Orlando was speaking animatedly and waving his hands in the air. All of a sudden, he jumped up out of his seat and scurried in the direction of the bathroom. The Detective closed his notebook and shook his head.
Lottie and Abner exchanged looks and approached the policeman cautiously. “Erm, Detective Gable?” Lottie asked in a hesitant voice.
“What is it?” the man snapped, turning his sharp black eyes on her. He was thin-faced with a hard line for a mouth and a scowling expression of impatience. “Well?” he barked, when Lottie didn’t answer straight away.
“My name’s Lottie Foxglove,” Lottie said quickly, her nerves set further on edge by his brusque manner. “I believe you want to speak to me?”
“Oh yeah,” Gable said, looking her up and down and not seeming particularly impressed by what he saw. “You saved me a journey. It’s you and your business partner Jayne Merriot that are responsible for this mess.”
“Jayne and I are not business partners,” Lottie said stiffly. “She catered for the bulk of the hot food and canapés and I made the wedding cake and all the cream treats and baked goods.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Gable said dismissively. “You’re still responsible for giving me one big of a headache.”
“Detective, what is going on?” Lottie retorted, bristling at the Detective’s manner. “I understand there has been an outbreak of food poisoning amongst the wedding guests but as of yet there’s no telling if it was Jayne’s food or mine that was responsible. I came over here to check on Genevieve Van Korbel and make sure she is all right.”
“I wouldn’t think she is, she’s dead,” Gable said bluntly.
Lottie felt like she had just been slapped across the face. “Dead?” she echoed. “No!”
“She was killed by eating the wedding food?” exclaimed Abner. “Are you quite sure?”
Gable shifted in his seat and scowled at the older man. “Who are you?” he demanded.
“I’m Abner Kelley,” said Abner haughtily. “A close friend to the Van Korbel family, and a very important person around here, so you better start minding your manners and tell us what the hell’s going on!” His voice lifted several decibels, causing several people to stop what they were doing and look in their direction.
Lottie nudged him hard with her elbow. “Not now, Abner,” she hissed.
Gable slid his hard, angry eyes over Lottie again. “Sit down,” he ordered.
Lottie did as she was told, grateful to get off her feet. She was still reeling with shock and her head was spinning like an out of control Ferris wheel. When Abner moved to sit on the couch next to her, Gable waved him away.
“Not you,” he snapped. “I’ll talk to you later, maybe.”
Abner went red with rage, but Lottie squeezed his hand. “Go wait in the car, Abner,” she said gently and handed him the keys. “I’ll tell you what went on when I’m finished here.”
Abner shot a glance at the study door and his eyes clouded with grief. He gave a curt nod to Lottie and walked away. Gable opened his notebook again.
“I’m sorry about my friend,” Lottie said, deciding to try and get the man to soften a little. “He’s had a big shock, and so have I. It is really true? Did Genevieve die because of something she’d eaten?”
“We’re not sure yet,” Gable said, scanning through his notes. “How well did you know Mercedes Destelle?”
Lottie was taken off guard by the question. “You mean Mercedes Van Korbel? Not at all, really. I only saw her yesterday at the wedding.”
“Witnesses state that you had an altercation with Miss. Destelle, I mean, Mrs. Van Korbel during the reception. What was all that about?”
“I wouldn’t call it an altercation as such,” Lottie said. “Mercedes just had a little too much to drink that’s all. She was a bit rowdy and I just happen to get in her way.” Lottie stopped talking and frowned. “Wait a minute, you said did.”
Gable looked up from his notepad and frowned. “Excuse me?”
“You asked how well did I know Mercedes, as in the past tense. Has something happened to her too?”
Gable closed his notebook and stared at her intently. “Mrs. Mercedes Van Korbel is also dead along with Genevieve Van Korbel. There are no signs of violence on either body, which suggests they were both poisoned.”
