Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction (35 page)

“
I’m a big tipper,” he told her. “You’re amazing, Junie. Thanks.”

“
Here’s a tip fer ya—never ask a barber if he thinks ya need a haircut.” Junebug laughed, patting Jack on the back.

“
I’ll remember that, Junie, thank ya.”

“
Sure thing, kids. Anything else?”

“
Know anything about the other man from the robbery? Junior what’s-his-name?” Jack asked.

“
Wells,” Tess said around a bite.

“
Can’t say that I do.”

“
Do you know anything else about the robbery?”

“
Jack, I’m an old woman, but not
that
old.”

Jack
laughed. “Okay, Junie. Thanks. You’ve been a big help.”

Junebug
went toward the kitchen, and Tess said, “Well, boys, I hate to break this up, but I need to get back to the bookstore. Anyone want the rest of this?” She pushed her plate to the middle of the table, but both men shook their heads.

Tess
stood up, followed by Jack. “I’ll be working a little longer this afternoon to make up for my lunch break. Hey, Nick—Lou wants to meet you. Think you can stop by the bookstore before you head home?”

“
Sure, Mom.”

“
Tess—be careful, okay?” Jack whispered, as she walked past him.

She
saw the genuine concern in his eyes and tried to sound
confident. “Don’t worry.”

* * *

“Wull pick my peas, he’s the spittin’ image of you, ‘cept on stilts!” Lou said to Tess, giving Nicholas a big hug.

“
I know. We were just talking about that. I love it when people say that. Nicholas . . . not so much.”

“
Aw, Mom, that’s not true.”

Lou
stared up at Nicholas with admiration. “Law, you’re tall enough, I b’lieve you could go duck huntin’ with a rake! Just how tall
are
you?”

“
Six foot four, ma’am.”

“
I could get a crick in my neck if I had to look up at you all day. How long ya stayin’ in town? I wanna have y’all over to dinner. We’ll invite Jack, too. Maybe Henry Clay.”

“
Oh, Lou, you don’t have to do that. I know how busy you are here at the store.”

“
Aw, busy, schmizzy. I’d rather wear out than rust out. How’s
tomorrow night work for y’all?”

“
That would be just fine, Lou. Thank you.”

“
Hey, Peekal!” Lou waved as Pickle walked out of the back room. “Come on over here, and meet Tess’s boy!”

As
they were introduced, Nick shook Pickle’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Pickle
looked puzzled. “Like, what?”

“
Mom’s told me all about your t-shirts. Sounds like you have quite a collection.”

Just
as serious as he could be, Pickle said, “Dude! You want a girl to talk to you? Wear a funny t-shirt. Chicks like funny.”

* * *

Tess
left work a little after three o’clock and found Jack waiting for her on a sidewalk bench by her car. “Hey, beautiful.”

She
made a show of looking all around her to see who Jack was
talking about.

“
Oh, come here, you,” he said, reaching for her.

She
sat down next to him, with his arm around her, and he handed her a sheet of paper. It looked just like the one she’d received at the bookstore.

YoU a
N
d yOU
r

G
F
Sh
Ou
LD bUTt

O
U
T. oR
E
l
S
e.

“Well, at least he’s an equal opportunity stalker.”

“
He called you my GF. Guess this makes it official. Now you gotta be my girlfriend.” Jack looked at her, and her mouth went dry. 

“
I’m your girlfriend just because some lunatic says so?”

“
Would that be such a bad thing?” Jack looked at her intently.

“
I can think of worse,” she said, shyly. “But Jack, that’s what you
got out of this whole message? That I’m your girlfriend? Doesn’t this concern you? This sounds like a threat.”

“
Well, whoever it is isn’t being very smart about it. They’re gonna mess up. I think the more desperate he-she-it becomes, the bigger the mistake he-she-it’s gonna make.”

“
You’re probably right.” Tess looked around to see if anyone was watching them. She had grown very paranoid in the last few weeks.

“
Did you mention your letter to John Ed?” Jack had his arm resting behind Tess on the bench, and he moved his fingers to lightly caress her neck, under her hair.

“
Of course not.”

“
Shouldn’t we at least show these to him? He can’t say you made these up. Although knowin’ him, he’ll accuse you or me of makin’ and sendin’ them.”

“
Oh, I guess we should. I just would rather not have to see him. He’s so smug, and condescending and so . . . so wrong. The man just makes me so mad.”

“
Well, you just get glad in the same pants you got mad in, Missy!” Jack had lapsed into his exaggerated drawl. She gave him a look, and he hugged her with his one arm still behind her. “Oh, I’m teasing you, Mary T. My mama used to say that to me all the time. Except for the Missy part. You want me to go by myself so you don’t have to deal with him?”

“
You wouldn’t mind? I’d like to go home and spend some time with Nick. And I’d rather not have to talk to John Ed about this.”

“
On one condition.” Jack smiled into her eyes.

“
What’s that?”

“
I want an autographed copy of your book.”

Tess
groaned.

* * *

“So what did you two talk about today?” Tess asked Nick, as she made his favorite dinner that night.

