FIFTEEN

Since my visit with Ava was cut short and I wasn’t able to get an answer to where to look for Grady Cox, I decided to move down my list of suspects. The only name left was Ty Randal.

If ever there was a motive, Ty would have one. He’d gone off to make a career out being a chef since I wouldn’t classify Normal Diner as fine dining, though it was pretty good from what I had yesterday.

Who wouldn’t be a little upset that your dreams were cut short because your father had a heart attack, almost died and had no one but you to raise the other two kids at home because your mom had an early death from cancer? If that didn’t sound like motive to kill someone, say Paul, out of anger, then I didn’t know what was.

And the fact that Ty lived at Happy Trails where Paul was discovered dead? That was just too coincidental to me.

All the possibilities of Ty being the killer started to take form in my head and I’d practically all but called Detective Hank on him to tell say that Ty Randal was the killer. I’d restrained myself after I googled the words nursing home and rehabilitation center in Normal and found that there was only one. From the gossip I’d heard about how Ty had to move back from his dream life as a chef back to Normal because my ex put his dad almost in the poor house and might be root of his heart condition, that sounded like a good motive to me.

The call to Detective Hank could wait until I checked out Mr. Randal and see exactly what I could find out there.

On my forty-minute drive back, I’d even convinced myself that Ty had a great motive and with good legal counsel he might have a far shot. After all, his father and brothers needed him. Why else would he be so nasty to me when all the others in Normal had been somewhat forgiving? A little leery, but still forgiving.

Just as I was turning into the dual facility, my phone rang.

“Hi, Dottie,” I answered after I’d seen it was her name.

“Hey, doll.” The big inhale from the other end of the phone was indication she was smoking her cancer stick. “Listen, Hank Sharp was here lookin’ for ya. Apparently, some lady called him and told him that you came to see her and he’s all a flutter about it.”

“Is that right?” I slammed the shift into parking and stewed a little. “And to think I was going to give Jr. a job.”

“Jr? Who’s Jr? Job? If you can pay someone, you need to pay me. Which brings me to the next thing.” Another audible suck of the cigarette came through the phone. “He also wanted to know if you gave me some bribe money because a mysterious deposit made it into my bank account. When he pressed Alvin about it, Alvin folded like a deck chair.”

“I guess I should’ve just given you the cash.” That’s what I get for trying to be sly.

“Doll, the problems of your husband doesn’t mean you have to make good. It’s all his fault. So stop trying so hard and just come back to the campground so we can just start over. Or if you’ve got a guilty conscience about something, I’m all ears.” The sweet Dottie on the phone wasn’t the Dottie that I’d gotten to know over the last few days.

All that Doll stuff. What was going on? I had an idea.

“Is Detective Hank there with you? Am I on speaker phone?” I asked. “You know what, Dottie. You don’t have to answer that. Let me tell you something Detective,” I was spitting mad, “Dottie Swaggert and I didn’t kill Paul. I’ve dedicated my life to repaying all the people back that Paul wronged and the only way I can think to do that for the good folks in Normal is to bring back some sort of tourist spot like Happy Trails to boost the economy. If you’ve got a better idea, then I’m open to suggestion. Other than that, leave me alone!” I hung the phone up.

I sat in the car for a few minutes to regain my composure. I had a hard time wrapping my head around why Detective Hank Sharp would continue to think I had anything to do with Paul’s death. So I might’ve said I would kill him, but that was before I knew he was really dead. Dottie Swaggert aside, I was going to find out exactly where Grady Cox had disappeared to and check in on the Randals. One of the two had something to do with Paul’s death, only I didn’t know which one.

There were two wings to the building. The North Wing was the nursing home and the South Wing was the rehabilitation center. In the middle was big open rotunda with a circular desk in the middle. Two women were seated behind the desk just gabbing away about something, abruptly stopping when I came in.

“New PT?” One smiled at me.

“PT?” I started to say you mean PYT, pretty young thing as in the Michael Jackson song, but didn’t think they’d think it was funny.

“Physical therapist?” She questioned. “Or OT?”

“OT?” I asked.

“Can we help you?” The other one said.

“Yes. I’m Mae West. . .erheimer to see Mr. Randal.” I decided to make my name a little longer since West was quit popular around here.

