Murder by Serpents (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (16 page)

“Yes. No one else was in the car.” Tony released her hands and reached into his pocket for his handkerchief. He doubted if she realized that tears were streaming down her face. He meant the glance that he gave Wade to keep the young deputy silent. It worked.

“There were snakes and boxes for the snakes, but nothing that would indicate anyone else has been traveling with him.”

“Snakes? Why would he have the snakes with him?” A series of violent shudders racked her whole body, and then she exhaled in a great gust of air. “He had to be just passing through. Wasn't he? Maybe he left her at the motel where he was staying. Have you checked them all?”

Seeing signs of hope appear on her face, Tony shook his head, cutting off her words. “No, Ruby. He's been staying with relatives in the area and has been here for a while. He spent time over in Blount County before coming here. Alone.” She flinched with each word as if they caused her physical pain. He felt like a bully delivering one blow after another.

Eyes glassy, Ruby shook her head. “That doesn't make any sense. This is a small town. Why wouldn't we see him? What was he doing here? Wouldn't she have to be with him?” With each word, her voice rose until it turned into a scream. “Where is she? Where's my baby?”

Those words sent Wade surging to his feet. “Baby?”

At his sudden movement, Ruby looked up at the confused young man. One glance quieted her. She inhaled and released the air in a long, unsteady breath.

“I told the sheriff this story a long time ago but asked him to keep it private. You know how things get around in this town?” She waved him back into his chair. “I married Hub just before I turned sixteen.” Remembered pain twisted her face. “To be honest, my mother arranged for me to marry him. She threatened to drag me to the altar and beat me with a stick until I agreed to the marriage.”

Wade looked shocked. “Why did she want you to marry him? He had to be much older than you were, because Doc Nash thinks he was in his mid-forties.” He didn't give her a chance to answer before he said, “Why didn't she marry him herself?”

That comment did bring a smile to her face. “He wouldn't have her. He liked girls, not middle-aged women.”

“Did she know about his prison record? Did you know that he had killed a man in a bar fight?” Wade shook his head. “The man deals in drugs and pornography.”

“Oh, yes, she knew all about him and loved him for it.” Ruby's face became pinched and she played with her empty coffee mug. “He confessed his sins to his congregation at least four times a week. It was his thing, you know, about how he had changed his life in prison, memorized the Bible, and was spreading the word.”

Tony leaned forward. “He truly memorized the Bible? Pops Ogle said that too, but it sounded so . . . so amazing.”

“Most of it, I'd say. He had an almost photographic memory, so he could pull out the passage that he wanted and quote chapter and verse, but he twisted it to suit himself.” It took both hands, but Ruby managed to lift the cup to her lips. “He thought he was God's equal. With his silver tongue and evil ways, he preached for the power it gave him and not for any other reason. I always thought he was the devil incarnate.”

Her eyes lifted to the mountains, and Tony thought she might have been praying.

“Unlike me, my mother thought that he was God and all the angels rolled into one. So, you can imagine that when he mentioned he wanted to marry me, she was honored by his offer. I didn't want to have any part of him and tried to run away. Mama caught me climbing out the window.” Her breathing became shallow. “So, I married him. He broke my arm on our wedding night. Married life went downhill from there.”

Although the story was not new to him, hearing it again made Tony feel as savage as if all of the layers of civilization were just a veneer. He wasn't sure if her mother or her husband had been the more cruel of the pair. A glance at Wade's face showed him the same outrage. Neither said a word. They just let her tell the story.

“You've heard the expression ‘barefoot and pregnant’? It wasn't long before that was my life. We moved constantly. He took me to church with him, but I was not allowed to talk to anyone. He made me sit next to him and hold the box of snakes.” She shuddered. “I had no telephone, no money, no friends, no shoes and every day I was getting bigger and bigger. Only when I grew big as a whale did he leave me at home.” Unconsciously her hand dropped to her flat belly.

“He wanted a son. I had a girl. She was perfect, and I named her Anna.” In her anguish, Ruby couldn't continue and her words faltered to a stop.

