Fruit of the Poisoned Tree

by Joyce; Jim Lavene

  “Why don’t you let me go and you keep watch?” Steve suggested as they pulled into her driveway.

  “As you’ve said before, I have a talent for this. Jonas might call me a busybody, but I prefer to think of it as research.”

  “All right.” He gave in as he let Shakespeare out of the Vue. The dog whined and pulled at the leash, trying to reach Peggy.

  “Let’s get him settled in and take care of it.” She patted Shakespeare’s head. “With any luck, we’ll have our answers and still be done in time for dinner.”

  PEGGY GRABBED A THRIVING red amaryllis from her kitchen before they left and put a Potting Shed tag on it as they drove back downtown. It was as simple getting into the condo as she thought it would be. The doorman knew Sam and the Potting Shed name. He was glad to finally meet Peggy.

  “I’m glad to meet you, too.” She endured his hearty handshake after she put the amaryllis on the bench near the door at the entrance to the plush, expensive condos.

  “You know, I’ve heard rumors the owner here is going to hire a new landscaping service, inside and out,” Tommy, the doorman, confided. “I was wondering if you might be interested. I was planning on giving Sam a call.”

  “That would be great.” She smiled, thinking how life worked in strange ways. “Should I get in touch with the owner or give you my card?”

  “Let me give you the owner’s number.” He wrote it out on a piece of paper and gave it to her. “I think he’ll be interested.”

  “Thanks!” She tucked it away. “I’ll give him a call.”

  “Nothin’ at all. I hope you get it.”

  Peggy walked quickly to the elevators after a peek at Steve waiting outside the building. She called Tommy when she reached number 17 on the seventh floor. He buzzed her into the luxury condo unit.

  Inside the elegant condo, nothing was out of place. Not even a smell of any kind. It was more like a high-dollar hotel room than a home. She put the amaryllis down on a table, not planning to leave it behind. With all the glare protection on the windows, there wouldn’t be enough light to grow a shade plant. Amaryllis loved sun. In this environment, it would shrivel and die. She couldn’t imagine anything living there anyway.

  What was she looking for? Contrary to her confident manner with Steve, she wasn’t really sure. She searched the kitchen for any sign of honey. There wasn’t anything edible in the room, poisoned or not. But it was very shiny and glamorous. Lots of chrome and beautiful inlaid black marble on the countertops. Like a kitchen from a magazine. She wondered if Gary had ever been in there. He didn’t seem like the type who cooks.

  She tackled the bedroom next. The bed was huge, with a large portrait of Gary on the wall behind it. There were mirrors everywhere. The black carpet muffled any sound as she walked into the room. She accidentally touched a switch by the door, and a cascade of light and sound streamed into the room. Multicolored strobe lights flashed across the bed.

  “So this is the way the other half lives,” she mumbled to herself with a wry smile.

  Peggy checked through the closet carefully. There was no sign of women’s clothing or shoes. There were no personal photos on the bedside tables. Nothing that could tell her if Cindy had been there. The immense bathroom with the black marble tub was the same story. It was like no one lived there.

  “I love you, Steve,” she said as she dialed Tommy’s number at the front desk, “but you’re not a great detective.”

  Tommy was totally understanding of the fact that she forgot to mention she had something for Cindy Walker as well. Apparently it happened frequently with multiple deliveries to the building. She picked up her amaryllis and carefully shut Gary’s door behind her.

  The buzzer sounded, and Peggy pushed open the door to Cindy’s condo. She knew she was at the right place as soon as she peeked inside. Clothes were strewn everywhere. Some of them were Cindy’s, but there was also some men’s clothing. Two wineglasses and two empty take-out boxes proclaimed the fact that Cindy had been there with someone else. Stationery from Lamonte, Rusch and Peterson had a shopping list scrawled on it.

  “Let’s take a look in the kitchen.” Peggy left everything like she found it. As soon as she saw enough, she planned to go back downstairs and call the police. She wasn’t sure how she was going to explain what she knew about Cindy, but she trusted it would come to her when the time was right.

