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AFTER MARY-ALICE TOLD Carter all about the man who had tangled with Celia down in Lafitte, she assumed her worries were over. This delusion persisted until 6:56 the following evening, when Mary-Alice was dining with Gertie, Ida Belle, and Fortune at Francine’s Diner.
Carter was kind enough not to make a big deal of the fact that he was arresting her; instead, he allowed Mary-Alice to walk with him. Together they exited the restaurant and headed on foot to the sheriff’s station, as if they were old pals out for an evening stroll.
Ida Belle, Gertie, and Fortune stayed behind, as there was no point in making a scene. Mary-Alice was sure that they would swing into action, in their own way, as soon as it was possible.
“Why Deputy Sheriff,” Mary-Alice exclaimed as soon as they were out of the restaurant. “Didn’t you follow up on the man in Lafitte?”
Mary-Alice did not like to scold, and she certainly was not one to contradict an officer of the law. But she found it quite vexing to find herself being arrested for something she did not do, particularly after leading Deputy Sheriff Carter LeBlanc to the real culprit.
“I did follow up, Miss Mary-Alice.” Carter kept his eyes focused straight ahead and did not look at Mary-Alice.
“Did you find him?”
“Yes I did, Miss Mary-Alice. I was able to find the man that fit your description.”
Carter glanced at Mary-Alice, then turned away quickly from her bright blue gaze.
“His name is Jean-Baptiste Fleury,” Carter continued. “His mother still lives in Lafitte. He’s in and out of her house. Got no place of his own. Seems to hang around the bus terminal most days, according to the locals.”
“Well then, I certainly don’t mean to tell you how to do your job, Deputy Sheriff LeBlanc, but did you try to confirm my account?”
“I talked to the woman who works at the ticket counter.” Carter opened the door of the sheriff’s station and let Mary-Alice enter before following her in. “Apparently Celia initiated the encounter when she tripped over him on the porch of the bus depot. She yelled at Mr. Fleury and kicked him. Then she stormed off. That was the end of it.”
Mary-Alice swallowed. She didn’t feel that the sad, gentle man she had spoken to could really hurt anyone—not even Celia. But she was surprised Carter was letting him off so easily.
She watched Carter pick up a stack of manila envelopes from behind the front counter. He leafed through them absently as he made his way down the hall, trusting Mary-Alice to follow him. Which she did.
“Did you check the man’s hands for injuries?” Mary-Alice asked. “Abrasions, lacerations?”
Carter stopped and turned to face Mary-Alice.
“Hand, Miss Mary-Alice, not hands. He only has the one.”
“Oh.” Mary-Alice felt herself redden. She hadn’t thought of that.
“And Fleury has no record of violence. Just vagrancy and public intoxication.”
Mary-Alice nodded.
“The poor man,” she said. Despite the fact that she herself was getting locked up, she was relieved that no further injustice was being done. “By the by, Deputy Sheriff, did you know about the thefts from the car lot?”
Carter paused as he was unlocking the cell door.
“How did you know about that, Miss Mary-Alice?”
“Oh, you know how rumors get around.” It was bad enough Mary-Alice was in trouble; she wasn’t about to rat out her friend Beulah.
Carter nodded.
“I guess there’s no harm telling you. Turns out it was an insurance scam. Problem was one of the ‘thieves’ got clever and instead of sinking the vehicle in the bayou like he was supposed to, he sold it. They caught him when he tried to transfer the title.”
“Deputy Sheriff,” Mary-Alice said, “it sounds like Celia was in Lafitte that weekend that she claims she was being held prisoner in my house. From what you told me, it seems she took the bus. And we know there was a car theft. Now, how do you suppose Celia got back to Mudbug?”
Mary-Alice walked into the cell and perched primly on the edge of the hard metal bench.
“Miss Mary-Alice, are you thinking that Celia drove back in a stolen automobile?”
“I’m sure I don’t know what to think,” Mary-Alice replied. “So what happens now? How long do I have to stay on the inside?”
“Well, the way it works is...the short story is it’s too late in the day to get you bailed out now. You’ll have to spend the night at least,” Carter sounded apologetic. “Call your friends, Miss Mary-Alice. They’ve been through this more times than I can count. They’ll know what to do.”
Mary-Alice had not had to surrender her purse. She was glad to have her belongings with her, but a little piqued at the implication that she was so completely harmless. Deputy Sheriff LeBlanc certainly would have confiscated Gertie’s purse in similar circumstances.
“I’m so sorry about this, Miss Mary-Alice.” Carter said. “But unfortunately, thanks to all the publicity, there’s a lot of pressure on Sheriff Lee to make an arrest. Celia is sticking to her story. We have to let the wheels of justice turn. I wish there were some other way.”
“No, I understand. Celia will make everyone’s lives miserable if you don’t arrest me. Now don’t you go feeling bad, Deputy. I consider you and Sheriff Lee and Deputy Breaux and Myrtle to be friends, so I’m certain staying at the sheriff’s station won’t be too unpleasant. Why, it’ll be a new experience for me, one I’ve only read about. Hello? Ida Belle?”
Ida Belle’s voice came out of Mary-Alice’s phone as an indignant squawk. She spoke so loudly that Carter could hear every word. Ida Belle denounced Sheriff Lee as a doddering old fossil, declared that Deputy Breaux didn’t have the brains of a tick, and announced that she had half a mind to go down to the hospital herself to throw a bucket of water on Celia and watch her melt away like the Wicked Witch of the West. To Mary-Alice’s great relief, Ida Belle omitted any mention of Carter from her tirade.
“We’ll take care of things for you, Mary-Alice,” Ida Belle concluded. “Don’t you go anywhere.”
Ida Belle clicked off, leaving Mary-Alice to wonder whether that was Ida Belle’s idea of humor.
“Mary-Alice!”
Myrtle, the night dispatcher, fairly shoved Carter aside, walked into the still-unlocked cell, and enveloped Mary-Alice in a hug. “Everything will be fine, Mary-Alice,” she whispered with a sidelong glance at Carter. “Sheriff Lee has to make a big show of making an arrest, and unfortunately, you’re it. Did you get supper?”
“At Francine’s,” Mary-Alice assured her. “Buttermilk chicken with hush puppies.”
Myrtle released Mary-Alice.
“Well you just holler if you need anything, Mary-Alice,” she said, as much to Carter as to Mary-Alice. “I’ll be right out front. And I’m certain all this silliness will be over soon.”