Rubbed Out (A Memphis BBQ Mystery) (9 page)

“I hear there’s trouble afoot, too,” said Big Ben in what he apparently thought was a whisper. “I know if Lulu is on it, then the case will be sewn up in no time.”

“I bet Pink is kicking back and relaxing, knowing that Lulu is on the case,” agreed Buddy.

Lulu sighed. “Y’all are sweet, but I have a feeling Pink is probably hoping I don’t get involved. You know how trouble always springs up when I do.”

“Sure enough,” said Buddy, “but the mysteries end up getting solved, don’t they?”

She couldn’t really argue with that.

“So we’ll mosey on next door and I’ll introduce Big Ben and Buddy to Sharon and Brody,” said Morty. “And if we happen to hear anything that might be a clue, we’ll hand it over.”

“I sure do like the idea of being a spy,” said Buddy. “I could use that kind of excitement in my life right now. Life has been kind of on the stale side lately.”

Big Ben, on the hard-of-hearing end of the scale, bellowed, “What’s that?”

“I said life was boring,” hollered Buddy.

Morty snorted. “I doubt that. You’ve got a lady friend.”

“Well, that’s right. But it seems like we do the same stuff all the time. Wave at cars on the front porch. Eat the free samples at the Costco. Go to the early bird specials at the cafeteria.” Buddy shrugged. “We’re in a rut.”

“What you need to do,” said Morty, jabbing his finger in the air, “is to shake things up a little bit.”

Buddy made a face. “Sure, that all sound
s
like a wonderful idea. But you know how it is when you get into a rut. In some ways it’s sorta comfortable there. It takes a bunch of effort to mess with a routine. Bunches of effort. And I’m an old guy.”

“It doesn’t have to take too much effort,” said Lulu. “Our Derrick squired Peggy Sue’s granddaughter around the festival. You should see if Leticia would join you later after you’re done cooking. Y’all don’t go to festivals every day, after all. And there’s stuff to see here—food to eat, people to stare at. I think you could have a fun time.”

“Maybe,” said Buddy in a considering voice. “Of course, that would involve calling Ms. Swinger on the phone. And I forgot to bring one today.”

Morty immediately held out his phone to him. He shrugged. “Okay, okay, y’all. I guess I can try something different. I’ll give her a call once I’ve put in some cooking time.”

Morty, Big Ben, and Buddy walked next door, and after a few minutes they returned with Brody, who came over to join Lulu and the Graces. Brody’s eyes were
tired, his clothes were rumpled, and he generally looked like he’d been through the wringer. “Hi, y’all,” he ventured. “Guess you didn’t know what you were getting into when you ended up with a booth next to my team.”

They gave him a hug. Lulu said, “Brody, it’s not your fault. This all has been a nightmare for you, I know.”

He nodded, drawing in a deep breath. “I know Reuben and I were fighting with each other yesterday. But we used to be close friends. I hate that this has happened to him.”

Cherry said, “Want to have a seat, Brody?” She gestured at a table with her spatula. “I’m going to take a break myself.”

“I’ll watch the grill,” said Flo. “And I’ll add that I’ll be ready to see the end of the barbequing, too!”

Brody smiled, then suddenly got serious. “One of the reasons I came by is to thank y’all. You’ve been a really good friend to us, regardless of how everything started out with that big argument between us and Reuben. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that we’ve got extra hands helping us out right now, for one.”

Lulu waved her hands dismissively. “Well, that’s nothing to do with us. Morty, Buddy, and Big Ben are the helpful ones.”

“We’d never have known them if it hadn’t been for you, though,” said Brody. “You’ve got real decent friends.”

“I’ll second that,” said Cherry, holding up her beer. “To friends!”

They toasted friendship and then Brody continued,
“You’ve been super nice to Sharon, too. You probably don’t know how upset this whole situation has made her. First she was upset by Reuben’s behavior, which had changed so radically. Then, of course, she was upset right after that by the fact that Reuben ended up dead and that she and I are suspects…it’s been a nightmare. You’ve been great friends to her and really talked her off the cliff a couple of times when she felt down over everything. Thanks.”

“We’re happy to do it, Brody. Y’all have been in a real tough spot,” said Cherry.

“So have you, though. You’d never have been mixed up in a murder investigation if it hadn’t been for us,” said Brody.

