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Three Dirty Women and the Bitter Brew |
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Chapter One
“You handcuffed the woman on your first date?” Korine McFaile exclaimed. “It was the only way I could go home in one piece. She was a people piranha, just like your roommate.” J.J. Bascom said. “I don’t think Dodie Halloran would sit still long enough for me to put handcuffs on her. She hates me enough already, I just wish I knew why,” Korine answered. The two sat skulking behind the potted palms in the lobby of the Savannah Hilliard Hotel. Korine and Janey Bascom, two-thirds of the partnership of Three Dirty Women Landscaping, Inc., were attending the twelfth annual Southern Small Landscaper’s Conference. So far, barely an hour into the opening cocktail party, Korine had almost forgotten that she prided herself on being a tolerant person. Janey came around the corner with a plate of food for J.J.. The slim woman slid in behind the swaying fronds and sat next to her husband on the overstuffed couch. J.J. put an arm around his wife and tucked her in next to him. Janey’s smooth café-au-lait coloring and J.J.’s weathered good looks made them a striking couple. Opposites only in their looks, the two of them complimented each other’s lives in all the ways that counted. Originally, Janey and Korine were going to room together. Then J.J. had the bright idea to come along and keep Janey company. After the grueling hour she’d spent in her room with Dodie, Korine wished he’d stayed home to take care of business as Pine Grove’s chief of police. Their third partner, Amilou Whittier, had not been able to convince her probation officer that going to Savannah, Georgia did not violate the terms of her sentence. The previous summer, following the murder of Amilou’s husband, Judge Carrolton had saddled Amilou with what some critics were calling a very light sentence for her crimes. To hear Amilou, the sentence was entirely too strict, given the extenuating circumstances. Korine privately agreed with those who criticized the Judge in the case. Amilou still didn’t seem to realize the magnitude of what she had done. “If I wouldn’t lose my job,” J.J. kidded, “I’d offer to convince Dodie myself that she shouldn’t bother you any more.” “That’s not necessary,” Korine smiled in spite of herself at the vision of Dodie handcuffed to a chair somewhere while Korine was free to attend the conference in peace. “If all else fails, I’ll just move in with you.” The silent exchange of panicked looks between her two friends made Korine laugh outright. “Never mind, there’s always the Fairfield Inn down the street. I’ll go there if I need to. I just wish I‘d taken the trouble to find my own roommate, instead of relying on Sharon. She’s got more than enough on her plate organizing all this without having to run a roommate matching service at the same time.” She regarded J.J. and Janey with something approaching her usual humor. Thank goodness they were here. Her son, Chaz, who had moved to Savannah not too long before, was picking her up the next day to take her on a sight-seeing tour of the city. Still, Korine knew that she’d have gone absolutely insane if Janey and J.J. weren’t there to help her regain a proper perspective on things. From the minute Korine walked into their room, Dodie had started complaining about anything and everything – almost as if she was trying deliberately to ruin Korine’s weekend. Korine hadn’t even been able to unpack her clothes without being treated to Dodie’s helpful criticisms. Janey made a bid to change the topic of conversation. She held up the conference program and asked, “Have you decided what sessions you’re interested in yet?” “There’s one on Soils,” Korine said, plunging her hand deep within the blue canvas tote bag they’d given her when she checked in. Korine first pulled out a handful of advertisements, making enough room for her questing fingers to find the slick surface of the program. She opened it and thumbed through. “They’ve got Steve Bender from Southern Living doing, ‘Dishing up Good Dirt’. I love his column so much, I can’t miss that.” She turned the page. “There’s another one first thing in the morning, Bill Welch on antique roses.” A flushed round face sporting bifocals peered through the fronds like a disembodied owl. “Korine?” the vision breathlessly inquired. “You in there?” “Sharon.” Korine stood up and shoved the pot over so that the heavyset woman could get by. “We’re just deciding which part of the conference to attend first.” “I thought that was you mentioning the roses,” Sharon replied. “Bill Welch sure knows his stuff.” The woman’s coifed hair didn’t stir an inch as she nodded vigorously. She