Toni L.P. Kelner - Laura Fleming 01 - Down Home Murder Read online

  After leaving word at the nurse’s station, we went down to the snack bar on the first floor. When Aunt Nora found out that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, she insisted that I get a pimento cheese sandwich and a bag of potato chips to go with my iced tea.

  I ate the impromptu meal without much interest, but I figured it was worth it if it meant that Aunt Nora would have one less thing to worry about.

  “I’m surprised you’re the only one up here,” I said. “The rest of the family’s been told, haven’t they?”

  Aunt Nora nodded. “The security guard from the mill called Loman and Edna as soon as the ambulance took Paw away. Edna said she called me as soon as he got off of the phone, but you know she called Reverend Glass first.”

  I nodded. Aunt Edna’s devotion to the First Baptist Church of Byerly and its preacher was old news.

  “Anyway, Edna said she’d call everybody else and Buddy and I came on up here. Then they said we couldn’t see Paw until this morning, so Buddy went home. There wasn’t no need for us both to be sitting here.”

  “You’re a fine one to talk about Thaddeous needing sleep.”

  “I only missed the one night. I don’t think Thaddeous has slept since Thursday night.”

  “Thursday? But Paw was just hurt yesterday.”

  Aunt Nora held one hand up to her mouth. “I forgot you didn’t know about Melanie Wilson.”

  “What about her?”

  “She’s missing. They found her car left by the side of the road Friday night, but they can’t find hide nor hair of Melanie.”

  “No wonder Thaddeous looked so bad.” Thaddeous and Melanie had been in the same grade in school and he had been carrying a torch for her as long as I could remember. “What happened?”

  “They don’t have any idea. There wasn’t any sign of her putting up a fight, so she either left on foot or went willingly. The car was left on Johnston Road, and they’ve had people searching the woods, but they haven’t found a thing. Thaddeous heard about it that night on his CB, and went right over to join the search party. He kept looking all Friday night and Saturday, and he’d probably still be at it if I hadn’t sent Willis to tell him about Paw.”

  I stared at my iced tea glass. “You know, I hear about this kind of thing all the time in Boston but I never expected it here.” I felt oddly guilty that I hadn’t even bothered to read similar stories in the Boston Globe.

  “Her being missing like that was bad enough, but yesterday someone called up the police. He wouldn’t leave his name, but he said he had seen her Friday night in Marley.”

  “In Marley? That’s miles from there.” Marley was actually part of Byerly, though there were plenty who would rather renounce any connection with the largely black neighborhood that most white folks avoided.

  Aunt Nora lowered her voice. “Whoever it was said she was in a car with a bunch of black men.” She looked around, checking to make sure there were no blacks sitting near us. “Her family is just frantic, thinking about what could have happened to her.”

  “Maybe they just stopped to give her a ride,” I said.

  “A carload of blacks? Do you really think Melanie Wilson would have gotten into a car full of black men on her own steam?”

  “Probably not,” I said reluctantly. I didn’t like to admit it, but I knew how girls were raised around here. “Still,” I said, “an anonymous phone call doesn’t mean much. They get all kinds of crazy tips in Boston every time something like this happens. If he really knows something, why doesn’t he come forward?”

  “Scared to, I imagine. You know how those people are. They look after their own.”

  That was too much for me. “Aunt Nora,” I began, fully intending to single-handedly take on generations of prejudice, but then I remembered Paw and stopped. The last thing Aunt Nora needed was a lecture on morality. “How’s the rest of the family doing?” I asked instead.

  “Same as always. Well, Nellie and Ruben have been having some problems. The bank repossessed Nellie’s car.”

  “Again?”

  She nodded. “They spent the car payment buying floor polish to sell door-to-door, and they only sold just a few bottles.”

  “How many bottles did you buy?” I asked.

  Aunt Nora looked embarrassed, but didn’t answer. “Augustus is doing fine. I called him this morning to tell him about Paw.”

  My cousin Augustus, Aunt Nora’s oldest son, was in the Army and currently stationed in Germany. He and I were the only ones out of this generation of Burnettes who had moved away from Byerly.

