Digging Up the Dirt

CHAPTER 10

As the first shock of Benjy’s announcement began to pass, An’gel said, “They’re probably quite old. If they were under the tree, they’d have to be. That oak is at least a hundred and fifty years old.”

Hadley nodded. “I think it was planted by the ancestor who built the house, and that was in 1827.”

Benjy looked confused for a moment. “I don’t think the bones were actually under the tree. Not under the roots, anyway. More like beside them. Come look.” He turned and led Peanut out of the room.

“That’s odd.” Hadley rose from his chair. “I’d better go have a look. Why don’t y’all stay here where it’s warm.”

“No, I think we’d better come with you.” An’gel lay the album aside on a nearby table and stood. She was concerned by Benjy’s assertion that the bones were in the ground beside the tree. That brought an unsettling thought to mind. “Come on, Sister.”

Hadley shrugged before he turned and strode out of the room. An’gel and Dickce followed right behind.

“Who do you think it could be?” Dickce whispered her question near to An’gel’s ear.

An’gel shook her head. “Not now.”

Hadley quickly outdistanced them, and when they caught up with him and Benjy, the two men and the dog stood staring at the ground near where the magnificent oak had once stood.

“The wind must have been really strong to bring it down like that,” Benjy said.

“Had it been healthy, it might not have fallen,” Hadley replied. “But it was dying, and it had evidently been hit by lightning at some point in the past few years.”

An’gel saw the massive trunk had snapped about four feet from the ground, and the fall had shifted the stump at a thirty-degree angle. The ground near the stump was disturbed, and An’gel understood what Benjy meant.

“Here are the bones.” Benjy, his hand firmly on Peanut’s collar, stepped closer and pointed down at a spot twelve inches or so from the exposed root.

An’gel and Dickce came nearer, while Hadley squatted for a closer look. “That’s a hand,” Hadley said, his tone subdued. “A human hand.”

An’gel saw the delicate bones of the fingers jutting out of the soil and felt a wave of sadness. She thought immediately of Callie Partridge. Then a flash of movement caught her eye, and she turned to see Endora on the ground nearby playing with an object of some kind. She hoped fervently that it wasn’t a bone.

“Dickce, look at Endora,” she said. “See if you can get whatever that is away from her.”

Dickce turned to see what her sister was talking about. Endora was slapping at something in the grass a couple of feet away from them on the other side of the tree stump. She made her way around while the others watched, talking to Endora the whole time.

“You clever kitty,” she said in a soothing tone. “You found something, didn’t you? You’re such a smart girl. Will you let me see what it is?”

When Dickce, still talking, reached the cat, Endora stopped playing with the object and meowed. Dickce bent down to retrieve the cat’s erstwhile toy. She stood, her palm extended toward the others. On it lay a ring.

“Let me see that.” Hadley’s harsh tone startled An’gel. He reached for the ring and almost snatched it away from Dickce. An’gel watched while he examined it and would have sworn he paled under his tan.

The ring was a small band of what looked like gold, and there were stones mounted on it. They were encrusted with dirt, however, and An’gel couldn’t tell what they might be. Hadley pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed some of the dirt away. An’gel caught her breath as the sun hit the now exposed stones.

An emerald, surrounded by diamonds. She recognized the ring.

Hadley closed his eyes and clutched the ring to his chest. His words came out with a sob. “It’s Callie’s.”

An’gel’s gaze shifted to the finger bones sticking out of the earth, and her eyes filled with tears. Sarinda Hetherington might have been right after all, she realized.

Callie Partridge perhaps never left Ashton Hall alive.

An’gel stared dully into the fire in the front parlor at Ashton Hall. Her back ached, and she wanted to be at home. She’d had to feed the flames several times in the nearly two hours they’d been waiting in the parlor. Dickce sat nearby with Endora curled up in her lap. Benjy occupied one end of the sofa, and Peanut lay at his feet. Their host was in the library across the hall, talking to Kanesha Berry, chief deputy from the Athena County Sheriff’s Department. They had each already had a turn with the deputy, but she had asked them to wait for a while longer.

