The Ginseng Conspiracy (A Kay Driscoll Mystery)

by Bernhardt, Susan

  Thom let out a heavy sigh. “Are trying to get yourself killed?”

  I cleared my throat. “I had to let him know he wouldn’t get away with it. Told him any other deaths in town would be directly linked to him. By the way, the FBI agent couldn't have come at a more opportune time.”

  “What agent? The FBI is sending two agents up to Sudbury Falls later today who will be contacting you.”

  I told Thom about the man who followed me.

  “Kay, step back from this investigation before you get hurt. Promise me you will. You don’t want me there, not yet, but I’m worried for you.”

  I took a deep breath. If the man on that bench when I confronted Dr. Anders wasn't an agent, who was he? Suddenly I was worried, but I didn’t want to let on. Thom seemed concerned enough, so instead I said, “There wouldn't be an investigation if I had stayed out of it.”

  “Just stay close to home for the next few days, and don't go confronting any suspects while you’re alone in the woods. It is all woods up there, isn't it?”

  “We'd better change the subject.”

  “Well, all right.” A pause followed. “How's the family? Isn't Will graduating next month?”

  I told Thom about Will’s upcoming graduation, his birthday, and about Andrew’s new job in St. Paul and his recent engagement to Rose.

  “Wonderful news. Congratulate them for me.”

  After a little more idle conversion, I hung up with Thom. Thinking of how often he said the word “well” made me smile. I hadn’t noticed that in him before. My mind wandered between thinking about Uncle Jimi and who Phil was talking to when Deirdre overheard him the night I worked at the clinic. Was it someone from class? Should I confront him? Did I want to know? I trusted him. This was absurd. I wasn't going to dictate who he could and couldn’t talk to, just as I wouldn’t like him to do the same to me. But he did say, “Don't tell Kay.” Why would he have said that? That statement kind of made it my business to find out what he had been talking about and to whom. I shook my head. And we just had the best time yesterday over dinner and during the evening.

  My mind went back to Uncle Jimi. No time like the present to go to The Starlite and talk to him. I needed to get as much information as I could to hand over to the FBI when I met with them. I'd see the proprietors of the other businesses afterward. I took the cheesecake out of the oven, placed it on the cooling rack, and left.

  * * * *

  The bell attached to the front door jingled as it opened. Two heads, at first lowered together in murmured conversation, rose and turned toward the man who entered the doorway of the back room of the patisserie. Dr. Anders stood for a moment at the entrance and then strolled over to the round table in the corner to join his companions. They drew their heads closer together once more.

  “All right, now that we’re all here, the reason I called this meeting is because of Kay Driscoll.” Dr. Anders looked around. “Where's Marissa? I don't have a lot of time to eat, and I'm starving.”

  “Kay?” Al asked, raising his eyebrows. “What about?”

  “We had a confrontation on the pathway by the river yesterday. She threatened me, if you can believe that, talked about knowing what I did, that others knew as well, and that the FBI is watching me.”

  Al made a face and said, “Kay's—” Marissa walked into the room and over to the table. The men leaned back as she unloaded her tray. “Here you go, Al, two chocolate almond croissants. Cinnamon brioche French toast, Bill. Dr. Anders, what can I get you?”

  “Black coffee and the Miraval omelette. Side order of rye toast.”

  “Anyone else? More coffee?”

  Al smiled at Marissa. “This looks great. Thanks, we’re fine.”

  “That will be all, Marissa,” Dr. Anders said in a dismissive manner. He jerked his head toward the door.

  Bill watched Marissa as she walked away. He leaned closer into the circle. “Now, where were we? Ah, yes, Kay Driscoll. How could she have come up with those allegations?”

  Al shook his head. “Michael, you sure are rude.” He took a sip of his coffee. “By the way, I tried getting in touch with you yesterday. Was your phone dead? Richard received a call from the FBI regarding the ginseng samples Walters sent to him.”

  “Well, you should have tried harder.”

  Al's eyes narrowed to slits. “Why don't you try charging your phone?”

