6 A Thyme to Die

by Joyce Lavene

  Sam shrugged. “We can always steal them while he’s not looking.”

  “Bad idea,” Paul disagreed. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Don’t forget, if what you find isn’t done in the right way, he could’ve killed ten people and it won’t be admissible in court.”

  Selena got there with pockets full of candy bars and chips. She glared at Sam when she saw him looking at her snacks. “What? I’m hungry. There’s only junk food in those machines. It’s not like they had an orange machine. Want some?”

  “No, thanks,” Sam said.

  “I’ll take the sour cream and onion chips.” Paul took a bag. “I like to eat when I’m stressed.”

  While he ripped open the bag of chips, Sam and Peggy brainstormed about how they could get Adam’s garden snips.

  “What’s the big deal?” Selena crunched some cheese curls. “He keeps them under the table in a bag. You can just grab them.”

  “I guess she’s good for something besides making copies,” Sam said. “Oh, yeah. That’s right. Selena, will you go make more flyers?”

  “I’ve already made hundreds today,” she complained. “You’re not doing anything. You make them.”

  “I can’t.” He grinned. “I have to go with Peggy to get the snips.”

  “It would make more sense for me to go.” She poked him in the chest. “I can say I accidentally left something there and grab the snips.”

  No one could argue with that plan, except for Paul.

  “You have to ask him for the snips. Otherwise we have to have a search warrant. I’m sorry. That’s the law.”

  “That’s stupid.” Selena picked up the folder with the copy of the landscaping information and trudged to the copying machine.

  “I think it’s unlikely that he’ll give me the snips if he killed Dabney with them,” Peggy said.

  “You’d be surprised. I’ve seen people do some pretty stupid stuff.” Paul smiled. “Most people think if they wash a murder weapon, the blood is gone. They don’t know about what the medical examiner can do these days.”

  “It can’t hurt to try,” Sam agreed. “The worst that will happen is that he’ll get suspicious. Make it a good reason to borrow them.”

  Peggy was trying to think of a good reason to borrow Adam’s snips when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller’s name. “It’s Adam.”

  “Hi, Adam.” Peggy fixed her gaze on Paul’s face for moral support. “What can I do for you?”

  “I hate to have to bother you.” He chuckled. “Well, I really don’t. I think you owe me. Anyway, I need some stuff from my van and there’s no one here but me. Would you mind getting it? I’d ask to borrow your assistant again, but I want to handle these customers myself.”

  Peggy agreed to help him. She said she would get his keys from him with a list of what he needed from his van.

  When she got off the phone with him, Paul picked up his cell phone.

  “This has gone far enough. Let’s do this the right way. I’m sorry, Mom. If we’re careful about searching the van, Adam won’t ever know. If we do it with a search warrant, anything we find can be used as evidence. We’re gonna have to do this my way.”

  Paul called Captain Sedgwick to update him on what had happened. The captain called Al to include him in the event. It was Steve who brought the search warrant about twenty minutes later.

  “What are you doing here?” Peggy glanced carefully toward Adam’s exhibit. It was a long way down the concourse from The Potting Shed, but she was nervous and feeling guilty. She thought she couldn’t be too careful.

  “Hello to you too.” He smiled and kissed her. “Why didn’t you let me know something else was up? You’re not trying to take all the credit for the collar, are you?”

  “I’m not even sure what that means. It’s not that I’m unhappy to see you. I didn’t expect you.”

  “This investigation is still a joint effort,” he explained. “Al and some of his officers are waiting outside. We thought it would look less conspicuous for your husband to come and see you.”

  “I suppose that makes sense. I’ll go and get the keys and Adam’s list. Maybe you should stay here.”

  “That’s fine. Take Paul with you.”

  Peggy walked with Paul to Adam’s exhibit. He was extremely busy, taking orders and answering questions. He broke away from a customer when he saw her.

  “What took you so long? I really needed that stuff a little while ago.”

  For a moment, Peggy was afraid he might not need anything from the van now. All of the plans would be for nothing.

