Authors: A Place Called Rainwater
“Don't let it get to you. He fooled the detectives over in Springfield, too. He was a popular young man around town, a favorite of the professors, president of his class. He even helped in the search for the girl. They suspected him but couldn't lay a finger on him. He checked out clean as a whistle.”
“He was in here the other day claiming to be the son of the woman who owned the hotel, and I believed him. Hell, now I don't know what to believe. Mrs. Byers will be buried this afternoon. I plan to be there because he may kick up a fuss.”
“Sheriff.” Jelly spoke up for the first time. “You told me yesterday that the head found out at Westfall's had an earring.”
“Yeah, it did.”
“Where is it now? ”
“The head? I took it to the undertaker. Ernest will bury it with the rest of her.”
“What about the earring? ”
“Still on it. Now that I think about it, there might have been one in each ear. It was about the size of a nickel and had a little doodad hanging from it. I hope never to have to look on anything like that again.”
“Did you tell the undertaker to remove the earrings? ”
“Didn't think about it.”
“Would he have buried it already or shown it to anyone? ”
“I doubt it. He has respect for a dead body. Besides, he's been busy with Mrs. Byers. What are you thinking? ”
“I'm thinking that this is one smart guy we're dealing with. Like in Springfield, he didn't leave a trail, so let's make one. It's a shot in the dark, but it might work.”
For the next half hour, Officer Hurt, Jelly and the sheriff sat huddled around the desk talking strategy. When they were finally satisfied with a plan, the sheriff slipped out the back door of the jail and headed for the funeral parlor. Jelly went to the hotel to borrow a garden rake and Officer Hurt went to the mercantile to speak to Mayor Henshaw.
T
HE FUNERAL SERVICE FOR JUSTINE BYERS
was the largest one ever held in Rainwater. Most of the merchants in town closed their shops for a couple of hours in the afternoon to enable them to pay their respects. The Baptist church overflowed and fifty or more mourners waited outside to follow the casket to the cemetery, where Justine would be buried beside her beloved Ralph.
Radna refused to go inside the church and no amount of coaxing could change her mind. Jill insisted until Thad took her aside and explained that because of Radna's colored blood she feared her presence would be remarked on by some of the others, so she chose to wait in the car with Blue. Jill, Joe and Thad were the only occupants of the front row of seats reserved for family until Lloyd Madison came in and took a seat beside Joe.
Jill fumed. The nerve of the man!
When the service was over, Jill, along with her brother and Thad, climbed into the car with Blue and Radna to follow the same horse-drawn hearse that had carried Justine's husband, Ralph, to the cemetery.
At the grave site, Jill and Joe prodded Radna to move to the front and take her place with the family during the brief prayer service. Across the grave, Lloyd Madison, in a dark suit and sparkling white shirt, stood with his head bowed, a black felt hat in his hand, ignoring the curious stares of the mourners gathered around the grave.
The preacher made an announcement at the start of the service.
“The family, Joe and Jill Jones and Miss Radna Beau, a close friend of Mrs. Byers, invite you to take refreshments on the veranda of the hotel, to reminisce about the life of Justine Byers, who had such an influence on this community.”
Robbed of logical thought, Jill stood stupefied during the graveside service. Thad held tightly to her hand.
When the minister nodded to them, Jill and Joe stooped and picked up a handful of soil and sprinkled it on the casket. Across from them, Lloyd also stooped and took a handful of soil.
“Good-bye, Mother.” Lloyd spoke in a loud, clear voice so that all present could hear. “I'm sorry that, at the last, I never got to tell you the depth of my feelings for you.” He held his hand over the casket. When he opened it, amid the handful of dirt that cascaded down was a small stone that bounced with a hollow thudding sound and rolled off the coffin.
When the service ended, Lloyd stood beside the grave shaking hands with those who came forward.
“I'm sorry I couldn't claim her as my mother while she was alive. She didn't want to acknowledge me, and I respected her wishes.
“Why? Well, she was always deeply ashamed that she had given birth to a child so badly disfigured.
“No, I didn't blame her. I loved her….”
