by Diana Orgain
Finally, I put on my running shoes and filled a water bottle. It had been a while since I had had time to run and I felt anxious for some physical exertion. The sea air would calm my nerves. I set out to run on the beach. The sun was low in the sky still, only beginning to warm up our ocean-side property. I zipped up my jacket to protect me from the light breeze that buffeted me as I ran.
The repetitive action of putting one foot in front of the other actually seemed to increase my brain function. I suddenly found myself reviewing the case again.
What did I know?
Someone had killed Fran and Darla. Lois had been to Verdant Vines on Monday the day Darla had been killed. Lois’d been upset with Fran … And the police were staking out her location …
Before I could really decide anything, I found myself on the path toward Magnolia Street and Kitty Corner. I perused the street, but the unmarked car I’d seen Brad and Ellington in yesterday was nowhere to be seen. Despite the early hour, I’d have bet Lois was at the store, prepping for her grand opening.
I marched purposefully toward the front door, although I was full of doubt, I pushed my shoulders back and tried to give myself an air of confidence.
What the heck did I think I was doing?
Was I actually planning to accuse Lois of murder?
I peered into the front window and every hesitation I had vanished. In the middle of the room, Lois stood over a man who was seated in a chair. The man’s back was to me, but Lois was in plain sight. She was ranting; her hands flying around, her face angry.
Shock jolted my system as I recognized the man in the chair.
Oh, no!
It was Grunkly.
I was right! Lois killed Fran and Darla and now she was going to kill Grunkly if I don’t stop her!
Fear struck me immediately, propelling me into action. I pounded on the window like a crazy woman, pumping a fist into the Plexiglas repeatedly. Inside, the kittens on the tree tower scampered away, frightened. On the outside, the yellow grand opening banner, which had been strung across the façade, came loose and rained down upon me. I batted it away, swinging at it furiously.
Lois ran to the doorway, Grunkly swiveled around in the chair. In his hand was a chocolate-covered strawberry that he dropped to the floor. From his lap, a gray kitten bolted toward the back of the shop. Both Grunkly’s and Lois’s faces mirrored my own fear and shock.
The chocolate-covered strawberry … from the fruit basket!
Max had eaten one and had gotten sick. And then there was Rachel’s salmonella. Had Lois given her a fruit basket and poisoned her?
Brad’s voice echoed in my head about salmonella being a terrible way to try and kill someone, but I couldn’t ignore Lois. What if she was trying to poison my Grunkly!
Lois opened the door and ripped the banner away from me. “Maggie! Maggie! Are you alright?”
She grabbed at me, but I pushed her away. “Let me go!” Rushing inside ahead of her, I screamed, “Grunkly!”
“Maggie! Is everything all right?” Lois scanned the street. “Are you in danger? Who are you running from?”
My heart pounded so ferociously, it felt as if would explode through my chest. I rushed toward my great uncle. “I’m here now. Everything is going to be fine.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking confused. “Has something happened?”
“Should we call the police?” Lois asked. Her face looked panicked and she pressed a hand to her heart.
“Yes! Call the police!” I screamed. “In fact, they’re probably listening in now.”
Lois frowned and glanced nervously around the room. “Listening in?”
Grunkly looked as confused. “What’s going on, Maggie?” He got up from the chair and came over to me. He placed a soothing hand on my arm.
Adrenaline coursed through me causing me to shake.
Grunkly patted my hand. “There, there, honey. Calm down.”
“Lois is a murderer! She’s already killed two people. I won’t let her hurt you. You didn’t eat any strawberries, did you?”
“What are you talking about?” Lois asked, puzzled. “I’ve never hurt anyone.” Again, she glanced around the room. “Why would the police be listening in? What did you mean by that?”
I pointed an accusing finger at her. “You wanted Fran out of the way after she bought this building and wanted to have you evicted. You went to see her that night at her shop. Maybe you tried to bargain with her, but she refused you and you killed her. I know because while you were there you left a piece of evidence.” I fumbled for my bag and realized I didn’t have it. I searched the far wall of carriers and collars, but didn’t immediately see a match to the gem I’d found.
It doesn’t matter. The match is here somewhere, I know it.
“A jewel from a collar or one of those carriers,” I motioned toward the display shelf.
Lois shook her head. “No, Maggie. It isn’t true. I never hurt Fran. Why, I never even stepped foot into that shop. That woman was toxic. I never would have confronted her.”
I ignored Lois’s denial. “Then, it was you that almost ran Yolanda and me off the road.”
Lois looked to Grunkly for support. “Ernest, honestly, I don’t know what she’s on about.”
Grunkly pushed the chair he’d been sitting in, toward me. “Maggie? Do you need to sit down? You look very flushed.”
“Why did you do it, Lois?” I pressed
“Do what?” Lois asked.
“Kill Darla. You went up to the vineyard on Monday, the same day Darla was killed.”
“Maggie,” Grunkly said, grabbing ahold of my arm. “Maybe you should sit down.” He flashed an apologetic look to Lois.
Lois pressed her lips together and nodded, as if accepting my great uncle’s apology.
They think I’m insane.
