by Joyce
“We have to get out of here. But we need the names and address of those buyers. None of them jump off the page at me, but some leg work might give us better answers.”
“I can write pretty quickly,” her father volunteered.
“We don’t need that.” Peggy took out her cell phone. “We can just take pictures of the information. Check around for a back door out of here.”
She took pictures of the five people who’d purchased the brown mink coats. This gave her their addresses and phone numbers as well as their names. She realized these might not be their real names—Stewart didn’t seem all that surprised by her request. Still, there might be some truth in the numbers, especially if the buyers bought with credit cards.
“I found another door,” Ranson said. “Are you really that upset about Steve finding you here?”
“Not exactly. But I did say I’d stay home and work on that list. He worries so much. I hate to make it worse for him, bless his heart.”
Ranson chuckled. “Then we’d better get out of here. The Rolls might be a dead giveaway.”
“I don’t think so. He knows I never take it out.”
Stewart was showing his FBI visitors to the already occupied back room. Peggy and her father slipped out into the alley through the back door. They hurried out to the Rolls and got away cleanly.
Ranson hooted and slapped his leg as they started up Selwyn Avenue where the fur shop was located. “It’s always a rush working with you, Margaret.”
“You’d better not tell Mom. You know she feels like everything is bad for your heart.”
“Don’t remind me. She’s forbidden me pizza. Can you believe it? Pizza! One of my favorite foods. I have to sneak out to get it.”
“Or eat it at my house.”
“I know she means well, but life is about having a good time between bouts of working. If you’re not having a good time, what’s the point?”
Peggy smiled. “I agree, but I also love you, Dad. I don’t want you to have another heart attack.”
“I don’t either, although the last one wasn’t so bad.”
He grinned at her, and she laughed.
“I saw the scar where they cut you open. It was bad.”
Peggy pulled the Rolls into the driveway at her house. Ranson helped her cover the car again. They’d closed the garage door just a moment before Steve and Millie got there.
“Remember,” Ranson whispered. “Mum’s the word. I won’t talk even if they water- board me.”
“Steve isn’t going to waterboard anyone. He’s your father-in-law. Besides, the FBI doesn’t do things like that.”
“Yeah, right. The FBI is in cahoots with the other government offices. When they don’t torture people, it’s because they hand them over to the CIA to do it. I’ve watched those YouTube videos. Being American doesn’t protect you anymore.”
“Okay. Hush now.” Peggy smiled as she greeted her husband. “Steve! That was a short meeting.”
“I guess that was a problem for you since you didn’t stick around at the fur shop to say hello.”
“What are you talking about?” Ranson asked. “We’ve been right here all morning, writing down the names of people who want to kill Peggy. It’s a long list.”
Steve crouched and stared at the drive. “There’s always a little dirt and moss from the tires when the Rolls goes out. No one ever bothered to put a real floor in the garage. And how many people in Charlotte drive a vintage Rolls like that one?”
“Probably quite a few,” Peggy said. “But I’m not going to lie to you. We came up with a plan and went for it. We got some names and other personal info that might belong to the killer.”
“You said you were staying here,” Steve reminded her. “You could be a target for this person. I’m sure you know that.”
“Let’s go inside to argue.” Peggy took his arm. “I see Walter peeking out at us with his binoculars. He knows how to read lips. He probably saw what we just said and is picking up his phone to call the police.”
But she was mistaken. Walter came slowly out of his house to join them, walking through the paths he’d created in the flower beds between their houses.
“Steve. Peggy. I just wanted to apologize for my actions this morning. I guess I got carried away with my duties as a forensic botanist for the city. It won’t happen again. I hope you can forgive me.”
Peggy knew Walter was eccentric and overzealous but still a friend. She didn’t plan to hold his actions against him.
“It’s okay. Just remember when all this is over, we’ll still be neighbors. I don’t want your work or mine to jeopardize our relationship. Do you?”
“No. Of course not.” He shook hands with Steve and Ranson. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
She smiled and took his arm. “We’re going to have coffee and tea. Would you like to join us?”
“Very much so. Thank you.” He patted her hand. “I’m afraid I have some bad news from the investigation front. I thought you should know. The police are coming to your house sometime today to search your basement lab for signs of giant hogweed.”
“What? Did you tell them there’s no hogweed growing in my basement?” she asked. “You were just there a few days ago.”
“I know. And I tried to tell them. They wouldn’t listen. Captain Hager feels like the link between you being an expert on botanical poisons and Paul killing the woman on Providence Road is going to solve the case for him. He won’t hear any other theories about it.”
“Thanks for the warning.” Peggy bit her lip, thinking about all the damage that could be done to her experiments. “At least if I’m here, I can supervise.”
“Idiots.” Ranson stalked toward the house. “Why am I paying their salaries?”
Walter waited outside for the police to arrive, not wanting them to think that he wasn’t on their side even though he had warned Peggy of their arrival.
Steve and Millie were interested in the information Peggy got at the fur store. Steve had showed Stewart Purl and his sales clerk the drawings Selena had done.
