The police chief of Peaceful, Texas, a small man named Rigsby Cotton whose cowboy hat was too big for his head, was the first to show up, along with his one police officer, a very young woman introduced as Mary Mays. There didn’t seem to be a lot going on in Peaceful that night. Or maybe ever. Second to show up was the sheriff of Toledo County, Omar Gonzales, a much larger man than his townie counterpart, who wore his beige uniform and beige Stetson well. He had two deputies with him, neither of whom were introduced. They stayed stationed at the front door, as if on sentry duty.
‘Miz Hutchins,’ the sheriff said, elbowing past the police chief. ‘What seems to be the problem?’
‘As I was telling Rigsby, Sheriff,’ she said, with a sort of sarcastic emphasis on the ‘sheriff,’ ‘we have a dead body in the living room. He’s a guest by the name of Humphrey Hammerschultz. If you two will behave, I’ll lead you in there.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ Rigsby Cotton said, just a split second before Omar Gonzales said the same thing.
I went with her as she led the authorities into the living room. Humphrey Hammerschultz was still in the same position, his head and arms aiming for the floor, his oversized abdomen and large ass anchoring his body on the sofa.
‘Who moved the body?’ Gonzales asked.
‘My husband and I found him,’ I said, speaking up for the first time.
‘And who the hell are you?’ Gonzales said, not the least unkindly, although the words were not particularly kind.
‘Jeez, Omar,’ Rigsby Cotton said.
‘My husband and I are also guests,’ I said. ‘My name is E.J. Pugh. As I was about to say—’
‘What does the E.J. stand for?’ Gonzales interrupted.
‘Omar, for God’s sake, let the lady talk!’ Cotton said, turning a mean eye on his colleague.
‘I said y’all could come in if you behaved! I don’t think either of you is behaving!’ Miss Hutchins said with just a little heat.
‘Sorry, Miz Hutchins,’ Cotton said, hanging his head.
‘Me, too,’ Gonzales said, although his stance said he was anything but sorry.
‘Ma’am,’ Cotton said, addressing me, ‘please go on.’
Gonzales glared at him, but Cotton didn’t even look his way.
‘I was just going to say,’ I said after heaving a giant sigh, ‘that my husband and I found him in this position when we walked in here.’
‘Seeing that it’s almost five o’clock in the morning, ma’am,’ Gonzales said, and I do believe the ‘ma’am’ was said with some sarcasm, ‘what were you and your husband doing down here?’
I looked at Miss Hutchins. I hadn’t told her about the grrrrrrrrrr-plop as yet. Would she want me to? After a slight pause, I decided to be as honest as possible without saying too much. I’m good at that – just like my neighbor, Elena Luna, police sergeant for the Codderville police department. So I said, ‘I heard a sound in the hallway outside our room. It woke me up, then I woke up my husband, and we decided to see what it was. But when we got to our door, the sound was going down the stairs and, by the time we got there, it was already out the door.’
‘The sound was out the door?’ Gonzales repeated with a sneer.
‘Ma’am, what kind of sound was it?’ Police Chief Cotton asked.
I looked at Miss Hutchins, whose eyes were big. Then she narrowed them and nodded her head slightly. I sighed again and said, ‘It was sort of a grrrrrrrrrr-plop.’
‘Grrrrrrrrrr-plop?’ Cotton repeated.
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Like someone dragging something down the hall.’
‘And what was that something?’ Gonzales asked, again with the sneer. I was beginning to think I wasn’t Sheriff Gonzalez’s favorite person – but then again he was rapidly heading to the top of my shit-list.
‘Like I just said, Sheriff,’ I said, using the same sarcastic emphasis Miss Hutchins had used only moments before, ‘we didn’t see anything. We just heard the noise but it was gone by the time we got there.’
‘We, you say?’ Gonzales said. ‘And where is this mythical husband of yours?’
‘I’m right here,’ Willis said, coming in the room carrying a small tray with what was left of the whiskey and the white wine I’d been drinking earlier. Two shot glasses and a small wine glass also adorned the tray. ‘And if you insist on my mythology, please call me Zeus. I’ve always wanted to be Zeus.’ He set the tray down on the coffee table and said, ‘Sorry, gentlemen, ma’am,’ nodding at Chief Cotton’s patrol officer, ‘but there’s not enough left for y’all to imbibe. Although you’re both on duty anyway, right?’
