by Carol Cox
She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “And that’s all I’m going to say on the subject, or I’ll probably dig myself in deeper.” She looked at Kate. “Let’s talk about your research instead. Were you able to access all the articles you needed from the Chronicle online?”
Kate couldn’t have asked for a more perfect opening. She took a deep breath and turned to Paul. “Speaking of research, there’s something I need to tell you. I meant to do it as soon as you got home, but I guess I got sidetracked by Camille’s visit.”
“Is this something the two of you need to discuss in private?” Livvy stood up. “Why don’t I go wash up the dishes and give you some time to yourselves?”
“No, you need to hear this too.” Kate waved her back to her chair. “I was doing some research on my illness this afternoon, trying to get a better idea of when I could expect to feel like myself again.”
“That’s great, hon.” Paul seemed relieved to leave the topic of the Sheppards behind. “I hope you found good news.”
“Not exactly.” Kate studied the faces of her husband and her best friend, then blurted out, “I think I’ve been poisoned.”
Chapter Twelve
You what?” Paul sprang to his feet.
Livvy looked equally stunned. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
Kate grimaced. “I really did mean to tell you earlier. I probably should have broken it to you a little more gently.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” Paul ran his hand through his hair and stared back at Kate. “What on earth would make you think a thing like that?”
“It’s all there,” Kate faltered, remorseful at giving them both such a shock. “On my computer, I mean.” She pushed her tray toward Livvy, who took it without a word, and then reached for her laptop.
“I kept thinking this didn’t act quite like any stomach bug I’ve ever had in my life. I felt so miserable at first that it didn’t really register, but once my head cleared up a bit, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Even after I got online, things didn’t make sense until I started researching the symptoms rather than the illness we all assumed it was.”
Bringing the laptop online, she pointed to her Internet browser, which had several tabs open.
“Look, I’ve marked several pages. See how this all lines up with the way I’ve been feeling?” Kate indicated different symptoms as she scrolled down the page. “It’s all there.”
She set the laptop to one side and looked earnestly at Paul and Livvy. “A stomach bug doesn’t have the lasting effects I’ve been experiencing, like the exhaustion or the memory issues. But several types of poison do.”
Paul plopped down on his chair, his face ashen. “So what exactly are you saying?”
Kate worried her lower lip between her teeth. “I know it sounds strange—”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“—but I honestly don’t believe this is a case of a simple bug. Somehow I must have come into contact with a toxin that did this to me.”
Tears pooled along Livvy’s lower eyelids. “That’s horrible, Kate! What do you think it was? Have you tried some new kind of cleaning product lately? Or a new spray on your flower bed?”
“No...,” Kate drew the word out, watching their faces closely. “I think somebody gave it to me.”
Livvy gasped. Paul’s eyebrows drew together, and his face took on the look of a threatening thundercloud.
A wave of gratitude washed over Kate. Both of them looked as horrified as she felt when the awful truth had dawned upon her.
Paul and Livvy exchanged a long glance. The mattress dipped under Paul’s weight as he sat down on the edge of the bed and gathered Kate’s hands in his. He looked down at their intertwined fingers and cleared his throat before meeting her gaze.
“Sweetheart, you’ve been put through the wringer lately.”
Livvy moved next to him and knelt at eye level with Kate. “It’s been a terrible ordeal. You’ve been so very sick.”
“Not to mention being cooped up in the house,” Paul said with a jovial smile quite at odds with his previous expression.
“Absolutely.” Livvy nodded vigorously. “Why, the isolation alone is enough to kick anyone’s imagination into high gear.”
“Imagination?” Kate’s voice rose a notch. “You aren’t saying you think I dreamed this up?”
“Not the illness.” Paul suppressed a shudder. “That was all too real. But think about it. You said yourself you weren’t thinking as clearly as you’d like.”
Kate pulled her hands away. “That was yesterday, when I was just starting to come out of it.”