“This one with the shorter hair looked familiar to them,” he said. “But they have no video surveillance, and they couldn’t put the face to a name. She’s not one of their regulars.”
Peggy squinted at the drawing of the short-haired woman. There was something vaguely familiar about her. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she reminded her of someone.
“Remembering something?” Steve asked.
“Maybe. But I can’t tell for sure.” She took out her phone. “I’ll send you the names of the people who bought brown mink coats. They each purchased recently and only got the one coat. Maybe it’s something.”
Shakespeare jumped up and ran to the door, barking. His warning was followed by a knock at the kitchen door.
As Peggy expected, it was an all too eager Captain Hager, holding out his search warrant for her basement.
“Are you ready for your close up, Dr. Lee?”
Walter winked at Peggy as he came inside with the officers. He followed them down the basement stairs as though he’d only just arrived.
Knowing the police were coming to search her basement and actually going through it were two different things for Peggy. She switched on all the lights so they could clearly see the plants. She had nothing to hide, and everything to lose if they made a mess here.
“Please be careful with my experiments,” she pleaded. “There are no poisonous plants here, Captain, but some of these projects are delicate and have been ongoing for years.”
Captain Hager hailed Walter. “Can you tell if there are any poisons here?”
“As I told you this morning, there are no poisons down here. I’ve spent time here recently, and Peggy doesn’t grow botanical poisons. She does grow new species that can be used to feed hungry children around the world. Bear that in mind.”
“Peggy, huh?” Captain Hager snorted. “Maybe we should find a local botanist who doesn’t know Dr. Lee so
well.”
Walter laughed. “Good luck with that. Dr. Lee is well known locally as well as internationally. Her reputation speaks for itself. She is always above reproach.”
“Yeah. So does that poison gunk her son put in the victim’s coat. Out of the way if you aren’t going to help, Dr. Bellows.”
“Captain!” One of the young officers called to him. “Isn’t the giant hogweed supposed to be tall? Look at these plants over here.”
Captain Hager gave Peggy and Walter a grin as though he’d found her secret stash. “I’m coming, Bartlett. Whatever you do, don’t touch the stuff.”
All the officers gathered around the tall spinach plants. Captain Hager stared at the plants like he was waiting for a sign to pop up saying they were hogweed.
“The ME says not to cut this stuff because the juice is deadly,” he said. “Bartlett, put on those big gloves they gave us and get a sample.”
Peggy ran to put herself between the spinach and the officers. “No need for that. This is a new breed of spinach. It’s not poisonous.”
“Says you,” Hager retorted. “Step aside, Dr. Lee, and let us do our job.”
She ripped off one of the leaves and rubbed it on her bare hands and arms before eating it. The officers, even Captain Hager, took a step back and held their breath.
Spinach
Spinach is believed to have originated in ancient Persia and then spread to India and China. There are records of it being eaten as far back as 827 AD. When Catherine de Medici of Florence became queen of France she loved spinach so much that she insisted it be served at every meal.
Chapter Seventeen
A moment later, Walter did the same. Steve and Millie smiled from the staircase.
“Now what, sir?” Bartlett asked. “They should be burned and dying now, right? That’s what the information packet said.”
“We’re not burned or dying,” Peggy challenged them. “I told you, this is broad-leaf spinach. It’s going to feed thousands of hungry people around the world in a shorter growing time. Would you like a taste? It’s delicious.”
Captain Hager had a disgusted look on his face as he ordered his officers away from the spinach. “You think this is funny, don’t you? You know more than the stupid police officers. That’s quite an accomplishment, except that you only know a lot about plants.”
“I was married to a police detective for more than thirty years. Some of my best friends are still on the job. I never think the police are stupid, but you’re not experts in every field, including botany.”
He ignored her and walked away, searching through the myriad plants across the basement. Because they had a better idea of what they were looking for this time, the search went quickly. Once the spinach was ascertained to be harmless, there was nothing else that came close to the description of hogweed.
Thirty minutes later, the officers were headed outside to their cars. Captain Hager looked surprised to see Al and Paul upstairs in the kitchen.
“I see we’re all as thick as thieves around here,” he remarked. “You better watch yourselves on this, ladies and gentlemen. There is a lot more than one officer’s career on the chopping block. Have a nice day.”
When they were gone, Peggy sank down on one of the kitchen chairs as Steve and Millie related the details of the search.
Despite Captain Hager’s assertion that this was pleasant for her, she was used to being on the other side of the investigation. Her curiosity had led her to become a contract botanist for the police department. She enjoyed her sometimes challenging work with them as they looked for criminals.
She didn’t like people looking at her or Paul on the other side of that thin line.
“Are you okay, Peggy?” Al asked as everyone discussed what they’d discovered that morning.
“I’m fine.” She smiled at him. “Just ready for this to be over. I guess I’d make a nervous bad guy.”
