The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies

“That’ll be wonderful,” Lizzy said gratefully, taking off her hat. “I am ready for a break.” She ran her hands through her hair. “And to think that Mr. Moseley thought he was giving me the afternoon off.”


The switchboard buzzed. “Cut the girls some cake and pour ’em some coffee, Euphoria,” Myra May said over her shoulder. “Duty calls.”

“Don’t forget about the card game tonight, Myra May,” Verna said. “At Bessie’s. Seven thirty.”

“Doesn’t look like I’ll be able to be there,” Myra May said, and sighed. “I’ll be on the switchboard.”

“Oh, boo,” Lizzy said.

“Next week,” Myra May promised. “When Violet is back.” The switchboard buzzed again and she disappeared.

Lizzy and Verna took their coffee and cake—luscious and crumbly, with nuts and a brown-sugar frosting—to the table in the corner. Behind the counter, the radio was playing Ruth Etting, singing “More Than You Know,” and Lizzy hummed along. “Whether you’re right, whether you’re wrong, man of my heart, I’ll string along—”

She stopped. She liked Ruth Etting, but the song was silly. She wouldn’t string along with a man when she knew he was wrong, even if he was the man of her heart.

Verna sat down. “I hope your talk with Mr. Johnson went okay,” she said sympathetically. “Were you able to come to an understanding?”

“I guess so.” Lizzy rolled her eyes. “I’ve just bought my mother’s house.”

“Oh, for cryin’ out loud!” Verna exclaimed. “You don’t mean—”

“Yes, I do mean,” Lizzy replied, picking up her fork. “Maybe it’s a huge mistake, but maybe not. Maybe it’ll be okay. I may even have found a new job for her, making hats for Fannie Champaign’s shop.” She leaned forward. “But that can wait, Verna. I really need to tell you what happened with Frankie Diamond.”

Lizzy had just finished the story when the bell over the front door tinkled and the hero of her story came in, walking with his usual Lindy swagger, pulling off his motorcycle cap and goggles. Without it, Buddy looked as if he were barely out of his teens. He glanced around and spotted Lizzy and Verna.

“Afternoon, Miz Tidwell. Hey, I been lookin’ for you, Miz Lacy. Wanted to tell you that your man left town on the train. He wasn’t too anxious to go, but I gave ’im the old bum’s rush. He’s long gone by now, so you can breathe easy.” He gave Lizzy a curious look. “Say, I would sure like to get the straight scoop on that fella, if you know it. He didn’t look like no rev’nue agent I ever seen. I tried to get ’im to talk but he clammed up on me. Shut up tight as an oyster. Wouldn’t say a single word.”

Verna leaned over and whispered to Lizzy, “I think it’d be a good idea to let Buddy in on what’s been going on, don’t you? If Diamond comes back, we might need some firepower. What’s more, Buddy is the law—at least, he’s wearing a badge. I’d certainly trust him a lot further than Sheriff Burns.”

Lizzy, who had been wondering what in the world would happen if Frankie Diamond jumped off that slow-moving train and doubled back to Darling, agreed with Verna. Aloud, she said, “Yes, we’ve got the straight scoop, Deputy Norris. Sit down and have some sweet potato cake and coffee, and we’ll tell you who he is.”

“But you’re going to be surprised,” Verna put in. “It’s not what you think.”

“Cake sounds swell,” Buddy said, pulling out a chair. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’ll have a bottle of Nehi, instead of coffee.”

Verna suppressed a shudder. “Euphoria,” she called. “How about a bottle of Nehi for Deputy Norris here? And a piece of that sweet potato cake.”

“Sho’ thing, Miz Verna,” Euphoria returned. “Whut color soda pop he wantin’?”

“Reach me an orange if you got it, Euphoria,” Buddy said over his shoulder. “Cherry’ll do, if you cain’t.”

“Orange comin’ up,” Euphoria replied.

Fifteen minutes later, Lizzy and Verna had told the whole story, beginning with the arrival of Miss Jamison and Miss Lake: “The Naughty and Nice Sisters,” Verna said, watching Buddy’s eyebrows go up. She reported what she had learned about the slashing and the shooting in Cicero, from her conversation with Mrs. O’Malley. Lizzy filled in the rest, including a description of the mix-up in front of Mann’s, where Leona Ruth Adcock had claimed that Mr. Diamond was one of Mr. Hoover’s special agents and Mr. Mann had got the notion that he was a revenue agent.

Buddy pushed his empty plate away. “You-all are sure you ain’t just feedin’ me a bunch of baloney?” He looked from Verna to Lizzy, his freckled face pale, his Adam’s apple jumping. “You-all are tellin’ me that there is a dame right here in this town who bumped off a hood who was cuttin’ on her friend?” He scowled. “You-all are sayin’ that the fella I put on the train is one of Al Capone’s goons, and he was here in Darlin’ to polish off the bird who rubbed out his buddy?”

Lizzy blinked, but Verna (who understood every word) smiled. “Exactly,” she said. “That’s it in a nutshell, Deputy Norris.”