She sat back in her chair and seemed to relax. "Poor Karen. Finding out her fella is stepping out after he croaks and all."
Oh no, Karen. It was bad enough Mitch asked her about the affair, but I hadn't thought of how she would react to rumors spreading all over town about her husband's infidelity. Filled with grief, she'd step outside and see the questions in peoples' eyes. Maybe Uma hadn't told too many people. Right and maybe rain never fell in Oregon.
Preparing to memorize a long list, I asked, "So who have you told besides Olivia?"
"I didn't tell Olivia nothing. She brought it up. Said she heard Gary was having an affair."
I sat back on my haunches. Olivia knew about the affair, but how? I made a mental note to follow up but still needed to see if Karen was going to hear this on the Serendipity grapevine. "So have you told anyone but me, then?"
"Uh-uh. Didn't think it was fitting passing this on. What with Gary being dead and all. Only told you 'cause I know you're working with Karen."
"Will you keep it that way? She has enough to deal with right now. I don't want her to worry about what people are thinking."
Uma gave a hesitant nod.
"Seriously, Uma. Tell no one. Got it? No one." I reached for her arm to squeeze it for emphasis, but she drew back and mocked a huge shiver.
"Ugh, bugs." She stood. "You act like I can't keep a secret."
If it were anyone else, I might be gentle but Uma needed plain talking. "You know you can't keep things to yourself. In this case you have to."
"Fine." She rolled her eyes. "So are you almost done? It's time for my next appointment, and I don't want anyone to see you spraying for bugs."
"Nearly done. I'll put double stick tape around the pot so if any of the mites try to get out, they'll stick."
"Ooh, gross."
"Relax. It's just a few mites." I stowed the chemical pump in my bag and pointed to the door. "There's your customer now."
"Great, she's early. Don't say a word. Just leave quietly when you're done." Uma spun around, placing her spandexed lower half in front of me so the customer couldn't spot my work. I won't mention what I spotted.
"Faith, on time as usual. Let's get you shampooed." Hand tucked under her customer's elbow, Uma clipped across the room, and I finished placing tape around the rim. I gathered up my belongings and, as Uma had asked, I exited quietly. But my mind wasn't quiet. It was racing with thoughts of my next stop, the police station.
Head down so no one stopped me to chat, I hurried down Main Street organizing my buggy plan as I went. The best location for the transfer of mites was on the Dieffenbachia in the break room. While tending a plant in there, I could overhear the front desk conversations and the ones carried on in Mitch's office as well.
I shifted my bag out of the way and pushed open the door. The stout receptionist sat behind the raised counter. She wore a blue double-knit jacket over a patterned polyester blouse. Her wardrobe was straight out of the eighties disco era. I'd classified her as red valerian as she dressed as brightly as the vivid red blooms of the plant and she was easygoing just like the plant. A straight talker with a no nonsense approach to life, what you saw was what you got with both Sally and red valerian.
"Hey, Sally." I approached the counter.
She smiled, her upper lip catching on a crooked tooth. "Here to do the plants I see?"
I nodded. "You seem extra cheerful today."
"My daughter just had a baby. A boy, eight pounds twelve ounces. I can't believe I'm a grandparent." Her face radiated happiness.
"Congratulations, Sally." I smiled, but it was forced as the thought of a having a child of my own gave me the heebie-jeebies.
"I can't wait to get off work and hop on a plane. My daughter lives in Phoenix. I'll spend the next two weeks with her."
Was this good news or bad news? Would a substitute make my snooping harder or easier? Could depend on who it was. "So who's filling in while you're gone?"
"I'm surprised you don't know. Lisa Winkle has agreed to fill in when she can and one of the guys here will do the rest."
How could my very best friend in the whole wide world not tell me she was going to work for Mitch for two weeks? "Was this just decided today?"
Sally waved her hand. "Oh, no. We planned it months ago. Just didn't know what day the baby would be born."
