Digging Up The Dirt

Both Benjy and Hadley offered to assist with the clearing away, but the sisters declined. They quickly gathered the plates and took them to the kitchen. Clementine had set the timer on the coffeemaker, and the coffee was ready. Dickce prepared the beverage while An’gel sliced the cake and placed the servings on a tray. They were soon back in the dining room, where they found the men discussing the adoption of shelter animals.

“Mr. Partridge is thinking about adopting a dog,” Benjy told them.

“I really wish you would call me Hadley,” Hadley said. “I don’t feel like Mr. Partridge.”

Benjy laughed. “All right then. Hadley.”

“That’s better,” Hadley said as he accepted his coffee and cake. “This looks wonderful.”

They chatted about what kind of dog Hadley wanted, but after a few minutes, An’gel steered the conversation back to the topic uppermost in her mind. “I think that we are all making the assumption that if the remains we found are truly Callie’s, then it must have been Hamish who put her there. Correct?”

Hadley appeared startled at the abrupt shift in subject. He laid down his fork and gazed at An’gel. “Though I hate to think of my brother as a murderer,” he said, “I think you’re right. I am hoping against hope that those remains aren’t Callie, though.”

“I think we have to work under the assumption that they are,” An’gel said. “I would love to believe that Callie is alive somewhere, happy and flourishing, but it simply isn’t realistic.”

Hadley sighed. “I know you’re right. Finding the ring is evidence enough, I suppose.”

“Did you have to turn it over to Kanesha?” Dickce asked.

“Yes,” Hadley said. “I will get it back eventually, but I hated to let go of it.” Suddenly he pushed back his chair and stood. “This was a wonderful meal, but it’s been rather a long day.”

An’gel rose. “Yes, it has, and the conversation hasn’t been particularly cheerful. We’ve enjoyed having you here. Let me show you out.” Dickce and Benjy stood also.

“Thank you for being so understanding.” Hadley came to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Then he went around her to do the same for Dickce. He extended his hand to Benjy, and they shook.

An’gel escorted Hadley to the front door. Hadley turned to her and said, “Thank you again,” before he walked through the door and into the night.

An’gel closed the door behind him and stood there for a moment, thinking about the evening. She looked up to see Dickce and Benjy walking toward her.

“I’m sorry if we upset him,” Dickce said.

“Yes, but it couldn’t be helped,” An’gel replied. “We have to talk about these things. We can’t simply ignore Callie’s death.”

“No, of course not,” Dickce said. “Poor Hadley. I feel so bad for him.”

“He seems like a nice guy,” Benjy said. “There’s one thing I’ve been thinking about, though.” He paused.

“Go ahead,” An’gel said. “Say what’s on your mind.”

“Okay.” Benjy frowned. “I was thinking about that phone call. The one he told us about. What if he was making that up?”

CHAPTER 13

An’gel nodded. “You’re right, Benjy. I’ve been thinking about that myself. We also have only his word that he was not in love with Callie, that he thought of her only as a friend, and not a lover.”

“If he’s not telling the truth in either case, I’m wondering why he would be lying,” Benjy said.

“To shift the blame completely to his brother, for one thing.” Dickce frowned. “It’s a little drafty here by the door. Let’s go back to the dining room and finish clearing the table. We can discuss Hadley while we do that.”

An’gel and Benjy followed her. When they reached the dining room, An’gel said, “We need to track down Mrs. Turnipseed. Even though she’ll be biased against Hadley, according to him, she still might be able to tell us something.”

“Especially about the last few days before Callie disappeared.” Dickce paused in stacking dessert plates on the tray. “I just thought of something. Wasn’t there another woman who worked for them? A housemaid, I seem to remember. Now, what was her name?”

“You’re right, there was a woman,” An’gel said. “I can’t remember her name at the moment, but I do remember that Callie was fond of her and thought she was a good worker. We’ll have to ask Clementine tomorrow if she can think of the woman’s name if it doesn’t come to one of us before then.”

“My memory simply isn’t what it was.” Dickce sighed. “I used to be able to remember people’s names and their faces.”

“We both did,” An’gel said. “No use complaining about it now. Let’s get all this to the kitchen and be done with it.”

They carried everything to the kitchen and set the dishes and cutlery in the sink. Benjy bade them good night.

“I need to let Peanut out for one last run before bedtime,” he said. “See you in the morning.” He gave them each a quick peck on the cheek before he left through the back door.

“He’s such a sweet boy,” Dickce said as she filled the sink with hot water to soak the dishes. “I worry about him, though. He needs friends his own age. Right now all he has is the two of us, Clementine, Peanut, and Endora.”