Миранда Джеймс - Digging Up The Dirt

“Why don’t you let each of us have a box to go through,” An’gel said. “Shouldn’t take us long to find what we’re after.”

Charlie gave them cotton gloves to put on. The gloves would protect the photographs from any oil or other residue on their fingers.

An’gel settled her box in her lap and cautiously began to go through the photographs. At first the process was awkward, but she quickly got used to the gloves. She had to resist the temptation to linger over certain pictures, especially those that brought back particular memories. She forced herself to focus.

Moments later, Dickce said, “I’ve found her.” She brandished a photograph. “Here’s Coriander Simpson.”

CHAPTER 29

“Let me see.” An’gel held out her hand for the photograph.

Dickce held on to it a moment longer, staring at the image, before yielding it to her sister.

An’gel let it lie flat on her palm as she examined it. The setting was the kitchen at Riverhill, and the subjects were two women, their housekeeper Clementine and another young woman whom An’gel recognized as Coriander Simpson. They stood together near the stove, smiling into the camera. Both women wore red in honor of the season, and Coriander stood a couple of inches shorter than Clementine.

“She was a lovely girl,” An’gel said. “She looks about twenty-five here.”

“I found another one,” Dickce said. “Here she is with Callie. Now that’s interesting.”

“What do you mean?” An’gel asked.

Dickce thrust the picture at her, and An’gel took it and laid it over the first one. Callie Partridge and Coriander Simpson stood together in conversation near the staircase at Riverhill. Each was in profile as she faced the other. What struck An’gel immediately was that they appeared to be the same height. Then, as she continued to examine the picture, she noticed that their hairstyles were similar. Callie was about the same age as Coriander, and they were both beautiful young women.

“I see what you mean.” An’gel looked up at Charlie, who was regarding her and Dickce with interest. “Is there a way we could have copies of these pictures?”

Charlie nodded. “I can scan them and email them to you.”

“Excellent,” An’gel said. “We’d appreciate it.” She handed him the two photographs.

“Here’s one more,” Dickce said. “Scan this one, too.” She gave the one she held to Charlie.

“What’s that one?” An’gel asked.

Charlie passed it to her, and An’gel examined it. The composition was almost exactly the same as the one she had just seen, of Callie and Coriander. In this photograph, they also stood in profile near the staircase, but now An’gel could see Hadley Partridge standing nearby, to the left of Coriander. He was gazing at the two women, and An’gel couldn’t decipher his expression or be sure which woman was the object of his focus. She gave the photograph back to Charlie to scan.

“If you’ll excuse me a few minutes, ladies,” Charlie said, “I’ll turn on the scanner and have these ready to email to you right away.” He nodded toward a machine that stood on a desk nearby. He walked over to it, sat down, and began to work.

“It’s odd how Hadley is looking at them, don’t you think?” An’gel said.

Dickce nodded. “I can’t quite figure out his expression, but it certainly seems intense.”

“We’ll have to ask him,” An’gel said. “I just wonder, though, if he’ll tell us the truth.”

“I think he was really in love with Callie despite what he told us,” Dickce said.

“You may be right,” An’gel said.

They waited in silence after that for Charlie to finish his work with the photographs. Diesel continued to nap quietly between their chairs.

“All done.” Charlie came back to them with the photographs, and Dickce replaced them in the box. “I’ve emailed them to both of you. The scanner is high resolution, so the pictures should be really clear for you, depending on your computer monitor or your phone screen.”

“Thank you, Charlie, we really appreciate your help,” Dickce said.

“I’m sorry we can’t go into more detail about why we want these pictures,” An’gel said.

Charlie grinned. “I’m betting they have something to do with the remains found at Ashton Hall.” He resumed his seat behind the desk and continued to grin at them.

“How on earth did you hear about that?” An’gel said. “It hasn’t even been in the local newspaper.”

Charlie pointed down at the floor, and An’gel looked at him, puzzled. Then the light dawned.

“Melba, you mean.” An’gel shook her head. “How that woman finds out everything that’s going on in Athena is beyond me.”

“She has a network that rivals the CIA,” Charlie said. “She told me about it this morning when I mentioned to her that you were coming to see me.”

“Maybe we should ask her if she knows who those remains belong to,” Dickce said in a jesting tone. “Wouldn’t surprise me if she does.”

“I do want to have a word with her,” An’gel said. “I guess we couldn’t expect the news not to spread. It simply amazes me, though, how quickly things get around.”

“I asked her how she found out about it,” Charlie said. “She told me she heard it from one of the ladies from the garden club. I think the name was Gross. Not anyone I know.”

“Barbie,” An’gel and Dickce said in unison. It didn’t surprise An’gel that Barbie was going around talking about the remains. She and Lottie always liked to have “tidbits” to share.

An’gel thanked Charlie again for his assistance, and they chatted a few more minutes with him. They also made sure to give Diesel attention, and he thanked them with more warbles.

On the way out of the building they stopped to speak for a moment with Melba.

“I ran into Barbie Gross at the grocery store,” Melba said in answer to An’gel’s question. “I hadn’t seen her in a while, and we talked for a few minutes. She told me about the discovery of those bones up at Ashton Hall.” Her eyes gleamed. “I’ll bet they’re all that’s left of that Mrs. Partridge. I remember my mama talking about how she just up and left her husband and went after his brother.”

Dickce started to speak, but An’gel laid a warning hand on her sister’s arm. Anything they told Melba would likely be all over town by nightfall unless they swore her to secrecy. Melba talked a lot but she did honor anything told to her in strictest confidence.

“That’s what everyone thought at the time,” An’gel said. “Now that Hadley is back, though, he says it didn’t happen. In fact, he seemed to be surprised when we told him that Callie went away soon after he did.”

“Guess that makes sense,” Melba said. “Especially if that was Mrs. Partridge in the ground. So who do you think killed her? Her husband? I’m betting it was him. Mama always said there was something a little odd about him.”

“It’s a possibility,” Dickce said. “But it’s up to the sheriff’s department to figure it out. First, though, they have to identify the remains.”

“If anyone can do it, Kanesha Berry can,” Melba said.

“Yes, you’re right about that,” An’gel said. “Well, Melba, we’ve enjoyed visiting with you, but Sister and I had better get going. You take care now.”

Melba bade them good-bye, and An’gel led the way out of the building and back to the car.

“At least we know what the woman on the street thinks about all this.” Dickce buckled her seat belt and then inserted the key in the ignition. “Where to next?”

An’gel didn’t respond right away, and Dickce had to ask her again.

“Sorry, I was thinking,” An’gel said. “I’ve had an idea. Why don’t I call Barbie and see if she’ll meet us for coffee and a pastry at Helen Louise’s bistro? I think we need to talk to her about Hadley and what she might have been up to with him forty years ago.”