Bring Your Own Poison Read online

  The toast popped up, and Wanda Nell buttered it lavishly so it would be easier for Juliet to swallow. She cut the two slices into triangles, put them on a plate, and poured a small glass of orange juice.

  She took the toast and juice to Juliet, sitting up in bed. Juliet accepted the plate and glass, saying, “Thank you.”

  “If you want some more, I’ll come back and check on you in a few minutes,” Wanda Nell said. “I can’t call the doctor’s office until eight o’clock. If you feel like it, though, you ought to have a shower.”

  “I think that might make me feel better,” Juliet said. “I’m feeling kind of icky right now.”

  Wanda Nell patted her daughter’s head. “Call me if you need me,” she said.

  The coffee was ready when she returned to the kitchen, and she poured herself a cup, adding some cream and sugar. She sat down at the table and sipped at her coffee. Memories of the night before danced through her head, and she replayed the proposal over and over, smiling.

  The phone rang, startling her. She set down her coffee cup and got up to answer the phone.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Honey, are you up?” Mayrene spoke in a low voice.

  “Yeah,” Wanda Nell said. “You want to come over for some coffee?”

  “Be right there,” Mayrene said.

  The phone clicked in Wanda Nell’s ear. Frowning, she hung up the receiver and went to open the door for her friend. There had been an odd tone in Mayrene’s voice, and that worried Wanda Nell.

  She opened the door, and Mayrene strode in. Wanda Nell shut the door and followed Mayrene into the kitchen.

  Mayrene plopped down in a chair and stared up at Wanda Nell.

  “What’s wrong?” Wanda Nell said. “Did Lisa get another phone call?” She poured Mayrene a cup of coffee and set it down in front of her before resuming her seat at the table.

  Mayrene shook her head. “No, she didn’t. But something weird happened.”

  “What?” Now Wanda Nell was really getting alarmed.

  “I checked my caller ID this morning,” Mayrene said. “I was going to write down that phone number. But it’s not there anymore. Somebody erased it.”

  Thirteen

  “But that’s crazy,” Wanda Nell said. “How could it just disappear like that?”

  “You tell me,” Mayrene said. She folded her arms across her chest and stared hard at Wanda Nell.

  “Your electricity didn’t go out during the night, did it?” Wanda Nell knew she was clutching at straws, but she didn’t want to have to believe the obvious.

  “Nope, it didn’t,” Mayrene said. “I did check that, but it didn’t happen.” She added some cream and three spoons of sugar to her coffee.

  “And you didn’t accidentally do it yourself?”

  Mayrene just snorted in response. She stirred her coffee.

  “No, I guess not,” Wanda Nell said. “Why would she erase the number? Is she so afraid of this man that she thinks if the police talk to him, he’ll try to kill her?”

  “Come on, Wanda Nell,” Mayrene said after a sip of coffee. “I didn’t see any turnip trucks driving by here this morning, so I know you ain’t been falling off of one.”

  Wanda Nell sighed heavily. Her heart constricted in her chest. “The only other reason I can think of is that this whole thing is made up. But why would Lisa be faking something like this? It just don’t make sense.”

  “Not to you and me it don’t,” Mayrene said, “but look at her situation. She’s young, she’s alone with no family to speak of, except a cousin. And he’s just asked you to marry him to boot. She’s desperate for attention.”

  “She didn’t even know Jack had asked me to marry him last night when she came over and told us about the phone call,” Wanda Nell said. “And Jack said when he did tell her she was real happy for us.”

  “I think she knew, all right,” Mayrene said. “And I think maybe that’s why she staged that big scene last night. She wanted to break up the party. She didn’t like it that you were getting all the attention and not her.”

  “You can’t know that,” Wanda Nell said. She wanted to be fair to Lisa. “Besides, Jack may have told her some time before this all happened that he was going to ask me to marry him last night.”

  “I bet if you ask Jack, he’ll tell you that Lisa didn’t know nothing about him going to pop the question last night,” Mayrene said.

  “I might just do that,” Wanda Nell said. “But why are you so convinced that Lisa knew?”

