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Click HERE for all of Don’t Forget Schuster.
Click HERE for all of Route 66-based story.

mystery story sequel-continuation

After a 1.5 hour drive in his 1975 Caprice Classic convertible, Vern steered his car into a spot in front of Charlene’s Diner. He noticed a police cruiser parked a couple spaces away, so he figured Phil was already inside. He quickly parked & went into the diner, but he was initially greeted by a shrill, feeble female voice.

“Is that Vern come through those doors?” Old Lady Yannich softly shrieked.

Vern stopped in his tracks & grimaced. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the woman; she was, after all, basically the town’s matriarch, & even she embraced the “Old Lady” nickname high schoolers had given her many years ago. It was more that she didn’t like him.

“Yes, Mrs. Yannich,” Vern acknowledged, waiting with bated breath to hear her next summons.

“Well, don’t just stand there,” her voice cracked, “come over & give me a hug.”

Vern laughed inside at the distinct irony in that demand, & he flashed back to a seemingly not-so-long ago time when she didn’t want a hug from him….

…
“Honey, will you get that? I’m in the other room working on a project!”

“Yes, dear,” Vern had replied to Amy, getting up from the couch in the living room. He had walked to the door, opened it & was greeted by a clearly sad & distraught Mrs. Yannich.

“I’m here to see Amy,” Mrs. Yannich had stated tersely. “Is she here?”

“Yes,” Vern had acknowledged, peering at Mrs. Yannich, noticing she was about to cry, then turning his head to the interior of the house to continue: “Amy, it’s Mrs. Yannich for you!”

“OK, I’ll be right there,” Amy had yelled from the other room.

“She’ll be right with you, Mrs. Yannich,” Vern had said, turning back to their guest.

“Yes, I heard her,” Mrs. Yannich had said, somewhat stoically. “You didn’t need to tell me. Aren’t you going to invite me inside?”

“Absolutely, Mrs. Yannich, please come in.” Vern then ushered her inside the doorway. “Is there something I can help you with until Amy is available?”

“No,” Mrs. Yannich had said, tearing up.

Vern had instinctively & compassionately reached out to hug Mrs. Yannich. She had accepted the hug for a brief second, then pushed him away & said: “I don’t need that from YOU.”

A few minutes later, with Amy, Vern & Mrs. Yannich then in the living room, they’d learned the news that had ‘Old Lady’ so upset: her son, the guy she thought Amy should have married instead of Vern, had died in a car accident in western Wyoming.
…

Back in the present moment, Vern sorta smiled at that memory & gladly took a hug from Old Lady Yannich.

“It’s good to see you,” Old Lady Yannich said, with a somewhat mischievous, somewhat knowing glancing smile, when the hug ended. The years, along with Amy’s death, had softened her view of Vern.

“You, too,” Vern said.

“I saw you at the service for Tracy, but didn’t get a chance to talk to you,” Old Lady Yannich said. “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry I told the police I saw your car that night. I didn’t recognize it was a slightly different shape than yours, nor did I realize it was McMillan’s old car.”

“It’s OK,” Vern said. “Marty knew fairly quickly you hadn’t seen my car.”

“Well, that’s good, I guess,” Old Lady Yannich replied through a cracking voice. “It’s just all so tragic.”

“It is,” Vern nodded.

“Well, don’t let this Old Lady hold you up now! You must have a hot date or something.”

“Nope,” Vern said. “I’m just here to eat dinner with Phil.”

“Ah,” Old Lady Yannich said, motioning across the room, “he’s right over there. I saw Charlene take him to that booth over there when he walked in just a bit before you did.”

“Cool, thank you.”

“Enjoy your dinner now, ya hear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With that, Vern gave Old Lady Yannich another hug, then turned & walked towards the table to sit down to dinner with Phil, who saw him walking over & waved.

“Got stopped by Old Lady Yannich on the way in, I see,” Phil kinda chuckled, while Vern sat across from him at the table.

“Yeah, I sure did,” Vern said, settling into his seat. “I wish she’d been OK with me all these years.”

“Well, at least she finally came around,” Phil observed.

Vern nodded while Charlene arrived at the table.

“Now, Vern,” Charlene began while pouring Phil & Vern each a cup of coffee, “if I didn’t know you better, I’d say you’re either thinking of becoming a cop, or wanted by them, since the last couple times you’ve been in here you’re with a cop. Last time, you were here with Kyle, now it’s Phil.”

Charlene tossed her head in Phil’s direction & sat the coffee pot on the edge of the table, while Vern chuckled: “Yeah, I can see how you might think that, Charlene. But, let me assure you, neither is the case!”

“Wait, didn’t Sheriff deputize you?” Phil prodded.

“That’s what I remember,” Charlene laughed.

“That was only temporary,” Vern half-jokingly protested. “I’ve no ambition to be a cop, now or ever.”

Phil & Charlene laughed, while Vern took a sip of coffee. Charlene redirected the conversation: “Say, Vern, before I forget, did Ricky come see you at all?”

