Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen (11 page)

“I've heard that Lynn had somebody special and that she was going to give up everybody else,” he said. “Do you know who that might have been?”

Lonnie said, “I told you I didn't know any names.”

“Right, but wouldn't Lynn have mentioned a special someone?”

Lonnie was silent for a while. Finally he said, “I think so, but she never did.”

Again Rhodes had the feeling that Lonnie was holding back, but he didn't know what to ask. That was all right. He could wait.

“You're going to get whoever killed Jeff, aren't you?” Lonnie asked.

“The funeral won't be for a few days,” Rhodes said. “By then I'll have this all cleared up.”

Lonnie looked away. “Really?”

“If you help me,” Rhodes said.

“I've told you everything I know.”

Rhodes wanted to believe him, but he didn't. “You're sure?” he asked.

“I'm sure. You find him, Sheriff. Please.”

“I'll find him,” Rhodes said.

*   *   *

Before he went to see Abby Tustin, Rhodes went back to the jail to call Tyler's mother. It was a part of the job that was almost as upsetting as finding a murder victim, but it had to be done. Even Hack was serious while Rhodes went about making the call.

When it was done, Hack said, “Been a long day, ain't it.”

“It's not over yet,” Rhodes said. “How'd the business with the wild hogs turn out?”

“Alton went out there and set a couple of traps.”

“Did that satisfy Bradley?”

“Not much. He wasn't hurt any, though, so he's got no room for complainin'. Those hogs are tearin' up this whole county. The next thing you know, they'll be rootin' up Main Street.”

“Nobody will notice,” Rhodes said.

Hack gave a rueful laugh. “You got that right. I can remember Saturday nights when people on the sidewalks downtown were thicker than the hairs on a dog's back. Stores were crowded. There was even a picture show.”

“Been a while,” Rhodes said.

“
The Golden Child
,” Hack said.

“What?”

“
The Golden Child.
That was the name of the last picture show we had in this town. I didn't go see it, but I remember that name.”

“You should've gone,” Rhodes said.

“Kinda wish I had. Too late now, though.”

“Not as late as it is for Jeff Tyler.”

“Nope. Or Lynn Ashton. You got any suspects?”

“Too many,” Rhodes said.

“Well, you'll get it all sorted out.”

“I'd better,” Rhodes said.

*   *   *

Abby Tustin lived with her husband and son, age about five, Rhodes thought, on a county road south of town. When Rhodes got out of his car, a couple of barking dogs charged around from the back of the house and jumped around him as if hoping he might pat them on the head or give them a doggy treat.

Eric Tustin came out the front door and stood on the porch. He apologized for the dogs, but Rhodes said he didn't mind. He had dogs of his own.

“Supposed to be watchdogs,” Eric said, “but they're about as much use as a sidesaddle on a sow.”

He was a big man with dirty blond hair, a big nose, and big ears that stuck out from his head. He had a great haircut.

“Come on in,” he said. “I guess you're here about Lynn.”

“That's right,” Rhodes said. “I need to talk to Abby.”

“She's fixin' supper.” Eric held the door for Rhodes, who went inside. He could smell bacon frying.

“Black-eyed peas, cornbread, and bacon,” Eric said. “A real country supper. You're welcome to stay. Abby'll set a plate for you.”

Rhodes would have loved to, but he didn't have time. He just wanted to talk to Abby.

A little towheaded boy peeked around the kitchen door at Rhodes.

“That's Jeremy,” Eric said by way of introduction. “He's never seen a sheriff before.”

“Hey, Jeremy,” Rhodes said, and the boy disappeared.

“He's a little shy,” Eric said. “You take a seat, and I'll get Abby.”

The living room was furnished with a big flat-screen TV, a couple of recliners, and a couch. Rhodes sat in one of the recliners, but he resisted the urge to recline.

In a minute or so, Abby came in. She was much smaller than her husband, with a round, pretty face. Eric and Jeremy stayed in the kitchen.

“I'm sorry to interrupt your supper,” Rhodes said, standing up. “I'll try not to take long.”