  Bill wiped the maple syrup dripping down from his chin looking at Dr. Anders. “Al contacted me about the FBI. Hmmm... It's clear. That woman needs to go. I knew she would interfere from the start when she and her nosy friends discovered Walters in the river. She asked too many questions. She's trouble.”

  “No, Kay's harmless. She's bluffing,” Al said.

  “What if she does know something? We can’t trust her to keep quiet if she does. Or her friends,” Bill said. “It’s too bad. Elizabeth's a hot little number. But, we haven't come this far to have those three mess things up.”

  “Doubt she knows anything. How would she?” Al said. “And Bill, we can't have yet another murder in Sudbury Falls. That has to stop.” Al glared at Dr. Anders.

  “There could be an unfortunate accident, Al. I think the coroner could record it as such.”

  Al gave Bill a cold stare.

  Dr. Anders laughed jovially. “But without Kay, who would I work with at the free clinic? Hmmm... She's a great nurse. I agree with Al, she doesn’t know anything. Just bluffing. Scare her. We don't want Kay killed.”

  Fool. She's a loose end, Bill thought.

  Marissa entered the room and walked over to the table with a tray. “Dr. Anders, the Miraval omelette, rye toast, and black coffee.” Al smiled at Marissa.

  Marissa started clearing off a nearby table. She glanced at the men speaking in low voices in the corner. They stopped talking until she walked out of the room with a tray of dirty dishes.

  “If John was here, he'd agree with me,” Murphy said.

  “Well, he's not,” Al said in a blunt, hushed voice. “Wouldn't matter anyway.”

  Dr. Anders put his coffee cup down on the saucer. “Al, Kay's your friend. Hell, I like the woman. Talk some sense into her. She needs to stop making these wild accusations. Convince her she doesn’t know as much as she thinks she does.” He started eating.

  The dark spirit reflected on their faces seemed to have dimmed Marissa's usually bright patisserie, as if only the weakest of light bulbs had been turned on this morning.

  Al finished his croissants. “I need to get back,” Al said in a cold voice, getting up from the table. “I'll see if I can think of a way to dissuade Kay.” He left.

  “Al's never going to persuade that woman,” Bill said.

  Dr. Anders ate the last bite of his toast. “Let him try.” He threw some money down on the table and left.

  Alone at the table, Bill mumbled under his breath, “I may have to take matters into my own hands.”

  * * * *

  Walking past the patisserie, I looked in the back windows where Deirdre, Elizabeth, and I always sat. Dr. Anders, Al, and Bill Murphy were at a table leaning in close to each other like conspirators, deep in conversation, in all likelihood discussing who they would bump off next. I should have gone in and spied on them, sat down at the next table, and listen to what they were talking about. But, probably not a great idea after meeting up with Anders yesterday.

  It was eleven o'clock by the time I reached The Starlite and opened its heavy metal door. It took a few moments, coming in from the bright sunshine, for my eyes to adjust to the subdued light. The bar had just been open for a short while, but already there were three patrons seated at the bar. Uncle Jimi was behind the bar, glancing over the stock of liquor bottles. The Starlite Lounge was a retro experience, laid back, comfortable, and welcoming, just like Uncle Jimi. High-backed chairs encircled small cocktail tables, and sofas were scattered throughout the area. Chrome accents and a teal and orange color scheme rounded out the scene.

  “Uncle Jimi...hello.”
<
br />   Jimi turned around and recognition was born on his face. He broke into an easy smile. “Hey there, Kay. What's going on?” He put the bottles he was holding down on the bar.

  I looked over at the men sitting at the bar.

  “Pull up a chair over here,” Uncle Jimi said, leading me over to a table some distance from the bar.

  “I saw you coming out of the patisserie this morning while I was walking.”

  “I'm addicted to Marissa's pastries. Seen you there with Walters' wife, the professor who drowned. Shame what went down with him.”

  “Yes, Mary Ann. It is a shame. Did Dr. Walters ever come in here?”

  “Never. I did see him at Sonnie's though, the night before he died. He had tied one on.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He must have had a good time. Quite drunk.”

  A sudden rush of adrenaline tingled through my body. My eyes opened wide. “Is that so?”

