CHAPTER 56

“Wes, what are you--” Jackie said, a look of bewilderment on her face. “Didn’t you just hear the police?”

“Jackie, do you mind if I speak to Sue Ellen and Ronald alone? I’ve got a few questions of my own to ask,” I said.

Jackie stiffened and that sweet smile I’d seen only moments before evaporated.

“You’re damn right I mind. Sue Ellen is my friend and her whole world has been torn apart the past few days. I’m not going to leave and let you ask your questions and poke and probe while she’s vulnerable. Is this for some story? Part of your big comeback so you can go off to bigger and better worlds?”

Her words hurt. I didn’t expect that from her, even though just hours before, I was contemplating making my comeback with the juicy job offers that were sure to come my way.

“It’s okay, Jackie,” Sue Ellen said, rising from her seat and crossing over to her. She gave Jackie a hug. “Wes is just being Wes, that’s all. I guess questions are a lot like potato chips with him. Once he starts asking them, he just can’t stop.”

Jackie smiled at Sue Ellen. “Okay, I think I’ll go check on the girls and the horses,” she said. “I want to get a good look at Cherokee’s leg in the sunlight.” She started off and then she turned back to Sue Ellen, her back to me. “I’ll stop back before I go. Give you a report,” she said before she headed out of the stable.

I watched her go. All was quiet.

“Ronald, why don’t you go see about lunch?” Sue Ellen said, turning to him.

“If it’s all the same to you, Mrs. A, I’d like to stay,” Ronald said.

“Actually, I would like to talk to both of you,” I said.

“Do you mind, Ronald?” she asked.

“No, not at all,” he said. He remained standing by her side.

“First off, Sue Ellen, I want you to know this is the last thing I wanted for you,” I began. “You know I never liked Tony, but I never expected--”

“It’s okay, Wes. I’m the one who asked you to find Stevie’s killer, remember? It’s actually a relief to know for sure--to know it’s all over.” She got up, walked over to me, and gave me a hug. “Thank you,” she said softly into my ear. “You’re such a good friend.”

I put my hands on her shoulders and stepped back so I could look into her eyes. “Then tell me the truth about what happened with Tony.”

She let her arms drop to her side, a slight look of surprise on her face. “What do you mean? You sound like you really don’t believe that Tony committed suicide.”

“Yeah, I heard the police, but...”

“But what?” she asked, her eyes searching mine.

“It just doesn’t make sense, not with Tony. He always thought he was so much smarter than everyone else. He had to think he’d find a way to get out from under all this, have the last laugh, no matter how bad it looked. The police needed him if they wanted to get the Crawfords. He knew that. He would’ve squeezed them until they gave him anything he wanted. That’s how he was.”

“Maybe this time he put his family first,” she said.

“And I saw the rope, the knots--the one tied around the beam and the other that made the noose,” I said.

“So?” she asked.

I looked at Ronald. His face was as impassive as earlier, but he was looking me straight in the eyes.

“They were good, too good. The slip knot around the beam and the hangman’s noose--I don’t believe Tony could have tied them. But someone with experience tying knots, someone who’d been in the navy, say, where they tend to get a lot of practice--”

“Are you saying you think Ronald killed Tony?” Sue Ellen said.

I looked back at her. “Not just Ronald,” I said.

“You mean me. You think I--”

“Sue Ellen, I know you. I remember when we were kids. Anyone messed with Stevie, you were there to stick up for him. No matter who it was, even if Stevie deserved it. He was family, and that’s all that mattered.”

She didn’t say anything. She just stood there, looking at me, her breathing growing a little heavier.

“It wouldn’t have been hard, not with the two of you working it. You--or Ronald--could have hidden the rope in the study during the day, when Tony went out for one of his walks under the supervision of the troopers and the study was unguarded. During dinner last night, you could have slipped ground up Valium into his food or into his drink. You never gave it to Tony during the last few nights. Then you left him alone to let the drug take effect. You came back an hour later, with Ronald. Tony was probably passed out by then, or at the least extremely groggy, especially with the alcohol I’m sure he drank with dinner. Ronald then must have thrown the one end of the rope over the exposed beam, tied the slip knot, and pulled it up tight. The hangman’s noose was no doubt tied earlier. The two of you carried or walked Tony over to the stool, got him up on it, placed the noose around his neck and then kicked the stool aside. Ronald left with the dinner dishes, you stayed to watch Tony die.”

Sue Ellen closed her eyes and bowed her head, her chin touching the top of her chest. “Damn you, Wes. You just don’t understand,” she said quietly.

“You typed the suicide note, forged his signature. It probably wouldn’t stand up under any hard scrutiny, but they won’t look. It’s what Tony accused me of, being a little lazy. The police have their theory, and they’ll just fit all the pieces together just to make them work. Everyone just can’t wait to blame the Crawfords,” I said.

“Why are you doing this to her? You don’t have any proof. It’s all conjecture,” Ronald said, stepping forward, his hands balled into fists. “Why don’t you just get the hell out of here and let her be?”

“It’s okay, Ronald. It’s okay,” Sue Ellen said, stopping him.

“Tony killed Stevie and you avenged his death. That’s as simple as it all is. The part about the threats from the Crawfords--that was just smoke, and it all worked beautifully,” I said.

