Last Chance Christmas Page 15

  He stared up at her, feeling confused and conflicted. “My mother thinks it’s a bad idea for us to be friends.”

  David was kind of pissed off at his mother. But at the same time, he understood that Mom was going through a harder time adjusting to the move from Michigan than anyone else in the family.

  And it had all come to a head last night. Mom created a big scene and threatened to take David and his brothers back home to the Midwest. This morning Mom and Dad were not talking to each other.

  David kind of wanted to go back to Michigan, too. But he also kind of wanted to stay here and get to know Lizzy better.

  Lizzy pulled out a chair and threw herself into it. “Are you going to let your parents push you around like that?”

  “Mom’s kind of mental right at the moment. It’s not easy living here, you know?”

  “Yeah, I guess. So are you not going to be my friend now?”

  “Are we friends?” Why couldn’t he let himself believe that Lizzy liked him?

  She cocked her head. “Of course we are. I came to your house last night, and…” Her voice faded out, and when David looked up, her face was kind of red.

  A smile tugged at his lips. “You’re blushing.”

  “You are, too.”

  “What were you about to say?”

  “I was just about to say that I didn’t mind you kissing me last night.”

  His whole body got hot. “That’s good.” His voice cracked. He was such a dork.

  “I don’t want our parents to tell us we can’t be friends. That would be like what happened when Abe Chaikin came to town and tried to have lunch with Nita Wills at the Kountry Kitchen. I think all of us have moved on from those times.”

  He glanced at her Obama T-shirt. “Yeah, I think we have.”

  “I totally enjoyed the latkes.” She reached into her book bag and pulled out a note. “This is for your mother. It’s a thank-you note.”

  “Awesome. Maybe Mom will—”

  Before he could finish the sentence, someone hit him on the back of the head with an open hand. It didn’t hurt, but it was a complete surprise and a violation of his space.

  “Hey, you,” a disembodied voice drawled from behind, “I thought you and I had an understanding.”

  Lizzy was up on her feet, hands on her hips, before David could find the courage to move. “Michael Bennett, who do you think you are, coming up on someone and hitting them that way?”

  David turned around to find his highness, the homecoming king, smirking at the two of them. For once, Michael wasn’t wearing his stupid porkpie hat.

  “I was just reminding him of a conversation we had a few days ago. You remember that conversation, don’t you?”

  David remembered. But things had changed. “Look, Michael, Lizzy and I work on the paper together. We’re friends.”

  “Wait a second, did you and Michael have a conversation about me?” Lizzy demanded, looking from one to the other of them.

  David’s face burned. How was he supposed to tell Lizzy that he’d almost, sort of, agreed that he should stay away from her?

  “Yeah, we did. I told this Jew boy to stay away from you. And you should have enough sense to stay away from him.”

  Outrage ignited within Lizzy Rhodes, and it shone like a beacon that even David could see.

  “You’re a total idiot and a bigot, Michael. Go away,” Lizzy said. “And if you violate David’s space again, I’m going to tell Dr. Williams, and I’m pretty sure he frowns on anyone spewing hate in this school.”

  Michael turned and glared at David. “You and I will settle this another day, when you don’t have a girl around to fight for you.” He turned and sauntered off.

  David’s heart was pounding, partially from fear and partially from Lizzy’s awesome display of courage. She was going to think he was a loser now. He should have been the one brave enough to turn and face Michael and tell him to screw off. On the other hand, telling Michael Bennett to screw off was probably a good way to get himself killed.

  “You shouldn’t have spoken to him that way,” David said looking down at the Formica tabletop.

  Lizzy reached across the table and touched his hand. Her palm was soft and delicate. “He’s a bully, David. Someone has to stand up to him.”

  “Walking away is usually the best policy.”

  Lizzy chuckled. “You sound like my grandfather. He’s always talking about walking away from fights. But last summer when Lillian Bray said something ugly to my little sister, Granddaddy kind of lost it and tore up Miz Bray’s flower bed. I gotta tell you, the kids in Sunday School were totally impressed with my granddaddy for putting Miz Bray in her place like that. So, I figure there’s a time for walking away and a time for standing up. And Michael is a jerk in addition to being stupid.”

