by Cindy Kline
“My, don’t you look nice, lass.” She looked at Molly’s boots. “Don’t fall down and break your neck. You have a tendency of being a little—what is it you call it? Oh, yes, gravity challenged.” She smiled.
“I’ll be careful. I just wanted to look a bit more professional when I visit Moore Plastics,” she said as she warmed up her tea. She went to the hall closet and started pulling out umbrellas and totes, along with winter clothes, hats and boots, when Gran came and stood beside her.
“My, but you’re making a mess. Just what are ya lookin’ for, may I ask?”
Molly pulled herself out of the closet. “I’m looking for the box with Mrs. Riley’s notes on the garden. I thought I stuck it in here.”
Gram sighed heavily, then went to the dining room and opened the door to the buffet that used to sit in the house she shared with my grandfather. It was a piece she loved, so she moved it in here. She pulled out a box measuring the size of a piece of large paper and set it on the table.
“There you go. Now make sure you put all of those things back in the closet before you go.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Molly felt ashamed in her own house. She finished putting everything back but remembered to take her hooded, long winter coat out and set it on the chair so she didn’t have to open the closet when she left. Then she went over to the table and opened the box. Mrs. Riley had noted the date when she’d begun the garden, including the information on all the flowers she’d originally planted fifteen years ago. For some of them, she even included pictures. She had cut some out of magazines. Others were pictures she must have taken herself. She had notes of any pest issues she’d encountered and how she disposed of them. Many notes were included, such as, “Mabel lost to Irene this year in the gardening contest for the best roses. She was livid! Mine are coming along, but I think it will take two more years before I enter.”
Molly smiled as she came across a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Riley taken at a garden show of some sort. They were sitting at a small table with a white tablecloth laid across it and a vase of blue flowers in front of them. They were both smiling, looking into one another’s eyes. Molly almost cried. They’d been so happy together. At least they were together now. She skimmed the next few pages, her eyes stopping at only the names of flowers she’d added to the garden. She’d noted the year they added the fence and how she was determined to win the rose contest at the following year’s garden show. There were more pictures, even one of her parents taken several years before. They were also smiling, sitting at a table with doctor and Mrs. West. Mrs. West was holding up a blue ribbon, but Molly couldn’t read what it was for. She turned the page and smiled at the first entry, “I won!” There was a picture of her winning roses. They were beautiful. They were blue, and she’d made a note of how she’d propagated them and the two flowers she’d used. Molly remembered seeing that same type of roses in the backyard over the summer.
Molly kept going through the book until she was almost to the end when she finally found an entry concerning aconite. Mrs. Riley had written, “Mabel talked me into planting aconite in my garden. I told her I would plant only one because it’s so dangerous. I must make sure I wear gloves whenever I touch it.” There was a picture of a blue flower that looked like it was wearing a hood. Molly remembered reading that it looked like it was wearing a monk’s hood, hence its nickname.
Molly checked the diagram Mrs. Riley had included in the back of the notebook, written in pencil so she could erase it if needed. The aconite plant was in the back of the garden on the right side. Molly was wondering if she could dig it up when her doorbell rang. She put everything away, put it back into the buffet and made her way to the door. She stood on her tiptoes and looked through the windowpane above her head to see who it was.
“Great, Inspector Elliott, just who I wanted to see this morning,” she took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face as she opened the door.
DI Elliott didn’t wait for an invitation. He just barged on in, stopping at the edge of the laminate floor of the foyer. Another gentleman, about five-nine, with dark hair and a mustache and quite good looking, looked at the DI and then at her. Molly waved him in and shut the door.
DI Elliott turned to look at her, “Ms. McGuire, we are here to finish the search warrant from yesterday. This is Dr. Hector Stewart from Listowel University. He’s here to examine your garden.”
