by Roslyn Woods
“Okay,” she answered, realizing she’d feel the same way about him. “That shouldn’t happen very often.”
“I hope not.”
“You coming to the gallery at seven?” she asked, changing the subject.
“I was planning to try to get there by six-thirty. Should I bring you some dinner?”
“No, that’s not necessary. Leo’s ordered really nice hors d’oeuvres from that caterer Billie likes so much. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, then. See you later. Call me if you decide you need me to bring something.”
“I will. Thanks, Dean.”
Chapter 16
Friday, August 7, 12 p.m.—Tavy
Tavy had a splitting headache by the time the two crime scene technicians arrived. They donned blue booties and latex gloves before they began poking through the kitchen cupboards and the liquor cabinet in the dining room, and Tavy escaped to her bedroom for a few minutes. Soon they would come in here, she thought, and start going through the medicine cabinet in the master bath even though it had been empty when she had arrived yesterday afternoon.
She rested for five minutes while her head throbbed. Somehow she must pull herself together. She sat on the edge of the bed rubbing her temples for a minute, at last standing up and catching a glimpse of herself in the dresser mirror. The flushed face and green eyes staring back at her looked startled. Her thick, brown hair hung in soft waves to her shoulders, and the sleeveless blouse, a deep shade of emerald, hung loosely over her short white skirt. It was one of those surprising moments of objectivity. Despite her thirty-nine years, she looked young and lost.
But I feel ancient, she thought, rubbing the back of her neck and turning toward the bathroom in search of her aspirin bottle. She got two tablets and went to the kitchen for a glass of water.
One of the crime techs was a large woman with dark blond hair pulled tightly at the back of her head with a red rubber band. She and her male counterpart had put on white lab coats when they arrived, and the glasses hanging on the end of her nose completed the official picture. Closing a container of maple syrup and placing it on the counter near the sink, she barely glanced up as Tavy walked into the kitchen.
“Can you tell,” Tavy asked the woman, opening a cupboard and reaching for one of the teal glasses, “if you’re finding the poison right away? Or will you have to carry samples with you to a lab somewhere?”
“We have an arsenic test kit,” the woman answered. “We know about each item we’re testing in a matter of minutes,” she answered, continuing with her task. “That doesn’t mean we’ll have time to test every item in your pantry here at the house.”
“I guess I’m going to have to throw all the food away,” said Tavy. “Do you think I should?”
“It could be in almost anything, but I imagine we’ll find it if it’s here.”
“I thought it had to be in a liquid.”
“Not necessarily,” she answered, turning her attention back to her work as Tavy swallowed the aspirin, noticing as she did an increased animation in the voices of the officers in the adjacent room.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Something was up in the dining room, but she went to answer the door. She would find out soon enough.
“Hello, Miss Bishop,” Rand Miller said as she opened the door. He was dressed in a gray suit and tie, and she realized he had probably been working in an official capacity before the police had called him. Otherwise, she imagined he wouldn’t be dressed like this on such a hot day. “Sorry it took me so long. There was a wreck above the river.”
“It’s okay. They’re looking for arsenic in the kitchen and the dining room.”
“I thought you were going to stall them.” He sounded annoyed.
“I didn’t see any point in it. If there’s arsenic in the house, I want them to find it. Besides, you were well over an hour.”
His pale eyes narrowed for a moment before he answered. “Well, I guess there’s no harm in their looking.”
“You don’t expect them to find it?” she asked.
“They might. I don’t know.”
Just then Gonzalez emerged from the kitchen.
“Hello,” he said, approaching the two of them.
“Hello,” said Rand Miller, nodding at the older man but not offering to shake his hand.
“I’m Sergeant Gonzalez. You must be the attorney? I believe we spoke on the phone,” he said.
“Yes. I understand you’re already going through the house.” There was a tone of unfriendliness in the lawyer’s manner.
“Yes. Miss Bishop agreed that we should.”
“She told me. Any luck?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, it looks as if there’s arsenic in a near-empty bottle of gin. Haven’t found it anywhere else yet.”
“You dusted for prints first?” the lawyer asked.
“Of course.”
“Messy business.”
Gonzalez didn’t answer.
“I have a question for you,” said the lawyer.
“Okay.”
“Why was my client tested for arsenic? It’s not standard procedure when an older man dies, is it?”
“No, actually, it isn’t. I imagine we’d never have known he was poisoned if he hadn’t been hospitalized.”
“But still, someone had to suggest—”
“The doctor ordered toxicology on the blood work. He must have had a reason. Something telltale. I haven’t had a chance to interview him yet.”
Tavy’s knees were feeling a little weak, and she made her way to the sofa, gripping the back of a chair on the way.
“Are you okay?” Rand Miller asked, belatedly trying to help and following after her.
“I just need to sit down,” she answered, waving him away and glancing at the clock on the wall. It was nearly one, and Gus should be here soon. She hadn’t thought to call him before now. Too much was happening. Had it only been a few hours since they had been drinking coffee in the backyard? At the moment, she was feeling vaguely sick. How much longer till this was over? When would these people leave?