Livvy patted Kate’s arm with a feather touch. “Maybe it would be a good idea to talk with your doctor.”
“I think you’re right,” Kate began. Then she realized what Livvy was getting at. “Wait a minute. Do you think I’m crazy? Both of you?” she added when she saw Paul and Livvy exchange another meaningful look.
Paul took a deep breath. “You said your mind is clear, right? Then think about it for a minute...a mysterious poisoner on the loose in Copper Mill?”
“Besides, who would want to hurt you?” Livvy’s voice quivered.
“I am not delusional!” Kate realized she had spoken louder than she’d intended to. She lowered her voice to a more reasonable tone. “This is not the product of an overactive imagination, or boredom, or cabin fever.” She paused, trying to get her thoughts in order before she continued.
“I didn’t start out trying to prove someone was out to get me. I was just frustrated at not getting better and wanted to find out how long it would be before I could expect to feel like myself again. I didn’t go chasing after that information; it came to me.” A lump formed in her throat. This wasn’t going at all the way she’d expected it to. She had imagined outrage and commiseration, but not disbelief.
“Maybe...” She caught her breath as a new idea took root in her mind. “What if it has something to do with my work on the fraud case?”
“You mean you think someone deliberately poisoned you because you’re trying to prove Lawton Briddle’s innocence?” Paul kept his voice even—a little too even, in Kate’s opinion.
After all these years, she knew her husband nearly as well as she knew herself. He was trying his best not to look skeptical, but she could see right through him.
“Exactly.” She pressed her point home, refusing to give in to his doubts. “If Lawton is innocent—and I still believe he is—maybe I was getting too close to learning who the guilty party is, and the real criminal didn’t want to be found out.”
“That would make it a lot worse than a case of fraud.” Livvy’s expression reflected her somber tone. “That would mean—” The doorbell cut off the rest of her comment.
“I’ll get it.” Paul’s frustration at the interruption couldn’t have been more obvious.
Livvy stood and sat beside Kate on the bed. “I’m not sure what to say, Kate. You’re scaring me a little bit.”
“I know it sounds bizarre, but—”
Paul walked back into the room, followed by Livvy’s husband Danny.
“I thought you might still be over here,” Danny said to Livvy, “so I swung by on my way home from Pine Ridge.”
Livvy rose to greet him, standing on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. “You picked up something to eat while you were out, right?”
“No, after I picked out the shingles, I started looking at power tools, and time got away from me. No problem, I’ll grab something when we get home. Are you about ready to leave?”
“Don’t feel like you have to rush off,” Paul said. “How does some stroganoff sound? We have plenty.”
“I’ll vouch for that,” Livvy said with a laugh. “Would you like to stay awhile? It’ll give you and Paul a little guy time.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Danny grinned. “Especially if I can talk Paul into watching the ball game with me while I eat.”
“SO
MEHOW I GET THE FEELING your mind isn’t exactly on the game.”
Paul raised his head and looked over at Danny. “What makes you say that?”
“The Braves just made a double play, and you didn’t even blink.”
Paul gave a rueful laugh. “I’m afraid you caught me woolgathering. Sorry, I guess I’m not very good company tonight.”
Danny propped his right ankle across his left knee. “I don’t think it’s a lack of hospitality. You look like a man with a lot on his mind. Want to talk about it?”
Paul grinned despite his concerns. He wasn’t used to sitting on this side of the discussion in a counseling situation. He started to shake his head, then stopped. Why not tell Danny what was going on? He’d hear it from Livvy as soon as they got home, anyway. And it would definitely help to talk it through and sort things out in his mind.
“That’s probably a good idea.” He looked at Danny, trying to decide how to ease into such an unconventional topic. “It’s been pretty hard to see Kate so sick over the past few days.”
“Yeah, I know.” Danny ran his fingers through his curly dark hair. “It’s tough to watch someone you love suffer. To my mind, it’s even worse than going through it yourself.”
