The old plantation house sat atop a slight rise. Sycamore trees, just beginning to show the first tiny green sprouts of leaves, lined the driveway. Dahlia House. It wasn’t as large or ostentatious as Long Hall, but it had a charm all its own, Tabitha thought as Roger drove her for the brunch. By all reasoning, she should be headed back to New Orleans, not going to brunch, but Roger had invited her and Trudy to visit for a week or two. She’d found her sister, and Sheriff Coleman Peters and his deputies had arrested Lily Kennedy and several employees of the Kennedy agricultural business. Lily was charged with the murder of Lisa East and Alan Dotsun. Alan had uncovered the seed issues and threatened to go to the USDA, so Lily had shot him.
Even as they drove across the fertile fields, a team of bio-scientists were at the research facility where Alan had been killed. They would determine what Dirk and Roger would do with the fields they’d planted with the G9-14 cotton seed.
“I would never have suspected Lily,” Tabitha said. She held Trouble on her lap. The cat acted like he had ants in his pants. He was talking in little gerbil sounds and spinning in circles.
“I’ve known her all my life. I never figured her for a murderer, either. I don’t think she ever really cared for Dirk. He fit the role for her, but Lily isn’t just greedy. She’s possessive. Even when it isn’t something she really wants, she can’t stand for someone else to have it.” Roger sighed. “If her father isn’t involved, this will break his heart.”
“I’m sorry for that.”
“Two people are dead and no telling how many more will be hurt. But at least the cotton will be contained.”
Roger’s anger seemed to have left him. Tabitha put a hand on his arm. “Lily was ruthless and she wasn’t used to opposition. Few people in the Delta would go up against the Kennedy family. They had the money and the power to push things their way.”
“The way I see it, Dirk was the perfect husband and also the perfect place to try that experimental seed. My land was a bonus for her—until Trudy started asking questions.”
“This is hard to accept. Lily was willing to risk the land, the future?” Tabitha still had plenty of questions.
“Seemingly, so. The minute Alan caught on, he was going to call the feds. And DayZSeed was also caught up in this without any malicious intent. Sure, they were eager to have that new, magic seed, but they never intended to produce anything poisonous.”
“Alan asked me out on a date so he could find out what I know, didn’t he?” Tabitha asked.
“Well, I’m sure he thought you were pretty hot.” Roger finally smiled. “If he didn’t, he was blind.”
“Me-ow!” Trouble added.
They stopped at the front of the house and the door opened and the tall, handsome sheriff and a dark-haired woman that had to be Sarah Booth Delaney came out of the house to greet them. They were joined by a red tick hound and the plump black cat, Pluto.
Trouble jumped out the open truck window and ran toward Pluto. The two cats did a meet and greet and ran to the end of the porch. Trudy and Dirk, along with Vesta, pulled up and got out of the car. Vesta joined the black cats and they all three ran into the house. Charline and Samuel arrived, with Tammy Lynn in the backseat. Hannah and Antoine were the last to pull up.
“Looks like homecoming week,” Roger said as he made the introductions all around.
Coleman pulled Roger and Tabitha aside. “Thanks for helping my deputies put this case to bed.”
“Glad we could help,” Roger said. “You actually should be thanking those cats.”
Coleman nodded. “I know. A lot of folks would be skeptical, but not me.” He leaned in a little closer. “I asked Millie from the café to cater this brunch. Sarah Booth tries, but bless her heart, she isn’t much of a cook. I’d hate to see y’all survive a kidnapper and murderer only to die of ptomaine poisoning.”
“Thanks,” Tabitha said. “Do you know what the USDA is going to do with the cotton that was planted?”
“They’re going to pull it up and destroy it. That land will have to remain fallow until there’s research done to make certain it isn’t contaminated. You guys prevented a serious disaster.”
“Glad we could help,” Tabitha said.
“Let’s go inside and eat.”
Roger couldn’t help glancing at his mother and Antoine. He’d already apologized for assuming the worst, and surprisingly, Hannah had been very reasonable and forgiving. Antoine had excused himself, and Roger had had a long conversation with his mother. She’d told him that Micah Malone was his father, and that at long last, she was going to be able to put that loss behind her.