  “Hey, y’all.” Cassie Nelson came hurrying across the lunchroom and slipped into the chair next to Lizzy. “Did you hear the news?”

  “What news?” Lizzy asked. Lizzy and Cassie were BFFs. It was amazing that Cassie knew something that Lizzy didn’t. David was sure the two girls had ESP or something. Cassie was the editor of Rebel Yell’s sports section.

  “Jimmy Marshall’s dead,” Cassie announced dramatically. “Mother called me just now and said his body was found in the swamp near the Jonquil House. He was shot. Everyone in town thinks he killed himself, but Mother heard that your daddy thinks it’s murder.”

  David and Lizzy looked across the table at one another. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Lizzy asked.

  David wasn’t sure what Lizzy was thinking. She was always just a few steps ahead of him. But being with her was like being stuck in an adventure. “Uh, I guess.”

  Lizzy hunched over the table and spoke in an urgent voice, “We should go out to the swamp and take some photos of the crime scene. Maybe interview some of the people who were involved in the investigation. We haven’t had a murder in Allenberg County since I’ve been living here.”

  “But most folks say he killed himself,” Cassie said. “And everyone in town is all worried because if Mr. Marshall is dead, then what’s going to happen at the chicken plant? Things haven’t been going too good there for a while.”

  Lizzy turned and gave Cassie a hug. “Don’t you worry, now, things are going to be okay at the plant. Even if Mr. Marshall has passed, his father is still alive, and Hettie won’t let the plant go under.”

  Cassie nodded. “Yeah. But Mother’s a mess. You know how she gets about things. She’s all worried that Daddy will lose his job.” Cassie gave a long-suffering sigh.

  Across the room, someone dropped a tray. They all turned. It was Michael Bennett. “I’d laugh at him, if he wasn’t so pathetic,” Lizzy said.

  David watched as Michael quickly picked up the mess he’d made, pitched it in a trash can, and went running from the room like it was on fire. All around them, the lunchroom was growing kind of quiet as the news of Jimmy Marshall’s demise made its way through the student body.

  “I wonder what got into Michael?” Cassie asked. “It’s not like his folks depend on the chicken plant.”

  “Who cares about Michael? He’s a jerk,” Lizzy said. She turned toward David. “Are you with me? If we want to be journalists, we should try to write about this story. Especially since Last Chance doesn’t have a real newspaper—except for the Rebel Yell. School is out for the holidays next week. We could start working on this tomorrow.”

  David wasn’t at all sure about a couple of high-school kids writing about a murder or suicide. But if Lizzy wanted to do it, then he was going to do it with her. His mother and Michael Bennett could just go mental if they wanted to.

  “Okay,” he said, “where do we start?”

  “In the swamps, of course,” Lizzy said.

  Lark wearily climbed the stairs to the small apartment above the Cut ’n Curl. Stone followed her up the stairs, but Lark could tell his mind was turning over the events of the morning. He was in full-out cop mode.

 
She opened the door and found Stone’s mother waiting for them. Ruby took one look at Lark, shook her head, and said, “Oh, you poor thing.” She took both of Lark’s hands in hers.

  Lark was shocked by the warmth of Ruby’s palms. She hadn’t realized she was freezing cold. For an instant she felt not merely warmed by Ruby’s touch, but enveloped in the kindness of her spirit. Genuine concern filled Ruby’s eyes, and Lark had a strong feeling that it would be safe to take Ruby’s portrait, too.

  Ruby enveloped her in a tight, warm, motherly hug. “I’ve heard all about what happened this morning.” Ruby released Lark and turned toward Stone. “I declare, you should have your head examined for taking Lark out there to find that body.”

  “It wasn’t his fault. I wanted to go,” Lark said.

  Stone didn’t react to his mother’s scolding. He just tipped his Stetson, mumbled something about needing to get back to work, and left.

  Ruby put her arm around Lark. “Why don’t you come on down to the shop? We’ve got hot coffee and good company down there.”

  “I was wondering,” Lark asked as Ruby guided her toward a flight of stairs at the back of the apartment, “if there’s someplace where I could get a food platter or something for Hettie? I feel so bad for her. I know when Pop was sick, it would have been nice if someone had sent me food. I kind of forgot to eat toward the end.”

