Digging Up The Dirt

CHAPTER 3

An’gel felt a chill at those words as the implications sank in. Then she felt foolish and annoyed for letting Sarinda’s love of drama affect her in such a way.

Reba guffawed. “That’s about the silliest thing I ever heard, Sarinda. Tell me, do you think Callie’s been living in the woods around Ashton Hall all this time? Or maybe she has taken on a secret identity.” She continued to laugh.

“I have a confession to make.” Barbie rose from her perch on the arm of the sofa and hung her head for a moment. “I’ve had Callie locked away in my cellar all these years. I suppose I should let her out now.” She glanced around the room.

Lottie giggled. “She can’t be in your cellar, Barbie honey, because I’ve got her in my attic.”

An’gel checked Hadley’s expression and found it guarded. What was his true reaction to these juvenile attempts at humor? she wondered. She herself found them distasteful.

“You can make light of it all you want,” Sarinda said. “But can one of you tell me—tell all of us—where Callie is? And whether she is even still alive?”

“But you said, what if she never left Athena?” Arliss frowned. “That’s quite a different question. If she never left, then something must have happened to her. Something fatal. That’s what you really meant, isn’t it?”

“Perhaps.” Sarinda looked down at her lap.

An’gel had to suppress the urge to go grab hold of her shoulders and give her a good shake. What was Sarinda trying to do? Could she possibly know something about Callie’s disappearance? An’gel felt that chill again.

“Callie kept in touch with several friends from nursing school,” Hadley said. “Like Barbie suggested, Callie probably went to one of them, and they helped her find a job. She wanted to go back to work after she and Hamish got married, but he wouldn’t hear of it.”

“That seems likely to me.” Reba nodded. “Yes, very likely. Sarinda, all you’ve ever wanted to be is the center of attention, and you’ll say anything to get your way.” She turned to Hadley. “What have you been doing all these years? You know we’re all curious.”

Hadley gave a brief smile. “I know y’all are. It’s not really an exciting story, but basically I went to New York and got a job with a company that has offices around the world. I worked in various places over the years—Vienna, Sydney, Madrid, Paris, Los Angeles, and a few others. I became a corporate troubleshooter and did pretty well at it. I retired about three years ago in London, and that’s where I was when I got word from Hamish’s lawyers about his death.”

“What part of London?” Lottie asked. “London is my favorite city in the world, and I’ve been oodles of times.”

“Mayfair,” Hadley said.

Mayfair, An’gel knew, was a pricey place to live, so Hadley wasn’t short of a bob or two, as the Brits would say. He had apparently done well for himself as a corporate troubleshooter. His clothes were expensive, and An’gel could see he wore an expensive watch, one that cost at least fifteen thousand dollars.

“I just love Mayfair,” Lottie said. “So exclusive.”

Barbie spoke at the same time. “So glamorous, all those great cities. What an interesting life you have had.”

Hadley shrugged. “Nothing particularly glamorous about it. I never had time to settle down long in one place because as soon as I finished one assignment they sent me off on another one. Eighty-plus-hour weeks and too much travel, if you want to know the truth.”

To judge by the glum expressions of her fellow board members, An’gel reckoned they were disappointed with Hadley’s prosaic explanation. The dashing playboy of four decades past had become a hardworking corporate type, and they evidently didn’t see much glamor in that.

An’gel, while more than a bit surprised at Hadley’s choice of profession, was nevertheless pleased to hear that he had buckled down and worked hard. He hadn’t shown many signs of dedication to work before he left Athena, relying instead on charm, good looks, and his brother’s checkbook in lieu of gainful employment.

“We’re all happy to welcome you back home.” An’gel nodded at Hadley. “We also hope you’re truly here to stay. You’re not planning to renovate Ashton Hall and the gardens so you can sell and then move back to London, are you?”

