Amos talked me into getting a good night’s sleep and heading over to Chuck Nelson’s dealership mid-morning on Friday. I couldn’t believe it was already the end of the week.
Amos decided he would drive us to the dealership, which suited me just fine. I didn’t often get to be a passenger. Unfortunately, I had to catch myself from admiring Amos’ side profile long enough to remember to confirm with him what we were doing. “Tell me the truth, are you sure you don’t think this is silly idea? I mean you’re just coming so I won’t get myself into trouble, aren’t you?”
Amos raised an eyebrow. “If I didn’t come with you, you would have found a way to get out here and ask questions. That got you in trouble this past summer. Are you having second thoughts now?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m really interested in finding out if this James Nelson was close friends with William since their fathers were friends.”
Amos nodded. “Let me guess, I bet you really want access to James’ father, Chuck Nelson, to ask about a crime that happened fifty years ago.”
“I’m not expecting a confession from a man in his seventies, but I would love to see his face to see if there’s a hint of guilt.”
Amos reminded, “Let’s concentrate on what we can gather now. Remember, we’re not here to investigate a cold case. Peace to August Manning’s soul, but we do want to find out information about William.”
I wasn’t sure what we would find, but Amos thought it was best for us to start a conversation under the illusion of purchasing a car. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one seeking adventure as a retiree. Amos has been retired at least a year before me, and I’ve always wondered if he just spent his time in the yard or fiddling around with woodwork in his shack.
As Amos pulled into the parking lot, I noticed there were two men standing outside talking. I suspected they were both salesmen since they were dressed in suits. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t imagining the look in their eyes. They were primed and ready to pounce on new prey.
After Amos parked his car, I hesitated for a moment before opening the door. I wanted to observe the salesmen from the passenger mirror. One of the men had already started walking towards to us. “This is going to be interesting.”
Amos grinned. “Let’s see if they can talk us into buying a car.” He climbed out of the driver’s side.
“Mmm. I’m fine with my car.” I opened the car door and stepped out very slow. I haven’t been to a car dealership in a decade. I went with Ralph to purchase a car with only intentions of picking out the color and features I wanted. My Toyota Camry was at 200,000 miles, but it remained in good condition due to my continuing to stick to a car maintenance schedule after Ralph’s death.
As the salesman drew closer, I recognized his face and was very much convinced God had set up this divine meeting. James Nelson walked purposely towards us with his hand wrapped around his red tie as if he wanted to keep it from flying back in his face.
I commented to Amos. “He looks just the way he looks on those commercials.”
Amos crossed his arms. “How else should he look, Eugeena?”
“I don’t know. I was expecting him to be a lot taller.”
Amos grunted something.
James approached us with a grin that revealed straight white teeth that had to come from braces. The way he stretched his mouth reminded me of a clown’s mouth without all the makeup. “Howdy folks, are you here looking for a brand new car? We have quite the special going on now.” He stretched his arm to guide our eyes across the parking lot. “The special has been going on all month. Great deal because we need to move all of these cars by the end of the year.”
I wondered if William received the special when he purchased his car a few weeks ago.
James held out his hand like he was escorting us on a grand tour. “Shall I show you and your husband around?”
I don’t know who started coughing first. It was like something was in the air giving me a coughing fit and Amos too. I wanted to correct the salesman, but he’d already started walking. I looked over at Amos who shrugged and followed the salesman.
What? Isn’t Amos going to correct him?
For those next few minutes, we covered the parking lot before we stopped in front of a row of Buick Lacrosses. I did see why William liked the car, although it still felt like a departure from his usual vehicles over the years.
James beamed. “So folks what do you think of this Lacrosse? It’s a beauty isn’t it?”
Amos answered, “Looks like a winner.”
I was ready to move this conversation along. “Can we take a test drive?”
I thought to myself if James smiled any harder, his jawbone would shatter. “I will get the keys.”
Amos was looking at me with one eyebrow raised. “A test drive? We didn’t talk about that, Eugeena.”
I shrugged. “How else are we supposed to ask questions? You do the driving.”
Amos started to protest, but I stopped him.
“You assured me neither one of us will be leaving this parking lot with a car payment.” I winked at him and turned away to see James bounding back towards us.
He asked, “Are you ready to take this baby for a spin?”
“Sure, let’s do this.” Amos took the keys and climbed into the driver’s seat, while I opened the back door and sat in the back.
James asked, “Ma’am, are you sure you don’t want to sit up front with your husband?”
I closed the back door and then snapped my seatbelt in place. I peered at James. “He’s
not my husband.”
“Oh.” James’s smile faltered a bit, but kept looking cheerful as he glanced back and forth from me to Amos.
Amos started the car. “Let’s go. Mr. Nelson, we’re waiting on you.”
“Yes, sure.” James jumped in the passenger seat. “Let’s take a right at the end of the driveway.”
Amos maneuvered the steering wheel, guiding us out of the parking lot. I thought Amos looked like he enjoyed the car.
“So, uh, folks what made you interested in this car?” James asked.
Bingo. I spoke up for the back seat. “I actually told Amos about the car. My neighbor has one of these cars. Or I should say he had one like it.”
James turned around, appearing puzzled. “Did you say had? He got rid of it for another car?”