  “He was so upset that he couldn’t be here,” Aunt Nora went on, “but he used up his leave at Christmas. That’s what I hate about him being in the Army. He can’t just come home when he wants to like you can.”

  Maybe I was imagining it, but I had to wonder if Aunt Nora was reminding me that I hadn’t been home in over a year even though I could theoretically come down any time. Instead of making excuses about why it was I didn’t visit more often, I changed the subject again. “Aunt Nora, tell me about Paw’s accident.”

  She looked puzzled, but said, “According to Edna, he had a heart attack and fell and hit his head.”

  That sounded reasonable. I never would have thought twice about it if Paw hadn’t whispered those few words to me. “Was he alone when it happened?”

  “As far as I know. Why?”

  I hesitated a minute. “When I was with Paw just now, he said that he didn’t fall, that someone hit him.”

  “Hit him? Why on earth would anyone hit Paw?”

  “I don’t know, but that’s what he said.”

  “Don’t you think you must have misheard him?”

  “I guess I could have,” I admitted, but I wasn’t convinced. “And like you said, he is on drugs.”

  “That’s right,” Aunt Nora said. “He’s liable to say anything. And I know you’re upset about all this, too.”

  I bristled at the patronizing tone in her voice, but I couldn’t argue with her. I didn’t really believe it myself. “I guess you’re right,” I started, “but still—”

  A strident call stopped me cold. “Aunt Nora!” That had to be Vasti, Aunt Daphine’s only daughter and another one of my cousins. Only Vasti would yell in a hospital, and only a fool would tell Vasti something she didn’t want spread all over town.

  There she was, waving wildly from the doorway just in case we hadn’t heard her. Her shoulder-length brown curls bounced merrily despite the red barrettes that exactly matched the color of her crisp red and white pin-striped shirt-dress, her earrings, her necklace, and her high heels.

  Aunt Nora sighed. “Daphine says that child was as quiet as can be when she was a baby, but I swear she’s been trying to make up for it ever since.”

  Vasti pushed her way through the other tables in the cafeteria toward us, her three-inch heels clicking against the tile floor. “Laurie Anne? Is that you? I just don’t believe it! You look so good!”

  I wasn’t sure if her surprised delight was at my presence, or at the fact that I looked halfway decent.

  Vasti threw herself into the chair between us, flung her overstuffed, red patent leather handbag onto the table, and kicked her shoes off under the table.

  “Lord-a-mighty it is so hot out there, and as muggy as all get out. Thank goodness my new Cadillac is air-conditioned. You have to see this car, Laurie Anne, you will not believe it. Arthur insisted on getting everything for it, you know. I told him I didn’t need power windows and a sun roof, but he said, ‘I won’t have my wife driving around in a car unless it’s top of the line!’ and what could I say? He’s just like that. Of course, he gets a discount because he owns the dealership.” She paused long enough to take a quick breath. “I wouldn’t have come out in the heat at all, but of course I had to see how Paw was doing. Mama wanted to come but she’s booked solid at the beauty parlor and couldn’t get away. Well, don’t I get a hug?”

  I felt a bit dizzy from this stream of Vasti’s consciousness, but I
dutifully reached over to embrace my cousin. As I leaned back into my chair, I was momentarily touched when I saw that Vasti’s eyes were tearing up.

  “What are you wearing?” Vasti wailed. “I must be allergic to your perfume. I’m allergic to all but the best, you know.” She reached for the napkin holder, wrenched out half a dozen, scattering several on the floor in the process, and wiped her eyes carefully. “I know I’ve ruined my mascara.”

  “I’m not wearing perfume, Vasti.”

  “Oh. It must be all those antiseptics and things here in the hospital.” The flood of water subsided and Vasti looked pointedly at the glasses on the table. “What do we have to do to get a waitress around here? I am dying of thirst.”

  “It’s a snack bar, Vasti,” I said. “You have to go up to the counter if you want something.”

