Rock-a-Bye Bones (36 page)

“I don't know that I can live with this.”

I reached across the seat and pinched her arm really hard, until she squealed. “You don't have a choice. You have to live with this. You owe it to Oscar and everyone else who loves you. Think how Oscar will feel if he knows you were willing to abandon him to have Libby. You can't hurt him that way. I won't let you.”

She brushed a tear from her cheek. “I wasn't thinking clearly.”

“Exactly. And now you are. This is settled.”

“Coleman will want to investigate the call. He'll check my phone.”

I reached across and snatched her phone from her purse. “Pull out the guts. Kill it and throw it out the window.”

She did as I ordered, smashing it to bits and tossing it.

“Now just hold to the lie. We'll slide through this.” I had to take this one step further to be sure she understood what faced her. “You have to give Pleasant her baby, and you have to do it with a smile.”

When she finally answered, it was in a whisper. “I can't.”

“Oh, yes you can. And you will. And you will be delighted that they are together as a family. Pleasant is a good kid, and she's going to be a great mother. She and Frankie will provide the perfect home, and you and Oscar will be part of it. Those kids will share Libby with you and Oscar. They will.
If
you play your cards right.”

“Okay.” She sounded defeated, not convinced. But only time would prove how right I was. In my heart I knew Frankie and Pleasant would come to view Tinkie and Oscar as extended family. Libby would always be a part of the Richmonds' life.

“What's that up ahead?” We were still thirty minutes from Zinnia, and far ahead it looked like something was on fire.

“There aren't any houses out here.” Tinkie leaned forward.

“It's a car.” The closer we got, the more detail I saw. A car had somehow managed to flip and burst into flames on a dead straight road.

“Sarah Booth, that's a sports car. It's a…” Her voice held dread.

“Yeah, a convertible.”

I slowed when we got close. The car had flipped on its side and burned in the ditch beside the fallow cotton field. There was no sign of the driver or any passengers. When I was very near, I slowed almost to a stop. I reached for my phone to call 911, but Tinkie grabbed my arm with fingers of iron.

“Don't stop,” Tinkie said.

“We have to stop.” I couldn't drive by an accident that had obviously just happened without stopping to make sure someone wasn't injured.

“Look at the car.”

I could hardly make it out because it was so damaged. “It's a convertible. The driver could have been thrown clear.”

“It's a Mercedes roadster, Sarah Booth.”

I felt my lungs contract. She was right. It was a car exactly like mine.

“This is a trap.” Tinkie reached for the wheel as her window exploded and glass flew everywhere.

 

27

I hit the gas, but the Caddy moved too slowly and another bullet shattered the back passenger window where Sweetie was sitting. I cut the wheel sharply left, and for one brief moment, Gertrude Strom was illuminated in the headlights, a rifle to her shoulder.

“Hit her!” Tinkie commanded.

I jerked the wheel right and a bullet thunked into the driver's door as the wheels gained traction and the car shot forward. The front wheels hit the thick gumbo soil of the field and the car slewed left, then right. There was a thud as the heavy Cadillac struck something. I had no idea what as I struggled to get the car on the road and prevent it from flipping. The gumbo held the wheels like cement, making the car impossible to guide.

At last I steered up onto the road and stopped. “Is the baby okay?” Glass had showered Tinkie, the infant, and Chablis.

“She's fine.” Tinkie sounded a lot less shaken up than I did.

“Check the pets,” I said, my voice weak.

Tinkie put Libby on the seat between us before she leaned over the front seat. “Sweetie has a bad cut on her back, and Pluto has a shard in his paw. He won't let me touch it.”

“Are they okay until we get to Zinnia?”

“I'm pretty sure. I'll watch them. You drive.”

“I hit something. It could have been Gertrude.” I looked behind us but there was only the burning car and darkness.

“You are not going to check.” Tinkie grabbed my wrist. “You are not. She could be waiting there with her rifle, ready to take you out. Then she'd come for me, the baby, and the pets.”

She was right. I couldn't risk those in my care. “Call Coleman.” I nudged my phone toward her as I focused on the road ahead. I stomped the gas and the wheels squealed as we tore down the highway. As fast as I was going, I had to be extra careful.