“Miss Bishop,” the sergeant was saying, “We’re going to have to process your father’s house. Now that we’ve found arsenic here, I’m afraid it has to be considered a crime scene. You’ll need to find somewhere to stay tonight, but I think we should be finished within twenty-four hours. We’ll be testing all foodstuffs and taking photographs and video, testing anything that might contain trace evidence.”
“What? But the house has been cleaned. My father’s lawyer,” she said, glancing toward Rand Miller, “had the cleaning lady come and clean everything before I got here. There’s only the food that won’t have been—”
“You might be surprised what tiny bit of evidence might help us to find your father’s killer,” the sergeant said, briefly glancing in the direction of the attorney.
“I see,” she said.
“I’ll take you to a hotel, Miss Bishop,” said the lawyer.
“I think I can take myself,” she said, still feeling upset that Rand Miller had told her nothing about her stepbrother.
“Did your father own a car?” Sgt. Gonzalez asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“I’m going to need to check it for evidence, too.”
“But he never used it,” Tavy said. “My neighbor says it just sat in the garage—”
“We’ll need to test it.”
“I see,” she answered, realizing there was no way to resist what was happening. “I’ll just pack a bag, I guess.”
“That’s a good idea, but just take your own items. We’ll need to test everything that was in the house when you got here.”
“Okay. I’ll just take my own things. What else would I take?”
“Please be careful with everything, Sergeant,” Rand Miller said. “There’s valuable art here, and there are rare antiques all over the house.”
“There are?” Tavy asked.
“We’ll try to keep everything
intact,” said Gonzalez. “I’ll just get back to the work in the other room,” he added.
When Tavy emerged from the bedroom with the smaller of her suitcases in hand, Rand Miller had a question for her.
“Have you decided whether or not you’d like me to take you to the morgue?”
“I feel I need to do that without you, but thanks.”
“Miss Bishop, we have some things we need to talk about.”
“Like?”
“The different aspects of the estate.”
“Okay. We’ll have to talk later, though. I have a friend coming over in a few minutes. I’ll get him to drop me at a car rental place.”
“A friend? I thought you didn’t know anyone—”
“Yes. A friend of my father’s.”
“And who would that be?”
It was none of his business, but she relented and answered, “My neighbor. Angus Kerr. Have you met him?”
“Yes.”
“Is there a problem?” she asked.
“If someone poisoned your father, how do you know it wasn’t him?”
Tavy stared at Rand Miller for a moment. How do I know it wasn’t you?
“I guess I don’t. I’m just going to take my chances.”
“You should be careful.”
“I will.”
Just then the front bell rang. “That’ll be him,” she said, getting up without apologizing and heading for the door.
Angus Kerr was standing there in his blue Levis and black cowboy boots. He had changed into a short-sleeved black shirt that had a western cut to it, and his eyes, as blue as Maddie’s, were solemn. Somehow, the attire suited him, even if it was going to be a hundred and two degrees today and he was wearing cowboy boots.
He nodded soberly at her. “You got company?” he asked, his Texas accent coming to the fore.
“Yes, come in,” she said, feeling an unexpected sense of relief that he had arrived. “There have been some developments I’ll need to catch you up on, and I guess you’ve met my father’s lawyer.”
When Gus walked in he seemed to fill the room. He was taller than Rand Miller, and broader across the shoulders. Even now, having never spent time out in the city, Tavy thought his western attire seemed to fit the Austin atmosphere better than the lawyer’s Brook’s Brothers suit.
Gus offered his hand and Rand Miller shook it, the dark-haired man and the gray-haired man looking steadily at each other. Was there some history there? Tavy couldn’t guess what it might be.
“Hello,” Gus said gravely.
The lawyer nodded, then turned to Tavy.
“Well, I’ll just be going. You’ve got my number if you need anything.”
“Okay. Thanks.” She walked to the door, turned its copper knob, and pulled it open for him. “And maybe you can email Florencia’s number. I need it.”
“Okay, I will. And call me Rand.”
“Sure. And you can call me Tavy.”
“Okay. Tavy, then.”
“And maybe you can suggest a time you’d like to talk to me about the different aspects of the estate.”
“I can do that, too,” he said. “Call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”
“All right, then,” she said.
Chapter 17
Friday, August 7, 1:30 p.m.—Tavy
Gus was leaning against the mantel with an eyebrow raised when Tavy turned from closing the door.
“You wondering why the lawyer was here?” she asked.
“I am. I assume it had something to do with the police who are in the dining room.”
“Yes. Apparently, my father was poisoned with arsenic, Gus. They’re going through the cupboards and liquor cabinet now, but the house is a crime scene, since they found it in there. I’ll have to stay at a hotel tonight while they go through the house.”
He didn’t speak for a few seconds, just stared at her. Then he stepped over to the couch and allowed himself to drop onto it.
“Poison?” he said, his face ashen.
“Yes. I guess the sergeant called Rand Miller this morning, and he was trying to get here, but they got here first. Miller wanted me to stall them, but I wanted them to find the arsenic if it was here. And it was—is.”
“Where?”
