The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star

“Extortion would be a better way to describe it,” Liz added, sipping coffee.

“Extortion, yes,” Raylene said, shaking her head. “An ugly word. She swears she had nothing to do with that and hates it that Roger Kilgore thought those telegrams came from her—that she was asking for money. She’s sorry she let herself get into a relationship with him and she says she’s going to break it off permanently. But the letters and those telegrams—together with the sabotage—have convinced her that somebody’s out to get her.”

Verna nodded. They were getting to the heart of it now. “But if you ask me,” she said, “it was when she figured out who sent those letters and the telegram and connected it to the sabotage of her airplane—that was when she got scared.” She looked at Raylene. “Did she tell you who she suspects?”

“Yes,” Raylene said slowly. “But I . . .” She stopped.

“Well, who?” Liz demanded eagerly. “Come on, Verna, who?”

“Rex Hart,” Verna replied.

“Rex Hart?” Liz frowned. “But Charlie Dickens said that he couldn’t have been involved. He was at the airstrip all night.” Her frown deepened. “No, wait. That’s not right. Charlie was talking about the abduction, not the letters or the telegrams. Or the sabotage.”

Verna looked at Raylene. When she didn’t say anything, she said, “Lily has decided that it’s Rex Hart who sent the letters. He was in New Orleans when the photograph was taken. He wasn’t with them at the café—Lily and Roger, that is—but she knew that he was nearby. She believes that he took the photo and wrote the letters to Mildred. And sent the telegrams to Roger.”

“Why?” Liz asked, puzzled. “I mean, why did he do it? What was his motivation?”

“She thinks it’s because he’s jealous,” Verna replied. “Because he’s in love with her himself. He figured he could convince Roger that the relationship with Lily was too costly—and too dangerous—to pursue. That it could wreck his marriage, and maybe his business. She says Hart wrote the letters to Roger’s wife so she would pressure Roger to break it off.”

“It makes sense, I guess,” Liz said slowly. “But what about the sabotage? Is that his work, too?”

“That’s what Lily says.” Verna frowned. “I could understand the letters and telegrams, but that’s where I lose it. I mean, if Rex Hart loves Lily enough to be jealous of her other relationships, why would he sabotage her aircraft? If he loves her, he wouldn’t try to kill her, would he? And there’s the damage to the show, in which he has a financial investment.” She turned to Raylene. “That was what I wanted to ask you, Raylene. Lily said that you and she met in Tampa several years ago, when your husband was taking flying lessons from Rex Hart. You know both Lily and Hart. Is she right about him?”

For a long moment, Raylene didn’t answer. At last, she countered with her own question. “Let me ask you this. If Rex Hart is in love with Lily, why doesn’t he just tell her so? He’s a grown-up and so is she. Nothing is standing in their way.”

Verna raised a surprised eyebrow at her. “You mean, he hasn’t? From the way Lily talked, I thought he’d told her he loved her—maybe even asked her to marry him—and she turned him down. I got the impression that he’s a disappointed lover trying to get even.”

Raylene shook her head emphatically. “He isn’t. In fact, I happen to know that Rex is seriously involved with somebody else.”

Verna was surprised. “Oh, really? Who?”

“A young woman in Tampa, named Sarah. She and Rex have known one another for several years, although they only got together about six months ago. The two of them have kept it secret because of Sarah’s mother, who’s terminally ill. And because Lily is . . . well, possessive about the members of her team. If she knew about Rex and Sarah, she might—” She shrugged. “Who knows?”

“Ah,” Verna said.

Raylene nodded. “Anyway, they’re keeping it to themselves, which is one reason why Lily can persuade herself that Rex is in love with her. Although she can persuade herself of that sort of thing pretty easily,” she added with a small smile.

Liz leaned forward. “But if this love affair is such a big secret, how do you know about it, Raylene? Did Sarah or Rex tell you?”

Raylene bit her lip and her glance slid away. There was an uncomfortable silence.

“They didn’t tell you,” Liz said at last. She looked squarely at Raylene. Myra May is right, isn’t she? You know because you’re psychic. Isn’t that right?”