Every Move She Makes (28 page)

“Aunt Cybil, Roy Moses was murdered tonight at Conway’s Garage,” Ella said. “Someone thinks they saw you at the garage about half an hour before Briley Joe found Roy’s body.”

“Oh!” Cybil moaned, then stuck her fist up to her mouth. “Poor Roy,” she mumbled. “Poor, dear man.”

“See,” Ella told Frank. “She doesn’t know anything about Roy’s murder. She had no idea he was dead.”

“Is that true?” Frank asked. “You weren’t at Conway’s Garage tonight?”

Cybil lifted her head. Her eyes seemed incapable of focusing as she glanced around the room; then suddenly she looked right at Jeff Henry. “I—I stopped by the garage earlier tonight, looking for Briley Joe.”

Ella’s heart sank. Jeff Henry released his inebriated wife, squared his shoulders and turned his back on her.

“Cybil, do you remember what time you stopped by?” Frank asked.

She held up her slender wrist. “Never wear a watch.”

“Jim Pendleton told us he saw you about thirty minutes before the time Briley Joe says he returned to the garage. That would have been around eight-thirty.”

“I thought it was earlier,” Cybil said. “I don’t think it was dark. I saw Roy and he told me Briley Joe wasn’t there, so I left and drove over to Smithville and…” She glanced at Jeff Henry, who stood facing the windows, his back to her. “I met up with some friends and had a few drinks.”

“All right,” Frank said. “While you were at Conway’s Garage, did you see anybody else around—anybody who looked the least bit suspicious?”

“There wasn’t anyone else there. Just Roy.”

Frank nodded. “Thanks. That’s all the information I need for now. Sorry to have bothered you folks. I hope you understand that I was just doing my job.”

“We understand,” Ella said.

“I’ll show myself out.” Frank nodded to Ella, then left the room.

“Poor old Roy,” Cybil said. “Who would kill a sweet guy like that?

Now was the time to move forward, to rush into action, but only after careful planning. The weapon with Reed’s fingerprints had been easy enough to obtain. The plan had been to steal a tool that could be used as a weapon from one of the toolboxes at the garage, but as luck would have it, Reed had left his lunch box there—and what had been discovered inside was an even better choice. A fork, a spoon and a knife—a sharp paring knife, something suitable for peeling apples, halving sandwiches, and slitting throats. Careless of him to leave such an appropriate weapon so handy. The man had been convicted once before of killing with a knife. How interesting that he would choose the same type of weapon for another murder.

With the town in an uproar over that idiot Roy Moses’s death, people were distracted, even members of the Carlisle and Porter families. It was unbelievable that not only had Webb and Ella attended Roy’s funeral, but that Webb had actually paid for it. Of course, Webb was known for his generosity. One of his more noble attributes.

Tonight would be the night. Regrettable choice of a victim, but necessary. Once a second murder had been blamed on Reed Conway, no one would even consider reopening the Blalock case. And once Reed was in prison again—this time for the rest of his life—things could return to normal. There would be a proper time of bereavement, of course, but eventually everyone would move on. And no one would ever know the truth. Only the two of them. And they would take the secret to their graves.

“I won’t go if you need me to stay here.” Ella patted her aunt’s unsteady hand. “I know Uncle Jeff Henry is terribly upset about your admitting to Frank that you had stopped by Conway’s Garage looking for Briley Joe.”

“I was too drunk to think straight that night,” Cybil admitted. “But even if I’d been completely sober, I would have had no choice but to tell Frank the truth. My heavens, he was actually considering me a suspect in Roy’s murder.”

“I don’t think he actually believed you’d killed Roy.”

“Maybe not.” Cybil squeezed Ella’s hand. “Don’t you worry about me. Unfortunately, your uncle and I have been through this sort of thing before and survived.”

“You do know that Daddy told Frank about your affair with Junior Blalock.”

Cybil caressed Ella’s cheek. “Yes, I know. I understand he also confessed a few of his own sins.”

Ella nodded.

“He told me that you didn’t judge him too harshly.” Cybil leaned forward and kissed Ella’s cheek. “You have such a generous and forgiving heart. And so understanding. How much would you be willing to forgive, darling girl? Would you forgive Webb and me for almost anything?”

“I love you, Aunt Cybil. Almost as much as I love Daddy. Of course I could forgive you for anything.”

“Remember that promise.” Cybil rose from where she’d been sitting on the edge of Ella’s bed, then tapped the top of Ella’s closed suitcase. “You and Reed need a weekend away after the hellacious week we’ve all had. A couple of days and nights down at the river cabin will be good for you.”

“I hate leaving with things in such a turmoil.” Ella stood, then lifted her small suitcase and set it on the floor. “With Roy’s murder unsolved, Frank won’t have any time to reopen the Blalock murder case for a while. And as long as Reed is a convicted murderer, Mother will never accept him.”