  “Yeah. I was back in the alley taking the garbage out to the dumpster. Watched him being helped into the back of a car by two guys. Couldn't even walk. Had to drag him.”

  “Did you see who they were?”

  “John Stewart was one. He comes in here once in a while. Nasty fellow. The other,” he shrugged his shoulders. “Could have been one of the farm workers. Didn’t think Dr. Walters would have consorted with that type, but different sorts find common ground in a whisky bottle.”

  “Was the other man tall and thin, in his sixties?”

  “No. Opposite. Short and stocky.”

  “What did the car look like?”

  Jimi crossed his arms. “Dunno. Just remember that it was dark. It's dark back there, and the car was dark. I doubt they even saw me. Why all the questions?”

  “Didn't you think it was unusual for that to be happening?

  “You're kidding, right? Between The Starlite and Sonnie's, it's an every night occurrence. We don't get the cream of the crop around here, other than when your Phil makes an occasional appearance.”

  I laughed.

  “He was in here the other night, you know.”

  “Who was?”

  “Phil.”

  I frowned. “With whom? What night?”

  “A go-go dancer named Trixie.” He smiled, his whole face contorted.

  I looked blankly at Jimi. I wasn’t in the mood for his sense of humor right now.

  Jimi wrinkled his brow. “Just pulling your leg. Came in here alone when I was leaving. Wednesday night my shift is over at nine.”

  “Wednesday night? You mean a couple of nights ago?”

  “Yes.” Jimi said uncertainly. “Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.”

  What the hell? The night someone was breaking into our home, Phil was here?

  I patted him on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Uncle Jimi. I better get going. Nice talking to you, and thank you.”

  He smiled. “Sure. Stop in anytime.”

  I stepped out of The Starlite, my head pounding ready to explode. I stalked back home, my anger fueled by Phil’s betrayal.

  Will drove in the driveway as I was walking up the steps to the house. Deep in thought about Phil, his car horn almost scared me to death. I yelped and jerked my head back.

  “Hey, Mom,” he called out of his open window.

  “Will!” I said, regaining my composure. “You're home early.”

  Will got out of the car. I walked over and gave him a big hug and kiss.

  “I'm glad to see you.”

  I ran my hand through his hair. “You cut off your brown curls. Getting ready for your new job in January, I see.”

  His blue eyes sparkled. “The beard's gone also.”

  “You look great. All ready to be off on your own. Let me give you a hand with your bags.”

  “That's okay, I have it.”

  We started walking toward the house. “Have you eaten yet?”

  “At Beijing Bistro before I left.”

  I opened the front door. “Again. How many times have you eaten there this week?”

  “Too many. By the way, I have my laundry in the trunk.”

  “Oh great. I’ll do that Sunday before you leave. How’s everything going?”

  “Between the internship, my job, and classes, I don't have a whole lot of free time. I have a major exam on Monday, so I brought all my books home.”

  So Will came home for his birthday so that he could do homework and eat while I did his laundry. The life of a student!

  “Oh,” Will said quietly in an offhand manner. “And I started seeing a new girl. I like how you’ve decorated in here. And rearranged the furniture.”

  My ears perked up. “A new girl? Just thought you'd throw that bit of information into the conversation?”

  Will smiled.

  “What's her name? Tell me about her.”

  Will thrust his hand into his duffle bag and produced a number of plastic discs. “I haven’t got time right now, but you'd like her. Alex is going to be over any minute. We're going disc-golfing. I'll tell you all about her at Jo's tonight. We're still going, right?”

  “Of course.”

  The doorbell rang. “That'll be Alex. I have it. Gotta go! I'll be back around six o'clock. Love you, Mom.”

  “Love you—” The door slammed shut. “—too.” I sighed, but smiled. Just made it back to town, and Will was off and running.

  After Will left I started thinking about Phil. What was he doing at The Starlite Wednesday night while someone was breaking into our home? What was going on with him as of late? I decided to confront him about it.

