Leftover Dead (12 page)

For the first time a spark of interest appeared in the woman’s face, but it quickly faded. “I guess so.” Her tone hadn’t changed.

“I’m writing a book about it,” Jack said, “and my wife is helping me. We’re trying to find out what really happened.”

Still the woman didn’t react. Wanda Nell watched her, puzzled. She wasn’t drunk; Wanda Nell had seen enough drunks to know the signs. She was probably taking some kind of pill that made her this way. Maybe some kind of antidepressant or a tranquilizer.

Jack persevered, despite the lack of response. “We know your brother was questioned by the Sheriff’s Department, but he disappeared before he could be charged with anything.”

“Roscoe’s gone,” Mrs. Baker said. She stirred for a moment in the chair, then went still again.

Wanda Nell glanced at Jack. He raised his eyebrows. Wanda Nell decided to step in for a moment.

“When you say he’s gone,” she said, her voice gentle but firm, “do you mean just gone away? Or has he died?”

Mrs. Baker regarded her for a moment. “Just gone.” “Do you have any idea where he is now?” Wanda Nell asked.

“Why do you want to know?” The woman’s voice grew stronger for a moment.

“We want to talk to him, find out whether he knew anything about the girl,” Jack said. “Nobody even knows her name, or where she came from.”

“We don’t think your brother killed her,” Wanda Nell added. “We think it’s possible somebody else killed her and tried to blame your brother.”

“He didn’t kill her, I don’t care what anybody said.”

“Do you know where he is?” Jack asked. “We’d sure like to talk to him, and I promise you we wouldn’t tell anybody where he is now.”

“If we can prove somebody else did it, he could come home again,” Wanda Nell said. For some reason, she really believed that Roscoe Bates was innocent, despite what Mrs. Havens had said. Mrs. Bates heard the sincerity in her voice, and for the first time, she smiled.

The smile fled, however, when she heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.

“You’ll have to go,” she said, becoming agitated. “My husband.” Alarm shone in her eyes. “I can’t talk to you anymore.”

Wanda Nell and Jack stood. Mrs. Baker was obviously distressed. She flinched when she heard a door open and close, and heavy footsteps approaching. Jack pulled his notebook and a pen out of his pocket and scribbled something. He tore the paper out and pressed it into Mrs. Baker’s hand.

“Sandra June,” a deep voice called out. “Have you got company in the house?”

Mrs. Baker clutched the paper for a moment, staring at them almost wildly. She stuffed the paper into the bosom of her dress. When her husband came into the room, she was calm again. She turned to him, her head down. “These folks stopped by. I didn’t invite anybody.” Her voice had gone flat again, and Wanda Nell could feel the fear emanating from her.

Mr. Baker was a tall man, several inches over six feet, and massively built. He wore a dark suit and tie, and his face had a grim, mean look to it that made Wanda Nell want to grab Mrs. Baker and carry her out of the house. “What do you folks want? Can’t you see my wife is ill? She don’t need strangers here pestering her.”

“We’re sorry,” Jack said, standing his ground. “We didn’t mean to impose on your wife.”

Wanda Nell stared the man right in the face. “We’re just visiting people in the neighborhood around here on behalf of our church and our pastor.” She hoped the Lord would forgive her such a lie, but she would have said anything it took right then to protect the poor woman trembling in front of her.

Mr. Baker regarded her, his hostility undiminished. “We already belong to a church, and we got no mind to change to another one. I think y’all had best go on about your business and do the Lord’s work somewhere else.”

“We surely will,” Wanda Nell said, not flinching.

Mr. Baker’s face darkened, but before he could say anything else, Jack took Wanda Nell’s arm. “We’ll be going now. Goodbye, Mrs. Baker. We’re sorry for bothering you.”

Mrs. Baker didn’t appear to have heard him. She hadn’t moved since her husband came into the room. Wanda Nell hated to leave her in that house, but she didn’t see any other option.

She and Jack walked to the front door. Jack opened it, and once they were both outside, he closed it firmly.

Neither of them said a word until they were in the car and on their way out of the subdivision.

“What a horrible man,” Wanda Nell said. “Do you think he’ll beat her because she let us in the house?”

“The Lord only knows.” Jack’s voice was as grim as the look on his face. “Men like that ought to be horsewhipped. Even if he’s not abusing her physically, he’s sure doing it mentally. I bet he makes her take whatever pills have got her like she is.”

