Still Life in Brunswick Stew (17 page)
Read Still Life in Brunswick Stew Online
Authors: Larissa Reinhart
Tags: #Mystery, #humor, #cozy, #Humour, #Romance, #cozy mystery, #southern mystery, #humorous mystery, #mystery series
The Parkers set Eloise’s visitation for Thursday. I had to do something to ease Mr. Parker’s pain and let him grieve in peace.
That gave me two days. I had five days to pull together three modern renditions of Classical paintings for the gallery call. Considering I was much faster at drawing and painting than gathering information, I decided to continue my quest.
Besides, I couldn’t really focus on sketching naked men with my friend’s death hanging over me. I knew better than to air my grievances about Mr. Parker’s frustrations with the law to Uncle Will. However, if I stopped at the Lickety Pig and picked up barbecue, I might catch him off-guard and learn a thing or two.
I wandered into the waiting area of the sheriff’s office carrying two paper sacks smelling of heaven and smoked pig. Tamara, the receptionist, inhaled deeply and leaned forward. Her braided ponytail swept her shoulder. She pushed it back with red nails tipped in tiny black and jeweled G’s.
“I like that tank you’re wearing,” she said. “The Dawgs is going to have a great season. We’ve got fresh recruits who look good.”
“Glad to hear it.” I set the sacks on the counter. “I am wearing it in homage for Eloise Parker. She went to UGA. Have you heard about her mysterious death?”
Tamara leaned back and crossed her arms. Her long nails tapped her biceps. “Now Cherry, you know what your Uncle Will said about giving you information on ongoing investigations.”
“Oh him,” I rolled my eyes and waved my hand, dismissing his little eccentricity. “Eloise Parker is a good friend of mine. I know all about the lab report showing arsenic in her system. I’m just wondering how arsenic could accidentally wind up in a person and kill her.”
Tamara tightened her lips and shook her head.
I unrolled a paper bag. More essence of barbecue filled the waiting room. My stomach engaged in a sound that would challenge a jackhammer in intensity. However, I only had enough money for two sandwich meals and this was bribery barbecue. I could sacrifice for Eloise.
“Is that from Lickety Pig? I’ve been smelling it all morning and boy could I go for some pulled pork.” Hunger sparked Tamara’s eyes. “Are you sharing?”
“Well, I don’t know. I thought I’d share with people who are sympathetic to Eloise’s case.”
“Cherry Tucker don’t you tempt me with barbecue. I’ll have the boys lock you up and we’ll eat it in the property room.”
“So you’re not willing to give me the teensiest clue? Like maybe the source of the arsenic? Do they know if it came from the cook-off food or something else?”
“Do you think I want to lose my job?”
“Dangit,” I sighed. “Then is Sheriff Will in?”
“He’s back in his office. They’ve got a meeting in a few, but he’s free now. I’ll buzz you through.”
“Thanks. Luke Harper isn’t around, is he?”
“Funny, you’re the third woman to ask today.” She smiled. “You bringing him lunch, too? Don’t blame you there.”
My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Word’s gotten out about the newest deputy.” She leaned closer, trying to whisper through the glass. “You know what the girls started calling him? Luquified. You know because he’s so hot, he makes you…”
“I get it, Tamara. No need for the long description. Good Lord, don’t you have anything better to do than drooling over one of your fellow officers? Aren’t there bad guys to catch? People to ticket? Open this door. I haven’t got all day.”
One thing’s for sure, Tamara wasn’t getting any barbecue. At Tamara’s buzz, I marched through the heavy metal door leading to the back offices.
The carpeted hallway and locked doors muffled any sounds, unfortunate for me. I had halfway hoped to overhear water cooler talk about the poisoning. Forks County didn’t get a lot of poisoning cases. If I was a cop, I’d be chatting about the new case. Halfway down the corridor, a door cracked open and Luke peeked out. Spying me, he swung the door open and walked into the hallway.
“What are you doing here?” He ran a hand through his dark waves, then hooked it on his utility belt, a move reminding me of Uncle Will.
“Nice to see you, too.” I held up the bags of barbecue. “Bringing lunch to you and Uncle Will, although I’m surprised to see you. Figured you be out on patrol.”
He yawned. “Doing paperwork. Sorry about last night.”
“I’m getting used to it. I’m just glad you’re on days again. That seven p.m. to seven a.m. shift was ridiculous.”
He nodded and gave an involuntary glance at the door he just left. “Thanks for bringing lunch by. I’ll take it back with me.” Leaning down, he smacked a quick kiss on my cheek.
I kept a tight grip on the paper bags. “I get the feeling you don’t want me here.”
“Exactly.”
My face grew hot. I forced my words from tightened lips. “And why do you not want me showing up at the office?”
Luke took a half step back and glanced at the closed door again. “Now sugar, we don’t need to get into this. It’s been a long night and a long morning. I really appreciate you going to all the trouble to drive down here...”
“Who’s in that room?”
“Nobody, just some of the other officers. We’ve got a meeting in thirty minutes. Why don’t I walk you out to the parking lot?”
I stuck my nose in the air and whirled away. “No, thank you. I’m here to see my Uncle Will. I just thought I’d be NICE and bring you lunch, too. I was already in Sidewinder...”