Stunned, I mumbled something that passed for a goodbye then walked away. As soon as I was done here, I was going to call Lisa and give her a piece of my mind. Well, maybe not a piece, as I needed all of my mind to solve this murder, but I would let her see the hurt she inflicted by keeping this from me.
'Sort of the way you're keeping things from Adam, huh?' my mind whispered but I ignored it and rounded the corner to the break room.
On a stained yellow counter sat the requisite donut box, a white microwave and a Bunn coffee maker with two filled pots. The room smelled of burnt java and popcorn. A small table with four chairs sat in the middle of the space and a large refrigerator hugged the right wall. My target, a large lush Dieffenbachia, sat in a corner next to a silver trashcan. When I started caring for the plants here, I brought this one in to brighten up the dismal break area.
I set my gardening tote on the table and pulled out the bag of infected leaves. Even if Lisa worked here for the next few weeks, I was certain she wouldn't divulge anything she heard so I still needed to bug the plants. Bag in hand, I stared at the Dieffenbachia. Now where was the best spot to put the leaves for maximum infestation?
"Paige," Mitch called from behind me.
I spun around and thrust my hand with the bag behind my back.
"What's going on?" He set his coffee mug on the counter and turned on the faucet.
"Hmm, what?" I asked all innocent.
"What's in the bag that you're trying to hide?"
A rush of warmth flooded my face. I slowly brought my hand around front and searched for a way to explain my mission that wouldn't end up with me incarcerated. "Spider mite infestation."
He laughed and put his hand into the running stream of water. "Embarrassed the plants got sick, huh? Can you treat it?"
"Wh-what?"
He tipped his head at the Dieffenbachia. "Can you fix it or will you have to replace it?"
Sweet. He thought I cut the leaves off this plant. I could play along. Tell the truth but not ever acknowledge this was the infected plant. "It will take extra work, but I can treat spider mites."
He picked up his mug and squirted a green glob of detergent inside. As he slipped the mug under the water, I looked at the slogan on the side, 'In God we trust, all others are suspects.' I wasn't at all sure Mitch wouldn't put God in the hot seat if he were given the chance.
Mitch swished his fingers in the mug, rinsed, and then hung it on a hook to dry. "You hinting you'll have to spend more time here, and I should start paying for your services?"
I waved my free hand. "Oh, no, no. Just thought you'd want to know ridding a plant of spider mites takes some work."
He studied me as if I were a shoplifter he'd caught downtown. "You all right? You're acting kinda strange."
"Fine, fine. Just don't like to see plants suffer." Okay, okay, I know. I was just about to make this one suffer, but my statement was true. I don't like for them to suffer.
"Well, I'm glad you're here."
Say what? I blinked hard. "You are?"
"Yeah. Since you know the Buzzys I wanted to see if you thought he might have had an affair."
Oh, he wanted to pump me for information. Well two could play at his game. "I don't know. I don't really think so, but I mean, I didn't know them all that well. Just from Bible class."
"He change in the last few months?"
"Not that I noticed." But now that you asked, I was sure to find out. "Do you think Karen had anything to do with Gary's death?"
"You know I can't comment on a police investigation."
"But you did call her and accuse her of killing Gary."
"All part o
f my job. Doesn't necessarily mean I really think she's guilty." He tugged at his collar as if the tie he rarely wore was choking him. "Guess you'll be around here more often what with the sick plants and all. Mind if I pick your brain if I have more questions?"
My mouth fell open, and I nodded like a simpleton.
He laughed in a belly splitting way then strode off, the deep peals tailing him
I closed my mouth and looked around. I was in the Serendipity police station, right? And that was Mitch I just talked to? I pinched my arm. Ouch. I hadn't been transported to an alternate universe where everything was backwards. So why had Mitch been nice?
I dropped the bag on the table and went toward the door. I didn't know what he was up to, but I wasn't going to leave until I at least tried to find out.
Chapter Thirteen
Still in the break room, I heard a male voice shout in the hallway, "Hey, Chief. Wait up." Sounded like the surly, barely wet behind the ears officer, Owen Riley who manned the front desk when Sally wasn't here.