Lottie sat back in the chair and an image of Mercedes shoving Lottie’s homemade snowball donuts into her mouth exploded inside her mind. Betsy had eaten the donuts and was ill, Abner had had half of one and had a bad stomach and now Mercedes was dead and she’d been eaten them.
Was it really possible that it had been the donuts? Was Lottie really responsible for two deaths?
“Is something wrong, Miss. Foxglove?” Gable asked. He narrowed his eyes. They were as hard as bullets. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Mercedes’s two bridesmaids,” Lottie said carefully, “I think their names are Terri and Sonia.”
“What about them?” Gable retorted sharply.
Lottie didn’t want to ask the question, but she forced herself to nonetheless. “Have they gone down with food poisoning too?”
Gable thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, they’re both upstairs in bed. Why?”
Lottie felt her guts lurched inside her. “Detective, could I use the bathroom please? I don’t feel very well.”
“You got food poisoning as well?” he sneered. “You expect me to buy that?”
“Detective please, I really think I’m going to be sick. Can I go or do you want your nice suit ruined?”
Gable glared at her in disgust and gave a dismissive flick of his hand. Lottie got gratefully to her feet and headed rather shakily to the downstairs bathroom. Thankfully, it was no longer occupied and rushing inside, she locked out the nightmare she’d been engulfed in and sank to the floor.
She wasn’t sick, as it happened, but she couldn’t stop herself from bursting into tears. For almost half an hour, she sobbed uncontrollably, engulfed with grief for Genevieve’s death and at the horrific knowledge that she might be the old woman’s killer. Jayne’s words on the morning of the wedding came back to haunt her, mocking Lottie’s ambitions.
“When you’re a professional, you don’t need luck. . . That’s why hiring amateurs is such a big mistake.”
Jayne had been doing these kinds of events for years and had never once had a problem like this, yet this was Lottie’s first major catering job and this happened? How could Lottie not be to blame? Any fool could work that out and so could a judge.
The realisation brought on a fresh bout of crying, but after that had been vented she started to feel better. She wiped her eyes and splashed cold water onto her face from the sink, and her mind started working again.
There wasn’t enough evidence yet to jump to conclusions, and what could have been in the donuts that caused such an adverse reaction, let alone two deaths?
Both women had eaten Jayne’s food as well and even professionals made mistakes sometimes. There was more to this than met the eye, she was sure of it.
Buoyed up by this fresh optimism, Lottie left the bathroom and decided on what to do next. No doubt, the overly charming Detective Gable would want to ask her more questions, but she couldn’t face him right now. She needed some time to compose herself.
Nearby, the French doors stood open leading out into the gardens, and an inviting breeze was coming in. She decided to go outside and grab a breath of fresh air before facing the onslaught of further questioning and headed for them. Nobody obstructed her path and she slipped out onto the wide patio.
The sun was shining brightly, and the huge lawn stretched out like a vast green carpet. The debris from yesterday’s wedding littered the grass, and the elegant decorations that graced the line of trees and topiary on either side of the lawn hung limp and forgotten.
Lottie took a deep breath and stepped out onto the grass and starting walking along it, not knowing where she was going. It had been a long time since she’d been in
the gardens and the pleasant surroundings brought back childhood memories.
The thought that she might never see this place again, or Lincolne Bay for that matter, brought a lump to her throat but she resisted the impulse to cry. Focusing on the way ahead, she kept walking toward the cluster of trees at the far end of the lawn.
Subconsciously, she drifted to the ornamental pond that sat near the white Victorian summer house, nestled away from the main body of the garden. She had loved playing here as a kid, pretending to be a faerie queen in the heart of her magic kingdom.
Standing at the edge of the pond she looked down at her reflection in the emerald green waters. She wasn’t a child any more, the worry lines round her eyes and mouth bore testament to that, and she was facing the prospect of an involuntary manslaughter charge.
The thought of going to prison terrified her, but knowing that she had stolen two lives was even worse. Even if she got off with a light sentence, she could never live with the knowledge that she was a killer.