He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. “Why were you in Sidewinder?”
“Visiting Eloise’s folks, of course. They are obviously torn up and needing comfort. The visitation is Thursday.”
“Oh.” Luke’s stern looked relaxed and his shoulders sagged. “I’m sorry, hon’. Of course. I’ll see if I can go to the viewing.”
“Don’t do me any favors.”
He cupped my cheek and ran a thumb over my lips. “I almost forgot the victim was your friend. I got this funny idea you might be butting into the investigation. Chris Wellington saw you at the hospital last night, and...well, I know how you are.”
I refused to be moved by his smoky eyes and soft voice. Or the face stroking thing. “And how am I?”
“You’re a sweet, little thing for bringing me lunch and putting up with me biting your head off.”
He always did have the best lines, although we both knew I wasn’t a sweet, little thing. I snuggled closer, holding up a sack. “You can keep your lunch. I even bought banana pudding. I know how you love Lickety’s banana pudding.”
He glanced over his shoulder and backed me into the cinderblock wall. “How about a quick kiss?” he whispered. “Real quick, but real good. Since you’re here and all.”
My heart started thrumming, and I reminded myself to keep a firm grip on the BBQ bags. “Okay,” I said. I’d never made out in a law enforcement establishment before. My toes curled in my flip-flops.
Luke brushed a row of bulldog buttons, making them sway. “Team spirit day?”
“Eloise went to UGA,” I said, tipping up my face. My eyelids fluttered shut.
I felt Luke’s lips hover over mine, then press firmly. Just as a small slip of his tongue teased out, my mouth went all haywire. They slipped and cantered, and I kid you not, went in two different directions at once.
Luke jerked his head back, and my eyes popped open. He swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand.
“What has gotten into you?” he said.
A door banged open behind us and three officers spilled out, laughing.
“Did you forget the hallways are monitored, Harper?” hooted one uniform.
A tall, black officer I didn’t know fluttered his eyelids and made kissing sounds. “How many lunches are you going to eat today, Deputy Harper?” he asked. “Lickety Pig’s going to get cleaned out of pork just from feeding you.”
“Shut up,” said Luke and turned back to me. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“I’m going to visit Uncle Will,” I said, sidling out from behind him. “Sounds like you already had lunch. Who’s been bringing you barbecue?”
“Nobody important.”
“Don’t call admirers of the badge nobody important,” hooted an officer behind us. “They’re concerned citizens. Concerned you’re not getting enough to eat.”
“Good thing they brought you lunch,” I said, “’cause looks like you’re not getting any from me.”
“Now, sugar...”
“I heard you, Jake Fells,” I said to the deputy going back into the junior officers’ room. “You’re not getting any barbecue either.”
I turned on my heel and marched to the sheriff’s office, wafting barbecue aroma in my wake. I knocked and Uncle Will opened the door, casting his eyes to the scene in the hallway.
“Hello there, girl. Is that Lickety Pig I smell?” Will patted his capacious stomach, placed a firm hand on my shoulder, and steered me into his office. “Look at that getup you got on. Love to see you supporting my Dawgs. We’re going to have a good season this year, I just know it. Come in and have a seat.”
He shut the door while I scurried to his desk, plopping the paper bags on his blotter. I eyed the neat stack of files on his desk, but couldn’t risk a peek with Will behind me. I took a quick glance around the wood-paneled room. Other than a crooked photo of Sheriff Will kneeling next to a K-Nine, order reigned in the office. The file cabinets were free of clutter, as was the credenza behind Will’s desk.
I spied a small picture of Cody, Casey, and me. The photo had been taken at my graduation from SCAD—Savannah College of Art and Design—where the three of us, plied with celebratory libations, offered massive smiles for the camera. There weren’t many photos of my family. We weren’t much on snapshots. A small flash of guilt at tricking Will with barbecue licked my conscience and heated my cheeks.
“That was a happy day,” Will remarked as he unrolled the paper bag sitting before him.
“I didn’t know you had that photo here.” I settled the frame back and fell into the armchair facing his desk.
“Doesn’t surprise me. It is unusual for you to visit me at the office. I’ve only had it sitting there for, what? Five years or so?” He pulled out the paper-wrapped barbecue sandwich, a small tub of coleslaw, and the banana pudding. “I do love banana pudding. Thank you, Cherry, for this remarkable visit and spending the little cash you have on buying me lunch.”
“Remarkable?”
He busied himself with topping his pulled pork with coleslaw before continuing. “My memory may not be perfect, but I like to think of myself as still pretty sharp. And as I can’t remember you bringing me lunch at the office before, I would deem this visit remarkable.”
My mouth opened to speak. I caught Will’s look and snapped it shut.
He took a bite of barbecue and swabbed his face with a napkin before continuing. “When an event stands out as remarkable, my brain likes to jump to conclusions. As a man of the law, I don’t act on conclusions. I’ve got to gather my facts. But my brain still takes a few hops to see just where this event might be headed.”
“Can’t I just be nice and bring you lunch because I was in the area?”
