Nikki dug out the tub of ice cream while Dessie dished up the cobbler. Then they carried their desserts back to the table and sat across from one another.
Nikki sampled the warm blackberries while keeping an eye on her companion. “Yum. You’re right. Lila is a good cook. Not as good as you, though.”
“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Dessie warned. “You know Lila. She has to be best at everything, be it growing roses or baking cobblers.”
“Or planning funerals.”
“That, too.”
Nikki let the ice cream melt for a moment. “Did you tell her there wasn’t going to be a formal service?”
“I did.”
“How did she take it?”
“About as well as you’d expect. Luckily, Clete...Mr. Darnell was there to back me up.”
“Yes, that was lucky.”
Dessie glanced across the table as if detecting something troubling in Nikki’s tone. A frown flickered before she shrugged it away. “Not that it’ll make that much difference to Lila. She’ll do as she pleases regardless of anyone else’s wishes. She always has. She muttered something about a memorial service before she finally left.”
“Maybe a memorial service wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Nikki said. “Just something simple where people in the community can get together to celebrate Dr. Nance’s life.”
Dessie gave her an odd look. “Nothing is simple once Lila Wilkes gets involved. She turns everything into a production. She loves to be the center of attention, even at someone else’s memorial service.”
“You don’t like her much, do you?” Nikki asked carefully.
Dessie hesitated. “No, I guess I don’t. Just between you and me, we’ve had our problems in the past.”
“What kind of problems?”
Dessie looked discomfited. “I shouldn’t speak ill of the woman. Especially on a Sunday.”
“It’s just me,” Nikki coaxed.
Dessie dabbed her lips. “Don’t get me wrong. She’s done a lot of good things in this town. Been a real blessing to the elderly. I don’t know what some folks around here would do without her. But she’s always had a problem with boundaries.”
“What do you mean?”
“She used to think nothing of calling Dr. Nance in the middle of the night or showing up here at all hours to ask about a medication or treatment for someone she was looking after. Half the time, he wasn’t even the person’s doctor. I finally had to tell her she needed to respect his personal time. Either go to the ER or make an appointment.”
“What did she say to that?”
“She didn’t like it, but that wasn’t the first time I’d had to call her out. We had some of the same issues when she first came to town.”
Nikki idly stirred the melted ice cream into the gooey filling. “She told me a little about her move here. She said Dr. Nance was the one who tracked her down and convinced her to come to Belle Pointe to care for her aunt.”
Dessie’s mouth thinned. “He tracked her down. I don’t know how much convincing he had to do.”
“Yes, I got the impression she hadn’t exactly resisted the idea.” Nikki glanced up. “You were already working for Dr. Nance at the time?”
Dessie nodded. “I started here right after his wife died. Part-time at first until I moved into the garage apartment. Then I took on more responsibilities. Not just cooking and cleaning, but paying bills, overseeing repairs, that sort of thing. My mama raised me to be plainspoken, so maybe I wasn’t as tactful as I should have been with someone like Lila. She’s...needy. But Dr. Nance had suffered a terrible tragedy and he was working himself to death just trying to cope with the loss. I felt very protective of him.”
“What did Lila do?”
“Besides the phone calls and the unannounced visits? Sometimes she’d go to the hospital to try and catch him between rounds. I guess she thought since he was the one who brought her here, she was entitled to his undivided time and attention. I stepped in and put a stop to it then, and later when things got out of hand again.”
Dessie’s candor surprised Nikki, even though she’d come here looking for answers. She’d gotten an eyeful snooping into that envelope and now she was getting an earful about Lila Wilkes. But a strange sense of unease dampened her excitement. The thought occurred to her that maybe Dessie was playing her, revealing information calculated to distract and mislead.
Nikki put that thought aside and tried to maintain a neutral tone. “Do you think Lila had romantic feelings for Dr. Nance?”
Dessie seemed to consider the question carefully. “I have wondered about that at times. It would explain a lot.” Her gaze sharpened. “Why? Did she say something to you?”
“Only that she had a crush on him when she first came here. She said everyone in town did.”
Dessie scowled. “I don’t know about everyone, but I reckon he was considered a catch. A young, handsome widower and a doctor, to boot. He could have had his pick of lady friends, and I doubt Lila Wilkes would have been high on that list.”
Nikki thought about Tom Brannon’s suggestion that something may have gone on between Dessie and Dr. Nance. Was that the reason Dessie had felt so protective of him? The real reason for her animosity toward Lila Wilkes?
“This may sound strange, but did Lila ever stalk Dr. Nance? You said she used to turn up at the hospital to see him. That’s pretty aggressive behavior.”
“Well, that’s Lila. She’s a bulldozer when she wants something.”
“Did you ever catch her snooping through his things?”
The question seemed to catch Dessie off guard. “Snooping through his things? What are you talking about?”
“At some point in time, someone came into this house and took Dr. Nance’s gold watch from the mantel in his study. Instead of selling such an expensive timepiece, the thief hid it under a floorboard at the Ruins. Maybe I’m reaching, but that seems personal to me. That watch meant a lot to him.”
Dessie’s gaze widened. “You think Lila Wilkes took his watch?”
“Maybe she thought she could
