Rob leaned forward. “He is. But he’s also an adult. If he’s going to get into trouble, you don’t want to be any part of it.”
I stood. “Unless I need to say anything further on the subject—” Jenny shook her head. “Who wants homemade oatmeal raisin cookies?”
She gave a half-hearted wave. “Milk too, please.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Rob texted first thing Saturday morning: “Brunch with my mother and new beau? Please? Golden Skillet, ten-thirty.”
“Meet you there.”
I examined the thermometer. Still chilly. I opted for gray slacks, a green shirt, and a white cardigan. Wardrobe set, I hopped into the shower.
Jenny knocked on the bathroom door as I toweled my hair dry. I opened it. “What’s up?”
She sat on the closed toilet seat. “Do you think Jacob could get in trouble for helping me contact Dad?”
I sighed as I leaned against the counter. “I don’t know. If he’s the tech wizard you think he is, maybe not.”
“But there’s a chance?”
“There’s always a chance.”
“Then I won’t ask him to do it again. I don’t want him to get into trouble for me.”
I walked over and lifted her chin. “That’s probably a wise decision.”
She frowned. “I miss him.”
“I know honey. Sometimes the decisions others make have real repercussions for the people they love.” My head tilted. “If he turned himself in, at least you could visit him in prison.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I didn’t mean it to be. My number one job is making sure you stay out of trouble. And if that means you aren’t able to have contact with your dad, so be it.”
Her eyes brimmed with tears. “That’s mean.”
I knelt next to her. “Jenny, this is important. Your dad made bad choices in his life, and unfortunately, it looks like he’s still making them. You’re so young, and you have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t screw it up. I know your dad wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
Tears dripped from her face. “So what you’re saying I can’t talk to him? That Dad is out of my life? Who’s going to walk me down the aisle when I get married?”
I hugged her. “Who knows what might happen in the future. Maybe this whole mess will go away. Let’s worry about today, and let tomorrow take care of itself.” I handed her a tissue. “I love you.”
She stood. “I love you too. But this sucks.” She stomped from the room.
I reached for mascara. She’s right. It stinks, but it’s Drew’s fault. The clock downstairs chimed ten. I finished donning minimal makeup, grabbed my purse, and headed out the door.
The crabapples were starting to bloom, and the magnolias were close to spent. It looked like the lilac flowers would soon open. I loved their spicy-sweet scent. My pace slowed. I stopped to talk to one of my clients. Her garden was amazing. My phone buzzed, and I jumped. “I’m late. See you later.”
Rob’s text read: “Where are you?”
“Almost there.” I turned left into town and stepped up my pace. Rob, Wanda, and Mac stood on the sidewalk outside the restaurant. I hurried to meet them. “I’m sorry. I was talking to one of my clients, and time got away from me. You could have gone inside.”
Rob said, “Merry, this is Glen MacNamara.”
He extended his hand. “Everyone calls me Mac.”
“It’s lovely to meet you. Shall we go in?”
Wanda gave a terse nod, we moved into the restaurant, and were seated. They gave us my favorite booth. I loved looking at the cow collection that rimmed the window. I touched the nearest one for luck and turned my attention to Mac. “I understand you’re a veterinarian.”
“I had enough of Wall Street and decided to return to my childhood dream. I grew up on a farm and idolized the vet who came to take care of the animals. He was so competent. He never seemed surprised, handled whatever nature threw at him. I remember one time there was this cow about to give birth—”
Wanda cleared her throat.
He laughed. “That’s what I like about this woman. She always lets me know when I’m going too far.” He took her hand. “I can’t tell you how great it is to have found a woman who cares as much about animals as I do.”
Rob’s eyes widened.
I kicked his foot. “Wanda mentioned that you met at a casino.”
“Well, I can’t lie. I’m no stranger to the tables. My favorite game is blackjack.” He kissed Wanda’s hand. “That’s her favorite too.”
