A Taste of Death

by Suzanne Rossi

  Her next call was to Gil.

  “Good afternoon, gorgeous,” he answered in a cheery tone.

  “Good afternoon yourself. You sound chipper today. Any news about Fran?”

  “No, nothing new yet, and if I sound chipper, as you say, it’s because I’m talking to you, not viewing old surveillance tapes.”

  “See anything interesting?”

  “Not much, but I’ve only seen the lobby tapes and the hallway tapes near your meeting room so far. Lots and lots of people coming and going, some in costume. Seems your group wasn’t the only bunch with a Halloween themed event, including the Italian Opera Lovers Club. I’ve never seen so many Enrico Carusos in my life.”

  “You’re kidding,” Anne said with a laugh, and then sobered. “That means a man could have slipped into our meeting to serve Fran.”

  “Their meeting was on the lobby level. Yours was on the second floor. I’ve still got a lot of location tapes to view yet.”

  “Did you see the ghost on those tapes?”

  Gil sighed. “Yes, three times in the hallway. Two times to lift the lids off a couple of plates, and once walking the opposite direction and disappearing.”

  “So it looks as if the ghost left before eating, just like Ellie said. When?”

  “Shortly after you, Ms. Harrison, Ms. Lynch, and Ms. Hamilton had your little chat. You had returned to the room as did Ms. Hamilton. Ms. Harrison and Ms. Lynch continued talking for a few minutes, then Ms. Lynch returned. The victim remained walking up and down the corridor. The ghost lifted the lid of one of the plates, replaced it, and walked right past Ms. Harrison a few minutes before she returned to the room. The tapes also showed the wait staff coming and going, but since they dress alike, it was hard to tell who was male and who was female. The resolution isn’t that great. It’s an old system.”

  “Hmmm, interesting. I talked to Jane Whittaker a while ago. She had some information.” Anne relayed her suspicions that the waiter was not a pro.

  “The busboy is named Miguel Suarez. He’s due here for his shift at three. I’ll talk to him then. I also tried getting in touch with the no-show waiter, Jeffrey Wainwright, but he doesn’t pick up his phone. I’ll keep trying.” Gil paused. “Did I remember to thank you for a fabulous night last night?”

  “Several times over. And the restaurant was good, too. Would you like to come for dinner here tonight?”

  He chuckled. “I’d love it, but am pretty much committed to those tapes. Is the invite open for tomorrow?”

  “Sure is. Six-thirty?”

  “Six-thirty. Talk to you later.”

  Before hanging up, Anne relayed the information—or lack thereof—regarding Dr. Smith to Gil.

  “We’ll check it out.”

  She sighed. Here she was alone in the house for the entire afternoon and Gil was unavailable.

  “Well, damn!”

  Chapter Five

  The rest of Sunday had been a combination of quiet and semi-chaos. Soon after the e-mail posting, her phone started ringing from members who had not attended the meeting. All demanded to know details of Fran’s death. Her pat answer had become, we don’t know, perhaps a food allergy. She had also called the Harrison home to express condolences to Fran’s husband. He was unavailable, but she talked to Fran’s sister.

  “Yes, we were all shocked,” the woman had said in a somber voice. “Poor George is devastated. He isn’t able to cope at the moment.”

  “I totally understand. Please convey my sympathies and those of the chapter on this horrible tragedy to him and the rest of her family.”

  “I will and I’m sure he’ll be in touch when he’s able. Thank you.”

  And now Anne prepared to host an emergency board meeting. She set out a pitcher of iced tea and a small platter of pastries on her dining room table. The board members would arrive shortly.

  The doorbell rang and she hurried to answer. The sooner they got started, the sooner it would be over.

  Rose rushed in minus kids. “I hope this doesn’t take long,” she said. “My neighbor agreed to look after Graham and Brian for a couple of hours. Thank God, Bethany is in first grade this year and the twins in kindergarten. I’m slowly whittling down the group at home.”

  As she spoke, she made a beeline for the dining room where she flopped in a chair.

  “Tea? Pastry?” Anne offered.