Molly held out her hand to the professor, “It’s nice to meet you.” She turned toward the living room. “The garden is that way. If you’ll excuse me while I get my coat.” She picked it up from the chair and slipped it on, then turned around to introduce the two gentlemen to Gran, but they had already walked out into the backyard, with Luna on their heels. Dr. Stewart bent down to pet Luna, looking back at Molly with a smile.
“Great dog.”
Molly smiled as she pulled up her hood. The rain had let up, but not much. “Thank you.” There was a chilly breeze coming off the ocean, so she buttoned up her coat and went to pull her gloves from the pockets, forgetting there weren’t any, so she stuffed her hands into her pockets.
She knew where the plant was from the diagram of the garden she’d found but wasn’t in the mood to help DI Elliott. Besides, she wanted to know if the professor knew his stuff.
Molly stayed close to the house to stay out of the rain, but she watched as the two men walked around the garden. Luna was no longer paying attention to them. She was too busy chasing an old fall leaf, the wind picking it up and tossing it around. The puppy nabbed it with her paw and then sniffed it. Realizing it wasn’t edible, she moved on to the garden. Professor Stewart was bending down and examining a plant in the area where the monkhood was, and there was a huge grin on the face of her least favorite DI. A few minutes later, they walked toward the house.
“The professor here says there is monkshood in your garden that could have killed our victim.”
The professor held up his hand, “No, that’s not what I said. I said the plant we found was monkshood. However, it’s in its dormant state. The plant, as it is now, would not be dangerous enough to kill anyone.”
“Well, she could have stored it from when it wasn’t in the dormant stage, though, couldn’t she?”
Molly rolled her eyes. “Even if I did, which I didn’t, wouldn’t you have found it when you searched the house last night?”
He squinted his eyes like he was trying to curse her with some evil spell. “You could have it elsewhere, like at the bookstore. I guess we’ll just have to get a search warrant for there as well.”
He opened the door into the house so hard it bounced off the wall. The professor looked at her and said, “I’m so sorry about this. I’ve worked with the Garda before, but not with this DI. I feel like I should apologize for his behavior.”
They walked into the house, Luna following them, and she shut the door. “There’s no need. He’s been acting like this from the beginning. I fear he has tunnel vision where I’m concerned.”
He smiled, showing his straight, white teeth. “I must ask you if I may come and visit you next summer. Whoever laid out that garden knew what they were doing.”
“I would like that. I’m afraid I know little about gardening. The woman who planted it has since passed away, so I would appreciate any advice you can give me.”
Gran was wiping her hands on a dishtowel when she came out of the kitchen and held out her hand. “And who might you be, sir?”
“Oh, Gran. This is Dr. Stewart from Listowel University. Dr. Stewart, this is my grandmother, Colleen Kennedy.”
Gran and Dr. Stewart shook hands, and then she turned to DI Elliott, her smile fading. She walked up to him and said, “And you’re the so-called DI who thinks my granddaughter tried to kill Mr. Pierce. If I wasn’t such a friendly person, I might just tell you what you can do with your accusations, young man.”
DI Elliott’s gaze narrowed as he looked at Gran, his eyebrows looked like bushy caterpillars. He turned around and left.
As soon as the two left, Molly looked at her grandmother. “Oh, Gran, I hope you didn’t make things worse.”
“I’ve seen men like him before. They’re basically bullies. All you have to do is stand up to them, and they cower and go away,” she gave me a smile. “Like he just did.”
“Well, I’d hoped when they found nothing last night that he would look for other suspects, but after this, he’ll probably concentrate even harder to pin this on me.”
Molly said goodbye to Gran and Luna and drove to the bakery to see Reanna. She needed something sweet to make up for DI Elliott’s visit. Mr. Parks, the local mail carrier, was just about to enter as Molly walked up to the door, so he let me walk in first.
“Good day, Ms. Molly.”
“Good day to you, Mr. Parks. How are you today?”