  “Oh. I just hope I can get my shoes on,” she said, not moving. “I just got them last week to go with this outfit, and my feet are covered with blisters.” When neither Aunt Nora nor I offered to go get her a drink, Vasti, manufacturing all manner of grimace, squeezed her feet back into her shoes.

  “Maybe you should get a larger size, Vasti,” Aunt Nora said helpfully.

  “Aunt Nora, I’ve always taken a size five-and-a-half shoe! Now if I just have some money.” She dove into her handbag, peering into its depths in frustration and then finally pulling out a chubby, red wallet. “I usually just have credit cards, you know. Arthur says it’s dangerous to carry cash. I know we don’t have the crime Laurie Anne’s used to up North, but a woman can’t be too careful. Especially after what happened to Melanie Wilson. Did y’all hear about that? Isn’t it awful? That poor girl got dragged from her car by half-a-dozen blacks and they can’t even find her body.” She finally gave up opening compartments in her wallet. “Could one of you—?”

  “Isn’t that a five-dollar bill poking out of there, Vasti?” I said.

  Vasti frowned, and pulled the bill out to examine it suspiciously. “I wonder where that came from. Well, I’ll be right back. Y’all don’t want anything, do you?” Without waiting for an answer, she launched herself toward the counter.

  Aunt Nora stood up. “Now that you’ve got some company, I’m going to head back upstairs. Edna said she’d try to stop by today, and I don’t want to miss her.”

  “Wait and we’ll come with you,” I protested.

  “No, that’s all right. You sit right here and have a good talk with Vasti.” She was gone before I could say anything else.

  A good talk with Vasti? Talking with Vasti at all was nigh onto impossible, although listening to her was usually pretty entertaining in its own way.

  Vasti sat back down, Diet Coke in hand. “Where’s Aunt Nora?”

  “She went back upstairs. She said we should come on up as soon as we finished our drinks.” It was a lie, but surely no more than a white one.

  Unfortunately, Vasti had kicked her shoes off again. “So Laurie Anne, how are you doing? Where’s that husband of yours? You two aren’t having trouble, are you?”

  “Richard and I are doing fine, thank you. He’s flying down this evening. He wanted to come with me this morning, but he had a meeting with the head of his department today and I didn’t want him to miss it.”

  “Isn’t that just like a man?” Vasti said, nodding sagely. “Letting his business come between him and family. Of course your husband doesn’t own his own business, does he?”

  “He teaches Shakespeare at Boston College, Vasti. It’s kind of hard to be a freelance academic.”

  “That’s right, now I remember. You had to finish putting him through school when y’all first got married. I know you’re glad he’s finally working so you can stay home.”

  “I still work, Vasti,” I said, annoyed that she had so quickly discounted my education and career. “In fact, I make more money than Richard does.”

  Vasti gasped. “Doesn’t he hate that? Doesn’t it make him feel, you know, unmanly. I mean, Arthur would just feel impotent if he couldn’t support me.”

  I couldn’t help it. I had to laugh. Vasti looked at me in consternation for a moment, then clucked in exasperation. “Oh, you! You know what I mean!” She took a swallow of her drink, and then said, “Well I’m glad you two are getting along anyway.”

  “Why do you say that? Are you and Arthur—?”

  “Oh Laurie Anne, don’t be silly. I’m talking about Linwood and Sue.”

  I nodded. “I heard that they separated for a while, but I thought they worked things out.”

  “Well, they’re living together again, as far as that goes, but if you ask me, the only reason she let him come back is because she’s pregnant. You did know Sue was pregnant again, didn’t you?”

  “Of course I know. You know I call home every couple of weeks.”

  She went on as if I hadn’t spoken. “You’d think she’d use some kind of protection. Three babies in three years is a bit much, don’t you think? But maybe she thinks that’s the only way she can hold onto Linwood. Considering how she got him in the first place, that is,”

  It was no secret that Sue had already been pregnant when she and Linwood got married, but I refused to rise to the bait. “Wasn’t it Sue who threw Linwood out?” I pointed out.

