Murder and Herbal Tea

by Janet Lane-Walters

  I fastened my seatbelt. “Herbal Haven.”

  “Home,” Joyce released a sigh. “After I shower and change clothes we can go to the shop. I feel grubby.”

  Though I wanted to race to the shop so Lars could try those numbers and letters I understood Joyce’s desire to be clean. “Don’t take forever. I think we have the password to Brenda’s account. Once it’s open I’m sure we’ll find everything we need to prove you innocent of everything.”

  “A half hour isn’t going to matter,” Lars said. “Once we learn which account has the shop’s money we might be able to recover most of what she took.”

  “Really?” Joyce said.

  “Will take months and a law suit. Your attorney will see to that.” Lars backed from the parking space.

  Dana leaned forward. “Weren’t there two accounts? Where did the money in the second come from?”

  “Drugs,” I said.

  Joyce laughed. “When Zach and the DA told me about the drugs, I went ballistic. Imagine her nerve to do such a thing. I guess the way I ranted and raved about her perfidy convinced the DA I knew nothing about the drugs.” She laughed. “I scared him and he apologized.” She ran to the house.

  Too restless to sit still, I left the car and paced about the yard. Lars followed and sat at the umbrella table. My desire to be at the shop ate holes in my patience.

  Fifteen minutes later Joyce left the house. The dark color of her curls meant she hadn’t taken time to blow dry. Her slacks and shirt were clean but wrinkled. She opened the car door. “What are you waiting for?”

  The eagerness in her voice made me laugh. I dashed to the car and slid into the passenger’s seat. Lars and Dana joined us. Soon we would know the full story of Brenda’s crimes. Tonight we could celebrate at dinner.

  Lars drove to Herbal Haven and parked in the lot. Joyce and Dana walked to the greenhouse. Lars and I continued to the shop. After I opened the door he strode to the office.

  I followed him. “Before you try the code, see if any more on-line orders have arrived.”

  There were two to add to the ones from earlier. I hurried to the table in the kitchen and prepared two more boxes. As soon as Joyce and Dana arrived we could pack.

  Since there were no customers I returned to the office. Lars added a ream of paper to the printer. “What did you find?”

  “Enough info on the drug trade to allow Zach to shut it down. The real books for the business. Brenda was a clever woman. Kept three sets of books. One for Joyce to see, one for herself and the third for the accounting firm. I doubt Grayson knew how much money she skimmed.”

  “Why three?”

  “To hide her thefts. Every day she took about a third of the cash taken in and put it in her account. Another third went to those fake companies. What kind of person was she?”

  “Greedy and devious describe her perfectly. You need to let Zach and Mr. Simons know.”

  He nodded. “I’ve sent downloads of the files pertaining to Herbal Haven to Simons. Have Dana call Zach.”

  “Will do.” I turned to leave.

  “Hold on. There’s more. Found info on the other businesses Grayson handled. He began with them before he and Brenda connected. He let her hold the money. Young fool.”

  “He certainly was but seems to me he was a thief already.”

  “Still I wonder why he let her keep the money.” Lars pressed a button and the printer began spewing pages.

  “Brenda liked control and she was brilliant at manipulating people to do what she wanted.”

  Lars shrugged. “She could have turned this business into something special. Began that way. Wonder if he influenced her.”

  “Could be.” I left the office. Joyce and Dana entered. I waved. “Call Zach. Tell him Lars has info about the drugs.”

  Dana reached for the phone on the counter. “Will do.”

  A smile lit Joyce’s face. “Looks like I’m in business again. You and Lars can be on your way. Maybe tomorrow.”

  “We’ll see.” I wasn’t budging until the killer was caught. The discovery of this having been a drug depot increased my friend’s danger. My gaze wandered from her face.

  Joyce’s mouth gaped. “What’s bothering you?”

  “I need to know who killed Brenda before I’ll feel comfortable about leaving.”

  “There’s no chance I’ll be charged.”

  I shrugged. “Put it down to curiosity. You know how I am. Let’s not worry about us leaving. It’s three thirty. Let’s finish those boxes so you can call the delivery service before they close.” On cue, the chock chimed.

