State Fair (38 page)

“So,” I finally said. “What
were
you two talking about when I drove up?”

“Corn bread recipes. But, of course, now we know it was just a ruse and she was trying to find out what I knew about the car theft ring. We never got past corn bread, though, and then you showed up.”

I gave a little laugh. Gabe hadn’t been kidding. She and Juliette were exchanging corn bread recipes.

“I was telling her that Dove’s was the best I’d ever eaten. It’s that fourth cheese she uses. Smoked white cheddar from this family dairy in Wisconsin and a touch of cayenne pepper.”

“You know her secret ingredients?”

She patted my forearm. “Oh, Benni, I’ve known for years. I just like to rattle Dove’s cage. Why, our squabbles are what keep our blood moving.”

During our drive home, I filled her in on the details.

“So, all this time Mr. Jones’s homicide and the vandalism actually had nothing to do with Levi being fair manager.”

“Isn’t that something?”

From the road the lights of the Ramsey ranch glowed yellow and inviting. The familiar scrape of my truck tires on the gravel driveway was the most comforting sound in the world.

Inside the house, Dove, Daddy and Isaac had just sat down in the living room, getting ready to eat popcorn and watch a Pink Panther movie.

When Aunt Garnet sank into the sofa next to Dove, she said, “This feels heavenly.”

“You look exhausted, sister,” Dove said.

“I am, sister. Catching killers is exhausting business.”

Dove sat straight up. “Doing what?”

Aunt Garnet laughed and winked at me. “Turn off the TV. Have we got a story for y’all.”

I LET AUNT GARNET TELL THE STORY. I DON’T THINK I’D EVER SEEN her so animated. When she was finished, satisfied with everyone’s exclamations, she leaned back and gave a deep sigh. “I’m glad it’s over.”

Dove, who’d remained surprisingly positive during Aunt Garnet’s tale, said, “I’m glad you’re okay. God was really looking out for you both.”

“Yes, he was,” Aunt Garnet said. “He certainly gave Benni the gift of gab in the exact moment we needed it. Her story about Juliette and Lloyd Burnside having an affair was inspired.”

“And true,” Gabe said, walking into the living room.

“I knew it!” I said.

Gabe sat down next to me on the sofa. “When they got everyone down to the sheriff’s department, Juliette broke down and confessed everything, including the Milky Way bar she stole when she was twelve years old. I think the district attorney’s office won’t have any trouble convincing her to cut a deal and testify against Milt, which would make the stolen cars case against him stronger.”

“But the real question is, did he really have Calvin Jones killed?” I asked.

“Looks like it. We don’t know yet which of the WBU boys actually killed Mr. Jones. Our snitch only knew it went down, not who did it, though he gave us his best guess. We’ve picked up the guy he suspected killed Cal and he’s being questioned now. No doubt once he hears the words death penalty, he’ll roll over and give us Milt. From what the snitch said, Calvin Jones stumbled into the operation when one of his old pals offered to sell him some hot parts for his truck. Cal must have gone to Milt with the intention of asking him to stop.” Gabe shook his head. “Did he really think Milt would just up and stop?”

I nodded. “Cal mentioned to Jazz that he was going to try to talk someone out of doing something illegal. Why didn’t Cal just go to the police?”

Gabe shrugged. “Apparently Cal worked for Milt for a few months when he was still in high school. My best guess is maybe he felt like he owed him the chance to turn over a new leaf. You know, kind of like when someone gets sober or stops smoking. They want others to join them in their new straight and honest life. Why he went to Milt will always remain a mystery unless Milt chooses to tell us. And I doubt that will ever happen.”

“Maybe Cal’s feelings about Jazz made him want to do the right thing. To impress her, maybe,” I said. “To show her he really had changed.”

“Could be,” Gabe said. “A good woman can often do that to a man.”

“I hate asking this, but what about Justin?” I asked. “Do you think he knew about any of this? I mean, it’s his father . . .”

“I talked to him long before we planned the sting,” Gabe said. “He wasn’t aware of anything. He hadn’t lived with or worked for his father for years. His dad’s quickie marriage to Juliette never sat well with Justin. He was willing to work with us to stop his father, but we couldn’t use him. Too risky. Especially when we suspected Milt might be behind Cal’s death.”

“Poor kid,” I said. “That must have been hard.”

“He’s a tough young man. He’ll survive this.”

“Well, it’s over now,” Aunt Garnet said. “We can finally get back to normal.”

“Whatever that is in this family,” Gabe said.

Isaac, who’d been quiet up until then, touched Dove gently on the shoulder. “Don’t you have something you need to tell Garnet?”

Dove looked over at her sister, her face suddenly serious. “William Wiley called.”

Aunt Garnet jumped up, her face panicked. “When? Is he all right? Oh, my, I didn’t call him today . . .”

Dove went over to her, taking her hand. “He’s just fine. But he left a message.”

Aunt Garnet looked like she was going to be sick. In the background, the mantel clock Gabe and I bought Dove last year for her birthday ticked unbearably loud.

Dove said. “He said to tell you it’s time.”

“Time?” Aunt Garnet whispered.

“What is it?” I said, going to her, slipping my arms around her trembling shoulders. “Aunt Garnet, what’s wrong?”

“It’s WW,” she said in a small, scared voice. “He has Parkinson’s. I think we might need to move to California.”

“O
F COURSE YOU WILL!” DOVE EXCLAIMED, PULLING HER SISTER into a hug. Both women started crying. “Don’t you worry at all. We’ll take care of you both.”

