Lethal in Lavender

by Sarah Hualde

  *****

  Gus finished talking with Kat on Lydia's front lawn. The usually forceful woman hadn't stopped crying since she entered the master bedroom. Kat kept a hand shading her eyes embarrassed by her overboard emotions.

  “Do we need to take a break?” The deputy put his pad down and checked his watch. He hated to see a mother cry.

  “I’ll be fine.” Kat shook her head and cleared her throat before huffing a huge sigh and bouncing on the balls of her feet. Gus raised an eyebrow at the strange shift in attitude. “I’ve told you everything I know. I pulled up. There was a strange car in the driveway. I knocked on the door. No one answered. I dug out the extra key and let myself in. Before I shut the door, I caught sight of Maven. She bolted for her car and took off.”

  “How can you be sure it was Maven? If she bolted, it could’ve been anyone.”

  “Yep, you're right. Except I know it was Maven. She texted me and told me she was going after Lydia. Here look." Kat handed over her phone and kept shifting her weight from foot to foot.

  Ivy charged from the front door wrapped in her green quilt. She flung her arms around Kat the instant she reached her. Kat hugged the girl back. The ladies stood like that as Gus tried not to stare. He tried to appear busy with Kat’s cell but didn’t know the code to unlock it.

  “Do either of you know where Lydia is, now?”

  Ivy stopped breathing. Kat trembled. Both shook their heads. Lydia was in trouble if Maven found her. Kat and Ivy were not available to help. They didn’t even know where to look.

  Gus' face reflected their thoughts and fears. He hurried to his cruiser, yanking the radio from its cradle. He needed Ethan. Lydia needed Ethan.

  A dual cab truck slid around the street corner and came screeching to a stop in front of the Everett house. Gus leaped from his vehicle, ready to protect his witnesses, but relaxed when Kevin jumped from the truck.

  With the open-door alarm trilling, engine still running, Kevin flew past the party on the lawn and ran up the stairs. He had not taken a full breath since Dr. Lawrence called to tell him of Flora’s misfortune.

  "I think his kids are in the truck." Gus stayed in his car and returned to his radio calls.

  Kat pulled herself into the cab and turned off the car. She removed the keys and looked into the back seat. There, snuggled into a heap, were the Brandes children. All three E’s slept unaware of their father’s violent driving or the scene he was witnessing inside the house.

  "What should we do?" Ivy stood on tiptoe peering through a window at the snoring children.

  *****

  “Lydia? I’m getting bored.” Maven taunted and teased her victim. She sauntered down the 5k trail running her fingers over the heads of lavender, just as her cousin had done in her video. “Can’t we get this over with?”

  Lydia, far out of reach, stood at the opposite end of the patch. She hadn't the time or the energy to crouch into the plants. "We both know you're not letting me walk out of this field. You tried to poison and bludgeon your cousin, just two days ago."

  Maven took steady slow steps toward Lydia. All the bitterness left her expression, and a smirk of self-satisfaction replaced it. It glistened in the sunrise and the light behind her emitted red-orange tones. Lydia shivered.

  “You know nothing!”

  "I know you caused the crash and I can prove it. I know you killed Shane Mons. I know you tried to kill Berna." Lydia searched for other options of escape. Apart from rushing into the road, she could think of nothing. She wondered if that's what Shane Mons attempted right before Maven plowed him over.

  “The crash! Yes, I caused it. My sweet, adorable cousin just kept pushing me and pushing me. First, she kept begging me to come home and take care of Granny. Ha!" Maven swung the prod at the lavender beheading a chunk of stalks and crept closer to Lydia. "She had me feeling so guilty and so annoyed. I was too stressed to perform. She's the reason my last tour bombed! She's the reason my career is over."

  “Then why stay and take care of her after the crash.” Lydia lowered the hood of the bee suit. She wanted to see Maven from all sides. “Why pretend you cared?”

  Again, Maven chopped at the crops. Lydia back stepped on the path, if she could lure Maven far enough into the field, maybe Lydia could sprint back to the house.