“Just because her ring was found there doesn’t necessarily mean those bones are Callie’s.” Dickce stroked the cat’s head. “She could have lost it there. Maybe those bones are two hundred years old. The grave might have been there when Hadley’s ancestor planted the tree, and he never knew it.”

“I would give a lot if that were indeed the case,” An’gel said. “It would be a whopping coincidence, though, don’t you think?”

“Yes, I suppose so,” Dickce replied. “But I’m certainly going to hope and pray that’s the truth of it, and it’s not poor Callie lying there in the ground.”

An’gel cast a quick glance at the sheriff’s deputy who stood right outside the open door of the parlor. She got up from her chair and sat next to Benjy on the sofa. In an undertone she said, “Could you see Hadley’s face when he first looked at the bones?”

Benjy nodded. “He looked shocked to me.”

“Shocked as if he was upset the bones were found, or shocked as if he had no idea they were there?”

Benjy considered that a moment. “Shocked like I don’t think he knew the bones were there, but I don’t know him at all.”

“We don’t really know him ourselves, not anymore,” Dickce said. “Forty years ago he was a carefree, irresponsible playboy. The man who came back could have changed a lot.”

“He did seem stunned when he realized he was holding Callie’s ring,” An’gel said. “I would swear that was a complete surprise to him.”

“Do you remember when Hamish gave Callie that ring?” Dickce asked. “I do.”

“Yes,” An’gel said. “It was for their tenth anniversary.” For Benjy’s benefit, she added, “Hamish threw a lavish party here at Ashton Hall, and he gave her the ring in front of everyone.”

“Three years before Hadley disappeared from Athena,” Dickce said.

“Hamish sounds like a romantic kind of guy,” Benjy said.

“He was, where Callie was concerned,” An’gel said. “He loved her deeply, so deeply that at times I think it frightened her.”

“She was the center of his life.” Dickce picked Endora up and cradled the cat in her arms. Endora yawned and stretched before settling down contentedly against Dickce’s chest.

“He must have been pretty devastated when she disappeared,” Benjy said.

“He never got over it,” An’gel said.

“If that’s really her out there by the tree,” Benjy said after a brief silence, “do you think he could have killed her?”

An’gel shuddered. “I’d hate to think so, but he was so obsessed with her. If he thought she was in love with someone else, well, I suppose he could have killed her in a fit of jealous rage.”

“What about Hadley?” Dickce asked in a low voice. “If he killed her, that might be why he disappeared and stayed gone so long.”

“But then why would he come back?” Benjy said. “If he did kill her, wouldn’t it be safer for him to stay away?”

“Yes, it would be safer,” An’gel said. “But there’s the matter of Ashton Hall and whatever money Hamish had. Hadley probably inherited a fair-sized fortune on top of the house and the land. That might have been a powerful enough lure to bring him back even if he murdered his own sister-in-law.”

The sound of a voice coming from the hallway ended their conversation. An’gel turned her head to observe Kanesha Berry advance into the room. Since her earlier conversation with the deputy she had debated whether to bring up the death of Sarinda Hetherington. She decided that she ought to share her ideas and suspicions with Kanesha.

Kanesha regarded them with her habitual calm expression. “Ladies, and Mr. Stephens, I’m sorry to keep you waiting this long, but it was helpful to have you here in case I needed to talk to you again. But you can go now. I’ll follow up with you soon, once we know more about the identity of the remains.”

Peanut walked over to the deputy and stared up at her, waiting to be noticed. She had been friendly before, and he now expected some attention from her. Kanesha frowned at him for a moment, then patted his head. “Nice to see you, too, Peanut.”

The dog barked and wagged his tail. Happy now, he returned to Benjy’s side. Endora paid the deputy no attention whatsoever.