  She clasped my hand. “I feel dreadful for ruining your wedding reception and honeymoon.

  “You haven’t. You’ve given Lars a puzzle to solve and me a friend to rescue.” We walked to the kitchen and worked on the orders.

  “Why did you decide to go to Montreal? I’ve wondered about your choice of a destination for days. Not that Montreal isn’t a lovely city to visit but I had visions of some grand tour.”

  I handed her the last item for another box. “A compromise. Lars wanted to spend months in Europe touring a dozen cities.”

  “Nice,” Joyce sealed and addressed the box.

  “Not for me. Traipsing from one city to another when all I want is to settle in our new home.” I shook my head. “The marriage would have ended by the third city. Took him years to persuade me to visit Santa Fe.”

  She looked up. “Moving into a new house is a good reason for not taking a long trip. Why didn’t you visit New Mexico before?”

  “For the same reason we didn’t marry years ago. His daughter.”

  “Guess that was a good reason. But you went.”

  “And his daughter was killed.”

  “Does he blame you?”

  I shook my head. “He blames himself for putting off what he should have done years before. He quarreled with her not long before her death.”

  “And if he asks you to travel again, will you go?”

  “I wouldn’t mind a week or ten days in one of the cities Lars wants to visit but with lots of home time between.”

  Joyce sealed another box. “Good luck.”

  “We’ll reach a compromise. Would you enjoy a lengthy trip?”

  She rolled a tea set in bubble wrap. “And leave Dana and Herbal Haven? No.”

  With a jangle of the bell, the front door opened. Zach entered. He strode into the office. Curiosity beckoned. “Be right back.” I abandoned Joyce and reached the doorway in time to see him insert a device into the computer. Lars pressed a button.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Thumb drive. I’ll download all the info on the drug trade so we can review what we’ve discovered. When the investigation is over someone will scrub the computer.” After a time he pocketed the device.

  Lars walked with Zach from the office. “Just spoke to Simons. With what I sent him, there’s enough to arrest Grayson for embezzlement.”

  Zach nodded. “Dug himself deep into the suspect pool. Admitted he lied about Mrs. Rivers being here. Also admitted to the bedroom mess and taking the jewelry. He denies a second visit.”

  “Do you believe him?” I asked.

  “About the mess but he’s holding something back.”

  “What about the key he used?”

  Zach shrugged. “Admitted he had one. Didn’t find it with his things. Doesn’t know where he lost it.”

  “Is he the killer?” I asked.

  Zach raised both hands. “Don’t know.”

  That info didn’t change my thoughts about who I considered guilty. I believe the drugs played a role in Brenda’s death.

  Dana met us at the door. “Is it over? Is Mom safe?”

  “Don’t know,” Zach said. “Just be careful.”

  She turned to Lars. “Can you drive me home? I have to post my grades before five and it’s after three thirty.”

  “Go ahead,” I said. “I’ll stay with Joyce.”

  Lars tossed th
e car keys to Dana. “Take the car and return for us. I’ll call to let you know when. I need to transfer data to my business manager and to Joyce’s attorney.” He paused. “Don’t forget to make those dinner reservations.”

  Joyce waved from the kitchen. “Kate, only three more orders to fill. Then I can call for a pick up.” She called off items and I gathered them.

  Lars returned to the office. “Not much more to send.”

  ”Do you think Zack knows who killed Brenda?” Joyce asked.

  I handed her a half dozen packets of dried herbs, four jars of mint teas, two spices and a grinder. “Maybe. I still have two.”

  “Who?”

  Before the names formed the clanging bell sounded to announce the arrival of one of them. Frank stomped into the room and strode to the counter. He rounded the counter and paused in the kitchen doorway. “You had to interfere with a profitable operation. Not going to work.” He snaked his hand around Joyce’s arm. “You and I are going to be partners.”

  “Won’t happen,” I said. His appearance and his words gave me what I needed to name him as Brenda’s supplier.

  Joyce wrenched her arm free. “Partners. Never. Will never work. The police will keep the shop in their sight.”