  Something changed in Ruby’s demeanor. “Honey, do you mean to tell me that you were dealing with your daddy’s illness and no one was looking after you?”

  Lark shrugged. “There wasn’t anyone to look after me.”

  “Didn’t your father have friends?”

  “Yeah, a few—mostly online friends, to be honest. He was a solitary man.”

  “What about you?”

  “Well, most of my friends are war correspondents. They’re scattered to the four winds. Anyway, I was thinking it might be nice if—”

  Ruby patted her shoulder. “Honey, the food situation has been taken care of. Lessie is making squash casserole, Thelma is cooking a roast, Millie is working on some bean casserole and mac and cheese, Jenny’s bringing pies, of course.” Ruby took a big breath and continued, “Annie’s bringing a salad, and Rachel is bringing cookies. Miriam and Lillian are already over there sitting with Hettie and Lee. I’m sure Violet has the coffee going and probably some of her okra and stewed tomatoes already on the stove. Hettie’s in good hands for the moment. If you like, once I close up shop, you can come with me to pay your respects.”

  Lark didn’t say a word as Ruby escorted her down the back stairway into the beauty shop. All she could think about was how nice it would have been if Ruby and Miriam and Lillian and the rest of them had been there the last couple of weeks of Pop’s life. Those weeks had been spent in the hospice by Pop’s bedside. Lark had snatched most of her meals at the McDonald’s across the way.

  Being alone was the price she had to pay for living out beyond the edge.

  “Here you are, honey,” Ruby said, gesturing to an empty pink chair by an old-fashioned hair dryer. “I had Ricki deliver a sandwich and some chicken soup when I heard what had happened.” She snatched a paper bag from her work area and handed it to Lark. “You go ahead and eat that soup; it’ll warm you right up. The weatherman says we might get ice tonight. I sure hope not. I was enjoying the Indian summer, and tomorrow is going to be a busy day, it being my last Saturday before Christmas.”

  The little bell at the front of the shop jingled, and a patron named Louise came in. Ruby set to work while Lark ate a very late lunch, surprised to discover that she was ravenously hungry.

  About ten minutes later, Jane arrived with Lizzy and Haley in tow. The girls looked pink-cheeked from the cold.

  Lizzy made a beeline toward her. “Is it true, what I heard at school? Did you find Jimmy Marshall’s body?”

  “Lizzy,” Ruby said, “that’s not—”

  “No, it’s all right,” Lark said. “To be honest, it was your dad. He found the body in a photograph that I’d shot a couple of days ago.”

  “What?” Ruby and Louise both turned to stare at Lark just as Haley came over and climbed right into Lark’s lap like she had a reason to sit there.

  Lark wasn’t sure what to do with the kid. But it felt nice when Haley snaked her little arms around Lark’s neck and gave her a hug as big and warm as Ruby’s. “The angel is worried about you,” Haley whispered, then she gave Lark the sweetest kiss on the cheek. “But she says Daddy will take care of you.”

  “So?” Lizzy pressed. “What’s this about Daddy and a photograph?”

  Lark took a deep breath and explained what had happened in as calm a voice as she could muster.

  “Oh, how horrible,” Louise said, “to take a photo of something so beautiful and have it also contain something like that. You didn’t see it when you took the picture?”

  “No.” Lark didn’t explain about the hunter, the gunfire, or her flashback. And she sure didn’t say anything about the shadows lurking at the edges of the frame until after the photo was shot. She usually didn’t notice the shadows. But they were always there, like Jimmy Marshall’s body.

  Instead, she gave Haley a little hug and breathed in her little-girl scent. She smelled like cinnamon. “Mmmm, you smell like something good to eat,” Lark said.

  “Oh, we made clove and orange pomanders in—” She slapped her hands across her face, and her eyes grew round. “Oops.”

  “It’s okay, sugar, I didn’t hear what you said,” Ruby commented without missing a beat.

  Haley rolled her eyes and leaned in. “I was making it for Granny for Christmas,” she whispered.

