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“An excellent question, darling,” Reba said. “Yes, just how did they find the remains? You never told us that part.”

“And how you came to be there when it happened,” Barbie added.

“I told you that already,” Dickce said. “Hadley asked us over to consult on the garden.”

“Hadley had pictures of the gardens from when his mother was still living, and he wanted us—well, me, actually—to help him identify plants. We were discussing roses, I believe, when Benjy came in with Peanut to tell us there was something Hadley needed to see right away.” An’gel glanced at Dickce.

“Yes, that’s right,” Dickce said. “We went out with Benjy to the side of the house where an old tree had come down. Hadley said the tree was dying, and the storm uprooted it. There, in the disturbed ground near it, was where we saw the remains.”

“They weren’t actually under the tree?” Barbie asked.

“No, I don’t believe so. They were in the ground near the trunk, however,” An’gel replied.

“Did Native Americans place burials beside trees? Do any of you know?” Barbie asked. “I think I’ll go to the library and look that up.” She stood. “Come on, Lottie, we don’t want to outstay our welcome.”

“Goodness, no,” Lottie said as she popped up from the sofa. “Thank you for the coffee and those delicious cookies, An’gel, Dickce.”

Nice words considering you showed up at the door without letting us know you were coming. Dickce smiled as she and An’gel rose to see their guests out. She saw An’gel look pointedly at Reba.

“Come along, Martin,” Reba said. “We’d better be going, too. I’m sure An’gel and Dickce have things to do.” She waited until Martin approached her and held out a hand to assist her before she rose from the sofa. “I’m sure we’ll all be talking more about this in the days to come.”

“No doubt,” Dickce murmured as she trailed behind the group headed for the front door, preceded by An’gel.

The moment the door closed behind the visitors, An’gel turned to Dickce. “Thank the Lord they’re gone. I couldn’t believe they all showed up on our doorstep like that without even calling first.”

“Curiosity is more powerful than good manners, I reckon.” Dickce shrugged. “They probably realized that if they had called first, we would have told them we were too busy.”

“We certainly would have,” An’gel said. “Now that they’re gone, I am moving ahead with my plan. I need to talk to Kanesha.”

Dickce was struck by a sudden thought. “I wonder why Arliss didn’t show up. Since the others did, I’m surprised she didn’t pop in, too.”

“Perhaps she hasn’t heard about the discovery at Ashton Hall,” An’gel said. “Nor the ghost at Sarinda’s place. Interesting that Barbie and Lottie didn’t bring that up after Reba arrived.”

“Reba didn’t exactly give them much chance,” Dickce said. “By then they were probably more interested in hearing about the remains and speculating on whose they are.”

“True,” An’gel said. “I wonder if the police have checked Sarinda’s house yet. Perhaps Kanesha will know. I’m going to call her right now.” She walked back into the parlor to use the phone.

Dickce stood where she was, lost in thought. An idea had occurred to her, and she wondered for a moment why neither she nor An’gel had thought of it before. While An’gel talked to Kanesha, Dickce went to look for Benjy. He was just the person to carry out her idea.

CHAPTER 16

An’gel debated whether to call Kanesha’s cell phone. She preferred not to unless there was an emergency, and she couldn’t justify wanting to poke her nose into the investigation as an emergency.

Instead she punched in the number for the sheriff’s department. “Good morning, this is An’gel Ducote. Could I speak to Chief Deputy Berry if she’s available?” She was put on hold for a moment, and then the receptionist came back on the line to inform her that the chief deputy was not available at the moment. An’gel declined to leave a message and ended the call.

Now what to do? She could get her own cell phone and send Kanesha a text message, although she rarely used that feature and felt awkward when she did. After debating with herself for a moment longer, she decided she might as well send a text. Where was her cell phone?

After several minutes of an increasingly annoying search, An’gel found the phone on the dressing table in her bedroom. She picked it up and hunted for the icon for messaging, and after a couple of false starts, she got to the right place and managed to send Kanesha a brief request to give her a call when she could.

She took the phone downstairs with her, hoping to hear from the deputy soon. In the meantime, she wanted to discuss strategy with Dickce. An’gel didn’t find her sister in the parlor or in any of the nearby rooms. She headed to the kitchen where she found Clementine busy with preparations for lunch.

“Smells wonderful,” An’gel said as she caught a whiff from the pot of meat sauce the housekeeper was stirring on the stove. “Pasta for lunch, then.”