Wiped Out (3 page)

“Try out that new place that just opened on Magazine,” she heard Mimi tell June. The women's voices faded, and June's reply was inaudible once Charlotte reached the second floor.

A few minutes later, Charlotte was smoothing down the comforter on the bed in the master bedroom when Mimi walked into the room. “I was beginning to think that June was never going to leave, poor thing. I hated to do it, but I finally had to tell her that I had plans for lunch.”

The only thing that Charlotte could think to say was, “She seems like a nice lady.”

“Oh, she is, and I love her dearly—we've been friends for almost ten years now—but June is one of those women who are never satisfied no matter what they have.” Mimi waved a dismissing hand. “But never mind all that. I'm sure you must be starving by now. I know I am. Why don't you go ahead and take your lunch break? I need to get a quick shower, and then I have a luncheon date. But I'll be back before it's time for you to leave,” she added.

Charlotte smiled. “I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything.”

 

It was almost three-thirty on the dot when Mimi returned from her luncheon date. Charlotte was loading her vacuum cleaner and supply carrier into the back of the van when Mimi drove past her, waved, then turned the corner leading to her driveway. If nothing else, her new employer was punctual, Charlotte thought, as she slammed the door to the van. It was a trait that Charlotte admired and adhered to herself.

By the time Charlotte finished putting her things away, Mimi was already waiting for her in the kitchen. “Would you like to inspect everything before I leave?” Charlotte asked.

Mimi shook her head. “Heavens, no. I'm sure everything is just fine. But I would like to ask if you'd mind staying late on Friday. A group I belong to—the HHS—is meeting here Friday afternoon.

“Is that the Horticulture Heritage Society?”

Mimi smiled. “You've heard of it?”

Charlotte nodded. “It's a garden club that specializes in the propagation and preservation of heritage plants, isn't it? At least that's what the write-up in the
Picayune
said.”

“Well it's good to know that someone actually read that article. And you're right. That's exactly what we do.”

“I always try to attend the annual spring and fall charity sales each year,” Charlotte said. “I've picked up some really nice plants in the past and always look forward to it.” Charlotte laughed. “But then I should have guessed that you would be involved.” She spread her hands out as if to encompass the house and grounds. “You have such beautiful landscaping and so many lovely plants inside and out.”

Mimi beamed. “Why, thank you. I don't really like to brag about it, but I actually founded the HHS.” She momentarily averted her eyes as if embarrassed by the admission. Then, she glanced back at Charlotte. “Guess that's what I just did, though, didn't I? Brag about it, I mean.” She laughed and waved a dismissive hand. “Anyway, we're having a meeting on Friday afternoon. It starts at two, so do you think you'll be finished cleaning by then?”

“Shouldn't be a problem,” Charlotte answered. “Today took a little longer because I waxed the floors, but I won't be waxing every week.”

“Good. I really could use some help during the meeting. We're electing officers, but we also have to decide on a charity to sponsor for our fall event.” She paused, her brow wrinkled, and then she said, “I have to confess that I'm a bit nervous about this particular meeting. For the first time in the almost ten years that I've been president, there's actually someone running against me.” Her expression turned fierce. “I still can't believe it. And after all the time and money I've spent.” She shook her head and sighed. “In any case, I've got a really bad feeling that I'm going to need all the help and support that I can get.”

F
ifteen women showed up for the HHS meeting at Mimi's house on Friday afternoon. Charlotte knew there were fifteen because, at Mimi's request, she'd been instructed to greet each one of them at the door and escort them to the front parlor.

With the arrival of each member, it quickly became obvious that the women had been there before and already knew their way to the parlor. Greeting Mimi's guests at the front door was one thing, but personally escorting each one into the parlor was an unnecessary and pretentious gesture at best, simply a way, Charlotte realized, for Mimi to show off her new maid.

By the time she had escorted the last two women into the parlor, her face ached from maintaining a smile, and the decibel level in the parlor had risen sharply.

The noise reminded Charlotte of a swarm of bees, each trying to outbuzz the other. Buzzing bees was a fitting description, she decided, as she placed cups and saucers on the buffet in the dining room for the refreshment break. After all, the HHS was an organization for the propagation and preservation of heritage plants, and bees helped propagate plants, didn't they?

Snickering at her private little joke, Charlotte checked the silver coffee urn, made a mental note that it could use a good cleaning and polishing, and then arranged the crystal wine glasses that she'd set out earlier on the buffet. Charlotte held up one of the delicate, paper-thin glasses to the light. The pattern of the crystal was one that she recognized as being very old and rare…and very expensive.

Carefully placing the wine glass back on the buffet, she frowned. Mimi had only set out one bottle of wine. One bottle wouldn't go very far. As she made a mental note to search the pantry for more, she turned to inspect the table one last time.

Like most of the other furnishings in the house, the buffet, the china cabinet, and the table and chairs were beautifully preserved antiques that fit the era in which the house was built.

