The Fountain of Infinite Wishes (Dare River Book 5) (21 page)

“She and I have good jobs in the city, but we’re both small-town people at heart. I miss being out in the country. Isn’t my Shelby beautiful?”

“She’s lovely,” May said, handing it to the deputy. “What’s her daddy’s name again?”

“Preston,” Vander said. “Preston McGuiness.”

The deputy handed the photo back to him. “Don’t know of anyone by that name in this here parts.”

“His mama was afraid of that. That’s why she done gave me this here photo of him,” Vander said, patting his other jean pocket as if looking for the photo. After a moment of “searching,” he took it out. “It was taken two years ago.”

He made sure to hand it to May since she was so eager to help him. When she looked at it, her eyes widened to the size of coins. “Why, that’s Wallie Blevins! Isn’t it, Greg?”

The man peered at it closely. “That’s Wallie, all right. What did you say—”

“Lenore thought he might be using a different name,” he said, heading off the deputy. “Can’t say why. And honestly, I can’t say I care. All I want is to reconnect my Shelby with her daddy. If the reconciliation goes like she hopes, she wants him to walk her down the aisle at our wedding.”

Vander experienced an odd shiver at the thought. It wasn’t…unappealing. He forced himself back to the task at hand. Falling into character was a little too easy, and he needed to keep his wits about him. Greg still had questions about his veracity.

“Wallie keeps to himself mostly,” Greg said, running his hand across his mouth like he was ruminating. “I wonder why he’s using a different name.”

“Maybe he’s running from something,” May said, taking the pencil from behind her ear and doodling absently on the steno notepad on her desk.
 

“His mama doesn’t think it’s anything like that,” Vander rushed to say in his fake accent. “Like I said, I don’t care about his past none, anyway. I just want to talk to him and see if he’ll meet my Shelby. She’s got a big heart.”

He thought back to last night, how he’d opened up about his father’s murder. She
did
have a big heart, and he was starting to like it as much as he did her playfulness and her beauty. All together, it was a killer combination, and one he was falling for pretty fast.

“Wallie takes his lunch in the diner most days,” May said, pointing to the faded red sign across the street. “He and Pauline Talbot have been seeing each other for a while now. She’s been a waitress there for some thirty years, and all her kids have left the nest. I’ll take you over there. Greg, can you mind the phones while I step out?”

The man nodded, and Vander extended his hand. “Thank you for your help.”
 

Vander opened the door for May, and they walked outside together. He put on his cowboy hat even though they were crossing a short distance because he was still in character, and it was what men who wore them did. May made small talk, asking where he was from originally, where he lived now, and what he did for a living. He did his best to keep his responses brief, turning the topic to her whenever possible.

When they entered the diner, May called out, “Pauline, come on over here. I want you to meet someone.”

There were eight people seated in the small diner, and all of them turned to look at the new arrivals. Vander made himself doff his cowboy hat and nod in their direction.

A blonde-haired woman thin as a rail, likely from being the only waitress in this washed-out joint, rushed forward. “Hello, May. And who’s this here handsome man with you?”

She said it in a way that was complimentary and not flirtatious, something a long-time waitress might do to garner tips and keep the patrons coming back.

“This here is Toby, and he’s looking for his fiancée’s daddy as a wedding present.”

Pauline gave a heartfelt smile. “Well, if that isn’t the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. What about you, Amos? Ever hear anything more romantic?”

“Can’t say I have,” the older man sitting at the counter said, paused over his French dip, not bothering to pretend he wasn’t listening.

“Turns out, his fiancée’s daddy is your Wallie,” May said brightly. “Isn’t that the most incredible coincidence?”

The woman’s smile faltered. “I…of course it is.”

Vander watched as she swallowed thickly. He suspected she didn’t know Wallie had children. She likely didn’t know he was living under a false name.

“Of course, Toby here said Wallie’s real name is… What was it, honey?”

