“If that’s her dad they’re a very close family.” Maggie sipped her wine.
The two stood up and went down the hallway.
A man who was unfamiliar to me tapped a shrimp cocktail fork against his tumbler of amber liquid and said, “Attention, attention. I’d like to invite anyone with a happy memory of Evelyn to step forward and share it.”
For a brief second, no one moved. I had the horrible thought that no one shared a happy memory of Evelyn Carrington, but that proved to be my own misgivings.
A woman stepped forward and started talking about Evelyn’s devotion to children’s cancer research and the success of one event after another spearheaded by Evelyn.
It launched a parade of similar speeches.
“Did anyone actually know her as a person?” Maggie wondered. “It’s all about her charity work.”
“Some people are difficult to know, I guess.” I gestured with my hand. “There’s a wall there.”
The man who had been with Hyacinth returned to the living room solo and moved to the front to give his own few words. “I’ve known Evelyn since the late seventies.” He launched into an anecdote about the beach in Biloxi and sand in the shoes that was probably the most personal of all the speeches. He was charming and entertaining and had people chuckling.
Hyacinth either didn’t want to hear everyone lauding Evelyn, or she was noshing on the divine shrimp. Either was valid, in my opinion.
He was reaching his crescendo, a group of friends ordering flapjacks at four in the morning when a woman’s scream ripped right through the room, drowning him out.
We all looked around for the source of the interruption.
To my shock, it was Vivienne, rushing into the living room. “Call 911!” she yelled, frantic.
I’d only known her for three days but even with everything going on this weekend Vivienne had maintained her cool the majority of the time. She was observant and mostly unflappable. Seeing her upset and breathing hard told me something serious had happened.
“What’s going on?” someone asked.
“There’s blood everywhere! She hit her head. Call 911!”
Another scream rang out from down the hall. “Oh my word! Hyacinth!”
Maggie and I rushed down the hall. Given the corner we’d been in we were at the front of the pack. I could practically feel the press of a dozen bodies following us to see what was going on.
A woman who I recognized from the Society, but whose name I couldn’t remember, was standing outside of the powder room, weeping and pointing. “She must have hit her head. She’s completely unconscious.”
I glanced into and the most shocking thing I saw was not the pink and black flamingo wallpaper.
It was Hyacinth, splayed out on the marble floor, covered in blood.
My stomach lurched.
“Jeez,” Maggie breathed. She turned and yelled, “Did someone call for an ambulance yet? She’s hit her head on the pedestal sink or toilet.”
Or someone had hit her over the head. I noted a pair of brass candlesticks on the shelf above the toilet and an angel figurine. The figurine would have broken but the candlesticks would make a formidable weapon. As far as powder rooms went it was large in scope so I stepped in to inspect the candlesticks while Maggie dropped down beside Hyacinth. She took her hand and murmured reassuring words to the unconscious woman.
I couldn’t see anything without touching it. Dorothy kept far too immaculate a house to have any dust that would be disturbed. I didn’t want to look suspicious so with my heart hammering in my chest, I decided that the amateur detective side of me wasn't as important as the decent human side of me. I squatted down on Hyacinth’s other side and squeezed her forearm through her blazer sleeve.
“You’re going to be fine, Hyacinth,” I told her. “You’re tougher than this. I know you are.”
We hadn’t been the best of friends in school but I didn’t wish her harm, that was for sure.
Vivienne appeared in the doorway, tears running down her cheeks. “I was waiting outside of the powder room to use it and no one was coming out. I knocked and got no answer so I turned the knob. It opened, so I assumed someone closed the door when they exited. And then I saw her… what on earth happened?”
Other faces crowded the doorway behind Vivienne before the man who had been speaking ordered everyone back.
“Give them room!” he ordered.
