by Joyce Lavene
“You owe me dinner.” It was all he had a chance to say before a woman in a bright red suit cornered him to ask about growing tulips on her patio.
Peggy left before she got caught in the middle of it. Al wouldn’t call her unless he had a good reason. If it wasn’t Keeley, she couldn’t imagine what it could be. She felt sure he’d tell her up front if it was Paul. She thought about a dozen more reasons he might call her on the way there. Then she parked the Saturn in the visitors’ parking lot and hurried into the hospital.
Al was waiting at the side entrance from the parking lot. “I think this may be the break you’re looking for. Lieutenant Rimer is on his way over. I wanted you to hear this first, but let’s speed it up. He might not understand me calling you.”
They went up on the elevator to the third floor. “For goodness sake, Al, tell me what’s going on.”
“A doctor gave me a call this morning. It seems he got the test results back on one of his emergency room cases. The man was poisoned by anemonin.”
Peggy’s eyes widened. “Really? How did it happen?”
“His name is Dwayne Johnson. He’s got a rap sheet for drugs as long as your arm. Anyway, this time he picked up some capsules he found in a trash can on Queens Road. Free drugs are the best drugs, you know.”
“How is he?” she asked, excitement building in her chest.
“Sick as a dog. But the doctor says he’ll be fine. I’ve got two officers picking up the rest of the capsules from his house. If it turns out the way I’m thinking, we may have to change that arrest warrant. Johnson identified a photo of the Warner house. He says that’s where he got the drugs.”
“I’m sure Jonas will love that.” She laughed as the elevator stopped.
“Yeah, he’s just peachy about it.” Al smiled at her. “I think you did good on this, Peggy. Even if you should’ve stayed out of the way.”
“Thanks, I think. Why did you ask me to come up, besides telling me this?”
“As awkward as it may be, I’d like you to come with us when we search the Warner house again. I don’t know what the hell we’re looking for over there. What do you make poison out of?”
She nodded. “I’ll give Steve a call and go with you. Does the position pay?”
He scratched his chin. “I’m sure we can get you a small stipend. And you’ll have the satisfaction of finding out if you were right or wrong.”
“That sounds appealing. Where do I sign up?”
THE CRIME LAB FOUND TRACES of anemonin in the rest of the capsules at Dwayne Johnson’s home. Most of them were mutilated and only contained traces of the poison. The quest for the perfect capsule to give Mark seemed to be the only reason Dwayne was alive.
Peggy went with Al to search the Warner house. The judge issued the warrant on the strength of Johnson’s bedside affidavit that he picked up the capsules from the Warner trash can. Julie’s lawyer argued anyone could’ve put them there. But since the bank video showed Julie bringing in a pharmacy bag and the poisoned capsules matched the medication she brought Mark, the judge allowed the search.
Julie stayed in the house. Her eyes promised retribution when she saw Peggy.
Peggy shivered, but she straightened her spine and went ahead with the officers. The warrant allowed them to look for anything that could have been used in the commission of Mark Warner’s murder.
“There’s so much in here,” Peggy said to Al. “How are we going to go through it all?”
“Just remember, I only want you to look for the kind of paraphernalia that could be used to create the poison. Let us take care of the rest.”
With the Warner children crying in the kitchen, Peggy looked everywhere else first. There was no sign of anything she recognized as useful. Al asked Julie to wait upstairs with the children so they could search the kitchen. Peggy was grateful for his intervention but still couldn’t find anything.
“I think she had too much of a lead, Al,” she told him. “If there was anything here, she got rid of it. Maybe we should search the dump.”
“Great.” He glanced around the kitchen. “We’ll never get another warrant for this. They found a long dark wig upstairs in Mrs. Warner’s closet. That could help us make the case for the police in Columbia.”
“But not if we can’t find a beaker or anything that the poison was in.” Peggy thought about the cat being poisoned. If it was an accident, Julie had to be out in the open somewhere in the house. If not in the kitchen . . . “What about the basement? This house must have a basement.”
Al looked for a door, enlisting the aid of the officers as they finished searching the rest of the house. “If there’s a basement, she must have to climb in through an outside window.”
“Some of these older houses had cellars instead of basements.” Peggy began stomping her foot on the floor in the kitchen. “If there’s a door cut in the floor, it should sound different.”
Al and the officers joined her in stamping their feet across the floor. Peggy took a moment to smile at the sight, then she stomped down hard on a spot near the pantry. “I think I found something.”
The door cut into the oak tongue-and-groove floor was hard to see. They didn’t need a rug to hide it. The carpenter who’d created it did an excellent job. The lines between the different cuts in the wood were so thin as to appear almost invisible. Peggy found a spatula and used it to pry up one end of the door. It opened smoothly and quietly. She pushed back a new steel support brace that held the door open.
