by Mary Clay
"No, this isn't about me."
"Thank God. Whatever it's about, don't ever alter a transdermal patch, especially not one for blood pressure medicine, a painkiller, or nicotine. You could easily kill yourself."
"Kill yourself," I repeated. "Wow, I had no idea."
"If you know someone who's altered a patch, take it off, and get them to a hospital," Beth said seriously.
"No, you confirmed my suspicion and averted a disaster," I lied. "Thanks for your time. I'll see you soon." I hung up the phone and turned to face four gaping mouths. "An altered nicotine patch could cause a heart attack!"
"Especially if the person already had a patch on. Remember, the drawing indicated that Abby was wearing a patch on her shoulder blade," Kevin said.
"Why would she put on another patch?" Penny Sue asked.
"She didn't," Ruthie said excitedly. "Willows did it. He grabbed her arm when they argued in the library, remember? I'll bet he had the altered patch in the palm of his hand and just slapped it on her." Ruthie massaged her temples. "Let's see, how did it go?"
"Abby started to stomp away from Willows, but he snatched her arm and swung her around to face him. That's when he noticed we were watching them, so he walked away. Abby started to follow, but tripped, dropping her books. That's it! I know what happened. That's why she stayed in the bathroom so long," I shouted.
"What? What?" Penny Sue demanded.
I was so excited I couldn't stand still. "She faked the fall so she could hide the book in the stacks. Willows probably threatened her, and she was afraid he might try to steal the book. So, she waited until we left and went back to get it. Don't you remember that her right hand was clenched as if she'd been holding something? But, by that time, there was so much nicotine in her system that her heart gave out, and her hand relaxed enough for Willows' book to fall to the floor along with everything else."
"Yes, but how did the patch get inside the book?" Alice asked.
Penny Sue answered. "Abby was sweating like a pig. I'll bet she wiped perspiration from her arm, and she discovered the patch, or it came off in her hand. Abby realized that Willows slapped it on her, so she held on to it to prove he tried to kill her. It was probably in her hand when she pulled the book off the shelf. In fact, she may have put it in the book for safekeeping. Only her heart gave out!"
I reached in my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. "I'm calling Woody. That patch is the murder weapon, and the book proves Willows did it."
Woody said he'd send someone over for the book and Abby's computer. He also told me he'd put out an All Points Bulletin (APB) to have Willows picked up by the police. Alice brought out her gun to protect the evidence, and Penny Sue wrapped the book in plastic wrap with the patch still stuck inside. Kevin nervously channel surfed, Ruthie loaded the dishwasher, and I sat in stunned silence. Plagiarism and a nicotine patch. Who would have thought?
After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only about forty minutes, there was a knock on the door. We all bounced up to answer it, but Penny Sue beat us to the punch, followed by Kevin. It was Deputy Heather Brooks.
"I hear you people had an eventful morning," she said. "Woody sent me to make a pick up."
Kevin handed over the book and computer.
Heather grinned. "I've had a busy morning, too." She canted her head toward the patrol car. Her partner, Tommy, was riding shotgun, and there were two men in the backseat. "Guess who I found on the way over?"
By this time we'd all gathered in the hallway. "Willows?" Penny Sue exclaimed. "But who's the other guy?"
"Peter O'Brien. They claim they were on their way to survey some real estate."
"Peter?!"
"Yep, the men were right in front of us, in the drive-thru lane of Dunkin' Donuts, when I got a call from Woody and the APB came though. Poor guys. Their coffee cost a bundle, in more ways than one. Just as the coffee was passed over to them, I turned on my lights and gave the siren a couple of whoops. Both men were so startled they dumped the steaming coffee in their laps and jumped out of the car. By then Tommy and I were standing beside them and merely had to slap on the cuffs."
"Oh, my Lord!" Penny Sue was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face. "What happened then?"
"Tommy put them in the backseat of our car and drove Willows' Honda to a parking spot. I pulled up and got our coffees." Heather suppressed a grin. "I didn't want to hold up the line, you know."
"That's unbelievable," Kevin said, cracking a smile.
Heather grinned widely. "Yeah, but it's not so clear cut anymore. Willows claims that O'Brien killed Abby with the nicotine patch over a real estate deal."