  There were two quart jars of honey under the kitchen sink. Both were labeled with the handwritten date, September 9. She held the golden syrup up to the light, but there was no way to tell if it was poisoned without testing. On the kitchen table was one of Beth’s pretty tea mugs. It made her blood freeze to see it.

  She’d seen enough. She couldn’t quite make the connection between Cindy and Gary, but it was obvious it existed. If the police found the poisoned honey in Cindy’s condo, she had no doubt it would be a short walk to arrest Gary, too. Cindy wasn’t made to be a hero. She’d crack under questioning.

  “Peggy!” Cindy’s voice was accompanied by the distinct sound of a safety being released on a revolver. “How nice of you to visit!”

  “Confess now and save yourself.” It sounded quaint, even to her ears. But Peggy refused to be bullied by the younger woman in the pale blue designer dress just because she had a gun. “I know you didn’t make this honey.” She opened the cabinet door. “Help the police get the real killer.”

  Cindy looked confused for a moment. “What is that doing under there?”

  Quick to catch on, Peggy shrugged. “He was probably setting you up to take the fall in case something went wrong. Did he just hide these here today?”

  “Damn, worthless piece of crap! I knew I couldn’t trust him!” It was easy to see Cindy’s brain working hard enough to blow steam from her delicate ears. “Never mind. Pick those up. And give me your cell phone. We’re going for a ride.”

  There was a side door to the condos only used by the residents. Peggy went out of it ahead of Cindy while her cell phone rang just out of reach. It was probably Steve, wondering what was taking her so long. There was no way he could have seen the woman pull into the side street and use the private entrance. Some plans didn’t work out.

  “Where are we going?” Peggy asked her, conscious of the revolver pressed into her side under Cindy’s jacket. She carried both jars of honey carefully. One slip, and the evidence would be gone.

  “You’ll see when we get there,” Cindy vowed as she opened the door to her Cadillac Escalade and pushed Peggy inside. “Just sit there and hold the honey and you won’t be hurt.”

  Peggy did as she was told. She wasn’t in fear for her life so much as worried Cindy and Gary would get away with the murders they committed. She didn’t believe they wouldn’t hurt her. They’d already killed two people. What would stop them from killing her?

  But if she dropped the honey on the ground or if she tackled Cindy as she drove through the deepening dusk that enveloped the streets of Charlotte, she might never make the connection between Cindy and Gary. This way, she’d look them both in the face. She’d be able to accuse Park’s killer of his terrible crime.

  Just before they kill you. Her cell phone rang again. Steve would find some way to get upstairs at the condominium complex. When he did, he’d realize something happened to her. He’d see the amaryllis she left in Cindy’s condo. But will he realize Cindy kidnapped me? Will he know where I’m going? Will he get there in time?

  Peggy wasn’t sure how much satisfaction she’d get knowing the truth if she couldn’t do anything about it because she was dead. She wasn’t afraid to die, but she wanted to see the couple brought to justice. Unfortunately, it seemed she couldn’t have it both ways. At least not at that moment.

  Cindy drove the Escalade down Providence Road to Myers Park. Peggy frowned when she parked the SUV in front of a redbrick house, like Park’s, close to the Presbyterian church. “Get out.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “You’re going to have to see our little
lover’s spat, Peggy.” Cindy smiled as she shifted the gun to her free hand. “I hope you won’t be too offended. Bring the honey with you. You can be my witness.”

  Peggy picked up the jars of honey. The wind whipped her purple scarf free, and it fell to the ground. She didn’t move to retrieve it. Maybe it would help them find her if she had any chance of surviving.

  Cindy walked up to the heavy oak door and pushed it open without knocking, nudging Peggy inside the foyer before her.

  “Peggy!” Hunter greeted her. “You made it! I was beginning to wonder what happened to you. Where’s Steve? Who’s that with you?”

  “Move, bitch!” Cindy waved the revolver so Hunter could see it. “Where is that snake?”

  “SO IT WAS DAVEY all along.” Hunter sat beside Peggy in the dining room while they listened to the heated argument going on between David and Cindy in the kitchen. “He didn’t want to be with me. He used me. And he was sleeping with her. All I got were a few kisses and some worthless promises.”