  Adam put down the clipped hollyhocks he was holding and took out his keys. He handed her a hastily scrawled list of items. “Thanks, Peggy. I’m finally on a roll.”

  She told him she’d hurry back. She and Paul went outside with Steve. The FBI van was in place by the gate again. Al and three detectives from homicide were waiting. Dorothy pulled up in the medical examiner’s van as they reached the parking lot.

  “I hope we know what the van looks like.” Dorothy sounded a little annoyed to be dragged out of the lab while she was working.

  Peggy pointed out the white van. “It’s the white one with the flowers that says Morrow’s Florist.”

  “Oh.” Dorothy picked up her kit and walked in that general direction.

  Everyone followed her. Al asked Peggy to remind everyone what they were looking for. “Peggy, you take care of the list Morrow asked you to get for him. We don’t want to make him suspicious. We’ll check over the van. You and Paul go back inside.”

  Peggy told everyone about the pink flowers. They were very small and could be easy to miss. “Even if he vacuumed the van, a few of them might be in the cracks around the edges.”

  Dorothy took a large pair of new garden snips out of her bag. “This is the approximate size of the cutting tool we’re looking for. This head matches the wound sustained by Dabney Wilder. I’ll be looking for blood residue, even though we don’t think either man was killed here. Morrow could’ve changed clothes in here or touched something.”

  The agents and officers got ready to search as quickly as possible. They opened all the doors to the van. There were hundreds of items, large and small, inside. This was going to take some time.

  Peggy went about her business collecting floral wire, a small pair of wire cutters, waxed string, and other items on Adam’s list. She tried not to feel guilty that the FBI and the Charlotte police were searching his van. If she was lucky, he wasn’t guilty and he’d never know this had happened.

  When she had everything together, Peggy told Steve goodbye and wished him luck. She and Paul walked back to the convention center with a quick salute from Reggie.

  “It’s okay, Mom.” Paul could see she was nervous. “I’m sorry it had to go this way, but if he has nothing to hide, he’ll be fine.”

  “I know. But it would be like you doing this to one of your college friends. I hope he hasn’t done anything wrong.”

  “We both know something is up with that diamond dust in his pocket,” Paul reminded her. “Let’s hope he only found Dr. Abutto’s duffel bag.”

  “I guess we should go right down there.” Peggy smiled at him. “I hope he doesn’t need anything else out of his van anytime soon. They brought a small army to search one van, didn’t they?”

  “Better too many, in this case. They can get the job done sooner.”

  They passed Sam. He was standing by the table. “Have you seen Selena? I don’t think it should take this long to make copies.”

  “She’s probably at the vending machines again,” Peggy said. “We’ll swing by there and send her back.”

  Paul and Peggy walked quickly down the crowded concourse to reach Adam’s exhibit. He wasn’t there. There was a sign on his display table that said, back in five minutes.

  “He probably went to the restroom,” Peggy said. “The vending area is over there too. Maybe we can find Selena at the same time.”

  Paul smiled at his mo
ther’s practicality. “Once you decide what needs to be done, there’s no stopping you, is there? You’ll chase a man down to the restroom, if you have to.”

  “That wasn’t what I had in mind,” she explained. “I was thinking he’d see us go by as he was coming out and we could give him these things. I wouldn’t go into the men’s room to get him.”

  “Right.” He nodded with a knowing smile.

  “Stop it!”

  “Okay. Just teasing anyway.”

  Paul followed Peggy to the vending area. There was still no sign of Selena. He checked in the men’s room for Adam.

  “He’s not in there.”

  Peggy could see the exhibit from where she stood. Adam wasn’t back there either.

  “I can’t believe he’d leave his exhibit alone like that. I wonder where he is?”

  Paul looked at his phone. “Al says nothing yet. He says stall Adam if we have to.”

  “I hope Adam isn’t standing outside watching them search his van.” Peggy fretted. “He may know what’s going on already.”

  “Maybe. Don’t panic yet.”