An’gel rose. “We’ll be happy to get home. But there is a matter I’d like to discuss with you. Do you think you might have time to come by Riverhill for a few minutes?”

“We could talk here,” Kanesha said. “Mr. Partridge is allowing us to continue to use his library for as long as we need.”

An’gel shook her head. “I’d really rather discuss this away from Ashton Hall. I would consider it a great favor if you could come by Riverhill sometime today.”

“Very well, Miss An’gel,” Kanesha said. “I’ll come by right after I leave here. It may be another hour.”

“That’s fine,” An’gel said. “Now we’d better take our leave of Hadley.”

Kanesha said, “He went upstairs a couple of minutes ago. I don’t think he’ll be back down for a while.”

“Poor man,” Dickce said. “I can’t blame him. This has been a terrible shock to all of us.”

“I’m sure it has,” Kanesha said. “I will be working hard to find out exactly what happened here.”

An’gel nodded. “I know you will figure it out.” She turned to Dickce and Benjy. “Come now, let’s go home.” She headed for the door, her heart heavy and her mind troubled.

Back at Riverhill ten minutes later, they shared the shocking news with Clementine while Benjy took Peanut and Endora outside for a walk. The housekeeper shook her head. “Lord, to think Miss Callie might’ve been lying there all these years, and nobody knew.”

“We can’t be completely certain that the remains are Callie’s,” An’gel said. “My heart tells me they are, though.”

“If they are Callie’s, then the person who put her there certainly knew,” Dickce said. “It makes me angry to think that someone might have gotten away with murder all these years.”

“Kanesha will see to that,” An’gel said. “I’m expecting her to come by to talk to me in the next hour or so, Clementine.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the housekeeper said. “What would you like to do about lunch?”

An’gel glanced at the kitchen clock. Ten minutes to eleven, she read. “Let’s say twelve thirty. Is that okay with you, Sister?”

Dickce nodded. “Yes. I hate to say it, after the upsetting morning we’ve had, but I know I’ll probably be really hungry by then.”

“It’ll be ready,” Clementine said. “In the meantime, would you like coffee or some hot tea?”

“Tea would be nice,” Dickce said.

“Yes, it would. We’ll be in the front parlor,” An’gel said. “Thank you, Clementine.” She headed out of the kitchen, followed by her sister.

When they were seated comfortably in the parlor, Dickce asked, “What is it you want to talk to Kanesha about?”

“Sarinda,” An’gel said. “If those remains are Callie’s, then I think it’s likely Sarinda might have known who put Callie in that grave.”

“And that person killed Sarinda because they thought Sarinda was going to expose them.”

“I think it’s possible,” An’gel replied. “Maybe I’m indulging in a wild flight of fancy, but I think there has to be a connection.”

Clementine came in with a serving tray and set it on the coffee table. Along with the teapot and cups, there was a plate of her homemade shortbread.

An’gel thanked her, and Clementine nodded. Dickce poured the tea for them both. She picked up a piece of the shortbread and began to eat.

They had finished the tea and the plate of shortbread by the time Kanesha arrived forty minutes later. An’gel answered the door and ushered the deputy into the parlor.

“Would you care for anything to drink?” An’gel asked.

“No, ma’am, I’m fine.” Kanesha perched on the edge of the chair her hostess had indicated. “What is it you wanted to discuss with me?”

“Sarinda Hetherington’s death,” An’gel said. “I don’t think it was an accident.”

“And if those bones turn out to belong to Callie Partridge,” Dickce said, “we think there’s a connection.”

“I’m sure you’ve talked to Chief Carson,” An’gel said. “Did he tell you about our conversation?”

Kanesha nodded. “He did. I’ve also spoken with Dr. Gandy, and he is adamant that Miss Hetherington wouldn’t have drunk enough bourbon to incapacitate herself enough to fall down the stairs.”

“I believe him,” An’gel said. “So what’s being done about it?”

“We are treating it as a suspicious death,” Kanesha said. “There is some evidence to indicate that it wasn’t an accident.”