Tinkie got my favorite lawman on the line and gave him a full report on Gertrude, the burning car, the shots fired. “How does she always know where we are and what we're doing?” Tinkie asked.

She'd put Coleman on speaker so I could hear. “That's a good question, Tinkie. Oscar has been looking for you for the past eight hours. He's worried sick and he didn't have a clue where you'd gone. What are you two doing driving on back roads?”

“Coming home from Memphis,” Tinkie said, and I admired her cool. “I'll explain when I get there.” She gave him the location of the accident on Highway 3 so he could call the state troopers to the scene. “We might have hit Gertrude with the car. We couldn't stop and check because she was armed.”

“That was the proper decision. You say the car was burning when you saw it?”

“That's right. In the middle of a stretch of straight, empty highway.”

“It's possible Gertrude has some kind of tracking device on your car. Possibly on both of your cars.” Coleman sounded upset and worried. “We'll check when you get home. Where have you been, Tinkie? Where could Gertrude have located your car to put something on it?”

“The Memphis airport.”

Give my partner credit, she was sticking as closely to the truth as possible.

“So the car was left in a parking garage?”

“Yes.”

“Is Sarah Booth okay?”

“She's fine and we're taking Libby to the hospital. Please alert Doc that Sweetie Pie is cut and may need a stitch or two.”

“Will do.”

Tinkie disconnected and leaned back against the seat. “This entire night has been surreal. I can't believe I was going to skip the country and go to Central America. Then we start home and Gertrude almost kills us.”

“I know. She's after me, but she doesn't care who else gets hurt.”

“I hope you hit her, Sarah Booth. You should have driven back and forth over her body to make sure she was dead. Freaking Jason.”

I grinned at her horror reference. “I was afraid the Cadillac would get stuck in the field. If we'd been stranded, we would have been sitting ducks for her.”

“She's stuck out there now, without transportation. She burned up her car just to set the scene so you'd slow down.”

There was no doubt. Gertrude was totally insane. “Gertrude stole that car from the dealership. It was always just a way to torment me.”

“If she's on foot, they'll get her.”

I wasn't sure that was true. So far, Gertrude had eluded all attempts at capture. But with what Tinkie had facing her, I kept my thoughts about Gertrude to myself.

When at last we pulled up at the hospital, Doc came out to check Sweetie Pie. I hung back with my dog, but Doc whispered in my ear. “Go with Tinkie. I'll take care of Sweetie, and your partner needs you now more than the dog does. I've deadened the area, and I can take care of this right here in the car. It won't take but a couple of stitches to close the wound. And I'll take care of Pluto's paw.”

Like it or not, I was in for the whole ride. Tinkie would have to act her way through this encounter, and I would have to be the supporting actress. I caught up with Tinkie in the corridor and walked beside her to Pleasant's room.

When she pushed open the door, we were greeted by Pleasant, who was sitting up in bed. Beside her were her mother and sister. Frankie Graham, whose wide grin was a billboard for his happiness, hung back in the corner. I knew then the DNA test had come in and proven conclusively that Frankie was the dad. The Smith clan had accepted him. They all rushed forward with a cry of joy when they saw the baby.

“She's perfectly fine,” Tinkie said. She walked to the bedside and put Libby into her mother's arms. “Just like Sarah Booth promised. Here's your baby, safe and sound.”

Pleasant's tears fell on the baby's forehead. “She's perfect,” Pleasant said. “Absolutely perfect.”

“She is,” Tinkie agreed. “I'm sorry I was slow getting here with her. We had some complications.”

“I wasn't worried. I knew she was in good hands,” Pleasant said. “Mama assured me you were the kindest people on the planet. She told me how good you've been to Libby. I want you and Mr. Richmond to be her godparents, if you will.”

I didn't have to hear the answer. I slipped out of the room so Oscar could enter. Tomorrow I'd figure how to retrieve my car from Memphis. Tonight, I wanted to go home and dive into my bed. I couldn't think about Tinkie's near defection or the possibility of Gertrude's body lying broken in a bare cotton field. Too much had happened too quickly. I'd gone from near murderer to savior and possibly back to murderer. I'd sort it out tomorrow, when I knew the facts.