He made himself smile, seeing the woman’s shoulders tense up. “Preston McGuiness, ma’am. His mama told Shelby—that’s my girl—that he sent her a letter from here in town last Christmas. As I told May, I don’t care about why he’s calling himself Wallie. All I want to do is talk to him for my Shelby. She’s wanted to find her daddy her whole life. May said he sometimes stops in here for lunch. Is he coming today? Because I would be happy to wait for him.”

The woman’s eyes were darting around now, like a rabbit ready to run. Was it because she’d just learned her boyfriend had lied to her from the start? Vander couldn’t blame her there. Trust between two people was hard enough. Add in the tough life Pauline looked to have led, and trust was likely as difficult for her as climbing Kilimanjaro.

“Wallie’s…ah…” She fidgeted with the collar of her waitress outfit, stained yellow from overuse and numerous washings. “He’s been helping Old Red Waback on his farm. I…he’s not coming into town today.”

“Oh, shoot,” Vander made himself say as he slapped his hat against his legs. “Could you give me his address then? I could leave him a message or something. I’ll do whatever it takes to make my Shelby happy.”

May put her arm around Pauline. “Why don’t you call Wallie and tell him to come on in here for lunch? We both know Old Red would love a romantic story like this and wouldn’t mind him leaving the farm for a chat. Heck, this is the best thing that’s happened in town since Mayor Harris proposed to Widow Keller in front of the library by reading that Shakespeare sonnet she loves so much.”

Vander gave May a winning smile, but poor Pauline looked green now. “I’ll—”

“Pauline! Where in tarnation are you, girl? I’ve got orders up, and they’re growing cold.” A burly bearded man in a black apron stood in the doorway to the kitchen. “Stop yapping yer gums and get back to work.”

“Oh, shut your trap, Cletis,” May shot back. “Pauline’s helping this nice man here. I’ll get your orders up if you tell me who has what. Land sakes, you grow more ornery every year.”

May paddled over to the kitchen, and soon she was laying four plates of food in front of gawking patrons.

Vander leaned in to Pauline and lowered his voice, saying, “I don’t want you to get yelled at any more, ma’am. If you’d like, I can call Wallie and explain about my Shelby. Might be better coming from me. Whatever you think is best. I don’t want to impose.”

She dug out her phone and brought up her call list. “Here’s his number.”

Vander memorized the number and dug out his phone, an older model he used on assignments in poorer areas. It wasn’t a wise move to flash the latest technology. Folks got suspicious.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said, digging out a photo of him and Shelby and handing it out to her. “That’s my girl.”

He ignored her gasp, sensing Pauline had noticed how much Shelby favored her father.

“Isn’t she beautiful? I’m the luckiest man in the world. Never imagined she’d marry me, but I plan on making her the happiest woman out there. Not like my mama. She had a tough life. Worked three jobs to put food on the table after my dad left, but she never complained.” He was laying it on a little thick, but he sensed it would strengthen his connection with Pauline.

The woman finally took the picture of him and Shelby. “You look good together.”

Keeping faithful to his cover was critical to getting hard-to-come-by information. He wouldn’t have dared to show anyone one of the digital photos they’d taken yesterday on his phone because someone might have noticed how new they were. Vander liked to cover all his bases.

“Yeah, we do,” he said, studying the picture of them. Of all of the ones he’d taken, this was his favorite. They were in his kitchen, and she’d turned her face to say something to him. If he hadn’t seen her interest in him before, there would have been no mistaking it in this photo. He’d blurred out the rest of the surroundings so anyone looking at the photo wouldn’t focus on his apartment or even the clothes they were wearing. He’d worked on the photos after he’d driven Shelby back to her car and then printed them out on his special printer.

“Do you…” Pauline fiddled with her collar again. “Do you really not know why Wallie is using a different name?”

Vander shook his head. “No, ma’am, and neither did his mama. She said he’s always been a good man. Just made a mistake with his family when he was mostly a kid himself. You know.”

Pauline lowered her head. “My husband ran off on me and my two girls. It was…hard. Thank God, Cletis gave me this job. I’ve been working here ever since.”