Tony finished the story. “When they got home from the hospital, he went wild and almost beat Ruby to death. Her injuries were so bad that she had to stay in a hospital in Atlanta for almost a month. By the time she could get around again, Mr. Brown had vanished and so had the baby. We are still looking for Anna.”

No one spoke for several minutes. Lost in thought, Wade fiddled with the earpiece on his sunglasses. “Did you ever hear anything about her?”

“No.” Ruby answered. “The message he left with my mother said that I was a bad mother and that he had to protect Anna from me. For the baby's sake, he wanted to make sure I would not see her again until I mended my evil ways.”

“Then what happened?”

“They both disappeared without a trace.”

“And your mother,” saidWade. “Did she take your side then?”

“No. She blamed me for everything.”

“Did you go to the police?”

“Yes. The Atlanta police were very kind, but what could they do? They were understaffed and she belonged as much to my husband as she did to me. For all anyone could say for sure, he had taken the baby and gone on trip. My mother didn't help my case and there was no real proof that he had even been the reason I ended up in the hospital. I could have fallen off a bridge. Maybe they were just waiting for my health to improve. I don't know.” She traced a stain on the table. “I started going to a support group for battered women and I got my GED and then I got a job.”

“How did you end up here?” Wade made a gesture that encompassed the café, the town and the area. “Did you know someone in the area?”

Ruby shook her head. “One day I realized that no matter much I wanted Anna, Hub would never bring her back. By then, two years had passed with no word about them. I hired a private detective to keep searching for her and then loaded everything I owned in my car. I decided to let fate determine where I would live.”

Almost as one, they all looked at the rusted-out, ancient Honda that Ruby still drove. “It broke down here and Old Ruby took me in.” She did smile then. “And the rest, as they say, is history.”

Tony didn't smile. “I know that Mike takes his vacation each year and spends it searching for Anna and Hub.”

Ruby froze, suddenly wary. “Yes?”

“Any chance that he found Hub?”

That evening, Theo couldn't help but notice that Tony behaved in a most peculiar manner. She was accustomed to Tony's daydreaming, especially when he was thinking about the book he was writing. This felt different. His welcome home kiss and hug had been too much. It wasn't passion. It was more like he was saying goodbye.

After dinner, he became agitated when the boys wanted to play outside after dark. His restlessness increased when they did not seem pleased by his offer to join them. Theo thought that he acted as if he had to spend every second with them because he might never play with them again.

“Leave the boys alone and sit down.” Stomach churning, Theo dropped onto the kitchen chair across the table from him and continued to clutch the damp dishtowel with both hands. She blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. “Are you thinking of leaving us?” She couldn't help but wonder if Nina's husband had been like on his last night with his family.

“Heavens, no.” Wide-eyed, Tony looked at her like she had zapped him with a bolt of lightning and then had grown two heads. “Why would you think that?” He leaned forward to hear her whispered reply.

“Because you are acting like you are saying goodbye to us, and because the boys and I have no intention of leaving you, I thought mayb—.” She stopped and then started again. “Why are you acting so peculiar tonight? You're distant and yet possessive of the boys.” With a shrug, she looked down at the dishtowel she had tied into a knot. “I know that if someone had threatened us, you'd have a knife in your teeth and a gun in each hand.”

She could feel hot tears welling in her eyes even as he reached for her hands. Turning her head, she hoped he wouldn't see them. She tightened her grip on the towel.

He covered her hands with his. They felt warm and strong and some of the tension eased.

“This thing with Nina really has made you jumpy, hasn't it?” When she nodded, Tony frowned. “You have to believe that I will never leave you. Cross my heart.” Freeing his right hand, he made an X over the left side of his chest.

She believed him. Finally, she managed to give him a small smile. He grinned in response. She thought his pirate's grin made him look just like Jamie, only without the mop of blond hair.

“A knife in my teeth, huh? I guess I'll have to get an earring, too.” He pulled the dishtowel out of her hands and attempted to tie it around his head.

“Well, then, what
is
going on?” She had to laugh. He looked absolutely silly. A bright yellow lemon decorated the corner of the dishtowel that he'd draped over one eye.

