The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree

“There’s more,” Lizzy said. “Tell them, Verna.”


“There was a jewelry box in the drawer of her dressing table,” Verna said. “Really pretty, with little bits of colored mosaics and mother-of-pearl.” The box was in her purse at this very moment, but she didn’t want to show it to them. She had told Lizzy about the earrings, but she hadn’t confessed to taking them. That was too much like theft. And now that she had them, she couldn’t think how to put them back.

“Tell them what was in the box,” Lizzy urged.

“Pearl earrings,” Verna said. “Large pearls. From Ettlinger’s.”

“Oh, my!” Ophelia breathed, wide-eyed. “I love pearls. Do you suppose they’re real?”

Myra May laughed. “Honey chile, if she bought them at Ettlinger’s, they’re real. That’s the fanciest jewelry store in Mobile.”

“Who says she bought them?” Lizzy asked wryly.

“Lizzy’s right,” Verna said. “Girls as pretty as Bunny don’t buy jewelry for themselves.”

“Well, then, who?” Myra May was puzzled. “None of the single guys in this town have that kind of money.” She shook her head. “I mean, think about it, girls. Do you know any men in Darling who could give Bunny something like that?”

“Hardly,” Verna said.

“Maybe they’re from her pen pal,” Ophelia said. “The one she was thinking of marrying.”

Verna laughed. “Maybe that’s why she was thinking of marrying him. Because he could afford to buy her pearls.”

“Or maybe the man who gave them to her isn’t single,” Lizzy said uncomfortably. She was remembering something Bunny had said about Lester Lima not being quite the gentleman he looked to be. Which made her remember something she’d heard about a girl who had worked there the year before. Nadine, wasn’t that her name? Yes, Nadine.

“Not single!” Ophelia exclaimed, and colored. “What makes you say a thing like that, Lizzy?”

“Well, I just think we ought to keep all the options open,” Lizzy said. “I mean, if we’re going to solve this mystery—”

“What mystery?” Ophelia asked. “The poor little thing got so desperate to get out of town and meet up with the man she wanted to marry that she stole a car. Not much mystery there.”

“Anyway, that’s what we pay the sheriff for,” Myra May retorted. “It’s his mystery. Let him solve it.”

“He already has,” Lizzy replied. “He says she stole the car. Bunny and an unidentified man. But I don’t think so.” She looked around the table. “Well, I’m sorry. I just don’t.”

“But she was in the car,” Myra May repeated emphatically. “For heaven’s sake, Lizzy, you said that yourself. And there was booze. You told us that, too.”

Lizzy couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“For what it’s worth, I don’t believe it either,” Verna put in. “It just doesn’t seem right to me.”

“Well, then, what are you going to do about it?” Ophelia asked.

Lizzy and Verna exchanged looks. Then Lizzy nodded, and Verna spoke.

“Lizzy and I are going to investigate. The sheriff obviously thinks he knows everything there is to know about this case, and we don’t agree. So we’ve decided to conduct our own investigation.”

“An investigation,” Ophelia said admiringly. “You girls are brave.”

Verna nodded, accepting the compliment. “We thought we’d talk to Don Greer at the picture show first. Bunny was there on Saturday night. He might be able to tell us who she was with.”

“We thought we’d talk to Mr. Lima, too,” Lizzy said. “Maybe he can tell us who she was seeing.” She looked around the group. “If you hear of anything that might help, please let us know.”

The clock on the wall cleared its throat importantly. Ophelia glanced up at it, startled. “My gracious, look how late it is! We’d better get our game started. Oh, and Lizzy, before I forget, I drove past the Dahlias’ house this morning, and saw that our sign is still leaning against the cucumber tree out front. I thought Zeke was going to plant it.”

Lizzy sighed. “He will, when he gets around to it. Or maybe I’ll do it myself, if I get tired of waiting. It’s not a huge job.”

“Let me know and I’ll come help,” Ophelia offered. She picked up a small glass bowl and dropped a handful of jelly beans into it. “Who wants to be the bank?”

“I will,” Myra May said.

The hostess always dealt first, so Ophelia picked up the deck and began dealing, cards facedown.

Lizzy picked up her cards and frowned at them. “Speaking of banks, I wonder—have any of you heard anything about the Savings and Trust?” Mr. Moseley had ordered her not to tell anybody that he had told her to take her money out. He hadn’t said she shouldn’t ask about the bank.