  “Because I think she was listening in on the phone when Miranda called me to give me the news.” Mayrene paused for a moment. “I thought at the time, when I first answered the call, that I heard a click like somebody else picking up. But then I forgot all about it because I was so excited by the news.”

  “Are you sure about hearing that click?”

  “Yeah,” Mayrene said. “I think it was Lisa. I think she did it deliberately, because I caught her doing it one other time.”

  “This is awful,” Wanda Nell said. “I hate like anything to think she’s made this whole story up just to get attention.”

  “Well, think about it for a minute,” Mayrene said. “I’ve been sitting over there this morning, going over and over it while I was waiting to be sure you were up. The only evidence anybody has is what she has told people, right?”

  “As far as I know,” Wanda Nell said. “I’d have to ask Jack, though, if he’s seen or heard anything to the contrary.”

  “I bet you he hasn’t either,” Mayrene said. “But of course he’s going to believe her, he’s her cousin.”

  “He’s going to be devastated if this turns out to be true,” Wanda Nell said.

  “What do you mean, ‘if’?” Mayrene asked in a tone of outrage. “I’ll bet every last cent I own that this whole thing is a scam. That’s why she hadn’t been in a hurry to talk to the police about it. It probably started in Meridian, and I bet the people there got wise to her. That’s why she decided to move. That, and to be closer to Jack.”

  “I guess you’re probably right,” Wanda Nell said, “but first we have to prove it, beyond a shadow of a doubt. And then we need to see about getting that poor girl some help. She can’t go on like this.”

  “No, she can’t. There’s no telling what she might do, to herself or to somebody else, if we don’t put a stop to this.” Mayrene regarded her friend with an odd expression.

  Wanda Nell stared back at her, and it took her only a few seconds to realize what Mayrene was thinking. “You really don’t think she would try to hurt me, do you?” She shuddered. “Surely not.”

  “I don’t know,” Mayrene said, “and I don’t really want to find out. But look at it this way: Jack’s been spending as much time as possible with you, hasn’t he? And that means he ain’t been spending much time with her. And now he goes and asks you to marry him. That might send her over the edge if she’s getting really desperate.”

  Wanda Nell wanted to think that Mayrene was just getting a little too carried away herself, but now she was more than a little spooked by the situation.

  “What are we going to do?” she asked.

  “First thing is, I’m going to have a nice quiet chat with Officer Dixon Vance,” Mayrene said. “I’ll lay it all out for him and see what he thinks. Heck, this probably won’t be the first time he’s seen a problem like this.”

  “Maybe not,” Wanda Nell said. “You know what? This makes me kind of angry, though. Somebody making all this up to get attention, so it’s no wonder the cops don’t want to believe women sometimes when they swear they’re being stalked. It’s just not right.”

  “No, it sure ain’t,” Mayrene said before draining her cup. She stood up. “I’m going to take Lisa by her house so she can get her car in a little while. She wants to run some errands, plus she was talking about going to see Tuck.” She shook her head. “Maybe she’s deluded herself into believing it’s true. If she really goes and talks to a lawyer about it, I
’d say she’s getting seriously loopy.”

  “Maybe so,” Wanda Nell replied. “But before I say anything about this to Jack, I want to be more sure that she really is faking it. Can you imagine how he’d feel if I told him right now, and her story turned out to be true? He’d think I was the crazy one then.”

  “You’re right, honey,” Mayrene said, “and I promise I won’t say anything to him either.” She headed for the door.

  “Do you think I should talk to Tuck before she goes to see him?”

  Mayrene paused, considering. “No, I don’t think you should. Wait and let him talk to her first, then you can tell him. That way he can look at it and be fair.”

  “Good point,” Wanda Nell said. “Talk to you later.”

  Mayrene waved good-bye, and moments later Wanda Nell heard her front door open and close.

  She glanced at the clock then and decided she should probably call the high school and let them know Juliet wouldn’t be in school today. She looked up the number, punched it in, and waited for the receptionist to answer.

  A few minutes later, that duty discharged, Wanda Nell decided to start trying to call Dr. Crowell’s office. It wasn’t quite eight yet, but sometimes somebody in the office was there early and would pick up the phone.