“You’re right about that.” Paul spoke with feeling. “I’m not the best nurse in the world, but I did what I could to take care of her. And I’ve been encouraged to see her improving, even though she isn’t recovering as quickly as she’d like.”
Danny chuckled. “Livvy did mention that Kate was in a bit of an uproar over being laid up this long.”
“Spoken like a true diplomat. At any rate, she seemed to be making progress, but tonight something happened that made me wonder...” He cleared his throat, glanced toward the bedroom, then met Danny’s gaze. “She told Livvy and me a little while ago that she thinks someone poisoned her.”
To his surprise, Danny didn’t flinch. Instead, he pursed his lips and tapped his thumb against his knee as if weighing the merits of Kate’s shocking claim. “Does she have any idea who might have done it?”
Paul’s mouth fell open. “You don’t mean you seriously consider that a possibility?”
“Don’t you? Think about it. Ever since you two moved to Copper Mill, Kate has made a reputation for herself by sleuthing out the answers to all sorts of mysteries.”
“True, but that doesn’t mean—”
Danny held up his hand like a cop stopping traffic. “Hear me out. From what I’ve seen, Kate has a real gift for sorting through details and putting them together in a way that makes sense. Seems to me that she likes to weigh all the facts before she reaches a decision instead of jumping to conclusions...or at least she doesn’t voice those conclusions before she’s pretty sure of her facts. Would you agree with that?”
“Of course.” Paul realized he had answered without a moment’s hesitation. He knew Kate better than anyone—as well as he knew himself.
“Well, then? She does have an uncanny knack for being right.” Danny fell silent, allowing Paul the time he needed to process the statement.
Was Kate prone to fabricating unfounded claims? No, she wasn’t. Paul shifted on his chair, knowing that Danny’s reminder about Kate’s track record was true. On the other hand, she had been sick, maybe even sicker than he’d realized. And extreme illness sometimes produced hallucinations of one kind or another. Would a delusion about being poisoned fit into that category?
That had to be the answer. Because if it couldn’t be chalked up to some nightmarish misinterpretation, that would mean that someone had intentionally tried to harm his precious Kate.
Chapter Thirteen
You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”
“Of course not,” Livvy protested. “What a thing to say!”
“But you don’t believe that what I’ve been dealing with is anything other than a bad case of stomach flu.”
“Well...”
“It doesn’t matter.” Kate let the words drop out in a flat tone.
“Yes, it does.” Livvy lifted her chin, looking every bit the loyal friend. “It matters because it’s bothering you. Therefore, it concerns me too.”
Kate shook her head and sighed. Maybe Paul and Livvy were right. Maybe she’d let her imagination run wild and conjured up a far-fetched scenario that didn’t exist. After all, she’d been involved in solving mysteries before, some of them involving rather nasty characters. Her sleuthing had put her in danger’s path more than once, but never before had she come up with an idea like this.
“You know what is a little crazy?”
Livvy shook her head, looking a little wary. “No, what?”
“The idea that I’m actually upset at the thought that I might be wrong.” Kate managed a weak laugh. “I mean, think about it, Liv. Would any sane person be disappointed because they weren’t the target of some poison-wielding fiend?”
“Well, when you put it that way...” Livvy struggled to keep a straight face, then gave up and sputtered with laughter.
“It sounds like you’re having way too much fun in here.” Paul walked into the bedroom, followed by Danny. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, nothing much,” Kate said between giggles. “We’ve just decided I really am certifiable, that’s all.” She snickered, which was all it took to set Livvy off again.
The men looked on with bemused expressions while Kate and Livvy dissolved into helpless laughter. Finally Danny turned to Paul and shrugged. “I guess you had to be there.”
Paul’s lips quirked up in a wry smile. “I guess so.” Turning to Kate, he said, “How about getting dressed? We’re going for a little drive.”
Kate’s eyes widened. “At this time of night? What on earth for?”
