Dixie Diva Blues (30 page)

I opened the kitchen drawer where Mama keeps candles and matches for just such emergencies. Brownie started barking like crazy, and I tried to shush him.

“Be quiet, you furry little trash disposal. I’ll have light in a minute.”

My comforting words did nothing to reassure him. If anything, he only barked louder. I fumbled about in the dark and finally found matches at the back of the drawer. I struck one and it flickered, then went out before I could light the candle. Where did Mama keep flashlights, I wondered as I struck another match. Brownie ran to and fro in the kitchen. I could hear his toenails clicking on the old wood floors, sounding like a ticker tape in a stock broker’s office. The
clicka clicka clicka
nearly drove me crazy as I kept striking matches.

At last I succeeded in lighting the candle. Brownie’s barking got ferocious, and I saw him backing toward me across the kitchen floor. His hackles stood up straight and stiff and he kept barking like he’d gone rabid. I’d never heard him go so crazy. Except for the time he’d cornered a raccoon and it fought back.

Since Brownie was barking at the back door, I thought maybe the fugitive kitten was outside on the deck. I made my way toward the door. I told him to be quiet so he wouldn’t spook the little thing, then I reached for the door knob.

I didn’t even get the chance to turn the knob before the door swung toward me. Startled, I screeched at the top of my lungs. I have a tendency to do that lately.

Of course it was too dark to see anything. Daddy’s outside light high up on the barn illuminated that portion of the yard, but it didn’t reach the house. It didn’t occur to me then to wonder why only the house lights were out.

Right then, all I thought about was that something or someone was trying to get inside the house. When I screeched, whatever was on the other side of the door made a sound and stopped pushing just long enough for me to react.

I yanked open the door and shoved my lit candle toward the intruder. When I did, the candle jerked free of my hand but did not extinguish. It stuck fast to some kind of hat atop the intruder’s head. Then the intruder let loose with a string of profanities no self-respecting representative of polite society would use. There was a small
poof!
followed by the crisp, unmistakable smell of burning hair, and to my shock, a small blaze sprang up atop the man’s head. I know it was a man because he sounded like one, but he was a lot shorter than me. That fact gave me a bit of courage I might not have had otherwise.

Apparently it gave Brownie added courage, too. He launched himself through the door and at the man, and clamped down somewhere in the vicinity of the lower regions. I stared in horror while the masked man hopped around on the back deck slapping at his head and at the dog clinging stubbornly to the crotch of his pants. Every time the man got close enough to me, I smacked at him with the broom Mama keeps right inside the back door. My candle was still stuck to the prowler’s knit ski cap as he danced madly across the deck screaming epithets in a foreign language. Brownie’s vicious snarls accompanied his curses, and I think I was yelling in an unknown tongue myself.

Then the prowler hit the railing of the deck, flipped over backward, and vanished from sight. Brownie had let go by then, obviously sensing imminent danger. After a few seconds, both of us peered over the side, me still holding Mama’s broom like a sword. No sign of the man could be seen in the dim light that barely reached the edge of the house. I wasn’t taking any chances. I grabbed Brownie’s collar and dragged him back inside with me, then shut and bolted the back door. My heart was beating so hard I could hear it echo in my ears.

When I could stop shaking long enough to force my legs to cooperate, I went to the refrigerator and felt atop it for my purse. My cell phone provided a brief burst of light when I flipped it open and dialed 911 for emergencies.

“The phone and electrical lines
have been cut,” said a police officer who came out in answer to my call. We stood outside. Blue lights flashed atop his cruiser, and two other officers checked the inside of the house to be sure it was free of prowlers. They’d found my candle stub in the driveway, and fresh tire tracks across one of Mama’s pansy beds. “This could be a home invasion, or maybe more personal.”

“More personal?” I echoed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’ve been pretty high-profile lately. Name and picture in the papers and all, and you’re connected to the Whittier case. Could be someone doesn’t want you doing anymore investigating.”

A chill went through me. “Besides the entire Holly Springs Police Department, who else would care?”

“For one thing, Larry Whittier could have had any number of associates. If you get my drift.”

I got lightheaded at just the suggestion of his drift. “Accomplices?” I squeaked at last, and he gave me a wry smile.

“Could be. This guy had a plan. He’d obviously scouted out the area, knew where to cut the electrical lines so just the house lights would go out. He found the phone lines, too, and those are just about hidden by all the bushes next to the house. You’ve become a target, Miz Truevine. I suggest that you go somewhere safe until we can catch this guy.”

“Somewhere safe? I . . . I can’t. I have to stay here.”

“Suit yourself. You’ve been warned.”

I gulped. My head began to pound. I tightened my arms around Little Brownie. I’d been holding him ever since I had called 911. I credited him with saving me from getting my head bashed in or worse. If he hadn’t heard the intruder, and if I hadn’t been on-guard, the man could have snuck into the house and killed me before I even knew he was around. In those fifteen minutes it took the police to arrive, I had promised Brownie KFC, steak, and as many other doggy delights as I could think of in my rattled state.

While I stood there holding the dog and staring blankly at the officer, two more vehicles arrived. Headlights swept across the front yard and half-moon drive. One of the cars had a flashing light stuck on the dashboard. The other car had Bitty behind the wheel.

“Trinket!” she cried as she got out of her car and ran toward me. “Are you okay?”

I nodded numbly. I didn’t even ask how she knew. I was just so glad to see her that I think my knees gave way. I found myself sitting on the ground with Brownie still clutched tightly in my arms.

Bitty knelt beside me. She wore a pink silk robe over pink silk pajamas, and had pink slippers on her feet. No feathers.

“I came as soon as I heard,” she said. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

“I’m pretty sure. Just my nerves.”

Bitty put an arm around me. “Come on, get up. I can’t lift you so you’ll have to let go of the dog—why are you holding him?”