What was more horrifying was that she had quite possible destroyed the only family Orlando had, both the woman who raised him and the woman he loved. How could she go on living with that over her head?
She stared deeper into the depths of the pond. She knew the water was deep. It was fed by an underground spring. She closed her eyes and listened to the birdsong and the rustle of the leaves in the trees.
The gentle breeze caressed her face. It was so peaceful here and it would be very easy to just slip into the pond and let the waters claim her here and now. It was so much easier and better all round in fact, than having to face the cold reality waiting for her back at the house.
“I’m telling you the truth!” Orlando’s voice rang out from the summerhouse. “My grandmother and wife are dead! Why the hell would I make that up?”
Lottie opened her eyes in shock and almost fell into the pond by accident. Now out of her daze, she spotted Orlando in just a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms walking up and down the summer house barefoot, his cell phone against his ear.
“It’ll be on the news soon enough, so that should be proof enough,” he said down the phone. “Will that satisfy you?”
Moving round the pond, Lottie edged towards the summer house and peered through the open door, mindful to keep out of Orlando’s line of sight. A look of anger and frustration was etched onto his pale face.
“Look, the deal’s still on,” he said, lowering his voice. “I have what you want and I’ll bring it. No! Not today, Argus, don’t you understand what’s happened? You can’t send someone to the house. The place is crawling with cops! I know what’ll happen if I don’t deliver. I’ll promise you’ll get it. I have to go now. Bye.”
Orlando ended the call, and glanced up at the open door. He caught a glimpse of Lottie and stormed forward. “Who’s there?” he demanded.
Feeling guilty, Lottie stepped forward. “Hi, Orlando,” she said, giving him an awkward smile. “I didn’t mean to listen in. I just came down here to get my head together. It’s been an awful shock, how are you holding up?”
“You!” he barked. “You’re to blame for all this!”
Lottie was taken aback by his hostility. “Wait a minute, nobody’s sure what happened, but if it was my food that’s the cause of all this, then I’m truly sorry. What’s happened is truly terrible.”
“You’re sorry?” Orlando spat. “What good will that do? It won’t bring them both back will it?”
Lottie flinched at his savage words. “You’re very upset Orlando,” she said keeping the emotion out of her voice, “and quite rightly so. I’ll leave you to come to grips with your grief.”
Without warning, Orlando suddenly advanced on her. “How long were you stood there, by the door?” he demanded.
“What?” Lottie said, startled. “Not long. As I said I didn’t mean to listen.”
“How much did you hear?” he yelled. “How much do you know?”
“I don’t know anything, Orlando!” Lottie retorted. “I’m sorry. I’m going, okay?”
She turned to leave, but he suddenly grabbed her and pulled her back into the summer house. She cried out as he slammed her hard against the wall. His cold, damp hand clamped round her throat.
“You stay out of my business!” he snarled, his face a mask of feral rage. “You don’t tell anybody what you heard, you understand?”
“Orlando! You’re hurting me!” Lottie gasped. “Please, let me go!”
“I’ll see you rot in jail for what you’ve done,” he said darkly. “You murdered my grandmother and wife! At least that’s what I’ll make sure people believe. You’ll tell the police that too, or I’ll kill you!”
Lottie stared at him in terror. His grip tightened and she was sure he was going to follow through on his threat.
“Mr. Van Korbel?” a man’s voice called out. “Are you there, sir?”
Orlando released her instantly, and Lottie sagged with relief as she saw the police officer who had called out coming towards the summer house. Orlando stood very close to her.
“They won’t believe that I threatened you,” he whispered in her ear. “I have the money and connections to destroy you, remember that.”
“Oh, there you are,” the officer said as he entered the summer house. He paused at the door, giving Lottie a curious look. “If you’re feeling better sir, Detective Gable would like to continue with the interview.”
Orlando nodded, now calm and collected. “Of course, officer,” he said, padding out of the summer house. “I’ll come straight away.”
The officer nodded to Lottie. “Ma’am,” he said and followed Orlando out.