“In a bottle of gin in the dining room.”
Gus looked stricken for a few seconds before he dropped his head into his hands. He sat there silent for a few moments before he looked up.
“They’re testing all the bottles?”
“Yes, I think so, but they’re really just getting started. I should introduce you, and we should go, I guess. I have to tell them not to test my stuff, and maybe you can drop me off at a car rental place?”
“Sure,” he said, but he wasn’t moving. “I can’t believe this is happening. Someone—”
“I almost can’t believe it either,” Tavy said, thinking for a moment that Gus might actually cry. “Come on,” she said. “We have to get out of here. We have to get me a rental car.”
“Okay,” he said, getting up and following her through the kitchen and into the dining room.
“Excuse me,” she began as they entered the dining area, “I’d like you to meet Angus Kerr, my father’s neighbor and friend. Gus, this is Sergeant Gonzalez, and this is Detective Wilson.”
“Mr. Kerr,” said the sergeant with a nod, and the detective nodded at him as well. The two technicians briefly looked up from their work without speaking.
“Sergeant,” said Gus, “Do you know how long it went on? How long Ed had been ingesting poison?”
“We don’t really know anything yet, Mr. Kerr. We just have the initial toxicology on the blood, and a complete autopsy is going to be performed, probably starting after five today.”
“I see. You’ll find my prints on the bottles in the liquor cabinet.”
“Oh?”
“We were friends—often mixed drinks in the afternoons and talked. I suppose that will make me a suspect.”
“I appreciate the heads-up, and we are looking at the death as a homicide, but we’re not absolutely sure this wasn’t a suicide. Still, I can’t imagine anyone choosing to go out this way. Pardon me, Miss Bishop.”
Tavy didn’t speak, just stood there taking in the discourse. “We’ll leave you to it, then,” she said at last. “All the stuff in the master and the master bath are mine and just arrived here. Those rooms were empty when I got here. Can they be left alone?”
“Yes, sure,” said the sergeant.
“Here are the keys to the house and the car. May I assume I can come back tomorrow?” Tavy asked.
“Most likely. Maybe you should give me your cell number as well,” said the sergeant.
“Of course,” Tavy answered. The detective took out his phone and added the number as she recited it to him.
“We’ll call you,” said Sgt. Gonzalez. “We may ask you to pick these keys up at the police station.”
“Okay.”
Gus drove a Toyota Sequoia. It was silver, and a little the worse for wear. In spite of the fact that she generally disliked large vehicles, Tavy thought—on any other day—she might have enjoyed sitting up high where she could see more of the world around her.
As Gus pulled the SUV onto South Lamar, she noted the strange mixture of buildings, old and new, tattered and modern. An old ma and pa business in manifest ruin was seated beside a Walgreens, a near-decrepit bungalow beside a Sonic drive-in.
“What do you carry in here?” she asked, noting a familiar aroma in the car.
“What?”
“It smells like hay.” She remembered the smell from helping Tio with their garden. He had been a been a big believer in deep mulch.
“That’s exactly what it is. I buy straw for the gardens pretty often. I should get a truck, but I like to be able to take Maddie and Blue in the car at the same time. Someday I might get a truck with an extended cab, though.”
“How many gardens?” she asked.
“Your dad’s, m
ine, and several more here in Austin. I just help with a few. We have a sort of team of gardeners. Some of them are just getting started.”
“How do you find the time?” she asked as he stopped the car at a red light and a young man with green hair and multiple piercings crossed the road in front of them.
“It’s easier for someone who’s divorced to have time for interests than it is for old married men. Besides, it’s something I believe in, so it makes me feel good.”
“So you enjoy being single?”
“I’d say it’s far better than life with my ex, but I wish I could be with Maddie more. I really wish her mom hadn’t signed her up for camp this week.”
“Maybe she wanted to go?”
“Yeah. She did, but that was before she learned about Ed. Now I’m worried about her.”
Tavy bit her lip. Gus and Maddie had known her father well, and she was experiencing a rush of jealousy. Too bad her father hadn’t cared as much for her as he seemed to have cared for Maddie and Gus.
“You miss her a lot,” Tavy observed quietly.
“That I do, ma’am. Unless she’s being mulish.”
“Mulish?”
“Stubborn as a goddamn mule.”
“Ah,” Tavy responded. “I think all teenage girls are stubborn.”
“She’s only twelve.”
“Almost a teenager.”
“Yeah, I guess I’m rejecting the idea. I want her to stay a kid.”
“My friends with kids talk about how quickly the time goes by. You think that’s true?”
“In some ways it’s been slow. Slow and difficult—the breakup and everything. But then you look back, and you wonder where it all went—all that time you thought you had.”
Tavy’s mind drifted to losing Tio as Gus stopped the car at a light on the corner of Annie and Lamar. She thought of his kind ways, his constancy, how losing him seemed so recent even though it had been two years. Losing her absentee father was bringing it all back with a vengeance. Outside the window she saw a man and a little girl running to catch a bus that was stopped just ahead of them. She shut her eyes for a moment. Today was going to be hard enough without more images or words that made her sad.