyes locked with hers, practically glowing behind his rimless glasses, and Wanda Nell had to take a deep breath. She put a hand on the counter to steady herself.

“I know,” Wanda Nell said, her voice soft. “I know.” She tore her gaze away from Jack's. “I'd better get to work now.”

It was just as well that the party guests started arriving a few minutes later. Otherwise Wanda Nell might have had to grab Jack, take him to a dark corner somewhere, and have her way with him. She grinned at the mental image.
Slow down, girl
, she admonished herself.
When the time's right, it will all work out.

The bartender, an older man named Wade Hemphill, turned up along with the first three guests. Wanda Nell had worked a few private parties with him before this, and she knew he didn't need any instructions from her. He greeted her politely before getting right to work behind the bar.

Tullahoma County was dry, and that meant nobody could sell liquor publicly. The way around that was, if you belonged to a private club, the club could sell liquor. For parties like this, the Kountry Kitchen became a private club for a little while, and whoever attended the party had to pay the “membership fee.” In this case, that was three bucks a head. They paid for what they drank and ate on top of that.

Over the next twenty minutes, more men arrived for the bachelor party. A few of the tables in front had diners, but it was probably going to be a slow night out there. The main action would be in the back room, Wanda Nell knew. Jack left then, too, after giving Wanda Nell a quick kiss and a promise to call her if anything came up.

Wanda Nell and Melvin were busy for a while, bringing trays of food from the kitchen to the back room. Melvin had set the food up buffet-style, and that made it a lot easier. Wanda Nell just had to keep an eye out to make sure the food didn't run out, occasionally pick up discarded plates and glasses, and dodge a few roaming hands once the alcohol started flowing.

She recognized a number of the men attending the party. One of them, she knew, was Mayrene's new guy, Dixon Vance. She saw him in earnest conversation with another cop, a man she didn't know. Most of the partygoers were in their late thirties and older, but one guest was about T.J.'s age. In fact, Wanda Nell decided, he had been one of her son's classmates at Tullahoma High School.

What was his name? She puzzled over it, trying to dredge the name out of her memory. She thought this young man and T.J. had been buddies at some point in high school, probably before T.J. started running wild and getting into all kinds of trouble. This boy looked like the type who never did anything wrong, though. His name would probably come to her later.

At the moment he was busy drinking and talking to an older man Wanda Nell didn't recognize. She studied the older man for a moment out of curiosity. He wasn't very tall, maybe a couple inches under six feet, and his brown hair was thinning. He had a big bald spot on the crown of his head. He was dressed in a suit, and he sported a couple of expensive-looking gold rings, one of them a wedding ring. From the way he held himself, Wanda Nell figured he must be important, or at least he thought he was.

Dismissing him from her mind, she continued to look around and tick off the names of the other men she recognized. There was young Dr. Tony Crowell, the son of old Dr. Crowell, who had been her mother's doctor. Wanda Nell spotted the elder man in another part of the room. She would have to make a point of speaking to him. He had done everything he could for Wanda Nell's mother before her death, and Wanda Nell was grateful to him for that. He had also been her own doctor for many years before he retired.