Luckily the waitress came with our order. She passed the plates around. Rob stared at his meal.
I cut the egg atop my crab benedict. It oozed, mixing with the hollandaise sauce. “Mac, I’m sorry if we’re quiet. This is a lot to take in. After all, Richard’s only been dead a few weeks.”
“I’m sorry he’s dead, but Wanda was going to leave him anyway.” He raised her hand to his lips. “Weren’t you honey bear?”
Rob made a choking sound. “Honey bear?”
“It’s my nickname for her. She’s sweet and such a warm person.”
Rob stood. “I’m sorry. This is too much. Mother, I’ll see you back at my place.” He stalked off.
Food congealed on my plate. “I think I should go after him. It was nice meeting you, Mac.” I stood and hurried out the door.
Rob was two blocks ahead when I strode out. He looked like he was sprinting. I sighed and stopped at Delightful Bites. I selected a few Danishes and then made my way to Rob’s house. When I walked in, he was pacing the living room floor. I set the bag down on the counter.
“Can you believe it? Sitting there, talking about his relationship with my mother like there was nothing wrong. And her! I don’t know who that woman is. She likes animals? That’s a new one for me. What is wrong with that woman?”
I hugged him. “Calm down. Have a seat, and let’s talk about it.”
He continued to pace. “Maybe she killed him. It sounds like Mac thought she was going to leave Richard.” He stopped and grimaced. “Who am I kidding?” He dropped onto a chair. “She killed him for the money.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “My mother is a murderess.”
I dropped down next to him. “You don’t know that. Sure, she’s squirrely, but that doesn’t mean she murdered anyone. Maybe Mac killed him. Maybe he saw them go into the hotel room, and he lost it.”
“I could believe that if he was shot or beaten, but he was poisoned. That takes premeditation.” He gasped. “What if they were in on it together?”
“Why would he kill Richard? He thought your mother was leaving him.” I retrieved coffee from the cupboard and measured it into the machine. “It is odd that she decided to have one last fling with Richard. She had to have been seeing Mac while she was here; she kept borrowing the car.”
He took a Danish from the bag and tore a piece off. “I feel sick.”
I handed him a cup of coffee. “Drink this; you’ll feel better.” I sat next to him. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We don’t know if she did it. Don’t forget, the Greens have a motive too. We don’t even know that the poison was in the champagne. At any rate, I think you need to have a heart-to-heart with your mother.”
He popped the piece of Danish into his mouth. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Chapter 11
I was dusting the living room furniture when the doorbell rang. Pulling it open, I gasped when I saw Richard’s two henchmen. Frank, the one with the scar, said, “Can we come in? We need to talk to you.”
“I’ll come out. It’s too nice a day to be inside.” I tossed my dust rag onto the floor and shut the door behind me. We stood awkwardly on the stoop.
Bud backed down onto the step below. “We need to talk.”
I shuffled so that my back pressed against the door, trying not to look nervous, but my eyes were skittering between the two men. “I’m game. What would you like to talk about?” My fingers drummed on the door jamb.
<
br /> “Everybody we’ve talked to says you know everyone in town.” Frank loomed over me.
A fluttering pink scarf caught the corner of my eye. Alex stepped out onto her front porch. She seemed to stare at the two men for a moment and then disappeared back through the door.
My mouth opened. I snapped it shut.
Bud’s head swiveled, and his eyes examined the house next door. “That new dame lives there, doesn’t she?” He pulled a piece of paper from his wallet. “Alex Danford. She’s someone we’d like to meet.”
“Alex is very nice. Why do you want to get to know her?”
Scarface gave me a sinister smile. “We like to cross people off our list.”
“I’m pleased you stopped by to chat. I need to be getting back inside now.”
“Not so fast. I think we could help each other.” Frank leaned on the door.
“Help each other?” I gulped.
“Yeah. The cops think your boyfriend’s mother murdered our boss.”
“That’s true.”