  “My best performance. My twit of a cousin stole my half of my Grandmother's inheritance. Then she ran off and got married. She didn't tell me. She told no one. She ran off one weekend and came back with some story about meeting Shane online and finding her soul mate. Blah. Blah. Blah.

  They planned to move away and have kids in some small hick town. Much like this one.”

  “Averie was the only heir. You were next in line?”

  “Who else? Averie was a pushover, a bleeding heart. I could have talked her into supporting me for years. She'd already agreed to finance another tour for me. Then Shane showed up, and instead of coming with me on tour and continuing to pay for promotion, she planned to set up a nest with her husband." Maven's pitch arched and whined like that of a spoiled child.

  She plunged through the lavender in a mad dash, catching Lydia unguarded and unprepared. The stun cane slapped Lydia on the thigh. It knocked her into the plants. Maven giggled, amused at the pain on Lydia's face. She held the rod to Lydia's leg. To the elder's delight, the sting of the prod was only in the strike. Maven still hadn't charged it. For a moment, Lydia allowed Maven to revel in her victory. Then with determined concentration of strength, she kicked Maven’s ankles. She crashed to the dirt beside Lydia.

  Surprise held Maven to the ground a second longer, and Lydia used the moment to regain her footing and run. Bulbs and heads exploded at her impact. She sneezed and rubbed at her watering eyes as she fled.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Ethan's many missed messages caught up to him when he slid into the front seat of his truck. He passed many notes marked urgent to find Lydia's. There weren't any. Stomach acid rolled in his gut. There was no way his wife hadn't called or texted him since last night. Not unless something was wrong. Still skipping the other texts, he dialed the one person who would know what his wife was doing. She answered before the first ring ended.

  “Kat, where is she?”

  *****

  Rising above the stalks, Maven growled and dusted plant particles away from her face. She sneezed without end. Her eyes puffed and watered and her voice deepened as she threatened Lydia.

  Lydia hadn’t made it to the house. Her right foot crashed down on a hard, round object and she slammed, face first onto the ground. The receiver jittered out of her hand and away from her. She could trace its whereabouts, but it wasn't visible under the foliage. Please, God, don't let it break.

  Maven kept chatting at Lydia. “That wasn’t very nice for a Christian.”

  Staying low Lydia felt around for the rock that tripped her. It might make a good defense. “You left me no choice.”

  “Funny! That’s just what I told Averie before the wreck. She didn’t get it though. And the stupid girl didn’t die, either. She came close, but she’s a fighter.”

  “What happened to you in the wreck? You were hurt, too, weren’t you?”

  Maven’s allergy thickened voice sputtered. Is she crying, Lydia thought? Again, Lydia shuddered at Maven’s double sidedness and the ease at which she switched back and forth.

  “The steering wheel crushed my throat.” Lydia’s mind flashed to all the scarves Maven wore. They weren’t out of dedication and remembrance of her Grandmother, as her cousin surmised. They were to hide a scar.

  “You can’t sing, anymore.”

  "I can sing! Didn't you hear me the other day? I'm still a wonderful singer. My voice tires quicker than it used to. Two surgeries and it’s not any stronger than it was right after the accident.”

  "So, that's why you stayed with Averie. Your fans wouldn't have you back, and you had nowhere else to go."

  A rasping howl lifted into the air. Lydia's skin prickled and goosef
lesh flashed down her arms and legs. Her hand found the stone she tripped on. A perfect, round amethyst. She wondered how it came to rest out in the field. With her other hand, Lydia patted the ground, looking for the recording pack.

  “Fans! I have fans! But not enough. Not enough to fill a stadium. Not enough to make a comeback. Not yet." Distracted by her imagination, Maven walked past Lydia only a few yards over. If she had been looking down, she would have spotted the crouching woman in an instant. But Maven was staring off into a make-believe arena filled with pretend crowds.

  “At first, I was afraid. I stayed with Averie to see if she would turn me in. I was getting so much press for being the sacrificial caretaker. I rode the fame as far as I could.

  Averie’s memory was a mess. She didn’t remember the crash. Couldn’t remember she was married. I had to tell her Granny had died. She fell apart, blubbering.

