A Summer Place
Chapter 3
Virgil arrived at the police station around 8:30am. When he walked into the lobby, he noticed a frustrated Parker behind the front desk, going through some files.
"Good morning, Parker." Virgil said.
"Oh. Good morning, Detective."
"What is it? Luann and Bubba out on a call you wanted to take?"
Parker sighed. "No, sir. It's all this mess right here. I tell ya, Detective. Why is it that every time the clerk's office is short staffed, we end up with all their clerical work?"
Virgil laughed. "What is this time? Another job application shift?"
"Not this time, thank goodness. They're behind on collecting property taxes on some of the older properties in Sparta. Most of the owners have died and the places belong to relatives that don't even know they own them."
"Ah." Virgil said. "And they need our help in tracking down the owners AND collecting the taxes."
"Tally-ho!" Parker exclaimed.
Virgil smiled. "It's 'Bingo!' Parker. 'Bingo'."
"That's right. Lonnie's told me that a million times. You know, Detective? Sometimes I just tickle myself!"
Virgil laughed and went into his office.
"Well, good morning." Chief Gillespie greeted him. "Nice of you to join us."
"I apologize Chief, but your God-children…well, let's just say that they have a mind of their own!"
"Don't all Tibbs'?" Chief Gillespie asked. "Speaking of which, what does your own mind tell you we ought to do about this Pinkney case?"
"I don't know, Chief. Pinkney passing that lie detector test didn't help Sweet at all. But Lonnie's got Parker doing some checking into Pinkney and his friend. We may come up with something."
About that time, Parker walked into the office with a huge grin on his face. He stood there for a while, with Virgil and Chief Gillespie staring at him. Finally Chief Gillespie asked, "Can we do something for you, Parker?"
"No, sir. I just came to congratulate the Detective here."
For some reason, Virgil waited for the explanation he knew he wouldn't get. Finally, he sighed and then asked, "Congratulations on what, Parker?"
"Your inheritance."
"My WHAT?"
"Well, I was going through these old property files and it looks like your Aunt Etta owns some property on Brewer's Pond."
"Really?" Virgil seemed surprised. "I never knew that. I wonder why?"
"Well, Detective. Back before Purvis Lake was built up, Brewer's Pond was THE romantic spot here in Sparta. Maybe your Uncle Marcus and your Aunt Etta kept it to themselves for uh, their private time."
Chief Gillespie lowered his head so Virgil wouldn't see him laughing. Virgil just shut his eyes and shuddered at the thought of his Aunt Etta even needing 'private time'.
"Anyway, it looks like your Aunt Etta had forgotten about it for a while. The taxes were pretty backed up."
"Let me see that, Parker. Wow, she got behind by a couple of years. What's this entry here?"
Parker walked behind the Detective's desk and took a look. "Oh, that's a recent payment. It looks like she's getting it taken care of. I'm glad, too. I'm supposed to serve papers of tax lien on properties we can't collect on."
Parker left and Virgil sat in silence, tapping his pencil on his desk.
"What's the matter, Virgil?" Chief Gillespie asked.
"Nothing. Why do you ask?"
"Because every time something's weighing heavy on your mind, you go to tapping your pencil on your desk. And rather loudly, too, I might add."
Virgil looked down and noticed that he was indeed tapping his pencil.
"I was just wondering why the papers on Etta's property at Brewer's Pond weren't included in any of the files I went through for her when she moved in with us. I'm also wondering why she didn't tell me about it herself."
"Oh. Well now, Virgil, I believe I know the answer to that last question."
"Really? What is it?"
Chief Gillespie put on his glasses and began reading the paper. "She didn't want you to know about it."
XXX
It was around one o'clock on Wednesday afternoon. Lonnie and Sweet were down at the pond fishing, while Monica was cooking her baked spaghetti. Both of the guys were going into the station at four, and Monica wanted them to have a real meal on their stomachs.
As the guys were coming back up to the trailer, Monica noticed the empty bucket.
"Hey! Where's dinner?"
Lonnie laughed. "They weren't biting today. I think all the fish knew we had something better waiting on us in the kitchen."
"Yeah," Sweet said. "At least somebody around here knows what's going on."
"Come on, man. Parker's bound to turn up something. I just know it."
Monica sensed the tension building back up and tried to lighten things up.
"All right, Frick and Frack. You can talk shop later. Right now, lunch is on the table."
The three of them headed into the trailer and sat down to eat.
"Oh Monica! I ran into Jimmy Dawes the other day. He told me to tell you 'Hi'." Sweet said.
"And how is my dear old Uncle Jimmy?" she asked with a smile.
Lonnie spoke next. "According to Sweet, he's working on a new record."
Monica looked confused and both men started laughing.
"Yeah," Sweet said. "He's gone about six months without getting busted for anything."
They were all laughing when Lonnie remembered what Monica had just said. He wanted to ask her about it, but it involved her estranged mother who had been killed by her boyfriend's partner a few years back. He approached his question carefully, so as not to hurt her feelings. "I caught that 'Uncle Jimmy' a minute ago. I thought your mother only went with men who had money. No disrespect, of course."
