The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star

“And on top of assault and extortion, there’s the airplane sabotage,” Buddy Norris put in. “Could amount to attempted murder.”


“Attempted murder?” Angel’s eyes flew open. “Oh, no! I didn’t mean—that is, I was just . . .” She shook her head, now sounding desperate. “It was just a . . . a joke, that’s all. I figured the prop would break when the ground crewman turned it, before she took off. I only wanted to cause a little trouble, make her a little more careful. I wasn’t trying to kill her!”

“The Pensacola police have a different idea,” Buddy said, unclipping the handcuffs from his belt. “I was on the phone with them just before I came out here. It turns out that they’ve located a witness who saw you take a hacksaw to that propeller. They’re going to want you to star in a police lineup down there.” Deftly, ignoring her protests, he turned Angel around and cuffed her hands behind her back, then turned to Verna.

“I’ve got a favor to ask, Verna. I can’t transport the prisoner into town on the back of my motorcycle. Can you and Liz take her in, in your car? I’ll give you a police escort, to make sure there’s no trouble.”

“Oh, you bet,” Verna said. Gently, she touched her swollen eye. “It will be a pleasure. A pleasure.”





TWENTY




“A Happy Ending,

Don’t You Think?”

Wednesday, July 20, 1932



It was, all the Dahlias agreed, the most exciting and best-managed Watermelon Festival ever. The air show was a spectacular success, attracting almost two hundred cars to the air strip on Sunday for a program of (as promised) thrills and chills and some really top-notch aerobatics, including both flying and wingwalking. The show culminated in an aerial dogfight so amazingly realistic that many spectators were convinced that the Texas Star and the King of the Air would collide and come crashing to the ground in blazing balls of fire—and some of them no doubt secretly hoped so. When all the excitement was over, Lily Dare and the Dare Devils packed up their gear and flew off to the next airshow, in Paducah, Kentucky. Unfortunately, one of the wing struts on Rex Hart’s Stearman broke and the King of the Air was grounded until Monday, when he, too, flew off to Paducah.

Everything else went remarkably smoothly. The Ferris wheel did not get stuck (to the disappointment of the junior Darlingians, who hoped to get stranded at the top for at least an hour or two). Mr. Burley’s goats stayed in their pen, sulking; the best they could do was a red ribbon. (Muddy Waters’ goats took the blue.) The Ladies Club tent did not collapse. The Chamber of Commerce popcorn machine did not catch fire. The Eastern Star’s hot dogs held out until the last bun, just before closing time, and there were exactly enough watermelons for everybody to have exactly as many pieces as they wanted. The 1932 Darling Baby award went to Violet and Myra May’s little Cupcake (all of Darling applauded this choice). Mrs. Peabody watched her step; she did not fall off the stage and break her nose again.

And best of all, when Aunt Hetty turned in the nickels and dimes and quarters the Dahlias had earned from the sale of their fresh garden vegetables, it was enough to buy two pressure cookers and three cases of Mason jars and lids. Lizzy and the other officers were already making arrangements for their first canning party in the kitchen of the Dahlias’ clubhouse (the Kentucky Wonder green beans would need picking again next week) and planning for the Dahlias’ contributions to the Darling Family Food Pantry.

Wednesday morning was a hot one, with the temperature already nudging ninety and the air heavy with humidity. At Beulah Trivette’s Beauty Bower, the screen door and all the windows were open and the fans were turning. Several of the Dahlias were gathered to catch up on the latest Darling news and gossip and enjoy tea and cookies while Beulah and Bettina made them beautiful.

And there was a very great deal to catch up on. Lizzy, who was getting a shampoo and trim, had to tell everybody about the excitement of her very first airplane ride. She had gone up after the air show in the Texas Star, piloted by Miss Lily Dare. She had expected to pay $1.26 (a penny a pound). But Miss Dare gave her and Verna free rides, to thank them for their help in identifying Mabel Hopkins as the person who had sabotaged her plane, not just once but twice.