Death of a Wolfman (A Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery Book 1) (15 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Dixie pulled to a stop outside the sheriff’s office on Main Street. Funny how normal everything looked. People were going about their usual business with no idea that Dixie and I were now at the top of the hit list of two possible murderers…or at the least two of the less-law-abiding citizens of Mercy. With those two as brothers, no wonder Samantha was in such a rush to get out of that place. Only in another town could she shed the stigma of being related to them.

“You did what?!” Ben’s shout echoed off his office walls.

Next to me, Dixie flinched and slumped down in her chair, trying to make herself a smaller target. I was used to Ben’s flare-ups, but this one looked to be a real humdinger. I looked up to see Reenie, Mark and Todd staring in fascination through his office door.

Ben got up from his desk and slammed the door so hard the pictures and awards on his wall shimmied. His Mississippi Sheriff of the Year award came to rest slightly crooked. Yep, we were in for one of the big blowups, no doubt about that.

“I can
not
believe you went out there and broke into those boys’ trailer.”

I sat straighter in my chair, staring my cousin down. “I’m trying to help you solve the wolf man case.”

Ben slumped back in his executive chair. The one I’d given him when he got that award for being the best sheriff in Mississippi. “You gave me your word you’d stay out of this investigation. I don’t think breaking and entering someone’s home qualifies as staying out of the investigation.”

I reached into my back pocket, removed the envelope with the metal shavings and placed it on Ben’s desk. “I found these out at the trailer. I think they’ll help you get some answers out of those boys.”

Ben glared at me, then lowered his gaze to the envelope. “What’s in there?”

“Shiny metal shavings. I think they’re silver.”

Ben sighed. “Start at the beginning and tell me why you came up with this harebrained scheme.”

I explained about Samantha’s visit and how she’d been scared to go to Ben herself in case her brothers found out. Then I explained about talking Dixie into driving me out to the Taylor place and acting as lookout for me while I went into the trailer.

Ben shifted his gaze to Dixie, who shrank even lower in her chair. “I can’t believe you went along with this. Surely you tried to talk her out of it. And, failing that, you should have called me so I could put a stop to her doing it.”

Dixie went pale under her tan and her fingers gripped the arms of her chair so tight I wondered how any blood could possibly flow into them. She gulped. Stuttered. Then managed to say, “I tried to talk her out of it, but she was bound and determined to do it. I didn’t have a chance to call you because she had me talked into it before I knew what hit me. You know how she can do that.”

Ben sighed. He did indeed know how I could talk Dixie around to getting into scrapes with me. I’d been doing it for forty years.

He pulled the envelope over and opened it. The metal shavings fell onto his desk blotter, shining brightly in the overhead fluorescent lighting. He pushed them around with a pencil, flipped them over, looked at them some more. “They do look like they might be silver, but I can’t use them as evidence because you got them illegally. You should have come to me after Samantha told you her story, and then I could have gone back out there and maybe found this stuff myself.” He shot me a sharp look. “In a legal manner that would allow me to use them in court. Now they’re useless to me.”

Dixie squeaked something from her place next to me. Ben’s angry gaze switched to her. “Did you have something to add, Dixie?”

Dixie squirmed in her chair. “I overheard one of the Taylor boys threatening to get Lily Gayle when she least expects it. Can’t you go out there and check their place over based on them threatening a citizen with harm?”

Ben’s gaze swung back to me. “They threatened you? When were you planning on letting me in on that little piece of information?”

I did a little squirming of my own. I didn’t want Ben to set his deputies to watching my every move so I’d hoped not to hand over that little tidbit. I shot Dixie an angry look.

“I was getting to that.”

“I’ll just bet you were.” He stood up and began pacing the small office. Not good. When Ben started pacing, he was planning something I knew I wouldn’t like. His next words confirmed it. “You’ll have to move in with me until I get this solved. I can’t have you staying alone at your place after those boys threatened you.”

Staying at Ben’s was the last thing I wanted. For many reasons. “Look, I’m sorry. I thought I could get in and out of the trailer and they’d never know I was there. I thought you’d be able to use anything I found to help solve the case. I’m not afraid of those two rednecks and I’m not going to stay at your house for some unknown amount of time. It could be months before you crack this case. I want to be in my own home.”

Ben stopped pacing and stood right in front of me. “Well, you should have thought about that before you went out playing detective. Now I don’t have a choice. I like my privacy, and you and I fight like cats and dogs when we spend too much time together, but I’m not letting you stay home alone when those yahoos came right out and said they’d get you.”

Just before my temper exploded, Dixie chimed in. “How about she stays with Jack and me? She can be at the shop with me during the day and Jack will be home at night to keep an eye on both of us.”

I didn’t know what to say. Much as I loved Dixie and was fond of Jack, I wanted to be in my own place. But Ben was looking like he might agree to Dixie’s plan so I kept my mouth shut. If I had to stay with someone, Dixie was the better choice.

Ben frowned. “I don’t know if I can trust you, Dixie.” At the hurt look in my friend’s eyes, he continued. “Just look at what happened today. She talked you into something you knew better than to go along with. You said so yourself.”

Dixie straightened up in her chair. “I know I let her talk me into this scheme today, but I’m done with helping her work on this case. Those boys scared the bejesus out of me, and I don’t want to get involved in anything else like that. I’ll make her stay at the shop with me during the day. I swear. You can swing by the shop yourself during the day, or send one of the deputies to make sure we’re both there. And if we leave for any reason, I’ll call you and let you know exactly where we’ll be. OK?”