Discomfort swept through me, either I’d gotten everything terribly wrong or Lois was a better actress than I’d bargain for.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a car pull into a parking spot across the street.
“You’re a killer!” I shouted at Lois. “And the police know it, too! They’ve been staking you out!”
“What?” Lois exclaimed.
From the vehicle across the street, Brad and Ellington emerged. I raced to the front door and swung it open. “Help! Help!” I screamed. “Lois kidnapped my great uncle! She was trying to poison him.”
“Kidnapped?” Grunkly asked.
Brad and Ellington jogged over. An orange kitten darted through my feet and out the open door. Lois squealed and ran after the cat. “She’s getting away!” I called.
Brad hesitated, torn between chasing after Lois and getting to me. Ellington turned on his heel and chased after Lois.
“What’s happened?” Brad asked.
I grabbed his arm. “She did it! Lois is the one.”
Brad shook his head, looking from Grunkly to me. “What?”
“I came by here and she was screaming at my great uncle. Her face was angry, twisted. I had to stop her.”
“No, no,” Grunkly said. “She wasn’t doing anything to me. I came to adopt a cat.”
“What?” I asked.
Grunkly looked around the shop, but all the kittens seemed be to hiding. “Where is she? The little gray. Have you seen her? She’s darling.”
“Lois was standing over you. She was gesticulating wildly. I thought she was going to kill you!”
Grunkly laughed. “Oh, no. She was telling me a story. She’s a hoot! She’s a wonderful storyteller. She was telling my how Fran behaved when Lois told her she wanted to do whatever possible to keep the store lease. That woman Fran sounds like a piece of work.”
“Well, what about the strawberry?” I demanded. “She was making you eat it.”
“Making me? No. She wasn’t making me. She offered me one. She brought a fruit basket to the house the other day, you remember?”
I shook my head. Frustration was boiling up in me, making me fi
dgety and angry. “Max ate one of her strawberries and got sick.”
Brad reached out to me. “Maybe he’s allergic. Lois dropped off one of her baskets at the station the other day. Everything got swallowed up in nothing flat.”
I grabbed Brad’s hand for support. “You must think she’s guilty. I saw you and Ellington yesterday, staking out the place.”
Brad frowned. “Staking out the place?”
I pointed across the street. “You were both there in the car. Ellington had on a headset. I assumed he was listening in on some kind of wiretap or something.”
He shook his head. “We weren’t staking it out. Ellington had dry cleaning to drop off. He was on his cell phone, talking to Cornelia. I had to wait while they made a date.”
A rock formed in my stomach as, I glanced across the street to the dry cleaner. “Uh…” I stuttered. “The gem.”
“Hmm?” Brad asked, leaning in closer to me.
“I found a gemstone at Chic Chickie, I thought it might have come from one of these collars.”
Brad glanced around the room. “I don’t get it,” he said. “What does a gem have to do with this?”
“The other day, I saw that a lot of the cats here had on bejeweled collars. I thought the gem might have come off one of them. That maybe Lois had one in her bag or something, and it fell out.” My reason sounded off even to my ears.
Brad frowned and blinked at me. “So what if it did?”
The rock in my stomach grew. He was right. Even if the jewel had come from Lois or one of her cats’ collars, what did it prove? That she’d been inside Chic Chickie. Yes, but it didn’t mean she’d pulled the trigger.
The rock inside my stomach turned to nausea and I gripped the chair Grunkly had offered me earlier.
Lois bustled back into the shop, cradling the runaway cat in her arms. “Thought we lost Little Archie for good this time! He’s an escape artist.”
Ellington stood outside the shop in the doorway and sneezed.
Brad gave me a sad look.
He thinks I’m crazy or pathetic or both.
He stepped closer to me and put a hand on shoulder. “Can I give you a ride home?”
I nodded, turning to Grunkly. “Do you need a ride also?”
He shook his head. “No, I want to finalize the deal for the cat.” He looked hopefully to Lois.
She smiled wickedly. “Oh! I was going to hold off on all adoptions until our opening tomorrow. But who can resist you?”
“I’ll need a carrier,” he said. “And a litter box, too. Maggie, do you want to help me pick something up?”
I shook my head. “Stay away from the bejeweled stuff,” was all I could mutter.
Ellington stayed behind to patrol the neighborhood, but I knew that was just an excuse to give Brad and me a chance to talk.
My skin prickled as I got into the police cruiser. I felt great disappointment building inside me. I’d accused a nice woman of a double homicide because I’d found a green gem in a store. What kind of logic was that?
I’d built a finance career in New York. Things used to add up in my world, and now I’d made a complete mess of things.
Brad drove me home in silence.
When he pulled into a parking spot across the street from my apartment house, I asked, “Do you want to come up for a few minutes? Have a cup of tea or something?”
He didn’t answer but got out of the car and followed me up the stairs. A chill was overcoming me, either from still being in my sweaty running clothes or from the Brad’s silent treatment.
Once inside my apartment, he said, “Please give me the gem, Maggie.”
“The one from Chic Chickie?” I asked.
He nodded. “I’ll admit it into evidence.”