Knowing that Jill was about to explode and that she would create a scene, Thad tried to steer her toward the car. She resisted until she saw that Blue had moved up to be with Radna. Blindly, Jill accepted the condolences of friends and acquaintances of her aunt as they made their way to the car. She spotted Skeeter Ridge standing alone beside a tall granite marker. He was clean-shaven, and he wore a pair of dark trousers and a white shirt. She hardly recognized him.
“Mr. Ridge, ”Jill said as they approached. “We'd be pleased if you would come back to the hotel for refreshments. Aunt Justine always looked forward to your visits.”
“I'll come, ”he muttered without looking at her.
When they walked away, Thad leaned down and murmured, “Did you see the handful of flowers he was holding behind his back? He's waiting until everyone leaves.”
On the fringe of the crowd Laura stood beside Hunter Westfall. He was holding Mary Pat. They looked very much like a family. Ignoring the curious looks cast their way, Hunter clasped Laura's elbow and they went back to his car.
A table with desserts, coffee and iced tea was set up on the veranda. Mrs. Cole and Martha, from the restaurant across the street, were seeing to it. Nothing needed Jill's immediate attention. She sank down on a kitchen chair.
Her time in Rainwater was almost over. She would never regret coming here. Here she and Thad had discovered their love; here she had learned to tolerate a lifestyle that was different from hers. Here she had discovered once again what it meant to lose someone you love.
But she was homesick. She wanted to go home. Jelly Bryce and Officer Hurt, with their police badges prominently displayed on their shirts, raked through the ashes and burned timbers of Lloyd's house. Cars slowed; men on horseback and people coming from Justine Byers's funeral paused. A few, including Mayor Hen-shaw, came up to the foundation of the burned-out house to watch.
“What's going on here? ”the mayor asked.
“Lookin 'to see what we can find, ”Officer Hurt replied. “Had a tip we might find something, but it doesn't look very promising.”
“This is Mr. Madison's place.” The man who spoke wore the clothes of an oil field worker. “Are you lookin 'for somethin 'for him? ”
“You might say that.”
There were three people besides the mayor standing close by when Jelly, pulling his rake though the ashes, suddenly stopped and lifted the rake.
“Hey, Chief, come look at this.”
“What'd you find? ”Officer Hurt dropped his spade. The mayor stepped up onto the foundation to get a look at what was caught on the tine of the rake. “It's an earring with a doodad hanging on it.”
“Shitfire! It's like the one on the head that— ”Jelly cut off his words.
“You reckon that tip that came from Springfield was right about him? ”Hurt asked.
“Looks like it. I swear that I saw the mate to this on the head that was found yesterday.”
“How'd it get here? ”The question came from a man in the greasy overalls.
“It sure as hell didn't walk in here all by its lonesome. Holy shit! He did the same thing in Springfield, to cover up what he did to that woman — ”
“Hush, Jelly! ”Officer Hurt said sharply.
“Sorry, Clarence. I got carried away.”
The man in overalls backed quickly away.
“Keep this under your hat, hear? ”Mayor Henshaw said sharply.
“Yeah, sure.” The man kept walking.
“He can hardly wait to get uptown to tell it, ”the mayor said as soon as the man was out of hearing distance.
“This may turn out better than we expected, ”Jelly said. “It may force Madison to make a move.”
“Thanks, Mayor. With you being here, he can't accuse us of planting the earring. Now we sit back and see what happens.”
“I never would have suspected him of being anything but what he appeared to be: a nice young lawyer working to better the conditions of the field workers. But the similarity between what happened here and what happened in Springfield is just too close to ignore.”
“We couldn't get a conviction on similarity. If we tried, he'd turn around and sue us. We've got to get him to make a move. Thanks again, Mayor. Having that fellow show up takes some of the heat off you. By the way, who is he? ”
“I can't recall right off, but he's one of those in Madison's pocket.”
“We'll wait a little while, then go looking for Mr. Madison.” Lloyd sat behind his desk and listened to what the man Oscar Sample had brought in had to say. Not a flicker of the anxiety he was feeling showed on his face.
“That's about it, Mr. Madison. I never believed a word of what they was sayin'. The mayor told me to keep it under my hat, but I knew I had to tell you 'cause they're plottin 'somethin 'that smells.”
