Prelude to Poison

by Morgan W. Silver

“Maggie, listen—” he started.

  I hung up. It should have felt good, but it didn’t. Nothing about this felt good.

  THE POLICE STATION was quiet on this Tuesday morning, and I was both excited because I would see Nancy and terrified because I’d see Alistair. Terrified might be an exaggeration, but I was certainly dreading it. I had been unlucky in love so far, and I had thought that Alistair was different, probably because he was technically the first guy I was ever in love with. When I thought he might feel the same, I had hope. And then that hope got crushed like a can of coke under a steamroller.

  The waiting area had posters with tips on how to prevent car thefts and break-ins. It was too late for me. Had I been silly in trying to solve an actual murder? It had only gotten me in trouble, and in my eagerness to please people I had overlooked the fact that I was probably deluding myself.

  Nancy showed up as if she hadn’t just spent a night in a cell. Her hair was perfectly in place, her makeup flawless. How had she arranged that?

  “Are you okay?” she asked me and kissed my temple.

  “I should be asking you that.”

  “I’m fine. They were actually very nice to me, and the tea they have here is lovely.”

  “You’re not still upset, then?” I asked.

  “I was at first, but now I’m actually okay. Alistair told me he thought it unlikely that I was the killer, but considering the circumstances, he had to ask. His boss was friends with Victor and Patricia, so I guess that explains the eagerness to have this case closed.” She rolled her eyes. “There is no justice in this world.”

  I had no idea that the DCI was friends with the Woodsbury’s. That meant that even if Patricia had killed her husband, she might get away with it. Although I wasn’t sure how far Alistair’s boss would go to protect her. She could probably also afford good lawyers. I felt even more dejected now.

  “Alright, let’s go back. I can’t leave my shop closed any longer. People need me, you know?”

  I wondered if she knew I had been questioned too, but decided not to mention it as long as she didn’t ask. She would probably find a way to assault someone in here with a mop or something.

  Alistair was nowhere to be seen as I followed Nancy outside. It was a nice and warm day, but the rays of sunshine didn’t reach me. I couldn’t stand the thought of the killer getting away with Victor’s murder. The police clearly weren’t getting close if they had their sights on me and Nancy.

  “Anything I missed?” Nancy asked. “Is Bailey still alive?”

  “Eddie has been spoiling him, don’t worry.” I paused. “I’ve hired Christina, a new friend, to work in the bookshop.”

  “Oh, really? Have I heard that name before?”

  “No. She’s new. She’s just moved in with her boyfriend. Alistair.”

  She looked at me sharply. “I didn’t know he had a girlfriend. Did you know?”

  “Only since yesterday. Anyway, she’s really nice.” I managed to keep my voice steady.

  “Too bad. He’s handsome, smart, and he likes mysteries. You two would have been a good fit. You sure you’ve never liked him?”

  “Nope. Not even a little bit.” If she detected any hint of the truth, she’d attack him with a rake. I could trust Eleanor to keep it a secret. The first time I had tried a cigarette was in front of her. She didn’t want me to do it anywhere else and was very honest about the drawbacks, even if I still wanted to try it after that. It was disgusting, and I had never picked one up again, but I knew that Eleanor would always have my back.

  When we neared the street to our shops, I turned the other way, dragging Nancy along with me.

  “Why are we going here?” Nancy asked. “Please tell me you didn’t make a fuss. It was only one night. I’ve spent more time teasing my hair than I did in that bloody cell.”

  “Regardless, just let us do this for you.” I tugged her along to the vicarage and went around the back. Eleanor and Harold’s garden was luscious and green with various colourful plants. They had a small pond with fish, and on the patio they had a lovely large table around which the Castlefield Book Club had gathered, apart from Olivia, who needed to help out Stanley at the bakery. She had clearly provided a cake, though, and it sat proudly on the table, being eyed by a water-mouthing Poppy.

  “There she is,” Phoebe exclaimed and all the women rushed over, showering Nancy in hugs and soothing comments.

