Doolin looked across the room at Tidwell and Fields who were reading a file before them.
I won't even get to see Fields in action, he glumly studied the floor. It will be Tidwell's show since he's prosecuting. He raised his head when Tidwell called Mattie Carrington to the stand.
Mattie being duly sworn, Tidwell held up as an exhibit, the cola bottle Doolin had mentioned. Mattie identified it and added, "Or one which looked like it is the one Eugene Austin gave me when he came to bring me the cosmetics case I forgot. Actually, he left me three bottles. If you took it from my kitchen, it's one of the ones he gave me."
Tidwell nodded, "And is this the case?" He pointed to the small blue bag on the table beside him.
"Yes, it is."
In his examination of the witness, Tidwell did the best he could to point out the established facts including the fingerprints on the cola bottle were Eugene's. He had left the three bottles and his fingerprints were on all of them and both the cream jars, all of which contained the two poisons found in Mattie's system when she was taken to the clinic. He thanked Mattie and said he would call her again.
Eugene glared at Doolin with a look that should at least hurt if not kill, willing him to do something on his behalf.
Doolin seemed unaffected as he rose to question Mattie. He asked if anyone else had visited her after Eugene had given her the cola.
"Yes," Mattie admitted. "I hadn't been feeling well, and my cousin, Minnie Anderson, came to take care of me. But she didn't touch that bottle. We had iced tea and some canned drinks which she brought with her. Eugene Austin and I were the only ones who touched the bottle and the other two bottles he left when he came back, after the time he brought me the case."
"The time he came back. Is that the time when he brought you the jar of cream he picked up for you? The last time?"
"Yes. He had a cooler he kept in his van and he left that bottle and two more, three bottles of cola all together. But as I said, Minnie never touched any of those."
"So he came to bring you the cream as a favor and left the cola for you so you wouldn't have to wait?"
"He did. I thought it was a kindness too, then." Mattie fixed her piercing blue eyes on Doolin. "When Minnie came, she brought cans of coke, she didn't touch those cola bottles or the cream jar. There was no occasion for her to."
"But, she was there after the bottles were left and she could have put something in the bottle if she had held it with a cloth to unscrew the top, isn't that so?"
Mattie hesitated a fraction of a second, "I don't know about that. But she didn't," Mattie stated a trifle too loudly.
Doolin shot a triumphant glance at the jury. "I have no further questions at this time."
Eugene didn't follow too closely the questions put to the clerk at the Crossroads drug store about his picking up the face cream. "I didn't hide the fact I picked up the cream for her," he reassured himself. "They'll have to do better than that."
The prosecution called Martin Elkins to the stand. Eugene stared in surprise. He wondered briefly what so slight an acquaintance could have to say.
"He's only worked for Rid-A-Pest for about thirty days at the most. I was still having to lead him around and explain things to him." Eugene reassured himself.
"Who is your employer, Mr. Elkins," Tidwell began his questions.
"I work for Plankton Investigations and Security."
Eugene's mouth fell open. He'd had no inkling Elkins was a company spy. He tried to remember if he'd done anything to arouse his suspicions.
"How long have you been at Rid-A-Pest here in Maryvale, and why were you there?"
"Our company was hired to find out why their supplies were being used so fast. If perhaps employees were careless; the warehouse was not being locked as it should have been; or if supplies were being stolen by some employees."
"And did you succeed in finding the problem?"
"Yes. Supplies were being stolen by one of the servicemen."
"Do you see him in this courtroom?"
"Yes, sir. It was the defendant, Eugene Austin."
A murmur rose as Doolin objected without being prodded by Eugene.
Anticipating this, Tidwell asked permission to approach the bench and practically tap danced over to show both the judge and Doolin several receipts for work Eugene had done. He also had a copy of the company log for that date which did not show the work order or payment received for the work. The judge so informed the jury.
Eugene would have cursed if he'd been able to. His eyes sought out the company spy, but Elkins would not look at him. Eugene clenched his hands into fists, his rage helpless.
