The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree (Berkley Prime Crime)

Mildred said. She shifted gears, glancing at Ophelia. She had the look of somebody who is carrying a huge secret and is just bursting to tell it. “But I know something interesting about her. I didn’t want to talk about it in front of Bessie. You know how she hates anything that sounds remotely like gossip—even though most of that history stuff she’s so crazy about is nothing but old folks’ gossip.”
    Ophelia frowned. She didn’t like gossip, either, but there might be something here that Verna and Lizzy ought to know about, for their investigation. “What do you mean, Mildred? What do you know?”
    Mildred looked straight ahead, both hands on the wheel. “Well, on Friday afternoon, I happened to go into the drugstore to buy a bottle of Bayer. When I went in, I couldn’t see anybody. Bunny Scott wasn’t there, nor Mr. Lima, either. Which I thought was sorta odd, you know, because Mr. Lima never leaves that store untended, not after he had all that trouble with boys coming in and stealing candy bars. That’s why he put the candy behind the soda fountain counter, where they can’t reach it.” She sighed. “Really, I just don’t understand modern children. They are so undisciplined. Where are their parents? Don’t they learn anything at Sunday school? Why, when we were girls—”
    “You’re right,” Ophelia broke in. Once Mildred got started talking about undisciplined children, she’d never stop. “So what happened when you went into the store?” she prompted.
    Mildred turned the corner onto Ophelia’s street. “Well, like I said, I didn’t see anybody right away, so I went toward the back, where the medicines are. You know the curtain that hangs over the door between the pharmacy area and the storage at the back?”
    Ophelia nodded.
    “Mr. Lima and Miss Scott were behind the curtain,” Mildred said avidly. “I could see their shadows.” She turned to look at Ophelia, her eyes very wide. “He was kissing her, Ophelia! Not in a friendly way, either. Passionate, just like in the movies.”
    “Oh, my gracious!” Ophelia was utterly shocked. “Mr. Lima? Why, he’s a deacon in the Baptist church! What was she doing?”
    Mildred gave what sounded like a snicker. “Well, of course I couldn’t exactly see, since they were behind the curtain. But she definitely wasn’t fighting him off. In fact, I’d say she was giving every bit as good as she got, if you want to put it that way.” They had reached Ophelia’s house. Mildred pulled up in front and turned off the engine.
    “But Mr. Lima is married!” Ophelia protested. “Plus, he must be thirty years older than Bunny is. Was,” she corrected herself quickly. And really, there was no point in passing judgment. Whatever Bunny Scott had done, it was all in the past. Nobody but the good Lord could judge the poor girl now, and maybe He’d be lenient, seeing that she was so young and hadn’t had proper bringing-up.
    Mildred leaned both arms against the steering wheel. “Plus,” she added in a knowing tone, “Mrs. Lima is the jealous type. Remember Nadine Tillman?”
    “Nadine Tillman.” Ophelia pursed her lips, frowning. “I know who she is, but I don’t exactly remember ... Didn’t she work at the drugstore a while back?”
    “Last year, after she got out of high school. But Mrs. Lima found out that Mr. Lima was getting fresh with her.”
    “Mildred!”
    “Exactly. And this is no gossip, Ophelia. I know it for a fact, ‘cause Mrs. Lima’s maid is my Jubilee’s cousin. Jubilee said they were talkin’ about it all over Maysville. You know you can’t keep a thing from the help—especially something like this.”
    Knowing what she knew about the way news got around, Ophelia could not discount this source. And by now, she was deeply interested, in spite of herself—not to mention that this shocking information seemed like something she ought to share with Verna and Lizzy.
    “What happened when Mrs. Lima found out about Nadine Tillman?” she asked.
    “Well, I don’t know what Mrs. Lima said to Mr. Lima, of course. But I can tell you that he fired Nadine. Just flat-out fired her, no notice or anything. The girl left town. Nadine’s mother said she was headed to Chicago to look for work, but she’s never heard from her. Not a peep. Never even got a postcard. Just plain gone. And that’s been over a year ago. For a while, Mrs. Tillman talked about hiring a private detective, but Mr. Tillman got laid off out at the