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Authors: Dorothy St. James
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even once.
Prepared to take a leadership role in assigning tasks, I joined the small crowd milling about. Oddly, none of them greeted me or appeared at all interested in my flat of wave petunias. Instead, their attention was focused on the yellow police tape that encircled the small park.
A cold shiver tiptoed down my spine.
“What’s going on here?” I called out to a police officer who had just finished tying off the last of his yellow tape toa saucer magnolia tree. With a clipboard tucked under his arm, he headed toward an opening in the tape border where another officer stood watch.
I trotted to catch up to him. “Excuse me,” I called.
“What?” he snapped, obviously tired of fielding questions from the public.
“What’s happening here?” I asked.
“I’m sure it’ll be in all the papers, ma’am,” he said, indicating that I should move away from the police tape. “Please step back. We’ve got work to do.”
Not one to be easily discouraged, I stood my ground. “I’m supposed to meet with a group of volunteers. We’re planting a community flower garden.”
He nodded when he spotted the tray of red, white, and blue petunias I was lugging. “You’ll have to do that another day. As you can see, the park is an active crime scene.”
“Actually, I can’t see anything.” I rose to my tiptoes, but all the action seemed to be happening on the other side of the large bronze statue in the middle of the park. “What happened?” I asked.
The officer glanced around the cordoned-off area and then back at me. He shrugged. “Apparently some guy offed himself.”
“In the park?”
He nodded.
I was about to ask for more information when Annie Campbell hurried toward me. Her shiny red hair bounced with every agitated step. Her dark purple silk sundress was as stylishly inappropriate as Alyssa’s cute outfit. “Casey! There you are. And you brought the flowers. Aren’t they pretty? I already called the ladies and told them that we needed to reschedule. I didn’t have your number, or else I would have called to tell you not to come.”
“Really? I thought I gave all the volunteers my cell phone number.”
“Did you? Oh, well, I just got a new cell phone and lost most of my contact numbers. If you give it to me again, I’ll be sure to take better care of it. You can trust me on that.”
“Oh, I trust you,” I said to boost her confidence. She always seemed so unsure of herself and apologetic of her shortcomings. “As soon as I find a place to put this tray, I’ll give you my cell phone number. Do you know what happened?”
“Not really.” She grabbed my arm. “I think we’ll be able to see better around the corner.”
I let her lead the way around the periphery of the park even though I should have gone back out to the street to look for Alyssa. She must have parked the car by now.
“Have you spoken with Francesca?” I asked as we followed the yellow police tape.
“Several times. She even called early this morning to say that she was feeling under the weather. I have to be honest with you; I think she backed out because of what Pearle and Mable were saying yesterday. I’m supposed to have dinner with her tonight. I hope to find out what’s going on then and help her make a plan for damage control.”
“You’re a good friend, Annie. I’m glad she has you.”
Annie lowered her head. “I hope I can do enough.”
“I hope so, too. When I saw Francesca last night, she sounded distraught about the article Griffon Parker is going to write. But she wouldn’t tell me anything about it. The longer I spent with her, the more it seemed as if she was coming…unhinged,” I said, remembering the strange way she’d kept running and hiding.
“Francesca? Unhinged?” Annie adamantly shook her head. “She’s the most levelheaded person I know. She knows how to handle the press. I’m sure it’s the whispering behind her back about what may or may not be ‘the scandal of the
Prepared to take a leadership role in assigning tasks, I joined the small crowd milling about. Oddly, none of them greeted me or appeared at all interested in my flat of wave petunias. Instead, their attention was focused on the yellow police tape that encircled the small park.
A cold shiver tiptoed down my spine.
“What’s going on here?” I called out to a police officer who had just finished tying off the last of his yellow tape toa saucer magnolia tree. With a clipboard tucked under his arm, he headed toward an opening in the tape border where another officer stood watch.
I trotted to catch up to him. “Excuse me,” I called.
“What?” he snapped, obviously tired of fielding questions from the public.
“What’s happening here?” I asked.
“I’m sure it’ll be in all the papers, ma’am,” he said, indicating that I should move away from the police tape. “Please step back. We’ve got work to do.”
Not one to be easily discouraged, I stood my ground. “I’m supposed to meet with a group of volunteers. We’re planting a community flower garden.”
He nodded when he spotted the tray of red, white, and blue petunias I was lugging. “You’ll have to do that another day. As you can see, the park is an active crime scene.”
“Actually, I can’t see anything.” I rose to my tiptoes, but all the action seemed to be happening on the other side of the large bronze statue in the middle of the park. “What happened?” I asked.
The officer glanced around the cordoned-off area and then back at me. He shrugged. “Apparently some guy offed himself.”
“In the park?”
He nodded.
I was about to ask for more information when Annie Campbell hurried toward me. Her shiny red hair bounced with every agitated step. Her dark purple silk sundress was as stylishly inappropriate as Alyssa’s cute outfit. “Casey! There you are. And you brought the flowers. Aren’t they pretty? I already called the ladies and told them that we needed to reschedule. I didn’t have your number, or else I would have called to tell you not to come.”
“Really? I thought I gave all the volunteers my cell phone number.”
“Did you? Oh, well, I just got a new cell phone and lost most of my contact numbers. If you give it to me again, I’ll be sure to take better care of it. You can trust me on that.”
“Oh, I trust you,” I said to boost her confidence. She always seemed so unsure of herself and apologetic of her shortcomings. “As soon as I find a place to put this tray, I’ll give you my cell phone number. Do you know what happened?”
“Not really.” She grabbed my arm. “I think we’ll be able to see better around the corner.”
I let her lead the way around the periphery of the park even though I should have gone back out to the street to look for Alyssa. She must have parked the car by now.
“Have you spoken with Francesca?” I asked as we followed the yellow police tape.
“Several times. She even called early this morning to say that she was feeling under the weather. I have to be honest with you; I think she backed out because of what Pearle and Mable were saying yesterday. I’m supposed to have dinner with her tonight. I hope to find out what’s going on then and help her make a plan for damage control.”
“You’re a good friend, Annie. I’m glad she has you.”
Annie lowered her head. “I hope I can do enough.”
“I hope so, too. When I saw Francesca last night, she sounded distraught about the article Griffon Parker is going to write. But she wouldn’t tell me anything about it. The longer I spent with her, the more it seemed as if she was coming…unhinged,” I said, remembering the strange way she’d kept running and hiding.
“Francesca? Unhinged?” Annie adamantly shook her head. “She’s the most levelheaded person I know. She knows how to handle the press. I’m sure it’s the whispering behind her back about what may or may not be ‘the scandal of the
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