  “Alright, alright. You foolish girls,” she muttered. “I’m perfectly fine. It was the police who had the most bother. One stare from me, and they waited on me hand and foot.” She cackled.

  “We hadn’t expected anything else,” said Ava with a laugh.

  “Now, tell me, what gossip have I missed?”

  The women all moved over to the table and sat down, chattering like energetic squirrels. The most exciting topic was, of course, Alistair’s girlfriend. Eleanor eyed me and then tried to steer the conversation into a different direction, but to no avail. The women were too excited and once they got excited, not even a meteorite could stop them.

  It wasn’t long before I couldn’t take it anymore. I had given them as much information as I could about Christina and still they found new things to discuss. Eleanor’s sympathetic glances only made matters worse. I pretended to get a message from Eddie about needing me at the shop and then bolted. Though I didn’t exactly relish the thought of returning, I also didn’t really know what else to do. I wanted to solve the murder.

  And the key to solving the case, I felt, was finding out what advice Victor had needed. He’d had a secret, he had been scared, and it was all linked to his murder.

  I needed to know if Mr Field had seen or heard anything when he was spying on his wife, which meant that I had to set up a meeting with him.

  “I don’t fancy the idea of you meeting that spy-happy bastard,” Detective Black said.

  “Neither do I, which is why I’ll ask Nick to go with me.”

  “Good thinking. And you’ll have me, of course.”

  Pandora crossed the street with fluttering wings, heading straight for a middle-aged man who started swinging his grocery bag at the chicken. I shivered at the sight of her. The man climbed on top of the bonnet of a car.

  I decided to ring Mr Field while I still felt motivated. My heart beat fast as his phone rang. There was a beep, and an automated voice told me to leave a message.

  “Hi, Mr Field, this is Maggie. I need to talk to you, it’s important. I’ll stop by at seven tonight.” Then I hung up and exhaled. I sent a message to Nick to meet me at closing time. It wouldn’t hurt to have dinner with him first. In fact, I was looking forward to that. Not every man would have broken into a house on a first date.

  “Unless he was a bad guy,” Detective Black said.

  My stomach felt heavy. “Don’t say that.”

  “Just looking out for you.”

  I reached The Wicked Bookworm. Christina had attracted a bunch of younger women whose faces I vaguely recognised. They were asking her for beauty tips and where she bought her clothes. Granted, she looked good, but why had these women never asked me that kind of stuff?

  I looked down at my boring jeans and shirt. That’s why.

  It was true that I had let myself go a bit. Most of my time was either spent in my office or in my bookshop. I had gone to London for some promotional stuff, but that was the biggest outing I’d had in a long time. It probably wouldn’t kill me to put myself out there. Much.

  I stomped towards the back door.

  “Hey, Maggie. Back already?” Christina called.

  “I’ve been busy, okay? I am still in the prime of my life,” I shouted and then stormed off to my flat.

  “Nice,” Detective Black said dryly.

  “Shut up.”

  I spent a short while reading and figured I’d prepare my talk with Mr Field over dinner with Nick. During lunchtime I decided to make it up to Christina and made sandwiches for us both, then invited her to eat them outside on the bench nea
r my shop. It reminded me of how excited I had been when Alistair gave me his number, but I just had to get over that.

  Christina told me stories about her previous work as well as the women she had worked with. She also told me the first time she had caused a wax-related injury, which made me wince in sympathy. “What about you? It must be cool to write.”

  I shrugged. “It’s my passion. Books contain my favourite worlds. But I realised today that I also have the tendency to hide in them, and I should probably go out more.”

  Christina’s eyes widened. “I could totally help you with that, if you want. I can give you a colourful make-over. You’re very pretty, and you should wear clothes that highlight that.”

  Did she just insult and compliment me at the same time?

  “Great, great. I’ll think about it,” I grumbled.

  She laughed. “This will be so much fun, we could go shopping this weekend.”