Doolin sat down and did not question the witness.
The prosecution called the nurseryman who had employed Eugene part-time.
Eugene ran his finger around the collar of his prison shirt as if it were too tight. A feeling of being swept toward his doom was creeping up on him.
"Is it true that Eugene Austin had free access to the supplies at the nursery," Tidwell asked.
"Yes, as an employee, he did," came the response after a brief glance at Eugene.
"And isn't it true the pesticides you use contain arsenic?"
"Yes, sir, they're very effective in getting rid of garden pests." He glanced this time at the crowd, hoping perhaps he might get some business from this testimony. "And our rates are reasonable."
Eugene's eyes wandered around the room, resting anywhere except on the nurseryman or the jury. Suddenly, he froze. He sucked in a shocked breath and blinked. He looked again at the two faces which caught his attention.
"It's her," his panicked brain conceded." It's that damnably nosy cousin!"
Eugene was unaware he was holding his breath, wondering what that woman was doing there.
Somewhere in the back of his brain was the awareness of all the escape proof cords of the legal net tightening around him, but it was eclipsed by the turmoil those two faces brought.
He looked cautiously at Katie. Katie was sitting quietly, not looking at him. But, Katie couldn't possibly know, whatever that cousin and her husband were doing here, it couldn't have anything to do with Katie. No, no way.
His eyes went to her again. Sweet, trusting, Katie, who loved him. He knew she loved him.
Katie never once looked at him. She ignored him. He figured he'd have to do some tall talking, but he could manage that when he got this behind him and could get to Katie. To talk to her.
His mind wandered to Mattie's new book, hoping it would sell like the first one did. He thought of it as his. His accomplishment, his royalties.
He pulled his mind away from the dangerous cousin; the royalties on the cookbook, and the tall talking he would have to do to get back into Katie's good graces, never doubting he could handle all of that. He looked back at Tidwell as he replaced the cosmetic case on the table and continued.
"Having access to the two employers' supplies, the poison he stole from the exterminating plant and the poison he took from the nursery, the defendant put them in the cola and the face cream. He knew Mattie Carrington's sense of smell was impaired, and he knew she used the cream daily on her face and hands. He had even suggested she use the cream on her arms as well, because of her dry skin. He had almost unlimited access to both poisons."
Tidwell squarely faced Eugene, then the jury, "And he used them both in a cold-blooded attempt to murder Mattie Carrington!"
Eugene pulled his attention back to what Tidwell was saying. " So that cream is what he was getting at when I heard something said about my visiting," he thought, feeling sorry for himself. "Might know I'd get no credit for visiting her at all, or for the things I did for her and Katie. Katie, dear, pretty little Katie! I can't believe she's turned on me like this. She loved me! She won't even look this way. I've got to talk to her. She won't believe this, no. Not my Katie, she loves me."
The jury did not deliberate long. Eugene was so lost in thought, the bailiff nudged him when the judge told him to stand and face t
he jury. Feeling a little stiff, he rose from the hard seat. The room was silent.
Eugene felt like an animal caught in a trap, unable to move. Everything seemed unreal as he stared at the foreman of the jury.
The verdict was guilty.
Eugene was still in a state of frozen confusion, his mind reeling under the horror of being found guilty. He had progressed to the point of wondering what was going to happen to him next, when the two plainclothes men came for him. He didn't hear all that was said to him, but the men told him he was remanded to the State of Georgia.
As they led him out, he looked back at the nosy cousin and her husband. They were walking toward Mattie Carrington and Katie. A coldness settled around Eugene's heart, he did not look back again.
* * *
"Something's going on over there," Cathy touched Connie's hand as she nodded toward the other side of the aisle.
"I know, I've been watching too. I was going to wait until the crowd thinned a little anyway. I wonder who those people are? I know I've never seen them before, have you?"
"No, they're strangers to me," Cathy shook her head.
