Redemption (20 page)

He turned to Ramsey. “Uh, Ramsey, go check on that door, see if I
really
broke it.” After Ramsey left, Overton whispered, “Haven’t you heard?”

“
Obviously, I haven’t heard anything.”

“
Margaret Ledbetter’s dead.”

Autumn turned toward the sink and turned off the water. “Margaret?”

“
Yep. Another so-called suicide. So when you didn’t answer your phone, I panicked. I’m sorry.”

“
What are you worried about me for?”

Overton shook his head. “It’s ... it’s a small town.”

“
Getting to be like the killing fields, huh?”

Overton nodded.

“
And now Margaret. How’d it happen?”

“
She jumped or was pushed from her office window. Forty-four stories.”

“
My God.”

Ramsey returned. “It ain’t broke, Miss Harper.”

“
Ramsey, I know I left the car running. Why don’t you—”

“
Okay, okay,” Ramsey said, and he left.

Autumn leaned over the sink. “You’re keeping Ramsey in the dark about all this, huh?”

“
Yep.”

“
Why?”

“
I don’t know the man all that well.” He tapped the counter. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re all right. But why aren’t you in Calhoun?”

“
I have to work on the
Beacon.
I made a few calls instead.” She waved a hand behind her. “My notes are on the table.”

Overton removed the top sheet from a notepad and read:

Overton’s heart nearly stopped. “The boy is dead?”

Autumn turned, her expression blank. “They never found the bodies, just the wreckage.”

“
And he was definitely a passenger?”

Autumn nodded. “It was in the paper. The good reverend flew right into a storm.”

But Jones didn’t mention anything about the boy dying, but I didn’t ask him about the boy, did I?
“Who’d you talk to?”

“
FAA. It’s still under investigation. They take six months or more to announce the obvious, but they’re saying it looks like pilot error. Oh, and I looked through a few old yearbooks last night. There’s a picture I want you to see.”

She led him into the den, a spotless room with a white brick fireplace and built-in bookshelves crammed with best-sellers. She picked a yearbook off the glass table and flipped a few pages, laying it on the table in front of Overton. “See anyone familiar?”

The black and white picture was grainy and gray, but there was no mistaking its subjects. The caption read: “The Fab Five: Jimmy Lee Sellers, Margaret Ledbetter, Sharese White, Jeremiah Poindexter, and Michael Lavender.” The boys wore red and white football jerseys, the girls blood red cheerleader sweaters.

And they’re sitting on the tailgate of a pickup.
“Whose truck is this?”

“
Jimmy Lee’s.”

“
Did it have a light bar?”

“
A what?”

“
A row of lights just behind the cab, you know, fog lights.”

Autumn shrugged. “All I remember is that it was fancy and high off the ground and that he drove it too fast.”

They look so happy, like you’re supposed to look in high school.
“Can I keep this?”

“
Sure.”

He noted the page number and closed the yearbook. “Does Margaret have any kin around here?”

“
She might. I’ll make a few calls.”

Overton stood. “And were Margaret and Jimmy Lee ever engaged?”

“
Not officially. It was more of an understood thing. They dated all through high school and college so naturally we all thought they were engaged. There was never an announcement in the paper.”

Overton regarded Autumn for a few seconds. “Are you okay?”

“
Not anymore.”

“
Better start locking your doors.”

She smiled. “Got an extra gun?”

“
Just listen to your stereo from now on, okay?”

“
Okay.”

“
And keep that cell phone of yours handy.”

She smiled, the first smile he’d seen all day. “You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you cared about me.”

Overton blushed. “Just take care of yourself.”

“
Thanks. What are your plans for the day?”

“
Going to do a little visiting.”

“
Michael and Sharese?”

“
Yep.”

“
Say hello for me.”

“
I will.”

Michael and Sharese Lavender lived in a brick Cape Cod on a fifty-acre spread off 109, the main road to Pine. A lush but lonely place, the Lavender farm seemed to thrive as other farms failed, its yearly crops of corn and soy beans often coming in early.

“
Old boy’s done all right, ain’t he?” Ramsey commented. “Some folks are just blessed, huh?”

They rolled along the long drive to the side of the house where they saw Michael Lavender in a massive barn washing a tan Winnebago with a long, foamy brush.

“
Must be nice to have one of those,” Ramsey said.

And why would he be washing the Winnebago unless he’s going on a vacation?
Overton thought.
It ain’t likely he’s getting it ready to go out for groceries.

Overton pulled the cruiser into the barn to the right of the Winnebago and got out. “Howdy, Michael.”

“
Sheriff.” Michael nodded to Ramsey and resumed sweeping the brush in long strokes over the hood of the Winnebago. Michael had never had to lift weights—“He’s just big-bone-ded” Callie had told Overton—and had three miniature Michael’s for sons, all with Michael’s baby face and penetrating dark eyes.

