Eat, Pray, Die Mystery Box Set

by Chelsea Field

  “Would you like a cup of tea?” she asked. “I’d offer you a sandwich, but I fed all my bread to the turkeys. How can anyone say no to those sweet faces?”

  Connor and I exchanged a look.

  “A cup of tea would be lovely,” I said.

  She pointed to a tattered floral couch. “Sit down there, and I’ll put the kettle on.”

  We sat. I found a turkey feather trying to stab me in the butt and placed it on the armrest. Kate returned carrying a tray with a couple of mugs, sugar packets that looked like they’d been lifted from a café, and a jug of milk.

  “Now, what’s this about my Dana?”

  “Do you have any pictures of her?” I asked. Years of customer service had taught me people loved showing you pictures of their kids, even if they weren’t on great terms with them anymore. I guess the photos reminded them of happier times.

  “Of course.” She got up and grabbed a picture off the nearest display cabinet. From what I could see, all the other frames held portraits of turkeys. One had a bow tie. “Here she is when she was fifteen, just a year before she left me.”

  Connor and I looked at it.

  It was teenage Dana Williams, holding a turkey.

  I suspected the turkeys might have something to do with why she didn’t talk about her past. “Where did she go when she left?”

  “I don’t know. She ran away and didn’t see fit to tell me. I hoped you might have news for me.”

  “Why’d she run away?” Connor asked.

  “That’s what I’d love to know!” Kate flapped her arms as if they were turkey wings. “She was a teenager, I guess. I thought that’s all it was at the time. Thought she needed some space, so I gave it to her. I didn’t like my parents none too much at that age either. But she still hasn’t come home.” She lowered herself back into her chair as if she felt every one of her forty-four years.

  I experienced a rush of sympathy for her.

  “Could she have gone to stay with her father?” Connor asked.

  “Her father? Pfft. He didn’t even know she existed.”

  “Did Dana know who her father was?”

  Kate deflated again. “Well, I sure never told her. I didn’t want her to get stars in her eyes and follow him. Nothing wrong with raising turkeys. But she was always asking me about him as a kid. She must’ve figured it out before she left, because she found my memory box and took the picture of him and me from it.”

  She sank deeper into her recliner. “I don’t think she went straight to him. Reckon I would’ve heard about it from him, if nothing else. But I saw her and Josh together in some celebrity gossip magazine just recently, so she must have caught up with him at last.” She snorted. “Would you believe the stupid reporter thought they were a couple? But then, he didn’t even get her surname right neither.”

  For the first time since sitting down, she picked up her cup of tea and took a sip. “It upset me at first—that Josh was with her and I wasn’t. I thought about tracking her down, but I guess I was hoping she’d come back to me of her own volition, like my turkeys do when I let them roam.” Her gaze had drifted past us, as if she’d forgotten we were in the room.

  Connor pulled a photocopy of the clipping out of his pocket. “Was this the photo of yours she took?”

  Kate looked at it, and her eyes went misty. “Yep, that’s it. It’s one of the few pictures we had of us together.” She started to hand it back, but hesitated. “Would you mind if I kept it?”

  “Go ahead,” said Connor. “Sorry to ask, but are you sure Josh Summers is Dana’s father?”

  “Hell yes, I’m sure. At the time I got knocked up, he was the only one I’d ever played hide the hot dog with.”

  I fought back a smile. “If you don’t mind me saying, you don’t seem to dislike Josh. Why didn’t you tell him you were pregnant?”

  She looked down at her hands and started picking at a bit of skin around her thumbnail. “We loved each other, but after that car crash, every time he looked at me it just made him remember how he’d killed Henry. He left a few months later, straight after graduation, and I thought it was best for him if he stayed gone.”

  “Yes, we wanted to talk to you about how he killed Henry,” Connor said, without batting an eye.

  “Oh turkey shit,” Kate said, “He didn’t kill no one. I just meant he felt guilty about it.”