  She was lucky this morning, and on a Monday, to boot. Usually she could hardly get an answer from the doctor’s office on a Monday. Today it was the doctor’s nurse, Martha Farrington, who took her call.

  “Good morning, Martha,” she said. “This is Wanda Nell Culpepper. My daughter Juliet’s running a fever and has a scratchy throat. I’d like to bring her in to see the doctor this morning if he can work her in.”

  “Hang on a moment and let me check,” said the nurse. Wanda Nell could hear her tapping at the keyboard. People used computers for everything these days. Wanda Nell remembered how the sound you heard used to be the rustling of pages as someone flipped through an appointment book. She kind of missed that. It seemed more personal somehow.

  “Wanda Nell?” Martha spoke, bringing Wanda Nell back to the present. “I think we can work her in at nine-thirty. How’s that sound?”

  “That’s just fine, Martha,” Wanda Nell said. “Thank you so much. We’ll be there.”

  She hung up the phone, and as she did, she caught sight of the stove. Oh, good Lord, she thought, I forgot all about the baby’s oatmeal. There it was, just bubbling away in the pot. Wanda Nell checked it, relieved to see that it hadn’t scorched on the bottom. She took the pot off the stove and set it on a trivet on the counter.

  She decided it was time to get Miranda up. Even though Miranda didn’t have to work at Budget Mart today, she still had some things to do around the house. Wanda Nell hated having to remind her, but Miranda was still slack sometimes when it came to housework.

  Miranda was on the phone when Wanda Nell tapped on her door. One of the first things Miranda had done, once she was working at Budget Mart again, was to have her own phone line put in. Wanda Nell didn’t begrudge her that, though Miranda still had a tendency to act like the phone was an actual part of her ear and not just a helpful device for occasional use.

  “Hang on, honey,” Miranda said. “It’s Mama.” She pulled the phone away from her and rested it against her chest. “Yes, Mama, what is it?”

  “Time for breakfast,” Wanda Nell said, walking over to Lavon who held his arms out for his grandmother. She picked him up and set him down on the floor. “Have you checked his diaper?”

  “Yes, Mama,” Miranda said. “I was just about to bring him into the kitchen, but Teddy called me. Take him on into the kitchen, if you don’t mind, and I’ll be there in a minute. Teddy’s at work, so he can’t talk long anyways.”

  Suppressing a sigh, Wanda Nell took her grandson by the hand and led him to the kitchen. He talked nonstop the whole way, and Wanda Nell interjected the occasional word. Lavon was more than capable of carrying on a conversation by himself, however. Wanda Nell marveled at his imagination. He was always talking about things he and his bunny had done.

  By the time Wanda Nell had Lavon in his high chair and eating his oatmeal, Miranda wandered into the kitchen. “Do you want some breakfast?” Wanda Nell asked her.

  Miranda shook her head. “No thanks, I’m not that hungry.” She rubbed her stomach.

  “What’s the matter, honey? Are you sick?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Miranda said. “I’m just not hungry.”

  Wanda Nell didn’t believe her. Miranda had a drawn look to her, a sure sign to her mother that she wasn’t feeling good. Wanda Nell decided not to push her this morning. Miranda could be pretty stubborn when she wanted to. That was one thing she had inherited from her mother.

  “Then you take over here with Lavon,” Wanda Nell said, “and see if you can get more of the oatmeal in him instead of on him.”

  “Sure,” Miranda said.

  “I’ve got to get ready so I can take Juliet in to see the doctor this morning,” Wanda Nell said. She put a couple more slices of bread in the toaster for her own breakfast.

  “Is she still feeling bad?” Miranda asked. “What is it?”

  “Sinus infection, I think,” Wanda Nell said. “You and Lavon will be all right here by yourselves while we’re gone, won’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Miranda replied. “We’ll be just fine.”

  When the bread popped up in the toaster, she removed the slices and buttered them. She stood at the counter, munching on toast while she watched Miranda supervise Lavon’s breakfast. Miranda had been a lot better about looking after her son once Teddy entered the picture, but Wanda Nell shuddered to think what Miranda would do if she had more than one child to take care of.

