Tainted Teacup

by Michelle Busby

  “What if the victim was not who was important? What if the location was what was important?”

  “The location … instead of the person? That puts a whole new spin on things. That would mean my shop was the target. Is that what you’re getting at?”

  “That is exactly what I mean. Who benefits if you go out of business?”

  “Wow. Charles Williams, for sure. He wants to buy my shop … and Sarah Beth’s, and even though it’s a family property and can’t be sold, Sanderson would let Charles have a long-term lease on it. Oh, my gosh. The second murder in Sarah Beth’s shop could be to drive her out of business!” Her jaw dropped as she considered the ramifications. “Charles … and Linda by association. They would both benefit from Watson’s and Brewster’s going out of business.”

  “What are the odds of two women, both tied to Henry Erving by the way, turning up dead in two different shops by the same method—poison in and on the cups. I’ll bet yer cousin the coroner will confirm the same cause of death for Beverly as was for Coral. You’ll have to ring him up tomorrow. But just so we don’t get ahead of ourselves, we need to be systematic about other possibilities, as well.”

  “All right, but I’m betting on Charles and Linda.”

  “Nevertheless, we need to be more certain. Can’t go about throwing the finger at people just because we dislike them. Right? After you speak with yer cousin tomorrow, we’ll discuss Beverly’s murder. For now, let’s take a rest and have some lunch. I have a throat from talking, and there’s spuds to mash. Come to the table. I’ll have it ready right quick,” he said.

  Tommie watched as Finbar mashed the potatoes with a huge chunk of Irish butter and then folded in the drained and chopped cabbage. The colcannon he placed in a bowl before her was fragrant and savory, and she ate every bit, noisily scraping her bowl to get the last of it.

  “Finbar, that was delicious. I guess I better take my mutts on home before they believe they live here. I think I’ll have cereal for supper and make it an early night. See you in the morning,” she said while he put the dishes into the sink to soak. As she walked toward the door, he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

  “Thomasina, I have a nagging thought I need to resolve before I can sleep tonight,” he said.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “You said it was possible Ms. Beadwell could have chosen another cup to drink from. Did that happen often?”

  “No, not often. But sometimes it did.”

  “And she chose from the teacup caddy?”

  “No, almost never. She was funny that way. If she couldn’t have her special cup, I let her use my cup.”

  “Yer cup? What d’you mean, yer cup?”

  “I have a jumbo cup I usually drink from. It’s similar to hers, only mine’s teal and white instead of teal and yellow, and mine has a picture of Zed and Red on one side. Coral’s had a cat.”

  “And where d’you keep yer cup, missus?”

  “On the counter by the caddies … next to Coral’s.”

  Finbar stared at her in shock, and she stared back.

  “Thomasina, what if it was yer cup the killer had poisoned, and not hers?” he asked quietly. “Then, you would be the one who’s dead right now.”

  “But, I’m not, Finbar. First of all, my teacup wasn’t poisoned. And secondly, even if someone had tampered with it, I have a policy to never drink tea while I have customers in the shop. I drink bottled water.”

  Tommie smiled, and because his face was so stricken, she impulsively stepped forward and kissed him on the cheek.

  “So, get some sleep, lad. It’s been a bugger of a day for both of us!”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Earl Petry called the next morning at 8:00. Tommie was well rested from an uneventful, dreamless night’s sleep. Seeing his name on the caller ID, she answered the call brightly.

  “My, but you’re a chipper one today,” he said, his smooth voice getting her undivided attention.

  “Hi, Earl. I drank a nighttime tea and had a blissful eight hours of rest, for a change,” she reported.

  “I’m happy to hear that, Tommie. You’ve had quite a shocking week. I wanted to call again and see how you’re holding up, and I wanted to let you know that your shop’s been processed and released as a crime scene. You can officially go back in there.”

  “Oh, Earl! That’s the best news ever. Does that mean I’m no longer a person of interest?”

  He chuckled. “In one sense, yes. In another sense, you’re still a person of interest … to me.”

  Tommie was surprised and held her tongue for once.

  “Tommie? You still there?” he asked.