‘Nobody should be imbibing any alcohol right now, Mr …’
‘Pugh,’ Willis said. ‘Willis Pugh.’
‘What were y’all doing down here at such an ungodly hour?’ Gonzales demanded.
Willis straightened his shoulders – and magnificent shoulders they were too. ‘I think my wife just told you all that. But I will disagree with her on one issue – the sound was more of a rrrrrrrrrr-thump.’
‘You’re totally wrong,’ I said to my husband.
‘No, you are,’ he said.
‘OK, OK,’ Chief Cotton asked. ‘Can any of y’all tell me anything about this guy? Other than his name?’
Willis and I turned as one to Miss Hutchins. It was up to her to spill the ghostly beans, as it were.
Miss Hutchins followed Willis’s lead and squared her shoulders, standing as tall as a five foot even woman of a certain age could. ‘Mr Hammerschultz was a psychic detective. He and his partner—’
‘Bullshit!’ Gonzales said. ‘What is this horseshit?’
‘Omar, there are ladies present!’ Chief Cotton chastised. ‘Sorry, ladies. You started to mention his partner, Miz Hutchins?’
‘Yes, Diamond Lovesy, she’s—’
Gonzales let out a bark of a laugh. ‘You’ve got to be fuckin’ with me!’
‘Omar!’
Gonzales just shook his head and gave Cotton the floor. ‘And where is this Miz Lovely?’
‘No,’ Miss Hutchins corrected. ‘Lovesy. L-o-v-e-s-y.’
‘And she’s a psychic detective too?’ Chief Cotton asked.
‘No, she’s a medium.’
‘Ma’am?’ Chief Cotton said, cocking his head to one side like an inquisitive bird.
‘A medium,’ Miss Hutchins said, speaking slowly and succinctly. ‘She can feel if spirits are in the house and can sometimes contact the dead and let them speak through her.’
‘Well, ain’t that grand?’ said Gonzales. ‘And you buy this bullshit, Miz Hutchins?’
Again, the old lady stiffened her body. ‘I do believe there are spirits in this house, and they’re not all benign.’
Ignoring her, Gonzales turned to Rigsby Cotton. ‘Well, now we have it,’ he said. ‘The rumors are true – she’s nuttier than a fruitcake.’
‘Omar, this is my jurisdiction, being as it’s in the city limits and all, and I’m gonna have to ask you and your men to vacate the premises immediately,’ Chief Cotton said.
Gonzales barked out another laugh. ‘With pleasure. Hope you find the ghost that offed this guy!’ he said, and went up to his two men at the front door, slapped them both on the back and laughed long and hard. The two men managed to laugh with him, although their hearts didn’t seem to be in it.
After the door closed behind the sheriff and his men, Chief Cotton turned back to Miss Hutchins. ‘Ma’am, where is this Miz Lovesy now?’
The old lady pointed up the staircase. ‘Upstairs. Asleep. She drank a great deal tonight – excuse me, last night, and she’s probably still passed out.’
Chief Cotton nodded his head. ‘Were they – excuse me, ma’am, but I gotta ask – were Miz Lovesy and Mr Hammer …’
‘Schultz,’ all three of us said in unison.
‘Mr Hammerschultz – were they staying together in the same room?’
‘Oh, good heavens, no!’ Miss Hutchins said with some indignation. ‘They weren’t married!’
‘So could I get a look in Mr Hammerschultz’s room?’ he asked.
‘Of course,’ she said.
‘Chief, Hammerschultz never went upstairs tonight,’ Willis said. ‘E.J. and I saw him getting very comfortable on the sofa as we went upstairs. He’d also had a great deal to drink.’
‘Still and all,’ the chief said.
‘E.J., dear, would you mind taking Rigsby to Humphrey’s room? I just can’t face those stairs right now,’ Miss Hutchins said.