  “Their vigilance will end. In a year or less we’ll be back in business.” He captured her arm again and dragged her forward. “Just remember, once I speak to my friends, you and this old bag will have targets on their foreheads.”

  “Kate did nothing.”

  “Her nothing brought the cops. My clients aren’t happy about what went down here but they're willing to sit tight until this blows over. We must find the money Brenda had for them. They’re willing to wait.”

  “What if it doesn’t blow over?” And it wouldn’t, not with what Brenda had stored in the computer and Zach now had.

  “Then we’ll have a problem unless Joyce comes up with a hundred grand Brenda collected.”

  Joyce shook her head. “The police found no money. They also have the documents Brenda kept.”

  “What documents?” he bellowed.

  I moved closer to them. “You heard her. Brenda kept records of every transaction on her computer. She may have mentioned names. The police have them.”

  Frank’s face turned so red I feared he would have a stroke. “I need that money.” He spun Joyce to face him. “We’ll tear this place apart. It must be here.”

  I curled my hands into fists. “You could but I doubt you’ll find a cent.”

  His jaw tightened. A glimpse of fear flashed in his eyes. My body tensed. He was serious.

  “This is no joke.” His deep voice quavered. “We need to make this right.”

  Joyce jerked free. “There is no we. I had nothing to do with Brenda’s schemes.”

  I stepped between them. “You sowed and now you reap. Were you here the night she was murdered? Did she taunt you and tell you the money was gone? Did you grab the scissors and stab her back?”

  “I didn’t kill her. When I arrived she was dead.”

  Unfortunately, I believed him. I prayed Zach would drag a confession from Grayson. Had Lars called the police?

  “How did you enter that night?” Joyce asked. “Did she give you a key?”

  “I have one but I didn’t need to use it. Door was open like always.”

  Joyce stared. “It was locked Tuesday morning.”

  And a key was needed for that purpose. The killer must have been present during Frank’s visit. Why was he still alive? What did the killer know about the drug business? Had the culprit come that night demanding a share?

  “Did you see anything?”

  “Just her body and her playmate standing at the stop of the steps in all his glory. He called her name.”

  “What about hearing something? Smelling something?”

  He shrugged. “Don’t think so. Just took off.”

  Did Grayson’s nudity mean he was the killer? Whoever had killed Brenda would have had bloody clothes.

  “What about this money you’re so interested in?” I asked.

  “Figured I’d come back and search her apartment.”

  “How would you get in?”

  “A key. Brenda was generous with them.” He reached in his pocket. “To her outside door.”

  Joyce’s shoulders slumped. “I trusted her.”

  “More fool you.” Frank crossed his arms. “Upstairs and open the door. I need to find the cash.”

  I shook my head. “Apartment’s been broken into twice and the police searched. Found no more than maybe five thousand.” Their search hadn’t been thorough and I had found the cash in the book safe. Hopefully he’d soon be on his way.

  “Damn her.”

  “Maybe her friend took the money,” Joyce said. “Police caught him heading out of town.”

  A door slammed. The sound came from the kitchen. I turned and stared as Pam crossed the room. She held a gun.

  “Hello, Daddy. Looks like Mother scored again.” She laughed. “When I was here that night I found money in an envelope. Took it. Didn’t count it yet. Spent a few hundred on some good liquor. Finders keepers.”

  Though she taunted him and in her eyes I saw the young woman I’d caught a glimpse of yesterday, the sing-song quality of her voice frightened me. Was she drunk or on drugs? There was none of the slurring I’d heard before. She glided toward us like a cat stalking prey.

  “How did you get in?” Joyce asked. “Did Brenda give you a key?”

  “Mother never trusted me. She trusted Jordan. He dangled the key in my face.” She reached the doorway and aimed the gun toward Joyce.

  Keep her talking, I thought. “So Jordan gave you the key.”

  She turned the barrel toward me. “Hah. He doesn’t trust me either. He bragged about how much Mother trusted him. One day I borrowed the key. Had a copy made and hid the real one in his car. He never knew.”