“You take as long as you want,” Abby said. “Let's sit down. The peas and bacon will keep, and the cornbread will stay warm in the oven. I want to help you if I can.”

Rhodes asked the standard questions and got the standard answers. Everybody loved Lynn, well, not everybody, but most everybody. She wasn't as bad as people said, and she sure could cut hair. Was she having affairs? That's what people said, but Abby didn't know for sure. Lynn never talked about things like that.

“Except maybe to Lonnie,” Abby said. “They were good friends. Lonnie … he's … you know.”

“I know,” Rhodes said.

Abby smiled. “He thinks nobody knows. I don't know why he's so worried about it. It bothered Eric a little at first, but he's okay with it now.”

“Did Eric know Lynn?”

Abby tensed and her mouth twisted. “That's not a very nice question, Sheriff.”

“I didn't mean anything by it,” Rhodes said, though it wasn't strictly true.

“I guess a sheriff has to ask things like that,” Abby said, relaxing a bit. “Anyway, Eric didn't know Lynn much. He gets his hair cut at the shop, but I'm the one who cuts it, not Lynn.”

“It's a great haircut,” Rhodes said.

“You could come by the shop,” Abby said, smiling. “I'd cut yours just like it.” She looked at him critically. “Except yours is a little thin. I might have to try something different.”

“I appreciate the offer,” Rhodes said.

“Lynn was even better than I am. Sandra was sure lucky she didn't go off and open her own shop in Waco or somewhere.”

“Wasn't she happy here?”

“She would've been if she were making more money,” Abby said. “We all need more, I guess. I'm just lucky Eric has a good job. The way things are these days, it takes two incomes just to get by.”

“Lynn had … friends,” Rhodes said.

“I don't think she ever took money from them,” Abby said. “Besides, I'm not so sure she had as many friends as people seemed to think. She never talked to me about any of them.”

Rhodes thought about that. Lonnie hadn't been able to give him any names, either, and Lonnie was supposed to be Lynn's best friend.

Rhodes talked to Abby a while longer, but she didn't have anything useful to offer. Rhodes finally told her to call him if she thought of anything that might help.

“I sure will, Sheriff.” She walked him to the door. “You sure you can't stay for supper?”

“I'm sure,” Rhodes said, “much as I'd like to.”

Before he got out the door, Jeremy came scuttling back into the room. He hid behind his mother and looked around her at Rhodes.

“'Bye, Jeremy,” Rhodes said.

Jeremy didn't say a word.

*   *   *

It was getting dark, but Rhodes had one more stop to make. He wanted to look at Lynn's house and see if there was anything there that might give him a clue to what had happened. He couldn't do a thorough search, but he could at least check the most obvious things. He'd have Ruth do a complete job the next day.

Before he went to Lynn's house, however, he stopped at Nora Fischer's. She'd lived in Clearview all her life, and Rhodes had been in her American history class long ago. In fact, that was one of the classes in which he'd sat next to Sandra.

Nora came to the door, but before she opened it, she said, “Who's there?”

“Sheriff Rhodes, Ms. Fischer.”

“That sounds like you, all right, Danny,” she said, and Rhodes felt almost as if he were back in the tenth grade again.

The door opened. Nora Fischer was a small woman, not over five four, but she had seemed formidable to Rhodes when he was in her class. He wondered if she'd shrunk. She still wore her gray hair in a bun on top of her head, and she peered at Rhodes through thick glasses.

“You've put on a little weight, Danny,” she said.

“Yes, ma'am, I expect I have,” Rhodes said.

“That's good. You needed it. You were such a skinny young man.”

Rhodes didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing.

“You must be here about my neighbor,” Nora said.

“That's right.”

“You come on in, then. I don't know that I can help you, but I'll be glad to try.”

Rhodes followed her into a living room that was furnished a bit like Lonnie's, the difference being that in Nora's case the furniture hadn't come from thrift shops. It had all been there for fifty years. It was worn but not badly, and unlike Lonnie, Nora had a rocking chair. She went over to it and sat down.