  She didn’t cry when I told her she was rich, though. She didn’t shed a tear when I explained she had inherited everything and I hadn’t. Not a peep.

  Only ‘I’ll take care of us Maven.’ Promises and pity.” Maven’s body convulsed with the memory. Her voice grew fainter. Lydia tried to determine where Maven was standing. Her fingernails scraped the metal microphones, and she pulled the recorder close. This time she tucked it into her shirt, under the bee suit.

  "I guess we'd have been okay if she'd just given up and not tried to get her memories back. Why? Why would she do that? We had each other. We were making videos and money. The fans were trickling back. New fans for a new Maven.”

  Lydia emerged from the lavender. Maven was a good thirty feet away. Her voice carried over the silence of the field.

  "She wanted her life back," Lydia responded to this cooler, quieter Maven. This Maven she could subdue and escape. She only needed to keep her downcast and delusional.

  “I am her life!” Maven ran away, screeching. She disappeared behind the Bed and Breakfast.

  Lydia sighed and hobbled to the bee yard. She leaned on a post desperate to catch her breath. It was over. Ethan would find Maven. For Lydia, the threat ended in the sudden and odd retreat of the villain.

  Once again, she was on the race track and running. But now, she ran for her life and not for charity. The finish line was a few yards away from the bee sanctuary. She was tempted to jog across it, for personal bragging rights. But her muscles had other thoughts. They were ready to lie down right there amongst the bees. Berna had nice couches. Perhaps I might score a bed for an hour or two.

  These thoughts drifted away like seeds on the wind when she spotted Ethan’s patrol car parked in front of the Hive. Her energy revived. Home was not far away, now, if her husband was nearby. She moved step after aching step toward the hotel.

  The grinding of a far-off engine registered in her mind, but she gave it no more thought. One of Berna’s quads shot out from the back of the Inn. Maven drove with a wild precision, right at Lydia. Lydia’s mind noted the broken headlamp and blood crusted grill. Her body ran without her permission, back to the bee yard.

  The apiary was the only location, near enough, that offered any protection. The fencing, the giant tree beside it, and the hives themselves would act as speed bumps and slow down the ATV. Lydia wanted to scream. She struggled to suck in enough air to yell, but her cry left her lips as a wordless puff of wind.

  Surely, Ethan heard the ATV start up. Surely, he’ll come soon, guns blazing before I’m flattened. Lydia tried to calm herself with hopeful thoughts. It did no good. The quad was close enough for her to smell the burning fuel.

  She opened the gate of the bee enclosure and spun through it, shutting it behind her. The bees took offense to the intrusion and exploded from the hive to investigate the ruckus. Lydia snapped her hood back on and kept running.

  Too little too late, the off-roader collided with the first hive knocking it into the second. Maven spun the vehicle toward Lydia, but the tree deflected her. With the bike still running she leaped from the driver seat and dove for Lydia.

  The front door of the Hive slammed shut as Ethan charged out of the house. Berna, with her cell phone, ran close behind him.

  Maven gritted her teeth when she noticed the sheriff. She wrapped her arms around Lydia’s waist and threw her to the dirt. The amethyst popped from Lydia’s hold and rolled away from her.

  “He’s not going to save you.” Maven’s voice was thick, scratchy, and low. She was serious. She intended to kill Lydia before Ethan could reach them.

  Lydia squirmed beneath Maven. The girl was young and strong. Lydia was sore and old. Maven had a rage that energized her. Lydia had faith and persistence. In a mad flurry, Maven punched and slapped at her nemesis.

  Lydia searched for a weapon. The cattle prod lay buzzing in the grass. Maven fetched it first. She flung out her arm, intending to come down on Lydia's head. Instead, her backswing knocked into hive number three. The shock sent the bees into frenzy.

  Lydia gained a second to reach up and yank on Maven’s scarf. She hoped to pull the woman off of her. Her retaliation flung Maven’s neck back and choked her. The reaction was not enough to free Lydia. Instead, Maven's eyes narrowed, and her lips curled back like a rabid wolf’s.

