“I’m going over to the jail, Liz. Telephone Sheriff Burns and tell him to meet me there, pronto.” He grabbed his hat from the coat tree and jammed it on his head. “I want to see that deputy, too. The kid deserves a medal. And there may be a reward, as well. Diamond is wanted on suspicion in a pair of murders last month in a Chicago whorehouse.”

“My goodness,” Lizzy breathed. “And to think that Bessie and Verna and Myra May and I were as close to him as—” Her breath caught.

In two strides, Mr. Moseley was standing in front of her. “I don’t know how you and your buddies do it, Liz,” he said, “but you’ve done it again.” And then, to Lizzy’s astonishment, he bent forward and kissed her, full and hard, on the mouth.

Then he turned and headed for the door again. “Call the sheriff,” he commanded over his shoulder. “Now!”

TWENTY-TWO - Bessie Solves a Mystery, Myra May’s Car Breaks Down, and Violet ...

TWENTY-TWO

Bessie Solves a Mystery, Myra May’s Car Breaks Down, and Violet Sims Offers a Lift

A few hours later, Lizzy was straightening her desk and getting ready to go to lunch when the door opened. She turned to see Bessie step in and greeted her, surprised: it was the second time in two days that she had come to the office. But when Lizzy looked closer, she saw that Bessie’s eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying.

“Why, what’s the matter, Bessie?” Lizzy asked, putting an arm around the older woman’s shoulders.

Bessie sniffled and held out a key ring. “Would you drive me out to the cemetery, Liz? Myra May said we can take her car. I asked her to drive, but Violet isn’t back yet and she can’t leave the diner during the dinner rush. I could walk—it’s only a couple of miles, but I’d rather not do this alone. And I don’t feel as though I can wait until late afternoon, when Myra May will be free.”

With one more look at Bessie’s face, Lizzy decided that lunch could wait. She reached for the car key. “I’ve never driven Big Bertha before, but if you’re game, I’ll give it a try.”