Al instructed two of the officers to stay upstairs with the Warner family. “We’re so close. I don’t want to have to look for Mrs. Warner like I’ve had to look for Ms. Prinz.”
“Have you found Keeley yet?” Peggy asked as she started down the narrow stairs.
“No. But I expect you knew that.”
The space under the house was more a cellar than a basement. It was crudely wired. One naked lightbulb hung over a rough workbench. A large Bunsen burner was pushed back from the edge. Various sizes of glass beakers and bottles stood on shelves.
“Holy smoke.” Al couldn’t believe his eyes. “Richards, get down here with that camera. Nobody touch anything until CSI gets here.”
Peggy poked around in the shadowed corners. Close to the workbench was a smaller table. It was covered by yellow scarves. Five jars of honey, five small pumpkins, and five oranges adorned it. On the wall behind it was a small picture of a beautiful black woman dressed in yellow scarves. She appeared to be dancing.
“What is that?” Al asked.
“Oshun,” Peggy told him. “That explains the yellow scarf around the cat. She’s part of the Santeria religion. And from what I hear, she can get very angry.”
“The what?”
Peggy left the cellar as she heard Emma come in the back door. The housekeeper put her bags of groceries on the table and rushed toward Julie as the officers were putting handcuffs on her. Her children were crying and clinging to her.
“No, no,” Emma was muttering. “Oshun wouldn’t let this happen.”
“It was you,” Peggy said in amazement. “It wasn’t Julie, was it? You killed Mark. You did it out of love for Julie and the children, of course. You killed Molly because she had the nerve to come here, face Julie, and threaten her. You tried to kill me because I was asking too many questions.”
Julie stared at Peggy, then swept her tearful gaze toward her housekeeper. “Emma? Is that true? You wouldn’t, would you?”
“You’re better off without him,” Emma told her. “And his disrespectful whore deserved to die, too.”
Jonas and Al glanced at each other. Al shrugged his hefty shoulders. “Don’t ask me.”
“Are you saying Mrs. Warner didn’t kill her husband?” Jonas asked Peggy.
“I’m not.” She nodded at the housekeeper. “But I think she is. Emma’s a believer in Santeria. They have a lot of basic knowledge about plants and poisons. I think when you dust for fingerprints in the cellar, you’re going to find Emma’s print
s, not Julie’s.”
While Julie cried, a defiant Emma proudly confessed to the murders. Peggy slipped out the door. She’d done her part. She didn’t want to hear the rest. Two more squad cars joined the group, and a Channel 3 news van pulled smoothly up. She was glad Steve’s car was parked on the street.
Her cell phone rang. “Peggy?” Steve’s voice sounded desperate. “There’s a man here who wants to order two hundred tulip trees. I don’t even know what the hell a tulip tree is. Are you coming back soon?”
She laughed. “I’m on my way. Don’t let him leave the shop.”
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE John Lee died, the blue spruce in Peggy’s house was decorated for Christmas. She decided to do it in grand style by inviting half of Charlotte to help her. The drop-in party was so large that the police sent complimentary officers to help with parking and traffic.
“It’s the least we can do since you went to so much trouble to make us look like idiots,” Jonas told her as he put a star on the tree.
“Don’t listen to him.” His wife, Georgette, smiled at Peggy. “He got a big commendation for solving the murder here and helping with the Stone case in Columbia.”
“I never listened to him anyway,” Peggy replied. “He can testify to that. But I’m glad everything turned out okay.”
Jonas asked her, “How did you know? The whole Santeria thing. It didn’t look like anything to me.”
“I was in Cuba last year touring a new botanical garden they’re working on,” Peggy replied. “One of the gardeners was involved with Santeria. If Emma had chosen any other orisha, I wouldn’t have known. Sometimes things just seem to fit together, don’t they?”
She left the Rimers by the tree with a cup of eggnog for each of them. The house was so full, she wasn’t sure if there were enough food and drinks. She walked toward the kitchen, stopping every few seconds to talk to someone she knew.
Jane Cheever and her father arrived. Joe was in a wheelchair, but his faded eyes twinkled at Peggy. “Greetings, my dear. What a splendid party. Thank you for inviting us.”
Peggy hugged him. “You’re just like your old self!”
He glanced at his legs. “Not quite, but I’m working on it. My daughter tells me that I owe you a great debt.”
“No, she owes me a great debt.” Hunter came in behind them with Sam at her side. “But I’m sure we can work that out. How pitiful am I that I had to come to a party with my brother?”
“You mean, how pitiful am I that I had to come with you!” Sam groaned.
“Never mind.” Peggy stepped between them. “Go and get some punch and put an ornament on the tree. Walk around like you don’t know each other. No one will notice.”
Hunter leaned close to her. “Any eligible men here?”
Sam did the same. “Yeah. Tell me first, Peggy. She can have my leftovers.”
