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Mrs. Simpson nodded. “Yes, that’s right. She worked for Miss Callie’s family here in Memphis before she married and moved down there. She wanted Coriander to come with her.”

“That’s what I’d heard,” Dickce said. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, though, that Mrs. Partridge disappeared forty years ago. Her husband died recently, and his brother has come back to Athena to take care of the estate. He didn’t realize his sister-in-law was gone. We all thought, frankly, she had run away with him when he left Athena because she disappeared not long after he left.”

“I didn’t know all that,” Mrs. Simpson said. “That don’t sound like Miss Callie, though, running off after a man.” She frowned. “But Coriander can’t help you about that. She died a long time ago.”

CHAPTER 24

An’gel hadn’t wanted to argue with Dickce over who went to Memphis and who talked to Hadley. An’gel wasn’t eager to tackle Hadley on her own, but she knew if she insisted that her sister do it instead, Dickce would press her hard for a reason. An’gel found it easier to give in to Dickce’s plan.

As she drove the short distance to Ashton Hall, An’gel felt apprehensive on two counts. The first was the weather. The sky had begun to darken to the west not long after Dickce and Benjy departed, and An’gel feared another storm was moving in. She prayed her sister, Benjy, and the two pets would be safe at home before anything nasty threatened.

An’gel also felt nervous about her ability to wring the truth from Hadley. She knew all too well how good he was at evading any subject he didn’t want to discuss. She was determined that today, however, he would answer her questions.

To her great annoyance she discovered that she was not the only visitor to Ashton Hall this afternoon. She recognized the two cars already parked near the front of the house. One car belonged to Lottie MacLeod, and An’gel reckoned that if Lottie was here, so was Barbie. The two women seemed to go everywhere together. The second car was Reba Dalrymple’s, and An’gel figured Martin would have accompanied his mother. Reba rarely went anywhere without her son in attendance.

An’gel parked next to Lottie. After a glance at the sky she dug out an umbrella from the backseat to take with her. She rang the doorbell and waited.

And waited. She glared at the door. She rang the bell, longer and more insistently this time. Where was Hadley’s housekeeper?

She was about to ring the bell again when the door opened to reveal Hadley, looking more than a bit harried and disheveled.

“Thank the Lord you’re here, An’gel.” Hadley drew her in and bestowed a kiss on her cheek. “They’re driving me crazy. Maybe you can help me get them out of the house.”

“What on earth is going on?” An’gel asked as she followed her host down the hall. “Why are they all here?”

“They just showed up.” Hadley spoke over his shoulder. “When I was growing up, people always called before they appeared on your doorstep. Apparently that’s too old-fashioned for this group.”

Why had they all come? An’gel wondered.

“At least they brought news from the hospital,” Hadley said. “Arliss is still in a coma but she’s stable. Some small progress.” He opened the door to his late father’s library and motioned for An’gel to precede him.

Four faces regarded her as she approached the center of the room. “Goodness,” she said. “I had no idea you’d all be here when I made an appointment earlier in the day to call on Hadley this afternoon.” She hoped they noticed the slight stress she laid on the word appointment.

“We simply invited ourselves.” Lottie giggled. “We were sure Hadley wouldn’t mind. We’ve all been dying to see the inside of Ashton Hall since he came back.”

“I thought you said you visited Hamish frequently in his last months.” An’gel found an empty chair near Lottie. “Surely you already knew what it looked like here.”

Lottie sniffed. “Hamish had let things go pretty badly. I was sure Hadley would have everything cleaned up. I tried to get Hamish to let me find him another housekeeper, but he insisted that nasty Mrs. Turnipseed was just fine.”

“I was about to go to the kitchen for drinks for everyone,” Hadley said. “An’gel, what would you like?”

“Whatever everyone else is having is fine with me,” An’gel said. She wondered why the housekeeper wasn’t taking care of the drink situation.

Almost as if he had read her mind, Hadley said in an apologetic tone, “The beverage of choice seems to be coffee, and I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with my attempts at using the coffeemaker. My housekeeper has come down with some kind of bug, and so I’m looking after myself temporarily.”

“I’d be delighted to help,” Barbie said crossly. “I told you I’m very good at making coffee.”

“I appreciate your offer,” Hadley said. “But I’ll manage. I’m not going to put my guests to work. My mother would be spinning in her grave at the very thought.” He flashed a brief smile. “I’ll be back soon.” He headed out the door.