“What did you do?” Phoebe asked, laughing.
“I decided on a slower carol,” Lottie said. “And speaking of trees, I almost forgot. I brought an ornament for yours, Miss Phoebe. I believe I left it on the hall table.”
“Why, this is lovely, Lottie! Thank you,” Phoebe said later as she unwrapped the small gift. “As you may have noticed, our tree could use a few more ornaments. I don’t know what happened to all the ones I put away.”
“It seemed to call to me from the gift shop window,” Lottie admitted. “Reminds me of one we had when I was very small. There’s something about its face.”
“What a dainty little angel,” Bessie said as Phoebe passed the china ornament around. “You should place her near the top, Phoebe.”
“Jesse Dean’s the tallest,” Phoebe suggested. “Why don’t you do the honors?”
Lanky Jesse Dean didn’t even have to stand on tiptoe to reach a higher branch and soon the fragile angel dangled on a feathery limb near the star.
Annie and Lottie insisted on clearing the table while the older women relaxed by the fire, and Jesse Dean pitched in to help as well. “I’m not accustomed to sitting around doing nothing,” he admitted, stacking a tray with dishes.
“I’ll wash if you two will dry,” Annie said, and tying an apron around her waist, she filled the sink with hot water. It didn’t take long with three of them helping to have the table cleared and the dishes dried and put away. Soon after that, Jesse Dean expressed his thanks and left, saying he had to go home to feed his dog.
“Well,” Annie said, putting leftovers in the refrigerator, “I’ll bet I know what we’ll have for supper tomorrow.”
“Sounds good to me,” Lottie said, hanging up her damp dish towel. “It’s always better the second time.” She looked out the window at the bare branches of the old apple tree by the back steps. “Annie, what’s the matter with Jesse Dean?”
“What do you mean?” Annie said, thinking she was referring to the young man’s peculiar lack of coloring and thick glasses.
“Have I said something to upset him? I tried to engage him in conversation but he didn’t have much to say. I don’t think he likes me.”
“I’m sure that’s not it,” Annie said, rubbing Honey and Almond Cream into her hands. “Jesse Dean’s shy, but he was unusually quiet today. I noticed it, too. Maybe he isn’t feeling well or he might be concerned about being left in charge of the store. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
* * *
“I think I need to walk off some of that dinner,” Dimple said after Bessie and Lottie had left, and from the look Dimple gave her, Annie knew she expected her to go along, too.
“Good idea! Mind some company?” she suggested.
“My goodness, it’s already dark out,” Phoebe said, “and turning colder, too. Why, it was positively freezing when I went out to feed the birds awhile ago.”
Dimple laughed. “It’s supposed to be cold at Christmas. We’ll bundle up and walk fast.”
“And enjoy the tree lights in all the windows,” Annie told her, hoping she would be able to keep up with Miss Dimple’s no-nonsense pace.
“I hate to bring this up on Christmas Day,” Miss Dimple began when they reached the corner, “but I’m concerned about Rebecca Wyatt. Sheriff Holland said he would let me know after he talked with her and I haven’t heard from him yet.”
“I’m sure he’s enjoying Christmas with his family,” Annie said, tugging her snug beret over her ears. “You’ll probably hear from him tomorrow.”
But Miss Dimple wasn’t having any part of it. “Whoever tried to kill us the other day isn’t going to take Christmas off. I’m sure the sheriff is aware of that. I think that woman is being held somewhere or she’s hiding in fear for her life.”
Unless she’s already dead, Annie thought, hurrying to keep in step. “Maybe we should call him when we get back.”
However, the sheriff wasn’t there when they called his office, and Dimple was told he would return her call as soon as he came in. Her brother phoned a little later to wish her a merry Christmas, but when everyone finally went to bed after listening to a radio production of A Christmas Carol, she had yet to hear from the sheriff.
The telephone was ringing when they returned from church the next day and when Phoebe answered, Dimple hoped it would be Sheriff Holland calling to let her know he had spoken with Rebecca Wyatt.
“I think it’s Virginia,” Phoebe whispered, handing her the receiver, “and she sounds upset.”