  “Don’t feel too bad.” David had duct taped them to the dining room chairs after taping their hands together. Peggy squirmed, trying to get her hands free as a loud whack and a dull thud came from the kitchen. “I thought Gary was the killer.”

  “Dear old Dad.” David rejoined them without Cindy at his side. “He’d have a heart attack if he knew I took money from Lamonte, Rusch and Peterson. Point of honor and all that. Park came to me as a junior member of the firm to work with him on his will. It was like God sent him to me on a golden platter. He even confessed to me about Cindy. It was easy to get her to help me with the details.”

  “So you decided to poison him.” Peggy wanted to ask him about Cindy but decided now wasn’t a good time.

  “After adding myself to the will as executor in case Beth was unable to carry on. It was always my intention that the police would think Tomorrow’s Children killed him over the estuary battle. Poor Beth would succumb to her grief soon after.”

  “And you learned all about horse chestnut.” Keep him talking until Steve can find you. Although she had no idea how that was going to happen. Steve would probably go to Gary’s office looking for her. By then it might be too late.

  “Brilliant, wasn’t it?” he gloated. “I knew a man when I was growing up who lost all his bees to horse chestnut. Remember him, Hunter? Old man Jackson. He told me all about it.”

  “Yes. Davey, please—”

  “Shh.” He kissed her. “It will all be over soon. I’ve been working on this house for a while. But I’ve decided I don’t like it as much as I thought. And I’m thinking about taking a long trip somewhere. Just as soon as I transfer the Lamonte money to my name. In the meantime, I think there might be a tragic fire here. Three women. Only identifiable by their dental work, no doubt.”

  “But why Isabelle?” Peggy asked. “You were going to lose the money because it looked like Park committed suicide. She kept that from happening. Why kill her?”

  “It occurred to me Beth was going to inherit that estate as well. Why not have it, too? I made a big dent in the firm’s money. But now I find I’m not inclined to repair it. I have enough to start over. Maybe in Costa Rica. That’s a beautiful place. Have you ever been there, Peggy?”

  “No. But my mama always says what goes around, comes around. Killing us won’t end it.”

  “I thought you loved me,” Hunter whispered. “I thought we were going to be partners.”

  David was still just as clumsy, getting his foot caught in the white drape as he walked past the window. “I know you did, angel. Cindy thought I loved her, too. In a way, I love both of you. You were both so helpful.”

  “And you searched my house for the dragon’s head.” Peggy tried to keep the conversation going. How long had it been since they left Cindy’s condo? Thirty minutes? An hour?

  “That’s right,” he agreed. “My girl in the kitchen didn’t do a good job on that, did she? Alice had it all along. But I did have a helluva time going through that screwball place of yours, Peggy! Thanks for leaving it wide open for me.”

  “Not that it did you much good,” Peggy yelled as he started to walk toward the basement door. “You’ve done a lot of tail chasing.”

  He paused and smiled at her. “That’s true. But it all ends here. Good-bye, ladies!”

  As soon as the door closed behind him, Hunter fell sideways across Peggy, who thought she must be sick. “Hunter, it’s going to be fine. We’ll make it through this.”

  Hunter spat out a mouthful of silver duct tape. “I’m trying to get us free. Keep still. I don’t want to bite you. But I hope that gun is still in the kitchen. I want to shoot him right between the eyes!”

  “Good idea!” Peggy noticed the sound of his footsteps on the stairs after a few minutes. “He’s coming back!”

  Hunter sat upright quickly and spat out another piece of tape. “What do they make that stuff out of anyway? I mean, what is it supposed to be used for really?”

  “I started a little fire in the basement so you won’t get too cold waiting around here for help.” David grinned at them, madness lurking in the depths of his gray eyes. “Maybe the fire department will even get here in time. But with all the fresh paint and floor sealers, I doubt it.”

  Peggy could already smell the smoke, hear the popping of fire in the walls and floors beneath her. He was right. Even if they weren’t caught in the fire itself, the smoke would kill them. There was probably enough polyurethane in the house to choke a horse!

