Миранда Джеймс - Claws For Concern

“Elizabeth Barber,” Ernie said. “She was sixteen or seventeen at the time. A junior in high school, and a girl with a bit of a reputation. Too beautiful for her own good, if you ask me. She was spending the night with a friend. She’s still in Tullahoma, married now with several young children of her own. She’s Elizabeth Campbell now, and her husband is a prominent businessman in town.”

“I didn’t realize she was that old,” I said. “For some reason I thought all the children were younger.”

“Elizabeth was about ten years older than her brothers, who were twins,” Ernie said.

“Were you acquainted with their parents?”

“To my regret, yes,” Ernie said. “At least in Hiram Barber’s case. He was a petty, disagreeable man who thought the whole world was against him. His wife was a quiet, sweet woman, and I never could figure out what she saw in Hiram. Perhaps when he was younger and they were first married, he was a nicer man. Somehow I doubt that, though.”

I loved the way Ernie didn’t mince words when it came to assessing someone’s character. Miss An’gel didn’t hold back, either, though in typical Southern grande dame fashion she could deliver a devastating set-down in such a polite way that the person involved was never quite sure he or she had been snubbed.

“Sounds like you had personal experience of him,” I said.

“I had Elizabeth for junior English,” Ernie said. “A beautiful, headstrong girl, bright, but lazy. If she didn’t want to do an assignment, she wouldn’t no matter what I did. The result was that, by the end of the first six weeks, she was failing the class. The next thing I knew, Hiram Barber was in my face, chewing me out for being unfair to his precious baby.” Suddenly Ernie chuckled. “At least he tried to chew me out. I don’t think he’d ever had a woman talk back to him the way I did. By the time I was finished with him, he couldn’t apologize enough. Evidently he went home and had a good talk with Miss Elizabeth. After that she made more of an effort. Never to her full potential, in my opinion, but enough to make more than passing grades.”

“I had a similar problem with my son,” I said. “Because he was mooning after a girl in his class who wouldn’t have anything to do with him.”

“That was part of Elizabeth’s problem,” Ernie said. “She was too beautiful for her own good, and she loved male attention.” She paused for a moment, and when she continued she sounded sad. “The horrible thing was, it wasn’t long after the incident with her father that her family was murdered.”

SIXTEEN

“That poor girl,” I said. “I can’t begin to imagine how she felt, losing her whole family like that. Did she have any other kin?”

“As I recall,” Ernie replied, “she had an aunt on either side. Her mother’s unmarried, younger sister lived in Tullahoma at the time, though I believe she has since passed away. The father’s sister lived in Alabama. Elizabeth wanted to stay in Tullahoma and finish high school there, and her maiden aunt agreed to take her in.”

“With everything that happened,” I said. “I think I would have wanted to get as far away from it all as I could have. For a while, anyway.”

“I was frankly surprised myself by her decision,” Ernie said. “And the murders seemed to have changed her. When she came back to school, she was like a different girl. She paid attention in class, did all the assigned work, and her grades improved dramatically.”

“An event like those murders probably had a profound psychological effect on her, I suppose,” I said. “Sometimes great shocks can really change a person.”

“That definitely happened with Elizabeth Barber,” Ernie said. “She even went to college. Started out at the local community college and then finished up at Mississippi State. I believe someone told me she wanted to be a veterinarian, but she met her future husband while they were both students at State. They married when he started working on an advanced business degree, and she never went on to vet school.”

“I hope she has a happy life now after such a horrible tragedy,” I said. “What happened to the farm? Do you know?”

“Yes, I do,” Ernie replied. “Barber left a will. I don’t know the terms, but the end result was that Elizabeth inherited everything. She didn’t want to go back there to live, though, and one certainly can’t blame her for that.”

“No, I can understand that,” I said. What terrible memories there would be in a house where four people had been murdered, I thought. If any place was ever haunted, surely that house would be.

“Elizabeth sold the farm to one of those farm corporations,” Ernie said. “They razed the house and turned the area into a field. I think that was the right thing to do because I don’t think anyone else would have wanted to live there, either.”

“I certainly wouldn’t,” I said. “You’re a gold mine of information, Ernie, and I appreciate all you’ve told me.”

“I’m glad I could answer your questions,” Ernie said. “Is there anything else you want to know?”

“I can’t think of anything else right now,” I said.

“Feel free to call me if you do,” Ernie said.

“I will.” I thanked her again, and we ended the call.

“You look a little dazed,” Helen Louise said. “Overwhelmed by everything Ernie told you?”

“A little, I guess.” Diesel had come over and put a large paw on my thigh. I scratched his head, and he chirped. “I’ll fill you in once Laura and Frank have gone. They should be here any minute with the baby.”

Right on cue, the doorbell rang, and Diesel took off for the front door. I think he knew that Laura and Frank would be there with little Charlie. “Be back in a minute,” I said to Helen Louise before I left the room.

Diesel was pawing at the door when I reached it. He was anxious to see the baby, I guessed. “Stand back and let me open the door,” I told him. He meowed at me once before he complied with my request.

When the door swung open I beheld Laura with the baby in her arms. Behind her stood her husband, Frank, laden with bags. “Hi, Dad,” Laura said. “Here we are, right on time.”

“Yes, you are. Come in. Diesel is having a fit to see the baby.” I moved aside and they entered.

“Isn’t that Helen Louise’s car in the driveway?” Frank asked. “I figured she would be at the bistro all day.”

“I decided to follow the advice of a very sensible and quite attractive man I know,” Helen Louise said as she came toward us from the kitchen. “I’m learning to delegate and let my capable staff take care of things.”

“Good for you,” Laura said as she gave me baby Charlie to hold. “He finished a meal right before we left the house, so he should be content to sleep for a while.” She kissed my cheek.

“Thanks for looking after the baby while we have some time to ourselves,” Frank said. “I’ll go put the bags in the living room.”

“You know I’m always happy to see this little guy.” I gazed adoringly down at my sleeping grandson. I felt like my bones would melt every time I looked at this small miracle in my arms. The same way I had felt with my children when they were infants.

Diesel warbled loudly to let everyone know how happy he was to see the baby. Frank, returning from the living room, laughed at the sight of the cat reared up on his back legs, his front legs braced against my side, as he tried to get a look at little Charlie.

“That cat just about kills me,” he said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was a little person in a fur suit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an animal so in love with a baby before.”

“Diesel is a cat with extraordinarily good taste,” Laura said. “Aren’t you, boy?”