“As a matter of fact,” Vern replied, “he did today.”

“Oh, good,” Charlene said. “I’ve been worried about him & told him to come see you.”

“Why?” Vern asked, even though he had a hunch he already knew the answer. Charlene’s response confirmed he did.

“Well, he was in here last night, & he seemed so … distant,” Charlene explained. “So, I asked him if anything was wrong, & he replied by asking me how I handled the guilt. In that exact moment, I had no idea what he meant. I must’ve had a weird look on my face … you know me … because he then said something about not helping Tracy enough.”

Vern nodded knowingly, while Charlene continued: “I then realized why he was asking, of course. So, I told him I just try to look at it like Vern would. I mean, how was I to know something was amiss while she was in here talking on the phone. I meant to ask her, I did, but you know how it is around here. People come & go, & I get to talking to them. By the time I had a moment to go talk to her, she was gone. I’ve thought about that a lot, & the more I have thought about it, the more I realize he may’ve been watching her that whole time. &, if I had spoken to her, who knows how much worse it could’ve turned out. Now, don’t get me wrong, of course, it is a horrible tragedy that Tracy is no longer with us, but I take comfort in knowing she tried to reach out to us.”

Charlene took a breath & Vern took the opportunity: “Yep, that’s basically what I told Ricky earlier this afternoon, Charlene. But, how’d you know how I’d look at it?”

“Well,” Charlene said thoughtfully. “I just know you. You’re a person who, outwardly, may SEEM like you’re depressed & or sad, or whatnot because you don’t keep your feelings hidden, but inside, you are always thinking positively & putting things in perspective.”

“Wow,” Vern said. “I don’t know what to say to that.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Charlene said. “Instead, tell me what y’all want for dinner!”

“The house special,” Vern said.

“Same here, Charlene,” Phil added.

“Done … & done,” Charlene nodded. “By the way, what do you boys think of them tearing down those airport buildings?”

“Good riddance,” Phil said without missing a beat. “Should’ve been torn down years ago.”

“Well,” Vern began, while Charlene turned her head from Phil to Vern, “I told Tom today they should be turned into a recreation center for the town.”

“No,” Phil grunted, while Charlene turned to look at Phil again. “Tear ‘em down, I say.”

“Why do you ask, Charlene?” Vern queried.

“Well, I don’t want the buildings necessarily,” Charlene replied. “I want the land.”

“What for?” Vern was intrigued.

“Well, you know how Mabel is always saying the truckers complain about the lack of parking around here,” Charlene began, while the faces of Vern & Phil lit up in anticipation of hearing the rest of her idea, “I think that’d make a great spot for truckers to park. Put a diner out there & bingo. Instant success.”

“Ya know,” Phil admitted, quickly swallowing a sip of coffee, “that might be the best idea I’ve heard all day.”

Vern nodded: “I agree, Charlene. That seems like a no brainer to me. I liked my idea, but yours is way better, I think. If I were you, I’d call the Mayor right now.”

“I will!” Charlene nodded in satisfaction. “The only problem is, I’d hate to give up THIS place.”

“Why would you have to?” Vern asked.

“Well, Vern, I couldn’t manage both places at the same time!” Charlene protested.

“Right, but Mabel is always talking about how she’s going to shut down the motel,” Vern offered. “You could turn it into a motel-diner-parking area combination & let Mabel run that while you continue your diner here.”

“Hmmm,” Charlene considered the possibilities.

“Before you start formulating any other ideas or wondering what to do with the old motel or whatnot,” Phil interrupted Charlene’s thought process, “you better tell the Mayor your idea … unless you want to be our new Mayor!?”

“No, not me,” Charlene admonished, looking like she’d been jolted out of a train of thought. “I’m not political.”

“But, maybe that’s what this town needs right now,” Phil offered.

“Maybe….” Charlene shrugged, grabbed the coffee pot & turned to walk back to the kitchen to call the Mayor, but then whirled around & looked at Vern. “1 more thing, is your Nephew ready for you?”

“Oh, he’s been ready,” Vern laughed.

“When are you leaving?”

“Possibly tomorrow. Thought about leaving today, but then Ricky stopped to see me, as did Tom & the Sheriff.”

“Good,” Charlene said. “OK, I’m going to whip up your specials & call the Mayor.”

“So, Vern,” Phil said after Charlene walked away, “how are YOU?”

“Me?” Vern jumped, half-surprised to be asked, while Phil sipped his coffee. “Oh, fair-to-middling. I’m looking forward to the drive to Tennessee, of course.”

“But of course,” Phil smiled. “I just want to be sure you are OK. You seem to be doing a lot of counseling for people involved with Tracy’s murder, & I wonder if you’re doing that too much.”

“Nah,” Vern waved off Phil’s suggestion. “I don’t think so. I don’t mind it at all. Helping people like that helps me as much as any counselor would.”

Phil nodded: “OK, makes sense. Fair enough. So, why don’t you tell me more about your upcoming drive to & time in Nashville.”

“That I can do,” Vern beamed.