Poisoned Petals

by Joyce; Jim Lavene

  “No wonder the lawyer looked like that when he visited the Potting Shed,” Peggy murmured to her father. “He was probably uncomfortable with so many living things.”

  “There’s definitely not enough plastic or metal in the Potting Shed for his tastes.”

  “Can I help you?” A young, sharp-faced woman whose thick black hair had pale blue highlights, faced them across a huge glass desk.

  “We’re here to see Erasmus Smith,” Peggy explained.

  She didn’t see the woman move a finger, but a second later, the flashy lawyer stood in the doorway. “Dr. Lee, please come in.”

  With her father trailing behind her, they both walked carefully into the back, moving like the dead descending into Hades. The wide doors closed behind them, and Peggy smiled, her eyes filming with tears as she saw her old friend. “Darmus!”

  “Peggy . . .”

  Peggy launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly to her. He felt thinner inside his yellow and red African robe, but the pleasure of finding him alive and so much different than the last time she saw him made her incredibly happy. “I heard you were out on bail. I never dreamed you’d be here.”

  “I sent Erasmus for you.” Darmus hugged her back with passion. “There’s so much to explain. I wanted to see you, but I don’t dare leave here right now.”

  “Why?” Peggy wiped tears from her eyes as she introduced her father, and Darmus shook his hand. “What’s wrong?”

  “Someone was drugging me.” He sat down on one of the low sofas and invited her to do the same. “I think it might be someone who wants Feed America. I think it might be the same person who killed Luther. As long as he continues to think I’m out of commission and harmless, it will be fine. I have to give him a chance to show himself.”

  “Are you sure?” She sat beside him.

  “Positive. They found the drug in my system when I was in the county jail. They thought I ingested it purposelly. Amanita muscaria.”

  Peggy nodded. “Fly agaric, the poison mushroom.” That explained a great deal about his strange behavior. Fly agaric could cause delusions, paranoia, and hallucinations.

  “I have no idea how long I’ve been ingesting it. I guess I’m lucky to be alive. Whoever was giving it to me knew what he was doing.”

  “Who’d do such a thing?” she asked. “And why?”

  “I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. “I didn’t know I’d engendered such hatred from anyone. Who would want to destroy me, Peggy?”

  Holles Harwood’s name came to mind, but she didn’t speak it. She had no real proof beyond her feelings of revulsion for the man.

  “And now Luther is dead, too. My only brother.”

  Peggy put her hand on his. “We’ll figure this out.”

  “Whoever it is knows about botanicals,” her father said. “Enough to use them to kill or just manipulate a situation.”

  “Exactly,” Darmus agreed. “He needed Luther out of the way permanently and knew what to do. He also made it look like I was the one who did it. He knew by the time they found the mushroom in me, it would be too late.”

  “Whoever did this might have also thought people would assume you took the mushroom yourself to get high,” Peggy considered.

  “Yes,” Darmus said sadly. “I feel like such a fool. I was so wrapped up in saving the world, but I couldn’t even save Rebecca or Luther.”

  “There was nothing you could do about either of them,” Peggy argued. “Rebecca died from natural causes. But we can find out what happened to Luther so the right person pays his dues for it.”

  “How do we know?” Darmus turned unbearably sad eyes to her. “How do we know the same person didn’t cause Rebecca to have cancer?”

  “Now Darmus, that’s paranoid.” Her mind raced over the idea. It was paranoid, wasn’t it?

  He buried his face in his hands, his gaunt figure the depth of sorrow. “I hope so. But if nothing else, I was guilty of ignoring her when she needed me. I wasn’t there for her, God help me. I never thought she’d die.”

  “Let’s concentrate on what we know,” Peggy said, trying to bring him back. “We’re scientists, Darmus. Let’s stick to the facts. What do we know so far?”

  He wiped his nose and eyes with a large white handkerchief. “We know someone wants power over me and wanted me to be alone.”