“
Mom, I’m sorry I spilled the beans about your children’s book.
I didn’t think you cared. I just assumed he knew.”

“
Oh, it’s okay. He was bound to find out sometime. It’s just that he’s a successful, nine times published author, and I have this one little children’s book. It’s a little embarrassing.” She tasted the sauce, and then put the lasagna noodles into the boiling water.

“
I don’t see anything to be embarrassed about. It’s a great book. Are you still working on your new one?”

“
When I have time. It’s slow going.”

“
Still not going to tell me what it’s about?”

“
I’d rather wait. Be careful or you just might end up in it.” She shot him an amused look.

“
Will you tell me the title?”

“
The title is “Keep your straw out of my Kool-aid.” She saw Nick’s eyes go to her iced tea glass. “That’s local for mind your own business.”

“
You’re not writing porn, are you, Mom?” he teased.

“
No, I’m not writing porn, Nick!” She swatted him with a tea towel. “Now, what else did you all talk about?” 

“
I don’t know.”

Tess
saw Nick pick up his glass and take a sip—a tell she knew
well. Then he shifted in his seat, put one leg on the other knee, and
finally stood up to pour more sweet tea into a mostly full glass. Signs she’d seen too many times when he was little and trying to avoid
answering her.

“
What? What aren’t you telling me?” She busied herself icing a chocolate cake to avoid looking straight at Nick. It was a ploy she’d
used when he was a teenager, to get him to open up, and it was usually effective.

“
How well do you know Jack?” He added more ice to his glass, making it almost overflow.

“
What do you mean?”

“
Well, it’s just that you’ve lived here . . . what . . . two, three months? You all seem to be . . . pretty close. I see the way he looks at you.” He scratched his head absentmindedly. “ I don’t know . . . I guess I was just surprised to see the chemistry between you two, so soon. I mean, you’ve talked about him a little bit, but I was just surprised . . . Maybe it’s just that I’ve never seen you with anyone but Dad.”

Nick
was rambling, and she knew the subject made him uncomfortable. She didn’t know what to tell him, because frankly, she didn’t know herself. She thought about Jack way too much, looked forward to being with him, wanted to touch him all the time, she melted under his touch. But part of her was glad they’d been interrupted those two times. She still wasn’t sure if she was ready for another relationship. At least not a serious one.

Nick’s
voice brought her from her thoughts. “ . . . nice enough guy and all that, I guess it’s just weirding me out to see you with someone besides Dad.”

“
I know, sweetie. I don’t know what to tell you about Jack, except that I think he’s a good man, and I like him a lot. We’ve really only been out on a few dates, although we’ve spent a lot of time together over this murder thing. I enjoy his company, his sense of humor, his intelligence. I feel safe with him, and he makes me feel good; it’s nice to have someone to talk to again. It’s nice to have someone want to be with me again.” They were both quiet for a minute before she added, “Never mind that he’s sexy as hell.”

“
Mom!”

“
Oh, Nick. You’re grown up. I may be almost fifty, but I’m not dead. I know it will take some getting used to. But I think the more you get to know him, the more comfortable you’ll be with him. You’ll see what I see. I’m not saying anything will happen, I’m just saying I like the man.”

“
I just want you to be happy, Mom. I’ll try to deal.”

* * *

After dinner, Tess and Nick talked some more and watched a movie together, while Tess scratched his back for a while, a habit they’d had since he was a little boy. When the movie was over, Nick looked at his mother and saw she’d fallen asleep. He nudged her a little and she opened her eyes.

“
What?”

“
You fell asleep!”

“
I did not! I was just checking for holes in my eyelids.”

“
You know, you’ve gotten a lot weirder since you’ve been here, Mom.”

Tess
yawned, kissed Nick, and stood up.

“
I’m sleepy. I think I’ll go on up to bed. You coming?”

“
No, I think I’ll stay down here and watch TV for a while. Maybe Letterman or The Colbert Report. See you in the morning.”

“
Okay. Night, sweetie.”

An
hour later, Nicholas was asleep on the couch in front of the television, when he was startled awake by the sound of shattering glass. A brick came crashing through the window, landing a foot away from him, glass shattering all over the room.

He
jumped up and was out the front door in a flash. He heard the slap of branches in the trees to his left and charged that way. The smell of Frasier fur filled his nose as branches hit his head and scratched his face when he ran through the clump of evergreens at the edge of his mother’s driveway. He pushed them aside and kept running. He couldn’t yet see anyone, but he could hear feet slapping against concrete not far away. Nick was a runner in high school and college. It had been a couple of years since he’d competed, but he was still fast.

He
saw and heard a dark figure up ahead and watched as it ran right into a street lamp. The person bounced off it and staggered backward, shaking his head like a wet dog. He took off running again, but Nick got to him, reached his hand out, grabbed the back of his shirt, and tackled him to the ground. He pushed the man over, pinning his shoulders to the ground. Straining to see in the dark, Nick did a double take, not
believing his eyes.

bought air
: noun \bawt air\ air conditioning

Close the door. You’re lettin’ out all the bought air.

[  July
2010  ]