Dimple hung up her coat before answering. Her friend had seemed fine when she’d spoken to her after church only minutes before. “Virginia, dear, is anything wrong? Are you ill?” she asked.
“It’s not about me. It’s Suzy! Dimple, she’s not here. Suzy’s gone!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“I’ll be right over,” Dimple said, hanging up the receiver, and Annie knew by her expression that something was terribly wrong. “I’ll come with you,” she said, her hand on the doorknob.
Phoebe Chadwick sighed. “You might as well tell me what’s going on. I’m not deaf and blind, you know. It has something to do with that young Japanese doctor, doesn’t it?”
Dimple, reaching for her coat, darted a questioning look at Annie, and Annie, feeling as though they had nothing to lose, nodded.
“Better grab your coat, dear,” Miss Dimple said to her old friend. “We’ll tell you all about it on the way. And just to put things straight, she happens to be American.”
* * *
Annie was breathless by the time they arrived at Virginia’s little gray bungalow on Myrtle Street, and Phoebe, she noticed, had difficulty keeping up with their hurried pace. Miss Dimple, however, although noticeably distressed, seemed as fit and hardy as usual.
Virginia, obviously agitated, threw open the door before they could knock. “It’s all that Mavis Kilgore’s fault!” she said, darting a loathing look at the house across the street. “If she would just tend to her own business, this would never have happened.”
Dimple ushered everyone inside as calmly as she could and closed the door behind them. “First, we need to sit down and collect our thoughts. Annie and I have explained the situation to Phoebe, who, as you know, is the soul of discretion, and understands our difficulties.”
Looking completely perplexed, Phoebe nodded. “Well … as much as possible,” she added.
“Tea, I think,” Miss Dimple said, leading the way to the kitchen. “It won’t do to rush pell-mell into this without putting some thought behind it.
“Now,” she said, as the water came to a boil, “exactly what has Mavis done, and what does it have to do with Suzy?”
Virginia poured water into the pot to warm it, her mouth a grim line. “Came over here last night with those blasted cookies—horrible things—hard as rocks with no taste whatsoever!”
Everyone jumped back as she splashed in boiling water, then tea. “We’ve never exchanged Christmas gifts before so I knew good and well she was just being nosy. Said she’d love to see my new bedroom curtains, but I told her they weren’t finished yet, and thank goodness Suzy was able to stay out of sight, so I’m sure she didn’t see her.”
“Then why—” Annie began.
“Suzy was in her room writing to her family when Mavis came, and even though she couldn’t be seen, I’m sure she could hear every word,” Virginia continued. “‘I was hoping to meet your cousin,’ Mavis said, and of course butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. ‘Phoebe told me she’d invited you for Christmas dinner but you weren’t able to come because you were expecting your cousin. Has she left already?’”
“Oh, dear! What did you say?” Phoebe asked.
“I told her my cousin was flushed and running a high temperature and that I was very much afraid it might be scarlet fever,” Virginia said with a trace of a smile. “She couldn’t get out of here fast enough. Told me not to bother to return the plate.”
“And you think Suzy left because of tha
t?” Dimple asked after the laughter subsided.
“Well, it certainly didn’t help. She left this.” Virginia brought a sheet of folded paper from the drawer behind her and gave it to Dimple to read.
My dear friends,
It becomes more evident every day that I am not only creating a problem in your day-to-day living, but might even be putting your lives in danger. You have sacrificed too much for me already and I just couldn’t bear it if you were to suffer unpleasantness—or worse—because of me.
I have a little money and am going to try to get a bus to Atlanta, where I can contact some of my friends from Emory. I’m sure they’ll be able to help me until the authorities straighten out this most unfortunate situation. Please do not try to find me!
I will be forever grateful for your kindness.
Suzy
Miss Dimple took out her Sunday lace handkerchief and slowly wiped her glasses, which had become all fogged up—probably because of steam from her tea, she explained, although everyone knew better.
“Did she really think she could board a bus in Elderberry without being recognized?” Annie said. “Somebody’s sure to question her.”