“We aren’t sure that she did. So it’s in our best interest—” he pointed at my chest and then back at himself—“to make sure. Let’s pool our resources.”
Bud leaned toward me. “Yeah. We don’t want to see no travesty of justice done here. You should help us, lady.”
I tried to back away, but there was no room, and Frank’s hand was on the door. “I’m sure we can work something out. Why don’t you come back later when Rob’s here, and we can all talk.”
“We don’t need him. You’re the one we want. You’re the one with contacts.” Bud squeezed onto the top step.
Jay’s car pulled up in front of my house. He exited and strolled toward us. “Can I help you, gentlemen?”
“Just talking to the lady, officer. Getting to know the neighborhood.” He nodded toward me and whispered, “We’re not done here.”
Bud started down the stairs. Frank followed until they were on the lawn. He turned to Jay. “Was there anything else you wanted, officer?”
“Nope.” Jay stared at them with his arms crossed at the bottom of the stairs. He tossed over his shoulder, “You okay, Merry?”
“Fine.”
Frank and Bud got into their car and left.
Jay climbed the stairs to the stoop. “What’s going on. What did those two want?”
My knees weakened, and I almost fell. Jay grabbed my arm and steered me into the house, where I collapsed onto one of the chairs. “Thank goodness you showed up when you did.”
He crouched next to me. “You look pale. Can I get you some water?”
“In a minute. Let me catch my breath.” I rubbed my neck.
“You need to leave investigating to the police. We’re trained to handle those kinds of people.”
I looked up. “Were you driving by and saw them?”
“Your neighbor called. She thought they might have been threatening you.”
“I feel better now.” I stood. “Coffee?”
“I wouldn’t say no to a cup.”
I pressed the button on the coffee machine. “I think I have some cookies here somewhere.” I pulled out the jar and set it on the table.
The back door opened, and Rob strode in. “Merry, are you okay? I heard Richard’s henchmen were here.” He hugged me.
“News travels fast. Have a seat. I was about to tell Jay what happened.”
He sat opposite Jay and took a cookie from the jar. I passed around coffee. Then I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. “They’re not sure that Rob’s mother killed Richard. They want me to work with them to identify the real killer.”
Rob put down his mug. “They want to work with you? You told them no, right?”
“I didn’t get a chance to.” I shrugged. “Jay showed up when Alex called the police.”
He handed Jay the cookie jar. “Thanks for the quick response time.”
Jay put it down. “No problem. I hate to say this, but we know who killed Richard.” He pointed toward Rob. “Your mother.”
“Did you get the results from the tests on the champagne yet?” Rob sipped his coffee.
“Not yet. The lab’s been backlogged. We should get the results at the beginning of next week. And then we’ll be able to prove she killed him.”
Rob paled.
I took a cookie from the jar. “Wanda isn’t the only suspect.”
Jay’s eyebrow rose. I told him about the Greens. He said, “Just because you think Richard killed their daughter and son-in-law, doesn’t mean they killed him.”
“You have to admit; it’s a big coincidence. Richard kills them, the Greens move to town, Richard’s murdered.”
“I’ll check into it.” Jay stood. “Let me know if those two bother you again.” He left.
Rob massaged my back. “You okay?”
“I’m not going to lie. I was scared when I saw them at the door. They wanted to come in; I wouldn’t let them, but I think we should talk to them again. They may have information we don’t.”
“But this time, I’ll be there. And we’ll talk in a public place of our choosing. I’ll stop by the motel on my way home and try to arrange something.” He kissed me before he left.
I finished my cookie and eyed the overripe bananas. Time to make banana bread. I assembled everything and stuck it in the oven. Then I threw in a load of wash and picked up the dust rag in the living room. I made a quick pass through the dining room with it. The next stop was my office. I straightened my files. The oven timer rang. I took the bread from the oven and set it on a trivet to cool. Ten minutes later, I plopped it on a plate, put a bow on it, and walked out the door. I trotted up the steps to Alex’s back door and knocked.
