In the little South Carolina town of Kudzu, the local weekly newspaper’s headline screamed the big news in 144-point type: WINNING LOTTERY TICKET SOLD IN KUDZU. One Kudzu resident was now $400 million richer (over 30 years) or $233 million if he or she decided to take the lump sum. But just who was the winner was the mystery. Because South Carolina is one of the few states that allows lottery winners to rename anonymous, the residents of Kudzu looked around and wondered. And wondered. And wondered some more. Who won it? Who held the winning ticket?
Oh, the ladies at the Dye-Hard Beauty and Tanning Emporium had their theories. So did the men at Bob’s Butcher and Barber Shop. So did the three policemen and four men at the volunteer fire department. Even kids at the Kudzu Elementary School (Go Little Vines!) had their favorites. Soon there was a betting pool that would’ve made Las Vegas jealous. Several names rose to the top. Finally, after a week of intense gossip and speculation, it boiled down to three names:
Johnny Issac — Age 20, high school drop out and cashier at the Kwik and Sip Food Mart. Johnny had bought at brand new Camaro SS, raising many eyebrows.
Katie Simmons — the 30-year-old old librarian at the Kudzu Public Library. Within the past week, Katie had started dressing better and wearing makeup.
Frank Fredricks — the 56-year old deputy Fire Chief. He had bought a brand new Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck and put his house up for sale.
All three would see their lives change radically in the next few days. All three would be under intense scrutiny by the ladies of the Kudzu Garden and Bunko Club.
Katie Simmons noticed that the cashier at the Piggly Wiggly was eyeing her groceries a little closer than normal.
“I see you’re buyin’ name-brand food these days there Katie. And steak? You’re living high on the hog for a librarian.” Madge the cashier double checked every item four more times. Katie grabbed her bags and ran to the car.
Frank Fredricks noticed two teenage boys going through his trash. “Git!” he screamed as the boys scattered. He went out to the curb and noticed his papers scattered on the ground.
Johnny Issac kept getting pulled over by the Kudzu PD. “Now what is it officer?” Johnny said with a frustrated tone.
“You had better watch you mouth, boy,” the officer said as he checked around in Johnny’s back seat. Nothing. Even the great Kudzu detective could find no clues.
Three days after the big announcement, the mystery was no closer to being solved.
Then, on the fourth day, a check arrived at Kudzu High School (Go Big Vines!). An unsigned type-written note said plainly, “Please accept this cashier’s check for $4 million dollars to set up a scholarship fund for the graduates of Kudzu High.”
The teachers and principal were convinced it was from Katie Simmons. Obviously a librarian would care about education. The local president of Kudzu Saving and Loan (where your savings grow like kudzu) checked the banks records. But whoever sent the check had used another bank. Katie denied it vehemently.
The mystery continued.
On the fifth day, the Kudzu Fire Department received a brand-new $1 million fire truck.
The firefighters looked at Frank Fredricks with intense suspicion. “It’s you, ain’t it Frank,” the chief inquired.
Frank just shook his head.
The mystery deepened.
On the sixth day, a sign out from of the Kwik and Sip Food Mart read, “FREE GAS FOR AS LONG AS SUPPLIES LAST.” Some kind benefactor had agreed to cover the town’s gasoline bill.
The crowd outside of the station stared at the young man in his new Camaro.
“It’s not me, I promise,” he meekly said as the crowd tightened around him.
Nearly a week into the “GREAT LOTTERY MYSTERY” (as the headline read in the Kudzu Daily Times), the townspeople were no closer to finding out who the winner was.
And that’s exactly how the winner wanted it to be.
From her desk at the Mayor’s office, Wanda Gables peeked out the window and smiled as she watched the crowd outside of the Kwik and Sip fight for free gas. Wanda, who was 56 and widowed, liked her privacy. And now that she was a multimillionaire, she had decided to drive Kudzu crazy with speculation. She smiled and chuckled as she looked at the ad for the fine house in Charleston. The diversions had worked. Now it was time to for her to leave Kudzu under the cover of confusion.
The great Kudzu Lottery Mystery never was solved. And that was just fine with Wanda Gables.
One can wish, I suppose.