Миранда Джеймс - Digging Up The Dirt

She could see that An’gel was fairly bouncing with impatience on the sofa when she ended the call and tucked the phone back into her skirt pocket.

“Well?” An’gel said.

Dickce smiled. “He’s such a clever young man. He found a lead on Coriander Simpson.”

“Don’t just sit there grinning,” An’gel said when her sister failed to continue. “Give me the details.”

“Benjy figured that Coriander Simpson was probably a unique name, and he was right,” Dickce said. “He searched genealogical databases for birth records and so on, and he found one for her. Of course it had her parents’ names listed, too. Then he looked at census records and some kind of online phone directory and found the address in Memphis where she grew up. He thinks her family still lives there.”

“Did he find any other record of her?” An’gel asked. “Like a death or marriage record?”

Dickce shook her head. “Not that he said. I’m sure he would have mentioned it if he had. He’s going to do a bit more research before he comes home.”

“Call him back,” An’gel said. “I think we need to act on this right now.”

“What do you mean?” Dickce pulled her phone back out.

“I think we need to go to Memphis this afternoon. We can be there in less than ninety minutes.”

“We can go to the address Benjy found and talk to whomever we find there,” Dickce said. “Good idea. Wait a minute, though. What about Hadley? You were really determined to talk to him a few minutes ago.”

An’gel frowned. “Yes, I do think it’s important to pin him down.” She thought for a moment. “Why don’t you go talk to Hadley this afternoon? I’ll go to Memphis and track down Coriander Simpson’s family.”

“No,” Dickce said. “I have a better idea. You go talk to Hadley, since he’s more likely to talk to you. You being a former flame of his and all.” She grinned. The opportunity to needle An’gel was too good to pass up. “Benjy and I will go to Memphis and find the Simpsons.”

For a moment Dickce thought An’gel was going to have one of her occasional temper fits. She did that sometimes when she didn’t get her way. Evidently she thought better of it this time, though. After a brief hesitation, An’gel nodded. “All right. I’ll talk to Hadley. You go to Memphis.”

Dickce called Benjy and informed him of the change in plans. “He’ll be home in about twenty minutes,” she informed An’gel.

“Excellent.” An’gel stood. “I’ll go tell Clementine. We can all have lunch in the kitchen, and then you and Benjy can be on your way to Memphis.”

Dickce watched her sister’s retreating form and smiled. She was excited at the thought of the trip to Memphis. Usually when she and An’gel went someplace together, An’gel tended to take over, and Dickce ended up playing second fiddle. Not this time, though. Dickce loved her older sister, but she also appreciated an opportunity to accomplish a task without An’gel.

She thought for a moment about An’gel and Hadley. She knew there was a story there somewhere, but she didn’t know exactly how far the flirtation between her sister and Hadley had gone. She understood why An’gel was reluctant to share details. They both had secrets of their own. Dickce smiled fondly whenever she thought of a certain young British aristocrat whose family she and An’gel had met nearly fifty years ago on an extended visit to England. Had she wanted to spend the rest of her life in England, Dickce had no doubt she could have married Nigel. She simply couldn’t see herself as the lady of an English manor and a countess to boot. She preferred Riverhill to Nigel’s drafty, moldering pile in Lancashire.

So let An’gel keep her memories of Hadley to herself. Dickce had never told An’gel all the details about Nigel. Dickce’s smile broadened as she rose and followed her sister to the kitchen.

An hour later, Dickce and Benjy were on the road to Memphis, accompanied by Peanut and Endora, safely anchored in the backseat of Benjy’s car. He had insisted on driving, and Dickce didn’t argue. They wouldn’t arrive in Memphis as soon, but Benjy could use the experience of driving on the interstate highway and in a large city.

An’gel had objected to their taking the dog and the cat with them, but Dickce had disagreed. “We can’t leave them for Clementine to babysit all the time,” she pointed out reasonably. “She has other things to do, and I don’t imagine she wants Peanut and Endora helping her. Nor would she want to coop them up in one part of the house while she’s working in another.”

When Clementine agreed, tactfully but firmly, An’gel ceased her protests. Peanut and Endora came along for the adventure.

As they sped north on the interstate, Benjy kept his attention focused on his driving. Dickce wished he would drive faster, but he set the cruise control on the speed limit, and that was that.

“What should our strategy be?” Benjy asked. “Are we going to show up on their doorstep and start asking questions?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Dickce said. “Once we get to Memphis we can look for somewhere to stop near their neighborhood and call them. You put the address in the GPS, didn’t you?”

Benjy nodded. “We shouldn’t have any trouble finding the address. What are we going to say is the reason we’re looking for Coriander Simpson?”

“That’s the tricky part,” Dickce said. “She could actually be living there now, though I think that would be too big a coincidence. I don’t think it’s going to be that easy to find her.”

“You never know,” Benjy said. “She may have no idea anyone from Athena is interested in her whereabouts.”

“Maybe,” Dickce said. “We’ll have to see. Now, as to what we will tell her family.” She thought for a moment. “We could tell her that Hamish Partridge had left her a small legacy, and we are helping his lawyer track her down.”

Benjy shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Peanut woofed, and Benjy and Dickce laughed. “I guess Peanut agrees with me.”

“He usually takes your side.” Dickce laughed again. “Why don’t you think it’s a good idea?”

“There’s no legacy, as far as we know. We’re making it up. If we do manage to find her, she’s going to be upset when she discovers we were lying about the inheritance.”

“Good point.” Dickce sighed. “What do you think we should tell them?”

Benjy didn’t respond until he had safely passed a slower-moving vehicle in front of them. Once the car was back in the right lane, he said, “Why don’t we simply tell them that Hadley Partridge came home after his brother died, and he is concerned about his sister-in-law’s whereabouts. We want to talk to Coriander Simpson to see whether she can tell us anything about that.”

“That’s what we should do,” Dickce said. “I should have thought of that, instead of trying to come up with a more convoluted reason. Maybe I’m not as good at being Nancy Drew as I thought.”

Benjy flashed her a grin and then returned his attention to the road ahead. “No one is as good at being Nancy Drew as Nancy was. No one else is as perfect.”

Dickce chuckled. “I guess you’re right. Still, good for you for coming up with the best plan.” Peanut woofed again, and Dickce laughed along with Benjy.

Thirty minutes later they approached the outskirts of Memphis. Their destination was in the southeastern part of the city. They found a park a few blocks from the Simpson residence, and Benjy pulled the car up to the curb. “I’m going to take Peanut for a short walk,” he said. “Just in case. You can call while I do that.”

“Okay,” Dickce said. “No, Endora, you have to stay with me.”