Kent Conwell - Tony Boudreaux 04 - Vicksburg (25 page)

Jumbo stepped aside, looking at her, waiting for her
instructions. Glaring at me, she ignored him. In a strident
voice, she said, “You’re crazy if you think I’ll share anything
with you. I’ve been through too much to get my hands on
what I rightfully deserve. With all I had to put up with from
that man, I deserve more, but I’ll settle for my share” She
took a step backward. Her tone grew muted, almost gentle.
“I won’t, I can’t let you stop that.” She paused and continued. “Jumbo here has been a big help. I couldn’t have done
it without him. Still, a person doesn’t need any excess baggage.” She gave hima broad smile.

The dumb lug grinned at her like a little puppy for a
moment, then a puzzled frown wrinkled his forehead.

The next few seconds seemed like hours.

Without warning, she spun and fired three slugs into
Jumbo’s heart. His eyes popped open in stunned surprise.
He grabbed at his chest with his two plate-sized hands and
opened his mouth, but no words rolled over his trembling
lips.

As soon as she began firing, I turned and leaped down the
ravine into the shallow gully. From somewhere, I heard
Garrett shout, “Throw down the gun, or I’ll shoot!”

Gunfire filled the air. I tried to force myself deeper into
the gully. In less than five seconds, the gunfire ceased. I
looked up to see Garrett staggering from the cave, and
Annebelle disappearing over the top of the stairs.

Jumbo lay on the ground, dead.

Annebelle escaped.

Garrett had taken a slug in his right shoulder and one in
his left foot. He was doing well when I left him at the hospital. I think the tonic that really pumped him up was the
realization I was finally leaving Vicksburg.

Next morning at the police station, I spent a few hours
going over all the evidence I had collected with another
detective. “Tell Garrett I’ll come visit him.” I grinned.
“That’ll make his day.”

“I’ll do that. By the way, he wanted to know what gave
you the idea of Annebelle Edney getting a warning ticket?”

With a grin, I explained. “I got one. I figured she had to
drive over the speed limit to make sure she was back in time
for the last game. Luckily, I guessed right.”

On the way back to Jack’s, I finally came to the only logical explanation of why Annebelle had tried to place the
blame on her brothers. I didn’t want to believe anyone could
be so cold and unfeeling, but for the life of me, I could come
up with no other justification. Stewart was gay; WR
divorced. If by some chance, they received the death penalty for the death of their father, as their sister she would inherit half of their shares of the estate with the remainder
going to Jack.

I shivered at her plans. Annebelle plotted not only the
death of her father, but ultimately those of WR and Stewart,
both of whom had coldly planned to blackmail their own
father with pornography.

What a merciless, calloused family. Poor Jack.

Back at the Edney mansion, my eyes widened in surprise
when I spotted a brand new white 2004 Silverado pickup
parked in front of the house, complete with toolbox in the
back.

Inside, the three brothers were in a subdued mood,
sobered by the realization that their sister had murdered
their father.

“No sign of her?” Stewart asked.

“Bulletins are out around the country. Sooner or later, the
law will find her, if Joe Basco doesn’t find her first. If you
hear from her, don’t get involved. The law will nail your skin
to the wall, and Basco will throw you to the ‘gators.”

Jack frowned. “Basco?”

“Mob boss in New Orleans. Jumbo’s cousin.”

Stewart whistled. “I’ve heard about him. Nothing good.”

WR sipped his bourbon. “How did you figure all this out,
Boudreaux?”

I wasn’t anxious to go into detail, so I brushed it off.
“Luck for the most part. Of course, I know you’re disappointed because the land south of town goes to the Madison
Parish birdwatchers.”

Stewart grimaced. “Well, I won’t lie and say I’m not disappointed, but John left us enough. I’m satisfied.”

“Yeah.” WR nodded “I was worried though, especially
when you told us the Tiger’s Den was closed that Saturday.”

With a crooked grin, I winked at Jack. “Annebelle had it
stacked against you boys. She knew exactly what she was doing. To stay on top of what you two were planning, she put
a tap on your phones”

WR gaped. “You mean-”

“Yeah. She recorded every call you received.” I paused,
then with a crooked grin said, “Every call Diane made to
you, WR, your sister intercepted. That’s how she knew what
was going on. Then she called Jumbo”

WR looked at me a moment, then his cheeks flushed, and
he dropped his gaze to the floor.