“You were right to go to Oscar. He's a good friend of mine and knows what I'm trying to do for the men and their families.”
“They're doin 'this 'cause you want to organize the workers and get more money for them, ”Oscar said angrily.
“You are more than likely right. I can't think of any other reason why they would concoct such a cock-and-bull story to be rid of me. I'm going to have to defend myself, and I'll need the help of my friends.
“I'll have to leave town until things quiet down and they find the real killer of that woman. Here are the keys to my car. It would help me a lot if you would bring it to the alley behind the hotel. I'll slip over there and pick up a few things. I'll get in touch with you from time to time and you can tell me when it's safe to come back.”
“We understand. You can depend on us, Mr. Madison.”
After the men had left the office, Lloyd jumped up and started shoving papers in a leather case. It paid to cultivate men in
low
places. His dear papa had taught him that. The news they had brought was surprising.
Dammit to hell! How had he lost that damn earring? And how had he missed it when he raked through the ashes and picked up the metal from the suitcase and a few other trinkets that hadn't burned? And how had they found out about Springfield?
None of what had happened a month ago had been planned. He had been passing Westfall's house, on his way to see if by chance he could catch Laura Hopper going or coming from the outhouse, when the woman came out carrying a suitcase.
The rest was as easy as falling off a log. He'd stopped, introduced himself and asked her if she needed help. When she said she'd appreciate a ride to the depot, he'd told her there wasn't another train until after midnight and the depot wasn't a place for a lady alone this time of night. He had invited her to stay at his “mother's ”house until train time.
When they reached his house, “Mother ”had gone to visit a sick friend. After a couple of drinks of one-hundred-proof whiskey, the woman was in a talkative mood.
In Westfall's bedroom, she had found a notepad he used to jot down things he wanted to remember to do. At the head of the list was a note to tell Perry Reade to get a train ticket for Carsie early the next morning. The original plan had been that she stay another week. That he was tired of her so soon and was sending her off the next morning without even discussing it with her had made her so furious that she had packed up and left the house.
He hadn't planned to kill Westfall's bitch, Lloyd thought now. The opportunity had fallen into his lap and he hadn't been able to resist it. After a kill he would ride on a cloud of euphoria for months and lately had craved the feeling again. He didn't regret a minute of it. It had been just as wonderful as the first time, when he was twelve years old and had taken that dirty little brat to the shed. The old man had burned down the shed, given him a good beating and made him promise not to do it again. Ha! A lot he knew!
He might, he decided now, after he got out of this mess — and he was confident he would — go to one of the South American countries, where he could live like a king on what money he had.
Lloyd was aware that he had made mistakes. He should not have picked up Laura Hopper's brat at the hotel. But hell, the desire to get even with the bitch for choosing Westfall over him had been too great. The hick-town sheriff had swallowed his explanation.
Another mistake was hiding the woman's head too well. He had wanted it found two or three days after the body was found, while the town was still riled up against Westfall. A third mistake was losing the earring. They were mistakes he would not make again. What was done, was done.
He had to get over to the hotel, pick up a few things and get out of this one-horse town. Thank God he'd been able to get a key to the upper back door. Stupid fools had thought to keep it locked so they would know when he was in the hotel. He had used it many times. The only trick was getting up the outside stairs without being seen.
There were so many people milling around on the veranda and in the hotel lobby that at times Jill had to turn sideways to get through the crowd. Thad had insisted on helping to carry cakes, pies, tea and ice from the kitchen until an elbow had poked him in the back. He had been unable to choke back a gasp of pain. On hearing it, Jill asserted her rights as his future wife to order him to her bedroom to lie down for a while.
After removing his shirt, Thad flopped down on his stomach on the bed.
“Stay with me for a while.”
“I wish I could.” Resisting the desire to linger with him, Jill gave him a tender kiss and left the room.
Dreading to go back among the chattering, gossipy crowd, and needing a few minutes by herself, she went out onto the back porch and sat down in the shade. Fertile, the spotted dog, came out from under the porch and waited for Jill to scratch her head.