Diesel, I noticed, was sitting at the back door, watching it intently. He was waiting for Azalea. He knew what her schedule was and often greeted her when she entered the house. Moments later the door opened, and she walked into the kitchen. Diesel chirped loudly, and Azalea laughed.
“Good morning, Mr. Cat, and how are you?” Azalea set her purse down on the counter while Diesel warbled and meowed to let her know he was starving and surely could eat some bacon. Azalea laughed again. “Good morning, Mr. Charlie. When are you going to feed this poor thing?”
“Good morning, Azalea,” I said. “He knows that when you’re here there could be bacon. You’ve spoiled him.”
“Seems to me you’re the one done all the spoiling,” Azalea said. “Don’t go pushing the blame on me.” She looked down at Diesel. “You hold on, Mr. Cat. At least give me time to cook. You’d be turning your nose up at raw bacon.”
As Azalea set to work getting breakfast ready, I told her that Diesel and I were heading to Tullahoma this morning. “We need to leave around seven thirty.”
“Then I reckon it’ll be toast instead of biscuits this morning,” Azalea said.
“That’s fine,” I replied.
I headed to the den to check e-mail. By the time I was done, breakfast would be ready. Diesel remained in the kitchen. As long as Azalea was frying bacon, he wouldn’t go anywhere.
I read my e-mail, surfed the Internet for a bit, then went back to the kitchen. Breakfast was on the table. Diesel and I ate alone this morning. Haskell was probably out the door before I got up, and Stewart was most likely at the gym.
After a quick trip upstairs to brush my teeth, I was ready to leave. Diesel and I bade Azalea good-bye, and soon we were on the road for Tullahoma.
As I headed out of Athena, I hoped that this day would bring new and helpful information. We needed a break in the case, and we needed it soon.
TWENTY-SEVEN
I accomplished the drive to Tullahoma without incident and, as usual, arrived early—nearly twenty minutes early. Jack’s directions led me easily to the Kountry Kitchen. I pulled into the parking lot and texted Jack that Diesel and I had arrived.
We would wait for him in the car. Since Helen Louise’s bistro was the only restaurant where Diesel was allowed, I had to stay with him. Had the temperature outside been mild, I could have left him in the car for a few minutes. With the late July heat, however, I remained with him, air-conditioning running. I simply couldn’t understand people who left their pets—or children—in hot cars. If they were that ignorant they shouldn’t have pets—or children—at all.
Jack texted back to let me know he was on the way and would arrive soon. Sure enough, only seven minutes later, he pulled into the parking space next to me. As he got out of his car, I rolled down my window to greet him.
“Good morning, Charlie,” he said as he came up to my window. “How are you? And how is Diesel?” He bent to look into the backseat where Diesel sat, nose pressed to the glass.
“Fine,” I said. “Why don’t you join me in the car so we can talk?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Jack said. “Wanda Nell’s boss, Melvin, said we can use his office so Diesel can come inside. There’s a door around on the other side of the building.”
“Sounds good,” I said. “Better than sitting in the car burning gas.” I turned the car off and got out. Jack moved back so I could get Diesel out, too. Diesel wore his harness with a leash attached. He hopped out of the car onto the pavement and we followed Jack.
As we walked I kept an eye out for anything on the paved surface of the parking lot that could harm Diesel’s paws. The temperature wasn’t high enough yet to make it unsafe for Diesel to walk on. I was relieved to see that the owner kept his parking lot clean. We made it around the front of the building and down the side with no problem. Jack opened a door near the middle of the side wall and ushered us inside.
We were standing in a cramped hallway. To the left I could hear the sounds of the kitchen. Diesel detected the smell of bacon, as did I. There were two doors in the inner wall, and Jack opened one of them and motioned for us to enter. The office contained a desk, a couple of chairs, and two filing cabinets. There was room enough for the three of us and maybe one other person. We settled into the chairs, Jack taking the one behind the desk, and Diesel sat on the floor next to me.
That one other person came into the office, an attractive woman about Jack’s age. He got up to give her a quick kiss and then introduced me to his wife, Wanda Nell.
“Nice to meet you, Charlie,” she said. “You, too, Diesel. Aren’t you about the most gorgeous cat I ever saw?” She extended a hand to the cat, and he sniffed it. Then he licked her fingers, and she laughed. “I had a piece of bacon a minute ago.”
“He loves bacon,” I said.
Diesel meowed and looked up at Wanda Nell.
“Sorry, sir, no more bacon.” She patted his head, then scratched it. He purred for her. “I guess I pass the test.”
“You do.” I smiled. “He’s your friend now.”
Wanda Nell smiled down at the cat. She petted him a moment longer, then turned to her husband. “Elmer Lee came in right before I headed back here. You want to talk to him?” She turned to me. “Elmer Lee Johnson is the sheriff. I’ve known him a long time. We don’t always get along real well, though.”
Jack laughed. “That’s because you’ve shown him up more than once, honey.”
Wanda Nell shrugged. “If he wasn’t so dang bullheaded most of the time, he’d do better. Gets his mind set on one thing and it gets stuck there. Now, do you want to talk to him?”
“I don’t think I’m up to dealing with Elmer Lee this morning,” Jack said. “We will have to talk to him at some point, but I’d rather wait until we have something concrete to go on.”
“All right, then,” Wanda Nell said. “I’d better be getting back out there before Melvin comes looking for me.”
“Please thank him for me for letting me bring Diesel in,” I said.
“I will.” Wanda Nell looked at her husband. “Y’all be careful today. Let me know how it goes.”
“We will,” Jack replied. “We’ll probably be back here for lunch.”
Wanda Nell nodded before she left the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
“Before we do anything,” I said, “I need to fill you in on the latest with Bill Delaney. It’s not good news.”
“What happened? Did somebody try to kill him again?” Jack asked, obviously alarmed.
“No, no attempt on his life as far as I’m aware. He suffered a heart attack last night.” I gave Jack the details, and his expression grew grim as he listened.
When I finished, Jack said, “Obviously we upset him badly yesterday, and I feel like crap now. I never thought something like this would happen.”
“I feel bad about it, too,” I said. “We did get him upset, but if he was in better physical condition, I don’t think he would’ve had a heart attack. It’s a terrible combination of circumstances.”
“You’re right,” Jack said, “but that doesn’t make me feel much better.” He paused. “I think we need to go ahead, though, and try to see this thing through. If he’s protecting someone, that means there’s something no one knows about this case. We need to find out what it is.”
“And who it is,” I said. “They told me he was muttering about promising someone, over and over. I figure there are three candidates, his mother, Elizabeth Barber, and Leann Finch, for the person he was making the promises to. Of course, there’s always the possibility X is someone who has a connection to the case that we don’t know about.”
“I agree,” Jack said. “I thought we might start here in town this morning and go see Sylvia Delaney’s neighbors. There’s that one woman who still lives next door to the Delaney house. Her name is Jimmie Ann Cooper and she has a son who lives with her. Turns out she knows Wanda Nell, so I think we can get her to talk to us without too much of a problem.”