“But like I said, Annebelle put together a clever plan.
Through Jumbo, she had arranged to sell the land to Joe
Basco. Jumbo was Basco’s cousin.”

Jack shook his head. “I still can’t imagine our sister doing
that. Why would she try to put the blame on WR and
Stewart?”

WR leaned forward. “Yeah. Why did she do that,
Boudreaux?”

I knew the answer, but I kept it to myself. What good would
it do for them to realize the depth of their sister’s hatred? I
shrugged. “Who knows why, people do a lot of things?”

WR arched an eyebrow. “What about Basco? I don’t suppose he’s too happy about not getting the land.”

Raising an eyebrow, Stewart said, “He’s probably going
to be a lot unhappier when he hears about his cousin, Jumbo,
getting killed.”

We all grew silent, knowing that when Joe Basco was
unhappy, he would take care of whomever or whatever
caused the unhappiness. Mentally I ticked off the number of
attempts on my life in the last few days. Seven or eight of
them. If I’d been a cat, now was the time to start worrying.

The fact that Joe Basco was probably unhappy and that I
wasn’t a cat was reason enough for me to load up my new
truck and get out of Vicksburg.

At that moment, the phone rang. Stewart answered it,
glanced at me and nodded. “Yeah. He’s right here” He held
the receiver out to me.

I grimaced as I listened to the chilling news. “I understand. And thanks, Chief. I do appreciate all your help.”
Slowly, I replaced the receiver.

Jack spoke up. “What did the cops say?”

Clearing my throat, I replied, “They want you boys down
at the morgue.”

WR stepped forward. Brows knit, his voice trembling, he
whispered, “Annebelle?”

All I could do was nod. I didn’t have the heart to tell them
that Annebelle Edney had been found on a narrow dirt road
south of Vicksburg; hands tied behind her back, her feet tied,
she had been shot in the back of the head. Executioners,
unknown.

Truth is, I was struck by the irony that Fate always seems
to deal out in its poker games. Annebelle Edney planned to
eliminate her brothers for their share of the estate. With her
death, they inherited her share.

Makes you wonder.

Later, Jack looked on as I tossed my sports bag in the rear
of the pickup. Hooked to the rear of the pickup was a rented lowboy trailer with a 1925 Model T Runabout tied down.
I glanced around at him. “So you’re going back to Austin?”
I looked up at the old mansion. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” He whistled softly, glancing back at the two-story
house. “This isn’t home anymore. Oh, I’ll come back for
visits, but this isn’t home anymore.”

“What about the house?”

He shrugged. “Alice can live in it. We decided she deserves
more than John left her. It’s hers as long as she wants to stay
here. We’re each giving her a hundred thousand. And an extra
hundred thousand from Annebelle’s share”

I looked around at the crunch of gravel and saw the black
Cadillac pulling in the drive. The big car stopped in front of
us. I froze, my heart lodged in my throat. The window hissed
down.

Sal Tonanno peered up at me, his thin lips twisted in a
sneer. I waited for the muzzle of the hit piece to poke out.
“Joe wanted that land.”

I gulped and nodded.

“But, he says he’s satisfied that Jumbo got his payback”

It took me a few moments to absorb the meaning of his
words. I’d figured Basco was behind Annebelle’s execution.
Now I knew for certain. Nodding slowly, I said, “I had nothing against Mr. Basco.”

Tonanno grinned, but it was cold and chilling. “He
knows” The window hissed up.

As they drove away, I turned to Jack. “Well, if you’re
going, hop in. Let’s hit the road. We’ve got a long ways to go”

He started back to the house. “Let me grab my bags and
tell WR and Stewart good-bye” He paused and frowned at
me. “You want to tell them anything?”

I shook my head slowly. “No offense, Jack, but if I ever
see them or this town again, it’ll be too soon”

Driving south on Washington Street to 1-20, we passed
Casper’s Steak and Shrimp House. I thought of Diane who,
in keeping WR informed of my plans, had unknowingly
been responsible for several of the attempts on my life.
Taking a deep breath, I sighed. Like WR and Stewart, if I
ever saw her again, it would be too soon.

Jack drove me crazy all the way home. When he wasn’t
asking question after question about the investigation, he
was jabbing that arm scratcher in and out of his cast with all
the vigor a wildcatter explores for oil. For the most part, I
ignored him. I was too busy figuring out just how much
groveling I would have to do to get Janice to forgive me.