‘Of course,’ I said, and turned to Rigsby Cotton. ‘Chief?’ I said, and headed for the stairs.
BACK HOME
Logan quickly tried to defend himself against Megan’s question, but Bess interrupted. ‘Megan! Enough! Logan didn’t do anything! Harper lied!’
‘Harper Benton?’ Alicia inquired. ‘We were on the same volleyball team last semester. She’s very sweet! I just can’t imagine her doing such a thing!’
‘Humph,’ Megan said. ‘Harper’s always thought she was hot stuff.’
‘That’s not true—’ Alicia started, but Bess interrupted.
‘Enough!’ she said. ‘Why are we arguing about Harper Benton’s worthiness? She obviously lied to her brother about who … ah … you know …’
‘Knocked her up?’ Megan provided.
‘Did the deed?’ Alicia suggested.
‘Whatever. She obviously lied,’ Bess said.
‘Maybe Logan’s the one who’s lying,’ Megan suggested.
Bess stood up, hands on hips and glared at her sister. ‘Megan Pugh! How dare—’
‘No, no,’ Logan said, also standing up. ‘Megan has every right to say that. I mean, y’all don’t really know me all that well. I could be an ax murderer for all you know.’ He sank back down on his bar stool. ‘But I’m not. And don’t tell any of the guys this, but I … you know, I never, well …’
‘You’re a virgin?’ Megan supplied.
Logan’s face was defensive as he said, ‘I wouldn’t say that exactly! Jeez!’
‘Have you ever had sexual relations with another person?’ Megan demanded.
Logan’s face began turning several shades of crimson. ‘That depends on what you mean by sexual relations,’ he said.
‘Oh, for the love of God!’ Megan said, then made an impolite gesture with the index finger and thumb of one hand while poking it with the index finger of the other hand.
Although it would have seemed impossible to an observer, Logan’s face brightened in hue. ‘Ah, no,’ he finally said. ‘I’ve done some heavy petty,’ he said in his own defense, ‘but never, you know, that.’
Bess, also several shades of crimson, still standing with hands on her hips said, ‘Well, Megan, are you satisfied?’
Megan shrugged her shoulders. ‘He could be lying now. We don’t know.’
‘Well, I do,’ Alicia said, getting up to stand next to Logan. ‘No boy would admit to that unless it were true!’
‘Are you saying Graham’s done the nasty with some girl we don’t know about?’ Megan demanded, her eyes lighting up with the chance of good gossip to come.
‘Megan,’ Alicia said, teeth clenched, ‘I’m never speaking to you again!’ With that she stormed from the room, her angry footsteps being heard as she stomped upstairs.
‘What’d I say?’ Megan asked.
Humphrey Hammerschultz’s room was a complete mess. Clothes were strewn across it and his bedclothes were at the foot of the bed in a heap, possibly from an earlier nap since it was quite obvious he’d never gone to bed that night. Willis and I stood in the doorway of the room while Chief Cotton and Officer Mays went in. Using a pen, Chief Cotton picked up certain articles of clothing, put them back down then picked up others. Toiletries were scattered atop the dressing table, some lids not on properly. I worried about damage to the patina of the wood. I know, I know, a man was dead downstairs and I was worried about the antiques. Let’s face it: I’ve seen a lot of dead bodies in my time, but not that many really good antiques.
‘Mary, take a picture of the top of the dressing table then clean that mess up before it hurts the wood,’ Chief Cotton said, making me feel less guilt over my earlier thought.
‘Yes, sir,’ the officer said and pulled her cell phone out of the Sam Brown belt she wore around her slender hips. She took several shots from different angles, then set about clearing away the toiletries. I went into the bathroom across the hall where I’d found cleaning supplies earlier when Diamond and I had been getting their rooms ready, and found some Pledge and some rags. I went back and handed them to Officer Mays.
‘Thanks,’ she said, smiling at me. She was a pretty young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, with pale, natural-looking blonde hair, saucer-like green eyes and a smile that would make any orthodontist proud.
‘Can I help?’ I asked.
She shook her head, although the smile remained. ‘The chief doesn’t like civilians in his crime scenes.’