Monica waved her hand at Lonnie, her way of telling him not to worry. "It is what it is, LJ. That's her shame, not mine."
"Anyway," she continued. "My mother was definitely a wallet chaser. But she believed in keeping what she called a spare tire. That was Jimmy. He was the one she hung out with when she was between money bags."
Sweet laughed. "You know, in her own way, your mother was a smart woman. She just didn't know it."
"I think you're right, Sweet. She didn't realize that I was smart, either. If it wasn't for Jimmy, I wouldn't be where I am now."
Lonnie and Sweet looked at each other, and then turned to stare at Monica.
"Hon, do you mean to say that Jimmy Dawes was your mentor while you were growing up?" Lonnie had to admit that he held a strange sort of respect for the man, but he had a hard time seeing him as a gatekeeper for formal education.
Monica laughed and explained to the guys that when she was about seven or eight years old, she had a habit of skipping school and hanging out at the Cosmo club. That's where she first heard a piano and had been taught to play by Ches Collins himself.
"It was great. Until Jimmy saw me in there one morning."
"And that's when he lectured you… told you the value of an education, so you wouldn't turn out like him. Right?" Sweet was trying desperately to make some sense out of this.
Monica just shook her head and smiled. "Are you kidding? Jimmy grabbed me by my arm, pulled me outside, and commenced to beating my legs with a hickory switch right in the middle of the street! Then he dragged me to school, threw me inside the front doors and said, 'Now keep your little grown ass in there before you turn out to be a 'ho' like your mama.'"
Lonnie and Sweet roared with laughter. "Now THAT'S the Jimmy Dawes I know." Lonnie said.
The group finished their meal and talked for a while longer. Then Sweet decided to leave so that Monica and Lonnie could spend some time alone.
The couple went out to the porch. Monica stood in front of Lonnie, leaning back against him while he held her with both arms.
"LJ?"
"Yeah, hon."
"I've been thinking about something."
Lonnie turned her around so he could see her face. The expression was serious. He took her hand and led her to the steps where they both sat down.
"Remember when we first talked about me going to North Carolina? And I got mad when you said I should go because you didn't want me to change my life for you?"
Lonnie snickered. "Remember it? I can still feel the sting from the slap you gave me!"
Monica smiled a little, but hid her face in embarrassment. She still couldn't believe that she had raised her hand to him.
"Well, I was thinking about what you said the other day, about the Pinkney case and Chief Gillespie and Harriet Delong. You said you didn't know what you would do if you were Bill's shoes and that you felt that you should."
"I feel real bad for saying that. But it was the truth."
Monica stood up and began to pace around the porch. Lonnie was concerned. He'd never seen her like this and didn't know how to respond.
"That's the thing, LJ. You shouldn't know what you would do. Not yet anyway. You've never been here before, and looking back, it was an unfair question. I shouldn't have asked it."
Lonnie tried to calm her down with a joke. "Is this one of those black things I wouldn't understand?"
Monica smiled, but remained focused. "Actually, it is."
Lonnie's face immediately went back to one of concern and he decided to let her finish.
"LJ, you wanted me to leave for school knowing that you were here, with love for me, no matter what I decided to do afterwards, right?"
"Yes. And I still want that for you, Monica."
Monica gently stroked the side of Lonnie's face. "And I want that for you, too. That's why I'm telling you that while I'm away, I want you to really think about what you're about to get into if we decide to move forward and take this thing public. I want you take a real close look at Bill and Harriet, and evaluate what you see. I want you to do whatever it takes for you to be absolutely sure of us. And I want you to know that my love will be here for you no matter what you decide."
Lonnie thought he understood what she was saying, but he wasn't positive. He took both of her hands and looked directly into her eyes.
"Do you think I'd walk away from you because I'm afraid that it might be too hard?"
Monica was scared, but she had to say it. Lonnie was speaking with his heart right now, and she needed him to be thinking with his head.
"You could."
Lonnie couldn't believe what he just heard. He was angry and turned away from her so she wouldn't notice. Monica grabbed his arm and forced him to turn around and face her.
"Baby, please listen to me. We've managed to create a wonderful little world for ourselves, LJ. No one's in it but you and I. But we're both too smart to believe that our life together is going to be this perfect, and that the question you just asked isn't possible, whether it's your intention or not."
"So what exactly are you saying, Monica?"
"No ties, no lies, LJ. That's what I'm saying. I want you to spend our time apart asking yourself some really hard questions and digging deep for the true answers. I want you to keep all of your options in mind; explore them if that what it takes. And I want you to know that you are completely free to do so, because I love you and want what's best for you."
Monica waited for Lonnie to respond, but he just stared at her. His eyes were almost empty, and Monica was afraid that he wasn't willing to accept everything she had just said. He looked away from her for a moment, and nodded his head, as if he were making some kind of pact with himself.
He turned to Monica again, pulled her back into his arms and held onto to her. He kissed her neck, and then her cheek. When he reached her ear, he kissed that too and whispered "No ties, no lies."