Sue Ellen raised her head and looked me squarely in the eyes. “Oh, the threats were real. That was the final straw. What Tony did to Stevie was enough of a reason for me to kill him--you’re right about that--but on top of everything else that son of a bitch had done, those bastards threatened to harm my babies, and he didn’t even care. Not one bit. He said we could go into witness protection. The Crawfords would never find us. Like it was okay to just rip my daughters out of the only life they’d ever known, away from their friends, their school--everything. We’d spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, no matter where we went. I told him this is where we live. He said that if I--we--didn’t want to go into witness protection, then he’d go on his own, leave us. Said the Crawfords would forget. He acted like he didn’t know that, as long as he was alive somewhere, they would never forget. We’d never be safe. He was such a coward.”

She walked over to the gate to Cherokee’s stall, looked around inside it, and gently kicked at the bottom of gate a few times. She turned back to me. “Wes, I want you to know that killing Tony was all my idea. Ronald had nothing to do with it.”

“Except to tie the noose and help you put Tony’s head through it,” I said.

“Mrs. A, I can’t let you take the blame,” Ronald said, his hands no longer clenched, looking at Sue Ellen with obvious admiration. Then he faced me. “Wes, it was all my doing. I drugged his food, I tied the ropes, I strung him up. I was the one who went to Ferdie Crawford, made the deal.”

“Wait. You what?” I asked, caught completely by surprise by the last bit of news. “You went to Ferdie? How? What kind of deal?”

“With the threats and all...well, it was obvious the Crawfords wanted Mr. Augustino dead. I went to him, asked him if I killed Mr. Augustino, would he leave Mrs. A and the girls alone. He agreed so I hung the bastard. Simple as that,” Ronald said.

My look swung from Ronald to Sue Ellen to Ronald. It was just crazy enough to be true. I’d been wrong about so much up to now, why should this be different?

“But how did you get to Ferdie?” I asked.

Ronald let out a slight chuckle. “Wes, one thing about Hastings County. Everybody you know is going to know somebody that you might want to talk to.”

I stood for a moment trying to decipher that Hastings County wisdom. Then it struck me. “Kenny!” I said. “Kenny put you in touch.”

“I’m not getting anyone else involved,” Ronald answered. He turned to Sue Ellen. “Mrs. A, I can’t let you confess to this. You got your girls to look after. I know you’ll help my wife look after mine. You go to jail, we all suffer.”

“Oh, Ronald,” Sue Ellen said. Her eyes had welled up with tears. “I can’t. I can’t let you.” She faced me. “It was my idea. He only did what I asked, for me and my daughters.” She smiled at Ronald. “You are such a good and loyal friend.”

Tears had also begun to fill Ronald’s eyes.

“Mrs. A, I--I--”

Sue Ellen again faced me. She wiped the tears from her eyes. She came over to me and took her hands in mine. “I want you to know--and I’m not telling you so you’ll do anything that’s not right--but I know Ferdie Crawford threatened Jackie--and you--because I got you into this.”

I looked at Ronald. He had regained his composure. “Stacey told you. Damn him.”

“The big guy likes you, Wes. He’s gonna do what he thinks is best. He wanted me to help him go after Ferdie--me and him, on our own against that whole family--put an end to it,” Ronald answered, shaking his head in respectful disbelief.

“I wasn’t going to let anyone else get hurt. The deal I made with Ferdie Crawford,” Sue Ellen continued. “I made him promise not to hurt Jackie, or you. He agreed, as far as this is all concerned.”

“He wouldn’t make no guarantees about the future, least as far as you’re concerned,” Ronald added quickly. “He wants you to stay out of his business from here on out.”

A week earlier, it had all seemed so simple. A quick stop-over on my way to wherever the road took me, attend a funeral to pay my last respects to an old friend, have a few drinks with old buddies, one day, maybe two--tops--before I continued on my merry way toward...toward... well, oblivion in all likelihood.

“So, Wes,” Sue Ellen said, still holding my hand, that sad, sweet smile on her face. “It looks like you got your story. Congratulations. Believe it or not, I’m happy for you. I could see how much you were hurting. Maybe now you can go on and get your life back.”

I looked deeply into her eyes. “Why does everyone seem to think the only reason I came back here was for a story?” I asked.

“Wes, it’s because you’re a reporter. It’s who you are. It’s what makes you happy, isn’t it?” she answered.

“Yeah? Well, maybe, but not every story has to be told.”

“What are you saying?” Sue Ellen asked.

“I’m saying that this is all over. I’ll let the police have their story. All-in-all, it’s a good one. It actually works for me, and I think Hoppy will like it too.”

“Oh, Wes,” Sue Ellen cried, and she gave me a huge hug. “Are you sure? I don’t want you--”

“Sue Ellen, let’s leave it,” I said, squeezing her hard. I stepped back. Her eyes had again teared up.

Ronald came over and took my hand, shaking it strongly, giving me a deep look of appreciation. “Thank you, Wes. It’s a fine thing you’re doing,” he said.

“Yeah, well, like you said, I’ve got no proof and the last thing Hoppy would want is a libel suit coming his way over shoddy reporting. Speaking of which, I’ve got to get to the Chronicle and get some kind of article written, and I’ve got a few other things to discuss with Hoppy. You wouldn’t possibly be able to give me a ride back to the state police barracks, could you? I need to get my car. I came here with Captain Winters and Chief Roark.”

“Actually,” Sue Ellen said, placing her arm through mine and walking me toward the stable door. “There’s a million things I need Ronald to do around here. Maybe if you ask Jackie real nice...”

I smiled at her. “You think so? She didn’t look too happy with me when she left a few moments ago.”

“Oh, I’ll put in a good word for you, and, Wes?”

“Yes, Sue Ellen?”

“I think it’s okay if, from here on out, you start calling the old house your place.”

“You know, I think I’d like that.”

Arm in arm, we left the stable.