“Thank you, sister,” Garnet said, hugging Dove so hard I thought she’d break a rib. “I just didn’t know how to tell everyone.”

Tears stung my eyes. How hard it must have been for Aunt Garnet to admit that she couldn’t take care of Uncle WW. After the sisters were through crying, Garnet gave us more details. Uncle WW had been diagnosed a year ago, but she’d kept it from everyone. Both she and Uncle WW had a lot of pride, something that the rest of us couldn’t really call them out on. It was a family trait.

“I’d stay there except we don’t have much family left in Sugartree any longer. I’ll miss the old house, of course, but William Wiley’s having a real difficult time going up and down those steep stairs. He has to use the wheelchair more and more.”

“Who’s taking care of him now?” I asked.

“Jake and Neba Jean.” Jake was Aunt Garnet and Uncle WW’s only child; he and Neba Jean were my cousin Rita’s parents. “But I didn’t tell you this. Jake has decided to take a job in Vermont.” Jake was an accountant. From what I heard, a really good one.

“Vermont?” Dove exclaimed. “What the heck is in Vermont?”

“A job that pays a lot more than the job he has now. And they need the money,” Aunt Garnet said, her voice a little apologetic. “Neba Jean’s gotten them into a little financial bind . . . again.”

It was an unspoken fact that everyone knew that Neba Jean loved her blackjack. Hopefully, there weren’t many casinos around Vermont. Though it was a little too close to Atlantic City. Was there anyplace anymore where there wasn’t a casino? Guess that was Uncle Jake’s problem.

“Don’t you worry about a thing,” Dove said, rocking her sister back and forth. “We’re going to be with you every step of the way.”

With those words, Garnet started bawling again and Dove joined her.

I got up and fetched them a box of tissues.

While they pulled handfuls of tissues from the box, I asked, “Anyone want a piece of pie?”

“I do!” Daddy, Isaac and Gabe said simultaneously. All of them sounded relieved. There was just too much emotion flowing through the room right now.

That made us women laugh. Thank the good Lord for pie.

Dove and Aunt Garnet’s loving truce lasted about eighteen hours. The next afternoon, Aunt Garnet made some snarky remark about Dove’s potato salad needing a smidge more mustard and a tad less mayonnaise. Dove said that Aunt Garnet’s sour cream biscuits tasted like sawdust, and they were off and running again, each one calling me practically every hour to complain about the other.

But there was a difference now. It didn’t feel as . . . mean-spirited. It was more like a longtime married couple sniping at each other because they trusted the love of the other one so completely that they knew they could let off steam.

Uncle WW had contacted a realtor while Aunt Garnet was away and their house already had two offers. I promised to fly back to Sugartree to help my aunt and uncle pack up a lifetime of possessions, help them decide what would come to California, what they’d give away, what they’d discard. I knew Dove would be right there next to me, helping her sister every step of the way. Emory was going to contact a specialist in Santa Barbara to look into transferring Uncle WW’s insurance and medical records. We’d get them out here, and then, like families do, we’d deal with my uncle’s illness as it progressed. We’d just take it one day at a time. That tired old saying was a cliché for a very good reason.

Another surprise happened after Aunt Garnet revealed the reason she’d come to San Celina. Emory’s dad, my uncle Boone, decided to sell
his
house and move to San Celina. He said he’d been thinking about it since Emory and Elvia had gotten married, but now that Sophie Lou was here, there was nothing keeping him in Sugartree. The home office would stay in Arkansas under the watchful eye of Uncle Boone’s long-time plant manager.

“What is going on here?” Gabe said when I told him the news. It was Sunday afternoon, the last day of the Mid-State Fair. We stood on our front porch watching Beebs and Millee flirt with our new neighbor. He was half their age and had fine-looking, muscular legs. “Half the state of Arkansas is moving to San Celina.”

“Hey, your family is welcome too. Do you think we’d be able to convince your mom to come out here to live?”

His face was thoughtful and for a minute I panicked. I loved Kathryn Ortiz, but I wasn’t
serious.

“Nah,” he finally said. “She might like coming out for a few months in the winter, but her heart is in Kansas.” He gave me a mischievous smile. “You’d have a handful if Dove, Garnet and my mom all lived here.”

“Oh, pshaw,” I said, waving a hand. “I can handle three old ladies. I’ll put them to work at the museum.”

He pulled me into his arms and hugged me. “You are okay Aunt Garnet is moving out?”

“Yeah, I am. She and I actually had fun together. She’s . . . different. More mellow. This might be the start of a whole new era in her life.”

“She’s got a hard road ahead of her,” he said, resting his chin on my head.

“They both do. But she and Uncle WW have all of us.”

“
La familia
,” he said.

“Yes,
la familia
.”

We were quiet for a moment, each lost in our own thoughts of what the word
family
meant. With Aunt Garnet, Uncle WW and Uncle Boone all moving to San Celina, my extended family was growing.

I sighed, rubbed my face against the front of Gabe’s shirt, inhaling the sweet scent of clean cotton.

“Quarter for your thoughts.” His lips were warm on the top of my head.

I laughed and slipped my hands into the back pockets of his jeans. He still felt fine, real fine. “Inflation strikes the Ortiz household.”

“Well?” he said.

“Just thinking about Calvin Jones and how he didn’t have any family at all. What will happen to his body?”

“Once they establish he has no next of kin, the state will bury him.”