“Oh no. He just isn’t able to drive the car anymore.”
James looked at Amos and then back at me. “Accident?”
I shrugged. “He died.”
“Oh.”
Thank goodness, the man finally dropped that crazy grin.
I leaned forward as much as the back seatbelt would let me. “I was admiring his car and noticed he bought it from your dealership maybe two weeks ago. I would have never imagined William driving such a luxurious car.”
Amos peered at me via the rearview mirror. His eyes held questions as to where I was going with the questions.
James seemed to be interested. “Did you say your friend’s name was William?”
I responded, “He wasn’t so much a friend. Now his mother is a dear friend of mine. Do you know Louise Hopkins?”
James seemed lost for words. He recovered and told Amos, “Why don’t you take the exit to I-26. You will find this ride is real smooth on the highway.”
I had to give James credit for keeping in salesman mode, although I could tell he was disturbed that I brought up William.
“Mr. Nelson, did you know William? I’m sorry if you didn’t know he died.”
James loosened the tie’s knot. “I heard. Yes, William and I grew up together. It’s very sad to hear what happened to him.”
I decided to keep talking, not really sure why, but there was no need to waste the test drive as Amos eased down the ramp into I-26 traffic. “It’s a shame. William was really getting his head together, investing in some startup company here in Charleston, buying a luxury car and the last time I saw him, he looked like some GQ model. I just feel so bad for his mother, you know with him being her only child.”
James looked over his shoulder. “I feel bad for him too. He was here a few weeks ago. I hadn’t seen him that excited about being in Charleston in a long time. He talked about finally doing something to make his dad proud.”
I asked, “Was he talking about his company? I never imagined William was the business type.”
James rubbed his hands through his hair. “He wasn’t. I told him to slow it down and be sure he really studied his investment.”
James spoke to Amos. “Sorry we got off topic there. How do you like the car? You can take that exit so we can head back and talk more.”
Amos nodded.
I wanted to continue to ride. I had a lot more questions. “Do you know what kind of company? I didn’t know we had so many technology companies here in Charleston?”
James’s smile returned, “Oh, yes, Charleston is one of the top ten fastest growing cities for software and technology companies. William told me his company was developing healthcare apps. You know, they are all the new rage now.”
Really? That was interesting and also the last type of business I expected William to be involved in.
Amos drove us back to the parking lot and stopped in front of the door.
I asked James, “So, William was planning to stay in Charleston? I wondered why he was selling his mother’s house.”
“The Charleston Digital Corridor is a big draw here for tech companies. I believe he preferred staying downtown. He was staying in one of those fancy hotels. The Belmont, I think.”
After we all climbed out of the car, James plastered on that huge smile and asked Amos, “So what do you think?”
I answered, “That William sure hit pay dirt.”
James’ smile slipped from his face. “I was talking about the car. But you’re right, I guess he did. Funny how he struck it rich. Of course, I’ve always heard his mother came from money. At least that’s what my dad used to say.”
Amos grabbed my elbow. “Thanks for the test drive. That sure is a nice car. I think I will sleep on it. Eugeena, we should head back.”
James almost whined. “Wait, you liked the car, right? I’m sure I can work out a deal for you.”
Amos was guiding me back towards his car, but I still had a few questions. I turned around. “You know you said you grew up with William. So you knew Bill Hopkins? I mean your families are friends.”
James frowned. “My dad and William’s dad grew up together. He was actually closer to William’s mom. I believe if Bill Hopkins hadn’t married her, my dad would have. Of course, I’m glad he didn’t or I and my siblings wouldn’t be here. That would be a shame.”
Louise and Chuck. “That’s so interesting. How’s Chuck Nelson doing these days, I mean with his son running the business?”
He glanced at me briefly. I believe I saw bit of annoyance flash in his eyes. It could have been because he had his salesman eyes on new prey. A much younger couple, probably married, was walking towards us and appeared to have money to spend. I sensed James didn’t really want to talk about his dad, but he answered.
“My dad’s not doing too well these days. Alzheimer’s. It was really nice chatting with you folks. Mr. Jones, here’s my card. I hope to hear from you soon.” With a wink, James plastered on that megawatt smile and took off across the parking lot.
Amos opened the passenger car door for me. I couldn’t wait until he went around to the driver’s side and climbed in. I commented, “What do you think? This is quite the triangle or circle. There’s Bill and Louise. August and Louise. Now Chuck and Louise. I’ve seen photos of Louise when she was younger and I know she was quite a pretty woman, but who would have guessed she had it going on like that?”
Amos nodded. “Sounds like August was her first love, but he lost out worse than the other two.”
I shook my head. “I’m not seeing Bill being one to hurt August, but then again Jocelyn said he was the one who ran her mother away from seeing Louise.”
“He could have been trying to protect Louise.”
“From what? How did Bill win Louise over instead of Chuck?”
Now that I thought back to past conversations with Louise, she told me she married Bill because he was familiar and a comfort to her after her disastrous first marriage. They were all in their early twenties. It was possible Chuck was already married, but I wondered how he let Louise get away. How did Bill and Chuck manage to remain friends when both men had an interest in Louise?
I believe August ultimately won Louise’s heart first, which made his death even more tragic.