Hadley cocked his head to the side and regarded her with one of his patented slow smiles, designed to warm even the coldest heart. “I am here to stay, dear An’gel. Athena holds an attraction that, oddly enough, London doesn’t.”

He’s pouring it on a bit too thick. An’gel wanted to box his ears. Why is he singling me out like this?

Once again she felt hostile glances. She gazed coolly around the room with a silent challenge. The other women’s gazes dropped, and An’gel relaxed.

“We’re all delighted to hear that you’re staying,” Dickce said. “Though if I had to pick between London and Athena, well, there are plenty of days I’d rather be in London.”

Bless Sister for helping to break the tension. An’gel laughed. “Especially in August and September when it’s unbearably hot here.”

Barbie cleared her throat. “Time to get the meeting started. We really need to focus on the spring tour of homes. Now that we can include Ashton Hall I believe we can up the ticket prices by a few dollars. What do y’all think?”

“We’ve been charging twelve dollars for the past ten years for a single house tour,” Arliss said. “I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t raise that to fifteen now. Three dollars isn’t that much.”

“I agree.” Reba nodded. “And ten for children under sixteen. That seems reasonable.”

“I agree,” An’gel said, and Dickce echoed her. An’gel went on. “What about the package prices? Fifty dollars for four houses?”

“Sounds fine to me,” Lottie said. “We need to increase our revenue. Preservation isn’t cheap, and some of us don’t have large bank accounts to pay for repairs to these old houses.” She cut a sly glance at An’gel and Dickce.

An’gel ignored Lottie’s remark. Lottie always liked to pretend she was the poorest member of the board, but An’gel knew Lottie was tight with money. Lottie’s home, The Oaks, stayed in excellent condition.

“We can use the same schedule we have for the past few years,” Barbie said. “What group should Ashton Hall be in? People will be excited since it hasn’t been shown for over thirty years.”

“Put it in the group with Riverhill,” Hadley said. “That’s the closest, and Fairleigh is the next closest in town.”

Sarinda brightened at the mention of her home. “Yes, I agree. It makes sense to group us together.” She smiled at Hadley. “I can’t wait to see Ashton Hall restored to its former glory.”

“The tour generally starts the first weekend in March.” An’gel looked at Hadley. “That gives you about four months to get the gardens and the house ready. Will you be able to do that?”

Hadley nodded. “I already have a team there inspecting the house and the gardens. The house mostly needs a good cleaning.” He grimaced. “I’m afraid Hamish was none too particular about housekeeping recently.”

“We’re going to need a few pictures for the website,” Barbie said. “How soon do you think we can get those?”

“I think I can find some suitable shots in the next few days,” Hadley said.

“I’ll be delighted to come over and help you look,” Reba said. “My son Martin—do you remember him, Hadley? He was about five when you left—anyway, he takes all the pictures for the website, and we can come over and scout around.”

Hadley shook his head. “Only vague memories, I’m afraid. I never paid much attention to children. I’m a more than decent photographer, if I do say so myself. I can take the pictures and send them. Who maintains the website?”

“Martin does,” Reba said. “It really wouldn’t be any trouble at all for us to take the pictures and save you the bother.”

“I appreciate your offer,” Hadley said. “But there are going to be so many workmen around the place that everything’s going to be chaos for a while. I think it’s better if I take the pictures myself.”

Reba shrugged. “Well, if you insist. I’ll give you Martin’s email address.”

Hadley had made it clear that he didn’t particularly want visitors, at least for now, An’gel decided. She wondered whether the others would take the hint, or whether there would soon be a steady stream of casserole dishes and congealed salads making their way to Ashton Hall. She and Dickce would invite him to dinner soon, though, because it was the proper thing to do.

All the other women in the room would issue invitations as well, she knew. She wondered how many of those invitations Hadley would accept. Perhaps he had reformed his ways and was no longer a playboy. She realized suddenly that no one had bothered to ask Hadley whether he was married, or had been.

