The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star

She shivered. “Gosh, Mildred, I just don’t know. I guess if somebody was tampering with her plane, she could have been killed. And Charlie says he thinks she’s scared. He believes that she might be in danger—while she’s here, I mean. That’s why he asked me to help.”


“In danger.” Mildred’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I have to say I’m not surprised. If that woman is in the habit of behaving the way she did at the Lions Club convention in San Antonio, she probably has quite a few enemies following her around. I—”

She stopped, pressing her lips together, as if she had said more than she meant to say.

San Antonio, Lizzy thought. That was where Roger had first met Miss Dare, wasn’t it? All of a sudden, everything clicked into place. Mildred (who wasn’t the prettiest peach on the tree) was jealous of Lily Dare (who was). And while Lizzy didn’t like to think about it, Mildred’s worries might well be justified. She remembered Grady’s report of the gossip at Bob’s Barbershop. And Charlie Dickens’ remark that a little thing like a wedding ring wouldn’t stop the Texas Star from fooling around if she wanted to. Miss Dare might have been tempted with Roger Kilgore in the same way that (according to Charlie) she had been tempted with Douglas Fairbanks.

Lizzy felt as if she had just stepped into a tangle of poisonous snakes, but of course this was all conjecture, and (as Mr. Moseley liked to say) an ounce of facts always outweighed a ton of speculation. She took a deep breath and hurried on.

“Charlie says he’s going to hang around the airfield over the weekend. He’s worried that there might be another attempt at sabotage. But he knew that you’ve invited Miss Dare to be your guest, so he thought—”

She paused, uncomfortably aware that she had gotten to the tricky part. “He suggested that I might try to keep an eye on things here—at your house, I mean. In case somebody tried something.”

“Tried something?” Mildred asked, frowning.

“Tried to . . . oh, I don’t know. Cause trouble, I suppose.” Lizzy took a breath. “I told him I was planning to be here just for the party. But as I was riding over just now, it occurred to me that maybe there might be another possibility. Of course, it’s just an idea, and maybe you won’t like it, but—”

“What did you have in mind?” Mildred asked, cutting Lizzy short.

Feeling awkward, Lizzy cleared her throat. “Well, I thought maybe I could sleep over on Friday and Saturday nights. If you have room, that is,” she added hastily. “I don’t want to impose or upset any of your plans. And I certainly don’t want to invite myself as a houseguest if I’m not—”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” Mildred interrupted brusquely. “Of course you wouldn’t be imposing, Liz. Actually, I think it’s a good idea. I certainly wouldn’t want any trouble while she’s here.”

She paused, tapping her manicured fingernail on the arm of her chaise longue. “Yes, I’m sure we can manage. I’m putting Miss Dare”—she said the two words with a distinct distaste—“in the yellow room at the top of the stairs. I was planning to put Miss Flame in the pink room, adjacent to Miss Dare’s, with a connecting door. But you could sleep in the pink room and Miss Flame could have the blue room across the hall. I understand that Mr. Hart will be staying at the airfield.”

“That would be perfect,” Lizzy said, relieved. “I’ll let Charlie know. Thank you.” She was a little surprised that Mildred was so willing to let her stay—it was, after all, an unusual request. But perhaps her friend had her own personal reasons for being so accommodating. If she was really jealous of Roger and didn’t want him to spend time alone with Miss Dare over the weekend, she might welcome the idea that Lizzy was sleeping in the next room.

“Please don’t thank me,” Mildred said in a dry, ironic tone. “I certainly wouldn’t want anything to happen to Miss Dare while she was under my roof. She’s such a celebrity.” She leaned forward, speaking more seriously. “That sabotage business—you don’t really think there’s any real threat, do you?”

“I don’t know what to think,” Lizzy confessed. “I don’t know any of the details, although Charlie did say that Miss Dare was afraid.” She smiled slightly. “He made it sound rather melodramatic.”

“Miss Dare is a melodramatic woman,” Mildred replied.

“You’ve met her, then?” Lizzy asked curiously.

“No,” Mildred said darkly, “but I—” She seemed on the verge of saying more, then stopped and waved her hand. “That’s . . . that’s just my impression. And it’s entirely possible that she’s making up that business about the sabotage, you know. It could be her way of getting attention. And guaranteeing publicity, of course. She seems to be quite adept at that.”