  “So you were here Monday night.” The thread she’d given me untangled the skein. “Why?”

  Pam took a step toward me. “Money. What else? Knew Daddy was coming to see her. Have my source. Knew about the drugs in the basement.” She jerked the gun toward her father. “Thought you were so clever but I knew every time you came. Always on a Monday night. I watched you exchange money.”

  “What else did you see?” I asked.

  “Her giving him stacks of cash and shoving it in an envelope. That’s all.” Her laughter rose to a high-pitched tone.

  “Surely you saw other things.”

  “Some Sunday night’s Mother and Teddy carried in a duffle bag and took it to the basement. They stayed down there a long time. Teddy told me they’d carried in the drugs they stuffed in jars. He slipped me some that I sold on the side. Sometimes he gave me money when he banged me. He thought doing me and Mother was fun. She never guessed.”

  “So you came Monday night to spy?”

  The gun wavered in her hand. “Tired of spying. Told Mother I wanted my share. She refused even after I told her I could send customers.”

  “Why did you kill her?”

  Joyce’s gasp and Frank’s groan greeted the question. Hadn’t they suspected?

  “So the shop will be mine.” She smirked.

  “How would that be possible?”

  “Teddy told me about the buyout. I needed Mother dead and you in jail for the murder before that happened.”

  Joyce stepped toward her. “Your mother and I had a partnership agreement. Herbal Haven is mine.”

  ”Wouldn’t do a bit of good if that piece of paper went missing."

  “You’re the one who searched my house.”

  “Yah. Looking for the key to the bank box. That’s all I would need to get what I wanted. Couldn’t find a thing. Couldn’t open that metal box.” Pam waved the gun. “Then somebody pulled in the driveway. I took off.”

  I decided to divert her before she shot someone. “Why did you kill your mother?”

  “Why else? She refused to share. Called me a loser.”r />
  “So you fought.” I grabbed Joyce’s arm and pulled her back.

  Pam pointed the gun at Frank who had begun to sidle away. “No fight. She told me to get lost. Turned her back. Grabbed the scissors and plunged them into her back. Pulled them out. Blood rose like a fountain. Heard that dumb bell and hid.”

  “Do you think you’ll get away with murder?” I asked.

  “Why not? After I kill you and Joyce, Daddy will help me get rid of the bodies. He has friends. Shop will be mine. He’ll be my partner and it will be business as usual.”

  Lars stepped from the office. “Won’t work. Police are on the way.”

  “Hah,” Pam said. “Don’t hear sirens.”

  “Told them to approach silently. Look outside.”

  Pam screamed and pulled the trigger. Lars fell to the floor. Had he been hit?

  Though I wanted to run to him, I saw her turn the gun on Joyce. Since Pam’s attention had been diverted I grabbed a spice grinder and flung the metal object. It smacked her elbow. The bullet she’d aimed at Joyce hit the ceiling and the gun landed on the floor.

  Zach stepped from the kitchen. “Nice throw.” He grabbed Pam who cradled her arm. “You’re under arrest for the murder of your mother.” He motioned to one of his companions. “Take Mr. Browne into custody, too;”

  I ran to Lars. “Are you hurt?”

  He rose. “Her aim was bad. Yours was good.”

  We held each other. “I’m glad I played softball years ago.”

  He laughed. “Ever full of surprises. Will I ever completely know you?”

  “Maybe.”

  I held his hand and drew him to where Zach stood with Joyce. “If you can get away, join us for dinner tonight.”

  “What are you making?"

  "We’re eating out.”

  “Where?”

  “Bavarian something. Ask Dana. She’s in charge of reservations.”

  Lars rested his hand on my shoulder. “Tomorrow we can leave and drive to Montreal. I’ll call the hotel later. These past few days have been exhausting.”

  I saw the look on Joyce’s face and knew what concerned her. “What about the money for Herbal Haven?”

  “Joyce and I can sign the papers at five. Called her attorney.”

  Joyce grabbed my hand. “Two boxes to finish. I’ll call for the pick-up.” She reached for the phone.