  She tossed her torso onto Lydia’s and wrapped her thin fingers around her throat. Maven pinned Lydia. I only have to make it until Ethan reaches me. Her thought echoed in the impatient eyes of her attacker. Maven spied another weapon. She forced a wheezing laugh as she picked up the violet orb.

  “Deja Vu,” she said and raised her arm to bash Lydia on the head.

  Lydia's vision blackened, she thought from the lack and sudden return of air. A humming cloud told her otherwise. Bees landed on her face mask. They covered it. Lydia wouldn't see the blow that ended her. She was grateful for her ignorance.

  She sent love to her husband, daughter Joan, and her new children in faith, Ivy and Scout. But no strike landed. Maven sat astride Lydia’s waist, pinning her arms to her sides, but she wobbled and jolted. Lydia blew a soft breath onto her mask. A few protector bees deserted their post and Lydia could see again. Maven’s face was swarming with bees.

  Lydia pumped her hips, trying to shake Maven off. The girl’s leg strength weakened, and she slid from her position. Lydia shoved her last limb off of her torso and sat upright. She could see Ethan and Berna struggling with the bee smoker.

  She jumped when skin brushed her wrist. Maven reached out for her. Using her ungloved hands, Lydia shewed the bees from Maven’s face. The woman’s eyelids were swelling shut as Lydia watched.

  “Your pen? Your pen! Where’s your shot?”

  Maven rolled her head. “Used…” Maven reached out for Lydia. Lydia took a hand in hers.

  No one should die alone. Lydia struggled to spill the gospel to Maven, rapid fire. She hoped the woman would reach out for heaven’s hand before it was too late. Maven tried to chuckle but only managed a gag and cough. “she… just… wouldn’t… stay… dead.”

  Ethan descended on the pair. Lydia started chest compressions on Maven the moment she stopped breathing. They did little but frustrate Lydia.

  Berna waved her smoker over Lydia and Maven. It created a cloud around the scene. The bees hurried to their remaining hives and gobbled at their honey stores.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  K at rubbed lavender oil and baking soda on six swelling beestings decorating Lydia's hands. Lydia hadn't noticed them. She didn't see Kat nursing them, either. Lydia sat speechless in Berna's living room wrapped in a crisp, clean bed comforter. She didn't hear Kat prattle about the attack on Ivy and Flora. She only heard her bed calling and the cadence of her husband's voice delegating orders to his deputy. He was taking his wife home and would bring her by the station tomorrow.

  Lydia wanted nothing more than to sleep the next month away. Her body had other plans. Two days later, without a smidge of exercise, it craved movement to relax her overtaxed muscles.

  Bright and early in the afternoon, Lydia shocked her household when s
he popped in a video and completed an entire yoga routine. Feeling better but not yet energized she heaved her groggy mind and matching limbs into her favorite jeans and an old pair of boots. There was a new baby E to see, and his mother was dying to show him off.

  *****

  Flora’s face sported a smile that sparkled through her tired eyes and infected her visitors with bliss. Lydia sat on the corner of her bed and opened her arms to receive the tiny newborn. Enoch Graham Brandes sighed in his sleep. He burrowed his head into the crook of Lydia’s arm and lifted a mitten covered hand into the air.

  "Perfect," Lydia said.

  “Did you expect anything less?” Flora beamed and kept a protective hand resting on her son’s blanket.

  “Not for a moment.”

  Each mother exchanged the dramatic recounting of their weekend adventures. First came Flora’s tale of birthing her fourth baby in the Everett’s shower. Then Lydia gave her a gentle retelling of her encounter with Maven and the murderess’ death. The friends chatted until Enoch’s next feeding. Lydia left the happy family and hurried off to her next appointment.

  *****

  Ethan stood with Lydia. Kat stood next to her, at a gravesite. Lydia's arm threaded through Ethan's. She rested against his strong shoulder. Her black eye now a faded yellow. Her hand returned to its standard size. Memories swelled with thoughts of Maven's sad, desperate eyes.

  "I can't believe we're here," Kat said. She huffed and checked her fitness tracker for the time. "Who does this?"

  “It’s a funeral,” Lydia said without moving from her husband’s side.