  “That’s true,” she agreed.

  The door to the inner office opened, and Darmus looked up and smiled. “But they didn’t expect to find me with a family.”

  Peggy turned around to see Abekeni and Rosie standing in the doorway.

  “Peggy!” Rosie smiled and rushed toward them. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

  “Rosie! I can’t believe you’re here!”

  Her friend hugged her and stepped back. “I know. But you coming to me was like a beam of sunlight. Suddenly I understood what I should do.”

  Peggy was at a loss for words. Abekeni even smiled at her. Something is definitely wrong here, she thought.

  “Isn’t it wonderful?” Darmus put his arms around Abekeni and Rosie. “After all these years, I find out I have a son! My life is complete now. Nothing anyone can do can harm me.”

  “It’s wonderful!” Peggy couldn’t think of what else to say. Seeing the three of them together was overwhelming.

  “Can you believe how handsome he is?” Darmus asked her. “And smart, too. Did Rosie tell you Abekeni is a musician, too? It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” Peggy wished she could think of something else to say. She was happy for Darmus. But after her last conversation with Rosie, she was shocked to see them all together.

  “I know it couldn’t have been easy for you all those years, raising Abekeni by yourself.” Darmus smiled into Rosie’s face. “I promise you, now that we’ve found each other again, nothing will separate us. I will always be here for you.”

  Darmus looked happier than Peggy had seen him in years. She touched her father on the arm to signal that they should go. The family looked very wrapped up in one another at that moment. She felt like she was eavesdropping.

  “I know that look,” Darmus chided her, turning away from Rosie.

  “You do?” Peggy smiled.

  “Yes! You’re thinking this is too good to be true. I know you. You’re as much a skeptic as I am. I thought the same thing myself. But Rosie convinced me it’s true. Be happy for me, Peggy. It’s wonderful!”

  “I am,” she agreed. “I’m just worried about everything else going on.”

  “We’ll take care of that.” Darmus snapped his fingers. “Everything will be right as rain again. You’ll see.”

  “I think you might need this.” Peggy took his wedding band out of her pocket. “Luther had it when they found him dead in the garden.”

  Darmus took it from her and slid it on his finger. “Yes. He’d promised to bring it to me. I felt naked without it. It was the one thing I couldn’t bear to leave behind.” He looked up at her. “I wish I’d been there to get it from him. Maybe he would still be alive today.”

  Peggy couldn’t help it. She had to ask. “Where were you?”

  Darmus shook his head. “I’m not sure. I remember getting ready to go to the garden. It all becomes hazy after that. The next thing I knew, it was night. The mushroom took my memory away from me.”

  “We have to come up with a list of people you think could have been drugging you,” Peggy said. “That might lead us to Luther’s killer as well.”

  “Stay for dinner,” Darmus coaxed. “We’ll talk about it then.”

  “I wish I could.” Peggy needed an excuse. “But my mother is at home by herself. I have to go. Maybe I could have a rain check on dinner.”

  “Of course.” Darmus threw his arms around her. “I’ll talk to you later. We’ll find the answer to all this. Don’t worry.”

  Peggy wasn’t so sure when she walked out with her father, leaving Rosie gazing happily into Darmus’s face.

  “You’re not happy for
your friend?” her father guessed.

  “I’m happy for him. I guess I can’t figure out how it happened. If you could have seen her, Dad, when I talked with her in Asheville, she wasn’t anything like this about Darmus. And Abekeni was downright hostile. Why this turnaround?”

  He shrugged. “It may be like she said. People can change their minds, Margaret. Maybe she did just that.”

  “Or she decided Darmus could help Abekeni.”

  “Maybe that, too. But he seems happy.”

  “I think he is. But how will he feel if she’s only using him?”

  “I believe he’ll cope. We all get used in one way or another. Look at me and your mother. She only wants me for my credit card.”

  Peggy laughed. “But you’ve always known that.”

