Leftover Dead by EVANS JIMMIE RUTH

Author:EVANS, JIMMIE RUTH
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PENGUIN group
Published: 2010-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

The next morning, Jack went over to the high school to run. While he was gone, Wanda Nell did a bit of laundry and packed a few things for them, in case they did stay the night in Hattiesburg. She tried calling Mayrene, hoping for a chat to see how her friend was doing, but Mayrene had already left for work. Since she didn’t want to bother her friend at the beauty parlor, Wanda Nell decided she would try calling her at home that night.

Finally they were ready to set out for Hattiesburg a little after ten. After a quick detour to drop Juliet off at Mrs. Culpepper’s house, Jack headed for the highway, turning south.

“We ought to hit Jackson around lunchtime,” Jack said. “Shall we stop and get something to eat there?”

“How far is it to Hattiesburg?” Wanda Nell asked.

“A couple hundred miles. About a four-hour drive, depending on how many times we stop along the way.”

“Let’s see how hungry we are when we get to Jackson,” Wanda Nell said. “We had a pretty big breakfast.”

“That’s true.” Jack grinned. “I’m really spoiled now. I used to have just some cereal and a piece of fruit. I hardly ever cooked eggs and bacon for myself.”

“I probably shouldn’t be cooking them for you every morning,” Wanda Nell said in a slightly rueful tone. “I don’t want to make you have a heart attack.”

“Maybe we can compromise. As much as I’d love to have that every morning, you’re right.” He sighed. “Aging is no fun, but I guess the alternative is worse.”

“Then we’re going to start having cold cereal or oatmeal for breakfast during the week. And we can have the bad stuff on the weekends for a treat.”

Jack agreed, and conversation lapsed for a while.

“We didn’t have much time to talk this morning,” Wanda Nell said, turning the volume down on the Reba McEntire CD they had put into the player. “So what are we going to do when we get to Hattiesburg?”

“No, I guess we didn’t have much time. Especially last night.” Jack flashed a wicked grin at Wanda Nell, and she could feel herself blushing.

Wanda Nell repeated her question, and Jack sobered. “After Juliet and I got home last night,” he said, “I spent some time on the computer. I looked up the name Howell in Hattiesburg, and I found about twenty-five of them.”

“Did you call any of them?” Wanda Nell asked, her heart sinking. Twenty-five of them was a lot, and it might take a long time to track them all down.

“No. I made a list of them, and their phone numbers and addresses. But then I had another idea. You remember what Rocky told us about the strange remark Jenna Rae made about going back to Hattiesburg?”

Wanda Nell thought back to yesterday’s conversation. “Yeah. Something about how she was tired of the stink of death.”

“Yes. And what do you think she meant by that?”

“I can think of two things right away. One of them’s a funeral parlor, and the other’s a slaughterhouse.

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