  “Uh, yes. I’m here. I … wow. Thanks, Earl. That really means a lot to me, especially in light of all the trouble I’ve been to you lately.”

  “It means a lot that your shop’s cleared or that you’re a person of interest?”

  “Both,” she admitted, suddenly feeling shy and unsure of herself.

  Evidently, Earl was, as well. “So, that’s all, then. You can go back to your shop. But, Tommie, please don’t go into Sarah Beth’s store. We’re still processing it.”

  “OK. I promise I’ll stay out,” she said. “By the way, can you tell me anything about Beverly’s death? I haven’t talked to Sanderson.”

  “Yet,” he scoffed. “Off the record, no, I can’t tell you anything. How about you tell me what you think?” His tone had softened.

  “Okie dokie. Will you confirm it if I’m right?”

  “We’ll see. I can’t make any promises. But try me.”

  “Beverly died of the same cyanide-type poisoning as Coral. You’ll find a lethal dose of it in her coffee mug.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “She fell out just like Coral did, and her face was bright red, just like Coral’s.”

  “That sounds reasonable. What else?” He was being deliberately noncommittal, but that was understandable because of his position, and also because Earl Petry didn’t generally say more than was necessary. That he called her a person of interest to him spoke volumes to Tommie. She had to trust him.

  “Earl, if I share my suspicions with you, will you keep me in the loop? I’ve done a little investigating and research on my own, and I have some theories.”

  “I know you have, Tommie.” His sigh was loud and heavy. “You shouldn’t be doing your own investigating. That could be dangerous. Someone has killed two women in less than a week. Do you really think you meddling is wise? You could be the next target.”

  “I realize that, and I’m not so sure I haven’t been a target all along.”

  “Because?” His voice was a tiny bit alarmed.

  “Because of what I’ve found out. And because …”

  “Tell me, Tommie. What do you think you know?”

  “This may sound far-fetched and a little paranoid but hear me out. Coral was particular about certain things, like she always drank from the same cup. And if it wasn’t available to her, she drank from mine, which looks almost exactly like hers and is kept in the same place I kept hers. The poison was in her cup, but it could just as easily have been put in my cup, but it wasn’t, so that’s a good thing,” she blurted.

  “Yes.”

  “And Charles Williams is such a greedy, hateful man to me and to Sarah Beth. He wants both of our shops. And he and Coral had already been in an argument that I witnessed because she was opening his packages. Who knows what he’s been receiving? He threatened Coral at the table, and he’s having an affair with Linda Beadwell, and she was in my shop that Monday and could’ve contaminated any of the cups. And she told Mr. Holmes that Henry made Bev drink that poisoned coffee. And everybody just piles lies on top of lies, so who can you believe?” She was out of breath by the time she finished.

  Earl was quiet for a little while before he spoke again, but when he did, his voice held no trace of indulgence.

  “Tommie. Stop doing your own investigation. I can’t stress that en
ough. Go to your shop, clean it up, restock your products, do inventory, make a potion. I don’t care what you do, but please do something boring and mundane. I couldn’t bear it if you were harmed. Do you understand me, Darlin’? Stop playing detective. That’s my job. OK? Can you do that for me, please?”

  “Yes,” she said. Her voice was small and timid to her ears and sounded like it came from a different person.

  “Thank you. I’ll tell you what. What you know and what you even suspect, you can tell me. I’m very impressed with your investigative instincts. I just don’t want you to put yourself in danger. Be an armchair detective, if you want. But let me do the legwork. All right, Tommie? And stay away from anybody you have pegged as a suspect.”

  “OK, Earl. I will. Thanks for releasing my shop. I have plenty of work to do there. I appreciate everything, and I’m glad I’m a person of interest … to you.”

  “You are. I’ll keep in touch, Tommie. Goodbye.”

  Tommie Watson ate the last few bites of her peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich and downed the rest of her morning Rooibos tea with blue agave syrup. A person of interest, she thought with a smile. I like that.

  Zed and Red trotted into the kitchen and went directly to the back door. Tommie heard Sherlock scratching and opened it so her boys could run out and play with their buddy. Putting her cup and plate into the sink, she walked outside and knocked on Finbar’s door.