My hand went to my throat, as I recalled the scene of O'Brien and Abby entering the library for the debate. O'Brien did have his arm around Abby to shield her from the crowd. It was her left arm, the one with the square patch, and not a round one like all of the others. My gosh, we were right about how, but might be wrong about who. "I saw O'Brien with his hand on Abby's arm at the library. Willows may be telling the truth. Is that why you're taking O'Brien in?"
"For now, he's under arrest for assaulting an officer. The old guy kneed Tommy in the crotch for trying to cuff him. That's excuse enough to get fingerprints and confirm Willows' story one way or another, assuming there are fingerprints on this patch. Don't worry," Heather said, shifting the computer to her other hand. "I'm sure Woody will report back to you. After all, you guys probably saved the county a ton of money. In fact, Woody's probably so happy that he might even be pleasant for a few days."
"One quick question," Penny Sue said. "Do you think the Marzanos will do time?"
"Probably not. I heard the two boys sang like birds on the drug/burglary operation. Your break-in had nothing to do with drugs, though Papa convinced Andy to give that up in a deal to avoid jail. It seems Andy and his friend were Willows' students that he hired to help him move into a new condo in New Smyrna Beach. The dumbbells accidentally switched the boxes of books intended for donation with the ones headed for Willows' condo. They donated the valuable books to the library and took the rejects to Willows' place. He didn't realize anything was wrong, until Abby confronted him with the fact that she'd purchased his copy of the book from the library, and that it proved he'd plagiarized his dissertation. According to Andy Marzano, Willows threatened everything short of murder if the boys didn't get the book back. That's why they kept trying to break into your condo."
"What about Susan?" Penny Sue asked.
"Momma Marzano claimed she was only following her son to see what he was up to. But the c-notes found in her possession were marked by the Drug Task Force, so she could be charged. It's iffy. I doubt they'll pursue it if they nab the ringleaders of the drug gang. I give her credit, though. The lady played it smart. If not for your sting and the marked bills, there's no way Susan could have been tied to the drugs."
Heather left, and we dragged ourselves back to the living room still laughing at the thought of Willows' and O'Brien's steaming crouches. We had barely snuggled into our usual seats when there was another knock on the door.
"Dammit, you know it's Guthrie!" Penny Sue said as she stomped down the hall. "He saw the police car and just had to find out what happened." She jerked the door open and shrieked.
Then a deep male voice said, "Long time no see, Honey Bunny. How about lunch at the Riverview?"
Epilogue
We were sitting at my dining table, going over the blueprints for Ruthie's new bookstore and apartment. The "we" in question were Ruthie, Penny Sue, me, Kevin, and Rich. Although the DAFFODILS reunion began on a down note, it turned out okay. Kevin was chosen for the History Department Chair of Deland University, and was staying with Ruthie in my master suite until her apartment was finished. I'd moved into one of my guestrooms, which was all I needed. Penny Sue and Rich were staying next door. Alice had gone home. (Praise the Lord!) Guthrie still dropped in from time to time, lonely without his partner, Timothy.
At nine a.m
. the phone rang. It was Woody. "We finally have the fingerprint results," Woody said. "The prints on both the nicotine patch and strip container match O'Brien. He killed Abby and tried to implicate Kevin by slipping the container in the box when I gave it to Penny Sue. That was a stroke of luck. He'd planned to put the container in another box, but when I gave Abby's materials to Penny Sue, it provided the perfect opportunity. Stupidity on my part."
Woody was growing up. At least he acknowledged a mistake.
"After intensive interrogation, O'Brien admitted that Willows was hired to trump up a reason for the government to sell part of the Canaveral Seashore Park. Willows was regarded as one of their most convincing experts because of his book on Central Florida. When Abby came forward threatening Willows' credentials, O'Brien told him to take care of Abby, or he would do it himself. Millions were at stake! Willows knew Abby was trying to quit smoking and told O'Brien that a second patch would kill her, but Willows couldn't bring himself to do it. So, O'Brien arranged to meet Willows in the library parking lot before the debate, and he slapped the patch on Abby's arm as they struggled through the crowd at the front door."
"Heavens! Does Willows get off scot-free?"
"Hardly," Woody replied. "He's being charged with conspiracy to commit murder, as well as your burglaries."
"Does this clear up all of the beachfront break-ins?" I asked.
"No, but we're making real progress with some of the new information."
"Does that mean we don't have to hold our breath each time there's a knock on the front door?" I quipped.
I could almost see Woody smile. "Maybe, for a while."
Table of Contents
Murder in the Stacks (A DAFFODILS Mystery)