“Do you think my brother murdered his wife?” Hadley asked.
Kanesha shrugged. “Hard to say at this point. Frankly, I have to assume he did, unless someone else confesses to it. The fact that he didn’t report her dead or missing is suspicious. We have very little to go on in her case, unfortunately.”
“I see.” Hadley closed his eyes for a moment. Coriander laid her hand on his and squeezed it.
“I think it’s likely that either Reba or Lottie killed Callie,” An’gel said. “And I’m betting that Mrs. Turnipseed saw it happen, or else saw enough to figure it out. Then she blackmailed the killer.”
“And when Hadley came back, either Reba or Lottie was so determined to have him, she went after the women who showed open interest in him.” Dickce went on to explain about Sarinda’s reaction to Hadley at the garden club board meeting and the fact that Hadley had been seen in town with Arliss.
“I feel so bad about that,” Hadley said. “Arliss wasn’t trying to seduce me, at least not that I could tell. She told me she was planning her first trip to London and wanted me to tell her about all the things she should see and where she should stay.”
Coriander exchanged an amused glance with An’gel, as if to say, He’s still naive when it comes to women’s motives for anything.
“That’s as may be,” An’gel said. “The result was, however, that Arliss got run off the road and is now fighting for her life.”
“I have some news on that,” Kanesha said. “I know you’ll be happy to hear she’s improving, and the doctor is more hopeful that she’ll be able to recover. Perhaps not completely, but better than expected.”
“That is wonderful news,” Dickce said.
“Thank the Lord,” Hadley said. “I feel responsible for her being in the shape she is.”
“Nonsense,” An’gel said. “The person who ran her off the road is responsible, not you.”
“I agree, dear,” Coriander said. “You aren’t at fault for the actions of a lunatic.”
Hadley didn’t look convinced, but he would have to wrestle with his feelings of guilt, An’gel knew. In his place she would probably feel the same.
“How are you going to figure out which one of them is responsible?” Coriander asked.
Before Kanesha could respond, An’gel said, “I have an idea that might help get this over with quickly.”
Kanesha looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “And what is that idea, Miss An’gel?”
“I know you don’t like interference in your investigations,” An’gel said. “But you have accepted our help in the past, and I think in this case we can help bring things to a close before anyone else gets hurt.”
“Yes, I understand that.” Kanesha frowned, and An’gel could see that her patience was wearing thin. “What is this idea?”
“We flush out the killer.” An’gel leaned forward. “You have deputies here in the house, ready to arrest her. Dickce and I will each call one of them, ostensibly to gossip and share what we’ve found out, that Hadley is married. I’m thinking that news might make her so angry she’ll storm over here and try something. Your men will be on hand, and they can arrest her then.” She sat back in her chair and waited for reactions.
“The person would have to make a direct attack against either Mister or Mrs. Partridge,” Kanesha said. “That’s a big risk, and they would have to be willing to take it before I could even consider consenting to that kind of scheme.”
An’gel looked at Hadley and Coriander. “What do you say?”
“Absolutely not,” Hadley said. “In Cory’s case, that is. I’m willing to be the bait, but I’m not going to allow her to be.”
“Excuse me, Mister Partridge,” Coriander said, her voice a little sharp, “you’re not going to allow me? Is that so?”
Hadley’s expression turned even more stubborn, An’gel thought, as he regarded his wife.
“This is no time to talk about being equal partners,” he said. “This is your life we’re talking about.”
“It’s also your life,” Coriander replied. “I’m not all that eager to see you put yourself in danger, you know.” She turned to An’gel. “Tell me, what do you think would enrage this woman more, seeing me or Hadley, or the two of us together?”
An’gel hated to say it, because she figured Hadley would never forgive her. “You two together.”
“Then that’s how we’ll do it, or not at all.” Coriander picked up the teapot. “I’ll make more tea for all of us.”
CHAPTER 34
Hadley yielded to his wife’s determination, and that surprised An’gel a bit. She admired Coriander for her courage, and said so.
