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Chapters (30)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. ONE - The Naked Ladies
  5. TWO - Lizzy’s Key
  6. THREE - Verna Is Rebuffed
  7. FOUR - Saturday Night in Darling, or Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries
  8. FIVE - The Roof Falls In
  9. SIX - The Dahlias in Full Bloom
  10. SEVEN - The Skeleton in Bessie Bloodworth’s Closet
  11. EIGHT - Verna Has a Visitor
  12. NINE - Beulah’s New Customer
  13. TEN - Bessie Bloodworth Learns a Thing or Two
  14. ELEVEN - Lizzy Goes to Work
  15. TWELVE - Verna Makes a Phone Call
  16. THIRTEEN - Verna Works the Switchboard
  17. FOURTEEN - Buddy Norris Collars a Crook
  18. FIFTEEN - Lizzy Faces the Lion in His Den
  19. SIXTEEN - “The Game Is Afoot!”
  20. SEVENTEEN - THE GARDEN GATE
  21. EIGHTEEN - Bessie Bloodworth Pays a Call
  22. NINETEEN - Lizzy Lays Down the Law
  23. TWENTY - The Dahlias Score
  24. TWENTY-ONE - Mr. Moseley Clears Up a Mystery
  25. TWENTY-TWO - Bessie Solves a Mystery, Myra May’s Car Breaks Down, and Violet ...
  26. TWENTY-THREE - Showtime!
  27. The Dahlias’ “Dirty Dozen” Housecleaning Tips
  28. Glossary
  29. Recipes
  30. Reading List

“Who’s a vaudeville dancer?” Leticia wanted to know, hobbling across the grass. “You’ll have to speak up, Bessie, if you want people to hear you.” She sat down in the chair that Liz had vacated and glanced at the partly emptied pitcher. “Maxine, darlin’, you’re still up. Bring us two more glasses, will you, and we’ll have us some of this lemonade.” She looked back at Bessie. “Now, do tell, Bessie. Who’s a vaudeville dancer?”

“No, no,” Bessie said hastily, raising her voice. “We were talking about the Dahlias’ talent show. I said that it’s going to be as good as watching a vaudeville review. Don’t you think so, Verna?”

“Oh, definitely,” Verna said, and Liz nodded, too. They said their good-byes, leaving Bessie and her friends to enjoy the fragrance of the Angel Trumpet drifting across the backyard.

EIGHT - Verna Has a Visitor

EIGHT

Verna Has a Visitor

009 That was quite a story, wasn’t it?” Verna said, as she and Liz walked down Camellia Street—hurrying a little. The growl of thunder was coming closer and neither of them had an umbrella.

“I wonder what happened to him,” Liz said reflectively. “Bessie’s fiancé, I mean. It’s so sad.” She shivered. “At least I knew what happened to Reggie—his mother got a letter from his commanding officer after he was killed, telling her where he was buried. Bessie never even knew what became of her fiancé. It must be hard to live with a mystery like that.”

“There’s another mystery,” Verna replied darkly. The suspicion had been growing on her all afternoon, while she listened to Bessie tell her story. “Now that I know a little more about this situation, I’m beginning to wonder whether Lorelei LaMotte really is Miss Hamer’s niece.” She turned to her friend. “Honestly, now, Liz. Tell me what you think.”

Liz was silent for a moment. “The other day, I read about an odd situation in Florida. These people’s son was kidnapped years ago, and when he came home, all grown up, they were thrilled to death. It turned out, though, that he wasn’t their son after all. Some smart police detective revealed his real identity and they were shocked at how they’d been duped.”

Verna turned to stare at her. “You know, Liz, the same thing could be true here. Nona Jean’s mother is dead. Her aunt doesn’t know her—not really, I mean. Nobody here in Darling knows her, not a soul.”

Liz frowned. “Didn’t Walter’s cousin tell you that he had known her when she was a girl back in Monroeville?” A streak of lightning raced across the southern sky, under a pile of threatening clouds.