Ben scratched his head, looking doubtful. Then a big sigh escaped from him and he sat back in his chair. “If I make her stay at my place, there won’t be anyone to keep an eye on her when I’m working so I’m going to go along with this plan.” He gave both of us a hard stare. “No more messing in my case. Understand?”

Dixie nodded vigorously, but my stubborn streak struggled to break loose. I gave it a mental smackdown and smiled at Ben. “I guess I can go along with that.”

Ben stood up. “The two of you can go. Lily Gayle, you go home and get whatever you need to stay for a while at Dixie’s. I don’t want you going back home for any other reason till this is over with. If you get too bored at Dixie’s shop, I’ll agree to let you go to the library to work on that Mitchell family history you were so fired up about just a few days ago.”

Bowing my head to hide my defiant eyes, I agreed to Ben’s plan.

We exited the sheriff’s office to find his staff standing around trying to look innocent. I wondered which one of them had stood outside Ben’s door to catch all the details for the others after the door got slammed in their faces earlier. My cheeks flamed bright red as Dixie and I walked across the office.

Reenie, Todd and Mark tried to look busy with official work, but I knew the minute Dixie and I left, their tongues would be wagging. Ben would have to tell them what had happened so the three of them could help him keep tabs on me. Ben hadn’t gotten to be the best sheriff in Mississippi by being a dummy. He knew I’d find a way to slip through his restrictions. Right now I didn’t see a way to do it, but something would come to me.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Four days at the It'll Grow Back Beauty Shop and I was going bonkers from nothing to do. Ben wouldn’t tell me anything about the investigation and I’d read every out-of-date
People
magazine in the place. And gotten my nails done twice. I gotta admit I was liking the lavender moon color that was on ’em now. But for cryin’ out loud, I was gonna end up in an asylum if I had to stay there much longer twiddling my thumbs all day.

Dixie was keeping busy with her regulars so I was even all caught up on the gossip. She was givin’ me the evil eye right then. She knew me well. Plus all my shifting around in my chair and deep sighing were some pretty big clues that I was fixin’ to make a break for it. I shifted position for the millionth time and leaned my head back against the wall.

Mildred Nelson was in the shop getting her monthly touch-up. Just as Dixie was putting the color on, the phone started ringing. Mildred cranked her head around to give Dixie a questioning look. Nobody wanted their stylist to stop in the middle of a color application. Who knew what might happen? I knew from personal experience that Dixie usually just let the phone roll to voice mail if she was busy. Sighing, I picked up a six-month old
People
with Brad Pitt on the cover and started flipping through it. Again.

“Be a doll and answer that for me, Lily Gayle. I can’t stop right now to get it.”

Feeling like a bored child being given something to do by her mama, I tossed the magazine aside, got up and stomped over to the phone. “It'll Grow Back. What’s your problem?”

Dixie shot me an annoyed look over Mildred’s gooey head and secretly flipped me the bird. I thought all this togetherness could be getting on her last nerve too.

“Lily Gayle Lambert! Just the person I’m looking for.”
Miss Edna. Great.

“Yes, ma’am. It’s me. I’m just hanging out with Dixie over here at the shop this morning.”

Miss Edna snorted. “Don’t think you’re fooling me, missy. I know exactly why you’re over there. And I’m offering you a way to get out of there for a while.”

At that point I would have followed the devil into hell just for something to do. Miss Edna’s call was making my day better. Something I’d never thought I would think about the old lady.

“What are you offering, Miss Edna?”

Dixie’s eyebrows went up and Mildred tried to turn her head to look in my direction. But Dixie held it firmly in place and squirted more color on it. “Hold still, Mildred. I’m just about through puttin’ this on and then you can turn your head around in circles if you want while you’re processing.”

Miss Edna said, “When Dixie gets done with Mildred she needs to close the shop and y’all come on over here. We need to have a meeting of the Triumphant Triumvirate.”

My eyes rolled so far back in my head all daylight was cut off.
Oh, geez. Not this
. “Miss Edna. How do you know Mildred’s in the shop?”

Mildred’s head whipped around before Dixie could stop her. Hair color dribbled down her face and Dixie scrambled for a towel to wipe it up. “I’ll tell you how Edna knows I’m over here. She’s out on her porch with her binoculars, spying on everybody.” Her next words sounded like mumbles because of the towel Dixie was working over her face, but I could swear I heard my name, along with the words
nosy
and
peas in a pod
. Hmph. I was
not
nosy. I just needed to know things.

I didn’t want to go to Miss Edna’s for some silly meeting. But what if she actually had some information about the case? So frustrating!

I heard distant talking and realized Miss Edna was still on the phone. Eyeballing Mildred, who was now free from runny dye and the towel and watching me like a hawk, I said, “Miss Edna, let me call you back later.”

Cackling laughter came over the line. “Fooling old Mildred, huh? I like your style, girl. She doesn’t need to know our business. I’ll be waiting for your call. But don’t be long. We have things to discuss.”

I hung up the phone and Dixie remained silent. Watching both of us. Mildred said, “What’s with all the secret squirrel stuff?”

“I don’t know what you mean. She’s just checking up on me. You know she stayed with me a week or so ago when I hurt my knees crashing my bicycle.”

Eyes squinting up, Mildred answered, “I don’t buy that for a minute, little girl. I know when I’m being bamboozled. Y’all just go on with whatever you’re doing with Edna. Don’t mind me.” She walked to a chair, sat down and picked up a magazine. “I’ll just sit here and let my hair process. You two can whisper together all y’all want. Been doing
that
since you were both babies.” And she sat back with her magazine, ignoring us.