“Ms. Westerheimer, what’s you business with Mr. Randal?” She asked.

“That’s none of your business,” the other woman said, nudging the other. “He’s down the hall in room fifteen. He’d love to have some company.”

“Thank you.” I didn’t stay around in fear of more questioning, but the low-murmurs I heard from them as I walked away, wasn’t all that nice. They had all sorts of ideas who I was, including Mr. Randal’s private nurse when he was to come home.

The rehabilitation center was a place where people who needed more around the clock care came after an illness to help with recovery. It looked like an apartment to me. The hall was long, there were doors on each side. Some of them had a wreath, but number fifteen did not.

If Mr. Randal was my father, I’d had a wreath on the door. But he wasn’t and there was no sense in bringing up memories that I’d stored in the back of my head. That included my parents. They’d been dead a long time now. Maybe that was why I had a soft spot for the Randals. Especially the younger two boys.

“Doors open!” the gruff voice greeted my knock.

“Mr. Randal.” I pushed through the door to find a frail man in a wheel chair. He had the nicest silver hair that I’d never seen on a man and smiled when I pictured Ty with silver hair. In fact, I had to put my hand on my stomach from the flip flop it gave me, making me gulp.

More so, making me disturbed since I’d not had that sort of feeling since I’d met Paul.

“I was wondering when you were coming to stop by here.” Mr. Randal looked at me. “I’d recognize your face from anywhere.”

“I guess using Westerheimmer at the front desk really wasn’t deceiving anyone?” I joked when I didn’t feel too threatened by him.

“You’re face has been all over the news for months.” He grinned and I could definitely see the resemblance between him and Ty. “Plus, my son.” He laughed. “I’ve not seen a girl give him fits in years. You got his goat.”

“His goat? I don’t have his goat. In fact, I’ve not seen a goat at the campground.” I made a mental note to make sure there were no goats.

“Mae West, you’ve got a lot to learn if you’re really going to be sticking around here.” He winked. “Though you and I both know you aren’t sticking around. Are you?”

“I’m sorry.” Was I that transparent?

“Ty told me about the fundraiser and how you’ve gotten stuff donated. I’m not saying you’re like Paul, but you’re a smart gal. Graduated college with an economics degree. Young. Pretty. What does a town like Normal got to offer you?” He put his hand up when I started to protest. “Ty is just like you. He’s spent half of his life trying to get out of this town. When he finally did and making a good life for himself, I have this stupid heart attack and can’t work.”

“May I?” I pointed to the chair next to him.

“Of course.” He grabbed the remote control and turned the TV off. “Where are my manners?”

“I think your son has them.” I wanted to offer him some comfort that Ty was being some what cordial to me. “You’re right. A couple of days ago, I was going to sell the campground as fast as I could. Then I got here and well, you know what it looks like. So I did get the great idea to fix it up, but I have to admit that your small town has really started to grow on me.”

“Yep. It’ll do that to you. I recon that’s why Paul couldn’t leave well enough alone. I should’ve known years ago when he came into town with his fancy car to visit his college buddy that he was too smart for Normal.” He didn’t have to use words to tell me that it was his campground and bet that Paul had gotten the campground from. I could see it in his eyes.

“What was the bet?” I asked.

“I bet him the campground that he couldn’t get the price down on the diner for me to purchase because I love to cook. The campground was my family’s and I didn’t want to work it anymore. I had a family and like you, had a dream. Only it wasn’t in Normal, but here I was and if I could cook because it’s my passion, I would give that campground away.” He was a straight shooter and I admired that.

“What would Paul have to give up?” I questioned.

“We were looking to replace our city manager in a year. About the time he was graduating. When he came to Normal, he had some big ideas about the town and tourism. We weren’t doing bad, but he was young and had some fresh ideas. If he lost, he was to come back here and be Normal city manager for the four years of the term.” He smiled real big “I know that sounds so childish and I could’ve never made him do it, but drinking makes every one get a little liquid courage. His young ego against my middle-aged ego wasn’t a match for each other. I be darned if he didn’t get me the deal I needed to buy the diner.”

“Over such a silly bet.” It was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard of.

