Laura Childs: Dragonwell Dead

Then she trudged slowly across the rolling lawn, damp with evening dew, toward the twinkling lights of Miss Maybelle Chase’s plantation house.

Miss Maybelle Chase turned out to be a real peach. She wrapped Theodosia in a warm blanket and gave her a pair of cozy terry-cloth slippers to wear. Then she got on the phone and called Sheriff Billings, and located Drayton at the Heritage Society.

One of the firemen who’d come screaming up in a rescue squad, had gently led Theodosia into the kitchen where he’d applied antiseptic to her head wound and put a clean white bandage on it. He’d checked her blood pressure, pronounced it okay.

When she came limping back into Miss Maybelle’s antique-filled parlor, Theodosia was surprised to see Sheriff Billings, Drayton, Haley, and Parker peering at her nervously.

And of course they all shouted questions at once.

“Are you hurt?” asked Haley.

“Do you need anything?” Drayton wanted to know.

“How did you get away?” asked Sheriff Billings.

“Sweetheart,” moaned Parker Scully.

Theodosia had a few questions of her own.

“Where’s Bobby Wayne?” she demanded of the sheriff.

“Don’t you worry about him,” said Sheriff Billings. “My deputies pulled him out of that cistern and carted him off to jail.”

“He tried to kill me,” said Theodosia. Her knees were still shaking.

“We know that, ma’am,” said Sheriff Billings. “Do you feel well enough to tell us exactly what happened?”

“Shouldn’t she go to the hospital first?” asked Drayton. “Get a CAT scan or something?”

“Absolutely she should,” agreed Parker.

“Wait a minute,” said a still subdued Theodosia. “How did you guys even know I was missing?”

Drayton gave a slight chuckle. “Bill Glass saw you slip away with Bobby Wayne. He assumed you two were romantically involved.”

Theodosia rolled her eyes. “I think Glass is the one in need of a CAT scan.”

“Then Delaine started hunting around for Bobby Wayne,” said Haley. “Acting more and more crazy when she couldn’t find him.”

“Which is when we all got worried,” added Parker.

“And then when Miss Maybelle called the Heritage Society,” said Drayton. “Well . . . we weren’t sure what was going on!”

Theodosia held up a hand. “Please, I’d like to tell you all about the night I’ve had.”

She explained how Bobby Wayne had lured her with his story about the ring. Told how she’d been hit with a shovel and tossed in his trunk. How she’d escaped the fire and crawled through the tunnel. How she’d ended up in the hedge maze.

They were astounded to say the least.

“You’re so brave,” said Haley, clutching for her hand.

“Amazing story,” whispered Drayton while Parker fixed her with an admiring stare.

Sheriff Billings just shook his head.

“Does Delaine know about Bobby Wayne?” asked Theodosia.

“I’ll be speaking with her personally,” said Sheriff Billings.

“It’s just going to kill her,” said Haley. “Being hood-winked like that.”

“But think what Bobby Wayne did to Theodosia,” sputtered Drayton. “Besides, he wasn’t really going to ask Delaine to marry him. That was just a ruse to get Theodosia off by herself.”

“From what you’ve told me,” said Sheriff Billings addressing Theodosia, “I’m fairly certain Bobby Wayne planted that fire accelerant in Fayne Hamilton’s garage. To, you know, implicate her in the fire and supposedly the murder.”

“Because Fayne was in love with Mark,” mused Theodosia.

“Probably more like infatuated,” said Drayton.

“But when Bobby Wayne found out that you’d called Detective Tidwell about the Bahamian company, he obviously panicked,” said Haley.

“Right,” said Parker. “Because there probably isn’t any such company.”

“But Mark was going there . . .” protested Theodosia. “He’d bought a plane ticket.”

“I just got off the phone with Tidwell no more than ten minutes ago,” said Sheriff Billings. “If Mark had actually gone to the Bahamas, he would have found a big fat nothing. According to Tidwell there are no Bahamian futures commission merchants.”

“So Bobby Wayne was in a panic because of my call to Tidwell,” said Theodosia, gazing at Sheriff Billings. “I didn’t mean to step on your toes.”

“Step away.” He laughed. “By doing so, you forced Bobby Wayne’s hand so to speak. Smoked him out.”

Drayton shook his head. “Bobby Wayne probably figured that since Harlan Noble and Leah Shalimar were suspects—and both docents at Carthage Place—he could implicate them by bringing you out here and dumping your body.”

Theodosia thought for a moment. “But Harlan Noble was at the orchid show.”

“Not for long,” said Drayton. “Harlan stormed out in protest over my entry.”

“Really?” said Theodosia.

“And Leah wasn’t there at all,” added Haley. “So probably Bobby Wayne figured that since both of them were suspects, either one could have kidnapped and dragged you out here.”

“Okay,” said Theodosia, still digesting all this. “Did Leah Shalimar know about the bogus company in the Bahamas?”

“Doubtful,” said Sheriff Billings.

“Leah knew sales,” said Drayton. “She told me herself that she’d sold Jaguars and Mercedes and before that time-share condos. She bragged that she could sell ice to Eskimos. My guess is, you tell Leah to sell, she’ll sell. But no way is she a financial genius.”

“But Mark Congdon was,” said Theodosia.

“Yes,” said Sheriff Billings. “Mark knew his business. Which is why he was suspicious. And had probably launched his own investigation. He must have suspected that Bobby Wayne was involved in something nefarious.”

“But Bobby Wayne got to him first,” said Theodosia.

“Killed him and then burned down the Featherbed House.”

“He must have thought Mark Congdon had serious evidence on him,” said Sheriff Billings. He sighed, fingered the brim of his Smokey Bear hat. “If there’s any upside to this at all, it’s that your friend is in the clear and she’ll soon have a pile of insurance money to help her rebuild.”

“Still,” said Drayton, “a very sad state of affairs.” He stared at Theodosia with sorrowful eyes.

“Drayton,” said Theodosia suddenly. She pulled herself upright, put a hand to her head. “I forgot all about Orchid Lights. Did your monkey-face orchid win a blue ribbon?”

Drayton crossed his arms, tucked in his chin, and shook his head solemnly.

“Oh, I’m sorry . . .” began Theodosia.

Then Drayton’s hand dipped inside his jacket pocket and he withdrew a bright purple ribbon that fluttered from a giant purple rosette.

“Drayton!” squealed Theodosia.

A grin split his lined face as he handed the ribbon to Theodosia. “A purple ribbon,” he told her. “Judge’s Special Award of Merit.”

“I knew it,” said Theodosia, grinning at him.

“It was the moss goobers, as you so aptly named them,” said Drayton. “And that marvelous bell jar Charlie came up with. The judges said they were bowled over by the creativity of the display.”

“There’s that thinking outside the box thing,” quipped Haley. “Or is it thinking inside the jar?”

“I’m so happy for you,” Theodosia told Drayton.

“We better get you to an emergency room,” broke in Parker, looking more than a little concerned. “Get your poor head X-rayed, CAT scanned, and stitched if need be.”

“I really am feeling a lot better,” said Theodosia. And she was. Surrounded by dear friends, her ordeal over, she felt warm, secure, and much loved.