“Sinuses are acting up a little, but other than that, I’m well.” He pulled a stack of mail out of his bag and went to put it on the counter, but there was no room. Reanna was rearranging her display case to find room for the several holiday treats currently stacked on the counter. He looked at the stack of mail in his hand, then the counter, and then back at the stack of mail and frowned. Reanna popped her head out and smiled.
“Good morning, you two.”
Molly smiled, “Love the elastic hat. I’m sure it’s going to be all the rage next season.”
Reanna just grinned as she went to take the mail, then noticed her plastic gloves were dirty.
“Mr. Parks, would you hand it to Molly, please?”
A look of relief came over his face, and he smiled. “Be happy to, Miss Reanna.” He handed the mail to Molly. “Oh, by the way, Talia should be home today. She may call you about going back to work, if you have a need for her, that is.”
“Mr. Parker, do I ever! Poor Ciara only wants to work part-time but has been working almost as many hours as I am. So, yes, please have her call or text me.”
“Will do!” He turned around to leave. “You two girls have a wonderful day now.” He walked out the door.
Reanna and Molly looked at each other and laughed. “Girls?” Reanna said.
“He probably remembers us as girls. He’s been delivering mail forever.”
“Is Talia the teenager you had working for you over the summer?”
“Yes, and she did a wonderful job. I was hoping she’d want to work during the holidays, but I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t joking about Ciara working too many hours. I feel bad taking her away from her children so much.”
“Three kids under the age of six? She’s probably glad to have the excuse! Hold on until I put these holiday cookies in the case, and I can take the mail.”
“Can you save me about six of those cookies? It’s been an awful morning already.”
Reanna looked at her watch. “It’s only nine-fifteen.”
“Yes, and I’ve already had a visit from DI Elliott this morning, who came to my house with a professor to check out my garden for monkshood.”
“How can they tell? Isn’t everything dead?” She pulled out six cookies, added them to a paper bag and handed them to Molly. She went over to the tea urn, poured Molly a cup and handed that to her as well. Molly’s hands were full, so she handed Reanna the mail.
“Good trade-off.” She smiled. “Why don’t you go sit down, and I’ll join you.”
Molly took her tea and cookies and went to the condiment station where she added sugar and stirred. She was just sitting down when Reanna joined her, another cup of tea in one hand, a letter in the other.
Molly took a bite and moaned. “Oh, these are good. I taste…almond?”
Reanna nodded as she sat down. “In the frosting. A new recipe. I take it from the moan it gets your approval?”
Molly took a sip of tea and swallowed. “Most definitely. They are superb.” She took another bite.
Reanna opened the envelope and took out the enclosed letter and looked at it, then frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Molly asked, washing the second cookie down with some tea.
“You know how I mentioned I requested a copy of my original birth certificate?”
Molly’s mouth was full, so she nodded.
“This is it.” She looked at me, her eyes wide. “This says Henry Pierce is my father.”
Chapter Fifteen
Molly looked at Reanna’s stricken face. Oh boy, now what should she do? She put the unfinished third cookie back in the bag, her appetite suddenly lost. Reanna handed the paper to her. Molly wiped off her fingers and took it from her. Sure enough, where it asked for the father’s name, it said, “Henry Bruce Pierce.”
“Maybe you should talk to your mum.” She handed the paper back to her.
“Molly, isn’t he the man who you found unconscious?” Reanna looked at Molly, tears in her eyes. “How could she lie to me like this? For thirty-three years!” She looked at the paper again, then back at Molly. “This whole time, I thought Da…was my Da.”
Molly put her hand over Reanna’s. “Owen West is your father, regardless of what that piece of paper says. He’s the one who raised you, who taught you how to ride a bike, how to take a blood pressure.” This made Reanna smile. That was a fun girl’s weekend when we were thirteen. Dr. West had decided we should do something more constructive than painting each other’s toenails, so he taught us how to take each other’s blood pressure instead, saying it would come in handy someday—not so far.
Molly pulled out her phone and handed it to Reanna. “Call her.”