“My wife and I lived on the campground, I opened the diner and enjoyed every bit of my life until I looked up one day. Ten years had gone by, we had a couple more boys that we didn’t intend to have because we were getting up in age, and then my wife was diagnosed with cancer. Ty had gone off to culinary school and everything we had saved was used to pay medical bills.” He paused.

“Dad, you don’t owe Mrs. Westerheimer any explanation.” I looked back at the door where Ty stood. His brow cocked. “The nurses told me dad had a visitor. A Mrs. Westerheimer. Besides, she thinks I killed Paul West.”

“Nah.” Mr. Randal tapped his chest with his finger. “She knows deep down that you didn’t do it. She just needs to hear everything herself. Her life has been turned upside down too. The two of you are more alike than y’all want to admit. Stubborn. He’s always been like his mama.” He pointed to the bed. “Sit down, boy.”

Ty did what his father had told him to do. It was cute in a little boy kinda way.

“Anyways, Paul would come to town every now and then, with big ideas of how he was going to build the campground back up. He needed investors in his latest project. He’d done well for himself, so I put up the diner since I owned it free and clear. After the Ponzi news broke, I headed straight down to the bank and took out enough of a loan to keep my diner. That’s when I had the heart attack and Ty had to come home to help.”

“If it weren’t for your. . .” Ty started to say.

“Ex!” I said a little too loud.

“No, no. Paul might’ve given me a little extra stress, but my arteries were all clogged up from all that fried food I cook and eat, so you can’t blame him for all of it.” Mr. Randal was too kind, and I didn’t blame Ty for his bitterness. “Every waking moment Ty isn’t at the diner cooking or taking care of the boys, he’s here with me. I told Detective Sharp that and he checked it out.”

“I’m sorry that I even thought such a thing.” I stood up. “You are a kind man, Mr. Randal. But you’re wrong about me leaving. I’ve already made the decision to stay in Normal until I got the campground back to the way it was when you owned it.” I put my hand on his arm and squeezed. “When you’re up and running, I’m going to need some advice.”

“You’ve got it.” He put his hand on mine and returned the squeeze.

“Knock, knock.” Betts Hager stood at the door with a white casserole dish in her hands and a big smile on her face. “Mae,” her voice escalated. “What are you doing here?” She looked between me and Ty and Mr. Randal.

“She’s here because her nosiness extends beyond Happy Trails. It appears she’s already spent too much time with you ladies at The Laundry Club,” his accents came out in spades.

“Why, Ty Randal, what ever are you talking about? Our Mae here was born and bred in Kentucky.” She walked into the room and bent down to Mr. Randal’s level. “I brought your favorite cherry pie to help you get better faster.”

I gulped. Did I have to tell them my past or could I just let her comment float right on by? I choose the latter.

“You’re just tired of cleaning my house and want me to get better.” He licked his lips.

“No such thing.” She winked and sat the dish on the stand next to the TV. “Do they know when you’re going to blow this joint? You look a lot better today.”

“That’s why I’m here.” Ty walked over and lifted the tin foil off of the pie. “The doctor called me and said that they were going to release daddy tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Mr. Randal questioned. “I guess I better start pretending I’m sicker,” he joked.

“Don’t worry. I’ve made a place for you in the trailer. You’re going to stay with me and the boys until you are really on your feet.” Ty turned to Betts. “Do you mind cleaning the house one more time?”

“Ty, there’s really nothing to clean. No one has been there and I feel like you’re wasting your money.” Betts clasped her hands in front of her.

“No. A deal is a deal. Since I’m going to the camper for a few, can you clean there?” Mr. Randal wasn’t letting her off the hook.

“Alright now. Don’t be going and getting all upset. I’ll make arrangements with Ty.” She patted Mr. Randal on the shoulder. “I’ve got to get out of here.”

“I’ll go with you.” I gave a nod. “Now that you’re coming to Happy Trails, I look forward to hearing your ideas about how I can get that campground up and running.”

Betts and I said our goodbyes to the Randal men.

“Thank you for the car.” I turned to my friend.

“You are welcome. Does it drive well?” she asked.

“It’s great. Actually, I drove it all the way to Lexington to see Grady Cox, Paul’s best friend from college.” I sucked in a deep inhale.

“Really? Why?” She asked and pushed open the door to the outside world.