“I’m sure there are plenty for both of you. Now, scoot!” Peggy helped Jane take her father into the foyer where everyone was milling around the food and the tree.
Keeley was helping Steve look for the bottom plug behind the tree that would turn on the twinkle lights. Lenore was watching her and smiling. Peggy introduced her friend to the Cheevers.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Lenore took Joe’s hand. “Peggy’s told me so much about you.”
“And this must be your daughter.” Joe looked at Keeley. “ ‘The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, as daylight doth a lamp.’ ”
She stopped searching the bottom branches of the tree and smiled at him. “Uh—thanks. Nice to meet you. I guess we’ll always have something in common, huh? We were both accused of the same murder.”
Joe agreed but added, “True. And, most importantly, we were both innocent.”
“I found it!” Steve yelled, taking pieces of spruce out of his mouth as he climbed through the tree.
“Eureka!” Joe raised his glass and smiled.
“Let’s light it up,” Peggy suggested. “Would you do the honors?”
“Of course.” Steve put the plug in the wall, and the tree came alive with lights. There was a round of applause and a great deal of oohing and aahing. A spontaneous burst of “O Christmas Tree” followed but died quickly when no one knew more than the first two lines.
Paul came up and put his arm around his mother. “Looks good. I didn’t know if we’d ever do this again.”
She hugged him. “I didn’t know either. But it feels good, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. I think Dad would be happy to see it.”
Peggy wiped a tear from the corner of her eye but kept her smile. “Where’s Mai?”
“Probably trying to get through this crowd. She headed for the eggnog.” He looked past the people surrounding them. “There she is. She’s really great, Mom.”
“I know. And I’m so glad you found each other.”
“How’s it going with you and Steve?” He glanced at the other man who was accepting congratulations for his part in lighting the tree. “Is it serious between you?”
Peggy laughed. “I’m not sure what that means. But he’s very nice, and he makes me feel good. It doesn’t hurt that he’s willing to dig up dead cats either.”
“Don’t tell me!” Paul hugged her and smiled. “I never thought my mom would be dating, but it’s okay. I wanted you to know. I know you don’t need my permission or anything, but—”
“It means a lot to me that you said something.” She kissed his cheek. “Thanks.”
“I think I see Al and Mary trying to get in the door,” he said. “I’ll go see if I can help them. I didn’t know you knew so many people. Is that the mayor?”
Peggy didn’t answer as she turned to speak with someone else. At the height of the party, she retreated to the basement. An alarm clock was ringing, but it wasn’t necessary. She’d been waiting for this moment for the past few weeks. A lovely red rose was beginning to open in the darkness beside the pond where its cousin, the water lily, was perfuming the air.
“Hey, you aren’t supposed to be down here with your plants when you have a million people at your party.” Steve put his arm around her. “Looks like your experiment worked. That’s great! This just came for you.”
He handed her a small box that was wrapped in gold foil. She looked at the card attached to it. “You’ve done it. Congratulations, Nightrose. Merry Christmas! Nightflyer.”
Peggy slipped the box into her pocket and smiled at Steve. Nightflyer didn’t show up again at the gaming site. She had Sergeant Jones close the investigation. But Nightflyer wasn’t gone from her life.
“Are you okay?” Steve asked.
“I’m fine,” she answered, focusing on him. “Let’s go back to the party.”
Peggy’s Garden Journal
Autumn
We all know that autumn is a good time to plant bulbs for the spring. It’s also a good time to check your garden for damage from summer storms, heat, and insects. Take the time to go through your garden and notice what’s changed. Time to trim back plants that have grown straggly over the summer. Mulch around trees and bushes to protect for the coming winter. Bring in plants that can’t withstand the cold.
In the house, it’s the same. Plants will grow more slowly once the weather changes, even inside. The sun is less warm even in sunny windows. It’s a good time to cut back unruly growth and use cuttings to begin new plants.
Autumn can be a good time for those outdoor projects, too. With the heat of summer gone and the kids involved with other projects and school, maybe you can get that bench built near the oak tree or create the trellis you’ve wanted for your climbing roses.
Take time to enjoy the cool breezes and warm sunshine before we’re all inside reading our seed catalogs during the winter months. Happy gardening!
Peggy
Care and Feeding Guide
ANEMONE
Anemones have clear, beautiful colors such as red, pink, and purple. One anemone bulb has lots of flowers. If you pick faded flowers right away,
they will flower continuously until the end of their cycle.
Anemone bulbs should be dry and without mold when you buy them. The best planting season is autumn. However, some species are not hardy for the cold climate. If you grow such species in an area where the temperature reaches below 0°F(-18°C), plant them in spring.
If you plant hard-dried bulbs in soil and let them absorb water abruptly, they get cracks on the surface, which may cause infection or promote mold. Therefore, pretreatment is required.