Cybil laughed, the sound a mockery of real humor. “Don’t kid yourself. Carolyn will never accept Reed Conway as your significant other. His mother is not only a housekeeper, but she gave birth to one of Webb’s daughters. Once Carolyn knows about Regina, she’ll despise the entire Conway family.”

“Mother accepting Reed is only a minor consideration at this point,” Ella said. “Reed deserves to be exonerated. He didn’t kill Junior.”

“You love him very much, don’t you?”

Ella sighed. “It’s quite obvious, isn’t it?”

“Yes. To those of us who know you well and love you dearly.”

“I don’t understand why it happened or how it could have happened so quickly. At first I tried to convince myself that it was only sex, but…I have never felt anything like this in my entire life. I ache with wanting him. He’s my first thought every morning and my last thought every night. No matter how much I’m with him, it’s never enough.”

“I know.” Cybil glanced past Ella at the wall, a faraway look in her eyes. “I was in love like that once.”

“Were you?”

“Mmm…”

“With whom?” Ella asked.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“With Jeff Henry Carlisle. That silly fool.” Tears misted Cybil’s eyes. “But he was in love with Carolyn. When he couldn’t have her, he settled for me. I was a substitute for my sister. At the time, I thought I could make him love me. Oh, how wrong I was.”

“Aunt Cybil…”

When Ella reached out to embrace Cybil, she grasped Ella’s shoulders. “Don’t you feel sorry for me. I made my own bed and I’ve been lying quite uncomfortably in it for years. But you don’t have to settle for anything less than the love and passion of the man you want. Everybody may think Reed is all wrong for you, but if y’all love each other and he makes you happy, then don’t let anyone come between you.”

Ella hugged Cybil. “I’ll be back Sunday night. And I suppose I’ll continue to impose on you and Uncle Jeff Henry for a while longer. If Mother doesn’t come around soon, I’ll probably have to find a place of my own.”

“You know you’re welcome here for as long as you want to stay.”

Ella released her aunt, turned, and lifted her suitcase. “If Reed should call for any reason, tell him…well, just tell him to hurry.”

“Why aren’t y’all going to the cabin together?” Cybil asked.

“It’s his Friday night to close up at the garage. He’s promised to be at the cabin by nine,” Ella said. “Briley Joe had already made plans that he couldn’t or wouldn’t change. He left yesterday for a long weekend in Tunica. Reed says his cousin loves to go to the casinos and try to strike it rich. And I think he needed to get away. Finding Roy’s body shook him up badly.”

“I imagine he’s taking some woman with him.” Cybil grinned. “Don’t think that I care. What I had with Briley Joe was just sex and that I can find with a dozen other men.”

“Aunt Cybil?”

“Don’t ask. You would have had to live my life to even begin to understand why I do the things I do.”

Ella nodded, then opened the bedroom door and walked out into the hall. For the next forty-eight hours, she and Reed would be alone together at the family’s riverfront cabin. They could, if only for a short time, escape from reality and lose themselves in each other’s arms.

Reed had been watching the clock for two hours, wishing time would pass faster. Only one more hour and he could close up the garage, hop in Briley Joe’s old pickup, and head for the river. The only other time in his life he’d been this eager for something was the day he was released from prison. The thought of spending forty-eight hours of uninterrupted time with Ella was enough to give him a permanent hard-on. When she’d first suggested they spend the weekend at her family’s cabin on the river, he’d been surprised. But then, Ella was a surprise—a very pleasant surprise. She seemed totally at ease with him around other people now, and all the stares directed at them whenever they were in public together didn’t seem to bother her at all. He didn’t know what the hell he’d done to deserve a woman like Eleanor Porter, but he thanked God for her.

That’s just it
, he told himself.
The reality of the situation is that you don’t deserve Ella and you know it. And she damn well deserves better than the likes of you
.

The customer at the self-serve pump entered the garage and handed Reed a twenty, the exact amount of his fill-up.

“Thanks,” Reed said.

Grinning, the guy nodded before he headed for the door. Just as he left, the telephone rang. Reed lifted the receiver. “Conway’s Garage.”

“Reed?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, I’m so glad I caught you before you left for the cabin. This is Cybil Carlisle,” the woman said. “Ella asked me to call you and tell you that she can’t meet you at the cabin until late, around eleven. She’s terribly sorry, but something came up at the last minute. It has to do with a court case. She said she’d explain everything when she sees you tonight.”

“All right. Thanks. Does she want me to just go on up to the cabin and wait on her?” Reed asked.

“No, she has the key, doesn’t she? You don’t have one, so she said to meet her at eleven. She’s sure she’ll be able to be there by then.”