“I’m not sure. He saved me, you know. You should have seen him attack that guy! He was very brave. I promised him KFC.”

“Okay, I think you’re a bit delirious. Let’s go inside and get you comfortable.”

“No lights.”

Bitty glanced toward the dark house. “Oh. Then you’ll just have to come home with me.”

I shook my head. “I can’t. I have responsibilities here. All the cats. Oh, and the lost kitten. If I leave who’ll feed them? I can’t leave everything to the possums.”

“You’re raving. At least get up off the damp ground. You’ll catch your death of a cold. Come on, Trinket. Cooperate.”

As I got up, I saw our cousin Jake walking toward me. He paused. “Did you get a good look at him?”

I shook my head. “All I saw was that he was short and wore a ski mask. It was a very flammable ski mask, because my candle caught it on fire almost immediately.”

Jake grimaced. “I don’t know how you always get so lucky, I swear I don’t. You Divas are always walking a fine line between disaster and narrow escapes.”

“It’s a gift,” said Bitty. “We aren’t just lucky, you know. We know how to take care of ourselves. Don’t we, Trinket?”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.” Bitty lowered her voice. “So, do you have any inside info for us?”

Jake gave her a pained look. “If I did, would I share it here and now?”

It was a valid point.

“I’ll see what I can do about your electricity, Trinket,” Jake said then. “I used to apprentice for an electrician in my younger days.”

While he went off in search of the electrical panel or wherever the wires were, I took Bitty by the arm and steered her toward her car. “Listen,” I whispered, “the police think that whoever broke in on me tonight is connected to Larry Whittier. That means he’s probably an accomplice. Did you find out anything from Rayna or Rob?”

“Not much. They’re both okay, but pretty shook up by the Clarksdale grand jury’s indictment, of course. Rob had hoped that the police only having circumstantial evidence would be enough, but obviously, it wasn’t. Jackson Lee says that most grand juries indict anyone for almost anything, and that it’s not a big deal, but I think he’s more worried than he’ll let on.” She took a deep breath. “They’re staying in Clarksdale for a few days. I don’t know what they’re going to do if he gets convicted, Trinket. This is just awful.”

I agreed. “And it makes me wonder why this guy broke in here. What could he hope to find with me that would justify taking such a risk?”

Bitty gave me a blank look. I sighed. “I think he was after the USB flash drive.”

“Oh. But we gave that to Jake.”

“I know that, you know that, and Jake knows that—but no one else knows that.”

“Ah,” said Bitty as she got the full picture. “I see!”

“This morning outside Budgie’s; the guy you told about us having evidence—do you remember what he looks like?”

She thought for a moment. “Not really. He was short, I think, just a little bit taller than me. Dark complexion. That’s about all I can recall.”

I nodded. “The guy who broke in on me tonight was short and dark complected, from what I could see around his eyes. It might be the same guy.”

“We should tell Jake,” said Bitty, and I grabbed her by the arm when she started toward the house.

“Not yet. I want to be certain before we say anything. If we give him too many false leads he won’t believe anything we say. We have to be absolutely sure.”

“And how do you propose to do that? Did your intruder leave his phone number with you?”

“Such sarcasm is misplaced,” I said sternly. “No, but I think I know who he is and where he works.”

Bitty looked at me with an open mouth.

I smiled. Sometimes it’s good to be the one in charge. Even if it’s only for a few minutes.

By the time Jake had my lights on again, Bitty and I had formed a plan of sorts. It wasn’t the best plan, but it beat chancing another humiliating failure and arrest.

As Bitty returned to her car, Jake came up behind me. Blue lights still strobed the yard and house. He nodded toward Bitty. “She nearly beat me here. I don’t know how she does it.”

Since I had no intention of telling him that Bitty drives like a maniac, I simply said, “She’s amazing.”

“Yeah.” Jake looked at me for a second. “So you’re going to stay out here alone tonight?”

“No, Bitty’s coming back with clothes and a pug. We’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

I wasn’t really sure, but sometimes it’s best to keep in mind that while Jake may be family, he’s still a policeman, and they have strong feelings about their duties even if they’re off-duty. While I was pretty certain I could keep my plan to myself, I wasn’t so sure about Bitty. She does have a tendency to blurt out things best kept confidential.

“I’ll have a patrol car come by a few times to make sure you’re okay,” Jake said after a moment. “Do you think you’d recognize this guy if I have you look at some mug-shots?”

“Not unless he’s wearing a flaming ski-mask,” I said. “All I can tell you is that he’s shorter than me and he swears a lot. In two languages, Spanish and English.”

I tactfully left out my own participation in that particular activity.

“How did you get here so quickly?” I asked when he sighed and shook his head. “Did the police notify you about my prowler?”

“I heard it over my radio.”

“And you called Bitty?” I guessed.

“No, she called me about the time it came over the radio. I told her I was headed out here and to stay home.”

“Ah. That worked really well.”

He grimaced. “So I noticed.”

“She always has good intentions. And as it turns out, I really do need her to stay with me tonight.” My shudder was very real. “Just in case that man comes back.”

“If he comes back, call 911 immediately. Don’t try to do anything yourself. We have an agreement, remember?”

“Where in that agreement did we decide it’s okay for me to sit calmly while some maniac breaks into my house?”

“Trinket. I never suggested you have to sit calmly. Just don’t try to fight back or you’ll end up hurt. Whoever this guy is, he’s after you for a reason. My guess is that he wants the flash drive you gave me.”

“Have you managed to find out what’s on it yet?”

“No. We’re still working on it. Once we get to the info, that should lead us to the perps. Whittier must have left the password somewhere, but we haven’t been able to find it yet. No chance it was in the saxophone with the flash drive, I guess?”