I moved as close to the door as possible without giving away my position so I could hear the conversation.
"What's up?" Mitch asked, in a continued pleasant tone.
"I posted all the stuff on the Buzzy case in the conference room. You might want to take a look at the timeline and see if we forgot anything."
"Good work," Mitch said, and the hallway went quiet.
I pictured often-arrogant Carl preening over the rare praise Mitch had bestowed. His well-toned chest would be shoved out, his broad nose flared wide. His eyes would be more haughty than usual. He thought he was all that and maybe some women found him attractive, but for me he held no appeal.
"That all?" Mitch finally asked.
"One more thing. There are two women with the name of Jackie Morris in Beaverton." Riley's voice had gotten higher, probably in response to the praise. "Olsen got through to the internet provider and they confirmed the email account that generated the correspondence to Buzzy belongs to a Jackie Morris on 149th Avenue. We ran her license and found the exact address. I posted it along with her picture on the board."
"No one makes contact with her. Got that? I want to be the first. I'm headed to the plant for interviews right now. We'll figure out how to approach her when I get back."
So this was the reason for Mitch's tie. If only I were the tie clip he'd used to hold it down, I could eavesdrop on his conversations.
Footfalls rang down the hall, coming my way. I slipped to the side before anyone saw me and remembered I was here. Though I wouldn't find out why Mitch had been pleasant to me, it sounded like Riley had posted vital information on the bulletin board in the conference room. And there just happened to be two plants in that very room waiting for my attention.
I looked around and grabbed a pen and scrap of paper then slung my bag over my shoulder. I listened for a few seconds then poked my head into the hallway. All was clear. I ran to the conference room and ducked inside. As I suspected, the walls were filled with information, including a few gruesome pictures of Gary. I avoided that section and went straight to the timeline.
Most of the posted information I already knew about, but there were tidbits I'd been dying to see. Preliminary time of death was set at seven thirty and cause of death was blunt trauma to the head. I'd have to find out what Gary had done from the time he'd left home at five thirty until his death two hours later. If Nathan was correct, Gary had gone to the office. But what had he done there and why did he leave?
I jotted the info on the scrap paper along with a note to talk to Irene about the early morning hours at the factory. At the end of the timeline, I found background details on Gary. Again, information I'd known except for the fact that Karen and Gary had been married for only four years. For some reason, I thought they'd been together longer.
I moved down the wall and stopped in front of Jackie Morris's address, which I scribbled below the time of death on my paper. At the end of the wall were two items listed under waiting for forensics results. The first item, fingerprints from the log. They could get prints off a log? Who knew? The second requested information on samples taken from beneath Gary's fingernails. Maybe he fought with the killer.
On the table, I spotted a binder and rushed over to it. I reached out and touched the plastic binder then pulled my hand back. Reading something on a wall where I could accidentally see it was one thing. Opening and snooping was another.
I would ignore the binder and move to a whiteboard on the other side of the room near one of the plants. The board contained a list of suspects and motives written in three colors. Daisy Plante was written in red with notes about her argument with Gary and his role in her probationary status as Briny. Karen Buzzy was written in black with the wife and affair in large caps under motive. And then, the big surprise sat off to the side of Karen's name in a vivid blue.
Five coworkers – harassment.
Did this mean Gary was involved in harassing coworkers? Could they have killed him? How was I going to find out? Mary Stills and Irene were my best bets. I jotted a note to contact them about it and shoved the paper into my front pocket just as I heard feet clattering hurriedly down the hallway.
"Hey, Olsen. You'll never guess what happened." Officer Riley's voice came from right outside the door.
Was he on his way in here? I grabbed a spray bottle from my bag and moved to the plant in the corner. I tried to relax, but my back felt stiff, and I cringed under the threat of discovery. I held my breath and listened.
"S'up?" Eddie asked.
"We had a B and E reported at the Buzzys' house."
I whooshed out my breath and bit my lip so I didn't shout out in surprise and give myself away. Karen's house? B and E? Breaking and Entering? Who and why?