Coriander thanked her and continued her preparations for another pot of tea.
An’gel turned to Kanesha. “So what do you say?”
“I’m not fond of the idea,” Kanesha said. “But it could resolve things quickly. At present, it could be weeks before we have enough information to make an arrest.” She paused for a moment. “Okay, I’m in. Let me call for some backup first. I need to get them in place before you make those phone calls.” She turned to Hadley. “Is there somewhere we can hide the patrol cars?”
“There’s room in the garage behind the house,” Hadley said. “We have only one car there at the moment, a rental, and there’s space for three more.”
“Good enough.” Kanesha stood. “I’ll just step into the other room to call, if you don’t mind.” She strode out of the kitchen but was back in less than two minutes.
“Everything is set,” she said. “I’m going to move my car now. Will you come with me, Mr. Partridge?”
“Certainly,” Hadley said and followed her out of the kitchen.
Coriander came back to the table and resumed her seat while she waited for the water to come to a boil. “I have to say, you two seem remarkably cool about all this. I’m a bit jittery myself, but I’m going to see it through. But do you really think this woman might try to kill me? Or Hadley?”
“It’s a distinct possibility,” An’gel replied. “You’re the more likely candidate, unfortunately. She would have to get rid of you in order to have Hadley for herself, you see.”
Coriander nodded. The kettle whistled, and she rose to attend to it. Over her shoulder she said, “This is certainly not what I expected to be dealing with when we came back to Athena. Prejudice, certainly, but not a deranged person fixated on my husband.”
“There will be prejudice from some people, even now,” An’gel said. “I’m sorry about that, for your and Hadley’s sake.”
Coriander brought the teapot back to the table and resumed her seat. She poured more tea for the three of them, then set the teapot aside. “It’s not anything we haven’t faced already,” she said. “I dealt with it growing up because my mother was black and my father was mixed race. I can stand anything they throw at me.”
“I believe you can.” Dickce smiled. “And brava to you. Once all this is settled we look forward to meeting your family.”
“Thank you,” Coriander said. “I’m not sure what they’re going to think of Mississippi, although Hadley and I have both talked about it often enough.”
Hadley and Kanesha entered the kitchen through the back door and came to the table. Coriander refilled their teacups when they sat.
“My deputies will be here in under five minutes,” Kanesha said. “I think it’s okay to go ahead and make those calls, Miss An’gel, Miss Dickce.”
An’gel nodded. “All right. Sister, will you call Reba, and I’ll call Lottie?”
“Sure,” Dickce said. “Doesn’t really matter.” She pulled her cell phone from her purse. “I’ll go into the hall. You can stay here.” She strode out of the room.
“Pour it on thick,” An’gel called after her. She wasn’t sure Dickce heard her, but she figured her sister knew what to say to Reba.
An’gel retrieved her own phone from her purse and found Lottie’s name in her contacts. She tapped the call icon and waited for an answer. Kanesha, Hadley, and Coriander watched and waited quietly.
“Hi, Lottie, how are you?” An’gel asked, her tone bright and breezy. “I hope you’re well.”
“Doing fine,” Lottie said. “What’s up, An’gel? I’m supposed to meet Barbie in a few minutes.”
“I won’t keep you long,” An’gel said. “I simply couldn’t wait to call you. You’ll never guess what Dickce and I found out. It’s so juicy, you’ll have a fit when you hear.”
“Really? Do tell,” Lottie said. An’gel heard the eagerness in Lottie’s voice. She adored gossip.
“Well, Dickce and I dropped by to see Hadley a little while ago, and you could have knocked us down with a feather,” An’gel said. She groaned inwardly at the cliche, but pressed on. “You’ll never guess who opened the door.”
“Who?” Lottie asked. An’gel thought she detected tension in that one syllable.
“His wife.” An’gel paused deliberately too see how Lottie would react.
“I don’t believe you,” Lottie said. “Who is she, some English woman?”