  “True.” He shook his head. “Just let them be, sweet pea. Everything may be fine. A man might not mind being used when it comes to discovering he has a family.”

  She knew he was right. Besides, she couldn’t bear to tell Darmus his family’s affection might not be genuine. “Let’s go out to Luther’s church before we go home for dinner. I’d like to take a look around before anyone else gets any ideas.”

  “I’m sure Steve can handle your mother for a mite longer. He’s a good man, Margaret. I don’t know how you lucked out twice, but I believe you did.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I think he is, too.” She told him how they met. “Meeting him has changed my life. And maybe he’s using me for something. If so, I don’t want to know. I guess that’s why I kept my mouth shut with Darmus.”

  “I think that was the best course of action.” Her father commended her. “So let’s go and shake down Luther’s office.”

  “Shake down?” Peggy laughed as she got in the truck.

  “Yeah. You know. Fine PI you are!”

  Peggy called Naomi to let her know they were coming out to the church. It wasn’t a great distance, but it wasn’t worth the trip if they couldn’t get inside to look around.

  Traffic was light going out of the city, and the drive to Albemarle was fast. Sometimes it was much slower. The small town was only about thirty miles from Charlotte, but some of the way was still two-lane roads. It was easy to get stuck behind a tractor running slowly down the highway.

  The church looked deserted when they got there, but Naomi was waiting for them out front. “Peggy! It’s good to see you! How are things coming with the investigation?”

  Peggy introduced her father to Luther’s assistant. Then she answered Naomi. “Slow. The police believe Luther was murdered. I’m sorry. They think his brother did it.”

  Naomi’s pretty face was troubled. “Would Darmus do something like that? Who would hurt their own brother?”

  “No, he wouldn’t have hurt Luther,” Peggy reiterated. If only words could make it so. “But I’m trying to find out who did kill Luther.”

  “Are you looking for something out here?”

  “Yes. I’d like to take a look at Luther’s office, if you don’t mind. There may be something there that could give us some answers.”

  “Of course.” Naomi led the way. “What do you think might be here?”

  “I don’t know.” Peggy told her what she knew about Luther’s death. “So you see, whoever killed him knew about his asthma. They planted the information in Darmus’s office to make it look like he was responsible.”

  Naomi stared off into the distance. “It’s so strange not having Luther here. I’m glad I can step in until another minister gets here. I would hate for the congregation to fall apart.”

  “I’m sorry.” Peggy took the girl’s hand. “I’m going on about his death and not even considering how terrible this has been for you.”

  “I’ll be okay.” Naomi brought her gaze back to Peggy’s. “It’s just so lonely out here by myself. There’s not much to do during the week and too much to think about.”

  “Never mind,” Peggy said. “As soon as we get done here, you’ll have to come back to Charlotte and stay with us. I insist!”

  “But I couldn’t. I hardly know you.”

  “I won’t take no for an answer. I have a very large house and plenty of room for you. It will be fine.”

  Naomi glanced at Ranson and smiled slowly. “All right. Thank you. I’ll get a few things together while you look through Reverend Appleby’s office.”

  “Nice girl,” Ranson said when she was gone. “I take it she was close to Luther?”

  Peggy explained about Naomi in a whisper. “I’m glad she was here, or we might not have gotten in.”

  Her father produced a tiny screwdriver from his pocket. “I think I could’ve gotten us in. I came prepared.”

  “Just don’t tell me you brought your gun along again.”

  “No.” He opened the door for her. “Your mother took it away and hid it. You know how she is.”

  “More like me than I can believe?”

  “Never mind.” He shut the door to the tiny office to the left side of the altar firmly behind them and locked it. “So what are we looking for?”

  “I’m not sure. I don’t know if there was time for Luther to have anything from Feed America. He was only interim director for a few days.” She sat down behind the desk and looked at some of the notes he left behind. It was hard to believe he was dead.