  Later in the afternoon, I went into the study to look up an online recipe for the fajitas I was making tomorrow for Will's birthday. I searched the browser history to reach the sites I had looked at on Wednesday for recipes. Up popped Ted Michaels' real estate website. What? I never looked this up. Phil must have, but why? I continued scrolling through the browser history. A newspaper article appeared about a drug arrest Ted Michaels was involved in, possession of Psilocybe semilanceata and Cannabis sativa. Magic mushrooms and marijuana. The article was from over twenty years ago. Why the sudden interest in Ted? I knew Phil didn't like him much. I never could figure out why, but this was going too far. Did he still think I was spending too much time with him? Did either of us trust each other anymore?

  Before I could look any further, the doorbell rang.

  I opened the front door. “Hello, Mary Ann. What a nice surprise. Come in.”

  “Hi, Kay. Just took a chance you would be home.”

  I led Mary Ann into the living room. “Can I get you something to drink, tea, coffee?”

  “No thanks.” We sat down on the sofa. “Kay, remember you mentioned about Sherman's...the page missing from his appointment calendar for Friday, October 28th?”

  “Yes?”

  “This morning I called Sherman's secretary. I asked her if she kept a copy of all of his appointments. She did. That Friday evening at six o'clock, he was to meet with Dr. Anders at Sonnie's Bar.”

  “Fantastic! Did you ask her to give you a copy of it?”

  “No, but I will. Do you think we should go to Sonnie's and ask some questions?”

  “I found out some information today about Sherman's whereabouts that evening. I think it would be safer not to go there.” I told her everything Uncle Jimi had said about her husband.

  I heard the kitchen door open. “Kay, I'm home,” Phil called out.

  “I should get going,” Mary Ann said, her voice a little shaky.

  I stood up. “Thanks for the information,” I said, walking her to the door. “I'll call you later this weekend.”

  “Thanks, Kay.” Mary Ann left.

  “Kay, is Will home yet?” Phil came into the living room and gave me a decent, no, a great kiss, the kind I was used to getting.

  “He's out with Alex disc-golfing.”

  “I left school early. If we have a little time then—”

  I thought about how I was going to approach the
subject of The Starlite. I decided to be straight forward. “Phil, I saw Uncle Jimi today. He told me you were at The Starlite the evening someone broke into the house. What were you doing there?”

  “Oh, that…” Phil looked uncomfortable, the way he did when he had been caught in a lie.

  Before Phil could launch into an explanation, Will came in the front door. “I'm starving! When are we leaving for Jo's?”

  * * * *

  After the fish fry, where Will had a double order of lake perch and fries, he left to go to a party. Phil and I went for a walk around the neighborhood.

  “Phil, I was shocked when Uncle Jimi told me you were at The Starlite Wednesday night. You told me you were at school.”

  “I had received a text message about someone planning to sell this stellar 1937 Martin acoustic guitar at an unbelievable price. The message said they would bring it to The Starlite that night between nine o'clock and nine-thirty. I couldn't pass that up. You can understand that. I waited until just after ten o'clock, and then came home.”

  I looked up at the sky. Talk about stellar. There were innumerable stars in the sky.

  “Is that the truth? Couldn't you see who the text message was from?” I asked, but I believed him. I could understand his enthusiasm for the prospect of getting the classic guitar, but it was at the risk of my safety. He didn't know someone would break into our home, but it seemed this was another case of his thinking about his music more than me. Would I ever come first in Phil's life over his music?

  “It was a number I didn't recognize. But the offer...too good to ignore.”

  “I wonder if whoever it was wanted to make sure you wouldn't be in the house when Dr. Anders broke in. I don’t know why you didn’t tell me. You could have said you were at The Starlite. You lied, Phil.”

  He still wouldn’t answer that. “You only have Elizabeth's word on the intruder being Dr. Anders. She isn't the most credible person in the world, plus it was dark. Oh, before I forget, Neelam called this morning while you were out on your walk. Wants to know when we can get together. I told her you'd call back to set up a date for dinner.”

  “I've been busy with everything that's going on. I'll call her back and let her know that it might be a little while. Perhaps in a couple of weeks when things have died down we can get together.”