  “Tea, yes. Pastry, no. I’m on a diet.”

  Amused, she poured a glass of tea. Rose was always on a diet. Five kids in eight years of marriage had seen to that. It also explained why she never seemed to have time for a haircut or manicure, although Anne noticed today that Rose’s hair was in place and her fingernails clear of color. Maybe having three out of five at school gave her some extra time for herself.

  “Did you talk to Becky Lawrence?”

  Rose nodded as she drank. “Yes. She was shocked, but not in the least upset. I’ll tell you more details later.”

  The doorbell rang again. Within the next five minutes, the rest of the board arrived, along with Luella Cranston.

  “Luella, I’m so glad you agreed to do this. Such a shock about Fran.”

  The woman walked past her and into the foyer. “Yeah, heard she croaked at the meeting. Oh well, I’ve done this before, and if you ask me, it’s a total waste of time. You need to change the by-laws regarding this position at the next board meeting and present it to the membership for a vote. Don’t know why it was there in the first place.”

  At seventy-five, Luella had long ago passed diplomatic and moved straight into crusty old broad. She spoke her mind and didn’t care. Although still a member of the chapter, she had stopped writing her sweet romances years ago saying she’d achieved her goal of five publications and called it quits.

  With everyone present, Anne turned to follow Luella when the doorbell rang again. It was Nancy.

  “Hi, come on in.”

  Nancy grinned and headed for the dining room.

  Jane leaned forward in her chair. “Nancy, what are you doing here?”

  “I represent the non-board membership. I’m keeping you honest for an open forum.” She turned to Anne. “Loved the way you popped the announcement of the meeting on the loop at ten o’clock this morning. By the time most of the membership reads it, it’ll be over.”

  “That was the whole idea. This is merely a formality, but we had to meet in person to do it. Luella’s right, we need to change the by-laws.” She didn’t add that if seen early enough, Susan Lynch would have been at the door, too. No way was she ready to deal with her again.

  “I take it there’s no more news about Fran,” Ellie said.

  “Not to my knowledge. I’m sure we’ll find out the details sooner or later.”

  Rose sent her a glance. So did Nancy as she bit into a pastry. Anne had a lot to discuss, but not with Ellie, Jane, Luella, and Kathy around—at least not yet.

  “Let’s get this show on the road,” Luella said. “I’ve got a lunch date with an old friend. Figured I might as well roll this cockamamie meeting in with a little fun.”

  Anne sat at the head of the table. “In that case, if Rose is ready, I hereby declare this meeting has come to order.”

  Rose nodded. Ten minutes later the meeting was adjourned. Luella thanked them and trotted out the door closely followed by Jane and Kathy. Ellie hesitated.

  “Just thought you’d like to know I’ve had four people contact me about critique groups already, and what with Fran and all, I guess you haven’t even had a chance to put it on the loop.”

  “That’s great, Ellie. When you get enough people together, make sure you have a good mix of experienced and new authors in a group. You’ll do well at this,” Rose told her.

  Anne patted Ellie’s shoulder. “Thanks for coming, Ellie. I know it wasn’t much of a meeting, but it was necessary.”

  Ellie paused again as if wanting to talk further, but Anne headed for the foyer giving the woman no choice but to follow.

  She opened
the door only to step back in surprise. Susan Lynch stood on the doorstep.

  “What kind of stunt are you pulling?” Susan said. “All board meetings are open to the membership.”

  Getting her breath back, Anne swallowed a tart reply settling instead for a cool comeback.

  “You obviously saw I made the announcement on the loop this morning. We needed to fill Fran’s position as soon as possible.”

  “Fran’s barely cold. You could have waited a while.” She shot an evil glance at Ellie. “And you, you are nothing more than a suck-up. You don’t have the experience to head a committee, especially one dedicated to critiques.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to find out about that, won’t we,” Ellie shot back. “I’ll talk to you later, Anne.”

  Ellie sailed out of the door, brushed past Susan without a look, and strode to her car parked at the curb.

