Digging Up The Dirt

CHAPTER 16

An’gel debated whether to call Kanesha’s cell phone. She preferred not to unless there was an emergency, and she couldn’t justify wanting to poke her nose into the investigation as an emergency.

Instead she punched in the number for the sheriff’s department. “Good morning, this is An’gel Ducote. Could I speak to Chief Deputy Berry if she’s available?” She was put on hold for a moment, and then the receptionist came back on the line to inform her that the chief deputy was not available at the moment. An’gel declined to leave a message and ended the call.

Now what to do? She could get her own cell phone and send Kanesha a text message, although she rarely used that feature and felt awkward when she did. After debating with herself for a moment longer, she decided she might as well send a text. Where was her cell phone?

After several minutes of an increasingly annoying search, An’gel found the phone on the dressing table in her bedroom. She picked it up and hunted for the icon for messaging, and after a couple of false starts, she got to the right place and managed to send Kanesha a brief request to give her a call when she could.

She took the phone downstairs with her, hoping to hear from the deputy soon. In the meantime, she wanted to discuss strategy with Dickce. An’gel didn’t find her sister in the parlor or in any of the nearby rooms. She headed to the kitchen where she found Clementine busy with preparations for lunch.

“Smells wonderful,” An’gel said as she caught a whiff from the pot of meat sauce the housekeeper was stirring on the stove. “Pasta for lunch, then.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Clementine smiled. “By special request. Benjy said he sure would love some of my spaghetti and meat sauce for lunch today.”

“You’re spoiling that boy,” An’gel said in a mock-complaining tone. “He’s got you and my sister wrapped around his fingers.”

Clementine knew her employer well enough to know that An’gel wasn’t really bothered by the choice of meal. “There’s just something about that boy makes you want to mother him. I’m glad you and Miss Dickce took him in. Livens up the place, that’s for sure.”

“He definitely needs mothering,” An’gel said. “When I think of that horror of a mother he had, well, it’s a wonder he turned out to be such a smart, sensible young man.”

“He’s going to be a credit to you and Miss Dickce,” Clementine said.

“Speaking of my sister,” An’gel said as she remembered why she came into the kitchen, “do you know where she is?”

“With Benjy,” Clementine said. “Came in here and said she wanted him to look up something on his computer.”

“I think I’d better go find out what those two are up to,” An’gel said. “The last time they were plotting behind my back we ended up with a dog and a cat.” She headed for the back door, cell phone in hand.

“Lunch is going to be ready in about an hour,” Clementine called after her.

“I’ll tell them,” An’gel said before she stepped outside.

Though the sun shone brightly, the air was cool. An’gel hurried across the area between the back of the house and the garage. Benjy lived in an apartment over the garage and appeared to be happy with it. An’gel had thought he would be fine in the house with her and her sister, but Dickce insisted that a young man Benjy’s age would prefer to have his own separate space.

She and Dickce had the apartment renovated, however, before Benjy moved in. After a six-week project, the space had a more modern look, with every thought given to comfort and the needs of a young man. An’gel opened the door to the stairs and stepped inside.

When she arrived at the top, An’gel paused on the small landing to catch her breath. She glanced around the space and noted with approval that Benjy continued to keep things neat and tidy. Benjy and Dickce were seated at the table in the small kitchen, and they were staring at the screen of Benjy’s laptop.

Peanut came loping out of the bedroom at the far end, and he made a beeline for An’gel. He greeted her with several gentle woofs, and she patted him on the head and told him what a good boy he was. His tail thumped against the floor. An’gel wondered where Endora was. She spotted her in Dickce’s lap.

“Your timing is perfect, Sister,” Dickce said. “I was about to call you so you could see what Benjy found. Come look.”

Intrigued, An’gel walked over to the table and stood behind Benjy and Dickce. She bent down between the two to peer more closely at the screen and the small print she saw there. “What am I looking at?”

“An address in Athena for Mrs. Thomasina Turnipseed,” Benjy said. “Miss Dickce asked me to help her find this lady, and we did.”

Benjy started to explain how he had found the information she and Dickce wanted, but An’gel forestalled him. When Benjy got to talking about the Internet, he quickly lost her most of the time. Benjy took no offense when An’gel stopped him, she was thankful to see. He simply grinned at her and winked.

“The short version is that I found her through property tax records,” Benjy said.

“We checked the phone book first,” Dickce said, “but she isn’t listed.”

“How recent is the property tax record?” An’gel said.

“It’s for the most recent tax year,” Benjy replied. “So the information isn’t quite a year old.”

“Once you’ve got permission from Kanesha,” Dickce said, “we can drive over to her house and see if she’ll talk to us.”

“I haven’t been able to talk to Kanesha yet,” An’gel said. “I sent her a text message asking her to call me when she can.”

Her cell phone rang, startling her so much that she almost dropped it. She steadied it and glanced at the screen. “Not Kanesha,” she said. “Barbie Gross. What on earth can she want now?”

An’gel greeted her caller and waited for Barbie to explain.