‘This isn’t the crime scene,’ I reminded her.
She shrugged. ‘Better not,’ she said and headed to the dressing table to clean up the mess.
The chief got up from where he’d been squatting, checking to see what was under the bedclothes scattered so haphazardly on the floor. By the look on his face when he stood up, I could only assume he found nothing.
‘’Fraid we’re gonna have to wake up Miz Lovesy,’ he said. ‘Miz Pugh? Would you do the honors? I don’t wanna scare the woman.’
‘Certainly, Chief,’ I said, and headed across the hall to Diamond Lovesy’s room, which was next to the bathroom. I knocked then tried the door, but it was locked. I looked back at the chief.
‘Just keep on knocking,’ he said.
So I did. I knocked four times before I heard a bleary reply. ‘What! Humphrey, if that’s you, I’m gonna kill you!’ came a gravelly voice as the door was flung open.
Seeing me standing there, she looked surprised, then frowned. Looking beyond me to Willis then the chief, who was clad in civilian clothes, appeared to tell her nothing, but seeing Mary Mays in her uniform brought her up short. Her hand shot to her throat and she said, ‘What’s wrong?’ I couldn’t help noticing the Minnie-Mouse voice was totally absent.
The chief stepped forward. ‘Miz Lovesy, ma’am, my name is Rigsby Cotton, and I’m the police chief of Peaceful. May we come in for a moment, ma’am?’
‘I haven’t done anything!’ she said, her eyes going slightly wild. I had to wonder if she was still somewhat drunk. Or if she was afraid her con was coming to a bad end.
‘No, ma’am, it’s nothing like that,’ the chief said. He stepped into the room as Diamond opened the door further.
Willis and I started to step through, but Officer Mays smiled at us kindly, held up a hand and shut the door in our faces. All I could think was: how rude!
BACK HOME
Bess just shook her head. ‘Megan …’ she started, but couldn’t really find the words. Finally she said, ‘Just eat your food.’
‘Jeez, that’s what I’ve been trying to do! But then all this drama started!’ she said.
‘She’s right,’ Logan said, smiling down at Bess. ‘No more drama. I’m starved.’
Megan, who’d been eating a lot longer than the others, finished first. She got up and stretched. ‘I think I’ll save my dessert for breakfast,’ she said and turned, heading up the stairs.
Bess started to call out to remind her sister to take her plate into the kitchen, but realizing she was soon to be totally alone with Logan, she decided she could do it herself. When she and Logan finished their dinner, he helped her clean off the bar and put Alicia’s food, still only half-eaten, in foil and into the refrigerator.
‘Hope you don’t mind sleeping on the sofa,’ Bess said when they finished in the kitchen. ‘The one in the living room is more comfortable to sleep on than this one,’ she said, indicating the sofa in the large family room that was part of what they called ‘the great room,’ which included the kitchen and breakfast room. She knew she could easily put him in her brother Graham’s room upstairs, now unoccupied as Graham was living with their grandmother in the neighboring town of Codderville to give a little distance between him and Alicia – their parents using the distance as a new-fangled chastity belt. Bess thought having Logan in the downstairs living room would cause the same problems for her. She had an uneasy feeling that Logan being only a room away would be too much temptation. ‘And that way you can sleep in. We tend to make a racket in the kitchen in the mornings.’
‘Oh, I’m used to waking up early,’ he said with a smile. ‘And the sofa’s fine. Either one. I’ll go where you put me.’
‘Well, let me get a pillow and a blanket.’
He took her hand and led her to the great room sofa. ‘Can we just sit and talk for a minute?’ he asked her.
‘Sure,’ Bess said, feeling her face getting hot and wishing she had the ability to control such things.
They sat side by side on the sofa, both looking straight ahead. He had let go of her hand when they reached their destination. For a long moment, no one said anything, then Logan spoke.
‘I want you to know I was telling the truth earlier,’ he said. ‘I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles, or my mother’s head, or whatever you want me to.’ He looked at her earnestly. ‘I’ll even take a lie-detector test!’
‘I believe you,’ Bess said, staring into those sky-blue eyes.
