“I’m used to tossing aside garden snakes all the time, they’re not so bad,” Nana said. “Beau says they’re good for the circle of life, dontcha know.”
At the mention of his name, I felt a genuine peace, and thought of how God had answered my prayers for a godly man who loved me. Even if Nana’s ways of worship didn’t match with my own, her faith had reminded me I could look to Him in times of need, and I took in a couple of lungs of air, and decided to focus on finding the last bits of evidence that would clear my name.
But it was going to be a game of hide and seek, because all afternoon, the GPS took us in circles and no matter what route we took we came to a dirt road with crevices large enough for my car to disappear into. “Oh-my-goodness, what are we going to do?” I looked at the perilous road that stretched before us and cringed.
“Aw, come on, Trixie. Don’t be a wimp. You can do it. Just go around the holes.” Easy for Nana to say; it wasn’t her car and she wasn’t driving. But if I wanted to get there I didn’t have a choice. Not according to the GPS anyway.
I inched forward precariously. At this rate it would take us an hour to reach our destination. I sped up a little and dodged to the right and then to the left. My stomach churned like a washing machine off balance. My nerves were stretched like rubber bands, and by the time we arrived at the end of the road Dee Dee had to pry my hands from the steering wheel.
We turned to pass between old tires, painted white. Half buried, they lined the driveway on either side. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw next. Reminding me of a showy bridesmaids dress, there stood a two-story, colonial, brick home boasting large columns across the front, and huge turrets at either end. I glanced over to see Dee Dee’s mouth hanging wide open.
Nana sat on the edge of her seat literally bouncing with excitement. “Oh, look at those beautiful statues.”
In the center of the front yard, sculptures of David and Venus, painted skin-toned and topped off with yellow hair, screamed tacky. A gazebo stood between them, decked out with hanging baskets filled with colorful plastic flowers.
Dee Dee leaned forward. “Geeze, what happened here?”
“It looks like someone had more money than they knew what to do with.” Surely this wasn’t the work of a professional landscape artist.
Dee Dee voiced my thoughts. “They should have used some of it to hire a landscape company.”
“Come on, y’all. I think it’s great.”
Nana would. “Okay, here’s the plan. I’m going to interview Bubba and then I’ll make a smooth transition to Bodene. That is, I hope it’s smooth.” After driving all this way I hoped Bodene would be home. I wondered how he’d react to my questioning him about Annie’s murder. I had my doubts when he’d declared, “I didn’t kill nobody.”
“Look at that.” Two giant Rottweilers dashed around the front of the house in full bark. Nana locked her door. “Who’s getting out first?”
Dee Dee nudged me. “You’re the one asking the questions, don’t you think you should go to the door?”
“No, I don’t.” About the time I was ready to back up and get out of there, out stepped Bodene’s twin, big, burly, and tattooed. I didn’t know who was scarier, Bubba or the dogs.
The closer Bubba got to the car, the more I contemplated slamming the gear in reverse. But then he flashed a big smile, showing off bright white teeth, putting me a little at ease. He knocked on the window and I rolled it down a smidgeon. I wasn’t ready to get out just yet.
“Hey, y’all. I’m Bubba Tate,” he turned to the dogs. “Shut up!” and back to us, a raggedy toothed smile back on his face. “You must be Trixie Beaumont?”
I nodded. The dogs circled, one lifted its hind leg on a wheel.
“Well, get out and come on in.” He tried to open the door but I held it closed.
“Uh, could you put your dogs up first?”
“Ah, don’t worry about Sugar and Cinnamon. They wouldn’t hurt a kitten.” He yelled again, and they retreated to the back yard. Sugar and Cinnamon, talk about an oxymoron.
He opened the car door for me, and then jogged around to do the same for Nana and Dee Dee. I’d never have guessed this bear of a man would possess such manners.
“Why, thank you sir.” Nana’s twang made her sound like she’d just stepped out of the old South. “You are such a gentleman.”
“I try to be. Y’all come on in and set a spell. My wife Elvira made some lemonade and cookies.” Thankfully Sugar and Cinnamon stayed in the back yard as we climbed the steps.
Bubba’s mansion was filled with furniture right out of the seventies; wall-to wall green shag carpet covered the living and dining room. With the bright orange leather couch next to a grass green recliner, flowered wallpaper copied off some hippie’s alternative lifestyle poster, and I knew if you looked up “early redneck” in the decorator’s dictionary, this is what you’d find.
Contrasted with the explosion of poor taste, Bubba’s wife Elvira was pretty, petite and welcoming. I couldn’t have been more surprised when she opened her mouth and spoke. “Hi, welcome to our home. We’re glad to have you visit.” Her accent reminded me of my Ohio cousins.
She laughed with abandon, tossing back lovely, shoulder-length blonde hair. Her green eyes sparkled with merriment. “You’re wondering where I got my accent. Especially with a name like Elvira.”
Nana spoke her mind. “Well, dear, you have to admit you don’t sound like you’re from the south. Where are your roots?”
“My roots are right here, I was born in Macon. My dad’s job moved us north when I was little, but I moved back to attend the University of Georgia. I always missed the south and couldn’t wait to get home. I’m so glad I did or I wouldn’t have met Bubba.” She looked toward Bubba and gave him a sweet smile. I thought for a minute they were going to run slow-motion into each other’s arms.
“That’s right. I’m thankful to God my little Elvira came home where she belongs. Now, Trixie, what would you like to know about me?”
“I’m dying to know more about your invention.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
A few minutes later, we sat around a coffee table laden with lemonade and cookies. I took a swig of the sweet concoction and savored the cool liquid running down my throat, anxious to get on with the questioning, but knew as the guest certain rules applied. “This is delicious Elvira.”
“Thank you; it’s my grandmother’s recipe.”
“If you don’t mind, Nana needs her rest, and we don’t want to take up your entire Sunday.” I indicated the recorder, and Bubba nodded, so I turned it on. Dee Dee prepared to take notes. “Whenever you’re ready.”
He clutched the recorder and held it close to his mouth. “Well, let me tell you how I made my first millions. I always dreamed of inventin’ something. I tried my hand at several different things, but I just couldn’t sell them. Then one day I approached the Home Shopping Network with my newest idea and they ran with it. You’d be amazed how many orders we got for my solar powered headlight wipers.
“We had a real rainy spring, and my sales went through the roof. Next thing I knew I had a best-selling book, Elvira helped me with it—and I became a regular host on the show. We’re so blessed to have all these wonderful things.” Bubba swept his arm wide. “Yes sireee, we are surely blessed. Ain’t we Elvira?”
“We sure are, Bubba.”
I could hardly remember the questions I intended to ask Bubba I was so surprised. It goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover. For the next half hour, Bubba expounded on his fame, and even offered to send me and Beau prototype samples of his newest invention, a solar powered barbecue rotisserie.
Nana had sat quietly but finally piped up. “Trixie, isn’t it about time we told them the real reason we’re here?”