The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree

Verna and Lizzy Have a Narrow Escape Verna’s afternoon was uneventful. She closed the probate office at the usual time and went across the street and up the stairs to the office of Moseley and Moseley to pick up Lizzy. Mr. Moseley was in but his door was closed. Lizzy put her finger to her lips, and they left silently.

“He’s not feeling well,” Lizzy said, as they reached the street. “It’s been a ... a difficult afternoon.” She didn’t offer to explain, and Verna didn’t like to ask. In fact, Lizzy didn’t seem to want to talk at all, even make small talk, so they turned onto Robert E. Lee in silence, walked two blocks east on Dauphin, past Beulah’s Beauty Bower, to Peachtree Street. The Limas lived in the middle of the block in an attractive, two-story frame house with a pretty porch and a yard filled with blooming azaleas and gardenias, carefully kept, no doubt by a gardener.

The door was opened by a plump maid in a neat black dress and white apron, with a white beribboned cap pinned to her hair. Verna thought the costume was pretentious. People who could afford it employed colored women to cook and clean, but only a few required them to put on little white caps in the afternoon and pretend that they didn’t have anything to do all day but answer the front door.

“I’m Mrs. Tidwell and this is Miss Lacy,” Verna said, gesturing at Lizzy. “We’ve come to talk to Mrs. Lima about becoming a member of our garden club.” That was the reason she and Lizzy had made up for their visit.

“Miz Lima ain’t here,” the maid said. “Her and the mister has gone out of town.”

“Why, my goodness,” Verna said, pretending to be surprised. “We didn’t know they were planning a trip. Not a family emergency, I hope?”

The maid shook her head and the ribbons on her cap bobbed. “No, ma‘am. Miz Lima had jes’ got back from her sister’s over in Repton, where she been for the past three, four days. But this mawnin’, right after breakfast, she was took sudden-like with the urge to go agin. The mister, he said he thought it was a right smart idee—they could have themselves a nice vacation, just the two of ‘em. So they drove on down to Mobile. Said they might be goin’ to Pensacola after that.”

“Did they say when they’d be back?” Lizzy asked.

“No, ma’am. Jes’ said they’d phone.”

And that was that.

“Well,” Verna said, when they were out on the street again, under the overhanging canopy of oak trees. “I call that interesting, don’t you? Kinda sudden, seems to me.”

Lizzy frowned. “And peculiar. Verna, I’m sure it has something to do with Bunny’s death. I’m thinking about what Ophelia told you. If Mrs. Lima found out about Mr. Lima and Bunny, and then she heard that Bunny was dead, she’d want to get Mr. Lima out of town.” She took a deep breath. “Especially if he didn’t have an alibi for Saturday night.”

“An alibi?”

“You know. If Mrs. Lima was in Montgomery and Mr. Lima was here by himself, nobody could vouch for him. For what he was doing at the time Bunny was killed, I mean.”

Verna was surprised. So far as she knew, Lizzy didn’t read detective novels. What had made her wonder about Mr. Lima’s alibi for the night Bunny was killed? She was even more surprised when Lizzy turned to her and said, with an unexpected eagerness, “I’ve got an idea, Verna. Let’s go over to Mrs. Brewster’s and see if we can get into Bunny’s room.”

“Why?” And why was Lizzy suddenly getting into the investigating mood?

“Because—” Lizzy looked away. “Because I’m curious. If I could see where Bunny lived, maybe I’d feel I know her a little better. You went there, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes, but that was before anybody knew she was dead. I don’t think—”

Verna stopped. She had no idea why Lizzy wanted to check out the room. But if they did, maybe she could return the earrings she was carrying around in her purse. The earrings that somebody might think she had stolen.

“I don’t think that would be a problem,” she said, changing what she had intended to say. “But by this time, Mrs. Brewster has probably heard that Bunny is dead. She’ll never let us into that room. And besides, the sheriff has likely sealed it off. The police do that when they’re looking for evidence.” She knew this from reading True Detective, “Maybe,” Lizzy said, and picked up the pace. “Or maybe not. As you said at lunchtime, we won’t know unless we try, will we?”