  “We both know that’s not true,” Connor said.

  I tried not to let myself give away his bluff.

  Kate searched our faces. “You guys aren’t reporters are you? Or cops?”

  “No, ma’am,” Connor said. “We work for a company that’s protecting Dana and Josh.”

  “Don’t call me ma’am. It makes me feel old.”

  “Yes, ma— Ms. Williamson.”

  “How’re you protecting them, then?”

  I was leaving this one to Connor.

  “Josh hired us. We think someone could be trying to harm or blackmail them, and we’re working to prevent it.”

  “So, did Josh tell you what really happened?” she asked.

  I jumped in. “He finds it painful to talk about, so we wanted to ask you for the full story.” I pulled her letter out of my pocket, improvising as I went along. “But he gave us this letter to help us find you.”

  She stared at it for a second. “Damn, I was angry when I wrote that. It was after I first saw that picture of him and Dana together in that magazine. Like I said, I couldn’t figure what right he had to see our daughter when I haven’t for so long. I raised her by myself you know, just her, me, and the turkeys.”

  “You must have done a great job too if she’s so successful now,” I said.

  “I guess so.” Her eyes went down to her lap. “It was a terrible accident. We’d been to a party and Josh was driving us home. I was in the backseat behind Henry. All of a sudden, there was something on the road, so Josh swerved and we hit a tree. Josh and me were wearing our seat belts and were just banged around a bit, but Henry wasn’t. He flew straight through the windshield, busted the whole thing. Josh got out real quick to check on him, but it was too late.

  “We sat outside the car in shock, waiting for the police to show up. Then I remembered reading about some guy who’d gone to prison for killing someone in a car accident. I knew Josh’d been speeding. Maybe fifteen miles an hour over the limit. Neither of us wanted him to go to prison, so we agreed to say I was in the front passenger seat, Henry was driving, and Josh was behind him—so the seat belt marks matched up, see. The whole windshield was gone, so you couldn’t tell which side he went through.” She looked up at us. “Henry wouldn’t have minded. Josh and him were best friends, and it wouldn’t make a difference to him no more.”

  “Have you ever told this story to anyone else?” Connor asked.

  “No. I promised Josh I never would.”

  “Not even Dana?”

  She shook her head. “Especially not Dana.”

  Connor stood up. “Thank you so much for your time.”

  “And the tea,” I added.

  Kate searched our faces again. “If you see Dana, could you tell her… tell her I miss her?”

  A large part of me wanted to spill out the whole truth: that her daughter was fighting for her life, and she might never see her again. But Dana was a private person and hadn’t contacted her mother in years. Who was I to overrule that decision for her? There was no way the Taste Society would let Kate see her either, and Dana was in a medically induced coma, so it’s not like they’d get a chance to say goodbye.

  The best outcome for everyone was to make sure Dana survived.

  “I’ll tell her, Ms. Williamson, if I can,” I promised.

  She picked up the turkey feather that I’d dug out of my backside and placed on the armrest. “Take this with you. To remind you,” she said. “Dana used to love collecting their feathers. You should have seen all the necklaces she made with them.”

  I took the feather, and we waded back through the turkeys to
the car.

  20

  “You did well in there, Avery,” Connor said. “Do you want to pick up something to eat for the drive home?”

  I put my hand to my heart. “You’re finally starting to understand me.” We stopped at Panda Express, and I was glad to see they didn’t offer turkey on the menu. I ordered honey sesame chicken, shanghai steak, and spring rolls with a side of mixed veggies and a soda.

  “Are you sure you don’t want anything?” I asked Connor as he handed me my bag of goodies.

  “I’m sure.”

  I started on the spring rolls and took a sip of soda to wash down the salt. At first I thought the soda must be a weird Chinese version of Mountain Dew. Then I realized it was drugged. With niohydramine, which was potent enough to put a charging bull to sleep. I spat what remained of my mouthful back into the cup. “Connor! Did you drug this?”

