Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction (30 page)

He
pursed his lips and looked up into the air, thinking for a minute. Finally he said, “Well sure, he had a daughter who had a couple a kids.
I b’lieve the son lives out on Brick’s old property, matta fact. His name’s Crate Marshall. He’s a biker-type, even though he’s so poor he'd have to borrow money to buy water to cry with. I ‘spect he spends all his money on his motorcycle and his beer. Don’t rightly know what he does for a livin’. He’s a real character. Mean and ornery. I wouldn’t wonta mess with him. Why ‘ont y’all just back offa this, and let Daddy figure it out.”

“
Because he doesn’t seem to believe there’s anything to figure out. He thinks I’m a hysterical female, prone to hissy fits with tails.” Tess gestured wildly in the air.

“
Wull, I’ll talk to him. Let me handle it, okay?” Henry Clay raised his eyebrows and looked at the others around the table. They nodded.

“
How’s the campaign goin’ Henry Clay?” Jack asked.

“
Oh, it’s comin’ along all right. It’d be a whole lot better if my
esteemed opponent wasn’t so rich. I swear I think he buys a new car each time one gets wet. But he’s got one huge strike against him.”

“
Only one?” Martha Maye teased.

“
It’s a bigun. He dudn’t have the sense he was born with. The wheels are still turnin’, but the hamster’s dead, if ya know what I mean.”

“
Henry Clay, you’re so soft-spoken it’s funny to hear you say something like that,” Tess said.

“
Wull I don’t go runnin’ down Main Street hollerin’ it big as daylight, but I can form my own private opinions, can’t I? Y’all aren’t gonna blabber to the media are ya?”

“
No, I guess not.” Tess smiled, wondering if he wasn’t a bit of a dim bulb himself. “How long have you worked at the bank?”

“
Right about twenty years, ever since college.”

“
Oh? Where did you go?”

“
Duke University.”

“
Jack, I don’t think I ever asked where you went.”

“
Ole Miss,” he said. “And you went to UVA, is that right?”

“
Yes, how’d you know?”

Before
he could answer, Martha Maye interrupted with, “I went to Georgia State, that’s where I met ‘he who shall not be named.’”

Tess
put her hand on Martha Maye’s shoulder. “How are you doing with the divorce?”

“
Okay, I guess. Lord only knows when the divorce will be finalized.”

“
Whatta you mean?” Henry Clay cocked his head.

“
It’s just hard getting’ everything ironed out. Custody, possessions, finances, figurin’ out where my little Butterbean and I are gonna live. We can’t stay at Mama’s forever.”

“
How long have you been divorced?” Tess asked Henry Clay.

“
Oh, ‘bout four years now, I think,” he said. “You?”

“
Almost a year.”

“
A little over two years,” said Jack of himself.

“
This rightcheer’s like a support group! Ever one of us is divorced.” Henry Clay slammed the table with his hand. “We oughtta have weekly meetin’s or sumthin’. You know—like a support group does. Least to help Martha Maye out in this tryin’ time.”

“
Well I don’t see what it would hurt,” Jack said. “I’m in.”

“
Me too,” Tess said.

“
How about our first “official” group meeting at the Silly Goose in a few days?” Jack asked.

“
I think that’ll be good, but let me check my schedule when I get home. I never know what my CM has planned for me.”

“
Is Charlotte involved in the campaign?” Jack asked.

“
Naw. She helps out at headquarters, but that’s about it.”

The
four talked for a while longer, until Tess tried to stifle a yawn. Henry Clay looked at his watch. “Shoot. It’s almost midnight. I know what you’re thinkin’, Tess.”

“
You do? What’s that?” Her face flushed because of what she was thinking about Jack.

“
You’re thinkin’ the same thing my mama used to think when we used to have comp’ny who stayed and stayed.”

They
all looked at him, waiting for him to tell them what it was.

“
Once they’d finally left, she’d say, ‘We just wanted to have the neighbors over for dinner, we didn’t plan on takin’ ‘em to raise.’” They laughed at Henry’s falsetto voice, mimicking the voice of his mother.

The
men made one more sweep around Tess’s yard, and then Jack and Tess waved from the front porch as Martha Maye and Henry Clay left. Jack turned to Tess and said, “Well . . . “

“
Jack, thank you for a wonderful evening. You went to a lot of trouble and the picnic was truly special.”

“
Tess, will you be all right by yourself tonight?” He stepped closer to her, taking her into his arms.

“
I'll be fine. I have my guard dog, you know.”

He
kissed her softly at first, then deeper and harder. He pulled his lips from hers, but stood close, looking into her eyes. “There's more where that came from, anytime you're ready.” He kissed her again.

I'm
ready
.
Take me, take me now
. But when he ended the kiss, she
simply said goodnight.

After
he left, Tess turned out the lights on the first floor, and Ezzie followed her upstairs to get ready for bed. When the phone rang she was brushing her teeth. She looked down at Ezzie, who was lying on the floor. Ezzie looked back at Tess with her head resting on her paws, her eyeballs the only movement on her body.

“
That’s probably just Nick. He’ll be worried when I tell him what’s going on, and I don’t feel like getting into it right now. And if it’s Lou, she’ll just try to convince me to stay at her house. Let’s let it ring,
Ezzie.” Ezzie’s tail thumped on the floor twice.

The
phone stopped ringing and went to voice mail, but the caller didn’t leave a message.