She opened the door. “Hi, Merry. I hope you’re okay. I’m not normally so nosey, but those two looked no-good.”
I held out the banana bread. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
She lifted the plate and sniffed. “Banana bread, my favorite. No nuts, right?”
“I remembered. Don’t worry.”
“Would you like to come in?”
“I’d like to get a tour of your greenhouse if that’s okay.”
“I show it off every chance I get. Let me put this inside.” She set the bread down on the kitchen table and joined me. “Now, don’t get too excited. The greenhouse isn’t that large. I used to have huge ones that I would start all sorts of seeds in.”
We strolled to the ornate structure. It was perched on a bluestone paver floor. She said, “The door sticks, so let me go first.” She lifted it and turned the knob at the same time. “A little trick you need to know.”
A wall of humidity hit me as I walked in. “Wow. It’s a lot warmer in here.”
The inside of the greenhouse was roughly ten feet by fifteen. There was a large metal table in the middle that boasted bigger pots with exotic leaves. The perimeter was lined with a shelf containing dozens of gray cardboard seed holders. Green seedlings reached from the black dirt, and a narrow walkway ran all the way around the table.
Alex extended her hand. “In the middle, I have my tropical plants. I used to put them in the ground by the pond at my last place, but I thought they’d look good in pots running along the alleyway here. These are canna lilies. They grow six to eight feet tall and have the most marvelous looking spires.”
One of them had variegated leaves. The light part almost seemed chartreuse. “This is pretty. What color will its fronds be?”
She looked at the one I was pointing to. “That’s a Pretoria. Its blooms are a lovely bright orange.” She caressed the leaf. “I love loud colors.”
“It will certainly add personality.” I made my way farther into the greenhouse and pointed to one of the cardboard containers. “What are these seeds?”
She picked up a notebook. “My diagram.” She studied it for a moment. “Oh. Those are carrots. I’m going to put a raised bed in and plant them.”
“You are industrious.”
“Spring and summer are my busy times. I lo
ve to garden.”
I wandered down the aisle. One corner held taller plants. I caressed the green leaves. The center and veins were burgundy. “This is beautiful. And are those seeds?” I pointed to a cluster of hairy brown pods.
“They are. The seeds were from last year; I need to remember to clip them off.” She checked her chart. “Those plants should grow another inch or two this season alone. They have lovely burgundy flowers.” She glanced at her watch. “I hate to cut this short, but I have an appointment.”
I followed her out of the greenhouse. “I can’t wait to see everything in place.” I walked back to my house.
She called out, “Thanks again for the banana bread.”
I waved to her as I walked in the back door.
My phone buzzed. Patty had texted me: “Busy?”
“No.”
“Is four o’clock too early for wine?”
Ten minutes later, the back door opened. “Do you have cheese too?”
“You’re so demanding.” I pulled cheese from the refrigerator. “Cheddar okay?”
“Yes, and maybe some crackers.” She walked past me, opened the pantry, and held up a box. “Are these all you have?”
“The ones you like are in the back.”
She rummaged through. “I could have those since they’re already open.”
“You don’t like them. Why would you eat them?”
“I’m a mom. I eat lots of things other people wouldn’t.” She found the box and held it up. “Luckily I won’t have to today.”
I cut slices of cheese and put them on a plate, adding grapes and dried apricots. “Anything else?”
She looked up from depositing the crackers in a bowl. “I don’t see any wine.”
I bent over the wine refrigerator. “Any preference?”
“Let’s do a white and sit outside. It’s so nice.”
The Pinot Grigio in my hand was soon uncorked. Patty grabbed two wine glasses, and we walked out the door.
We sat, and I poured her a glass of wine. “Where is everyone today?”
“The boys are at a birthday party, Cindy is studying with Jenny at the library, and Patrick wanted me out of the house.”
My eyes widened. “Did you do something to annoy him?”
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