Stay At Home Dad 03-Father Knows Death (18 page)

“Just trying to get a clearer picture of what went on in George’s life.”

She frowned, irritated or angry or something. “But it was ages ago.”

“Well, not really.” I paused. “And I saw the look you gave Matilda last night, so it seems . . .”

“You can just leave that heifer out of this,” she said sharply. “I have nothing to say about that cow.”

“Not a friend?”

She looked like she wanted to vomit. “Hardly.”

“How come?”

Her eyes narrowed to tiny, angry slits. “Because she took George from me.”

43

We were walking at an easy pace and I asked, “She took him from you?”

She nodded curtly. “Damn right she did.”

“How?”

“Oh, you’d have to ask
her
,” she said. “I’m not sure exactly what she offered him, but it had to be something.”

“Why did it have to be something?”

She looked at me like I was crazy. “Look at me and look at her. Please.”

Right then, I wasn’t seeing anything that was attractive about Susan. The looks that had taken place between the two women the previous evening, however, now made perfect sense.

“So he broke up with you?” I said.

“Well, I don’t know that I’d say that,” she said quickly. “It ended up being mutual. I knew he was no longer interested in our relationship. Honestly, I was getting tired of him, too. I realized he was a bit too simple for me.”

She wasn’t making sense. She was contradicting herself. Not something that was working in her favor.

“So what happened when you broke up?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Was it friendly? Ugly? How did it happen?” She took a moment to look around and survey her troops. “I really don’t see how any of this is helpful and I really don’t appreciate you being so intrusive.”

I nodded. “Okay. I’m sorry. You’re right. None of my business. You won’t mind if I go ahead and let the police know that I’ve talked to you, though, right?”

She flinched and her entire façade crumbled for a moment. Her pace slowed and she went from looking like someone who was supervising a parade to someone who was about to panic. She was not a good poker player.

“Well, I don’t see why you’d need to do that,” she said.

“Just to share information,” I said. “Be cooperative with them. Maybe they won’t even be interested. I don’t know. But I do have a question for you.”

She raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me.

“I saw you the morning he was found. You were there,” I said.

She nodded slowly.

“You weren’t upset,” I said.

“I was, too,” she said, lifting her chin.

“Yeah, about the effect on the food stand,” I said. “How 4-H would take a hit financially. Not about George. And I find that very odd, considering that you had been in a six-month relationship with him.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s accurate,” she said. “I don’t think you know me well enough to know how I react when I’m upset about something.”

“Well, Matilda was there and, even though I didn’t know they were a couple, she was upset. I could tell that, then, about her.”

“Maybe she’d just stepped on a scale,” Susan said, frowning. “Or forgotten her lunch.”

I didn’t think that Susan’s bitterness was solely because she was a nasty person. That certainly played into it, but I thought there was more behind her snarky comments.

“But I
was
upset,” Susan said. “I had to keep my cool, though. For 4-H.”

“Right,” I said. “So why’d you tell me about George and Matilda then?”

Her face colored and she dropped her sunglasses from the top of her head to her eyes. “I thought that might be valuable information for you. Like you said. You need a clear picture.”

“Or did you want me to think she had something to do with his death?” I asked.

Her mouth twisted like a pretzel. “Maybe she did.”

“She didn’t.”

Susan turned and walked backward for a moment, keeping her eyes on the 4-H marchers behind us. “You know that for sure?”

“Yeah, pretty sure.”

“She have some sort of alibi or something?”

“Or something.” Technically, Matilda didn’t have an alibi. But she’d convinced me that she wasn’t capable of killing the man she loved. And I didn’t think that was any of Susan’s business.

“Do you?” I asked.

“Do I what?”

“Have an alibi?”

She turned around so she was walking forward again. “Of course.”

“Okay. What were you doing?”

We continued walking, but she didn’t say anything.

“Susan.”

She looked at me. “What?”

“Your alibi. What is it?”

She ran a hand through her hair, smoothing it down. “We’re getting close to the judges’ stand. I need to make sure we’re ready. We do not want to blow this opportunity in front of the judges. We have an excellent chance to win the float competition this year, I think.”