Before he could decide what to tell her, the telephone interrupted. Karen Claybough, Wade's sister, had recently started working as the evening dispatcher.

“Uh, Sheriff, I would never bother you at home, and it's, uh, well, not exactly an emergency, but uh, I talked to Wade and he said that if I didn't call you, he would.”

“What's up, Karen?” Tony relaxed. If Karen had an emergency, she wouldn't be dithering around.

“Lady Godiva is riding through the cemetery and Sheila is off duty, so Wade said that you should get the call. I'm really sorry.”

Tony groaned. Lady Godiva's real name was Lucy Smith. Fifty-something, Lucy had developed a fondness for topless horseback riding. Two or three times a year, her husband would lose her and she would show up in town, usually after dark. As the only female officer, Sheila usually got the call to round her up.

Tony's name followed Sheila's on the call list. For some reason, all of the other deputies seemed to frighten her. Lucy functioned very well in spite of having slightly less than average intelligence. A charming, sweet woman, she gave birth to and raised two perfectly normal children. Lately, though, topless riding seemed to fulfill some primal need. It only became a problem when she rode into town.

“Dammit, Karen, where is her husband? Why can't he keep those damned horses locked in the barn at night?”

“I don't know, sir.” Karen sounded confused. “I tried calling him, but he isn't answering the telephone.”

“He's probably out looking for her.” Resignation laced every word. “Okay, I'll go get her and take her home. You get whoever is handling animal control this week to meet me at the cemetery. I assume Lucy is riding that overweight red roan. That damned animal hates me and it will try to take a chunk out of me if I turn my back on it. I'm sure not responsible for taking it home.” When he disconnected the phone, one glance at his wife's amused expression told Tony that he didn't need to explain.

While he got ready, Theo rummaged in the closet, looking for an old shirt for him to give Lucy. He could hear Theo mumbling that this must be the way Lucy got new clothes because she never returned anything.

Tony couldn't disagree.

He stomped down the stairs, “You know, don't you, that the sheriffs in larger counties are mostly administrators. I'll bet they don't get called out after dinner to chase Lady Godiva through a creepy, dark cemetery. They get to stay home and watch basketball on the television like normal people.”

Theo rolled her eyes. She heard this complaint all the time. “I suppose you'd rather do paperwork and attend meetings all day?”

“No way.” He all but ripped the old T-shirt from her hand and headed for the door. “When I can cavort in the moonlight with a half-naked woman? Who needs paperwork?” His description left out the fact the middle-aged woman was not exactly easy on the eyes.

The sound of Theo's laughter followed him out the door.

Tony awakened to the sound of rain pounding on the roof. Knowing that the saturated ground could absorb no more water, he groaned. He wondered what was happening at the crossroad. At the lowest point in the county, the crossroad of Main Street and the almost-highway known as Glover Road was always the first place to flood. He'd drive by there on his way to work and check on it.

This Saturday would be just another day of work.

By the time he showered and dressed, Theo had coffee ready. Wandering into the kitchen, he paused to enjoy the moment. For him the aroma rising from the coffeepot almost surpassed the taste.

The boys looked content, curled up in front of the television watching cartoons. A fire crackled in the hearth. Their eyes were glued the screen. Stretched across their feet, Daisy was cleaning their cereal bowls with her big, pink tongue.

Tony paused to tickle the boys. Jamie retaliated by scuttling out of his nest and jumping onto his father's back. He wrapped his thin arms around Tony's neck and hung on like a barnacle in Superman pajamas.

“D-ad, cartoons are on.” Giggling, Chris pulled a flannel quilt over his head and rolled around on the floor.

With Jamie still clinging to his back, Tony kissed the back of Theo's neck and poured himself a cup of coffee. Although clearly amused by the antics of her family, she seemed distracted.

“What's wrong?”

“Wrong? What could be more fun than a rainy Saturday with two dead bodies to discuss? It will be bedlam at the shop.” Theo put frozen pancakes on a plate and popped it in the microwave. She eyed his uniform. “Will you have to work all day?”