Carnal Innocence

her. She wouldn’t have had much of a chance with him on horseback and a whip in his hand. Then his horse reared. Nobody knows why—might’ve been spooked by a snake or rabbit. Or maybe it was that fiery hell reaching out to grab old Eustis. But he broke his neck.” Tucker took a last drag on his cigarette, then flung it away. “Right about there, where that Ferris wheel’s standing. Seems fitting somehow, don’t you think? That all these people, black and white—maybe some with a dribble or two of Eustis Longstreet’s blood—should be kicking up their heels on this field where he met his Maker.”
    She leaned her head against his shoulder. “What happened to the girl, and her baby?”
    “Funny thing about that. Nobody else saw them. Not that day or any day after.”
    She took a deep breath of candy-scented air. “I’d like a ride on the Ferris wheel.”
    “Wouldn’t mind it myself. Afterward, how’d you like me to win you one of those black velvet paintings of Elvis?”
    Laughing, she hooked an arm around his waist. “Words fail me.”
    “Don’t you want to play some bingo, Cousin Lulu?” Ever hopeful, Dwayne pressed a hand to his jittery stomach.
    “What the hell do I want to sit around putting beans on a card for?” Lulu stomped up to the ticket booth tobuy another roll. “We only been on the Round-Up once, and missed the Scrambler altogether. That Crack the Whip’s worth another go or two.” She stuffed the tickets in the pocket of her army surplus slacks. “You’re looking a might green, boy. Indigestion?”
    He swallowed gamely. “You could call it that.”
    “Shouldn’t have eaten all that fried dough before we took a spin. Best thing to do is bring it up, empty your stomach.” She grinned. “A round on the Scrambler’ll take care of that.”
    Which was exactly what he feared. “Cousin Lulu, why don’t we take a turn down the midway, win some prizes?”
    “Sucker’s games.”
    “Who’s a sucker?” Josie strolled up, carrying a huge purple elephant. “I shot twelve ducks, ten rabbits, four moose, and a snarling grizzly bear to win this grand prize.”
    “Don’t know what a grown woman’s going to do with a stuffed elephant,” Lulu grumbled, but she took a shine to the rhinestone collar around the purple pachyderm’s neck.
    “It’s a souvenir,” she said, and shoved it into Teddy Rubenstein’s arms so she could light a cigarette. “What’s the matter, Dwayne? You’re looking a little sickly.”
    “Weak stomach,” Lulu announced, and poked a finger into Dwayne’s midsection. “Corn dogs and fried dough. Boy’s got all that grease floating around inside.” She narrowed her eyes at Teddy. “I know you. You’re that Yankee doctor who makes a living cutting dead people up. Do you keep the innards in bottles?”
    With a strangled sound Dwayne shambled away, one hand clamped over his mouth.
    “Best thing for him,” Lulu declared.
    “I guess I’d better go hold his head.” With a sigh Josie turned back to Teddy. “Honey, why don’t you take Cousin Lulu for a ride? I’ll catch up.”
    “It would be my pleasure.” Teddy held out his arm. “What’s your poison, Cousin Lulu?”
    Pleased, she hooked her arm through his. “I had my mind set on the Scrambler.”
    “Allow me to escort you.”
    “What’s your given name, boy?” she asked as they wound through the crowd. “I may as well call you by it, as you’re sleeping with my kin.”
    He gave a throat-clearing cough. “It’s Theodore, ma’am. My friends call me Teddy.”
    “All right, Teddy. We’ll take us a walk on the wild side here, and you can tell me all you know about these murders.” Graciously, she handed him the tickets to pay their way through the gate.
    “That Miss Lulu.” Slurping on a Snow-Kone, Jim nodded in respect. “She sure is something.”
    Cy wiped purple juice from his mouth and watched as Lulu sat regally in the jerking, spinning car of the Scrambler. “I seen her standing on her head in her room.”
    “What she do that for?”
    “Don’t rightly know. Something about having the blood slosh into her brain so she don’t go senile. One day I found her lying on the lawn. I thought she’d had a spell or was dead or something. She said she was pretending to be a cat for a day, and gave me hell for disturbing her nap.”
    Jim grinned and crunched ice. “My granny mostly sits in a rocker and knits.”
    They started to walk, taking time to stop by some of the booths