Cherry looked at Lulu and gave a half-smile. “Well, I’m not so sure about that.”

Brody raised his eyebrows and said, “It’s true, then? Sharon said that Flo told her that Lulu has investigated murders before and been able to solve them before the police do.”

“I do have a nasty habit of getting involved with murders, yes,” said Lulu. “I try to pitch in and help get to the bottom of things. I’m sort of tidying up and putting everything back to normal.”

Brody leaned forward and studied her intently. “Then there’s something you should know about. I’ve got to tell your police officer friend, too. Reuben’s ex-wife and his teenage son are here at the festival.”

“You’ve seen them walking around?” asked Lulu.

Brody shook his head. “I’ve seen them at a booth. They’re part of a team at the festival. What’s more, I’ve seen the ex-wife hanging around not far from our booth and watching it. Maybe they’ve been up to something.”

“Let’s tell Pink. He will be sure to talk to the ex,” said Cherry. “It might not be immediate, but he’ll get around to it. An ex-wife has got to be on the list of suspects, especially if she was at the festival where it happened.”

Brody seemed like he wanted to say more, but at that point they heard Morty’s voice calling him, searching for equipment. He thanked them for the drink and headed back over to his booth, leaving the women staring after him.

“What do you think?” asked Cherry in a low voice. “Could the ex have done it?”

Flo snorted. “The ex always
wants
to do it. But how many actually act on it? Maybe our friend Brody wants to focus attention on someone else for a change. He’s got to know that he’s a main suspect, considering he was in a huge fight with the victim a few hours before he showed up dead.”

“Yeah,” said Cherry glumly, staring into her empty beer bottle, “but that also describes me, too.”

Lulu said, “I think we’ve just increased our suspects by one. Maybe by two, depending on this teenager. Is Reuben’s child nineteen or thirteen? If he’s older, maybe he
felt resentful and did it himself. Which would be a very sad thing.”

“Even kids have been homicidal,” reminded Flo, absently patting her beehive hairdo.

“Sure, but not very often,” said Cherry. “We should find out more about those two.”

“And more about John and Tim the waiter,” said Lulu with a sigh. She filled them in on what Derrick and the girls had shared with her. “We have our work cut out for us.”

“Where should we start?” asked Cherry.

“Where should I start, you mean?” asked Lulu ruefully. “
You
need to be getting your samples out for the judges. I believe I’ll help close down the restaurant tonight and give Ben and Sara a break.”

Cherry said, “And ask Tim a few questions while you’re there, I’m guessing?”

“Exactly. I won’t have a chance otherwise. I can’t pull a waiter aside when the restaurant is as busy as it is,” said Lulu. “We’d have another murder on our hands then because Ben and Sara would have my head.”

*   *   *

Even after closing, there was still a very busy feel to Aunt Pat’s. The staff swept and vacuumed, removed tablecloths, and wiped down tables. Ben was cleaning in the kitchen and Sara was working on the books in the office. They both looked beat.

“Why don’t y’all go ahead and scoot on off home,” said Lulu to Sara. “I can finish up the accounts and the kitchen in a jiff.”

Sara frowned. “Are you sure? You’re spending a heap of time at the festival, and I know you took the girls around today. Don’t you want to go turn in yourself?”

“You know, I kind of miss my Aunt Pat’s time. It’s hard to go from spending all day here to no time here at all. No, y’all go on home and I’ll lock up. Give the twins and Derrick a kiss for me,” said Lulu.

Sara wasn’t going to argue with her, especially as worn out as she was. She quickly collected her pocketbook and Ben, and they left in a hurry.

Most of the staff was leaving, too, so Lulu was quick to pull Tim aside before he made his way to the parking deck. “Tim, can I talk to you for a few minutes in the office?”

He followed her in and sat at the table in the room. “I’m sorry—did I do something wrong?”

Lulu quickly shook her head. Tim Gentry’s face had a perennially anxious expression on it, and she didn’t want to make it any worse. He had very dark hair that appeared dyed to her, as if the worry had turned him gray prematurely. He was lean, almost gaunt.

“No,” Lulu said, “you’ve been a great worker since you’ve joined us, Tim. I guess that’s been…let’s see…”

“About four months,” said Tim. “And I’m grateful for the job,” he added quickly, again getting that strained crease around his lips.

