Morning Glory

his road sign on county property or they need to borrow the library chairs for a dance. Let it be somethin’ silly.

She glanced at Will. He walked unhurried but unhesitant, his face revealing nothing. It wore his don’t-let-’em- know-what-you’re-thinking expression, which worried Elly more than a frown.

Sheriff Goodloe was waiting beside the Plymouth, with his arms crossed over his potbelly, leaning on the front fender. Will stopped before him, wiping his hands on the rag. 'Mornin’, Sheriff.'

Goodloe nodded and boosted off the car. 'Parker.'

'Somethin’ I can do for you?'

'A few questions.'

'Somethin’ wrong?'

Goodloe chose not to answer. 'You work at the library last night?'

'Yessir.'

'You close it up, as usual?'

'Yessir.'

'What time?'

'Ten o’clock.'

'What’d you do then?'

'Came home and went to bed, why?'

Goodloe glanced at Elly. 'You were home then, Mizz Parker?'

'Of course I was. We got a family, Sheriff. What’s this all about, anyway?'

Goodloe ignored their questions and uncrossed his arms, firming his stance before firing his next question at Will. 'You know a woman named Lula Peak?'

Will felt the anxiety begin at the backs of his knees and crawl upward-sharp needles of creeping heat. Hiding his worry, he tucked the rag into his hind pocket. 'Know who she is. Wouldn’t exactly say I know her, no.'

'You see her last night?'

'No.'

'She didn’t come in the library?'

'Nobody comes in the library when I’m there. It’s after hours.'

'She never came there… after hours?'

Will’s lips compressed and a muscle ticked in his jaw, but he stared squarely at Goodloe. 'A couple of times she did.'

Elly glanced sharply at Will. A couple times? Her stomach seemed to lift to her throat while the sheriff repeated the words like an obscene litany.

'A couple o’times-when was that?'

Will crossed his arms and stood spraddle-footed. 'A while ago.'

'Could you be more specific?'

'A couple of times before I went in the service, once since I come home. Back in August or so.'

'You invited her there?'

Again Will’s jaw hardened and bulged, but he exercised firm control, answering quietly, 'No, sir.'

'Then what was she doing there?'

Will was fully aware of Elly staring at him, dumbfounded. His voice softened with self-consciousness. 'I think you can prob’ly guess, bein’ a man.'

'It’s not my job to guess, Parker. My job is to ask questions and get answers. What was Lula Peak doing at the library in August after hours?'

Will turned his gaze directly into his wife’s shocked eyes while answering, 'Lookin’ to get laid, I guess.'

'Will…' she admonished breathily, her eyes rounded in dismay.

Having expected circumvention, the sheriff was momentarily nonplussed by Will’s bluntness. 'Well…' He ran a hand around the back of his neck, wondering where to go from here. 'So you admit it?'

Will pulled his eyes from Elly to answer, 'I admit I knew that’s what she was after, not that she got it. Hell, everybody in Whitney knows what she’s like. That woman prowls like a she-cat and doesn’t make any effort to hide it.'

'She… prowled after you, did she?'

Will swallowed and took his time answering. The words came out low and reluctant. 'I guess you’d call it that.'

'Will,' Elly repeated in dull surprise. 'You never told me that.' Her insides felt hot and shaky.

Again he turned his brown eyes directly on her, armed only with the truth. '’Cause it meant nothin’. Ask Miss Beasley if I ever gave that woman any truck. She’ll tell you I didn’t.'

The sheriff interjected, 'Miss Beasley saw Lula… shall we say, ah.. pursuin’ you?'

Will’s gaze snapped back to the uniformed man. 'Am I bein’ accused of somethin’, Sheriff? ’Cause if I am I got a right to know. And if that woman’s made any charges against me, they’re a damn lie. I never laid a hand on her.'

'According to the record, you did a stretch in Huntsville for manslaughter-that right?'

The sick feeling began to crawl up Will’s innards but outwardly he remained stoic. 'That’s right. I did my time and I got out on full parole.'

'For killing a known prostitute.'

Will fit the edges of his teeth together and said nothing.

'You’ll excuse me, ma’am.' The sheriff quirked an eyebrow at Elly. 'But there’s no way to avoid these questions.' Then, to Will, 'Have you ever had sexual intercourse with Lula Peak?'

Will repressed his seething anger to answer, 'No.'

'Did you know she was four months pregnant?'

'No.'

'The child she was expecting is not yours?'

'No!'

The sheriff reached into his car and came up with a cellophane packet. 'You ever seen this before?'

Standing stiffly, Will let his glance drop, examined the contents of the transparent packet without touching it. 'Looks like a dustrag from the library.'

'You read the newspaper regular-like, do you?'

'Newspaper. What’s the newspaper-'

'Just answer the question.'

'Every night when I take a break at the library. Sometimes I bring ’em home when the library’s done with ’em.'

'Which one you read most often?'

'What the hell-'

'Which one, Parker?'

Will grew aggravated and temper colored his face. 'I don’t know. Hell…'

'The New York Times?'

'No.'

'What then?'

'What is this, Goodloe?'

'Just answer.'

'All right! The Atlanta Constitution, I guess.'

'When’s the last time you saw Lula Peak?'

'I don’t remember.'

'Well, try.'

'Earlier this week… no, it was last week, Wednesday maybe, Tuesday-Christ, I don’t remember, but it was when I drove in to work, she was locking up Vickery’s when I went past on my way to the library.'

'And you haven’t seen her since last week, Tuesday or Wednesday?'

'No.'

'But you admit you went to your job as usual last night and left for home around ten P.M.?'

'Not around. At. I always leave exactly at ten.'