was the same age as Korine, but looked and acted ten years older. “I’m a little worried about that seminar on composting. I’m not so sure anyone will be there at all. I mean,” she said, her tone conveying distain in every syllable. “How much is there to throwing all your rotting stuff in a heap and waiting it out?” Janey ducked her head behind her program. Korine avoided looking in her direction as she answered noncommittally. There was a man not far outside Pine Grove who pulled in a very nice salary from recycled horse manure. Composting had come a long way from just putting your kitchen scraps out in the back corner of the yard. “Now, before I forget, Dodie mentioned a little tiff between the two of you?” Korine shifted uncomfortably in her seat. What was Dodie thinking of, pulling Sharon into their squabble? Korine felt a stab of anger. Despite her personal distaste, she had bent over backwards to be polite. “We’ll work it out on our own,” Korine said neutrally. “I would have thought so too, but the poor thing was in tears. I wouldn’t have thought it of you.” “Sharon, that woman could sell you the hind end off a donkey and make you think you’d gotten the better half,” J.J. said. Janey’s gentle touch on J.J.’s arm got his attention and he bit off whatever he had been about to add. Sharon blinked from J.J.’s set face to Korine’s inflamed one. “I see,” she said, and Korine could see the wheels turning. “I thought y’all would enjoy getting to know each other better since Dodie’s moved up to your part of the country. I may have made an error in judgment.” “I don’t actually know Dodie, but her reputation goes before her. I should have said something to you before we actually got into the room.” As Korine paused, she caught an odd look cross Janey’s face out of the corner of her eye. The miserable look on Sharon’s face aroused Korine sense of pity. She repeated her pledge, “You’ve got plenty to worry with over the conference, Sharon, Dodie and I will work out our differences on our own.” “I hope so. I don’t think I can stand any more personality conflicts.” Sharon flipped the fern back behind her head and cruised back out into the crowd. “How did I wind up being the villain?” Korine demanded. Janey said, “I overheard them talking at registration. Dodie and Sharon are cousins. I should have said something much sooner.” “Oh my.” Korine was aghast. Neither Sharon or Dodie had so much as breathed a word of this earlier. J.J. broke the silence. “I don’t know about the two of you, but I want some of that food before it’s all gone. You can’t let Dodie keep you hostage just because she’s unpleasant.” “You’re right, of course. And you’ll be there with your handcuffs if she gets out of hand.” Korine stood up, smoothed her skirt and tucked a stray piece of fluffy gray hair back behind her ears. J.J.’s neck flushed as he looked sternly at Korine. “Sorry,” Korine said, at the same time that Janey said, “What do you mean?” “Long story, honey,” J.J. said, slipping an arm around Janey. He gave Korine a mock hard stare. “Let’s go see what’s left and I’ll tell you all about it.” “What do you mean talking about me behind my back?” Dodie’s tearful voice came from behind Korine as she reached for a veggie cornucopia. Korine deposited the canapé on her plate and slowly turned to face Dodie. “Dodie, Sharon said that you had complained about me. I told her that we’d settle whatever differences we had. In private?” The stress on the last word went right by Dodie. Looking like a stuffed pimento in her tight red sheath, Dodie’s face was blotched and tear stained. “It’s a bit late to keep this private, don’t you think?” Thanks to her shrill voice, Dodie was absolutely correct. Heads were turning in an ever widening circle. Soon the entire ballroom would be witness to this hissy fit. “Dodie, for goodness sake, I don’t want to be at odds with you. After all, we have to live with each other for the rest of this weekend. How ‘bout we go sit down and see if we can find out what’s going on here.” “You publicly malign my reputation? And when I call you on it, you want to go somewhere and sit down and chat?!” Dodie’s voice carried clearly beyond the buffet table to those shamelessly listening from their seats. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Korine was beginning to feel as if she’d stepped in quicksand. This woman’s problems were far more serious than she’d earlier thought. “I was willing to give you some benefit of the doubt when Sharon told me who I would be rooming with. For all I knew, you weren’t the white trash who named the company Three Dirty Women.” Dodie delivered this into dead silence. Every ear in the place was tuned in to see what the latest scandal was about. Korine opened her mouth to reply, but was saved from what her indignation might have inspired by a smooth, deep voice coming from behind her. “Ladies, if you’ll allow me to help, we may be able to sort this out.” Leo Gilcrest, the current President of the Small Landscapers League, cut the two of them out of line and steered them both firmly to his table. While not exactly private, it did afford Korine the opportunity to lower herself into a chair. As soon as she sat down, she realized how badly her legs were shaking. As Dodie opened her mouth, Leo held up one hand to stop her. “I know that you’ve had your feelings hurt, Dodie.” Leo said. “But what I know of Korine doesn’t lead me to expect her to speak poorly of anyone.” Korine wondered who he’d been talking to. She’d never met him before in her life. She’d read his articles in the newsletter and thought he knew his plants pretty well. She’d heard rumors about him though. If the stories told about him were true, he knew his way around the ladies even better than he knew his botany. Dodie pressed her lips together, accentuating the lines that drew from her pinched nose down to her chin. Throwing Korine a look that could kill, she crossed her arms over her chest and exhaled deeply. “Now as I understand it, you two were assigned to room together and haven’t hit it off?” Leo’s voice was hypnotizing, low and rumbly, causing Korine’s mind to wander. She firmly yanked it back. Her husband had been gone seven years, but this was the first time she’d noticed a man since she’d lost Charlie. Poor timing, and, given those notorious stories, a poor choice on her part. Dodie didn’t seem to have that trouble. Leaning forward, her expression softened until she looked for all the world like a lost kitten who’d found the Holy Grail, filled to the rim with cream. She reached out and batted his arm. “Leo, you know how I get when people say mean things.” “Yes, but I wish you’d find out if people really did say those things before attacking them.” He took her hand and squeezed it. The smoldering look that passed between them told Korine that her instinct to steer clear of this man had been correct. His conquest sat before him, one who would scratch Korine’s eyes out in a heartbeat. “I don’t know what Sharon told you,” Korine began. She tried to smile, but the indignation that Dodie’s accusations had aroused robbed her of that ability. “It’s true that you and I didn’t exactly hit it off. But I don’t know you well enough to have said anything really horrible about you.” Dodie’s eyes narrowed as she considered Korine. “I guess I should apologize for flying off the handle. It happens sometimes.” “I’m more than happy to apologize also, but I wish I knew what I was supposed to be apologizing for before I start.” Leo sat back, the telltale creak of the folding chair betraying his size. “Dodie, What did Sharon tell you?” Instead of replying, Dodie turned instead to Korine. “If you were that unhappy with me as your roommate, Korine, I wish you’d told me instead of going to Sharon with those accusations. I know I’m new to this landscaping thing, but I’m trying as hard as I can to learn.” Korine stared at her. She hadn’t said word one about Dodie’s gardening skill, or lack thereof, mostly because she didn’t know anything at all about it. She opened her mouth and said so. “But Sharon said…” Korine interrupted, “Cross my heart. I did not say any such thing.” Looking steadily into Dodie’s eyes, she saw something human flicker in the hazel depths, then die down. “Well then. I guess y’all are friends again.” Leo sounded as pleased with himself as could be. “Let me go get a plate for you two ladies, then we can sit down together and visit some about more pleasant things.” When neither of them objected, he took himself off to the buffet and armed himself with two more plates. Watching him balance them on one arm as he piled enough food for an army on them, Korine shook off the feeling of unease that Leo Gilcrest inspired in her. She turned to Dodie and said, “Maybe we should start all over again.” She put her hand out to shake. Dodie stared at it. Again that strange flicker aroused itself in the back of Dodie’s eyes, making her seem almost vulnerable. It was fleeting, and her face regained its predatory mask, like a lioness on the hunt. She reached out and took Korine’s hand gingerly between three fingers, a gentile Southern lady’s handshake. “Friends,” Dodie said. “Friends,” Korine repeated as Leo put the overfull plates in front of them. She spend the rest of the meal wondering how Dodie planned to get back at her. That Dodie planned to be friendly anywhere except in Leo’s company never entered Korine’s mind.
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