Wanda Nell shivered. “What can we do for her?”

“I don’t know. I guess we could tell Elmer Lee about the situation. We need to tell him we found her, anyway. Maybe he can do something.”

“I sure hope so,” Wanda Nell said. After a moment, she reached in her purse for her cell phone.

“Are you going to call him right now?” Jack asked. By now they were passing through the center of town, and they’d soon be taking the turn toward the reservoir and the trailer park.

“No. I’m calling T.J. and Tuck. I want to see if they’ll invite Elmer Lee to have dinner with us tonight.”

“You really think he’ll come?”

“He gets along just fine with Tuck and T.J. now.” Wanda Nell held up her free hand.

“Hey, sweetie, it’s your mama. Yes, we’re still planning to be there for dinner. Have you heard back from Miranda yet?”

She slumped against the seat. “I was afraid of that. I hope Teddy will stop some of this foolishness before too long.” She listened for a moment. “I know, sweetie, I know. Look, since they aren’t coming, would you mind inviting someone else instead?” She mentioned Elmer Lee.

“Thanks, honey. Will one of y’all call him? It’s because of this case, the one Jack wants to write about. We’ll explain it all when we see you tonight.” After a brief pause she said, “Love you, too,” and ended the call.

“So they’re going to invite Elmer Lee?” Jack asked.

“Yes. T.J. said he thought it would be pretty interesting to have Elmer Lee sit down at their table with all of us. According to T.J., he’s practically a part of the family anyway.”

“Kind of like an annoying big brother, huh?” Jack teased.

“Annoying is right,” Wanda Nell said. “But he has his uses, thank goodness.”

“That he does,” Jack said. “And I hope he can do something about Miz Baker.”

“Do you think she knows where her brother is?”

“I think she does. And I think she might have told us if her husband hadn’t turned up when he did. I’m afraid we may not get another chance to talk to her now.”

“Well, if we can’t, maybe Elmer Lee can,” Wanda Nell said.

“Yes, but I promised her we wouldn’t tell anybody else where her brother is.” Jack turned the car off the highway onto the reservoir road. They would be home in less than five minutes.

“We may not have a choice,” Wanda Nell said. “I’m worried about her. You know, I don’t think I’m going to wait until tonight to talk to Elmer Lee. The minute we get home, I’m going to call him.”

“Okay, honey,” Jack said. “I think you’re right. That’s one of the reasons I love you so much. You have the biggest heart of anybody I know.” He turned his head to give her a brief smile.

Wanda Nell couldn’t speak for a moment because of the big lump in her throat. She pulled off her sunglasses and let her eyes speak for her.

As they came down the drive into the trailer park, Wanda Nell looked ahead to their trailer, the first one on the right. The next one belonged to Mayrene, and Wanda Nell spotted a pickup in front of it. “Looks like Dixon is here,” she said. “I hope he’s apologizing to Mayrene.”

All of a sudden, they heard loud noises and one very loud voice coming from Mayrene’s trailer. Then came the sound of something big crashing inside the trailer. Wanda Nell and Jack stared at each other, appalled. Wanda Nell ran toward Mayrene’s door, with Jack right behind her.

She leaped up the steps, almost slipping in the unaccustomed heels. With a deep breath, she wrenched open the door, praying her best friend wasn’t hurt.

Wanda Nell stood in the doorway of Mayrene’s trailer and gawked at the sight in front of her. Jack, peering over her shoulder, gave a snort of laughter.

Instead of finding her friend lying dead or dying on the floor, Wanda Nell saw Dixon Vance sitting amidst the remains of Mayrene’s once-elegant coffee table in front of the couch. Small, foil-wrapped articles lay scattered about him, along with the shards of at least two vases and numerous artificial flowers of various kinds. Mayrene stood unharmed, hands on hips, a few feet away.

She stopped glowering at Dixon long enough to turn to Wanda Nell. “Do you know what this jackass had the unmitigated gall to bring me, thinking he was gonna cozy back up to me?”

“From the looks of it, a box of chocolates.” Jack’s voice was mild, with a hint of suppressed humor.

Wanda Nell looked at Dixon with pity. The man didn’t have a clue when it came to Mayrene. He just sat there, still a bit dazed from what had happened. He shrank back as Mayrene took a couple of steps toward him.