  That was easy for her to say, she didn’t have a murder to solve. Or to write.

  Tuesdays usually weren’t busy, so I spent the rest of the day writing and even got in half a chapter, much to Detective Black’s relief. In that time I had also received two messages from Alistair wanting to talk, but I wasn’t sure how to respond. Christina told me he was going through a difficult time, but that didn’t excuse his behaviour. Still, if I was going to move on, I would need that closure. I messaged back saying I’d speak to him sometime later, not wanting to give him the impression that he was a priority.

  Just around closing time I went downstairs to the bookshop to find Nick already waiting. He smiled when his eyes met mine, and I had done my best to put on some nice makeup and a black dress.

  “You know you don’t have to enter through the shop, right?” I said and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  “Yes, but then I would miss the chance to talk with Eddie about ghosts. My ghost-hunting buddies have left already, remember?” He smiled.

  Which was probably so he could stay with me. Was he planning on staying much longer? I was afraid to ask.

  We walked to the pub and sat in a quiet corner, though I knew people had started talking about us as soon as we walked in. Somewhere in this village someone had already started knitting baby clothes.

  We both had the lasagna, and I told him about my aunt Nancy and the book club women. They were a great bunch and if he wanted to know more about me, I had to start there. I also talked a bit about my mum, not going into the details of her mental issues. Nick didn’t seem too perturbed by it, so that was a plus.

  “So what exactly is the plan for tonight?” Nick asked. “Am I to be your bodyguard?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

  I giggled. “Sure, but I’d have to pay you in hugs.”

  “I’d love that,” he said.

  “Anyway, the plan is to confront him.” I told Nick about the pictures of his wife and Victor, and that I suspected he knew more about the murder.

  Nick made a face. “That is so creepy. And we have to go talk to that guy? I’m glad you asked me to go with you.”

  “Me too. I don’t like the idea of talking to him either, but he might be able to get us answers. So we are going to be polite but clear. And if he doesn’t spill any beans, we can always threaten to go to the police and see how he reacts.”

  “Do you really think that’s wise?”

  “If it was just me, no. But you’re there. And I don’t actually have to threaten him. I can allude to it.”

  Nick sighed. “There’s no talking you out of this, is there?”

  “No,” I said and took a final bite of my food.

  Chapter 18

  The hotel was quiet, and there were only a handful of people in the lounge. Most would probably be out for dinner. Nobody was at the reception desk, and I gestured at Nick to follow me. Mr Field was probably in his office, awaiting our arrival. Hopefully he wouldn’t do anything rash.

  I narrowed my eyes as we headed through the corridor. Was I imagining this? Smoke drifted up from under the door. It was definitely real. I froze. Nick bumped into me.

  “Look,” I said.

  “Crap,” Nick said as we both ran to the office.

  I took off my cardigan and wrapped it around my hand. I tried the door handle. It was locked. “What do we do?” I said, my voice high with panic.

  “I’ll call 999.” Nick moved away as he dialed while I kicked the door. If only I had my lock pick set with me.

  “Then what?” Detective Black asked. “What difference would that make? It’s clearly already too late. And you don’t know if he’s in there. It’s possible he wants you to think that.”

  I shushed him, trying to think. Nick was still on the phone, so I moved back and tried to kick in the door, but all I managed to do was hurt my leg. I tried again. And again.

  “Stop, stop, stop.” Nick grabbed me and pulled me back.

  The smoke was getting thicker, and I started coughing.

  “The police and fire department are on their way, come on.” Nick pulled me away, and just then the fire alarm went off.

  The fire department and police showed up quickly; even Alistair was there. We had been escorted outside and waited while they tried to put out the fire. Undoubtedly, Alistair would come and talk to us, knowing it was probably related to the murder of Victor, and my nosing around.

  “Are you okay?” Nick rubbed my back. He had put his jacket over my shoulders at some point, I hadn’t even noticed until now.

  “Yeah, I just hope nobody got hurt,” I said in a soft voice.

