A Corpse for Yew

by Joyce; Jim Lavene

  She described the ring and finding the empty box in his aunt’s purse. He listened intently without throwing out wisecracks every few seconds. “And where’s this ring right now?”

  “The ME’s office gave it back to the museum. It technically has no value in the case against Snook. There were no unusual fingerprints on it. It seems harmless enough. But I think we’re missing the bigger picture that involved it and may have been what made your aunt agree to the early morning excursion to the lake.”

  “You mean she was going to meet someone there and give them the ring?”

  “Maybe. She definitely had the ring with her. It somehow ended up in the mud, just as she did. I think whoever met her there, someone she knew and trusted, killed her by giving her yew berries to eat.”

  The chief seemed to consider her words as he sat down on the concrete step outside the front door. “It seems like you have it all worked out. How do you know it wasn’t me? I know that’s what some people are saying.”

  “As far as I can tell, you have no interest in antiquities. You’re also the kind of person who would’ve jumped in the mud after the ring. Whoever did this to your aunt left it in the mud. It obviously had value to him or her. Why didn’t they go after it?”

  “Like you did.” He looked up at her. “Any suspects?”

  “Not yet. I’m almost too busy running out to the lake and collecting yew branches to be able to formulate any possibilities.”

  “Have you considered Lois’s son or daughter?”

  “No. But I suppose you could check that out and see if they have alibis for that morning. It strikes me that one of them would’ve simply taken her out there if that were the case, but anything is possible.”

  The chief got to his feet as the commander and his men approached the open door. “We can’t find any sign of smoke or fire in the house,” the commander said. “I guess it’s a false alarm. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

  “That’s okay.” Chief Mullis shook the commander’s hand. “I got to hear a few things I needed to hear. Thanks for checking up on it.”

  “Sure thing.” The commander frowned at Peggy. “I hope this isn’t something you go around doing all the time.”

  “Not at all. I really thought there was an emergency situation in the house.”

  The commander nodded, and left without saying anything else. Chief Mullis turned to Peggy as the fire trucks were leaving. “What’s this all about, Dr. Lee? Did you do this just to get me out here and tell me about this ring?”

  “No. Actually, there’s an emergency in your house, Chief. It’s just not a fire emergency. I hope our new understanding is strong enough to weather what I have to tell you.”

  Peggy explained about the ladies from the historical society. Then she explained about her mother. “As far as I know, she’s still trapped in your aunt’s bedroom closet.”

  “I don’t know whether to laugh or shoot both of you and all those other crazy women.” He stared into the old house and took a deep breath. “Aunt Lois loved that group. I guess she was as crazy as the rest of them. Let’s go save your mother.”

  Peggy followed him up the stairs in the huge old house. She could tell from the neglect in its care that Lois wasn’t interested in it. Chief Mullis would probably get more use from the labyrinth of parlors and bedrooms than the previous owner.

  “When I was a kid and my uncle was still alive, they had big parties here.” The chief looked around the hall and touched the hand-carved banister with obvious pride. “I’d like the place to shine like that again. I still have two kids at home who’ll have a blast exploring this old place.”

  He showed Peggy the large second-floor bedroom his aunt had occupied. Everything was done in a shade of rose, with roses on furniture, rugs, and drapes. The red was reflected from the light coming through the drapes into the room.

  Peggy found the closet and tugged hard on the door until it opened. The space was nearly as big as many people’s whole bedroom, and loaded with clothes, blankets, and other interesting paraphernalia. She didn’t see any sign of her mother until she looked a little closer and saw size 5 feet to the left.

  “Mom,” she whispered, “it’s me, Margaret. It’s safe to come out now.”

  Her mother took a hesitant step forward and peeked between two large fur coats. “Is that really you, Margaret?”

  “It’s me, Mom. Let’s go home before Dad misses you.”

  “How did you do it?” Lilla wondered as she stepped out of the closet. “How did you get in to let me out?”

  “He helped me.” Peggy nodded toward the chief, who was waiting outside the bedroom door.

  “Have you lost your mind?” Lilla hissed. “He’ll have us both arrested.”

  “I don’t think so. It’s okay. Let’s just go.”

  Lilla watched Chief Mullis like a mouse watching a cat who’s ready to pounce. She walked carefully around him to the stairs, the heels of her feet barely touching the carpet.

  The chief smirked as he watched her head down the stairs and out the front door. “You owe me for this one, Dr. Lee. Make sure she didn’t take anything. And tell the crazy ladies what I said about someone, besides one of them, coming over here to identify the artifacts they say are theirs. I’ll hand them over to that representative.”

  “Chief Mullis, that’s my mother you’re accusing of stealing from you,” she reminded him. “But I’ll tell the ladies what you said. I’d expect to hear from the museum pretty quickly.”

  “I’ll check on those alibis, ma’am. Let me know if you get any closer to formulating a theory on anyone else you think could be involved.”

  “I’ll do that.” She shook his hand and smiled at him. “But if those children aren’t guilty of anything bad that happened to Lois, you should think about giving them what you know she’d want them to have, whether you believe they did right by her or not.”

  He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll think about it.”