“It is the day after Christmas,” Dimple pointed out. “I’m hoping everybody’s still filled with the spirit—you know—peace and goodwill, and all that.”
“Don’t count on it,” Virginia said.
“Did she take any luggage with her?” Phoebe asked.
“What little clothing she had is gone, and her warm coat and hat, thank goodness!” Virginia sat at the table and put her head in her hands. “She took that pretty scarf you girls gave her for Christmas, and those nice new gloves from you, Dimple, but she must’ve packed everything in some sort of bag. She didn’t have a suitcase.”
“She probably left soon after church began, when few people would be on the streets,” Dimple said. “We need to find out the bus schedule for Atlanta.”
“It leaves from Clyde Jefferies Feed and Seed,” Phoebe pointed out, “and the store would be closed on Sunday, so I suppose she’d have to buy her ticket directly from the driver.”
“They post the bus schedule in the store window.” Annie spoke from experience, as she had relied on that transportation several times to meet Frazier in Columbus or Atlanta. “I can walk downtown and see.”
Virginia jumped to her feet, almost knocking over her chair. “We don’t have time for that. Come on, we’ll take my car.”
No one waited in front of the Feed and Seed when they drew up minutes later, and Annie hurried to read the sign in the window, returning with a mournful face.
“The first bus to Atlanta left at seven this morning and there’s not another until five this afternoon.” She looked around them at the empty street. “Where do you suppose she went?”
Virginia frowned. “We had breakfast together this morning and she was there when I left for church. I can’t imagine where else she might go.”
“Probably to the only place she knows.” Dimple looked from one to the other. “I believe she’d go back to Mae Martha Hawthorne’s.”
Phoebe shook her head. “But that’s so far! And how would she get in?”
“It’s not that far,” Miss Dimple reminded her, “and I imagine she’d still have a key.”
“Suzy wouldn’t be able to use the fireplace, as somebody might see the smoke, but it’s not that cold today,” Annie pointed out, “and I’m sure there are canned goods on hand, so she wouldn’t go hungry.” Her stomach growled at the thought, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since a hurried bowl of oatmeal at breakfast.
“Then I think we should go out there and bring her right back!” Virginia was in such a hurry to start the car she flooded her engine and had to wait to try again.
Miss Dimple was relieved at the delay. “We can’t all go traipsing out there, Virginia. The neighbors might get suspicious and we’d frighten the poor woman to death. I suggest we drive as far as the turnoff and if we don’t see any signs of Suzy on the road, then it’s safe to assume she made it back to Mrs. Hawthorne’s. If she doesn’t show up for the five o’clock bus, then we can decide what to do next.”
Virginia reluctantly agreed, and Phoebe, who was expecting her grandson, Harrison, to call from Fort Benning that afternoon, was eager to get back home.
Although they drove so slowly a car behind them blew the horn and passed in a cloud of red dust, they saw no sign of Suzu Amaya on the road that led to Mae Martha Hawthorne’s.
“Oh, dear!” Virginia moaned as she turned for home. “I forgot I’m supposed to have supper for the young people at Epworth League tonight! I agreed to do it weeks ago and it’s too late to find anyone to take my place. I’m afraid I won’t be able to go with you to the bus station at five.”
Once a preacher’s wife, always a preacher’s wife, Miss Dimple thought, although Virginia’s Albert had been dead for years. “I would imagine they’ve all eaten so much Christmas candy, they wouldn’t be hungry,” she said.
“I’ll go with you, Miss Dimple,” Annie volunteered, “and Charlie should know about this, too. I’ll call her when we get home.”
* * *
“This doesn’t sound good,” Charlie said when Annie told her what had happened. “Poor Suzy! I could just smack Mavis Kilgore! We’ve got to find her, Annie, before something terrible happens.”
“Overhearing what Mavis said, probably had something to do with it, but I think it’s more complicated than that. It’s more than likely Suzy’s been thinking about this for a while.”
“If she’s not at the bus station this afternoon, then what?” Charlie asked.