Cas, Laurence Fields, and the strangers, a couple about their age or a bit younger, reached Mattie and Katie about the same time and were talking to them, looking grim. As Connie and Cathy watched, Katie reached out and hugged the strange woman. Over Katie's shoulder they could see the woman's face. She was crying.
Connie felt sympathy for the woman without knowing what had brought on the tears, then a movement caught her eye. Cas was beckoning to them. The strange couple was leaving and was gone by the time she and Cathy reached Cas and the others.
"Let's adjourn this meeting to my office," Cas suggested when he could get a word in.
"I think we could all use a break now that the verdict's in. And I imagine The Smithy's turning away more people looking for coffee than the courthouse did for the trial. Gladys said she'd have coffee ready and some temptations to go with it by the time we get back there."
"That sounds good to me, but temptations? You surely aren't assuming we have any will power, are you?" Miss Minnie laughed at the idea.
"I've probably got lots," Miss Mayme defended herself. "I use it very sparingly."
"Me too," Connie nodded vehement agreement picturing cream or jelly filled pastries. She took Cathy's hand," Lead on to the goodies."
Cas ushered Mattie and Katie toward the door and Connie followed. Cathy fell behind a few paces. Laurence Fields took her arm and brought up the rear.
Good as her word, Gladys had both coffee machines in the break room full of fresh coffee and there were four bakery boxes on the counter. She got out plastic cups and opened a package of plastic forks. She grinned as she held up two packages of napkins.
"For those of us who belong to the finger lickin' good school of thought," she chuckled.
"Hand me a couple of those," Miss Mayme commanded. "I know Cas would order jelly or custard filled, I've got him trained."
Cas took the ribbing good naturedly and told Gladys, "Hook up that phone over there and pour yourself some coffee. I know you're dying to know what happened."
"Not dying, just almost," Gladys protested. "But thanks, I'll be back in a jiffy."
Connie was so full of curiosity, she didn't notice Fields when he moved his chair a bit closer to sit beside Cathy. As soon as Gladys had been told the jury found Eugene Austin guilty of attempted murder and he'd been sent to Georgia to face a murder charge there, she leaned forward and touched Katie's hand.
"Who was the lady you hugged when the trial was over, I don't remember ever seeing her before."
"They're from Georgia," Katie explained. "Her, her—that is—" Katie began to cry.
"Oh, Katie, I'm so sorry." Connie was contrite, the last thing she wanted to do was give Katie more cause to cry.
Mattie handed Katie a handkerchief. "Those people were not as lucky as we are," she told them. "It was because it was their cousin Eugene killed in Georgia that they came to the trial here." Mattie told them a little of what awaited Eugene in Georgia, stating the facts plainly about the woman's loss of her cousin.
"So that's why he was remanded to Georgia," Cathy asked Fields. "They've got a case against him in Georgia, too. But it will be a murder charge there?"
He nodded grimly. "They've got as much proof as we had by now. It was just a matter of getting the tests and the paperwork done. We've been in touch with them. Austin will pay for what he did. The frightening thing about it is there may have been more victims. Archie turned up two more marriages just in the states we covered. But this will put a stop to it. He will be put away for life even if he doesn't get the death penalty in the Georgia case. But, from what they told us, they have an airtight case against him."
"Thank goodness you didn't marry him," Connie said with feeling, reaching to touch Katie's hand in sympathy.
Mattie stiffened.
Katie hesitated then said quietly. "But, I did." She bowed her head briefly, "I did marry him."
Around the table, cups and pastries were arrested in mid-air.
Katie spoke softly. "After Mattie went to the cabin at the lake, we had been talking about getting married, and Eugene told me he wanted us to get married secretly, and not upset Mattie while she was working on her book."
No one spoke. It seemed like a cleansing purge to Katie, to talk about it. She studied her fingernails, her voice low but steady. "I didn't really approve of the idea, but he was so set on it. He said we would tell her when she came home, and all of us could celebrate our marriage and finishing the book at the same time. I felt it would be selfish not to share our happiness, and I didn't want to upset Mattie either, but I hesitated. I didn't feel exactly right about it. Then he said to get married secretly was better, more of a commitment, than being engaged would be. I was such an idiot, I believed him. I thought he was trying to show his devotion to me and was being considerate of Mattie at the same time. What a naive, gullible fool I was!" Katie's cheeks burned with embarrassment, her eyes downcast again.