“I’m calling a special meeting of the garden club board for this afternoon,” Barbie said. “We need to put our heads together about some kind of memorial service for Sarinda. She didn’t have any family, and we’re the next closest thing.”

“That’s a kind thought,” An’gel said, “but we don’t even know when Sarinda’s body will be released. Plus she may have left instructions with her lawyer.”

“I’m not talking about her funeral,” Barbie said, her tone sharp. “What I think we should do is a memorial service for her, and we don’t need her body for that. And we don’t need instructions from her lawyer, either.”

“I see. What time is this meeting?” An’gel asked.

“Three o’clock at my house,” Barbie said. “Can I count on you and Dickce to be there?”

“Yes, we’ll be there.” She ended the call and set her phone on the table.

“Where are we going?” Dickce asked. “And when?”

After An’gel explained, Dickce frowned but otherwise offered no objection to the meeting.

“Do you want to make a call on Mrs. Turnipseed before we go to the meeting?” Dickce asked.

“If I hear back from Kanesha in time and she has no objection,” An’gel replied. “I’m eager to talk to Mrs. Turnipseed.”

“I hope she’ll talk to you,” Benjy said. “From what Hadley said, though, she could be difficult.”

“We’ll have to try.” An’gel rose and picked up her phone. “Lunch should be ready soon. I’ll see you at the table.”

Peanut accompanied her down the stairs and would have followed her to the house, but Benjy called him back. He hesitated a moment, then trotted up the stairs. An’gel smiled as she closed the door behind her. Benjy had done a good job training the dog. An’gel wasn’t sure whether he had tried to train Endora. Somehow she didn’t think Endora would go along with any such attempts.

Her phone rang, and this time, An’gel was happy to see, the caller was Kanesha Berry. “Hello,” she said. “Thanks for returning my call.”

“My pleasure, Miss An’gel,” Kanesha said. “What can I do for you?” She listened without interruption while An’gel explained her plan.

“What do you think?” An’gel asked once she finished.

Kanesha didn’t respond for a moment. “Normally, I would ask you to leave this to me, but I am familiar with Mrs. Turnipseed. You’re right about her attitudes. I could send Bates, I suppose, but he can be pretty gruff with witnesses. I think under the circumstances it might be okay for you and Miss Dickce to try talking to her first.”

“Thank you,” An’gel said. “We will do our best not to make you regret your confidence in us.”

Kanesha chuckled, a rare sound. “I’m sure you will. Y’all take care now.”

An’gel thanked her and wished her a good day before she ended the call. She entered the house with her mind focused on the best approach to take with Mrs. Turnipseed when they found her.

When they left the house at twelve forty, An’gel declared that she would drive. In the car, she waited for Dickce to fasten her seat belt, and then she backed out of the garage.

When they reached the end of the driveway and An’gel prepared to turn onto the highway, Dickce spoke. “I looked up the address on a city map, and it’s not far from the square. Would you mind stopping at the bookstore for a minute so I can run in and pick up a book they’re holding for me?”

An’gel sighed. “I suppose not.” She preferred not to stop, but Dickce would get annoyed with her if they didn’t.

The bookstore occupied a space down the street from the point at which they entered the square. Traffic was heavy, and An’gel had to drive slowly.

Dickce clutched at her arm suddenly. “Look over there.”

“Where?” An’gel said.

“There, going into Helen Louise’s bistro.” Dickce pointed.

An’gel glanced over in time to see Hadley Partridge open the door and usher Arliss McGonigal inside. Then the car in front of them started moving, and An’gel had to switch her attention back to the street ahead of them.

Dickce giggled suddenly. “Oh, my, this is going to be interesting.”

“What?” An’gel said. With traffic moving she wasn’t going to look and risk running into the car in front of her. “What did you see now?”

“Barbie Gross just came out, carrying a box, and she looks peeved at something. Or someone.”

“You’re imagining things.” An’gel was happy to find an open parking spot right in front of the bookstore. She pulled into it.

“I’m not going to waste time arguing with you.” Dickce unbuckled her seat belt. “I’ll be back in a minute or two.” She slipped out of the car and shut the door.

An’gel watched as her sister entered the store. She thought about what Dickce said. An’gel knew what her sister was thinking, that Barbie was annoyed over the fact that Hadley and Arliss were going around together. Unless Hadley took turns squiring all of the garden club board members around, most of them were bound to be peeved at not getting attention from him.

For Pete’s sake, An’gel thought, we’re not in high school. We’re all old enough not to fall into these traps.

Dickce was as good as her word. She returned promptly to the car, book in hand. In a moment they were on their way to Mrs. Turnipseed’s house.

Dickce directed her to the right street, and not more than five minutes later they pulled up in front of the house. The neighborhood was an older one of smallish houses on large lots. The lawns all looked well-kept, except for that of Mrs. Turnipseed. The grass needed cutting, and the house could have used a fresh coat of paint, An’gel thought. The house looked unoccupied, and that worried her.

She and Dickce walked up to the front door, rang the bell, and waited.