“We’ve got a few minutes,” I said.

She stopped abruptly and jammed her hands on her hips. “Deuce Winters, I am trying to coordinate this event and I don’t appreciate getting the third degree from you right now. I’ll be happy to talk to you at the end of the parade. But right now I have a group to organize so we don’t look like fools in front of the judges.”

She stomped off to the front of our float.

44

Main Street was lined with people and lawn chairs and pets and signs. The denizens of Rose Petal lived for the fair parade and despite the ungodly heat, they had turned out in full force to line the route, cheer for the floats, and collect candy.

I was struck for a moment that all of this was going to change. The parade would be elsewhere next year. And the year after that. Would it ever come back? Maybe. But for the next couple of years, the parade would be different and the people lining the streets would be different. The folks who lived in the tiny houses on Main Street and set their lawn chairs at the curb wouldn’t be able to do so anymore. Would they travel to the new site and find spots on the new parade route? Or would they just let it go, disappointed that the tradition was gone? It made me sad for them and for the town.

I’d let Susan go and had moved over to the other side of the float with Julianne and Carly. Carly was busy tossing candy and Julianne was busy trying not to get sick.

“What were you talking to Susan about?” she asked with a grimace.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “But I think we need to get you home.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You look like you’re about to throw up.”

Her face was flushed and sweat was pouring down her cheeks. Her walking was labored and I could tell that the heat had swelled her ankles to twice their size. She was breathing hard and every few steps she’d cringe.

“Well, if I do, just step out of the way and keep walking,” she said, forcing a smile.

“It’s too hot out here for you. Come on. This is ridiculous.”

“Deuce, I’m not leaving,” she said, glaring at me. “I refuse to play the delicate pregnant woman here.”

“No one thinks you are.”

“Exactly. All the more reason for me not to play it.”

Her stubbornness could be incredible at times. “If you pass out, should I just put you on the float?”

“I’m not going to pass out.”

“I just want to be prepared. If you won’t go home, I feel like I need to be prepared for any possible scenario.”

We turned a corner and the judges’ tower near the fire station was in view. The cheers were getting louder as each float passed by and did its best to impress Mama and her gang on the tower. Everyone liked to play down the importance of the parade, but there was no mistaking it. Winning the parade was the crowning achievement of fair week, and allowed the winners to brag for a year. It mattered.

“Yes, just put me on the float,” Julianne said, then winced. “But not near the penises.”

“Cucumbers.”

“Whatever.”

I shook my head. If I saw anyone else looking the way she did, I would’ve called paramedics. Such an incredibly stubborn woman.

I moved away from her so I couldn’t choke her. I could see the C.A.K.E. people ahead of us scrambling to get in place for their pass at the judges. Something didn’t look right, though. They weren’t smiling or having fun.

They looked nervous.

I moved back next to Julianne. “Listen. Something may happen here in front of us.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Those weirdos in the neon shirts?”

I nodded. “I’m not sure what, but I think they’ve got something planned.”

“Like a dance or something?” she said. “They can’t hold up the line. Everyone will freak.”

“Not a dance,” I said. “But something else. And if it goes a little nuts, we’re leaving.”

“I already told you, I’m not . . .”

“Jules, I love you,” I said, taking her by the elbow. “But shut up. I’m done with the stubbornness for today. You look like hell and if anything goes weird up here, we’re leaving and you are going home and getting in bed and that is the end of that. I will throw your pregnant rear end over my shoulder and carry you out of here if I have to. So just stop. Got it?”

She stared at me, her mouth open, like she couldn’t believe I’d just told her to shut up. I was kind of pleased with the fact that I’d left her speechless. Of course, given the fact that she was nearly ten months’ pregnant, I knew there was no possibility of her catching me if I had to run from her.

She started to say something, but stopped, then shook her head.

“Thank you for not arguing,” I said.

“The only reason I’m not arguing is because I think I just had a contraction,” she said.