An’gel laughed. “Heavens, no. You’d never in a million years guess who she is.”
“Who, dammit? Who is she?” Lottie was obviously agitated, whether from An’gel’s teasing her by delaying an answer or from the very fact that Hadley was married. An’gel wasn’t sure, but it was time to drop the bombshell.
“Do you remember Callie’s maid? Coriander Simpson?” An’gel said. “She’s Mrs. Hadley Partridge now.”
“You have got to be kidding.” Lottie snorted into the phone. “You’re telling me that Hadley Partridge married his brother’s servant? They’ll kick him out of the country club for this. I can’t believe it. Why’d he go and marry her?”
“For the same reason most people marry,” An’gel said. “He loves her, and she obviously loves him. You should see them together. They make such a beautiful couple. She’s every bit as striking as Hadley is handsome.”
Hadley grimaced at her, and Coriander appeared embarrassed. An’gel couldn’t help that. If Lottie was the killer, An’gel wanted to do what she could to get her worked up enough to show her hand.
“I’ve got to go,” Lottie said abruptly. “Barbie’s waiting. Talk to you later.” The call ended.
An’gel set her phone on the table. “If that doesn’t get her here—presuming she’s the one we’re after—nothing will.”
Kanesha smiled. “Miss An’gel, you are even more devious than I ever suspected.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you very much.” She shared with them some of what Lottie had said. Hadley laughed at the remark about his being kicked out of the country club.
“I couldn’t care less about those old fogies,” he said. “I hate golf anyway.”
Kanesha stood. “I hear the squad car.” She went to the back door. “Back in a moment.”
Dickce returned to the kitchen. “Mission accomplished.”
“How did she react?” An’gel asked.
“I was afraid she was going to have a stroke.” Dickce shook her head. “I’m not going to repeat some of the things she said. Trust me, if she’s the killer, she’s bound to show up here in record time.”
“The other deputies are here,” An’gel said. She began to feel nervous. Would her plan work? Was she unnecessarily putting lives in danger? They would simply have to see how things played out.
Kanesha returned with three deputies. She discussed with Hadley where to have them wait, and they decided that she and two of her men would wait in the room next to the front parlor. There was a door between the two rooms, and they would stand there with it slightly ajar, ready to come in the moment they were needed. The third deputy would wait across the hall where he would be watching what happened when Hadley answered the door. He would move into place outside the outer door to the parlor once Lottie or Reba was in the parlor.
“We’re going to be in the parlor with you,” An’gel told Hadley and Coriander. She shot a defiant glance at Kanesha. “You’ll have to lock us up somewhere to keep us out of there. Are you with me, Sister?”
“Absolutely,” Dickce said. “We can cause a distraction if necessary. We both have mace in our purses, and we’ll use it if we have to.”
Kanesha looked resigned. “We don’t have the time to argue this, and I’m sure not going to lock you and Miss Dickce up, Miss An’gel. I can’t even imagine trying it.” She paused. “Let’s get everyone in place. No telling how quickly the killer will show up.”
They all trooped out of the kitchen. Hadley showed Kanesha and her men into the library, the room next to the front parlor. Kanesha fixed the door how she wanted it. An’gel, along with Dickce and Coriander, seated themselves in the parlor. Hadley joined them moments later.
“I could use a drink,” Hadley said. “Bourbon, anyone?”
“Not for me, honey,” Coriander said. “You go ahead, though. Ladies?”
“No, thank you,” An’gel said in unison with Dickce.
“I guess I’ll hold off until after this is over,” Hadley said with rueful smile. “I’ll probably need it even more then.”
A silence fell, and An’gel could feel the tension begin a slow rise. She was on edge, and she could only imagine how tightly strung were Hadley’s and Coriander’s nerves.
Twelve agonizing minutes passed as An’gel checked her watch every few seconds. Then they heard a car coming up the driveway, and it sounded like it was coming at a high speed. Hadley moved over to a front window and peered out. He winced as they all heard the sound of the car screeching to a halt. “She almost hit your car,” he said to An’gel and Dickce. “Looks like Lottie MacLeod.”