“I’m taking you up to Pine Ridge,” Paul said. “Danny and I have been talking, and the best way I can think of to clear up this whole idea of poison is to get you checked out at the ER.”
“Can’t it wait until morning?”
Paul folded his arms and gave her his no-nonsense look. “We’ve waited longer than we should have already. Without any idea of how long a poison could be detected in your system, I don’t think there’s a moment to lose.”
LATER THAT NIGHT, Kate listened to Paul’s even breathing coming from the right side of their bed. She was glad he seemed to be sleeping soundly. After their visit to the emergency room in Pine Ridge, her thoughts were still in a jumble.
She’d been relieved to find Dr. McLaughlin on duty. He took her suspicions about being poisoned in stride but couldn’t make a determination based solely on the exam he gave her.
“The only way we’ll know for sure is to do a blood test,” he said. “That will tell us what, if anything, we’re dealing with, but I won’t have the results back for a week or so.”
And that was that. Paul only spoke a few words on their drive home, and Kate wondered if he felt as disappointed as she did not to have a conclusive answer.
She lay in the darkness, attempting to sort out the events of the past few days like someone trying to assemble a giant jigsaw puzzle. Except she didn’t know whether she had all the pieces yet, or even what the picture was supposed to look like once she was finished.
What she needed was perspective, a way to look past her own desires so she could determine the truth. Was she overreacting, as Paul and Livvy seemed to think? Had she become so frustrated over her inability to get back on her feet that she’d twisted the facts gleaned from her online research to make her illness seem more dramatic than it really was?
Did I, Lord? Help me to see clearly. She felt a vague sense of shame at the thought that she might have created a bizarre illusion in order to justify her inability to be out investigating.
Did I concoct this whole idea as an excuse? She pushed the idea away. The place she really needed to focus her attention on now was the situation with Lawton. And why, given the fact that the sheriff and everyone else in the community seemed satisfied they had an open-and-shut case, was she so bent on insisti
ng that Lawton was not the guilty party?
Tomorrow, she promised herself. She would address that first thing in the morning. She started to drift off to sleep when a scene popped into her mind with startling clarity. Kate blinked and shook herself awake. Had she been dreaming? No, this was no dream; it was a fragment of memory.
She had been coming out of Betty’s Beauty Parlor after having her hair done. She’d let Betty talk her into a manicure that day as a salute to the arrival of spring. Kate remembered pushing the door open carefully with her elbow so as not to mar the fresh coral-blush polish on her nails.
Lucy Mae Briddle, Lawton’s wife, hurried up as Kate exited the shop. Thinking that Lucy Mae had an appointment at Betty’s, Kate stopped and held the door open for her. To her surprise, Lucy Mae frowned and jerked her head to one side. When Kate didn’t respond, Lucy Mae’s frown deepened.
“I’m sorry.” Kate let go of the door and heard the small bell tinkle as it swung shut. “I didn’t mean to get in your way. I thought you were heading into the beauty shop.”
“No.” Lucy Mae let out a huff of air. “I’ve been waiting across the street. I need to talk to you.”
Kate glanced across Main Street to the Town Green, trying to imagine Lucy Mae lurking there waiting for Kate to come out. What on earth was going on? Lucy Mae was a regular at Betty’s. If she wanted to talk to Kate, it would have been the most natural thing in the world for her to stroll inside and discuss whatever she had on her mind.
“That’s fine,” Kate said. She nodded toward the shop on the other side of Betty’s. “Would you like to go into Emma’s and have an ice cream while we visit?”
“No!” A note of urgency colored Lucy Mae’s voice. She tugged at Kate’s arm and led her in the other direction along Main Street.
She looked...furtive, Kate thought. Yes, that was the word. Shifting her head from side to side and casting frequent glances over her shoulder, Lucy Mae reminded her of a character in a B movie, embarking on some cloak-and-dagger mission. She pulled Kate off of the sidewalk in a quiet, open area across the street from Copper Mill Presbyterian Church.