The fresh air rushed into my lungs, relieving me of the stale smell of the rehabilitation center.

“Long story short, he and Paul have ties to Normal from way back and I found out today that he gave Paul so much money, like millions, for his investment.” I put air quotes around investment, so I didn’t have to say the word scheme. “Grady disappeared off the face of the earth the day Paul was killed.”

“Then he’s the killer.” Betts threw her hands up in the air. We continued to walk to the parking lot.

“You’d think so, but Detective Hank isn’t so sure. And,” I glanced over my shoulder at the rehab facility. Ty was standing outside with his hands on his hips, glaring at us. “Grady doesn’t have a strong motive like Ty Randal. That’s why I was here. To talk to Mr. Randal. Ty has a strong alibi. Here.”

We stopped at the front of the Ford. She looked at me and the corners of her eyes dipped.

“Ty did get the short end of the stick since his mama died, and it continued with his daddy making a deal with the devil.” She didn’t have to say Paul’s name for me to know that she was talking about him. “But, Mae, you aren’t going to find any better people than the Randals. They are salt of the earth folks.”

“It appears that way.” I glanced back at the front of the building. Ty was still there with that stare. It sent chills up my spine. “I just hope we can find Grady Cox.”

“We?” She gave a nervous laugh. “I wasn’t going to say anything because I don’t know you well, but Mae, you need to let Hank Sharp do his job.”

“If I let Hank Sharp do his job, he’d have Dottie Swaggert down at the country jail behind bars and I’m not going to let that happen. Say,” I stopped her as she was on her way to her van. “I meant to ask you about the thing you and the church women do with the prisoners.”

“We have some openings, I’d love for you to join us.” She got excited with her bright eyes and big smile.

I hated to let her down, but that was the last thing I wanted to volunteer for.

“That’s very admirable of you and the ladies. In fact, everything you do is admirable, but I understand that you go to the prison where Paul had been sent.” There was such a fine line between talking about Paul and not talking about him. He was definitely the elephant in the room wherever I went.

“I don’t think we ever had him or I’d remember.” Her expression stilled. “You know that they keep records of who goes in and out of the prison. There’s a list of visitors per inmates because we have to list the prisoners we visit.”

“I got a list from the prison website that listed the groups that went to the prison and I wanted to contact those groups to see if they had lists of the people they’d bring because someone had to have gotten in there and somehow gotten Paul out.” There had to be some connection.

“I know that when we went the other day, they were very strict on the places they let us go. We were able to go to a few of the buildings, but this time, they made us meet with the inmates outside.” She put her hand on her chest. “As the preacher’s wife I shouldn’t be gossiping, but I am a young woman who doesn’t mind a tale or two.”

“What does that mean?” I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to learn their lingo.

“I did overhear a couple of the inmates talking about a prison escape. They didn’t call Paul by his name, they called him by his inmate number, but I know they were talking about him.” Her brows lifted. “They said that it had to have been an inside job because the day he escaped, they didn’t go outside because it came a Georgia flood there.”

“Really? When I got here, the dirt was dry.” I recalled how disappointed I was not having the beautiful Kentucky Bluegrass and that terrible lake.

“Just because it didn’t rain here, doesn’t mean it didn’t rain in Lexington,” she said. “They also said that the FBI had been going through all the cells and interviewing everyone. I had to giggle when one said that he had to put away his extra cigs because he’d won them in a poker game. The guards don’t like them gambling and he’d been questioned.”

“Is the prison like a real prison?” I asked and suddenly felt sorry for Paul.

There was no way I couldn’t. He was human like the rest of us. Was he trying to get to me when he came back to Happy Trails? Surely, he knew that it was the first place the police would look for him.

“It’s a prison, but they aren’t hard time criminals, more white collar, like Paul.” She shrugged. “I know that you want to help everyone in Normal, but I think you just need to be you and let all this play out with Paul. You can only do what you have control over and that’s Happy Trails.”

“Thanks, Betts. You are very kind and you’ve gone above and beyond to help me.” I smiled over at her while I got the car keys out of my pocket. “One day I’ll pay you back.”

“That day will be Sunday,” she reminded me with a little skip in her step. “Sometimes I need someone to help me clean. I’ll let you know.”