How do you tell a man this big and strong that his life may be in danger?
Overton watched Michael work. “Can’t do that over in Calhoun,” Overton said. “They’re on water restriction.”

“
My wells are holdin’ out fine,” Michael said, and he rinsed the hood with a hose.

“
Taking a trip?” Overton asked.

Michael turned the nozzle, the spray vanishing. “Yeah. I’m takin’ the kids to see Mickey Mouse down in Disneyworld while they’re still young enough to appreciate him.”

“
How old are they getting now?”

“
Let’s see. Michael Junior’s ten, Tony’s eight, and Benny’s just turned six. Sharese took ‘em over to Calhoun to get new swimsuits and such.” He squinted and laughed. “Your car could use a cleanin’.”

Overton looked from Michael to Ramsey to the car. “Sure could. Do you mind if Ramsey knocked the dust off it?”

“
Nope.” He handed the hose to Ramsey. “Got plenty of soap, too.”

“
Gee thanks, Sheriff,” Ramsey said, and he began spraying the cruiser.

“
Got some lemonade in the house,” Michael said, and he and Overton entered the house through the mud room to the kitchen. Michael loaded large tumblers with ice, filled them to the brim with lemonade, and handed one to Overton.

“
Thanks.” He took a sip, and his eyes popped wide.

“
Sweet, ain’t it? The boys like lots of sugar.”

“
It’s good,” Overton said, and he looked around the kitchen: oak cabinets, a fancy double stove, every possible convenience.
This ain’t your typical farmhouse.
“Nice kitchen.”

“
It’s Sharese’s dream kitchen, but you didn’t come all the way out here to wash your car and get a tour.”

“
No.” Overton set his glass on the counter. “You heard about Margaret Ledbetter?”

“
Yeah. It was all over the TV.”

“
Did you know her pretty well?”

“
Long time ago,” Michael said. “In high school. Jimmy Lee’s girlfriend. She was okay. For a white girl.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
I mean she spoke to me, said hello, that sort of thing.”

In other words, she wasn’t that friendly to him.
“But that was in high school. What about after?”

Michael took a long drink. “What you think?”

The friendship ended.
“Were she and Jimmy Lee ever engaged?”

“
Don’t know, and I don’t care. I haven’t spoken to Jimmy Lee since high school.”

“
But you’re on his land, right?” Overton asked.

Michael shrugged.

“
Doesn’t he come around?” Overton asked.

“
No. He don’t have time for us anymore. He’s
big
now.”

Michael has a full cord of wood instead of chips on those broad shoulders.
“And you know all about Darcy, Annie, and Lester.”

“Yeah. A shame.”

There’s that word again.
“They were on Jimmy Lee’s land, too.”

“
Didn’t know that.” Michael finished his lemonade. “What’s that got to do with me?”

Overton shrugged. “Just something to think about. When y’all pulling out?”

“
Sunday night. Shouldn’t be too much traffic.”

“
Been planning this trip a long time?”

“
You might say that.”

And you might not?
“Just up and go, huh?”

Michael and poured himself another glass. “Yeah. Nothin’ illegal about it, right?”

“
No.”
This man is paranoid about something.
“It’s just that, well, it’s just that I think you and Sharese and the kids are in danger.”

Michael’s didn’t blink.

The man should have reacted in some way. It’s as if he knows.
“And somehow, I think you know that, too. No one, in his right mind anyway, goes down to Florida in July, Michael. It’s hotter than hell down there right about now, and I don’t think they’ve put out all the fires yet.”

Michael wiped a line of sweat from his forehead.

Sweat doesn’t lie,
Overton thought.
Michael’s feeling it.
“Now I don’t know where this danger’s coming from exactly, but I’m working on it. Maybe you can help me out.”

“
You think I’m in danger.”

“
Yes.”

“
Well I don’t think so, so how can I help you?”

Good point.
“Well, I talked to Annie before she died, and she said that J was back. ‘J’s back’ were her exact words. What do you think she meant by that?”

Michael rattled the ice cubes in his glass. “J’s dead.”

“
I know, I know. But maybe Annie saw somebody who looked like J. Know anyone who looks like J?”

Michael set his glass on the counter and crossed his arms. “Only one person I know who looks like J, and that’s his brother.”

Play dumb.
“Isaiah?”

Michael shook his head. “Jimmy Lee.”

Overton looked at the ceiling. “You know, you might be right about that. But why would Jimmy Lee want to hurt Annie?”

Michael didn’t respond.

“
I mean, Jimmy Lee is auctioning off her land—and Darcy’s house and Lester’s spread. What’s this place worth?”