  “Damn,” he said, without bothering to look at me. “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice so I could enjoy the drive in peace.”

  I wanted to hit him, but his lecture on my attitude and acting was still fresh in my mind. Plus, I was about due for another test, especially if I wanted him to pass me in just eight more days. I returned to my food.

  “Are you going to eat all of that?” he asked after a few minutes.

  “What’s it to you?” I made sure to keep my body language friendly. Even if he was calling me fat.

  “I wouldn’t mind a bite.”

  “I thought you weren’t hungry.”

  “I thought you were going to fall asleep and I’d get the leftovers.”

  “In that case, I am definitely going to eat all of it.”

  Connor watched me shovel the food down my throat. “I’ll tell the higher-ups you gave your car to a criminal.”

  I handed him the remains. At least he hadn’t said another car to a criminal. Maybe the pimply teenager didn’t count.

  “So,” I said, “now that I’m not going to be sleeping all the way home, why don’t you try picking a topic of conversation.”

  “Tell me how you think the new information impacts the case.”

  I shifted around to give my butt, which was growing numb after sitting for so many hours, some relief.

  “Well, it could explain why Josh seems a bit paranoid and doesn’t have any close relationships. And why he was so uptight when we asked about blackmail. But I don’t see how it’s related to Dana.” I thought about it some more. “Unless someone who knew Henry somehow found out that Josh was driving and wants revenge. But how?”

  Connor considered this. “In a small community like the one they grew up in, it’s possible somebody remembered them leaving the party and saw Josh driving, or even passed them on the road. But why wait twenty-six years to act on it?”

  “Unless the person who saw Josh driving only recently mentioned it to someone who loved Henry.”

  “It’s possible,” Connor said. “We’ll ask Josh about it.”

  “Okay.” I wiggled again to make myself more comfortable. There was nothing more we could do on the case until we got back to LA, and the sky had grown dark, so there was nothing to see out the window. Even after giving Connor half my meal, my stomach was full and content. I yawned.

  I found the appropriate lever and angled my backrest down as far as it’d go. “I think I’ll catch a nap.” I didn’t need to see Connor’s face to know he must be pleased. “You can even listen to classical music if you want.” I was feeling generous. After all, I’d neglected to admit before that road trip rules among my family and friends stipulate the driver picks the music.

  I let out a final, jaw-popping yawn and fell asleep to the strains of Vivaldi.

  Somebody grabbed my arm. I yelped and lashed out. Then I woke up properly. Connor was sporting a fresh scratch across his cheek.

  “Oops,” I said.

  He gave me a look. “You could have warned me you’re dangerous to wake up.”

  “I didn’t know I was. It must be this case making me jumpy.”

  “Uh-huh. The case. Nothing to do with Mr. Black.”

  I gave him a bright smile. “Not anymore. Not after I took care of him this afternoon.”

  Connor lifted his eyes skyward for a second. “Let’s go and have a chat with Mr. Summers.”

  We made it to the doorstep before Connor’s phone rang. He spoke for a minute, disconnected, and turned to me, his mouth set in a grim line. “Bad news, Isobel. Dana had a heart attack.”

  Shock hit me like a right hook to the gut. She couldn’t die. She wasn’t allowed to.

  “They’ve stabilized her again, but the doctor says the toxin is causing progressively more damage. At the moment, they’re managing her symptoms, but they won’t be able to stay on top of them as she gets worse. She’s heading fast toward irreversible organ damage.”

  I forced the words out. “How fast?”

  “He said if her deterioration continues at the current rate, about sixteen hours.”

  My Panda Express rose to the back of my throat, and I swallowed hard to stop it splattering all over Josh’s door.

  Connor knocked before I had a chance to compose myself, and Josh opened the door, as usual. Privacy comes at the cost of forgoing house staff. “Come in. You said you have news? Is Dana okay?”

  My stomach heaved again. No she isn’t, I wanted to yell.