“Okay. Thanks, Mrs. Carlisle.”

Reed glanced at the clock again. No need counting the minutes until closing time. Briley Joe had told him to close up at eight instead of staying open until nine, but now there was no reason to close early. No big deal. A few more hours wouldn’t make that much difference. He and Ella would still have the whole weekend alone together.

Ella pulled her Jag into the gravel drive at the back of the cabin. After locking her car, she undid the trunk and lifted two bags of groceries into her arms. She’d bought steaks to grill tomorrow, baking potatoes, red and white wine, and a carton of Tennessee tea. Also ice cream, which needed to be refrigerated immediately. She had stopped at a roadside stand on the drive from Spring Creek and bought fresh strawberries, peaches and a cantaloupe.

Moonlight washed the cabin and the nearby river with gold. Soft, creamy, translucent gold. Here and there, scattered about in the black sky, several stars winked at her. Ella sighed happily. She’d never looked forward to anything as much as she did this weekend with Reed. Only three things were lacking in order for her life to be just about perfect: one, Reed being exonerated in Junior Blalock’s murder; two, her mother’s acceptance of Reed in her life; three, for Reed to tell her that he loved her.

When Ella reached the front door, she placed both brown sacks on the porch and inserted the key in the lock. Once she got inside, she would open the windows, turn on the ceiling fans, and cool the place off before Reed arrived. After opening the door, she reached inside and felt along the wall until her hand encountered a switch plate. She flipped on the light, lifted the groceries and walked into the cabin. As she headed toward the kitchen area to the back of the huge combination living room and dining room, she checked her wristwatch. It was already nine. She’d taken more time at the grocery store than she’d intended, and the stop at the roadside stand had taken another fifteen minutes. She had planned to be here at least thirty minutes before Reed arrived, but he was sure to get here any minute now. After all, it took less than half an hour to drive here from town.

She set the sacks on the counter, then quickly stored the perishable items in the refrigerator and put away the other groceries. Her small suitcase was still in the car, but she wanted to open windows and turn on fans before going back to get it. And maybe she should change the bed linen. The sheets were clean, but they’d been unused for at least two months.

Ella busied herself opening the windows in all four rooms and setting the ceiling fans in motion. Just as she reentered the living room, she heard someone on the porch. Odd, she thought, that she hadn’t heard Reed drive up. That old rattletrap truck usually made a heck of a noise. She rushed toward the partially open door.

“Reed?”

Suddenly a shadow appeared in the doorway. Not Reed, she realized. The person wasn’t tall enough to be Reed. Ella halted her mad rush, then gasped when the person stepped over the threshold.

“What are you doing here?”

The woman smiled, her face half shadowed.

“Is something wrong?” Ella asked. “Has something bad happened?”

She shook her head.

“Is it Reed?”

She shook her head again.

“Daddy?”

“Nothing is wrong with Webb or Reed,” she told Ella. “And nothing bad has happened. Not yet. But it’s going to.”

“I don’t understand.”

The woman’s smile widened.

Ella’s stomach lurched. This wasn’t possible. Was she hallucinating? Seeing things that weren’t there? No, this was quite real. The woman standing only a few feet away from her wasn’t the person she had first thought it was.

Reed searched the aisles in the state liquor store on Fourth Street. He wished he knew more about wines. He wanted to choose something nice, something just right, for his weekend with Ella. He supposed he could ask the cashier, but he doubted she knew any more about the wines she sold than he did. Since it was only nine-fifteen, he had more than enough time to choose a wine, go back to his room above the garage, and take a shower before he headed up to the cabin. Ella had said it wouldn’t take thirty minutes to get there. So that meant he could leave at ten-thirty. Hell, he had nearly two hours to kill. Maybe he’d run by his mother’s for a while.

Just as Reed reached out for a bottle of California Merlot, he caught a glimpse of Cybil Carlisle at the other end of the aisle. He picked up the wine bottle and headed in her direction. Maybe Ella’s aunt could tell him if this wine was a good choice.

“Evening, Mrs. Carlisle,” Reed said as he approached her.

“Reed?”

He could tell by her expression that she was surprised to see him.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re running a bit late, aren’t you?” Cybil asked. “I thought you were supposed to meet Ella at the cabin around nine.”

“What? I don’t understand. You called me and told me that…”

She stared at him oddly, obviously confused by what he’d said.

“You didn’t call me earlier tonight?”

“No,” she replied. “What made you think I’d called?”

Cybil Carlisle hadn’t called him. Then who had impersonated her and why? Adrenalin rushed through Reed’s body. Fear consumed him.

“What’s wrong?” Cybil asked.

Reed grabbed her shoulders. “Ella’s in trouble. Call Frank Nelson and tell him to meet me at the cabin. Tell him to hurry. It could be a matter of life or death.”