"He was a confidence man, that's what he was," Mattie said emphatically. She looked at Miss Minnie and Miss Mayme, "He come into the bookstore and found out Katie was my sister and started working on her then and there. I've thought since, maybe he had already done the groundwork and knew a lot more than we thought he did."
Mattie touched Katie's arm, "You don't have anything to be ashamed of, Katie. His kind are good at what they do."
"They sure are," Cas agreed grimly. "They're predators who will stop at nothing and no lie is too big."
"I suppose, along with getting used to him and fond of him, it's a blow to my pride. The marriage wasn't consummated," she added, as if talking to herself as she looked back on what happened.
Fields and Cas shared an oblique glance.
Katie went on, "I invited him to stay overnight while Mattie was gone," Katie kept her voice level, trying not to show the depth of her misery and embarrassment. "After all, we were married. But he said he was afraid of what the neighbors would think. He usually left a little after the news, in case anyone noticed his car was still there. It all sounded so rational and reasonable the way he explained it."
She blushed, looking down at the doughnut in front of her as she spoke, "You'd think his not wanting to stay would have told me he was more interested in Mattie's money and royalties than he was in me. I really flattered myself!" A tear spilled over in spite of her. "I believed him, I thought he cared for me."
"Good riddance!" Mattie spat it out. "He didn't have sense enough to appreciate you. And that's enough, he's not going to spoil any more breaks and goodies for me. Let's drink to forgetting Eugene Austin!" Mattie held up her coffee cup.
"Hear! Hear!" Laurence Fields cheered. "May he rot in a Georgia jail with non-working air-conditioning." Fields raised his cup with the pronouncement then took a sip of his coffee.
"And may he not be able to get any spray net," Cas added vehemently, making everyone laugh.<
br />
Connie's eyes widened in astonishment when Laurence Fields gave Cathy a hearty, impulsive hug and a kiss on the cheek, giving Miss Minnie and Miss Mayme more cause for laughter.
No one seemed so affected but Connie. Miss Mayme was so full of jelly doughnuts and relief the trial was over, the laughter bubbled out of her at the expression on Connie's face.
Fields spoke to Connie, amused, "You're a classic pose of surprise, or I guess it's surprise. Do you have any objections to my dating your friend here? Speak now or forever hold your peace," he intoned solemnly, giving Connie his best intimidating stare.
Cas laughed at his dumbfounded wife. "No, you've got that wrong! She doesn't object to you or to you and Cathy. What she objects to is you two got together without any help from her. She gets into a lot of trouble being a nosy matchmaker and you two didn't even need her services!" He laughed heartily at Connie's expression.
"Nosy matchmaker, hum?" Fields raised an eyebrow, peering at Connie, "How do you plead?"
Cathy looked on, grinning, a witness to Connie's past machinations, but she took her hand and held it under the table for comfort.
Connie looked into the familiar faces around the table. Everyone there knew her too well to be able to deny the charge.
"Guilty, drat it! Guilty," she grumbled, daring Cas to laugh at her again.
Chapter 15
Cas entered the kitchen by the back door, sniffing the aromas which promised a good dinner. "Cinnamon? Do I smell cinnamon?"
"I made an apple crisp, not that you deserve it." Connie turned away from him and went on setting the table.
There was no welcoming kiss, no hug. Cas hung his head like a scolded puppy, "I guess I'll have to settle for apple crisp."
"Oh, well, I guess I'll forgive you. I always do, if you recall. That's probably the worst mistake I've made in training you." Connie grinned, her affection couldn't stay on hold for very long. She put down the plates, her arms going around him.
"That's better. Now I feel like I'm home." He put both arms around her as he kissed her, taking his hug, they held each other close.
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