Much Ado about Nutmeg

by Sarah Fox

  I didn’t catch Rowena’s next words.

  Since I didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping, I tapped on the door frame and stepped into the room. Rowena sat propped up in a hospital bed, Pippa in a chair at her side. They both looked up at my entrance.

  “I hope this isn’t a bad time,” I said.

  “Of course not.” Rowena gave me a weak smile. “It’s so nice of you to stop by, Marley.”

  “I wanted to bring you these,” I said, indicating the bouquet of flowers, “and see how you’re doing.”

  “The flowers are beautiful. Thank you.”

  Pippa stood up and reached for the bouquet. “I’ll see if I can find a vase for them.” She took the flowers and left the room.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked Rowena.

  “A bit embarrassed. I wish I hadn’t made such a spectacle of myself at the park.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it,” I said. “As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters.”

  Rowena blinked back tears. “I can’t believe someone slipped drugs into my drink at the banquet.”

  “Is that what happened?” I asked, not wanting to let on that I’d listened in on her conversation with Pippa.

  “It has to be. I just found out I had drugs in my system last night. I can’t think of any other explanation.”

  “Why would anyone want to hurt you?”

  Before Rowena could reply, Pippa returned, with the flowers now in a vase of water.

  “Marley and I should leave you to rest,” she said as she set the flowers on the table next to Rowena’s bed.

  “I don’t really want to be alone,” Rowena confessed.

  Pippa gave her an understanding smile. “Then I’ll stay with you.”

  I took that as my cue to leave. As much as I wanted more information from Rowena, she appeared to be growing tired, and I had a hunch that Pippa wouldn’t let me pepper her friend with questions.

  After sharing a few parting words with the two women, I excused myself and left the hospital. On the way back to my car, I tried to figure out who would want Yvonne, Jay, and Rowena dead. By the time I returned to Wildwood Cove, I still didn’t have a good answer.

  * * * *

  “How’s Rowena doing?” Sienna asked the next day.

  We hadn’t had much chance to talk after my return from the hospital yesterday. Now that the lunch rush was over, we took the chance to linger outside the kitchen and catch up.

  “She seems to be all right,” I said, checking the coffeepot. It was still half full, so we had enough to get us through until closing, which was quickly approaching.

  An elderly couple came up to the counter to pay for their meals. Sienna looked after them while I cleared their table and carried the dirty dishes into the kitchen. By the time I returned, the couple had left The Flip Side. Leigh was wiping down the table I’d just cleared, so I stayed with Sienna, telling her quietly about what I’d overheard at the hospital.

  “The same drug?”

  I hushed Sienna when she spoke a little too loudly.

  “Sorry,” she whispered. “So the murderer tried to kill Rowena too?”

  “Seems like it.”

  Sienna moved closer and lowered her voice further. “I think I know who did it.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “Levi.”

  I couldn’t keep the skepticism out of my voice. “But Ray didn’t arrest him after questioning him, and he doesn’t have the strongest motive.”

  “I know, but—”

  “Hold on,” I said, noticing that a group of four was finishing up their meals of crêpes and Belgian waffles. “I’ll be right back.”

  I grabbed the coffeepot and checked if anyone at the table needed a refill or wanted anything else. They all assured me they were fine. I stopped by another table before returning the coffeepot to its spot behind the counter. Sienna, in the meantime, cleaned up another recently vacated table before hurrying back to me.

  “I searched his suite,” she whispered.

  “What? Levi’s?”

  She nodded.

  “Sienna!” I glanced around and reminded myself to keep my voice low. “You said you wouldn’t.”

  “I know, but I couldn’t help it!”

  I closed my eyes briefly. It was hard to be mad at her when I understood the magnetic tug of curiosity. Still, I couldn’t let it go entirely.

  “If you’d been caught, there could have been major consequences for your mom and her business. Not to mention that you could have become a target for the murderer.”