An ivory-colored, intricately crocheted tablecloth covered the large, oblong table. In the center of the table was a large vase overflowing with zinnias, marigolds, and salvias that Mimi had grown in her greenhouse and arranged herself that morning.

At one end of the table Charlotte had placed linen napkins, crystal dessert plates, and silver forks. At the other end she'd set out two small crystal bowls: one she'd filled with mixed nuts, and the other, mints. She'd purposely left both sides of the table clear for the trays of pastries she had yet to prepare.

Satisfied with the appearance of the table, Charlotte headed back to the kitchen. Though the voices in the parlor were somewhat muted, even in the kitchen she could still hear bits and pieces of the chatter.

On the cabinet countertop were several white boxes from Gambino's Bakery, filled with assorted pastries. Beside the boxes were four crystal platters.

Charlotte had just finished arranging the fourth platter when the sound of the back door opening gave her a start. With a puzzled frown, she turned to see June Bryant enter the kitchen. In June's arms was a bulky sack.

“Hi, Charlotte,” June said. “Hope I didn't startle you.”

“Just a little,” Charlotte admitted, with a forced smile. “I guess I just assumed that the back door was locked.”

June laughed and set the sack down on the table. “It probably should be, but Mimi rarely locks it when she's home.” She pulled a bottle of wine out of the sack. “I was supposed to have brought these over earlier, but I've been running late all day long.” She removed two more bottles. “I figured that the meeting would already be well under way by now, but judging by the noise, I guess they haven't gotten started yet.”

June pointed at a drawer near the sink. “The corkscrew is in there,” she said. “Just uncork these, if you don't mind, and put them on the buffet. The bottle of white wine should go in a wine bucket with ice. I think Mimi has one stored in the cabinet beneath the sink. I'd do it myself, but I'm sure that Mimi's probably having fits wondering where I am.”

“I'll take care of it,” Charlotte told her.

“Great! And thanks.” June folded the sack, then shoved it into the trash can. “Now—” She dusted her hands and drew in a deep breath. “Guess I'd better get in there before Mimi has heart failure.”

At least the wine problem was solved, Charlotte thought, as she watched June hurry from the room. Charlotte stepped over to the drawer that June had pointed out, and, sure enough, there was a corkscrew inside, along with various serving implements.

“So what about the red wine?” she murmured. “I thought red wine was supposed to have time to breathe.” At least that's what she'd heard. She inserted the corkscrew into the cork of the first bottle. When she'd twisted most of the cork out, she placed a dish towel over the top of the bottle and finished working the cork out with her fingers. A soft pop sounded, and Charlotte repeated the process on the second bottle. Charlotte was working on the cork of the third bottle when she heard a loud rapping sound in the parlor. The abrupt silence that followed was startling and a bit eerie after all of the noise.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. Evidently, as June had indicated, Mimi
had
been waiting for her friend's arrival before calling the meeting to order.

With a shrug, Charlotte finished uncorking the last bottle and carried the two bottles of red wine into the dining room. As she placed them on the buffet, Mimi's commanding voice broke the silence in the parlor and carried into the dining room.

“The monthly meeting of HHS is now called to order, and since I don't see any visitors who need welcoming, we'll move on to the reading of the minutes and the financial report. I'd like a motion to dispense with both.”

Charlotte heard June make the motion and another voice seconded it.

“Good,” Mimi said. “Thank you. Our next order of business for the day is our presidential election. After the election we'll take a short refreshment break before tackling the rest of our business. Nominations for president of HHS are now open.”

There were a few moments of complete silence, and then a crisp voice with a no-nonsense tone spoke up. “I nominate Rita Landers for president.”

Almost immediately, a second, more vigorous voice chimed in. “I second the nomination.”

As Charlotte headed back toward the kitchen, she heard June Bryant speak up. “I nominate Mimi Adams for president.”

In the kitchen, Charlotte iced down the remaining bottle of wine in a silver wine bucket, and when she returned to the dining room with the wine and the first platter of pastries, Mimi was talking again. “Are there any more nominations?” A short silence followed; then she continued. “Voting will be by secret ballot. Our vice president, June Bryant, is passing those out now. And since there are no more nominations, we'll vote. When you've finished marking your ballot, give it back to June and she'll count them.”

A murmur of protest broke out. “That doesn't seem quite fair, Mimi.” It was the same voice that had nominated the woman named Rita. “We all know that you and June are friends, and besides, she was the one who nominated you.”

“Are you insinuating that I would cheat?” June challenged.

Personally, Charlotte thought that the woman had a valid point, so why on earth was June being so defensive? In spite of herself, Charlotte's curiosity overcame her common sense. With her ears tuned to the goings-on in the parlor, she made a show of straightening the forks on the table while she waited to hear how the woman would respond to June's question.

There was a slight hesitation before the woman finally answered June, and even to Charlotte's ears, she sounded embarrassed. “No, June,” she said. “Of course I don't think you would cheat. Sorry…” Her voice trailed away.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. June's intimidation tactic had worked. The woman had given in. The woman might as well have said nothing at all if she hadn't been prepared to back it up. Instead, all the poor thing had done was humiliate herself. Too bad, Charlotte thought, as she headed back to the kitchen for the remaining platters of pastries.

