I’d see if there was anything I could take to her. That white car was still parked behind the house, so I thought…”
The other woman abandoned her garbage bin on the side of the road and came across, smiling and obviously ready to chat.
“Those two borrowed a truck from somewhere. If they were taking Nola’s things in to one of the secondhand places in Asheville, they won’t be back for several hours—probably eat lunch in there. It’ll be two…say two-thirty before they’re back.”
The gray-haired woman stuck out a gloved hand. “I’m Lee Palatt. That’s my place over there.” She nodded toward a house just beyond Nola’s cottage. A glistening white picket fence with an arched gateway surrounded a white frame house set in a yard that, even in bleak December, was obviously the creation of a dedicated gardener.
“It’s good to meet you, Lee. I’m Elizabeth Goodweather. I live—”
“I know; you have that herb farm on Ridley Branch. Nola told me about you and back in the spring I read that write-up in the paper about you and your wreaths. I kept thinking I’d try to get over and look at your herb gardens, but I just moved here last year and all my energy’s gone into fixing up the house and the yard.”
Lee cocked her head to one side and her brow wrinkled. “Now, I wonder…what do
you
think about all this carrying on? I would have said that Nola was as sane and well adjusted as they come—this whole thing is just unbelievable. Of course, even though we’re neighbors, I haven’t seen much of Nola recently.”
She flashed an engaging grin and brushed at her blue fleece jacket. A sprinkling of short pale hairs clung to the fabric, resisting her attempts to dislodge them. “I’m a cat person, as you might guess—four of ’em. And Nola’s one of those folks who’s funny about cats—cat phobia or something. She’s never set foot in my house because of the kitties. And that house of hers is so tiny that I haven’t felt right dropping in since her niece arrived.”
“Nola seemed just fine when I last saw her.” Elizabeth looked toward the little stone cottage, remembering the cozy living room piled with books and the quick wit and acute perceptions of the woman who had lived there. “But…something must have happened—”
Her new acquaintance gave a disgusted snort. “Phooey! I don’t believe Nola would try to kill herself! That Tracy tried to tell me that Nola jumped from the roof of the old house down by the river. Do you believe that story?”
A nice woman,
Elizabeth thought as she drove away,
if a bit nosy.
In the rearview mirror, she could see Nola’s neighbor maneuvering the wheeled bin through her gate. Several cats twined about her legs, complicating the task.
She never went to the collection center!
The realization spread a grin across Elizabeth’s face.
The garbage bin was just an excuse to check me out—to see what I was doing and what I knew. I’ll bet Lee Palatt knows everything that’s going on in Dewell Hill, not unlike our own Miss Birdie on Ridley Branch. She doesn’t seem to like Tracy—that much was obvious. And she sure had a lot to say.
“Nola never mentioned a niece—never talked about any living family at all. Someone told me there was a sister over in Leicester, but I don’t know if that sister’s still alive. I suppose Tracy
could
be her niece…” She had frowned and fixed Elizabeth with a troubled gaze. “What I don’t like is that Nola was just fine and then this alleged niece and her bald boyfriend come to visit and all of a sudden, Nola starts acting weird.”
“How do you mean?” Elizabeth had asked, curious at the vehemence in the other woman’s voice.
“You may well ask.” Lee had held up her hand to tick off the reasons for her concern. “First of all, the very night those two arrived, I saw Nola, sitting out behind her house on the bench under the apple tree. It was bitter cold and sleeting a little,
The other woman abandoned her garbage bin on the side of the road and came across, smiling and obviously ready to chat.
“Those two borrowed a truck from somewhere. If they were taking Nola’s things in to one of the secondhand places in Asheville, they won’t be back for several hours—probably eat lunch in there. It’ll be two…say two-thirty before they’re back.”
The gray-haired woman stuck out a gloved hand. “I’m Lee Palatt. That’s my place over there.” She nodded toward a house just beyond Nola’s cottage. A glistening white picket fence with an arched gateway surrounded a white frame house set in a yard that, even in bleak December, was obviously the creation of a dedicated gardener.
“It’s good to meet you, Lee. I’m Elizabeth Goodweather. I live—”
“I know; you have that herb farm on Ridley Branch. Nola told me about you and back in the spring I read that write-up in the paper about you and your wreaths. I kept thinking I’d try to get over and look at your herb gardens, but I just moved here last year and all my energy’s gone into fixing up the house and the yard.”
Lee cocked her head to one side and her brow wrinkled. “Now, I wonder…what do
you
think about all this carrying on? I would have said that Nola was as sane and well adjusted as they come—this whole thing is just unbelievable. Of course, even though we’re neighbors, I haven’t seen much of Nola recently.”
She flashed an engaging grin and brushed at her blue fleece jacket. A sprinkling of short pale hairs clung to the fabric, resisting her attempts to dislodge them. “I’m a cat person, as you might guess—four of ’em. And Nola’s one of those folks who’s funny about cats—cat phobia or something. She’s never set foot in my house because of the kitties. And that house of hers is so tiny that I haven’t felt right dropping in since her niece arrived.”
“Nola seemed just fine when I last saw her.” Elizabeth looked toward the little stone cottage, remembering the cozy living room piled with books and the quick wit and acute perceptions of the woman who had lived there. “But…something must have happened—”
Her new acquaintance gave a disgusted snort. “Phooey! I don’t believe Nola would try to kill herself! That Tracy tried to tell me that Nola jumped from the roof of the old house down by the river. Do you believe that story?”
A nice woman,
Elizabeth thought as she drove away,
if a bit nosy.
In the rearview mirror, she could see Nola’s neighbor maneuvering the wheeled bin through her gate. Several cats twined about her legs, complicating the task.
She never went to the collection center!
The realization spread a grin across Elizabeth’s face.
The garbage bin was just an excuse to check me out—to see what I was doing and what I knew. I’ll bet Lee Palatt knows everything that’s going on in Dewell Hill, not unlike our own Miss Birdie on Ridley Branch. She doesn’t seem to like Tracy—that much was obvious. And she sure had a lot to say.
“Nola never mentioned a niece—never talked about any living family at all. Someone told me there was a sister over in Leicester, but I don’t know if that sister’s still alive. I suppose Tracy
could
be her niece…” She had frowned and fixed Elizabeth with a troubled gaze. “What I don’t like is that Nola was just fine and then this alleged niece and her bald boyfriend come to visit and all of a sudden, Nola starts acting weird.”
“How do you mean?” Elizabeth had asked, curious at the vehemence in the other woman’s voice.
“You may well ask.” Lee had held up her hand to tick off the reasons for her concern. “First of all, the very night those two arrived, I saw Nola, sitting out behind her house on the bench under the apple tree. It was bitter cold and sleeting a little,
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