“I’m not gonna throw anything else at you,” Mayrene said in tones of deep disgust as she stared down at him. “I’m getting over my mad now. Get up from there, why don’t you?”

“Hell, Mayrene honey.” Vance got up off the floor, brushing away candy and artificial flowers. “All I was trying to do was make it up to you for the other day. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings again.”

“Well, telling me I needed to go on a diet and then bringing me a box of chocolates didn’t make a whole lot of sense, did it?” Mayrene’s tone had not softened. “If I’m too much woman for you, mister, then you better pack up your little red wagon and drag it somewhere else.”

Wanda Nell was feeling distinctly unnecessary at this point, and Jack had already backed down the steps. “We’ll leave you two to work this out,” Wanda Nell said. “But don’t throw anything else, okay?” She was trying hard not to laugh. The sight of the big policeman cowering in front of Mayrene had been a funny sight.

Mayrene flapped a hand in her direction. “I’m just fine, Wanda Nell. Y’all go on home, and if I need help burying the body, I’ll give you a holler.”

“Mayrene, don’t talk like that, sweetie,” Dixon said in protest.

Wanda Nell didn’t wait to hear any more. She stepped away from the door, shut it firmly, and turned to stare at her husband. Jack had a huge grin on his face, and Wanda Nell shook her head at him.

“Come on, let’s get inside before there’s any more fire-works,” she said, coming down the steps and grabbing his arm. “Mayrene’s going to be just fine.”

“Yeah, I don’t think Dixon will lift a hand against her.” Jack allowed himself to be tugged along. “Not if he values his life, that is.”

Wanda Nell giggled. “Can you believe him giving her candy after telling her she need to go on a diet?”

“Not the brightest thing in the world to do,” Jack said, following her up the steps to their door. He reached past her with his key and unlocked it.

Stepping inside, Wanda Nell laughed again. “No, it sure wasn’t, but if she lets him hang around long enough, he’ll figure it out, I guess.”

“He must care about her if he hasn’t already run out.” Jack pushed the door shut and leaned against it.

“He does,” Wanda Nell said, “and Mayrene knows it. Once she blows up like that, she gets over it real fast. They’ll be okay. But I bet you he’ll buy her something pretty nice now. And it won’t be something to eat.” She laughed.

“Do you throw things when you get mad?” Jack asked, a slight grin on his face.

“No, and I don’t hit, either. But you might get some frost on certain parts of your anatomy before I’m over my mad.”

Jack laughed. “Then I’m going to do my best not to make you mad at me.”

“Making up afterward sure can be fun,” Wanda Nell said.

“True.” Jack followed Wanda Nell into the kitchen. “But we can have fun without anybody getting mad at anybody else.”

“I know.” Wanda Nell smiled for a moment. Then her expression sobered. “I better call Elmer Lee. I forgot about it for a few minutes, thanks to Mayrene.”

“Okay, honey,” Jack said. “If you need me for something, I’ll be in the study, writing up some notes.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Wanda Nell picked up the phone as Jack walked out of the kitchen. She punched in the number for the Sheriff’s Department. When someone answered, she asked to speak to the sheriff and gave her name. For a moment she was convinced she heard the man on the other end sigh, but she decided to ignore it.

After nearly a minute, Elmer Lee came on the line. “What is it now, Wanda Nell?” He sounded tired.

“Don’t you ever go home?” Wanda Nell asked, trying to sound sympathetic.

“No, because I might miss one of your phone calls.” Elmer Lee sighed heavily. “Sorry, Wanda Nell, I don’t mean to take it out on you. We had a long night last night. A coupla bubbas got into it at one of their homes last night, and there was more trouble this afternoon with their wives. I swear, sometimes I really wonder about people.”

“I know,” Wanda Nell said. “But it’s a good thing y’all are there to get things sorted out.”

“I guess so,” Elmer Lee said. “Now, what was it you called about? I’ll be seeing you in a little while anyways.”

“Well, I’m kinda worried,” Wanda Nell said. She launched into an explanation of their visit to Sandra June Baker, promising that Jack would give him the full details of how they had found her. “I swear her husband’s keeping her drugged up, and she looks like he’s abusing her somehow.”

“Did you see any physical signs, other than her acting drugged?”