“No. Originally I’m from here, Dawson. I moved out of my father’s house when I was in high school. I moved to Chicago eleven years ago, right after I graduated college.”
“Which college?”
“University of Arkansas at Monticello.”
“Is that right? I went there myself. Business administration. Didn’t graduate. I lack a few credits. One day I’ll go—”
“Sir, I didn’t poison my father.” He then recognized the cologne that seemed to breeze in through the air conditioner.
“I didn’t say you did.”
“Why I’m here, isn’t it?” Hai Karate, the cheap cologne his father used to slather on.
“Okay, Mr. Harris, you want to cut to the chase. As you know, your father was poisoned with arsenic, along with his pet, which I think was poisoned incidentally. And, according to eyewitnesses, you and your father got into a heated argument shortly before his death.”
“Yes, we had a few words. If your eyewitnesses were completely honest with you, sir, they would have told you my partner and I were late arrivals to the barbecue. My partner can attest to that. He accompanied me from Chicago.”
“I see. What’s his name?”
“Fields. Victor Fields.”
Sheriff Bledsoe nodded, but didn’t write the name.
“Sir, I’m sure your eyewitnesses have informed you I’m gay, and Victor is my mate of five years.”
Sheriff Bledsoe loosened the collar on his beige shirt. “Kinda hot in here, isn’t it?” Leonard shook his head. “So… uh…” He cleared his throat. “So at no time did you come in contact with the neck bones prepared exclusively for your father?”
“No. Not once.”
“If someone said they saw you—”
“They’re telling a damn lie! I don’t poison people’s food, Mr. Bledsoe. My father and I had an argument, which I truly regret and will regret till the day I die. I did not poison him!”
Sheriff Bledsoe interlaced his fingers and nibbled on both thumbnails.
Leonard held his gaze for a moment, then looked away. He noticed the jail cell, the thin mattress covered with what looked to him a piss-stained sheet, and the aluminum commode.
He returned his attention to Sheriff Bledsoe.
The man wore his afro in a shag that went out of style fifty years ago. And that goatee, another joke: the peach fuzz under his broad nose didn’t droop far enough to connect with the fuzz that formed a crude U under his chin.
“Well?” Leonard signaled by raising an eyebrow.
“You have any idea why anyone would want to harm your father?” Leonard shook his head. “Let me rephrase that. Who do you think poisoned your father?”
Leonard let out a nervous laugh.
Sheriff Bledsoe sat up straight. “Excuse me? I didn’t catch that.”
“The money.”
“What money?” Sheriff Bledsoe picked up one of the coffee cups, flipped the lid with a thumb, put the cup to his mouth, stopped and put the cup down. “What money?”
“Daddy worked at Hillard Catfish Farm forty-three years, started when Robert Earl was a baby. He invested his money in the company’s stock, accruing a rather hefty sum, most of which he put in his will. Daddy was parsimonious, extremely stingy. When we were kids Daddy didn’t give us money, he
“How much?”
“—him back with interest. Thirty percent. He charged a penalty if—”
“How much?”
“—we didn’t pay him back on time. Why I was shocked when I heard Daddy had willed his money to his family.”
“How much?”
A thin smile played on Leonard’s lips. “One-point-three million dollars.”
Sheriff Bledsoe whistled. “Everyone in your family knows about this?”
“I’m afraid so. Mother told Robert Earl, the mouth of the south, about the money. Mother telling him was her way of ensuring all her children got the news. He called me at three in the morning and told me.”
“Has the family received this money yet?”
“Not yet. I’m not sure how it works. I guess the money won’t be doled out until we find out who murdered Daddy.”
Sheriff Bledsoe shook his head. “You’re thinking insurance money. As long as your father was of sound mind when he made out his will and had three witnesses, he determines the whenever and to whomever his estate is to be issued. Who’s the executor of your father’s will?”
“I don’t know.”
“The name of the beneficiaries?”
“Mother, Ruth Ann, Shirley, Robert Earl and me.”
“Have you seen the will?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Hmmm. Do you often fly home for family barbecues?”
“No. The barbecue was planned as an early celebration of my parent’s golden wedding anniversary. Shirley and Ruth Ann scheduled it to accommodate my vacation week.”
“I see. Anyone you know, friend or family member, who held a grudge against your father?”
Leonard stared at the floor, concentrating. “Daddy aggravated people. Snide comments, name-calling, insults. He’d raise holy hell if you didn’t pay his money back. If he borrowed from you, he got amnesia, then got testy if you insisted reciprocation. One time Daddy took a rather nasty whooping over an unpaid debt.”
“From who?”
“Joe Hill. A long time ago, and after Joe whooped Daddy, Mother paid him. I doubt Joe still holding a grudge.”
“You sure it was Joe? I know Joe, he’s not the fighting type.”
“Borrow thirty dollars from Joe and don’t pay him back, then tell me what he won’t do. I was there when he ran to the house, smoke blowing out his nostrils.”
“Joe Hill whooped your daddy at your daddy’s house?”
“Not inside the house. When I yelled, ‘Joe’s coming,’ Daddy ran out the back door. Joe caught him in the backyard.”
“Anyone else whom your father disagreed over money.”
“There was a tiff between Daddy and Robert Earl, but Daddy didn’t owe Robert Earl money.”
“A tiff? A disagreement or a fight?”
“I wasn’t there. Shirley told me about it. According to her, Robert Earl went to Daddy and asked for an advance on his share of the money, fifty thousand dollars, if I’m not mistaken. Daddy, as usual, feigned amnesia, told Robert Earl he’d lost his one and only marble. Robert Earl called Daddy a tightwad. They pushed and shoved each other, but it didn’t get dirty.”
“Sounds to me Robert Earl needs money in a bad way. He’s having financial problems?”
“No more than anyone else. You see, Robert Earl dreams of opening a combination snake farm and gas station.”
Sheriff Bledsoe arched an eyebrow. “Snakes?”
“I’m afraid so,” wondering if Sheriff Bledsoe thought his entire family was insane.