  “I was careful. I promise. I took a stack of clean towels with me so I’d have an excuse if anyone found me there.” Before I could lecture her further, she hurried on. “Don’t you want to know what I found?”

  “Does Ivan make the best crêpes?”

  Sienna grinned and pulled out her phone. After a couple of swipes at the screen, she showed me a picture of a pill bottle with Levi’s name on it. The bottle appeared to be half full.

  I read the drug name on the label. “Carisoprodol. Any idea what that is?”

  “I looked it up online. It’s a muscle relaxant. And guess what? It causes drowsiness.”

  I quickly scanned the restaurant, making sure no one needed our attention. “Okay, but we don’t know if that’s the drug the killer used on Yvonne and Rowena.”

  “We don’t know that it’s not,” Sienna countered. “And if Levi is the killer…”

  “He might go after Rowena again,” I finished for her.

  Sienna tapped away at her phone. “I’ll ask my mom if Levi’s still at the B and B. I think they’re checking out today.”

  “I can’t get it all to fit together in my head,” I said as she sent the message. “Why would Levi want to kill Rowena? And why drug two victims and shoot the other with an arrow?”

  “I don’t know. Unless…” Sienna’s eyes widened.

  “What?”

  “Maybe Rowena was having an affair with Levi and he wanted to end it but she didn’t.”

  “Rowena and Levi?” Somehow I couldn’t picture that.

  “It’s possible,” Sienna said.

  “I suppose.” I still wasn’t convinced.

  Sienna’s phone chimed. “Oh, no. Mom says Pippa and Levi packed up and left half an hour ago.”

  “So they’re already on their way out of town,” I guessed.

  Sienna’s attention remained on her phone. “Maybe not. I just asked my mom if they were leaving town right away. She says they were going to the marina to help Rowena pack up.”

  So there was still time, but time for what? I was as muddled as ever.

  I noticed that Sienna was still texting with Patricia. “What else does your mom say?”

  “She wanted to know why I was asking about Levi.” She flashed an apologetic smile. “I told her you wanted to know.”

  “That’s true enough,” I said, unconcerned. “And she already knows I’m nosy.”

  “In the best possible way.”

  I smiled, but only for a fleeting moment. “I’m still not sure we’ve got it right, but if there’s even a chance that Levi wants Rowena dead…”

  Sienna’s expression grew more serious. “Should we call the sheriff?”

  “Maybe I should, just in case.”

  I hurried off to the office to make the phone call. The pancake house was almost empty of diners when I returned a couple of minutes later.

  Sienna appeared at my side. “What did the sheriff say?”

  “Nothing. I left a message for him. I told him about the drug Levi has, in case it’s the same one used by the murderer.”

  “But Levi could kill Rowena before the sheriff gets the message.”

  I untied my apron, coming to a decision. “That’s why I’m going to c
heck on Rowena.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  It didn’t take long for me to get to the marina from The Flip Side. I jogged part of the way and then slowed to a walk as I made my way through the throngs of tourists on the streets of downtown Wildwood Cove. Next to the marina, the ice cream parlor was doing a roaring trade, and the fish and chips shop next door was busy as well.

  I caught sight of Avery in the crowd as she headed toward Scoops Ice Cream. I didn’t stop to say hello. My gut instinct told me that she’d been genuinely shocked when she found Jay’s body, so I doubted she was the killer. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to chat with her, and I also didn’t want to waste any time. Pippa and Rowena could leave town at any moment, if they hadn’t already.

  When I spotted Levi, I realized I was still in luck. He likely wouldn’t have been in town still if Pippa had already left. He was seated on a bench that looked out over the marina and was eating a take-out order of fish and chips. A mother and two young children occupied the other end of the bench, but they moved off as I approached, and I quickly took their spot.

  “Hi, Levi.”

  He glanced up with surprise, chewing and swallowing before saying anything. “Hey.”