45

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“Don’t I look serious?” she said, her teeth clenched. “I’m covered in sweat and grabbing my stomach. Yes. I’m serious.”

“You’ve been grabbing your stomach and sweating since we got here.”

“I can still punch you.”

“I’ll get Carly,” I said. “We need to go.”

“You’ll do nothing,” she said, glaring at me. “I’m going to time them and we’re going to keep walking. I’m going to make sure this little beast is coming out for sure before I go anywhere. I don’t trust it. Would be just like this kid to try and fake me out. It’s a little liar. So we are gonna wait.”

“Jules.”

“Now it’s your turn to shut up,” she said, smiling at me. “And check your watch. I’ll let you know when the next one arrives. The only thing you’re gonna do is count.”

This was the problem with marrying a mule-stubborn woman.

I sighed and marked the time on my watch. The C.A.K.E. people were mobilizing in front of us as we approached the judges’ tower. Scarecrow was on the float standing next to the “Earth,” looking like he’d stolen something. Dorothy was walking next to the truck, her hand pressed to her ear. I squinted and could see a small Bluetooth receiver in her ear.

Odd.

Two other guys were on the float next to Scarecrow and they looked just as nervous. Other members of C.A.K.E. were flanking each side of the float, moving like they were the Secret Service, scanning the crowds on the sidewalk. I couldn’t tell if they were actually looking for something specific or if they were just keeping watch.

Their float began to slow as they approached the judges’ tower. I could see Mama up on the tower, under her umbrella, a clipboard on her lap, her expression hidden behind a large pair of sunglasses. Bruce was next to her, looking bored. Matilda was next to him, trying to smile and wave, but she didn’t seem too into it.

The C.A.K.E. truck stopped and I could see Dorothy’s lips moving, but she didn’t seem to be talking to anyone near her. Clearly, the Bluetooth was in her ear for a reason.

Scarecrow shuffled around the Earth and put his hands on the paper-mâché orb.

And then lifted off the top of the Earth.

“Oh, crap,” I said. “Here we go.”

“Number two,” Julianne said through gritted teeth and bent slightly at the waist. “That was like almost fifteen minutes, right? We’re totally fine.”

I glanced at my watch. “Yeah. Fourteen minutes.”

She took several quick breaths, then made an undistinguishable sound that was somewhere between a squeal and a grunt.

“No problem,” she said, her hand still resting on her stomach, but trying to straighten her posture. “I’m good.”

I moved my eyes back to the Earth. The top was now on the flatbed next to the planet and several more members of C.A.K.E. had popped out of it.

With thick firefighter hoses.

“This is what fracking feels like!” Dorothy suddenly yelled.

Matilda and Bruce looked confused, but Mama looked pissed that anyone had the nerve to do anything out of the ordinary at her parade. She leaned forward in her seat, mouth open, about to yell something at them.

And then she looked wet.

The Earth, in addition to containing people, was also filled with some sort of water container, because the hoses were spraying the judges. Long, heavy streams of water crashed all over Mama, Bruce, and Matilda.

And the C.A.K.E. members were now chanting “NO FRACKING!”

The crowd was screaming; people were running around, unsure as to whether this was part of the show or it was something they needed to be worried about.

And, off to the side, I saw Susan Blamunski sneaking down the sidewalk, trying to disappear in the chaos.

I knew it. I knew she had something to do with George’s death and I’d spooked her. There was no way I was letting her get away.

“Uh-oh,” Julianne said. “This isn’t good.”

“I told you something was happening. I can’t figure out how they filled that thing with water. There must be a tank of some sort.”

“No,” she said. “Not what I mean, Deuce.”

I looked at her. Her hand was still on her stomach, but her breathing had slowed and her jaw didn’t look like it was clenched shut. But she was standing in a large puddle of . . . something.

“My water just broke.”

And then it really got crazy.

46

“Your what just what?” I said amid the shouting and noise.

“Relax,” she said, leaning against our now stationary float. “My water broke. The beast is definitely coming.” She pumped a fist in the air. “Yes!”