  “Why don’t we sit down,” Connor suggested.

  Josh led us to the living room, and we took the same seats as last time. I kept my mouth firmly shut and concentrated on keeping my meal where it belonged while Connor relayed the doctor’s news. I would’ve liked to shut my ears as well. Hearing it again made it more real.

  Josh looked like he was going be sick too.

  “But that’s not what we came to talk to you about,” Connor said. “We visited Kate Williamson today.”

  Josh flinched. “What? Why?”

  “Is your Shade out of earshot?”

  “Yes, he’s gone home for the evening. What’s this about?”

  “We know you were the one driving when Henry Smythe died.”

  I blinked, and it was like someone had grabbed the cheerful and confident celebrity that everyone knew and loved, and replaced him with a doppelgänger. His features were the same, but somehow his golden skin looked sallow, his chiseled features blurred, and his green eyes tormented. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

  “Please be assured, Mr. Summers, this is covered by the Taste Society’s confidentiality policy. We’re only concerned about this to the extent it might impact your case. It’s possible someone is trying to avenge Henry.”

  Josh gave a slow nod, and I watched as his face transformed again, this time to a shadow of its former self.

  “Kate swears she hasn’t told another soul about it. She only told us after we proved we were working to protect you. We’re wondering if anyone could have seen you leaving the party that night and getting into the driver’s seat. Or if someone might have passed you on the road and noticed you driving?”

  Josh was silent for a long time. “It couldn’t have been anyone passing us on the road. It was pitch-black, and they wouldn’t have seen anything except headlights.” More seconds ticked by. “We said our goodbyes inside, but I think Patrick… Patrick MacCallum it might have been, left at the same time we did. I remember because I was surprised to see him at the party. Most of the people there were in our grade, except for a few girls who were dating seniors, but he was a grade below.”

  “Do you remember anything else about him?”

  “No. I’m not even sure that’s his last name.”

  “Who would’ve been most affected by Henry’s death?”

  Josh crumpled in on himself as if he couldn’t bear to think about it. “His family. The rest of us, we were just kids, and no one was as close to Henry as I was. He had a girlfriend, but she was dating someone else not long afterward. His family though…” His voice cracked. “No parent ever recovers from burying their kid. And his little siste
r adored him.” He got to his feet. “Excuse me, please.”

  Connor and I waited in silence while Josh pulled himself together in the other room. He returned a few minutes later, his green eyes rimmed with red.

  “Kate Williamson told us something else, Mr. Summers,” Connor said.

  Josh slumped on the sofa across from us, his body language conveying he was too weary to care.

  “She said that Dana Williams is her daughter. And yours.”

  Tactful, Connor, tactful.

  Josh’s head jerked up, and his red eyes latched on to Connor’s with scary intensity. Connor held his gaze until Josh made a choking noise and looked away.

  “H-how?” he managed to get out a few moments later.

  “Kate said you were the only one she’d ever slept with when she found out she was pregnant. She didn’t tell you because you’d already left, and she didn’t want to force you to come back after everything that happened.”

  Josh put his hands over his mouth, as if to stop the choking noises coming out of it. His eyes were wet again. I studied the pattern on the rug, wishing I could give him more privacy.

  Minutes passed. The noises quieted, and I heard Josh take a deep breath.

  “Did Dana know?” he asked.

  “We believe she did,” Connor said. “She requested to work with you, and we’re assuming it’s why she had the newspaper clipping in her apartment. She must’ve wanted to get to know you before deciding whether to reveal herself as your daughter.”

  I realized they were talking about her in the past tense. “Does,” I said. “We believe she does know. She’s still alive. We can still save her.”

  Both men turned to look at me, and I experienced the full weight of their combined gazes. Then Josh nodded, Connor followed suit, and the air lightened, just a fraction.

  Connor rose to leave. “Sorry for the unfortunate circumstances around this news, Mr. Summers. If you believe in God, now would be the time to pray we find her poisoner.”