Logan’s head moved forward and his lips pressed against hers. They were warm and tasted of the dill pickles from his hamburger. Bess could feel heat rising from her toes and engulfing her entire being. Her hand, as if with a mind of its own, touched his arm, then went to his neck. His arms encircled her, pulling her close. She could feel his heartbeat through his white waiter’s shirt, pumping hard, combining with her own heartbeat, as if they were just one heart … It was Bess’s real first kiss. And it was way better than she’d ever imagined it could be.
‘Elizabeth!’ The voice came from behind them, and they both broke away quickly and whirled around to find Alicia standing there with blanket and pillow in hand. ‘I thought I’d bring these down for Logan. It’s way past your bedtime,’ she said primly.
‘Of course!’ Bess said, jumping up from the sofa, as did Logan. They almost collided then moved quickly apart. ‘Ah, just let me fix his bed …’
‘No need,’ Alicia said. ‘I’ll do it. You run on upstairs.’
Never one to take orders from her sisters, Bess started to object, but then decided against it. ‘Goodnight,’ she said to Logan, not looking into those blue eyes, afraid she wouldn’t be able to drag herself upstairs if she did.
‘’Night,’ he said, with what sounded to Bess’s ears like longing.
Once upstairs and in her room, nightly cleansing rituals completed, Bess lay in her bed and thought about that kiss. And eventually fell asleep, a smile on her face.
JANUARY, 1942–APRIL, 1942
Edgar did what he was told, went where he was assigned, and mostly kept his head down. He had no beef with the Japanese personally, and wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of the Philippines. He performed guard duty for the army on Bataan, then on the sixteenth his battery received new orders to join the naval battalion at the Quarantine Station at Mariveles. For the next month or so, Edgar and the rest of Marine Batteries A and C were a part of this battalion engaged in constant combat with a Japanese landing force that had made it behind American lines.
Edgar was moved inland later that first month of 1942 to an area nicknamed ‘Little Baguio,’ after the elite summer resort in northern Luzon. Edgar and his fellow Marines were billeted in a tent camp situated on a flat arm of an extinct volcano southeast of the Mariveles Mountains. Edgar couldn’t help wondering which would be the easier death: the Japanese or a volcano eruption. Edgar’s creature comforts were sorely tested at Little Baguio. Although he could smell frying bacon in the commanding general’s cook tent, he and the rest of the enlisted men feasted on unappetizing and unsalted boiled rice.
Edgar, miserable and still planning his AWOL escape, paid little attention to the political shenanigans going on around him. First and foremost, General MacArthur was relieved as commander in the Philippines and sent to Australia. A General Wainwright took over from MacArthur, only to be replaced eight days later by a General King. During all these political moves, a major counter-attack to capture Japanese supplies at Olongapo was foiled by the Japanese attacking with fresh troops. The enemy struck the hospital and bombed it without mercy. The Japanese Easter offensive broke through the Marines’ front lines and on Good Friday armed barges struck the rear flanks from Manila Bay. By April, the eastern front had become chaos and General King was determined to surrender Bataan’s battered remnants. Edgar and a few other Marines became aware of this plan when they saw officers in a staff car with a white flag depart the camp and head north through streams of troops retreating south.
On April 8, 1942, a severe earthquake shook Bataan and the Marines retreated to their prepared tunnel. An hour later they heard explosions as Navy personnel blew up the USS Canopus, the dry dock and its other installations at Mariveles, followed by army demolition of ammo dumps and supply stores, to keep them out of the hands of the Japanese.
In preparation for their surrender, officers were told to remove their insignias of rank and rid themselves of any Japanese souvenirs or currency. Enlisted men threw their rifle bolts into the jungle and destroyed the remainder of their small arms. All remaining rations were issued. Edgar grabbed what he could, eating some of it while stashing more in his clothing for later. No one noticed as Edgar went to the jungle with a small shovel and buried his poker winnings and booty bought in Shanghai. Then, knowing his fellows had been ordered to just sit and await the arrival of the Japanese, Edgar kept walking, straight into the jungle with three handguns and a rifle he had grabbed before all were destroyed, and the few rations he had stashed in his clothing.