  “Sorry you missed the meeting, Susan,” Nancy said in a civil, but tight, tone. “Better luck next time.”

  “And may I ask whom you selected to replace Fran or is that a secret, too?” their former critique partner snapped.

  “Luella Cranston graciously accepted,” Anne replied.

  “Who the hell is that? I’d have been a much better choice. You should have had nominations.”

  Nancy straightened to her full five-foot-nine-inch height. “The by-laws state that the position be filled by a past-president of which you aren’t nor ever likely to be. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to lunch—and no, you’re not invited.”

  Susan’s nostrils flared, but she turned and marched away.

  Anne closed the door. “Well, that was interesting. Good thing I didn’t post the meeting last night. She’d have been here for sure. Do we want to go out to lunch?”

  Rose shook her head. “I need to get back home. Let’s talk here.”

  “So, what did Becky have to say?” Anne asked as they seated themselves in the living room.

  “Like I said, she wasn’t in the least sorry to hear Fran bit the big one. Becky was a member of Fran’s critique group and it all started when Fran held a little cocktail party for them and their husbands at Christmas. That’s how Becky’s husband, Jim, met Fran.”

  “I take it that’s when the affair began,” Nancy said as Rose paused.

  “Not at first, but a few months later Jim began working late on what he called special projects. Becky didn’t think a thing about it. Then she met the wife of one of Jim’s co-workers at the grocery store and mentioned the late hours.”

  “And the woman answered, what late hours?” Anne said.

  Rose nodded. “Exactamundo! So Becky staked out his work. When he drove out of the parking lot, she followed him to a cheap motel, watched him enter the lobby and come out again, then head for a room. A few minutes later, Fran pulled in, knocked on the door, and when Jim opened it, planted a big, juicy wet one on his lips. An hour later they came out, got into Jim’s car and headed for a restaurant.”

  “So, did Becky confront him? I’d have done it right in the restaurant,” Nancy stated.

  “Becky did something better. She followed him for a couple of weeks and every time he and Fran met, Becky took tons of photos and videos with her cell phone. Finally, she confronted him. He promised to break it off. Then she confronted Fran with the evidence. Fran was not in the least contrite. Becky, of course, withdrew from the critique group.”

  Anne shook her head. “And did her husband break up with Fran?”

  “So Becky claims. Said things went back to normal.”

  “Until…” Nancy prompted.

  “Until about a month ago. Once again, Jim started working late. Becky thinks this time it was legit, but she wasn’t sure.”

  “How did you know about the affair?” Anne inquired.

  “Becky told us during critique group one day. She was pretty upset and I guess she needed to talk. She didn’t go into details then, only that Jim and Fran were having a fling. At any rate, during the election, Becky said she’d vote for Ghengis Khan over Fran.”

  Nancy’s eyebrows rose. “And Becky just spilled her guts to you with the details yesterday?”

  “More or less, she was only too happy to let me know what a snake Fran was, but you know, I had the feeling her reaction to Fran’s death was all rehearsed—like she knew what had happened, yet pretended not to when I called. I probably wasn’t the first person to get in touch with her.” Rose glanced at her watch and rose. “I’ve got to go. If you need me to talk to anyone else, let me know.”

  “Well, that was interesting. Becky wasn’t at the meeting, but I suppose she could have heard about Fran from someone else,” Nancy said after Rose had left.

  “Maybe a former critique group member. She had the motive, but not the opportunity. And over eighty of us had the opportunity, but not necessarily the motive.”

  “And the means,” Nancy added. “Someone had to know about her peanut allergy.”

  “The only reason I knew was because of an incident at the conference last spring. I wonder who her other critique partners are. They must have known. And maybe even known she carried an injection pen.”

  “That’s highly possible.” Nancy paused. “You know, Becky could have been at the meeting—dressed like a ghost.”

  Anne drew in a sharp breath. “And Becky is on the tall side. With short dark hair. If she slicked it back, she could easily pass for a waiter.”

  “And she used to critique with Fran.”

  “Oh my, do you think Becky could have done it?”