  He didn’t sound too pleased to see me, but I didn’t know if I should take it personally. Maybe he simply wasn’t in a good mood after getting questioned by Ray.

  “Things went all right with the sheriff?” I asked.

  His blue eyes clouded. “You heard about that?”

  “I was at the B and B when you drove off with him.”

  “Right.” He crammed a French fry into his mouth and chewed hard.

  “So are you in the clear now?”

  “Of course,” he said, still grouchy. “Everything’s fine.”

  I wasn’t sure I believed him. Ray obviously hadn’t arrested him, but that didn’t mean he’d been struck from the suspect list.

  “I actually came to see Pippa and Rowena,” I said. “Are they down on the yacht?”

  “They don’t need you bugging them.”

  I tried to keep my indignation in check. “I don’t want to bother them. I just wanted to see how Rowena’s doing.” That wasn’t quite true, but I didn’t want him getting any angrier.

  Levi swallowed down the last of his meal and crumpled up the paper wrapping. “She’s fine. Or she will be once we get her home. I’ll tell her you stopped by.”

  It was an obvious dismissal. Since I didn’t want to antagonize him further, I thanked him as politely as I could and walked off. When I glanced back, he was watching me. If I headed down to the docks, I didn’t doubt that he’d try to stop me, so instead I melted into the crowd of tourists outside the ice cream shop.

  I circled back a minute later. Levi had left the bench and I wondered for a second if he’d gone down to the yacht, but then I spotted him heading across the street. He continued along Wildwood Road and disappeared into the Beach and Bean a moment later.

  Taking advantage of his absence, I hurried back to the marina and down to the docks. I stopped at the bottom of the ramp, realizing that I didn’t know which yacht belonged to Rowena. There were dozens of boats of various sizes moored at the docks. How was I supposed to figure out which one was the right one?

  It turned out not to be too difficult. I decided to wander up and down the docks and within a couple of minutes I spotted Pippa sitting on the deck of a yacht called Danny Boy. I couldn’t see Rowena anywhere. I hoped she was nearby.

  “Hello,” I called as I approached the yacht.

  Pippa glanced up from something she held in her hands. “Hello, Marley.”

  I came to a stop next to the boat. “Is Rowena here?”

  “She’s down in the cabin with a visitor,” Pippa said. “Why don’t you come aboard?”

  I climbed up onto the deck, wondering who was with Rowena. I wanted to ask, but I figured that might be too nosy, even for me.

  “What have you got there?” I asked as I got closer to Pippa.

  She held up a small stack of different-sized photographs. “The photos used for the memorial display at the banquet. The organizers got most of them from the Internet, but they thought Rowena might like to have them, just in case she doesn’t have copies of some of them.”

  “That was thoughtful of them.”

  The photo on the top of the pile was one I’d seen while dropping off the sticky rolls and scones at the school. It showed Rowena holding a trophy while Easton stood with his arm around her, beaming with pride and happiness.

  “They made a good couple,” I said.

  Pippa smiled sadly as she stared at the photo. “They really did.”

  “May I see that for a moment?” I asked.

  I wasn’t sure why I’d made the request, but something at the back of my mind was trying to get my attention—a thought or a memory I couldn’t quite grasp.

  As Pippa handed over the photo, I heard voices from somewhere nearby. A second later, Beryl Madgwick emerged from the cabin, Rowena following right behind her.

  “I’m so glad I had a chance to stop by and see you,” Beryl was saying to Rowena. “We’ll have to get together in Seattle sometime.”

  “That would be lovely,” Rowena said.

  Beryl noticed me standing near Pippa. “Oh, hello.”

  “Marley,” Rowena said, “what a nice surprise.”

  “I just came to say good-bye.” I was surprised to find I sounded normal. My throat had gone so dry that it was hard to get any words out.

  “I’ve got to run,” Beryl said. “Take care, Rowena. See you soon, Pippa.” She smiled at me before hopping down to the dock like she was fifty years younger than her actual age.