“Sure you could, but that wouldn’t be in character for you. Which makes this wonderful lunch remarkable. Like it or not, part of my job is making character judgments. You wouldn’t happen to have some lima beans in that other sack, now would you? I just love Lickety Pig’s lima beans.”
“No lima beans.”
“Can’t hurt to ask.”
He took another bite of the sandwich, while I squirmed in my seat. I needed to grab control of the conversation.
“The Parkers deserve some information.”
Will took a last bite of barbecue, rolled the paper into a neat ball, and threw it in the trashcan beside the desk. Leaning back in his green leather chair, he steepled his hands over his belly. He gave me a look he had used on his opponents while playing tackle for University of Georgia thirty years earlier.
“Seems to me,” he said, “you’re trying to tell me how to do my job. Is that really why you’re here? To soften me up with pulled pork and then tell me how to do my job?”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention.
“What’s Deputy Harper saying about the death of your friend, Eloise?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“As he should. Because he knows interfering with police procedure can ruin an investigation. Not just in catching the perp, but later when the perp stands trial and his lawyer shows our investigation as a massive AFU. You know what that means?”
“Yes, sir.”
“It means the perp goes free, and I look very bad. Not only could I lose my job next election, it also damages the trust I’ve built with the people of Forks County. Which hampers my ability to catch criminals.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now,” Will popped open the lid on the banana pudding, “what was it you wanted to talk about, honey?”
I crossed my arms and squished my mouth to the side.
“Don’t pout, Cherrilyn. You haven’t touched your lunch.” He eyed the paper bag still sitting on his desk. “I know better than to ask if you’re hungry, but since you’re not eating, would that extra barbecue happen to be for Deputy Harper and not you?”
“It was,” I admitted grudgingly.
“Was? So does that mean there is an extra sandwich available?”
I snatched the bag from the desk. “Now hold on, Uncle Will.”
“Either that barbecue is for him or it isn’t. You can’t have it both ways, Cherry. You can’t make a man think he can have barbecue and withhold it from him indefinitely. That would be extremely uncharitable. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Just what are you saying?”
“I’m saying, either give the man his barbecue or tell him he’s not getting any. I know something about being hungry for barbecue and never being quite sure if I was going to eat it or just look at it.”
“What?”
“A hungry man does not make a good officer. His mind constantly drifts to the problem of being hungry for barbecue. I have invested in Deputy Harper and so have the citizens of Forks County. Do not leave barbecue dangling before the man. I can’t control other girls, but I do expect you to listen. Do not mess with my officers, Cherrilyn Tucker.”
I tossed the bag onto his desk. “He can have the damn barbecue. God Almighty, Uncle Will, I don’t know what you’re getting all steamed about. I’m just bringing you lunch. So Luke and I had a little spat. I am not withholding barbecue to mess with your investigations.”
“I am not talking about barbecue.”
“I know what you’re talking about. Luke’s got crazy hours, and I know in his off times he wants some peace, but he never wants to do anything. He’s too focused on his career. I’m young. I need to get out. I want a life that’s more than waiting to see if he’s coming over.”
Will dropped his spoon back in the banana pudding. Tipping back his chair, he massaged his chin.
“Why do you look like that? Isn’t that what you were alluding to with this whole barbecue thing?”
“You just sounded like someone I once knew. Gave me a shock is all.” He shook his head. “Listen here, Cherry. You, Casey, and Cody don’t usually play the victim to your childhood issues. I’m proud of y’all for that. But ugliness can seep in and manifest in other ways. You need to be careful and not push away what can truly make you happy. I’ve seen what can happen if you keep running away from people who care about you.”
I pushed out of the chair to place my hands on his desk and lean over it. “Are you talking about my mother? Are you saying you know what’s happened to her?”
“I’m not just talking about Christy. I see it all the time in my job.” He shooed me away from the desk. “Go on now. I’ll bring Luke his lunch. You think about what I said. My officers and I have a meeting in ten minutes, and I’ve got to prepare my notes.”
I spun on my heel and stalked out of the office, keeping silent as Will buzzed me through the doors. Not only had I wasted the little cash I had on ineffective barbecue bribery, I now had a new worry. Christy Tucker’s name was rarely mentioned. I wrote off the childhood fantasies of her living as a rock star or a famous artist. I had stopped thinking about her much at all except for the humiliating reminders of the legacy she left us. A penchant for falling for good looking men and a creative spark for making trouble.
The baffling words Will had spoken about barbecue and men fertilized a seed once planted by Casey. She had thought Will knew a lot more about our momma’s whereabouts than he and Grandpa would admit. Maybe Casey, Cody, and I needed to lay that mystery to rest before we could willingly dish out barbecue to people like Luke. But that thought made my stomach queasy, and I pushed it aside. Anyway, Luke had enough family issues of his own that I wasn’t so sure if he really wanted my barbecue. His parents didn’t even know about me. And it sounded like he was getting other offers.
More importantly, I had two days before seeing the Parkers again and still no news to deliver. I should have known better than trying to outmaneuver Sheriff Will Thompson. That man hadn’t held on to his seat of power by getting outsmarted by a little barbecue.
Even if it was brought by Cherry Tucker.