"In broad daylight," Eddie said as if thinking aloud. "Not likely a routine job then."
"My thoughts exactly. Figure someone was looking for something related to the murder. I'm headed over there now. Can't decide if I should call the chief or not. He's at the factory interviewing people. You know how he hates to be interrupted."
"Call him if you want to keep your job. Better he gets mad for the interruption than not telling him something he'd want to know."
"You want in on this?"
I do, I do. Pick me.
"Nah, I can't." His disappointment was nearly palpable as was mine over not going to the crime scene. "Gotta get through all those emails from Buzzy's computer before the chief gets back."
"Too bad. You wanna call the chief for me?"
Eddie's laughter rumbled down the empty hallway. "Nice try, rookie. Let me know what you find."
Footsteps sounded on the tile floor, growing closer to the conference room. I focused on the plant and pondered the break-in. These guys seemed convinced it was related to the murder. So what was the intruder looking for? Had Gary hidden some sort of clue in the house?
"What are you doing in here?" Eddie's perturbed voice punctured the quiet.
I put away my thoughts of the break-in and looked at the doorway. "Oh, hi, Eddie," I said with a light tone and pointed at my tote bag on the table. "Plant maintenance."
He gave me a hard stare. "You shouldn't be in here."
Though I wanted to tuck my tail between my legs and run from his sour face, I adopted an innocent expression. "Why not? I've been taking care of these plants for months now."
He gestured around the room with a final point to the walls. "We've never had sensitive information in here before. So time to take a hike."
"But the plants need attention."
"Fine, I'll move 'em into the waiting area." He held his hand out and gave a slight bow. "You can go first. I'll follow."
He'd one upped me. My luck had run out. I retrieved my bag and, with feet dragging, left the room. I heard a grunt coming from behind and figured he'd picked up the huge ficus but didn't turn around to be sure. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing I was interested in what he was doing. In the waiting are
a, I spun around and watched as he set down the plant.
"This change will probably kill the ficus," I said all belligerent. "They're kinda like me. They hate to be forced out of their space and don't react real well to such treatment."
Surprisingly, the easily riled Eddie ignored my sarcasm and turned to Sally. "You know no one's allowed in the conference room. Chief'll have your job if he finds out you let her in there."
Sally rolled her eyes. "Not that good of a job anyway."
Good one, Sally.
Eddie blushed most likely from Sally's lack of fear and gave me a pointed look then walked away.
"Don't forget the other plant," I called after him. Why did I have to do that? Sally already put him in his place. I didn't need to anger him further. What if I needed a favor from him in the future?
If he heard the barb, he ignored it and kept walking.
Sally came around the desk, her orthopedic shoes clomping like cow hooves. "If I'm going to lose my job over this you better tell me what's going on."
I gave an innocent shrug. "Nothing, really. I went to the conference room to check on the plants, and Eddie kicked me out."
She gave me a glare so like the ones my mom bestowed on me when I was in trouble that I cringed and took a step back.
A knowing smile settled on her lips. "You should look like that. Once you saw the information in there you knew you didn't belong."
"Fine, I'm busted."
"Well, it's my fault too. I should have warned you not to go in there. Especially with everyone all worked up over the murder." She shook her head. "This office isn't cut out to handle murder, let alone two of them in a month."
The rustle of leaves drew my eyes to the hallway. Eddie lumbered toward us with another large plant. Fortunately, I couldn't see his face and the attitude that likely reigned supreme there.
"Don't you two have something to do besides gossip?" Eddie asked as he passed.
Sally and I shared an irritated look. "I'll just water the plants and get out of here." I turned to Eddie. "It is okay if I go into the break room for water, isn't it?"
Okay, I know that was snide, uncalled for and downright rude. I deserved the tightening of his jaw and shake of his head. But I was surrounded by all those leads, and he'd slammed the door closed in my face. I had to say something. Just had to or I would have exploded.
Read Between the Tines Page 11