She listened for a moment and then said, “I appreciate that.”
When Mr. Harrold began speaking again, Dolores gave me a big smile and a snappy thumbs-up. She put her hand over the mouthpiece. “Mr. Harrold has been given permission to pick up Willis from the Coroner’s Office tomorrow.”
“That’s wonderful.” I returned her thumbs-up.
The call lasted a few minutes longer. When she’d hung up Dolores said, “Mr. Harrold will work out scheduling with Pastor Forde. Once I approve the time frame, we can begin announcing the times and locations of the wake and the funeral service to all the interested parties. I think I should put notices in the newspapers as well, don’t you? I don’t want an invitation-only service. Better to leave the door wide open, as my mama used to say. I want Willis to have a nice send-off with a big crowd of people. Don’t you agree?”
I nodded politely, but in reality I couldn’t imagine copious numbers of people wanting to participate in services honoring Willis Nickens. “Dolores, do you want to talk to Clancy about any of this? Or are there any other family members you might consult?”
“Abby and I are the only family Willis has. As for Clancy, he couldn’t make a decision to save his soul. Anyway, six months from now I don’t want him asking for favors and reminding me what a help he was.”
I had to admit I hadn’t quite thought of it that way. But I had thought of something else and decided to bring my idea to Dolores’s attention.
“Dolores, have you noticed how well Elton and Abby get on?” I asked.
Dolores said, “I have always been fascinated by how comfortable Abby is with adults in general. I suppose that comes from being an only child. But I do agree she has bonded with Elton more quickly than most.”
“What if”—I searched for the right words—“and this is only a suggestion, mind you, but what if Elton could be available to drive Clancy and Abby on an as-needed basis?”
Dolores gave me an odd look. “As needed? As needed for what?”
I decided to be blunt. “You are worried about Clancy driving under the influence, and rightly so. Suppose you set up some sort of agreement with the car company, similar to the one I have now. Clancy would have the company on call, and whenever he was going someplace where alcohol might be an issue he would agree to use the car service—”
“Why would he . . . ?” Dolores began to interrupt.
I held up my hand and said, “Just hear me out. It really wouldn’t matter which driver the car company sent to drive Clancy; however, anytime Abby would be with him or have to go somewhere and her father was in no position to drive, well, then the company should be sure to send Elton if at all possible.”
Dolores was digesting it all, and she didn’t look convinced. “Jess, you know what I really want is for Clancy to join a twelve-step program, and I don’t think tomorrow would be too soon for him to attend his first meeting. Still, I am not sure how I could get him to make that commitment. Just because I know all about his DUI record doesn’t mean he would willingly do as I ask. And the same thing applies to your car service suggestion.”
She stopped for a few seconds, as if to organize her thoughts, then said, “I’m not saying your idea is a bad one. It’s only that I’m not sure it would work. Give me some reasons why you think Clancy would go along with it.”
I was ready with several. “First off, I know it’s not a twelve-step program, but it would keep both Clancy and Abby safe until such time as Clancy comes to grips with his alcohol addiction. Clancy may not worry about his own safety, but he would surely want to keep Abby safe.
“Second, you would promise that you would not be using Elton and the car company to check up on Clancy’s whereabouts and activities.
“Third, we know Clancy goes to court on another drunk driving charge in a few weeks. He stands a very good chance of losing his driver’s license, at least in the short term. Then how would he get around?”
I could see that Dolores was starting to follow my way of thinking, and I was sure I could clinch the deal with reason number four. “Lastly, each and every month you will pay Clancy’s car service bill, no questions asked.”
Dolores sat quietly mulling over my suggestion. After a while she said, “That might be a workable plan. Give me a day or so to think it over. Right now I have other things . . . I have to pick out an outfit for Willis to wear. Mr. Harrold would like me to drop it off sometime tomorrow afternoon. His navy blue wool suit has always been my favorite. I admit it’s a little heavy for the season, but Willis looked so handsome when he wore it.”
“Of course. I understand. I just wanted to pass along the thought while it was still fresh in my mind,” I said.
“Speaking of fresh, shall we go to the kitchen and find out what time our dinner will be ready? I would love to take a short nap so I have plenty of appetite and plenty of energy for our barbecue and root beer float party.”
That sounded perfect to me. I was hoping there would be enough time before dinner for me to run an errand.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Lucinda assured us that she’d be busy at the stove for another few hours, so when Dolores opted for a nap, I found Elton in the library and asked him to take me to Jessamine House.
“And I promise we will be back long before Lucinda