“The bitterness of losing Micah nearly ruined my life. And yours,” she’d said. “But I want to make a fresh start, if you can allow that. Antoine and I won’t be staying in Sunflower County. We’re going to continue our work, Antoine with the FBI and me with Green World. We seem to make a very good team. But I’d like to feel welcome with you and Charline and Samuel.”
It had been a happy resolution, and now he smiled at his mother and she blew him a kiss. Dirk and Trudy, too, seemed to have found a groove where they had a shot at some happiness. Roger had gotten over his first impulse to take her to task for not confiding in him. And he still had one unanswered question.
“Trudy, how did you come to work in Sunflower County? How did you know about the experimental seed?”
“I was waiting tables in the French Quarter and I fell in with some young people who were passionate about the environment and politics. They’d heard a rumor about a new seed being developed by a chemical company. The rumors were really bad, and they had a line on the fact that the Mississippi Delta had been targeted as the place to try out the seed. We knew it had to be stopped.” She grinned. “Yeah, they were talking about agri-espionage. They needed someone undercover in the business here in Sunflower County. I showed a talent for that kind of science and also for undercover work. I took a few classes and set up to move to Sunflower County. The dating service was their idea, and it worked like a charm. I hooked Dirk.” She cast a smoldering look at him.
“She hooked me good,” Dirk said. “I think she saved me from a lifetime of woe.”
“You don’t mean to say you’re giving up your womanizing ways,” Roger teased him.
“It’s time for me to grow up. Lily gave me license to stay forever a juvenile, but I don’t want that. I really don’t. I want to be someone a woman can be proud of.”
Roger raised his eyebrows and squeezed Tabitha’s hand. “Wow. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”
His comment drew laughter from everyone around the table.
Roger looked around at his family and realized how lucky he was. He counted Tabitha among his family. He didn’t know what the future held for them, but he wanted a chance to get to know her better. New Orleans wasn’t that far away. And he had a sneaky suspicion that Trudy intended to spend a lot of time in the Delta. He glanced into the kitchen and saw the three cats chowing down together. Yes, there were many reasons that the two sisters needed to spend a lot of time in the Delta.
Tabitha finished the brunch, which was delicious. Millie Roberts was highly touted as a local chef and she lived up to the billing. Everyone was engaged in lively conversation, but movement in the kitchen caught Tabitha’s eye. She excused herself and stepped into the kitchen. The swinging door shut silently behind her.
“Still hungry?” The striking black woman dressed in a costume from the 1860s stood at the stove.
“Who are you?” Tabitha asked. Her breath condensed in front of her and she felt a sudden bitter cold.
“I’m Jitty. Sarah Booth’s haint.”
Tabitha realized she was speaking with an apparition, and one that knew she was dead. And she wasn’t in the least bit shocked or afraid. “Why do you haunt Sarah Booth?”
“To keep her company. To keep her straight. To give her the advice that only a lovin’ family member can give.” She shrugged. “To keep her from bein’ too lonely about the past.”
Tabitha understood completely. “You’re her guardian angel.”
Jitty scoffed loudly. “She wouldn’t see it that way.”
“But I do.”
“I got a message for your friend, Charline. It’s from her ma-in-law.”
“Suellen.” Tabitha breathed the name.
“That’s her. She says to tell Charline to plan a wedding. Not summer, but fall, when the weather is cool and the cotton is comin’ in.”
Tabitha laughed. “Are you talking about my wedding?”
“Listen, Missy, I’m not askin’ you to interpret. Just deliver the message. Tell her Suellen recommends the rose garden on a fine November day. Could be a double wedding if that Dirk Cotwell plays his cards right.” The apparition faded slightly. “Maybe you could inspire Sarah Booth to think about makin’ a commitment. That girl is gonna end up a spinster if she doesn’t get busy.”
Before Tabitha could even laugh at the idea, the kitchen door swung open and Roger entered. “You okay?”
“Better than okay,” she said, bending down to refill the cat bowls. “Way better than okay.” She stood up and put her arms around Roger’s neck and kissed him with all of her heart.
I hear Tammy Lynn calling my name. I can leave Sunflower County in the capable hands of Pluto and his lady love, Vesta. I even feel a small fondness for the red hound dog snoring by the stove. For a dog, she’s smart and non-intrusive.
It’s been a fine adventure in the Mississippi Delta. Now it’s on to new cases, new scenery, and new black cat fun.