  “He can’t go anywhere without his keys. He must be here somewhere.”

  Peggy’s cell phone rang. It was Selena.

  “Where are you?” she asked her assistant.

  “I’m having trouble with the copy machine. Can you come, Peggy? It’s really bad.”

  Selena sounded close to tears.

  “I’ll be right there. I’m sure it’s nothing.” Peggy turned off her phone. “Selena is really upset about the copy machine. I guess I’ll have to check in there. I don’t see any way she could’ve broken it. Probably only a paper jam.”

  Paul laughed. “She’s a trip.”

  The office for the convention center was located in the back of the building in a cramped little room with no windows. There was a copy machine and a fax machine that anyone with an exhibit could use. There was also a telephone and a computer.

  Peggy and Paul were talking about all the crazy things Selena had done since she’d started working at The Potting Shed. They walked into the darkened public office together. The door slammed closed behind them and the lights turned on.

  The lock in the heavy metal door slid into place with a loud click. Peggy heard muffled crying and turned around.

  Adam was behind them. He was holding a gun that shook in his trembling hand.

  “I’m sorry Peggy. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Cherry

  The cherry tree is in the same genus as prunes and plums, but the fruit is much smaller. The geographical range of a cherry tree is throughout most of Asia and Europe, northern Africa and most of North America. Originally from Asia, the cherry tree also includes cultivars that will grow in arctic regions. Most breeds, however, thrive best in zones four through eight.

  “Adam?” Peggy decided it might be best to play dumb. She knew Paul had a gun under his jacket. She didn’t want to cause a shoot out in this small room that could end with someone being hurt or worse.

  “You know, when I heard Dabney and Tim Roseboro talking about smuggling diamonds into the country, I thought I’d hit the mother lode.” Adam laughed but his voice was trembling too. “All I wanted was to get in on the act. Tim had that big house he was trying to save. Dabney was doing it for the hell of it. I really needed the money. You know I do.”

  “Adam, please put the gun down.” Peggy walked toward him. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt anyone. You’re not like that.”

  “I’m not like that.” He started crying. “I’m so desperate. I’m going to lose everything I worked so hard for, everything my father worked for. I have to go out every day and act like life is fine, but it’s not. I thought maybe the diamonds were my best shot at changing things around again.”

  “You don’t have to tell me this.” Peggy was scared of what would happen when the story was told.

  “I do. I have to explain.” He wiped his eyes with his hand. “Why did you have to get involved? You shouldn’t have sent your assistant to steal my garden snips. I realized then that you knew the truth. It was the jacket pocket and the keys, wasn’t it? Peggy Lee wouldn’t be at a flower show with no snips.”

  Selena shrugged. “I was only trying to help.”

  “It’s okay,” Peggy told her. “Everything is okay.”

  She knew Paul was standing behind her, trying carefully to remove his gun from its holster. But what then? The room was so tiny. Anything could happen.

  “No. It’s not.” Adam steadied his gun. “I knew when I opened the duffel bag and it was empty. I knew something bad was going to happen. I begged Dr. Abutto to tell me where he’d hidden the diamonds. I went crazy when he wouldn’t tell me, and I shot him.”

  “And buried him with thyme,” Peggy added. “Not many people today know that thyme is a funeral plant.”

  “That’s right. I was trying to do something for him. When I realized he was dead, I panicked. I still needed those diamonds. That’s why I went to Dabney, hoping he would help me. I offered to help him look for the diamonds. We knew they were here somewhere. He laughed at me. One minute I was standing there with my snips in my hand, and the next, I’d stabbed him with them.”

  “You weren’t yourself,” Peggy assured him. “The DA will take that into consideration.”

  “We both know how this ends,” Adam argued. “I can’t go on any further. I don’t want Sally to know what happened, at least not while I’m alive.”

  Sally was Adam’s wife. Peggy could feel Paul tensing behind her. She didn’t know what to do. Even if Adam meant to kill himself, what were the chances that he wouldn’t hurt Paul or Selena?

