Free Julia 03 - Miss Julia Throws a Wedding by Ann B. Ross Page B

I could picture was that cold, hard face with the black sunglasses reflecting my frightened face. Lieutenant Peavey and I were not exactly what you’d call congenial.
    “He can sing, all right,” Coleman assured me. “He’s thesoloist at his church, and he’s sung at the weddings of several deputies. He’s good, Miss Julia, I promise. He’ll surprise you.”
    Telling myself again that it was their wedding, but doubting that Lieutenant Peavey would add any gaiety to the occasion, I said, “That brings up something else. I’m having trouble finding somebody to play the piano. Every trained musician in town is already engaged. Could Lieutenant Peavey bring his own accompanist?”
    “I’ll ask him,” Coleman said, which allowed me to put that little problem on hold without bringing up Miss Mattie Mae Morgan.
    Mr. Pickens stifled another yawn, making me want to smack him. That seemed a signal to the others that it was time to go. While Hazel Marie went to the kitchen to have Little Lloyd come out and say good-bye, and Coleman was asking Sam where he could rent formal wear, I pulled Mr. Pickens aside.
    “Mr. Pickens,” I said, “does any of this ring any bells for you?”
    “What?” He leaned his head closer, a frown on his face. “What kind of bells?”
    “Wedding bells, Mr. Pickens. What do you think we’ve been talking about?”
    He began to grin then, shaking his head, while I yearned to shake him to within an inch of his life. I said, “Let me remind you that Hazel Marie’s uncle, Brother Vernon Puckett, has come close to taking Little Lloyd away from her, not once but twice in times past. And he had nothing to go on but rumors, false rumors, I remind you, that Hazel Marie was living a loose life. Now, what do you think he’ll do when he finds out about that child being brought up in a house of sin? I’ll tell you what he’ll do, he’ll be in that courthouse getting a protective custody order before you can turn around.”
    “No, he won’t.” Mr. Pickens shook his head, hiding a smile under that bushy mustache. “You worry too much, Miss Julia.I can take care of Hazel Marie and Little Lloyd, and Brother Vern’s not going to be a problem.”
    “You don’t know him like I do. He’s a snake in the grass, and if he sees any way to get his hands on that trust fund, he’ll go after it in a flash. And if you and Hazel Marie keep on with this unseemly plan, it won’t be rumors that can be disproved. He’ll have the facts this time, facts that’ll prove to any Republican-appointed judge that Hazel Marie doesn’t have a family value to her name.”
    Mr. Pickens had the nerve to put his arm around my shoulders and say, “Trust me, darlin’; I’ve got it taken care of. And if you have to know how, I’ll just tell you that Brother Vern doesn’t have the cleanest hands in the county, and he knows I know it. He’s not going to make a move against the boy, so put your mind at rest.”
    Lord, the man had a way with women. No wonder Hazel Marie was under his spell. It was all I could do to keep from leaning my head against his chest and letting him take care of everything.
    I knew better than that, of course, because no man needed that kind of power. They get carried away and start thinking they can boss you around.
    So I pulled away from him and said, “You’re a good man, Mr. Pickens, but I still don’t like what you’re doing. You ought to marry Hazel Marie, and not toy with her like this.”
    “ Toy with her?” He threw his head back and laughed. “You have a way with words, Miss Julia. But you can stop worrying and leave it to me.”
    “Well, I guess I’ll have to, won’t I?” I stepped farther back so I could keep my head. “But I warn you, Mr. Pickens,” I went on, shaking my finger in his face, “if you hurt her or cause her trouble in any way, you’ll have me to answer to.”
    “Don’t think I don’t know it,” he said, grabbing my finger and kissing it, laughing at me all