Lulu quickly got to the point to avoid making the man any more anxious. “I was curious about a connection of yours, actually—someone we saw you with recently that we didn’t know you knew. A man named Reuben Shaw.”

What little remaining color in Tim’s face quickly vanished and his shoulders slumped as if the name itself was a burden. “What?” he mumbled. “How did you…”

“We saw you at the festival talking to him,” said Lulu. “Or arguing with him, really. I wanted to find out how you knew him.” She leaned forward and put her hand on Tim’s arm. “We’re a family here at Aunt Pat’s, Tim. I look after my own and you’re one of mine. My Ella Beth thinks the sun rises and sets with you because you play Crazy Eights with her. If I can help you, I will. But I need to know what’s going on.”

Tim nodded slowly. “That family feeling is real strong here, and I’ve gotten to love my time at Aunt Pat’s. I’ll tell you about me and Reuben, Mrs. Taylor. I don’t understand why you’re interested in it, though.” His gray eyes gazed questioningly at her.

“Please call me Lulu, Tim. And the reason why I’m interested is because Reuben is dead,” she said gently. “In fact, he was murdered last night.”

Tim put his hands to his face and covered his eyes with his long fingers. He stayed that way for almost a minute, digesting the information. Finally, he put his hands down and looked at Lulu with worried eyes. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know anything about that.”

“I know,” said Lulu soothingly. “It’s got to come as a shock to you. How did you know Reuben?”

“I’ve been friends with Reuben for the last few years,” he said slowly. “Reuben is some years older than me, but we got to know each other because our wives worked together at a preschool. After a while, we started doing things as couples. We had a lot of things in common. I was involved in construction, too, but because I’m an accountant.”

Lulu couldn’t help wondering why an accountant would be a full-time waiter at her restaurant. Maybe he should be doing their books for them instead of Sara or her doing them.

Lulu said, “It sounded like Reuben was upset with you at the festival. He seemed feisty most of yesterday, but I wonder why he was talking in a very loud voice with you.” She didn’t want to bring the girls or Derrick into the conversation—she decided to let Tim think that she was the one who’d overheard the argument.

She thought she saw a flash of fear in Tim’s eyes. Then he said, “Reuben was upset, yes ma’am. Lately, Reuben was almost always upset, over everything. I can’t believe he couldn’t understand why I wasn’t returning his messages.” But Tim couldn’t seem to look Lulu in the eye. He was hiding something, she was sure of it.

Clearly, though, he wasn’t ready to talk about it.

“I hear that Reuben acted upset with everyone,” said Lulu. “But I understand he wasn’t always like that—that
he was fun to be around at one point. But before he died, he even got into an argument with our Cherry. He couldn’t seem to be around anyone without turning it into a huge scene. Do you know when he started being like that and why it happened?”

This time Tim didn’t only turn pale, he was tinged with green, and Lulu wondered if she needed to grab the trash can real quick just in case. She had no idea that was such a loaded question.

Tim shook his head again. “I sure don’t,” he said, still not meeting Lulu’s eyes.

The next day, Lulu was back at the festival. She’d never spent so much time at Rock and Ribs in all her days. The barbeque contest had been judged by the time she arrived and she was sorry to hear that the Graces hadn’t won. But she couldn’t be too surprised. After all, there had been plenty of distractions for the women to contend with. And there were over three hundred other competitors there—most of which were one hundred percent focused on cooking.

“Pooh,” said Cherry when they were all sitting around a table in the booth. “I thought we might have at least gotten some sort of prize. Our barbeque is really good…not like some people’s.”

“Oh, well,” said Evelyn philosophically. “There’s always next year.”

“If we want to participate next year,” grumbled Cherry. “This year has been kind of crazy.”

“There’s not usually murders at the festival,” reminded Flo. “And next year we’ll be a lot more prepared since we’ll have done it before.”

“I guess,” said Cherry glumly. Then she glanced over Flo’s shoulder and raised her eyebrows. “Hi there—can we help you with something?”

There was a woman standing there with a tall boy. The woman was pretty big, a problem that wasn’t helped by the large paisley print on her dress. The boy dwarfed her in height but clearly appeared uncomfortable where the woman seemed confrontational.

“I’m looking for Cherry and Lulu,” the woman said in a rasping voice that hinted at cigarette smoke.

“You’ve found them,” said Cherry, crossing her arms as if ready to do battle. This woman didn’t seem particularly friendly.