  Nancy shrugged. “On the surface, I’d say no. And she’d be taking a hell of a chance on someone recognizing her as either a ghost or a waiter.”

  Anne didn’t know Becky all that well, but suspected a woman scorned once was one thing—a second time and she might not be so forgiving.

  “The ghost and the waiter could have been anybody. Jane gave me the names of the others at their table yesterday. One of them may have noticed something unusual.”

  “Want me to call them?” Nancy asked.

  “Would you? That way I can talk to Ellie about this ghost person in more detail, and to Kathy. She may have noticed something, too. Today wasn’t a good time what with Luella around.” She gave Nancy the ladies’ names, and then chuckled. “I think Luella may liven up board meetings.”

  “If she even bothers to attend.”

  Anne’s phone rang. Caller ID showed it was Jen.

  “Hi Jen, what’s up?”

  “Uh, this and that. Anything new?”

  Anne told her of finding the purse and injection pen at the hotel.

  “I read the loop and saw your announcement about Fran and the board meeting. When did you last read the loop?”

  “Last night when I posted the condolences. I didn’t bother this morning. Too busy. I just posted. Why?”

  “I think you’d better read it. Susan posted about an hour ago.”

  “Oh God, now what?”

  “The comments coming in thoroughly back you. I’ve gotta go. I just wanted to give you a heads up on this. Talk to you later.”

  Anne hung up and stared at Nancy. “That was Jen. She says Susan’s been posting on the loop.”

  “Oh shit!” Nancy rolled her eyes.

  They entered the kitchen where Anne opened her laptop and pulled up the information highway for the chapter. She found and read Susan’s posting with Nancy looking over her shoulder.

  Anne slammed her fists on the table. “That bitch!”

  The gist of the long, rambling, slightly incoherent posting was that Fran would be alive if Anne hadn’t been harassing her.

  “Something’s got to be done about this woman,” Nancy said in an anger filled voice. “Who owns the list serve?”

  “The person who set it up about twenty-five years ago. I think that might be Georgia Yancey. I’m calling her. Even if she isn’t the owner, she’ll know who is.”

  Anne pulled up the roster, found Georgia’s number, and dialed. The wom
an answered on the fifth ring.

  “Georgia, it’s Anne Jamieson.”

  A loud sigh came over the phone. “I wondered when you’d get around to calling me. I’ve had over a dozen calls in the past hour complaining about Susan Lynch. I don’t know her, but this post is way out of line. I’ve already sent her a warning. If she doesn’t cease and desist, she’ll be suspended from posting for however long I decide. I was also just about to post a reply saying the loop is for chapter business only and personal vendettas are strictly prohibited.”

  Anne breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Georgia. Susan has problems. She hates me and considered herself a good friend of Fran’s. Hopefully, this will be the end of it.”

  She hung up and turned back to Nancy who continued to read the computer screen.

  “This was posted about an hour ago. Already over thirty people have replied—all of them on your side. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about Susan for a while. Can’t believe she had the gall to post this, and then show up for a board meeting.” She glanced at the time in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. “Oops, I’ve got a hair appointment at noon. I’d better scoot.”

  “Are you going to do something totally different with it this time?”

  Nancy grinned. “And be unpredictable? Nope. My hair has been like this for years. No reason to change now. Although, I may have to give in to coloring it. The gray shows up well against the dark brown.”

  Anne waved as her friend walked to her car. Tall and lean, Nancy moved with a grace she’d always envied.

  With the meeting done, she decided to follow up with Ellie and Kathy on what they may have seen or heard on Saturday. She called Kathy first.

  “Hi Kathy, it’s Anne. I just wanted to ask a couple of questions. I didn’t want to bring up what happened with Fran in front of Luella. Have you got a minute?”

  “Sure, I guess so.”

  “Did you see or hear anything that was unusual at the meeting on Saturday?”

  “Not really. Not until Fran turned blue and hit the floor. I’m sorry if that sounds insensitive, but Fran was a real piece of work.”

  “How so?” She had a pretty good idea yet wanted to hear it from another source.