At the moment she couldn’t think of a polite way to ask. She had noticed that Hadley’s left ring finger was bare, but that didn’t necessarily mean Hadley was single. Still, surely Hadley would have mentioned a wife or a girlfriend if he had brought a woman home with him.

“If you take a look at the website, Hadley,” Reba said, “you can see the kind of pictures we use. There is also a schedule up for this year, based on last year’s, but we can revise it if we need to. Have a look, and let us know if you foresee any problems.”

“Thank you, I will,” Hadley said. “I do have a question for you, however. You’re talking about raising ticket prices. Haven’t they already been on sale for a while?”

“No, the tickets go on sale usually the first of December, so we’ve got time to get this all arranged,” Dickce said. “We need to get the new prices on the website, though, right away. Will you tell Martin, Reba?”

“Yes,” Reba said. “I’ll have him take care of it today, as long as we’re agreed on the new prices.”

“Time for a vote,” Barbie said. “All in favor of raising the prices as discussed, say aye.”

A chorus of ayes sounded.

“Any nays?” Barbie asked. After a moment of silence, she continued, “The ayes have it, so the prices are approved.”

“Don’t the rest of the club members get a say in this?” Hadley asked. “Or does the royal council have complete power?”

An’gel saw Barbie, Lottie, and Sarinda bridle at that second question. The board could be high-handed, but the club charter gave the board the power to act in such matters. She explained this to Hadley. “The membership at large approved this as a change to the bylaws a good fifteen years ago. Most of them seem happy to leave financial matters to the board.”

“Then that’s good enough for me.” Hadley grinned. “Is there any other business to discuss, ladies? Because if there isn’t, I really need to get back home and check in with the workers. I have to talk to the contractor about repairs.”

“Are you sure you can’t stay a while longer and have a drink with us?” Sarinda pouted.

Hadley rose. “I would truly love to, Sarinda, but there’s so much to do at Ashton Hall. Especially now that I have a firm deadline, and I don’t want to let the club down. I’m sure you all understand.”

“Certainly,” Barbie said. “Let me show you out. I’ll be back in a minute, girls. Feel free to head to the kitchen. The iced tea is ready.” She laid her arm on Hadley’s and led him out of the room.

“I’m ready for tea.” Dickce stood. “How about the rest of you?”

“Might as well.” Reba rose, and so did Arliss and Lottie. Sarinda remained seated.

“I’ll join you in a moment,” An’gel said. “I want to powder my nose first.” She followed the others into the hall in time to see Barbie close the front door behind the departing Hadley. She ducked down the hall toward the washroom under the stairs ahead of the others on their way to the kitchen at the back of the house.

An’gel emerged from the washroom a couple of minutes later and walked into the kitchen. She was not surprised to hear her fellow members discussing Hadley and his appearance. She helped herself to a glass of tea. There was one full glass left on the tray, and then she realized that one member of the board was missing.

“Where is Sarinda?” An’gel asked during a brief lull in the rhapsodies over how handsome and distinguished Hadley was. She sipped her tea. Barbie brewed it dark and strong, exactly the way An’gel preferred it.

“Probably still sulking in the living room,” Barbie said. “I’m sure she thought Hadley didn’t pay her enough attention. Let her pout if she wants to.”

“Yes, leave her alone,” Lottie said. “You’d think she was a teenager sometimes, the way she has these little fits of hers.”

“I’ll go get her,” Arliss said. “Leaving her alone just encourages her to be a martyr.” She left the room, glass in hand.

Arliss returned moments later. “She’s gone. I guess she’s having a bigger snit than we realized. I’ll call her later and make sure she’s okay.”

“This is odd, even for Sarinda.” Dickce frowned.

“Yes, it is,” An’gel said. “She doesn’t usually disappear like this, even when she’s having a good sulk.”

“She was pretty fey about the whole Callie thing,” Reba said. “Do you think she knows more than she’s letting on about what happened to Callie forty years ago?”