He headed for the front door while the women waited in the parlor. They all heard the sound of another car coming up the driveway, also at a high rate of speed. An’gel and Dickce shared a glance. What the heck was going on? Was Reba going to turn up as well?
An’gel got up and went to the window. She looked out just in time to see Reba Dalrymple’s car make contact with Lottie MacLeod’s. Reba climbed out of the car without even a glance at the damage she caused and made a beeline for the front door.
“Reba’s here, too.” An’gel hurried over to the doorway to the hall and peered out from behind the door. Hadley was admitting Lottie, carrying a large handbag, when Reba came barreling through the door. She knocked into Lottie, and if it hadn’t been for quick reflexes on Hadley’s part, both women might have crashed to the floor.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Reba jerked her arm from Hadley’s grasp and glared at Lottie. Reba also carried a large handbag.
“I came to talk to Hadley about his unfortunate marriage,” Lottie said. “Why the hell are you here?”
“The same reason,” Reba said. She looked at Hadley. “What the hell were you thinking? Have you lost all sense of pride in your family’s name and heritage? Why did you have to go and marry that slut of a maid?”
“That’s exactly what I want to know,” Lottie said. “Hadley, how could you? I’ve been here waiting all this time for you to come back to me. I thought you would have asked me to marry you by now. You’re really naughty for not doing it but of course you can’t now because you’re married. That’s a problem, but not one we can’t solve.”
An’gel was struck by Lottie’s calm tone. The woman might have been discussing the weather or a favorite recipe.
“Marry you?” Reba shouted the words. “He’s not going to ever marry you. He’s going to marry me because I can give him a son. A son who will take care of Ashton Hall after he’s gone. He’s going to adopt Martin and make him his heir.”
“The hell he is,” Lottie said, still calm. “Why would he want to have that half-witted son of
yours as his heir? No, that wouldn’t do at all.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a pistol. “No, that wouldn’t do at all. I can give Hadley the son he’s always wanted. And with that so-called wife out of the way, we can marry.”
The moment Lottie pulled the gun from her purse, the deputy came out of the room across the hall. Hadley stepped back to get out of the way. He tried to push Reba away, but she resisted. The deputy tackled Lottie just as she fired her pistol at Reba. An’gel watched in horrified fascination as a patch of red bloomed on Reba’s shoulder. Reba stared in shock at Lottie as the deputy bore her to the floor and wrested the pistol away from her. Then she began to crumple.
Hadley caught her in his arms and lifted her. He brought her into the parlor. Kanesha’s other two deputies were in the hall with their fellow officer. An’gel watched as it took all three of them to handle Lottie. She fought them fiercely as they held her arms and tried to get cuffs on her. She kicked and screamed and tried to bite. The men were trying their best to subdue her without hurting her.
An’gel knew it was wrong of her but she itched to get out there and slap the heck out of Lottie. She wished one of the men would do it. They ought to coldcock her. That was the term, An’gel thought. Yes, coldcock her and stop all that carrying on.
They were being too gentle, and Lottie was fighting hard. An’gel moved quickly to her purse, pulled out her mace, and ran into the hall. She got as close as she could, and when she had a clear shot, she sprayed Lottie right in the face.
“Miss An’gel, what do you think you’re doing?” Kanesha demanded.
An’gel could tell Kanesha was about ready to pick her up and shake her until her teeth rattled out of her head. She knew she was in the wrong, but Lottie had ceased fighting and was now crying and sputtering about the mace. The deputies were able to get the cuffs on her with no trouble now.
“I’m sorry,” An’gel said, “but I’m not really sorry. They wouldn’t stop her, so I decided to. Sometimes you simply can’t treat a woman like a lady, and it takes another woman to treat her like the witch she is.” She strode back into the parlor, her heart beating furiously from the aftermath of her actions. She dropped the mace in her purse and sat abruptly.
Digging Up the Dirt Page 24
