Darline's Arc

Chapter 1 of 13

Darline claimed her corner table at The Fat Cow and pulled out her notebook. The florists had gotten away with their schemes for too long. She licked the tip of her pencil and wrote Rosie Tillman's name at the top of the first page, underlined it twice, and began listing every dirty secret she'd collected. But three names in, her hand slowed. The saloon was too loud, too many eyes. She needed somewhere private to work. Darline snapped the notebook shut and walked across the dusty street to the sheriff's office. The rose-colored building stood empty most afternoons. She pushed through the door and settled at the deputy's desk, spreading her pages wide. Here, surrounded by wanted posters and legal papers, she could organize every florist's crime without interruption. By sundown, she'd have a complete catalog of their lies. The desk swallowed her notes as she laid them out in rows. Each flower shop got its own section. Each florist got a list of sins. Darline's pencil scratched across fresh pages, pulling names from memory before they slipped away. The delivery boy who'd drunk too much. The bride who'd complained about wilted carnations. The supplier who'd charged double rates. She wrote until her fingers cramped, until every scrap of gossip found its place on paper. When she finally looked up, the sun had dropped below the window. The catalog was complete. Tomorrow, she'd start choosing who to expose first.