*   *   *

I woke up the next morning to the sound of laughter echoing from downstairs. My bedside clock showed seven in the morning. Who was in my house? And what smelled so wonderful?

I tiptoed to the stairs and sneaked a peak into the parlor where Harold, who'd driven me home and spent the night, bounced Libby on his knee. Beside him were Pleasant, Charity, Faith, and Frankie. The front door opened and Coleman and DeWayne came in, both carrying grocery bags.

“Sarah Booth is still asleep,” Harold said. “Tinkie, Millie, Cece, and Jaytee are in the kitchen. Madame Tomeeka is on the way. I think Sarah Booth forgot today was Thanksgiving.”

And I had. But my friends had not. And thank god Tinkie was here to celebrate with us. What a wretched holiday it would be if she weren't.

I hustled back up the stairs, showered, and brought my brand new, extra-special Thanksgiving sweater from the box it had arrived in. It was pumpkin orange with fall leaves embroidered down one sleeve and across the chest. On the back was a handstitched rendition of a pumpkin pie. It would absolutely send Tinkie up the wall, which was my intention. I also had a little orange hat with a green stem, which I perched atop my fuzz of new hair.

I sauntered down the stairs and into the parlor. Harold burst into laughter, which startled Libby, who set up a wail. Tinkie came running out of the kitchen like she was on fire. When she saw me, the first thing she did was rush to Libby and cover her eyes.

“Don't let her see! Don't let her see! That baby will be scarred for life!” she said.

Everyone erupted into laughter. My shopping had been well worth the effort.

“Something smells wonderful.” I sniffed in the scent of cinnamon and spice.

“Millie is cooking,” Harold explained. “With some help from Cece and Jaytee. I think they're actually sampling everything she cooks. They can't wait for lunch.”

“Thank you for inviting us,” Charity said. “This is a special treat.”

“It wouldn't be a holiday without Libby and her family,” I said. Tinkie's quick, hungry look at the baby told me a lot, but she had herself under control. She might weep for Libby, but it would not be in public.

The lie we floated about someone threatening the baby was accepted by everyone, though Coleman cocked an eyebrow and nailed me with his penetrating gaze. Harold excused himself and left the room.

“Sarah Booth, may I have a word?” Coleman said. He motioned to the front door. “We should take a walk.”

“I should do something to help.” I looked around, hoping someone would suggest a chore that urgently needed to be done.

“Everything is under control,” Pleasant said. “Someone has already set the table with beautiful china, but I can fill the water glasses and things like that. You go ahead, Sarah Booth. I'll take care of anything that needs to be done. I owe you my life.”

“I'm just glad everyone is healthy. Did you get things worked out with Benny Hester about your songs?”

“He was wonderful. Everything is good on that front. Ms. McNair is charged and will go to trial.”

“What about Lucinda and Carrie Ann?”

“They instigated the kidnapping,” Coleman said. “They paid Potter and DeLong to abduct Pleasant with the intention of holding her long enough for her to miss her private interview with the donor who sponsored her scholarship. Unfortunately, Potter ran down Dewey Backstrum when he had Pleasant in the car. That's when he devised the plan to hold her until she had the baby. He found a buyer for the infant.”

It was pretty much the way Tinkie and I had figured it out. “But Rudy saved the baby.”

Pleasant teared up. “He did. He wasn't part of the plan. He just happened to be riding with them. They never told him anything. Rudy was a sweet guy. At least he did little things that made it easier for me. And he saved Libby.”

“He did indeed.” I edged toward the kitchen, hoping to avoid the confrontation with Coleman. He could always see through my lies, and he'd know there was more to the Tinkie story than I was saying.

“And Pleasant has some wonderful news,” Charity said. She motioned her daughter to speak.

Pleasant blushed, but she took the center of the room. “Beverly Moon with Delta State University called last night. A donor has offered a full scholarship for me. Tuition, room, board, and child care for Libby. And we've decided to keep her name. Elizabeth Marie Smith-Graham. So she'll be Libby Marie.”