  “It doesn’t have to end this way.” Peggy walked right up to him and put her arms around him. His whole body was trembling fitfully. He was sobbing. She knew he was out of control.

  “Get out of the way, Mom,” Paul whispered. “Move away.”

  She didn’t like the idea of her son shooting her old friend anymore than the idea of Adam shooting Paul. It couldn’t happen this way. There had to be another ending.

  “Give me the gun, Adam.” She put her hand on the gun and tried to ease it out of his hand. His cold fingers were locked on it.

  “No, Peggy. I have to take care of it. It’s what my father would’ve done.”

  “Peggy—” Selena whimpered.

  “Let me help you.” Peggy was determined that Adam didn’t have to die. He’d done terrible things, but he was in a terrible place. He needed help.

  “No!” Adam pushed her away. His hand holding the gun moved downward as though he might decide to kill her before he shot himself.

  A shot rang out in the tiny room.

  Adam’s tearstained face was a mask of surprise first—then relief—as he crumpled to the floor, dragging Peggy down with him.

  Paul put his gun away and rushed toward his mother as he called 911 for emergency assistance. He gave them his badge number and location then dropped to his knees.

  “Are you okay, Mom?”

  “I’m fine. Was that you?”

  His mouth tightened and his green eyes clouded as he unlocked the door. “My gun. Yes. I’ll call Al now.”

  Selena launched herself at Peggy, crying and trying to explain what had happened. Peggy held the girl tightly as Al and his detectives rushed the doorway. Steve and his agents were right behind them.

  Peggy could hear the sound of sirens coming toward the convention center. Her heart broke at the loss of another friend.

  Epilogue

  Peggy and Steve hosted a cookout in the backyard. The weather was glorious with so many trees and flowers in bloom. Their guests strolled the grounds, exclaiming over the scents and riotous color. Pink cherry blossoms were everywhere, creating a carpet on the new green grass.

  They’d invited agents Sanford and Rankin, along with Sam and Selena. Al convinced Mary to come along, even though the possibility for the shop talk she abhorred strong
ly existed. Ken Benigni was leaving for home right after lunch. It seemed right to extend an invitation to Walter next door. Paul and Mai also joined them.

  “The corn is almost ready,” Steve said, working the grill. “I’ve already got the potatoes warming and the veggie burgers are finished.”

  “I’m starving, so whenever you’re ready.” Peggy put out a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses.

  The old oak trees shaded the group as they ate lunch. Peggy sat at the opposite end of the table from Agent Rankin. She was still hoping he’d grow on her. There hadn’t been enough time for that to occur yet.

  Tanya and her grandmother had left for home earlier that day. Peggy had the satisfaction of being able to tell them that justice had been done. The three of them had cried over their loss. Peggy knew it wasn’t much comfort to say that the man who’d murdered their loved one died, but it was the best she could do. In the future, they’d at least feel a sense of right over the wrong that had been done to them.

  “I still don’t understand why Morrow felt that he had to kill Dr. Abutto.” Millie Sanford dragged up the first part of talking over the case they had all worked on.

  “We’re guessing he lost control of the situation,” Al said despite a warning frown from his wife. “He wanted the diamonds. He might’ve thought he could threaten Abutto into giving them to him. A lot of times, threats get out of hand.”

  “It was remorse that made Adam throw all of the thyme he had into the grave with Aris,” Peggy said. “At least that’s what I believe. He didn’t do anything for Dabney.”

  “I think we were fortunate the whole thing came together so well.” Steve put his arm around Peggy’s shoulders. “And I’m glad to say there won’t be many cases like this where I need to work with a forensic botanist.”

  They all laughed. The warm spring breeze rustled the new leaves in the oaks above them. Shakespeare was too busy chasing squirrels to even notice that they were eating.

  “On that note,” Paul said with a grin. “I have some good news and some better news. I heard today that when my desk duty is up, I’m going to be promoted.”

  Everyone applauded and congratulated him. Their applause startled a pair of nesting bluebirds in the cherry tree. The birds scolded them angrily.