  I wanted to leave with her, to get off the yacht, but I didn’t want to let on that a light bulb had just illuminated in my head, so brightly that I couldn’t think of much else. Despite my best intentions, my hand shook slightly as I handed the photo back to Pippa.

  “I’d better get going too.” I turned away, ready to leap down to the dock, but Rowena’s next words froze me to the spot.

  “I wish you hadn’t looked at that photo.”

  I glanced back, and my heart nearly stumbled to a stop.

  Rowena held a spear gun in her hands, pointed at me.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Pippa gasped. “Rowena, what are you doing?”

  Slowly, I turned to face Rowena again, moving an inch closer to the edge of the deck as I did so.

  “I was hoping nobody would look closely at that picture,” Rowena said, never taking her eyes off of me.

  “Because you won the trophy in an archery competition,” I said, having noted the words inscribed on the prize. I’d missed that when I’d first seen the photo at the school, but this time I’d looked closer and had grasped the significance of the trophy right away.

  Pippa sat slack-jawed in her chair. “Rowena?”

  My mouth was so dry that my tongue didn’t want to move anymore, but I forced it to loosen. “Why? Why did you kill them?”

  “We don’t have time for questions,” Rowena said, her words clipped.

  Pippa had recovered from the worst of her shock, but she was still aghast. “Put that down, Rowena. What in the world do you think you’re doing?”

  “I’m sorry, Pippa.” Rowena sounded truly remorseful. “I never wanted you to know.”

  “No…” Pippa’s hands gripped the armrests of her chair so tightly her knuckles turned white. “No. You didn’t.”

  A tear leaked out of the corner of Rowena’s right eye and trickled down her cheek. She had her eyes focused on me, but I sensed the tear was more for Pippa.

  “Untie the moorings,” Rowena ordered me.

  I didn’t budge. My heart raced so fast that I thought I might pass out.

  “Stop this!” Pippa moved to get out of her s
eat.

  “I can’t!” Another tear ran down Rowena’s cheek.

  Pippa had frozen, leaning forward in her chair, poised to stand up.

  “I won’t hurt you,” Rowena said to her. She jabbed the wickedly sharp point of the spear gun in my direction. “But I will hurt her. If I have to.”

  “This is insane.” Pippa’s words were so weak I barely heard them.

  “Help her untie the moorings.”

  I glanced Pippa’s way, desperately hoping she’d do something to get me out of this predicament. She didn’t move, still frozen in the same position.

  Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “Can we talk about this?”

  “Not until we get away from here.”

  The panicked edge to Rowena’s voice sent my heart tripping over itself. I didn’t know how my legs were still holding me. I wished I could get my phone out of my pocket without Rowena noticing, but that was impossible.

  “Please,” Rowena begged her friend. “Help me get us out of here.”

  Pippa finally acquiesced, getting to her feet in one smooth motion. I didn’t know how she could move so gracefully under our current circumstances. I was trembling like a leaf. But I was the one with the spear gun pointed at my heart.

  “Do what she says,” Pippa said to me.

  Both her voice and expression had transformed, totally calm now. I recalled that she was a medical doctor. Maybe that training was kicking in, letting her stay unflustered in the face of jeopardy.

  Pippa moved to the edge of the deck and began untying one of the moorings. I glanced from the spear gun to Rowena’s face. The desperation in her eyes told me that what she’d said was true—she’d kill me if it would help her flee.

  I convinced myself to move, mirroring Pippa’s actions. I struggled with the knots, so she came over and helped me after she’d finished untying her line. The yacht drifted slowly away from the dock.

  “Get us out of here,” Rowena said to her friend.

  Without a word or a glance my way, Pippa moved to the wheelhouse and started up the yacht’s engine. The gap of water between the boat and the dock widened. I briefly considered jumping overboard, but Rowena could easily shoot me with the spear before I got off the boat.