Rhodes sat on the couch. He was afraid she might ask him to explain the Articles of Confederation or the Missouri Compromise or something along those lines, but she said, “Lynn was a good neighbor to me. She checked up on me now and then, and she didn't make noise or have any barking dogs like some I could name.”

Rhodes was about to say he couldn't do anything about barking dogs, but she didn't give him a chance. She said, “She didn't visit much, though. I like having a little company now and then.”

She gave Rhodes an accusing look.

“I'm sorry not to drop by more often,” he said, not that he'd ever dropped by. “I know Lonnie Wallace came by now and then.”

“He's a sweet boy,” Nora said. “He and Lynn were good friends.”

“Yes,” Rhodes said. “They were. I was wondering about her other friends.”

“You don't think that I pay any attention to the people who come and go in this neighborhood, do you?”

“Ms. Fischer, I remember how you were in history class. There wasn't anything that went on that you didn't see. You remember that time in history class when I tried to pass a note to Jennifer Stubbs?”

“I remember a lot of things, Danny, but I don't remember that.”

“I was sitting in about the middle of the back row,” Rhodes said. “You were writing something on the blackboard, so your back was turned to the class. I didn't think you could possibly see me. So I passed the note, and you said, ‘Danny Rhodes, do you want me to read that to the whole class?' I thought you had eyes in the back of your head.”

Nora laughed a dry little laugh. “I don't know how I did it, either. Maybe I just knew your character and took a wild guess that something was going on.”

Rhodes grinned. “Maybe.”

“Did I read the note to the class?”

“No, ma'am. You took it up and put it in the middle drawer of your desk. I appreciated that.”

“So you owe me a favor.”

“Maybe so, but I'm hoping you'll do me one. Do you want to take any wild guesses about Lynn Ashton's character?”

“That's a different kind of thing from knowing you were passing a note.”

Nora rocked a little, and a calico cat wandered into the room. It looked at Rhodes with disdain and walked over to Nora, who stopped rocking. The cat jumped into her lap, settled down, and started to purr.

Rhodes sneezed. Ivy had told him many times that he wasn't really allergic to cats, that he just thought he was. It didn't really matter. They made him sneeze either way.

“This is Clementine,” Nora said, rubbing the cat.

“Hi, Clementine,” Rhodes said, but the cat didn't bother to look at him again. The purring continued.

“Are you allergic to cats?” Nora asked.

“Maybe,” Rhodes said. “I've never been to a doctor to find out for sure.”

“I'm not,” Nora said. “Clementine keeps me company when I don't have visitors.” She glanced at Rhodes. “And even when I do.”

“What about those wild guesses?” Rhodes asked, trying to get back to the topic at hand.

“You always were impatient, Danny,” Nora said. She rubbed the cat and changed the subject again. “Do you remember what this town used to be like?”

“When?”

“When you were young and could walk downtown at night without anybody worrying about what might happen to you. When there
was
a downtown. When people didn't have to lock their doors, even at night. When you could accidentally leave your purse on a store counter and before long you'd get a call from the clerk to let you know where the purse was and that it was just fine. That's when.”

“Times have changed, I guess,” Rhodes said.

“Not for the better if you ask me,” Nora said, “but nobody ever asks me. They don't ask me because I'm old, and all old people feel that way about the changing of the world. I'm sure my parents did, and theirs before them.”

“I wouldn't be surprised,” Rhodes said, stifling another sneeze.

“You didn't come here to listen to me rattle on, though, did you.”

“I wouldn't call it rattling on.”

“Well, it is,” Nora said. “As for those wild guesses, I can't make any. I do know that Lynn had a few men visitors, but I didn't see anything wrong with that. I have one or two myself. Hers were older than mine.” She looked at Rhodes. “Mostly.”

“Did you know any of them?”

“One of them was a county commissioner, the one who has that flashy little car and wears those awful shirts.”

“Mikey Burns,” Rhodes said, smiling a little at her opinion of Burns's wardrobe.

“That's the one,” Nora said. “He was only there once or twice. I don't really remember any of the others. They were better dressed than Mr. Burns, I can tell you that.”