Constance Caraway P.I. ~ Episode 97

Chapter Nine

DEPARTURE

…Good neighbors are a treasure, so you treat them like family. Betty Black is one of those…

It has been a relatively mild winter in Tallahassee Florida, in temperature only. This news travels up to Chicago by word of mouth, through the delightful household invention called the telephone. Instead of the time-consuming hassle of sending a telegram, or God forbid, writing a letter and mailing it and waiting for a letter in response —- P-leaze.

Molly

Constance has been wondering about her four-legged friend who is in the good care of their Tennessee Street neighbor, Betty. Molly, the Yellow Lab, is probably in her upside-down-dog pose on the lady’s front room couch right this very moment, waiting to be fed and then go outside to do her “business”, as the daily ritual goes.

But Betty is also Constance Caraway Private Investigation’s De facto secretary in their office during their absence. Good neighbors are a treasure, so you treat them like family. Betty Black is one of those.

“Weather has been good, but frost got my petunias.” She speaks to the one month’s lack of communication, “You must be busy Miss Constance,”

“I mean you to tell you Bets, if I’m lyin’ I’m dyin’,” she states with a twist of familiarity. “How is my Mollyputz?”

“As long as she gets a treat around eleven o’clock she is happy,” Betty loves that dog like her own. “But there are some other matters that require your attention.”

Constance will routinely juggle more than one case at a time, “Are the natives restless?”

“A Mr. R. Worth Moore stopped by the other day asking for Fanny, he left me his business card.” She relays the telephone number.

“Attorney Moore is an associate of James Ferrell, I wonder what he wants?” She thinks back to the 30’s (19) when Fanny was involved in the death investigation of Doctor Alpha Omega Campbell’s mother-in-law.

“He wants one of you to call him, seemed a bit antsy.”

“I’ll speak with Fanny and call you back later Betty.”

“Remember that I’m on a party line with that nosey Quigley woman, in case you don’t want to have your dirty laundry hung out to dry.”

The term “party line” is the telephone configuration where four or five households share their number, so if you are speaking to someone, any one of those other folks can pick up their receiver and listen on your conversation.