Digging Up The Dirt

“What matter?” Barbie bit a chunk out of an oatmeal raisin cookie.

“Dickce and I have been thinking lately about getting someone to assist Clementine.” An’gel smiled before she went on mendaciously, “Actually, Clementine is hinting about retiring, and we thought we’d get someone in that she could train to take her place when she finally does leave.” She shot a warning glance at her sister and hoped that their guests didn’t notice.

“You certainly can’t have my housekeeper,” Barbie said. “I’d claw both your eyes out if you tried to hire her away from me.”

“You can’t have mine either.” Lottie sounded alarmed. She dropped a piece of cookie on the sofa and then snatched it up. “I wouldn’t know what to do without her.”

“You don’t need to get all upset,” Dickce said. “An’gel and I wouldn’t think of trying to hire your housekeepers away from you. We know how you depend on them.”

“We already have a couple of candidates in mind,” An’gel said, “but we don’t know if they’re still in the area. We wanted to see if you knew anything.”

“Who are they?” Barbie sipped from her coffee.

“They both used to work at Ashton Hall,” Dickce said.

“Good heavens,” Barbie said. “You’re not talking about that awful woman, Mrs. Turnipseed, are you? You wouldn’t want her.” She shook her head. “Besides, she’d have to be close to eighty by now.”

“Isn’t she still working at Ashton Hall?” Lottie asked. “She was there for nearly forever.”

“No, she left when Hamish died, apparently,” An’gel said. “I couldn’t remember how old she is, and if she’s that age, she probably wouldn’t want to work any longer.”

“Still, if we could talk to her, she might know what happened to that wonderful housemaid Callie had,” Dickce said. “Callie always seemed happy with her work, and if she’s around and in need of a job, she might fit the bill nicely.”

Barbie stared at her, then fixed her gaze on An’gel. “What’s going on here? First you want to talk to an eighty-year-old woman, then you want to talk to a woman who worked for Callie Partridge forty years ago? Come on, what’s the real story?”

An’gel shrugged. Barbie was shrewder than she’d thought, although Lottie looked slightly bewildered. An’gel decided to tell at least part of the truth. They hadn’t brought up the remains found at Ashton Hall, so they probably hadn’t heard about them yet.

“Now that Hadley’s back, and he says he has no idea what happened to Callie,” An’gel said, “we got to wondering what did happen to her. Dickce and I discussed it, and we decided that Mrs. Turnipseed and the housemaid—Coriander Simpson is her name, I’m pretty sure—might tell us what happened at Ashton Hall right after Hadley left.”

“They might be able to shed some light on why Callie ran away,” Dickce said.

“I for one am having a hard time believing Hadley when he says he wasn’t in love with Callie.” Barbie’s eyes narrowed. “They were close. I caught them with their heads together more than once at the country club and at parties. They always looked guilty, too. Something was going on between them.”

“You’re right,” Lottie said. “They spent an awful lot of time together, and Callie a married woman.” She sniffed.

“As I recall it, Hadley also spent a fair amount of time chasing after a number of different women.” An’gel stared hard at Barbie. “Word at the country club was that he caught more than a few of them. Some of them were even married at the time.”

“If you’re talking about me, An’gel Ducote, why don’t you come out and say it?” Barbie reached for another cookie.

“All right, I will, Barbara Gross,” An’gel replied. “There were plenty of rumors going around that you were one of Hadley’s conquests, and your husband was still in the picture back then.”

“I’ll admit I flirted with Hadley for all I was worth,” Barbie said. “But all I did was flirt. I loved my husband, but he was on the dull side and got duller every day he aged. Hadley was never dull. He also never got me into bed, although he tried.”

“What about you, Lottie?” Dickce asked. “There were stories about you and Hadley as well.”

Lottie blushed. “My husband and I hadn’t been married long back then, and he was gone half the time on business. I got a bit lonely, and when Hadley paid me attention, I couldn’t help but respond.”

“You never told me that,” Barbie said.

“We weren’t good friends then like we are now,” Lottie said. “Now I tell you everything. But don’t start thinking Hadley got me into bed, either, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. My husband would have killed both of us if he’d thought I cheated on him.”

An’gel said wryly, “Hadley flirted with every woman in a two-hundred-mile radius.”

“Including the two of you,” Barbie said with a hint of rancor.

“Yes, including us.” Dickce smiled. “Hadley is mighty good at it. But flirting was as far he got with either of us.”

An’gel heard the front door open. Then Benjy’s voice saying, “Please come in. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you.”