  Sam called while they were sifting through Luther’s files and papers. He asked about the shipment of white roses that came in with the gardenias and a small magnolia tree. “This planting order says tomorrow, Peggy, but I won’t have time to get these in the ground.”

  “I’m planting them. Remember we talked about my taking up some of the overflow from you and Keeley?”

  “Not seriously! Let me hire someone. I can get a few dudes from day labor. They can—”

  “I’ll be fine, Sam,” she assured him. “I’ve planted a few things in my life, and I’m not as old as you may think. It will work out.”

  “Peggy—”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Fine! I won’t.”

  The phone went dead in her hand.

  “Something wrong?” Ranson looked up for an instant as he snooped through some file cabinets.

  “Sam’s being temperamental. He doesn’t want me to hurt myself. He’s almost as bad as Paul!”

  “Well, it’s nice that they care anyway. You could be out here all alone with no one caring about you.”

  “Do you feel like that?”

  “I think everyone does sometimes. When my mama and daddy died, I felt like the oldest man in the world. I wasn’t sure if I could keep going. Your mother pulled me through, like she always does. She reminded me I wasn’t here just for myself. Not just for you, either. We’re each here with a purpose, Margaret. I believe that more every year. It’s important to know that about yourself.”

  “I think so, too,” she replied, glancing through whatever she could find on the small desk.

  “Margaret Anne, I have something I need to talk with you about. I haven’t wanted to bring it up and ruin anybody’s good time, but—”

  She looked up at the serious tone of her father’s voice. “What is it, Dad?” She stuffed some church documents back into the drawer she’d opened.

  “Oh nothing much. Her father’s voice faltered.“Have you found anything?”

  “No. Have you?”

  “Nothing with the name Feed America on it.”

  “What were you going to say about ruining everyone’s time?”

  “I was going to say that I know your mother is going to talk to you about moving back down to Charleston with us.”

  Peggy glanced at him, hearing something in his voice but not sure what it was. “Not again, Dad. I’m happy here. My life is here.”

  “I know.” He shrugged. “But she’s your mother.”

  “I know.” She paused. Something on the floor caught her eye. It was so small she almost wasn’t sure it was there at all. She bent down and picked it up, turning it over in her hand.

&nb
sp; “What is that?” her father asked.

  “A cottonseed.” She showed him. “How about that?”

  SAM WAS AT HER HOUSE for dinner that night. Steve and her father were cooking. Peggy introduced Naomi, Luther’s assistant, to everyone and showed her to a room to get settled in.

  As Peggy set the dining room table with her good china, she tried to think about some way she could talk to Sam about Holles without drawing immediate fire from him. It seemed unlikely.

  “Let me help you with that, Margaret.” Her mother took the silverware from the red velvet-lined drawer in the china cabinet. “I see you’re still using Grandma’s silver. That’s nice. She’d like that.”

  “I hope you had a good time shopping today,” Peggy said.

  “It was great! But you know, I like that Mills Mall better than SouthPark. I guess I’m just cheap, but I’d rather pay outlet prices.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  “Did your father talk to you?”

  “Hmm?” Peggy surfaced from her thoughts about Sam. “Of course.”

  “Good.” She nodded. “I thought that might be why you’re so pensive.”

  Peggy tried to follow the train of thought that led them here but wasn’t sure what her mother was talking about. “Dad and I talk all the time.”

  “I don’t mean that kind of talk.” Her mother glanced back toward the kitchen where male laughter mingled with the sound of sizzling food. “Your father has something important to tell you, Margaret.”

  Peggy prepared herself. This was it. Her mother was going to ask her to move down to Charleston. She might as well get it over with. “Why don’t you just tell me, Mom?”

  “Because it’s not my place to tell you. It’s your father’s story.”

  “What’s wrong? When did something Dad has to say become ‘his’ story?”

  “I have some wine straight from Biltmore House.” Her father joined them, holding up the bottle as he came in the room. “Chardonnay sur Lies 1974. Sounds like a good year.”