Digging Up The Dirt

Lottie stared at her for a moment. “Well, I guess I don’t mind. It’s not like I’m going to forget it anytime soon.” She paused for a moment. “I walked in the front door, and at first I didn’t see her. I had to find the light switch because the front hall was a bit dark. Then, when the light came on, I turned, and there she was, sprawled facedown on the floor at the bottom of the staircase.” She shuddered.

“What did you do then?” An’gel asked.

“I think I screamed,” Lottie said. “Then I tried to gather my poor wits about me and do something. I went over to her and knelt by her head.” She shuddered again. “Her eyes were wide-open, and I could tell already she was dead. I did feel for a pulse on the side of her neck, but there wasn’t one.”

Sarah came into the room with a silver tray and set it on a table next to Lottie. Lottie thanked her. “We’ll serve ourselves.”

Once Sarah left the room and her guests had glasses of tea, Lottie continued. “That’s when I noticed the bottle of bourbon on the floor near her. And the smell.” She wrinkled her nose at the memory. “I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed it before. I suppose it was the shock of seeing poor Sarinda on the floor like that.”

“No doubt,” An’gel said. “Was there much bourbon in the bottle? Did you notice?”

Lottie considered that for a moment. “I think there might have been a little. There was some on the floor, and I noticed Sarinda’s blouse was a bit damp when I pushed it aside so I could check her pulse at the neck.”

An’gel exchanged a glance with Dickce. Was Sarinda drinking from the bottle when she fell—or was shoved—down the stairs? That could account for the liquor on her blouse. Or, An’gel thought, the person who knocked her down could have poured the bourbon on Sarinda after she hit the floor. An’gel felt sick to her stomach at the thought.

“What did you do after you checked for a pulse?” Dickce asked. “Was that when you called 911?”

“I think so.” Lottie wrinkled her nose. “Things are a bit fuzzy. I think I probably called 911 first. But I might have called either you or Barbie first. I can’t remember.” She took a sip of tea.

“Did you call anyone besides Barbie and us?” An’gel asked. Lottie shook her head. “No, just you two and Barbie.”

“What about today?” An’gel asked. “Have you talked to any of the other board members this morning?”

“Barbie said she would let people know,” Lottie said. “I didn’t feel up to it last night or this morning.”

“Why did you call us last night, as opposed to other board members?” Dickce asked.

“I’m not sure,” Lottie said, appearing slightly confused. “It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. You’ve known Sarinda longer than the rest of us, and I thought you should know.”

“We appreciate you thinking of us like that,” An’gel said. “Yes, I suppose we’ve known Sarinda most of our lives, but we had no idea about the drinking.” She shot a warning glance at her sister and hoped that Lottie didn’t notice.

“She spent an awful lot of time alone in that big house,” Lottie said. “Well, except for her housekeeper, of course. That’s not the same as spending time with friends, but she did spend time with the garden club and a couple of other clubs.”

“Don’t you think it’s strange that none of us picked up on the drinking before now?” Dickce asked.

“Barbie said she thought Sarinda was drinking in secret for years after I told her last night what I found.” Lottie smiled. “Barbie likes to knock back the gin herself, you know, and I suppose she saw the signs in Sarinda.”

An’gel wanted to offer a tart reply to that, because they all knew about Barbie and her gin. They all also knew Lottie was every bit as fond of gin as Barbie. Sarinda, on the other hand, never had more than one cocktail whenever she was with the other garden club members.

“Why did you go to Sarinda’s last night?” An’gel asked.

“She called and asked me to come over,” Lottie replied. “She said she wanted to talk to me, but she wouldn’t say exactly why.”

“You didn’t press her for an explanation?” An’gel set her empty glass on a coaster on the table in front of the sofa.

Lottie shrugged. “I tried, but she wouldn’t really tell me anything. Only that it was important. I thought her voice sounded strange, come to think of it. Hoarse, kind of like when someone’s been crying a lot, if you know what I mean.”

An’gel was about to reply in the affirmative when a loud crash of thunder startled them all. “Heavens,” she said. “That storm is moving in.”

Dickce stood. “We’d better get home right away, Sister. Thanks for the tea, Lottie.”

An’gel rose as well. “Before we go, however, one more question for you. Two questions, actually. What time did Sarinda call? And when did you arrive at her house?”

Lottie thought for a moment. “I went right over as soon as I hung up the phone. It takes about ten minutes to walk over there, and it was a nice night so I walked. I guess I got there around seven, or maybe seven fifteen?”