“I’m hoping we can find her before she gets there,” Annie said. “She’ll have to walk and we can keep an eye on the road between Mae Martha’s place and town. Maybe we can convince her to wait.”
But Suzy didn’t turn up at the Feed and Seed, and they didn’t see her walking along the road, although Charlie scouted the area in the family car until it got too dark to see.
“Your mother’s not going to be happy when she finds out how much gas we’ve used,” Annie reminded her. Charlie only laughed. “My mother will be unhappy all right, but only because we didn’t let her in on the reason we were using it.”
Phoebe had decided to remain behind, explaining that too many people would slow them down, and her presence might alarm Suzy, and Virginia was tied up serving hotdogs and baked beans to the young people at the Methodist church, so only Dimple and the two younger teachers kept watch across the street from Clyde Jefferies Feed and Seed.
“Well, so much for that,” Annie said as the bus pulled away without Suzy. She turned to Miss Dimple. “Should we take a chance on driving out to the Hawthorne place?”
Dimple sighed and adjusted her purple velvet hat. “I don’t see that we have any other option. It might be best, though, if we could drive without lights when we pass Esau Ingram’s place. I’d rather not be seen.”
“The Curtises must be back from their Christmas visit,” Charlie observed as they drove past their house. “I see lights on in the living room.”
“Have you thought they might have had something to do with our being locked in that shed?” Annie asked. “It would be easy for them to claim they were out of town when they were at home all the time.”
“I’ve wondered about that, too,” Miss Dimple said, “especially since I noticed mud stains on Stanley Curtis’s trousers on the day of Mrs. Hawthorne’s funeral. If you’ll remember, it was the same day Bill Pitts was killed.”
“But the mud was awful everywhere that day,” Charlie reminded her. “I almost ruined a good pair of shoes in the churchyard. And remember, Esau Ingram and his wife were feeding the Curtises’ animals, so they must’ve been away for a while at least.”
“Have you heard anything from the sheriff?” Annie asked Miss Dimple. “I wonder if he’s been able to locate Rebecca.”
“No word yet,” Dimple told her, “and I’ll admit, that concerns me. Too, I would think Is
aac Ingram would surely be back by now from Atlanta, or wherever it was he went.”
“Well I hope we don’t run into any of them,” Charlie said as she turned onto the road leading to the Ingrams’ and dutifully switched off her headlights. “It’s a good thing there’s a moon tonight or we’d be in the ditch by now,” she added driving slowly.
“That’s all we need—to get stuck in a ditch!” Frowning, Annie leaned forward to see ahead. “Looks like Esau and Coralee are at home. There’s a light on in the back.… Oh, lordy, Charlie! Watch out for that possum, or raccoon, or whatever it was. You almost ran over it.”
“I think there’s a flashlight somewhere under the seat if you want to sit on the front fender and light the way,” Charlie snapped. Gripping the steering wheel, she squinted to see the road. “I’m driving in the dark, you know.”
Miss Dimple spoke calmly. “The road leading to the Hawthorne house is just ahead to your left. As soon as you turn, I believe it would be safe to turn on your lights.”
Thank God! Charlie thought as the car bumped over ruts and fallen debris in the road, and they all gasped as the tires hit a slick spot, bringing them perilously close to the edge before the car righted itself.
It’s a good thing Virginia and Phoebe know where we are! Charlie thought, and knew the others were probably thinking the same as they crept, rumbling, to the top of the hill. If Suzy had found refuge in Mae Martha’s cabin, she would surely hear them coming.
“I don’t see any light inside,” Annie observed, “but the electricity has probably been turned off.”
“In Suzy’s situation, I doubt if she would take a chance on using it, even if it weren’t,” Dimple reminded her. “The poor child’s probably terrified. Perhaps we should call out to her to let her know we’re here.”
Charlie pulled to a stop in the graveled area behind the house, and it was not until she stepped from the car that she realized she’d been holding her breath. The others joined her at the foot of the steps and they approached the back door together.
“Suzy!” Charlie called. “Please don’t be afraid … we’re friends!” She tried the door and wasn’t surprised to find it locked.
Miss Dimple Suspects: A Mystery Page 20