I frowned. “But you told me it was nothing. That it meant nothing,”
“It doesn’t prove anything by itself. But it’s my duty to admit it into evidence, even if it doesn’t amount to anything.”
“I understand,” I said, but for some reason my feet remained rooted to the ground. Finally, I asked, “What about our rain check for lunch at the Charcoal Corral? Can you break away today for lunch?”
Brad bit his lip and glanced at his watch. His body language was not in my favor.
“Are you mad at me, Brad?” I asked.
He looked down at his feet and sighed. “I’m being considered for a promotion.”
“That’s fantastic!” I said.
He shifted, rocking his weight to his heels, slowly distancing himself from me. “It’s a big deal, yeah. It’s something I’ve been working toward for a long time.” His eyes remained on mine as if he was trying to communicate something to me without actually having to say it.
“And?” I asked.
“It doesn’t reflect well on an investigating officer when there’s a private citizen running around town accusing people of murder.”
“I’m sorry, Brad. I’m so sorry. Let me get the jewel.” By the expression on his face, there was more he wanted to say now that he’d warmed up to the topic, but I suddenly felt the heat and I wanted anything but to hear whatever he had to say next.
“It especially doesn’t look good for the officer if he’s dating said citizen.”
I flinched.
He said it out loud. There is no unhearing it now.
My heart cramped up and it felt like the wind had just been knocked out me, replaced by a searing pain.
I left him in my living room and retreated down the hallway. In my bedroom on my nightstand table was the green gem. It rested on my journal. I hesitated, then picked up both items.
When I returned to the living I handed them to Brad.
He examined the journal, turning it over it in his hands. “What’s this?”
I felt hollowed out, but I had nothing left to lose. “It’s my journal. It was taken the day someone broke into my apartment. I found it at the vineyard, when Max and I found Darla.”
Brad stiffened. “You found this where, exactly?”
“It was in the bedroom where we found Darla.”
Brad’s eyes bore into mine. “You took this from the scene of the crime?”
My mouth went dry and I had no words.
“I thought you wanted to help us find the killer, Maggie. Why would you take a crucial piece of evidence?”
“I … I don’t know. I…”
Brad exploded. “You don’t know? Tampering with evidence is a criminal offense! It’s actively interfering with an investigation.”
“I didn’t do it to interfere—”
“What other possible explanation can you have?” he demanded. “Sergeant Gottlieb is going to go through the roof. Do you know we arrested a man—”
“Hendrick, yes, I know.”
“He can sue us. But that’s not the worst case. Now a killer is free to strike again.”
A suffocating sensation tightened my throat. It was my fault. All my fault. “It was stupid,” I whimpered. “I didn’t think. I just wanted my journal back.”
I couldn’t say all the rest of it. That I hadn’t wanted to be embarrassed with him reading my innermost thoughts. It seemed so shallow now in comparison to catching a criminal.
Brad spun on his heel. “I have to get this over to the lab immediately. See what prints they can pull off of this besides yours and mine.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
After Brad left with my journal, the gem, and a piece of my broken heart, I wallowed in self pity, serving myself an enormous bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream topped with chocolate sauce and a heaping pile of unsalted peanuts.
How could I have been so stupid?
Lois? A killer?
The same nice lady who could have been my grandmother? What was I thinking?
I laid down to take a nap and ignored the fact that my phone kept ringing. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone about anything.
When I awoke, my mood was only slightly better. How could I have messed up the relationship I w
as building with Brad? Why hadn’t I been able to see that my poking around would inevitably cause problems for him?
I recalled my talk with Ellington on the beach. He’d inferred that I was selfish. He’d been right. I’d dismissed Brad’s requests to stay out of things for my own selfish motives.
My door buzzed and I fought the urge to ignore it. I slumped down the hallway to open the door for Yolanda and Beepo.
“Maggie! Why aren’t you answering your phone? Is the battery dead?”
Before I could answer, she said, “You look awful! What’s happened?”
I collapsed onto the couch and tucked my feet under myself as Yolanda took the seat next to me. I told her about my morning, about accusing Lois, about mistaking that Grunkly was under a threat, and, worst of all, about Brad cutting ties with me.
She frowned. “I can’t believe it! He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s crazy about you. It’ll only take a couple days, you’ll see. He’ll come around here, checking up on you, and before you know it you two will be holding hands and splitting a milkshake over at the Charcoal Corral.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I really messed this one up,” I said.
She poked my ribs trying to get me to smile, but I wasn’t ready to be cheered up out of my funk.
“Just wait until he’s promoted, then he’ll be over here soon enough. You’ll see,” Yolanda said. “But play the game a little differently next time.”
“I’m not playing games.”
“Well, that the problem,” she said. “You have to play it a little. When relationships start out, one person is the pursuer and the other is the distancer. He got nervous that you were pursuing him too hard and now he’s put some distance between you.”
“That’s ridiculous. What? Did you read it on some dating site or something?”
She grinned. “Of course. They all say that!”
I sighed and waved away her cheeriness. “I wasn’t pursuing him anyway,” I lied.
Beepo sniffed at my hand, waiting for me to stroke him between the ears. When I didn’t move, Yolanda said, “He knows you’re upset. He’s not going to have it.”