  “Haloo, missus. How did you sleep?” he asked.

  “Wonderfully,” she reported.

  “And myself as well. Are you ready for some sleuthing today? It’s Friday, and our two favorite suspects should be at work. I’d like to talk with Henry a bit and Charlie,” he said.

  “Oh, OK. Earl called and said I can go back to my shop, so I thought maybe I’d do a little cleaning.”

  “Lovely. I’ll help you. Just give me a moment to spiff up.” He rinsed his dishes and grabbed a small soft-sided cooler. “I’m taking a few Guinness with me, for myself and Henry, and maybe one for Charlie. See if I can loosen their tongues.”

  “That’s great. While you’re talking with them, I’ll just stay at the shop, if that’s all right.”

  “Sure. That’s a fine idea. No sense yer being around whilst I try to talk man to man. No offense, but Henry’s on the shy side, and Charlie hates you. Maybe we can ring up the lads at the bank and meet them at their sandwich shop for lunch and gossip, eh?”

  Tommie smiled broadly, and though she had promised Earl she would not do any investigating, she had made no such promise for Finbar. “Meet me at the car in 15 minutes. Zed! Red! Come on, boys. Mom’s gotta go to work.”

  The dogs understood the word “work” perfectly and came trotting back in. She gave each of them four Vienna Sausages as treats and exited the front door.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Finbar Holmes got Tommie settled on her stool in the shop, and she started cleaning the counters with a spray bottle solution of alcohol and peroxide. While she shuffled around and scrubbed the fingerprint powder off all the surfaces, he got a broom from the storeroom and went to work sweeping the powder from the floors. Using a wet-jet mop, he mopped the entire shop twice, including the bathroom and the storage room. As the two of them worked, they discussed questions and answers regarding Beverly’s death.

  “I don’t have my pad, but I’ll remember and can transfer it to our interview checklist when we get home. First thing we need to discuss: why would someone want to kill Beverly? What about her made her a victim?” Holmes asked.

  “From what I can tell, Henry didn’t really want Beverly for his girlfriend; he wanted Coral all along. Maybe he thought Bev was the one who caused Coral’s death?”

  “That’s an interesting theory. Revenge, then?”

  “Could be. Now, Charles. We know he had to split a commission with Beverly. ‘His Greediness’ wouldn’t like that happening a second time. Also, and I thought about this last night, maybe Beverly knew about his affair with Linda and threatened him. She could’ve said something like if he didn’t give her more than half the commission, she would tell Linda’s husband about them.”

  “That could be a very strong motive for Charlie to kill her. The money. And even Linda. I’m sure she wouldn’t want her husband to know about their illicit dalliance.

  “Their illicit dalliance? Somehow it doesn’t sound so seedy when you phrase it like that. Anyway, I think maybe there’s more to that damaged package deal than we realize. I bet you a dollar to a donut Beverly knew what was in the package … or packages.”

  “Oh, missus. That’s definitely a theory I need to check up on when I visit the men after lunch. I can ask Henry. I bet he knows … if not what was in them parcels, then maybe where they come from. I can agitate Charlie-boy again and see if he makes a mistake in what he tells me. Yer brilliant.”

  “Elementary, my dear Holmes. Now, as far as Linda Beadwell is concerned, I think it’s possible Beverly was blackmailing her, and Linda needed to shut her up. You saw her temper the other night at Bingo. Also, whatever benefits Charles benefits Linda.”

  “Righto. And how about yer friend Sarah Beth?”

  “Crap. I keep forgetting about her. I can’t see why she would kill someone in her own shop and have the blame pointed at her. That’s like sabotaging yourself.”

  “Not if she did it to point blame away from her.”

  “How do you figure, Finbar?”

  “She might have wanted to point the blame to someone else, like Charlie. The ‘I’m a victim, too’ defense. Misdirection, my dear Watson. Misdirection.”

  “Hmph. I think it’s reaching, but we’ll consider it. For that matter, I could’ve done it to point blame away from me! You know, like ‘oh look, now somebody’s been killed in a different shop.’ That makes me look less guilty.”

