stare.”
She waved her hand at their waiter, wanting to get the bill and get out.
Asa laughed at something the man said.
“You have no idea of what she has done to me. My finances are all screwed up because
of that bitch. I have to pay everything in cash until this identity theft mess is
over and I’m told it is going to take months to straighten out, never the mind the
valuables she took. Jewelry that Brannon had given to me. A valuable painting.”
The others murmured in sympathy. It’s not that they didn’t believe that Asa had been
behind the robbery at Ellen’s house, but being lawyers’ wives, they also knew that
knowing something was not proving it. And they simply didn’t like Ellen enough to
be caught in a public fight with Asa Reynolds . . . if that was really Asa.
They quickly paid for their half-eaten lunches and pulled Ellen with them as they
began to leave. But Ellen was just as Ginny Wheelright had described at Franklin’s
party – cunning but not bright. She just couldn’t resist the temptation of confronting
Asa.
She pulled away from her friends’ grip and strode over to Asa’s table. “I can’t believe
you would show your face in Lexington,” sputtered Ellen.
Asa looked up in surprise. “What?”
“You heard me. After what you did to me, you show up like nothing’s happened. Everyone
knows you did it.”
The man posing as Asa’s fiancé interrupted, “Excuse me, Miss, but you’re upsetting
my fiancée. We don’t want any trouble.”
“Your fiancée?” sneered Ellen. She grabbed at Asa’s ring hand.
“Stop it!” cried out Asa, pulling away. “Go away. Please.”
Calling for the manager, the fiancé threw down his napkin. But before the manager
could rush to the table, Ellen had picked up Asa’s water glass and thrown water in
her face.
The entire restaurant, which was now watching, gasped.
The boyfriend threw himself between Ellen and Asa, making sure he did not touch Ellen.
He turned and helped Asa wipe the water off her clothes. The manager grabbed Ellen
by the arm and escorted her to her friends waiting in the parking lot.
The friends murmured a few goodbyes after checking that Ellen was okay, but then took
off like bats out of hell on a hot night. They certainly didn’t want to be standing
with Ellen if Asa Reynolds came out. She was known to have a hair-trigger temper.
Seeing that she was alone, Ellen reluctantly got in her Mercedes and left. Without
her friends to cover her back, she didn’t want to encounter Asa either. Confused and
angry, she drove out of the parking lot.
After waiting several minutes, Asa and her companion threw a couple of twenties on
the table and left the restaurant. Asa was plainly in tears – that is, until she got
in the car. With the plan going as intended, she headed to the police station to file
an assault complaint against Ellen. Now Asa just had to wait for the rest of her strategy
to take place.
About a half hour later, when they had finished their lunches, five young drama students
sitting in five different areas of the dining room paid for their meals and left.
Each thinking that they had been contacted by a flash message earlier that day to
tape a theater performance at a local restaurant, they went directly to their computers
to download Ellen’s attack on Asa to YouTube. Five different perspectives. Five different
angles. Then they buzzed it to their friends, who enjoyed it and then sent it to their
friends . . . and so on. It wasn’t long before it went viral.
Yes, Ginny Wheelright was intuitive about Ellen – not too bright.
11
Kentuckians howl with righteous indignation if outsiders refer to us as a violent,
quarrelsome people . . . but we are. In fact, we are the only state in the nation
with the dubious reputation to have assassinated our duly elected governor. On the
sidewalk to the State Capitol of the morning of January 30, 1900, some
She waved her hand at their waiter, wanting to get the bill and get out.
Asa laughed at something the man said.
“You have no idea of what she has done to me. My finances are all screwed up because
of that bitch. I have to pay everything in cash until this identity theft mess is
over and I’m told it is going to take months to straighten out, never the mind the
valuables she took. Jewelry that Brannon had given to me. A valuable painting.”
The others murmured in sympathy. It’s not that they didn’t believe that Asa had been
behind the robbery at Ellen’s house, but being lawyers’ wives, they also knew that
knowing something was not proving it. And they simply didn’t like Ellen enough to
be caught in a public fight with Asa Reynolds . . . if that was really Asa.
They quickly paid for their half-eaten lunches and pulled Ellen with them as they
began to leave. But Ellen was just as Ginny Wheelright had described at Franklin’s
party – cunning but not bright. She just couldn’t resist the temptation of confronting
Asa.
She pulled away from her friends’ grip and strode over to Asa’s table. “I can’t believe
you would show your face in Lexington,” sputtered Ellen.
Asa looked up in surprise. “What?”
“You heard me. After what you did to me, you show up like nothing’s happened. Everyone
knows you did it.”
The man posing as Asa’s fiancé interrupted, “Excuse me, Miss, but you’re upsetting
my fiancée. We don’t want any trouble.”
“Your fiancée?” sneered Ellen. She grabbed at Asa’s ring hand.
“Stop it!” cried out Asa, pulling away. “Go away. Please.”
Calling for the manager, the fiancé threw down his napkin. But before the manager
could rush to the table, Ellen had picked up Asa’s water glass and thrown water in
her face.
The entire restaurant, which was now watching, gasped.
The boyfriend threw himself between Ellen and Asa, making sure he did not touch Ellen.
He turned and helped Asa wipe the water off her clothes. The manager grabbed Ellen
by the arm and escorted her to her friends waiting in the parking lot.
The friends murmured a few goodbyes after checking that Ellen was okay, but then took
off like bats out of hell on a hot night. They certainly didn’t want to be standing
with Ellen if Asa Reynolds came out. She was known to have a hair-trigger temper.
Seeing that she was alone, Ellen reluctantly got in her Mercedes and left. Without
her friends to cover her back, she didn’t want to encounter Asa either. Confused and
angry, she drove out of the parking lot.
After waiting several minutes, Asa and her companion threw a couple of twenties on
the table and left the restaurant. Asa was plainly in tears – that is, until she got
in the car. With the plan going as intended, she headed to the police station to file
an assault complaint against Ellen. Now Asa just had to wait for the rest of her strategy
to take place.
About a half hour later, when they had finished their lunches, five young drama students
sitting in five different areas of the dining room paid for their meals and left.
Each thinking that they had been contacted by a flash message earlier that day to
tape a theater performance at a local restaurant, they went directly to their computers
to download Ellen’s attack on Asa to YouTube. Five different perspectives. Five different
angles. Then they buzzed it to their friends, who enjoyed it and then sent it to their
friends . . . and so on. It wasn’t long before it went viral.
Yes, Ginny Wheelright was intuitive about Ellen – not too bright.
11
Kentuckians howl with righteous indignation if outsiders refer to us as a violent,
quarrelsome people . . . but we are. In fact, we are the only state in the nation
with the dubious reputation to have assassinated our duly elected governor. On the
sidewalk to the State Capitol of the morning of January 30, 1900, some
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