A few minutes later, when Charlotte returned to the kitchen for the last platter, June was standing by the kitchen table. On the table were two stacks of small square pieces of paper.

“Just counting the ballots,” June said absently, as she thumbed through the first stack. With a frown, she counted the same ballots again. Then, after only a moment's hesitation, she wrote something down on a notepad.

Charlotte picked up the last platter and carried it to the dining room. When she returned to the kitchen, June was tearing one of the ballots into little pieces. Startled by Charlotte's return, June glanced up with the look of someone who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Then, with an expression of relief and a tight smile, she picked up her notepad and pen and walked over to the trash can. She dropped the pieces inside, and without a word, she marched out of the kitchen.

Once June had disappeared through the doorway, Charlotte tilted her head and stared at the trash can. There was only one reason why June would have torn up one of the ballots.

“Oh, for pity's sake,” she muttered. Though she couldn't be certain, she was pretty sure that June had just rigged the election to make sure Mimi won. More than likely, she'd forged a ballot to take the place of the one she'd destroyed. Charlotte shook her head in disgust. Too bad the woman who had protested had been such a coward and hadn't stuck to her guns when she'd challenged June about counting the ballots.

Charlotte turned to stare at the dining room doorway. There was no good reason to return to the dining room since everything was ready and waiting for the ladies to take their refreshment break. “Nope,” Charlotte muttered, “no reason at all.” But then she didn't really need a reason, did she? Still, she hesitated.

Mind your own business.

Ignoring the voice of reason in her head, she grabbed a feather duster from her supply carrier and marched into the dining room. The moment she entered the room, she heard June's announcement of the voting results.

“The winner and new president of HHS is Mimi Adams.”

“Who didn't know that?” Charlotte grumbled to herself in the dining room.

With June's announcement, a murmur of disbelief broke out in the parlor, then, above the chatter, a louder voice. “Ah, excuse me please. Excuse me.” The noise died down. “I don't mean to sound like sour grapes,” the woman said, “but I would like to know what the ballot count was.”

Had to be the other candidate, Charlotte figured, as she brushed the feather duster along the edges of the buffet. Rita something or other was her name if she remembered right.

“Of course, Rita,” June answered. “The vote was eight for you and nine for Mimi.”

Charlotte winced. Even to her ears, June's tone dripped with condescension.

“It was a close vote,” June continued. “But we all know that ‘close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.'”

“Or when there's cheating going on,” Rita shot back. “May I please see the ballots.”

Rita's own condescending tone more than matched June's, and Charlotte could just imagine the hateful looks bouncing back and forth between the two women.

“Gladly,” June retorted. “Here, count 'em yourself.”

Several moments passed, and the parlor was so quiet that Charlotte fancied she could hear the rustling of the ballots being counted by Rita. For all the good it would do her, Charlotte thought. The fix was in. June had made sure of it.

“Well?” June demanded. “Are you satisfied now?”

“Not by a long shot,” Rita snapped back. “Winning by only one vote is just a bit obvious, don't you think, especially when you went slinking off to the kitchen to count the votes all by yourself. Without any witnesses, I might add.”

“Now you just hold on there,” Mimi cried. “June would never—”

Rita interrupted with a shout. “No, Mimi,
you
hold on! Secret ballots are one thing, but this is carrying things too far. And anyone with any scruples at all would offer to let everyone vote again and count the votes in the presence of everyone—which is what should have been done to begin with.”

The silence was deafening. Charlotte held her breath, waiting to see if Mimi would give in to Rita's demands. But Mimi didn't say a word, and after a moment it was Rita who finally spoke again. “That's it! I'm out of here. I don't like cheaters. Never have. And you know exactly what you can do with your election and your precious HHS,” she added.

“Hey, Rita, wait for me,” a voice called out. “I'm going with you.”

“Me too,” another voice chimed in.

“Me three,” yet another voice spoke up.

Mere seconds later, the front door slammed so hard that the sound echoed throughout the house. There was a brief moment of dead silence, and then the room burst into an uproar.

Buzzing bees, thought Charlotte.
Angry
buzzing bees. But no, not bees. Bees were much too tame by comparison. It was more like Rita had stirred up the mother of all hornets' nests.

Several loud raps sounded. “Order, please,” Mimi cried, but the women ignored her. “Ladies!” Mimi rapped sharply again and kept rapping until the chatter finally died to a low murmur. “I think that now would be a good time for our break,” she said, her voice quivering with emotion. “There's coffee, wine, and pastries in the dining room across the hallway. We'll reconvene in about twenty minutes.”

Uh oh
. Suddenly realizing that her presence in the dining room could be construed as eavesdropping, Charlotte tucked her feather duster beneath her arm and hurried back into the kitchen. She was bent over her supply carrier when Mimi entered the room only seconds later. Charlotte straightened. Mimi's face was pale, and she looked as if any minute she were going to burst into tears.