  “Ah, sure. But point of fact is you didn’t kill the first victim, Thomasina. And whilst we’re talking about it, I have to tell you that stuffing those confections into yer mouth like you did was sheer genius. Who would ever take you for a murderer? Mental, maybe, but not a murderer.”

  Tommie burst out laughing. “It was crazy wasn’t it? I don’t know why I did it. Guess I just snapped. Should’ve seen your face … everyone’s faces, for that matter. Priceless.”

  “All right, missus. Here is the million Euro question: How could the killer be sure Beverly Cantrell got the tainted mug and swallowed the poison?”

  “That is the question, isn’t it? Who even knew she would be in the coffee shop? I was certainly surprised to see her walk in. She was a regular tea customer at my shop. When Henry brought Beverly in, I was speechless … and you know that’s unusual for me.”

  “Quite true, on all accounts. The only person who could possibly know Beverly would be drinking coffee was Henry. He brought her in. You said he ordered for her, and he encouraged her to drink. I hate to say it because I like the lad, but that puts him squarely in the crosshairs, so to speak.”

  “Finbar, you told me Linda vehemently alluded to him as having poisoned Bev,” Tommie said, moving over to spray and wipe down all the bottles in the small coolers.

  “She did. She very emphatically incriminated him.”

  “Why did she have such contempt toward Henry, I wonder. Could it be he does know something illegal she and Charles are trying to hide. Maybe about those packages? I’ll be interested to hear what you find out from him.”

  “Quite. Let’s go back to the question of access. All of them had access to Brewster’s Coffee Shoppe and to the mugs. You said yerself it got so busy before I arrived you couldn’t keep up. Anything could have happened during that time that neither you nor Sarah Beth would notice,” Holmes said.

  “Multiple people touched that mug, Finbar. Multiple people. Sarah Beth, Charles, Henry, Linda, and even me,” Tommie acknowledged.

  “It takes us back to the question: how could the killer be sure that Beverly got the tainted mug?”

  “I don’t know, Finbar. She wasn’t
a regular, and she didn’t have a special mug like Coral.”

  They were silent for a few minutes as they mulled over that fact. Then Finbar spoke again. “Did Sarah Beth have her own mug like you did?”

  “No. She didn’t. She always used a disposable cup for herself so she could throw it away. Why?”

  “I’m hoping to eliminate you and her from being the killer’s targets. I hope nobody wants the two of you dead.”

  “Oh, yeah,” she muttered. “That idea sucks for us.”

  “Quite. So, Thomasina. We must explore what we discussed last night. What if it was not the victim who was important? What if was the location that was important? Who benefits if you and Sarah Beth both go out of business?”

  “Charles Williams,” she growled. It keeps coming back to Charles Williams and his greed, and Linda Beadwell is guilty by association, and maybe as an accomplice.”

  “I believe you are correct, Thomasina. The only way it works for both shops to be targeted and for any of the other suspects—yerself included—to be considered guilty is if the poisoning was done as deflection to cast suspicion on someone else. Which is the stronger motive?”

  “Greed,” they said simultaneously.

  Tommie glanced at the huge wall clock and noticed the time. “Oh my gosh, Finbar, it’s already 11:45! If you want to have lunch with the Lareby siblings and pump them for more gossip, I need to hurry and give Don a call.”

  “Yes, let’s arrange to meet them at noon. You remember the name of the establishment? Something outer space-related, I believe.”

  “Yes. The Lunch Pad. Calling now. Oh, hello. May I speak to Don Lareby, please? Thanks. Hi, Don. It’s Tommie Watson. Oh yeah, just fine. Listen, Mr. Holmes and I were wondering if you and your sisters would like to meet us at The Lunch Pad for lunch at 12:00? You would? Great. We’ll see you there and hold a table. OK. Bye.” She ended the call and checked the clock again. “All right, Finbar. It’s a date. We have just enough time to wash up and drive over.”

  Tommie was excited to hear the thoughts (no, the gossip) from the Lareby siblings. She convinced herself that, since they were not suspects, it was not really investigating, so she would still be keeping her promise to Earl.