  David started to walk by her on his way to the front door. Without really thinking about what she was doing, Peggy put out her feet and tripped him. He fell hard and knocked his head on the corner of the table. He came up slowly, blood starting to run down his face. “What did you do, Peggy?”

  He put up his hand to stop the bleeding, and Hunter kicked him hard in the face. Without a word, he fell back down on the floor. This time he didn’t get up. Hunter didn’t wait to see what was going to happen. She growled and kicked him savagely again.

  Smoke was starting to fill the room. “Forget him! We have to get out of here.” Peggy coughed on the noxious fumes.

  Hunter leaned down and started biting at the tape that held her. “I can’t reach mine. I can try to bite yours again.” But she coughed, choking, and couldn’t manage to break through the tough tape. “It’s no use.”

  Peggy heard a new sound. Not the one she wanted to hear, sirens, but a good sound anyway. “Do you hear that? It’s Shakespeare! Come on, boy! We’re in here! Steve? Is that you?”

  “Peggy!” Steve yelled back through the dense gray smoke.

  “Mom!” Paul added his voice to Steve’s as they ran into the room. “We have to get you out of here!”

  “Cindy Walker,” Peggy choked out her name, eyes streaming from smoke. “She’s in the kitchen. She might be unconscious. Or dead. I don’t know.”

  “I’ll find her. The fire department is on its way,” Paul yelled over the noise of groaning wood and burning plaster. “Get them out, Steve.

  Steve used his pocketknife to cut through the duct tape that held them. Hunter and Peggy staggered from the house as the first fire truck pulled into the drive. Steve dragged David across the floor and out into the yard.

  He started to go back in to check on Paul, but the fire chief pushed him back. “No one’s going back in there, son.”

  “There’s a police officer,” Steve coughed as he tried to explain, “and another woman.”

  “We’ll get them out. You all stay right here.”

  Peggy saw Paul come out of the backyard with Cindy in his arms. He collapsed on his knees in the wet, brown grass, and firefighters rushed to his side. Paramedics held oxygen masks for Peggy, Hunter, and Steve.

  Another paramedic started toward David, but Hunter stopped him. “Don’t bother. You’ll save the state some money.”

  Peggy laughed until she choked, and the paramedic cautioned her. She smiled at Paul, and he nodded. Probably angry at her. But
it was all right. They were alive. Everything else was manageable.

  “HOW DID STEVE KNOW where to find you?” Sam wanted to hear every detail the next day.

  “He was smart and called Paul. They tracked my cell phone. Lucky for me Cindy brought it with us,” Peggy answered.

  “I still can’t believe David killed Park and Isabelle. Little weasel. I knew there was a reason I didn’t like him.” Sam stood behind the counter at the Potting Shed, pruning a tea rose for a customer.

  Hunter smacked him in the arm. “You were just jealous.”

  “Of a boyfriend who murders people? Yeah, right!”

  “Of any boyfriend.”

  “What happens with Beth now?” Sam asked Peggy. “Will she still have to be in the hospital for observation?”

  “No,” Peggy answered. “She’s home with Foxx and Reddman. She’s talking about moving to Salisbury with her parents.”

  “With that kind of money, she could live anywhere.” Sam shook his head. “Why live in Salisbury?”

  “It’s where she grew up. Having her family close by will be good for her and the boys.”

  “What about David?”

  Hunter crossed her arms protectively in front of her. “He goes away for a long time. And I give up Tae Bo for karate.”

  “And always carry a pocketknife,” Peggy finished.

  “In my boot!” Hunter laughed. “And I’m thinking about buying one of those garter belts that hold knives.”

  “Too much information!” Sam put his hands over his ears, lowering then slowly as Al and Jonas joined them in the shop.

  “Peggy,” Al said with a nod at the other two. “If we could have a minute?”

  Sam and Hunter went back into the storeroom, closing the door behind them. Peggy felt sure they were listening at the crack. She smiled as she said, “What can I do for you?”

  “Dr. Ramsey has suggested,” Jonas cleared his throat, “suggested we hire you to work with the CMPD on certain cases.”