He’d had a hunch that her story would go something like that. Again, it was one of those instincts he had about people—part of what made him a great detective. “Did he ever come back?”

“No,” she said, looking out the front windows of the diner. “My baby girls cried when they had to ask their uncle to walk them down the aisle even though their daddy didn’t deserve to share their joy after what he’d done.”

He put his hand on her shoulder. “That’s why I’m hoping my Shelby and her daddy can reconcile. Life is too short.”

“Preacher says that every week,” Pauline said, sniffing. “I’m sorry. All of this…it’s a shock.”

“Of course it is, and I’m sorry for it.” He was, but it wouldn’t sway him from his goal of finding Preston. Even so, he was aware he’d changed Preston’s relationship with this woman and the whole town. In his business, he couldn’t always keep those kinds of consequences from occurring, especially if people didn’t give him any other choice. Besides, the lies Preston had told would be his undoing.

Vander gave May a smile as she rejoined them. “I should give ah…Wallie a call. Ask him to meet me here for lunch. How late are y’all open?”

“We usually close at two,” Pauline said, “but I can ask Cletis to keep the diner open longer if you’d like. Wallie’s place…he’s renting a small room above Myrtle Glories’ garage. It’s…not for entertaining.”

Vander nodded. Now he knew where the man lived. If this phone call went south, he could swing by Wallie’s place, maybe give Myrtle his speech if need be.

“Go ahead and give Wallie or whatever his name is a call, Toby,” May said, nodding briskly. “I love it when miracles happen, and reuniting your Shelby with her daddy is certainly up that alley if I ever heard one. Even though it brings to mind all sorts of questions. Goodness, Pauline, you never seem to settle on a man without some troubled past.”

The woman hung her head, and May put an arm around her.

Thinking through the best approach, Vander pulled out his phone and dialed the number Pauline had given him. “I’ll just step out for a moment. Don’t want to disturb everyone eating.”

No one was eating anymore, but that didn’t matter. The chime on the door rang as he let himself out onto the sidewalk.
 

“Hello,” a rough voice answered after a few rings.

“Hello,” Vander said, pouring more Southern charm into his voice. “My name is Toby, and Pauline gave me your number. She said you weren’t coming into the diner for lunch today, but I was hoping I might meet you, sir.”

“What about?” the man asked hesitantly. “You need someone to work for you?”

Ah…Vander had wondered if the man would answer an unknown number—the phone was calibrated so all the calls it made would show up as Anonymous. If he hadn’t picked up, Vander would have talked Pauline into using hers.

Now for the tricky part. “No, sir, I’m not. I…well…there’s no easy way to say this, but my girl—heck, the woman who agreed to marry me—wants to see you. I was hoping to…arrange that.” He made sure not to use Shelby’s name yet, wanting to weave more of a story.

“Your girl? I don’t recall knowing you or your girl. Are you a friend of Pauline’s?”

“No sir, but I’m a friend of your mama. Lenore. She said to give you her best. She told me you were living in Haines based on the Christmas card you sent her this year.”

“You know my mama?” the man asked, his voice ripe with suspicion. “Is anything the matter?”

Other than Lenore living in abject poverty and ill health? “She was feeling a little poorly when we visited, but there was nothing gravely wrong.”

“I’m sorry, but who are you again?”

“I’m Shelby’s fiancé,” he said in as even a tone as he could muster.

“Shelby!” The man sounded like he’d run into a wall while walking.

“Yes, your Shelby,” Vander continued. “We’re getting married, you see, and she…ah heck, sir…she’s wanted to meet you all her life, and with the wedding coming up, that feeling’s only gotten stronger. You know, walking down the aisle stuff. I was hoping to reunite the two of you. I don’t know your reasons for leaving, sir, but your daughter wants to meet you. She has the biggest heart. So do the rest of her siblings.”

The silence on the line went on for so long Vander had to strain to hear the man’s breathing over the air conditioner humming in the diner’s window. “You still there, sir?”