Read Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction Online
Authors: Amy Metz
Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction (42 page)
If you are reading this, I must be dead. I’m so sorry darlin’,
I didn’t want to hurt you and the children, I just wanted to find the truth and have justice reign. Please take this letter to Bug, and do not show or discuss it with anyone else. As you are now sadly all too aware, this is serious business.
I have had thoughts of Nate Hunter’s involvement in the bank robbery for some time now, because of these reasons:
1) He lowered the window shade on the day of the robbery about two minutes before the bandits entered the bank, although it didn’t register with me until later.
This was strange, because not only has that shade never been raised or lowered in the twelve years of my employment at the bank, there also was no cause to lower it. The sun was not shining into that window. I believe Hunter was signaling his cohorts that the time was right for them to begin the robbery.
2) The robbers’ choice to take Nate hostage instead of Tallulah was a peculiar one. Why take a big man, when you could take a small woman?
3) Nate didn’t seem to be shaken up when he came back to the bank after the robbers let him go. He also couldn’t provide any
details about the robbers, their car, or which way they were headed. Or was it that he
wouldn’t
provide those details?
5)
At first he was wishy-washy about identifying the robbers.
6) He’s made some peculiar purchases since the robbery that seem out of bounds on his salary.
And
then
tonight after closing time, everyone had gone home except for Nate and me. As he closed the vault to the safe deposit area,
I saw him stuffing a wad of bills into his pocket. I questioned him, and he threatened me. Then he offered me a cut of the bank robbery money to keep quiet. I went along with him, and told him I needed more—some from each of the bandits. Once I find out who they all are, I’ll take the money and the information to Bug. For now, the money Nate gave me is in the floorboard behind my desk at the bank. If something should happen to me, tell Bug to look there, and show him this letter.
I felt the need to leave this account of my suspicions. I can’t tell
anyone else, for fear I’ll put them in danger. I pray to God this all ends peacefully and you will never have to read this letter.
Your loving husband,
John
“
Holy cow,” Tess said, after she’d finished reading. She shook Jack’s shoulder with excitement. “It was Nate Hunter. Jack! We’ve found it! It was Nate Hunter!”
They
both looked at the letter again, and reread the entire page.
Suddenly,
the room went dark. They both froze. Ezzie whined and moved in between them. Tess reached for Jack.
“
Jack . . . “
“
It’s okay, Boo. It’s just the storm.” As he finished his sentence, the lights came back on.
“
Whew. I’ve been watching too many movies.” Tess laughed
nervously.
“
There’s one problem now, Mary T.”
“
I know. Ezzie made a mess with the tissue paper.” She looked across the room to the carpet littered with shreds of tissue paper. “She had quite a fun time though, didn’t she?”
“
Yes, but that’s not what I meant. Our big problem is we don’t know who’s related to Nate Hunter.” Jack looked at his watch. “Twelve thirty. It’s too late to call Martha Maye or Lou, isn’t it?”
“
I’d say so. Let me get my lap top, though. We can look online and see if we can find anything on one of the genealogy sites.”
Tess
opened her laptop, and tried to log on to the Internet.
“Hmm . . . that’s weird. My Internet is down.”
“
I’ll bet it’s the rain. It’s happened before. When the lights tripped a minute ago, somethin’ probably happened with the phone lines, too.” He went to the cordless phone across the room. “Yep. It’s dead.”
“
Well, there’s no reason why this can’t wait until tomorrow morning. Everyone assumes the culprit was Tank Marshall. With him out of the way, whoever’s responsible for all of this probably thinks we’re satisfied the case has been solved. Tomorrow morning we’ll talk to Martha Maye and Lou. If they don’t know who’s related to Nate Hunter, we’ll find somebody in town who does know.”
Jack
went back to the trunk, looking one more time for anything else that might be hidden. Then he put the letter back in the compartment and closed it and the trunk lid, putting the key on top. Tess got up and walked to him, wrapping her arms around him.
“
Tess, I can’t believe you’re not itching to clean up that mess.” His eyes pointed to Ezzie’s tissue paper mess.
“
Well, I’ve never had a Vernon in my life.”
He
smiled and kissed her. Ezzie wagged her tail, her whole bottom moving along with it.
* * *
The next morning, Tess had just finished getting dressed when her doorbell rang. Jack had said he’d be by to pick her up around nine o’clock, so she assumed he was at the door.
“
You’re earl—” she stopped when she saw the intimidating men at her door and immediately tried to close it, but Willy and his burly friend were too fast for her. They pushed their way in, and shut the door
behind them.
He
Put The 'E' In Ig-nernt
ignernt
: adjective \ig-ner-uhnt\ ignorant
He put the ‘e’ in ignernt
.
[
July
2010 ]
“Go close the curtains,” Willy ordered the other man, pushing Tess into the den.
“
Willy, what do you think you’re doing?” Tess demanded.
“
Tying up loose ends.” He looked at the trunk sitting on her living room floor. He took the key off the top and opened it.
“
Looka here, Joe Bob,” Willy said. “Look at this nice big trunk. Are you thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?”
“
Uh . . . what are you thinkin’?”
