The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose

“Getting the locks changed!” Verna wailed. “Oh, no! I can’t believe it! That means I can’t get into the office! I won’t be able to get a look at the books!”


Lizzy couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief. But she only said, “Oh, that’s too bad, Verna.”

But Verna wasn’t giving up so easily. After a moment, she said, “Both Melba Jean and Ruthie owe me. Maybe I can get one of them to loan me her key so I can copy it.”

Myra May shook her head. “That won’t work, either, I’m afraid. Mr. Scroggins told Coretta that she’s supposed to unlock the office in the morning and lock it up in the evening. He doesn’t trust either of the women who work there. He says one of them has been carrying tales to the newspaper.” She wrinkled her nose. “Girls, he called them,” she said disgustedly. “I hate it when men call grown women girls.”

“Carrying tales to the newspaper?” Lizzy asked. She considered. “I’ve always wondered how Charlie Dickens managed to find out so much about what was going on in the county treasurer’s office. It does seem that he’d have to have an inside source.”

Verna bit her lip. “Well, I know I can’t get the new key from Coretta. If I even so much as hinted at it, she’d run straight to Mr. Scroggins and tell him. You can’t trust that woman any further than you can throw her.”

“I have to agree, Verna,” Lizzy said ruefully. “Coretta definitely isn’t the most reliable person in the world. In my experience, she can’t keep a secret for more than about thirty seconds.” She qualified her statement. “At least, that’s the way she behaved when we were in school together. But that’s been a few years ago. Maybe she’s changed.”

“I don’t know about keeping a secret,” Myra May replied, looking serious. “But if I were Mr. Scroggins, I wouldn’t depend on her to run my office. I don’t understand why he’s willing to put so much trust in her.” She paused, lifting her shoulders and letting them fall. “Well, I guess I’ve told you everything that Violet and I were able to learn. The question is, what’s next?”

There was a silence. Verna looked down at her hands and twisted them in her lap. “I was banking on being able to get into the office and start my own investigation. But now that’s impossible.” She sighed heavily. “To tell the truth, I don’t . . . well, I don’t know what to do next.”

It was unusual, Lizzy thought, for her friend to say anything like I don’t know. Verna always had the answer to everything. But what could they do?

Myra May had mentioned that the auditor was mailing a report from the state office. “It’s too bad we can’t get our hands on that auditor’s report,” she mused. “It might have something we could go on. A hint as to where the money went, for instance. Maybe we could ask Melba Jean or Ruthie to see if they could get it for us?”

“Maybe,” Myra May agreed. “As long as they don’t tell Mr. Scroggins.”

Verna shook her head. “They wouldn’t do it,” she said gloomily. “They’d be too afraid of getting fired. Anyway, I wouldn’t trust them to keep their lips buttoned. Both of them talk too much.”

Lizzy picked up a pencil and began to doodle on her desk blotter. What would Mr. Moseley do if he were here right now? She drew a question mark, then drew a circle around it. If Verna were his client, how would he advise her?

Verna straightened her shoulders. “Well, I’ll tell you one thing I am not going to do,” she said determinedly. “I am not going home and wait for somebody to knock on my door and accuse me of taking fifteen thousand dollars.”

“You mean, you’re going to hide out?” Myra May asked, puzzled. “But where?”

“I don’t have any idea.” Verna’s shoulders slumped again. “To tell the truth, Myra May, I am totally frazzled. I haven’t had any sleep for two nights, worrying about this. I had a plan—a really swell plan for conducting my own investigation—but now I can’t get into the office. I don’t know what’s next.”

Lizzy had to admit that she had no idea what Mr. Moseley would advise Verna. But all of a sudden, she knew what she should do. She put the pencil down and stood up behind her desk, taking charge of the situation.

“Myra May,” she said, “I’m afraid that you and Violet already know way too much about this situation. Too much for your own good, I mean. We don’t want anybody else getting into trouble over this. So it’s better if you don’t know where Verna is going or what she’s going to do. That way, if anybody comes around asking where she is, you can tell them you have no idea.”

“Wait a minute,” Verna put in. “Where am I going? What am I going to do?”