Digging Up The Dirt

He shrugged. “Who remembers what kind of car another person had forty years ago? I barely remember my own. I sold it in Memphis before I left for New York, but that’s neither here nor there.” He paused. “It sounds like a sedan, of course, and everybody was driving one back then. Reba was, and I’m pretty sure both Barbie and Lottie were, too. The color I have no idea about.”

“That’s not so sinister in itself,” An’gel said after a moment’s reflection. “Visitors came to Ashton Hall regularly, didn’t they?”

“Not all that often, no,” Coriander said. “Hamish didn’t like company all that much. In fact, he used to complain to Hadley about the women who would show up here unannounced. Didn’t he?”

“Yes,” Hadley said. “I didn’t encourage them to come here, they simply showed up. I tried to explain that to Hamish, but he didn’t believe me.”

“It’s a fatal attraction you seem to have,” An’gel murmured, “at least for some women.” She shook her head before she focused on Coriander. “What about the few days after Hadley left and before you went to join him? Were there any unexpected visitors?”

“I’ll have to think about that for a minute,” Coriander said. “The more I’m trying to recall things from then, though, the easier it seems to be getting. Yes, I’m pretty sure that both Reba Dalrymple and Lottie MacLeod turned up, looking for Hadley. They both insisted he’d failed to keep a date with them, but I thought they were both lying. They had made it up as an excuse to see him.”

“Did you talk to them yourself?” An’gel asked.

Coriander shook her head. “No, Callie did, although she told me about it.”

“Did she know that you and Hadley planned to run away together?” Dickce asked.

“Yes, we told her,” Hadley said.

“How did she take the news?” An’gel said.

Coriander looked troubled. “She was heartbroken, even though she knew it was for the best. I knew she was in love with Hadley, but she knew he didn’t return her feelings. She was talking about going away herself, at least for a little while, to sort things out.”

“Did she tell anyone else that?” An’gel asked.

“She might have,” Coriander said. “She was pretty low right after Hadley left. She might have told someone she was going away for a while.”

“If she did, that person might have assumed she was going to join Hadley,” Dickce said. “What story did Hamish and Callie give about Hadley leaving?”

“Not anything, really, other than that he was on an extended trip,” Coriander said. “Neither one of them wanted to say that he wasn’t planning to come back. Hamish thought he left because of Callie, and in a way he did, I suppose. I wasn’t going to tell him, and Hadley certainly didn’t, that it was because of me.”

“And almost everyone in town thought Hadley did leave because of Callie,” An’gel said. “I’m sure that Callie’s murderer thought that, too, and blamed her for Hadley’s going away.”

“You mean to tell me someone murdered Callie because I left town and they thought she was the reason?” Hadley asked.

“I do,” An’gel said. “Now we simply have to figure out who it was.” Before she could elaborate further, she heard her cell phone ringing. “Excuse me, I need to check this.” She pulled it out of her purse and glanced at the screen. Kanesha Berry’s name came up.

“Hello, Kanesha,” An’gel said. “Any news?”

“Yes,” Kanesha replied. “We found Mrs. Turnipseed and her car. She was dead inside, and the car’s front end was damaged. I think she was the one who tried to run you off the road.”

CHAPTER 33

“Oh, my heavens,” An’gel said. “That’s terrible. I was hoping she was still alive. Are you sure she’s the one who tried to run me off the road?”

“Reasonably sure,” Kanesha replied. “We can’t say for certain until we can test and match the paint samples we found on your car and hers. I’m pretty confident, though, that we’ve found the right car.”

“Where did you find her?” An’gel asked. She could see that the others were curious but she wanted to get all the details she could from Kanesha before she shared them.

“In her own garage,” Kanesha said. “We’re not exactly sure when she returned, or how she got by us, but a neighbor on the street behind her reported seeing lights around one o’clock this morning. We didn’t hear about this until a couple of hours ago, however.”

“How strange,” An’gel said. “Do you know yet how she died?”

“We’re pretty sure she was knocked unconscious and then strangled,” Kanesha replied. “I’m hoping the witness who saw the lights can tell us something more that will give us a lead on who’s responsible.”

“I hope they can, too,” An’gel said. “In the meantime, though, I think you really need to come out to Ashton Hall. There’s new information that could help.”

“Such as?” Kanesha said, her tone sharp.

“We found Coriander Simpson, for one,” An’gel said. “Now, I know you’re probably going to be aggravated we didn’t tell you sooner, but the story is a bit complicated. If you can come out here now, we can tell you everything. Coriander is here with us now. She’s actually Hadley Partridge’s wife.”