Digging Up The Dirt

An’gel answered the call. She barely had time to say hello before Hadley launched into speech.

“An’gel, thanks for calling, but I’m about to head to the hospital,” he said.

“Obviously you already know about Arliss,” An’gel said. “I guess Barbie Gross called you.”

“No,” Hadley said. “The hospital called my cell phone. Evidently Arliss had me listed as an emergency contact. Look, I really need to get to the hospital.”

“Be careful,” An’gel said. “Call and let us know if there’s anything we can do.”

“Sure.” Hadley ended the call.

An’gel replaced the handset. “That was peculiar.”

“What are you talking about?” Dickce asked. “What did Hadley say?”

An’gel shared Hadley’s part of the conversation with her sister. When An’gel finished, Dickce shook her head.

“Why would Arliss have him listed as her emergency contact? She has a cousin in town, and a sister in Jackson. That’s strange. He hasn’t been back in town that long.”

“They must have struck up a relationship almost immediately,” An’gel said. “Or else Arliss was jumping the gun. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.”

“Maybe,” Dickce said. “Did he sound really upset?”

An’gel nodded. “Maybe he’s closer to her than we realized.”

“You didn’t get to ask him whether Arliss had been with him at Ashton Hall tonight,” Dickce said. “I suppose we’ll find that out tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m going back to bed.”

“Me, too.” An’gel followed her sister out of the kitchen and back up to the second floor.

“Good night again,” Dickce said.

“Good night.” An’gel closed her bedroom door behind her. She removed her robe and laid it across the foot of the bed. Then she climbed in and got comfortable before she reached over to turn out the light.

She lay there awhile, her mind too busy to let her relax into sleep right away. She worried that Arliss’s accident was not an accident, but a deliberate attempt on the woman’s life. An’gel found the coincidence of this event too great after the deliberate—and successful—attempt on Sarinda’s life.

What was behind all of it? She worried over that until, at last, she fell asleep from exhaustion.

An’gel and Dickce were on their way to the hospital a few minutes before eight that morning. About a half mile past the driveway to Ashton Hall they saw the place where Arliss’s car had evidently gone into the ditch. To judge by the deep gouges in the turf, An’gel thought, the wreck had been horrendous. She uttered another quick prayer for Arliss.

“She went off the road less than a minute after she turned onto the highway,” Dickce said.

“Yes, and that strikes me as odd,” An’gel said. “This stretch of road is perfectly straight for nearly a mile here. What made her run off the road?”

“A deer maybe?” Dickce tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

“Maybe,” An’gel said.

They found Hadley, looking exhausted and hollow-eyed, asleep in the waiting room near the ICU. They hesitated to wake him, but Barbie Gross and Lottie MacLeod entered the room only moments behind them. Lottie went straight to him and shook him awake before anyone could stop her.

Hadley sat up and yawned. He rubbed his face, and after a moment he focused on them. “Good morning,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Poor man, you’ve been here all night, haven’t you?” Barbie sat down on one side of him, Lottie on the other. Barbie patted his leg, and Lottie stroked his shoulder.

Hadley looked at Barbie and Lottie in turn before he stood up and walked a couple of feet away. He turned and gazed at An’gel and Dickce. “It’s been a hellish night.”

“How is she?” An’gel asked. She and Dickce seated themselves near him.

“Holding her own.” Hadley rubbed a hand across his eyes. “Lord, I need coffee and a hot shower.” He yawned. “Sorry. I told the doctor and the nurses that I’m her stepbrother, otherwise I was afraid they wouldn’t tell me anything.”

“Has anyone called her sister in Jackson?” Barbie asked.

“I did,” Hadley said. “She’s on her way. She ought to be here any minute now.”

“Does the doctor think she’ll make it?” Lottie asked.

“It’s touch and go,” Hadley said. “She has multiple broken bones, and she hasn’t regained consciousness yet.” He glanced at his watch. “At least, not that I’ve heard. Last time I talked to a doctor was about two o’clock.”

“I’m going to get you some coffee,” Barbie said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She left the waiting room. Hadley called his thanks belatedly after her.

“Do you have any idea when the accident happened?” An’gel asked.

“Must have been shortly after ten thirty,” Hadley said. “We had dinner at Ashton Hall, and then we watched a movie. She left right about ten thirty.” He shuddered. “It must have happened within five minutes or so after she left, and I think she was lying there in the wreckage for a good half hour before someone saw it and reported it.”

“Thank the Lord someone did see it and called 911,” Lottie said. “Poor Arliss. It’s a wonder she didn’t die on the spot.”

“Did she hit a deer?” Dickce asked.

Hadley shook his head. “Not that I know of.”