Reanna punched in her mother’s number, put the mobile to her ear and then handed it to Molly. “I can’t,” she said as she ran from the table.
Molly took the mobile and put it to her ear. “Mrs. West, this is Molly.”
“Yes, it has been strange not talking to you for so long and then every day for the past three days.” She smiled.
“Were you aware Dillon and Reanna are making plans to take a trip to France?”
“Not really sure when, but Reanna realized she lost her passport.”
“I’m sure she looked everywhere for it. The problem is…she ordered a new birth certificate.”
“Yes, and it came today.”
“Yes, she noticed.”
“She’s a little upset, yes. You might want to come to the bakery as soon as you can.”
“Thanks.”
Molly disconnected the call and went to find Reanna. Mrs. West owned a travel agency two blocks from the bakery, so it wouldn’t take her long to get there. Molly found Reanna in the kitchen, pulling out ingredients and setting them on the counter.
“Your mother is on her way,” I stepped into the kitchen and looked around. There were two long metal counters, each with the largest stand mixer she’d ever seen set on top, both spotless. There was a large pantry on the wall, currently standing open, with large bags of flour, sugar, brown sugar and all kinds of chips and other goodies she added to her cookies. Next to it stood her industrial-size refrigerator and freezer, and on the other side of the room, four ovens, stacked two-by-two.
“You still bake when you’re upset. Good to know you’ll keep my brother in baked goods. We all know he’s one to push everyone’s buttons.”
She turned to face me. “I’ll have you know your brother is one of the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful men I’ve ever met.”
Molly just nodded, deciding not to remind her about last week’s phone call. She and Dillon had gotten into an argument, and she was complaining about how exasperating he was and how she wanted to lock him in her industrial-size freezer.
“I’m sure your mother had her reasons, Reanna. I think you should give her a chance to explain.”
“Explain? How is she going to explain that a man who I’d never even heard of until recently is my father?”
Before Molly could say anything, chimes rang on the front door. A few seconds later, Mrs. West came in, dressed in a pair of navy wool pants and a light-pink turtle neck.
“Mrs. West, where’s your coat?” Molly asked.<
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She looked down at her clothes. “Oh, I must have forgotten it in the rush to get here.”
Molly went out to pour her a cup of tea, straining to hear what they were saying as she did so.
“Reanna, we need to talk.”
“So, talk. I’m right here.
“There was a reason I didn’t tell you about Henry.”
“You mean my father, don’t you?”
I came in and handed Mrs. West a cup of tea. She took it from me and leaned against the counter, wrapping her hands around the cup.
“Your biological father, yes.”
There were a couple seconds of silence, so Molly decided this was a good time to go. “Um, I think I will take off and allow the two of you to talk, if that’s okay.” She looked at Reanna. “I’ll pay you later, unless you want to figure out how much I owe you now.”
“Don’t worry about it. They’re on the house,” Reanna was measuring out flour and didn’t even look at me.
“Um, okay. Thank you.”
Molly looked at Mrs. West, “Goodbye,” and then mouthed, “Good luck,” left the backroom, grabbed her cookies and left quickly out the door.
Molly got in her car and set the bag of cookies on the passenger seat, reminding her she had a couple of bags of cinnamon rolls in the car somewhere. She checked the floor of the passenger side, then the backseat. She found the two bags sitting on the floor, so she grabbed them and added them to the passenger seat. They were both sealed, so she hoped they were somewhat fresh. Looking at the bag of two made her think of Henry. She said a quick prayer for his recovery.
Molly started the car and made her way to Moore Plastics. She had fifteen minutes to make her appointment, so she should be on time. She couldn’t help but wonder how the conversation between Reanna and her mother would turn out. It’s bad enough to find someone other than the father you’ve known for the past thirty-plus years isn’t your father, but then to find out your biological father is in a coma and may not live? That’s pretty hard to take. She made a mental note to contact Reanna later and check on her as she pulled into Moore Plastics’ parking lot.