  “I suppose,” Vasti said vaguely. “But enough of that. Tell me about what you’ve been up to. How is your job going? That’s not what you wear to work, is it?”

  “Well, yes. I was just about to leave for work when Aunt Nora called.” I looked down at my clothes. The suit was my favorite work outfit, a rose wool skirt and bolero jacket that I wore with a pale rose and teal paisley blouse. “Why do you ask?”

  “Oh, nothing. Some women can wear that color, I suppose.”

  Implying that I was one of the ones who couldn’t. Why did I care what she thought, anyway? Her dress had gone out of style in Boston two years ago.

  I checked my watch and said, “Why don’t we head on upstairs? Aunt Nora said we’d be able to to see Paw at one, and it’s a quarter to now.”

  We rode the elevator to the second floor in deference to Vasti’s new shoes, and rounded the corner by the waiting room. Then I stopped dead in my tracks and stared with equal amounts of amazement and disgust. Vasti, for once, was speechless.

  The chairs in the waiting-room had been rearranged to face one side of the room. Sitting with their heads bowed were Aunt Nora, Aunt Ruby Lee and Uncle Conrad, Uncle Loman, and my cousin Linwood with his wife Sue. Aunt Edna stood in front of them, holding a hefty, white-bound Bible for the tall, cadaverous man beside her.

  “Shhhh,” Aunt Edna hissed at us, then turned a page for the preacher as he read from the book of Job in a dreary monotone.

  Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou has strengthened the feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the righteous cut off? Even as I have seen, they that plow inequity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.

  He finished reading, and Aunt Edna reverently closed the Bible and held it tightly against her bosom. Linwood looked up, but bowed his head again when the preacher continued.

  “Oh Lord, do not take this man, this devoted father and grandfather from us. Or, if it be thy will to take him now, treat him with the honor and glory due so generous a man, a man who has thoughtfully included your church in his will, a man who wishes so much given to us, a man who would even leave his family home to us. Amen.”

  The “congregation” murmured amens and raised their heads, while I bit my lip to keep from laughing. I went over to Aunt Nora and whispered, “Reverend Glass didn’t sneak in and bother Paw, did he?”

  Aunt Nora looked exasperated. “No, I got back up here just
in time. I’ll tell you, it wasn’t easy keeping him out, what with Edna saying how he needed a chance to make his peace with the Lord.”

  Something in Glass’s prayer bothered me. “What was that about Paw giving the house to the church?”

  “It’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

  Reverend Glass approached us, slicking back his shiny, black hair as he came, and Aunt Nora and I forced smiles. Aunt Edna followed him at a respectful distance.

  “Sisters, what a terrible time this is for us all,” Glass said solemnly.

  “It was good of you to come, Reverend Glass,” Aunt Nora said. “I know Paw would appreciate it.”

  Actually, I thought, what Paw would really appreciate would be a chance to toss the old windbag out on his ear, or maybe on some other part of his anatomy.

  He turned to me. “Laurie Anne, how are you? We haven’t seen you in church lately.”

  “I moved to Boston three years ago, Reverend Glass.”

  “Ah, yes. You know Laurie Anne, even though you can’t get to church regularly, you don’t have to lose touch. If you’d like, I’ll arrange for you to receive our church bulletin in Boston.”

  “That would be very nice.” Just what I needed, a weekly dose of Glass’s sanctimonious nonsense.

  “I regret that I can’t speak with Brother Burnette,” Glass said with a sad shake of his head. “It’s good to clear one’s conscience when one is so close to one’s immortal reward.”

  I started to fume. Paw wasn’t dead yet, damn it! And I wasn’t aware that his conscience needed clearing.

  Glass went on. “I am grateful that I had this chance to lend some small comfort to you and the others.” He took Aunt Nora’s hand and patted it. “Do let me know if there is anything I can do for you or for your father.”

  “We’ll be sure to call,” Aunt Nora said, pulling her hand back as politely as possible.

  He nodded at the rest of his flock, and said to Aunt Edna, “Sister, will I see you at the prayer meeting this week?”