  “Me too.”

  People had come to see what was going on, and Eddie found us in the crowd. “What happened?” he asked.

  “There’s a fire that started in Mr Field’s office,” I said, my eyes on the building.

  “When will this nightmare stop?” Eddie muttered. “Come on, let’s go to the pub.”

  “They’ll probably want to talk to us,” I said.

  “So? They know where to find you. You could both use a drink.”

  “He’s right,” Nick said. “You’re shivering.”

  Can you blame me? “Okay, one drink won’t hurt.”

  The Rose was quiet since most people had gone over to the hill to speculate about what had happened at the Pembroke. They would probably blame the curse, and maybe they were right. Maybe the place was cursed to attract nothing but trouble. It was a shame since it was such a beautiful building.

  Callum showed up at our table. “What is all the fuss about? Nobody can tell me anything.”

  Nick filled him in so that I didn’t have to.

  “Blimey,” he said. “A fire? What is going on with people?”

  “It could have been an accident,” I said, not believing that for a second.

  “Maybe,” Eddie said and patted my hand.

  “That’s too much of a coincidence,” Callum said. “I’m surprised to hear you say that. Aren’t you trying to solve this?”

  “Okay, Callum. That’s enough.” He waved him away.

  “Fine, fine. I get the message,” Callum said as he returned to the bar.

  Nick ordered us drinks as Eddie distracted us by talking about a new shooter game he was playing with Brian. I was only half-listening and kept an eye on the door.

  After what seemed like an eternity, it opened and Alistair walked in. He strode over, his professional attitude dripping off him.

  Eddie yawned. It was almost nine o’clock.

  Alistair sat down next to Nick and opposite Eddie. He didn’t take out his notebook. “So,” he started. “Any reason why you two were at the Pembroke tonight?”

  “Is Mr Field okay?” I asked.

  He stared at me. There was something like sympathy in his dark eyes. “No. He’s dead.”

  My heart raced. “Was it an accident?”

  “We don’t know yet,” Alistair said. “Now, what were you two doing there?” He was addressing us both, but only looked at me.

  Nick looked at me. I knew that if I lied right now,
he would cover for me. “We had an appointment with Mr Field. I rang him earlier, and told him I was coming over. He didn’t pick up, so technically he didn’t confirm the meeting.”

  “And why did you want to meet him?”

  “Talk about books?” I said in a high voice.

  “Maggie,” Alistair said calmly, to my surprise. “I didn’t bring DC Daniels, and I don’t have my notebook out. Right now I’m just a friend. Tell me why you wanted to meet him.”

  “When I stayed the night at the hotel I uncovered a few things,” I said.

  “Like?” he asked.

  All three of them were staring at me, and I shifted in my seat. I told them about the pictures and the fact that Mr Field had been spying on his wife and Victor.

  “You climbed out of a window?” Eddie asked. “What the—I mean, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, fine. I was terrified, but I got over it. The point is, anyone else could have climbed out of that window as well. If the fire originated in his office, they could have left that way. Unseen,” I said to Alistair.

  “The fact that he was killed also implies that he did know something. Maybe someone overheard the message you left him, or he told someone,” he said.

  “Either way, the first person you need to talk to is Mrs Field. She needs to be notified, of course, but it’s also a good opportunity to ask her some questions. She seemed a bit off.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “We have reason to believe that Mr Field blackmailed Victor.”

  “What? Really?” Eddie said. “It’s always the quiet ones.”

  “He probably wanted him to stop seeing his wife. That could have been what Victor wanted advice for,” I said.

  “Exactly. And that could mean that Mr Field killed Victor when he realised he wasn’t going to listen and instead asked for help. It could mean that the fire was an accident and the case is now closed, but honestly, I’m not sure. I am, however, glad you are both okay.”

  “Me too,” Nick said.

  “Does this mean I can go home now?” I asked.

  “If you don’t mind,” Alistair asked Nick. “Can I walk her home? I’d like to discuss some things with her.”