  “So,” Lizzy interrupted, “do you think it was murder?”

  “Lizzy!” Ruby scolded from across the room.

  “I don’t know,” Lark replied. “Stone said Mr. Marshall had a gunshot wound to the head.”

  “Yeah, but if it was suicide wouldn’t they have found the gun?” Lizzy asked.

  Lark blinked at Liz. “I hadn’t thought about that. I guess so, but it was swampy. The gun could have fallen into the water.”

  “So they didn’t find a gun?” Louise asked.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “All right, y’all, that’s enough,” Ruby said. “I expect Stone will get to the bottom of things.”

  “Ha! You know good and well that Billy will be doing the investigating,” Louise said. “And I don’t think that boy could investigate his way out of a paper sack. When are you going to convince that son of yours to run for sheriff?”

  “I’m not going to,” Ruby replied. “Stone has to decide that’s what he wants. And he’s still making up his mind.” Ruby looked up into the mirror and stared right at Lark. “He’s been stuck in his life for a long time.”

  “Well, I can understand that,” Louise said, “what with him losing his soulmate and all. But life goes on. My Henry’s been gone fifteen years, and I’ve gone on without him.”

  “Granny,” Haley said from her perch on Lark’s lap, “if Daddy found his soulmate and she went to be with Jesus up in Heaven, can he ever get another one?”

  “That’s a good question,” Ruby said.

  “I wish he could find another one,” Haley said, resting her head on Lark’s shoulder. “I think Daddy is lonesome.”

  Lark’s girl parts chose that moment to recall Stone’s recent kiss. Maybe he wasn’t as lonesome as people thought, because that kiss had been hot. She was pretty sure that Stone wouldn’t be averse to taking things to a more intimate place. Thinking about sex and Stone in the same thought set Lark’s heart to racing.

  “Well,” Ruby said as she finished blow-drying Louise’s short hairdo. “I want to believe that a person can love twice in a lifetime. But Miz Miriam gave your father advice a long time ago, and he followed it. I can’t say I ever heard of Miriam giving anyone advice twice.”

  “Hey,” Lizzy said, “what kind of advice did Miz Miriam give Daddy anyway? I don’t think anyone has ever told
me that.”

  Louise frowned for a moment. “Oh, I think it was something about how he needed to go out and tame a crusader.”

  “What?” Lizzy looked confused.

  “Well,” Ruby said, “I think Miriam told your daddy that the woman he should be looking for was a person who wanted to change the world. And that his job was to make sure she remembered that the world starts at home.”

  “And Momma was always getting involved in projects, wasn’t she?”

  “She was the most dedicated churchwoman I ever met,” Louise said. “I know that she would be disappointed in Stone, the way he’s turned away from church these last few years.”

  Lizzy rolled her eyes and gave Lark one of those teenager looks. She leaned in and whispered, “That’s what they all say about Momma.” Then, in a louder voice, Lizzy proclaimed, “I wish I remembered Momma better because it’s tough being the spawn of a saint.”

  “Elizabeth Ames Rhodes, that’s a terrible thing to say,” Louise said. Ruby scowled at her granddaughter in the mirror.

  Haley cocked her head and gave her sister a long look. After an awkward silence, Haley said, “I feel the same way.”

  Lizzy turned toward her sister. “No, you don’t. You don’t even understand what I said.”

  Haley shrugged. “Maybe not, but whatever it means, you made the angel happy. She just stopped crying and smiled. So if it made her happy, then I want it, too.”

  All activity in the shop came to a stop. Everyone stared at Haley.

  Lark felt a little sorry for the kid. She understood what it was like to talk about a person who wasn’t really there.

  It was Jane who broke the tension with a little laugh that didn’t sound strained or put on. “Well, isn’t that nice. It sounds like the Sorrowful Angel has a sense of humor.”

  Ruby gave Jane a skeptical look and handed Louise a hand mirror so she could see the back of her head.

  A moment later Jane spoke again, firmly and deftly changing the subject. “You know, Lark, you’d look so much better with a few highlights, and maybe not so many layers.”

  “I was thinking the very same thing,” Ruby said.

  Lark held her breath. Here it came. Just like Stone had predicted.