Free The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star by Susan Wittig Albert

can’t tell you what she’s afraid of, but she’s
scared.
”
    Lizzy paused, considering. “Of course, there’s danger and there’s
danger
,”
she said thoughtfully.
“Miss Dare is probably a lot more comfortable with the danger she’s trained herself to handle. Danger in the air is something she knows how to deal with. Danger on the ground is something else altogether.”
    “That’s it exactly, Liz,” Charlie said. “You’ve put your finger on it. And whether she thinks she’s the one who’s in danger or whether it’s somebody else, I don’t know.” He leaned forward. “But I do know this, Liz. We have to be on the lookout for trouble while she’s here. And I think you can help.”
    “Me? But I don’t—”
    Charlie interrupted her. “Look. I intend to hang around the airstrip as much as I can and keep an eye on her plane, make sure there’s no repetition of that sabotage. I understand that Lily and that aerialist—Angel Flame, she calls herself—are staying with the Kilgores while they’re here in Darling. And you and Mildred Kilgore are friends.” He gave her a raised-eyebrow look. “True?”
    Lizzy nodded slowly. Yes, they were friends, although she and Mildred didn’t see much of each other outside the Dahlias’ meetings these days. The Kilgores lived practically next door to the golf course. They belonged to what Lizzy thought of as Darling’s “high society.”
    Charlie was going on. “So I thought maybe you could keep an eye on things at the Kilgore place. While Miss Dare is staying there, I mean.”
    Keep an eye on things?
“I don’t know how I can do that, Charlie.” Lizzy paused, wondering if she should tell him about the awkward corner she had backed herself into—about her date for the party—and then decided against it. “I’m a guest at the party Friday night. The only reason I’m there is to present the plant—the Texas Star—that the Dahlias are giving to Miss Dare. Most of the time, I’m not invited to country club parties.”
    Charlie was silent for a moment. Then he sighed. “I see. Well, there’s probably nothing you can do, then.” He looked embarrassed. “Oh, hell,” he muttered. “I guess I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth. Sorry I bothered you with this, Liz.”
    Lizzy reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Oh, don’t be sorry!” she exclaimed. “I’m glad you told me. Maybe I can think of some way to help.” She hesitated. “Would it be okay if I shared some of what you’ve told me with Mildred? I wouldn’t say anything about your knowing Miss Dare, of course. But I can at least alert her to the possibility of trouble. And if I talk to her, maybe I can figure out how to be of more help.”
    Charlie pulled his brows together. “Well, I don’t know—”
    “And in a way,” Lizzy broke in, “now that I know there might be a problem, I feel sort of obligated to tell Mildred.” She was being truthful. “I mean, it really doesn’t seem right to let her go into this situation blind, so to speak. After all, it’s her
house.”
And her husband,
she thought, but didn’t say.
    Charlie considered that for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds right, Liz. Go ahead and talk to Mildred Kilgore, although I’d appreciate it if you kept me out of it as much as possible. I’ll have a little talk with Lily when she flies in.
If
she flies in,” he amended. “If they can’t get that airplane in the air, the show’s likely to be canceled. And you can forget everything you heard just now. In fact, I wish you would.”
    “Oh, I hope not,” Lizzy exclaimed. “That it’s canceled, I mean. Everybody would be so disappointed.”
    Charlie shook his head. “I don’t know, Liz,” he said ominously. “I have the feeling it might be better if it were.”
    The door opened and Lizzy and Charlie looked up. It was Ophelia, carrying two pieces of pie and two cups of coffee.
    “Gee, Liz,” she said, as she came around the corner. “If