  LILLA WAS GONE WITHOUT A word by the time Peggy reached the area where their cars had been parked. It didn’t matter, she thought as she drove away. It wasn’t like she needed to be thanked for saving her own mother.

  With no particular hurry about getting the yew branches to the university, she called Mai and told her she’d take the new bunch out to UNCC on Monday morning. Then she went home. Her feet were killing her even though her shoes were usually comfortable. She threw off her black suit, swearing she’d buy another. She promised the same thing after every funeral, but somehow it never happened.

  She stepped into the shower. The hot water felt good, and her thoughts turned to calling Steve about dinner. Tomorrow was Sunday, and there was nothing pressing that had to be done. They could have a lazy morning together, and then she could go to the Potting Shed for a few hours. It would be nice to have a day off. At least what amounted to a day off for her.

  She thought about what Chief Mullis had told her. Despite his family problems and his hard edge about his aunt, she believed he was a decent man. The ladies of the Shamrock Historical Society had already accused Jonathon and Snook of killing Lois. The chief was just another name to add to the list. Most of their ideas on the matter came more from emotion than fact.

  Jonathon had been under suspicion because of his argument with Lois, which Peggy now knew to be valid. For whatever reason, Lois had taken the carnelian ring from the museum. If Jonathon was correct, she’d taken other items as well. That hardly seemed a killing offense to Peggy.

  Snook could be a suspect. He had motive and opportunity, as well as Lois’s pocketbook. She could understand why the police had taken him into custody for what happened to her. But the ring and the poison berries didn’t make sense with him. No matter what, he’d be charged again with the theft of human remains and historical artifacts. But that didn’t mean he was guilty of murder.

  Chief Mullis was another good suspect. His trip out to the lake that morning with Lois was unusual and made his action suspicious. His aunt would
’ve taken poison berries from him. But Peggy believed that if the chief had killed his aunt, they would never have found her body. She didn’t believe a veteran police officer would be so sloppy. And she felt his remorse over leaving his aunt at the lake was sincere.

  Who was left? If she didn’t like any of the three of them for the crime, she wasn’t sure where else to look. Jonathon or Chief Mullis could’ve given the old lady poison berries without her being suspicious. But she couldn’t imagine either one of them choosing that as a way to get rid of her. Why not simply push her into the mud? Lois couldn’t have fought either one of them.

  There was also the ring to consider, as she had from the beginning. Now she felt certain Lois had expressly gone to the lake early to hand over that prize to someone. Snook could fit the bill for that act, although she couldn’t imagine the history-proud grande dame doing that. Maybe she was returning it to Jonathon. Peggy couldn’t see where the museum director could’ve threatened Lois to make her return the ring, but maybe she was missing something.

  She looked at herself thoughtfully in the steamy mirror after she’d finished her shower. Her mostly white hair was down around her shoulders when it was wet. The marks of age and a life well lived were obvious on her face. She was lucky to have her mother’s cheekbones and a good sense of humor. Sometimes she felt they were the only things that got her through life.

  Now she was about to enter yet another unplanned phase of her life: getting engaged, and possibly married, again. Steve was wonderful. She loved him. She couldn’t imagine anyone else fitting into her life the way he had for the past year.

  She looked closer into her green eyes. Was it fair to offer Steve only half of the love she’d given John? She couldn’t give more than that since the other half would always belong to John. A part of her would always love him, always need him. He had completed her in ways Steve would never understand.

  There was a spark in her eyes that she’d thought was gone forever. She’d been wrong. Steve was going to be there for the next half of her life. She wasn’t offering Steve less than she’d given John. There was still a heart full of love that beat inside of her. There was still warmth that met his, and times to be shared.

  Being a botanist, she knew plants destroyed in a fire come back, sometimes fuller and richer. They have spores and tendrils that bring new life after they’ve cushioned their roots in the warm, soft ground.

  I’m getting maudlin in my old age. She drew her hand across the mirror in front of her. No doubt it came from too much reflection and self-examination. She wasn’t a plant, as much as she loved them. She was human. She lay in bed questioning if she would see the morning many times, as many other humans did. Sharing her life with Steve, despite all the difficulties she’d put in front of her, was going to be the next adventure in her life. They’d be happy together.

  Peggy stepped out of the bathroom clutching a big purple towel to her. She gasped when she saw a hundred candles lit in the bedroom and her grandmother’s silver tea tray filled with chocolate and strawberries on the bed. “I know you’re here somewhere.” She laughed and looked around the shadowed room.

  Steve stepped close and kissed her. “I was wondering if you were going to come out of there before all the candles melted away.”

  “You’re a fast worker to get all this set up while I took a shower.”

  “Let’s just leave it at I’m a fast worker.” He took a small blue box out of his pocket and got down on one knee before her. “I love you, Peggy. Will you marry me?”

  Tears sprang to her eyes as she opened the box and found a flower-shaped diamond engagement ring. The stone in the middle was a yellow diamond, and it was surrounded by petal-shaped pink diamonds. “I love you, too, Steve. And yes, I’ll marry you. But maybe we should talk about the house . . .”

  He got to his feet and smiled at her. “We probably should. But not right now.”