  She carried the second piece of toast with her, munching as she walked, on her way to check on Juliet. She found her daughter dressed and sitting at the computer.

  “I took a shower,” Juliet said, turning to Wanda Nell as she entered the room. “When’s the appointment?”

  “Nine-thirty,” Wanda Nell replied. “If you’re ready, then I’ll have a shower myself. We ought to leave around nine. It won’t hurt to get there a little early.”

  Juliet nodded and turned back to her computer.

  By the time Wanda Nell was dressed and ready to go it was about five minutes before nine. She stuck her head in Juliet’s room and said, “Come on, honey, time to go.”

  Juliet shut down her computer and followed her mother down the hall.

  “We’re leaving, Miranda,” Wanda Nell called out. She picked up her purse from the kitchen counter. “Don’t forget to clean up in here, okay?” Miranda had gone off and left Lavon’s bowl, spoon, and high chair messy. “And get started on the laundry, too. It’s your turn.”

  “I will, Mama,” Miranda responded from down the hall.

  In the car, Juliet leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. “I hate being sick,” she said. “I’m sorry, Mama.”

  “Honey, don’t be silly,” Wanda Nell said as she backed her car out and headed out of the trailer park. “You can’t help being sick, so don’t even say things like that. The doctor will give you some antibiotics or something, and you’ll be feeling a lot better soon.” She reached over and patted Juliet’s leg.

  Juliet, of her three children, had always been the “good” one. She had never given Wanda Nell a minute’s trouble, unlike her older sister and her big brother. Wanda Nell had had more than enough heartache and headaches over T.J. and Miranda. She was thankful that Juliet was such a sweet girl.

  The drive to the doctor’s office, in a building near the hospital, took about fifteen minutes. Wanda Nell parked the car, and she and Juliet entered the building. Dr. Crowell’s office was on the first floor. There were several people in the waiting room when she and Juliet entered.

  “You go sit down, honey,” Wanda Nell said in a low voice. “I’ll go let them know we’re here.”

  She walked up to the desk and waited until she could catch the receptionist’s
attention. Martha, a trim, white-haired woman, had worked for the older Dr. Crowell for as long as Wanda Nell could remember. When his son took over the practice a few years ago, she had stayed on. Wanda Nell had no idea how old she was, but she didn’t look much older than she had when Wanda Nell was a teenager.

  “Good morning, Wanda Nell,” Martha said when she put down the phone. “Just sign in on that sheet there, if you don’t mind.”

  “Morning, Martha,” Wanda Nell said. She signed Juliet in as requested.

  “Would you mind seeing Dr. Crowell Sr. this morning?” Martha asked. “We’re pretty busy, and he came in to help out. There’s some kind of bug going around, and we got a whole bunch of people calling in today.”

  “That’s fine,” Wanda Nell said. “It’ll be good to see him.”

  “Y’all just have a seat,” Martha said, beaming, “and someone will call you back real soon.”

  Wanda Nell flipped through one of the magazines, while Juliet leaned against her. They had to wait about ten minutes before someone called out Juliet’s name.

  “Come on, honey,” Wanda Nell said.

  She led Juliet through the door, smiling at the nurse as she did so. This girl must be pretty new, Wanda Nell figured, because she hadn’t seen her before.

  “In here,” the nurse said, indicating a small room. She followed them in and asked Juliet to sit on the examination table. “Now what seems to be the problem?”

  “Sinus infection, I think,” Wanda Nell said. “She’s been running a low-grade fever off and on, and she’s got a scratchy throat.”

  The nurse jotted something on Juliet’s chart. Next she took her temperature and checked her blood pressure. “She does have a little temperature this morning,” the nurse said. “Now, Miss Juliet, if you don’t mind, we need to weigh you.” She held out a hand.

  Juliet got down from the table and followed her into the hall. Wanda Nell waited, and they were back in less than a minute. Juliet climbed back on the table while the nurse noted Juliet’s weight on her chart.