“
Joe Bob, I swear you put the 'e' in ig-nernt.” Willy threw him some rope. “Tie her up,” he barked. “She's goin' in the trunk.”
“
You? You’re not serious.” Tess snickered. “You can’t be the one who’s been behind all the shenanigans.” She began laughing. He moved toward her while tearing off a piece of duct tape with his teeth.
“
Hold her still,” he told Joe Bob. He roughly plastered the tape over her mouth. He was standing so close to her, she could smell coffee and cigarettes on his breath. He smoothed the tape over her cheek and let his hand linger on her face. He let it trail down her neck, leering at her, as she struggled to get free.
“
Mmm, mmm, Doll. You and me coulda had us a
good
time. Might still have time for that.” His smile made her shiver.
Joe
Bob finished tying her hands together. “C’mon, Willy, we gotta move it. The boss said get her PDQ.”
Willy
looked confused. “Huh?”
Tess
let out a muffled laugh.
Even I know that one
.
Willy
looked blankly from Joe Bob to Tess. In a tone that suggested he couldn’t be any more stupid, Joe Bob said, “Pretty Dern Quick. Get it?”
“
Yeah, yeah. I knew that.” He cleared his throat. “You got her hands tied good and tight?”
Joe
Bob tugged on the rope around her hands tied in the back. “Yep.”
“
Head or tail?” Willy sneered.
“
Huh?” It was Joe Bob’s turn to be confused.
“
Aw, crap. Nemmine.
I’ll
get her head
and
her tail.” With that, Willy picked up Tess, fireman-style, and carried her to the trunk. Tess kicked and squirmed, but he just laughed as he held on tighter. She kicked harder, and Joe Bob took hold of her legs; together they put her into the trunk and tried to shut the lid.
“
Gad night a livin’,” Willy cursed. “We’re gonna have to undo her hands. We can’t close the lid unless we can get her to curl up into a little ball. She won’t be goin’ anywhere anyway, once the lid is shut and locked. Gwon, untie her.”
Joe
Bob untied Tess’s hands and pushed her head down into the trunk. It was a tight fit, but she was small enough and the trunk was big enough for it to just work out. As soon as they closed the lid, she pulled the tape off of her mouth.
She
could feel the trunk being picked up and could hear the men talking.
BUMP.
They must've run into a wall or something. Bunch of bumbling idiots.
She
felt a jiggling sensation, and she could tell they were walking. Then she felt herself being lowered and dropped, and then seconds later being picked back up.
What are they going to do to me?
She could see daylight through a small crack in the trunk.
Who’s behind this?
She felt a sliding motion and figured they were loading her into a vehicle of some kind.
Where are they taking me?
Her mind was racing.
What will they do to me?
Her breathing was heavy.
Will Jack find me in time?
It was so hot
inside the trunk she had to breathe through her mouth, but exhaling made it hotter.
She
heard Willy say, “Damnation.” Then she heard a car door and someone else’s voice.
“
Willy? What in tarnation are you doin’ here?” a woman’s voice said.
Tess
tried to slow her breathing and strained to hear what was
being said.
“
And where you goin’ with my mama’s trunk?”
“
Help!” Tess screamed.
“
What's that noise? What are you—” She heard Martha Maye scream, then heard movement, like a scuffle.
Martha
Maye! Oh no.
“
Hey!” she screamed.
The
tailgate creaked. A heavy thud landed right next to her. Then there was darkness. Doors slammed shut. The truck started and began moving.
* * *
When Jack arrived at the police station
,
neither Skeeter nor Hank were there.
“
Do you know if they got any information back on the little matter they were looking into?” he asked Bernadette.
“
Hey, Jack.” She sidled up to him. “They said if you came by to tell you, um . . . “ She leaned over her desk and picked up a Post-It note. “They said to tell you the test was pos’tive, whatever that means, and they’ve gone back out to try to gather more evidence. That answer your question, sugar britches?”
“
It sure does, thanks.” He headed toward the door.
“
You’re not pregnant, are ya?” Burnadette laughed.
“
Don’t think so,” he said over his shoulder, running toward the parking lot.
Jack
hurried to his truck. “The donuts will have to wait, Ezzie. We need to get to Tess’s house. This is getting curiouser and curiouser.” He pushed his foot on the accelerator. She stuck her head out the window, nose high in the air, ears flapping like a flag in a stiff breeze. “We gotta go and pick up Tess. I want to talk to Lou as soon as we can. And
I don’t want Tess outta my sight until we find out who’s behind this. Although, I reckon even then I won’t want her outta my sight.”
He
pulled into Tess’s driveway, and Ezzie trotted beside him to the door. He knocked and tried the knob, but it was locked. He waited. He knocked again. “Where is she, girl?” She cocked her head at him. He stepped off the front porch and walked toward the side of the house. And then he noticed it.
“
Oh no.” Dread enveloped him. “The drapes are closed.”
Up Like A Cheap Alarm Clock
kin
: noun \kin\ family
You got any kin around these parts?
kin
: noun \kin\ can
Kin I go up to the store for a spell?
[ July
2010 ]
Jack broke the glass of a windowpane in Tess’s kitchen door, reached through and unlocked it, racing through the house, searching and calling for her. “Tess!”