  Shakespeare whined outside the closed bedroom door and put his head down on his paws.

  PEGGY AND STEVE SLEPT LATE the next morning and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on the back patio. Despite the rain, the weather was still mild even as Halloween approached. It was as though they had skipped fall, and summer still clung to the misty tree branches.

  Steve was reading an article about horse farms in the Weekly Post while Peggy looked through some textbooks on drought gardening that a friend had sent her. Shakespeare pranced like a puppy in the garden, looking for butterflies and daring frogs that crossed his path. He attacked a goatsbeard shrub that seemed to get his attention. Peggy called him away from it. The poor thing was having enough trouble surviving without a big dog jumping on it.

  “It looks like you might be finished gathering yew branches,” Steve said. “The police officially charged Snook Holt with second-degree murder. Apparently they feel it was unplanned.”

  “I don’t know if they can make that stick,” she remarked, “although violating his parole by stealing human bones can’t look good on his record.”

  “He seems suspicious to me. They had a history together since she testified against him. I’d think he was guilty of hurting her, too.”

  There were a dozen reasons why Peggy disagreed, and she would’ve launched into them, but the phone rang. “Let me get this, and we’ll talk.”

  Steve laughed as she walked away. Peggy answered the phone, surprised to hear Professor Burris on the other end of the line. “I hope I’m not disturbing you,” he said. “I was wondering if you could meet with me this evening. I found a few interesting things about that ring you told me about.”

  “That sounds fine. Would you like to meet at the university?”

  “No, I was thinking about the museum. Around seven? I have a friend you should meet.”

  Peggy agreed to the meeting, curious about Burris bringing a friend along. After going back out to the patio, she asked Steve if he’d like to go with her. “It might be boring. History people can run on sometimes.”

  “History people, huh? What about plant people?”

  She nudged him hard with her foot. “Plant people? What about animal people? They can run on worse than anyone.”

  “I want to go, anyway. I don’t have anything to do today except spend the day with you. What else do you have planned?”

  “Maybe I’m planning to sit here in the sun all day.”

  “Not likely. I’m sure you must be planning some time at the Potting Shed.” He smiled at her. “That’s okay. I want to do that, too. Maybe Sam left some big, heavy bags of fertilizer or whatever else you stock there that I can move around. That way I’ll feel useful.”

  “If I were you, I’d value my life too much to mess with Sam’s inventory. He knows where everything is in that store.”

  “Well, then, I’ll have to think of something else to do. Maybe I can distract you from counting seeds and talking to your plants while you’re there.”

  “I don’t talk to my plants,” she protested. “But maybe I can be distracted from counting seeds.”

  He laughed. “That’s saying Sofia and Emil aren’t at the Kozy Kettle. Because God knows there’s some disaster story they can tell about a couple who spend too much time at their shop.”

  “No doubt.” She took his hand. “We’ll have to be very quiet.”

  Shakespeare whined and pranced around the patio. “I think he wants to go, too,” Steve said. “That takes care of the quiet part.”

  23

  Gourds

  Botanical: Cucurbita, lagenaria, luffa

  Gourds have been grown for thousands of years across the world. They are related to squash, melons, and pumpkins. They have been used for everything from cooking utensils to storage containers and in ornamental functions. The cucurbita are the colorful, ornamental gourds. These plants are distinguished by large orange or yellow blossoms that bloom during the day. The lagenaria group includes the birdhouse and dipper gourds. Lagenaria put forth white blossoms that bloom at night. Luffas have a tough, fibrous interior t
hat is used as a sponge. They have vines with yellow blossoms and require a long growing season.

  PEGGY TOOK STEVE WITH HER to meet Professor Burris at the history museum. They’d had a wonderful day together, uninterrupted by emergency vet phone calls or Emil and Sofia. Shakespeare had even been good while they were at the Potting Shed. These golden days were too rare not to be greatly appreciated.

  Now she pointed out the box-cut yew bushes that lined one side of the museum building near the driveway. The evening shadows made it difficult to tell the difference between them and the boxwoods for many people, but Peggy had noticed them earlier.

  “And they have them right out here in a public place even though they’re poisonous?” Steve was amazed. “Why don’t places like this have only safe plants?”

  “People don’t really think of plants as being safe or unsafe,” she told him. “We plant them because they look good in a spot or because it’s a sunny plant or a shade plant. Most people don’t even realize a yew is poisonous.”

  “I guess I should know that from the number of animals I treat that are accidentally poisoned by chewing on some plant they shouldn’t get into.”

  “Exactly. Children are the next most likely group to be poisoned by plants. But plant poisonings are high on the adult list as well.”

  They stopped talking about the yew as Professor Burris and a short, thin man with glasses that seemed to be too large for his face opened the front doors of the museum.

  “Dr. Lee, you haven’t met Stanly Hawkins.” Professor Burris introduced the two. “Mr. Hawkins is the retired director of the museum.”

  Hawkins reached out to shake Peggy’s hand. His grip was cold and weak. He pushed his glasses back on his nose to take a better look at her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Lee. I’ve heard your name so many times from my friend here. Won’t you come in?”