Tess
rubbed moisturizer on her face as she walked to her bed. She lay down, and Ezzie jumped up with her. “It’s been one heck of a night. This attraction to your daddy is getting out of hand.” Tess played with Ezzie’s ears. “But gosh, can that man kiss.”

Thoughts
swirled in Tess’s mind. Jack’s searing kisses, thoughts of Lou’s family tragedies, Martha Maye’s screams, it all replayed in her mind.

The
ringing phone startled her. “Oh, for Pete’s sake,” she said out loud, reaching for the phone. “Hello?”

“
Yer stickin’ yer nose where it does not belong,” a raspy voice
whispered. She couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. She could
barely hear what the person said.

“
And why is that?” she asked, in a voice that sounded stronger than she felt.

“
Just never you mind, missy,” the voice hissed. “Just stop being Mizz Sherlock Holmes or you’ll be sorry.”

The
line went dead.

tee-nincey
:  adjective \tee-nine-see\ very, very small

It doesn’t matter if it’s one litte bit, one tee
-nincey bit, or one great big bit.

[ 
July
2010  ]

Tess had lay awake for hours after the ominous phone call, and she slept fitfully after that, until falling into a deep sleep sometime around dawn. When her alarm went off, she didn’t hear it and overslept. She was going to be late getting to Stafford’s if she didn’t hurry. She quickly dressed, rubbed Ezzie’s tummy, then closed her in the bedroom, grabbed her keys, and headed to the car. She yawned as she dialed the phone and listened to Jack’s voice mail message.

At
the beep she said, “Jack, this is Tess. I’m sorry to bother you, but I got a weird phone call late last night. I’m a little freaked out. Well, maybe a lot. I have to go to work right now, and I don’t want to discuss this around Lou. She said she didn’t need me for very long today, so I’ll be leaving the bookstore around two o’clock. Maybe we can talk then? Okay . . . bye.”

She
drove to work, since it made her feel less vulnerable and also because she was exhausted. She pulled into a parking spot several spaces down from the bookstore and noticed Jack waiting out front.

“
I just got your message.” He rushed to meet her at the car. “Are you all right? What happened? Who called? You sounded a little tense.”

 
She sighed. “Yeah, I’m a lot tense. Someone called last night after you all left and said I was, ‘sticking my nose where it didn’t belong,’ or something like that. He . . . she . . . it . . . whoever it was said I should butt out or I’d be sorry. And then they hung up.”

An
alarmed look came over Jack’s face as he listened to Tess. “Did it sound like a man or a woman?”

“
Yes. No. I mean, I don’t know. It was impossible to tell. It was kind of a raspy whisper. Jack, you’re just as involved in this as I am. Why wouldn’t they call both of us?” She studied Jack’s face and added, “Or did they?”

“
No. My guess is the person figured you could be scared off more than me. I don’t think they know you very well.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Aw, Tess.” He pulled her into a hug and then stepped back. “I hate that you’re going through all of this. Why don’t we just forget about it? It’s not worth you getting hurt or terrorized over. Lou doesn’t care, so why should we? Or why don’t you let me do some digging for a while? Let’s keep you out of it.”

“
I don’t want to forget about it. I don’t like the feeling that someone is watching me, but the fact that they’re getting bolder says volumes. Somebody thinks I’m going to find out something; I want to know why they care. Besides Jack, you know if we don't get to the bottom of this, I'll never be able to stop looking over my shoulder, or sleep with both eyes shut at night again, as long as I live here.”

“
But Tess, this person is getting more menacing. I’m afraid for you. Please think about letting this go.”

“
Maybe . . . but there’s one more person I want to talk to before we do. Are you free this afternoon? Can I pick you up when I’m done here?”

“
Yeah, I have a feeling about your maybes. Are you going to tell me who it is you want to talk to?” He followed her toward the bookstore.

She
smiled. “Not yet. Are you in or not?”

He
let out a frustrated sigh. “Woman, you drive me crazy on so many levels . . . but . . . okay. Come and get me when you’re done here.” They stopped at Stafford’s door. “But don’t you dare go anywhere without me, you hear?” You want me to hang around the bookstore today?”

“
Thank you, Jack. But I don’t think that’s necessary.”

Lou
was in the back room accepting boxes from a UPS delivery when Tess went into the store. She put her purse away, called to Lou, “I’m here,” and got out to the register desk just as the phone rang.

“
Stafford’s, can I help you?”

Silence.
But Tess could tell someone was there.

“
Hello?” she said, apprehensively.

She
heard a click and then the dial tone.

* * *

A few hours later, Tess was tired of talking. People had been in and out all morning, but they hadn’t come in for books. Most of them wanted to hear all about the mugging. She’d told the story so many times she thought she could recite it in her sleep. And then Willy came in.

“
Hey, Doll!”

“
Willy—hello. How are you?”

“
I’m busier than a one-legged man at a butt kickin' contest. I just stopped in to say hey.” Lou came out of her office and scowled at him.

“
Okay, Lou, I confess. I didn’t come in to look for no book taday.
I came in to see how Tess here’s doin’. I done heard about the alter-cation the other night, and I wanted to check and see if there’s anythin’
I can do.”

“
Well that’s mighty nice a you, Willy. But as you can see, our Tessie’s doin’ just fine.” Lou patted Tess on the arm.

“
Thanks for stopping by, Willy,” Tess said, trying to scrutinize his facial expression and body language.

“Wull, I don’t like thinkin’ a you in harm’s way. You call on me, ya know, if there’s any
way I can hep. You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am, I’ll come runnin’.”