“It’s gonna be fine. We got a couple of hits on the drawings we showed around. I think the woman with the short hair is our suspect. She must’ve only used the long hair wig trick with Sam. “She’s smart, but we’re smarter. You’ll see.”
“Where is everyone?” Peggy heard her mother call from the marble stairway. “What’s going on?”
Ranson went to get her.
“So it looks like we have a few things to move forward with,” Steve said.
“Oh Margaret!” Her mother’s voice called out from the main hall. “Have you seen this poor tree today? What’s wrong with it?”
The tone was much different in her father’s voice as he called for her to come quickly. “Margaret! I think your spruce is dying.”
Peggy was the first one in the main hall with her parents. Everyone else followed. She looked up at the blue spruce she’d planted when she was first married.
It was easy to see why her parents were concerned. The top of the tree was bending over, and the branches were curled and dying. Many of them had already turned brown.
“Have you been watering the poor thing?” Lilla asked.
“Of course she’s been watering it.” Ranson deflected his wife’s acidic tone. “This is something else.”
Peggy examined the tree carefully. Of course it was going to die someday—no plant, tree, or person lived forever. But this wasn’t a normal death.
The tree had been healthy last month when she’d done her semi-annual checkup on it. It should have had years to live.
“Help me with the floor, Paul,” Peggy said.
She and John had a special trap door put in the wood floor so they could get to the roots of the tree that were growing from a deep, ceramic well that had been created for it. The base of the tree reached up from the basement area through the hole in the floor.
“Should we go down into the basement to look at it?” Paul asked.
“No.” Peggy had seen what she needed. When the trap door had been opened, a plastic vial with dozens of holes in it dropped to the floor at her feet. She used a pair of gloves that she’d always kept in the antique table at the foot of the circular stairs to protect her hands when she worked on the prickly boughs.
“Someone poisoned it.” She held the vial up to her nose and sniffed it. “Someone came into the house and killed my tree.”
There was a painful sob stuck in her throat that she refused to release. She pushed past her friends and hurried to the basement where she could analyze the poison.
Steve followed quickly behind her. “Wait, Peggy. Maybe you shouldn’t try to do that yourself.”
“Why not?” she demanded. “Someone came into our house and did this—probably this morning when I went outside to help Sam with the plan shipment. I forgot to set the alarm or lock the door. I want to know what’s in this and who did it.”
“Is there something I can do to help?”
Her green eyes were calm and cold. “Go back upstairs. Look for the killer. Don’t let anyone else come down here.”
He started to speak again but gave up, nodded, and went upstairs.
Hundreds of memories rushed through Peggy’s mind. All the Christmas celebrations with Paul and John held at the base of the growing spruce. Years of tending the tree and watching it grow. The day she’d told John about her idea to plant a tree in the old house. The tiny spruce that had stood tall in the main hall. It had been barely a sapling that they passed each day.
She refused to cry as she dumped the rest of the poison into a pot and began experimenting on it. Various chemical compounds responded to her tests. Whoever had poisoned the spruce knew exactly what they were doing—as they had with the hogweed in the lining of the mink coat.
When she’d finished her testing, she sat in the office chair she kept at her desk in the basement. It was too late to save the spruce. Enough of the poison in the cylinder had gone into the dirt and roots to keep her from stopping it.
Shakespeare had stayed in the basement with her. He whined as he stared at her, as though he felt the terrible sorrow that
was clutching at her heart.
“There’s nothing we can do,” she whispered to him. “It’s dead. We might as well have someone remove it.”
He rolled over and covered his eyes with his paws.
“Who could hate me enough—and know me so well—to do something like this? It has to be connected to the garden shop and setting Paul up for the murder. I understand that, but I can’t imagine who I’ve harmed so badly that they would want this revenge on me.”
Peggy sat there for a while longer, taking it all in and wondering what the next thing would be. This was obviously a personal campaign to hurt and embarrass her, maybe ruin her entire life.
She had to find a way to stop this. She had to figure out who was behind it.
Blue Spruce
Blue spruce is rarely used for lumber because the wood is brittle and full of knots. But because of its lovely shape and color, along with its thick boughs, it is planted in landscape settings.
Chapter Eighteen
Peggy finally went upstairs. Ranson and Lilla had remained behind. Al and Paul had gone back out to find more information about the woman in the drawing. Millie had gone to join Norris at the office. Steve was nursing a glass of whiskey at the kitchen table.
When they saw her, Walter was first on his feet.
“Let me take a look at it. My specialty is trees, remember? I can probably save it.”
“It’s too late.” Peggy told him the chemicals and their amounts that she’d found in the poison vial. “There is no way to save it. We both know it.”
Walter hung his head. “I’m so sorry, my dear. Do you think one of the police officers did this today?”
“I don’t think so. It’s been a few hours.” She put the kettle on to boil. “I think it happened this morning, but it may have been formulated to be fast-acting.”
“You have an alarm,” Lilla said. “No one can go in and out without you knowing. How could this happen?”
“The same thing happened with The Potting Shed alarm,” Steve added. “What company is the house alarm with, Peggy?”