Lottie watched them leave, her back pressed against the wooden wall of the summer house. When she was sure they had gone, she tidied her hair and waited for her legs to stop shaking before she left herself.
* * *
She found Abner sitting miserable and forlorn in the passenger seat of the SUV. As she climbed in, she saw that his eyes were red and puffy. “Are you okay?” she asked sympathetically.
“I’m fine,” the old man replied, becoming stern and businesslike. “Genevieve was a good a friend to me, that’s all. It’s just the shock.”
Lottie nodded. “I know.”
“So, what happened in there? You get a hard time?”
“More than you can possibly imagine,” Lottie replied, reliving Orlando’s savage attack. “I’ve also had another shock thanks to Detective Gable, Mercedes is dead too and it looks like she was also poisoned.”
“Good Heavens!” exclaimed Abner. “Surely they don’t think it was you though? I know Genevieve was quite frail health wise, but that young filly was as strong as an ox. A bit of dodgy pastry or cake wouldn’t finish her off!”
“Detective Gable’s not ruling anything out,” Lottie said in a tired voice. “He’s going to run tests on both mine and Jayne’s food to determine if the food poisoning and their deaths are linked and until further notice the Sleepy Fox and Jayne’s business are closed. I’ll also be getting a visit from FDA consumer safety investigators in the foreseeable future.”
Abner sank back in his seat and let out a heavy sigh. “What ever happens next Lottie, I’ll support you, you know that don’t you?”
Lottie smiled and squeezed his hand. “Thanks, Abner. That means a lot to me.”
“I still think Jayne is the likely culprit,” Abner said firmly. “Those greasy adolescents she pays slave wages to are not the most hygienic of folk. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t one of them responsible for all of this.”
“Maybe,” Lottie said thoughtfully, “or maybe the food poisoning was just a cover to bump off Genevieve and Mercedes.”
Abner turned in his seat to look at her. “Murder in Lincolne Bay? Again? What makes you say that?”
Lottie shook her head. “Forget it, I’m over thinking things. My mind’s absolutely frazzled. Let’s get back to the hotel and see if Doris is back yet.”
“I clean forgot abo
ut her,” Abner said. “I don’t relish the thought of having to tell her Genevieve is dead, or who Genevieve actually is. Half the time Doris doesn’t even know who Doris is or if she’s still alive or not.”
“I’ll tell Doris,” Lottie said starting to the engine. “It’ll be the easiest thing I’ve had to do today.”
Chapter 5: A Lead And A Lurker
When they got back to the Joseph Bonaparte, Doris was still not back from wherever she had gone to. Now Lottie was really concerned. Abner told her not to overreact and the both of them searched the rambling mansion from top to bottom.
When they still couldn’t find her, they rang around all her friends and headed into town to see if anybody had seen her. When they had no joy, Lottie started to become seriously worried.
“Okay Kyle,” Abner said as he spoke to the deputy on his cell phone. “Yes I understand, but this is very unlike her. You’ll go on the look out? Okay, thanks. Call us as soon as you know something. Thank you.”
Abner rang off and gave Lottie a helpless look. “He’ll do a search, but with this business with the wedding, they’re overstretched.”
Lottie nodded and sipped at her coffee. They were sitting in the kitchen of the hotel and the burnished colours of the evening sky shone through the sash windows. She felt utterly exhausted and was on the verge of tears again.
“All right, Abner,” she said wearily. “I guess there’s nothing more we can do.”
“Its’ been a right day and a half and no mistake,” Abner said sipping at his coffee. For once he wasn’t filling up on sugary treats or cakes. Lottie knew from that alone that he was as worried about Doris as she was.
“I just don’t understand where she could have gone,” Lottie said. “Was she okay at the wedding?”
Abner nodded. “Doris was just being Doris,” he said.
“Did anything out of the ordinary happen?” Lottie asked.
“Apart from the break dancing? No.”
Donuts And Dead (Sleepy Fox Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 5