If Val were in a comic strip, she’d have a light bulb over her head. Did Bethany end up in the hospital and Oliver dead on the floor because of chocolate laced with caffeine powder?
Val restrained herself from rushing out of the room and calling Chief Yardley. He’d say she was jumping to a conclusion. Before calling him, she’d look at the chocolates Bethany had received. If they were homemade like Oliver’s, or commercially made and tampered with, Val would contact the chief right away. Otherwise, she’d wait until tomorrow.
“I don’t take any supplements,” Bethany said.
The doctor nodded approval. “Good. Drink a lot of water to flush your system. Skip the coffee tomorrow, or at least cut down on it.”
“Is it okay for me to go to work tomorrow?”
“If you feel back to normal in the morning and you don’t have a stressful job.”
“I teach first grade.”
The doctor smiled. “You might want to take a day off.” She headed for the door and said over her shoulder, “The nurse will bring you paperwork to sign and then you’re free to leave.”
“I’m so happy you’re okay.” Val hugged her friend again. “While you wait for the paperwork, I’ll get you a large bottle of water in the cafeteria so you can follow doctor’s orders. And I’ll call Granddad, because he’s worried about you too.”
After updating Granddad on Bethany’s status, Val told him what the doctor had said about powdered caffeine. “Bethany ate only one chocolate. I’ll check the rest. If they look fishy to me, I’ll call the chief.”
“Call me too. I’ll go online and research powdered caffeine.”
* * *
Forty minutes later Val parked at the curb in front of Bethany’s tiny house. Not wanting to upset her friend, she’d said nothing yet about the possibility that the chocolates left on her doorstep could have been poisoned.
Val accepted Bethany’s invitation to come in for an herbal tea nightcap. Her dog welcomed them when they went inside, swished her tail furiously, and leaped for joy.
Bethany bent down to hug the dog. “Hello, Muffin. I’ve missed you.”
Val scanned the surfaces in the living area to the left and the dining area to the right. A small white box sat on the dining table next to a silver gift bag. The box looked the same to Val as the one she’d seen in the Naiman kitchen, though Oliver’s gift had come in a green bag.
Bethany broke away from the dog, hung up her coat and Val’s, and said, “I’ll boil some water.” She took the lid off the box. “Have a bonbon while you’re waiting. They’re delicious.”
Muffin followed her into the kitchen.
One glance at the candy confirmed Val’s suspicions. The eight chocolates remaining in the box were the same size and shape as the ones she’d seen in Oliver’s kitchen, and had similar irregularities on the bottom edge. His chocolates and Bethany’s had probably come from the same mold and batch. Molds for eighteen pieces were common, and they’d each received nine. “I’ll join you in the kitchen for tea, Bethany, but first I have to make a phone call.”
Val walked across the living area to the end farthest from the kitchen and called Chief Yardley’s cell phone. She spoke to him with her hand cupped over her mouth so Bethany wouldn’t overhear. The chief said he’d come right over. She then made a quick call to update Granddad about the chocolates. He had some news for her too. What he’d discovered about caffeine powder chilled her to the bone. A teaspoon of it had more caffeine than twenty cups of coffee, and a tablespoon could be lethal. What’s more, the powder was odorless and tasteless.
After hanging up, Val went into the kitchen, sat across the tiny kitchen table from Bethany, and explained why Chief Yardley was coming.
Bethany blanched. “You mean if I’d eaten another bonbon, I’d have been sicker?”
Or maybe even dead. “Until the police test the chocolates, we won’t know for sure what’s in them, but with your symptoms and Oliver’s sensitivity to caffeine, it’s hard to believe those bonbons weren’t laced with caffeine.”
The doorbell rang. Bethany held Muffin while Val opened the door to Chief Yardley.
Bethany had a tiny living room, filled to capacity with oversize furniture. The chief looked like the last big thing that could fit in it. Officer Wade came in right behind the chief. Fortunately, he was slim and stayed in the dining area, collecting the candy and the gift bag.
Val perched on the pouf ottoman, the chief sat in an overstuffed chair, and Bethany sank into the plump couch with Muffin’s head in her lap.
The chief peppered her with questions. When and where had she found the gift bag? This evening, when she returned from school late after a faculty meeting, she’d spotted it to the side of the front door. Could she have missed seeing it on her way out this morning? Yes, she was always in a rush in the morning. The bag hadn’t been on the side of the door where it opened, but on the hinged side, and she could have missed it. Had she ever before found a gift bag near the front door? She hadn’t.
The chief sat forward on the chair. “We don’t know for sure that the chocolate was laced with anything, but I can’t take a chance. I’m putting out a bulletin tonight, warning against eating anything from an anonymous source. People don’t always hear police bulletins, so you two should also spread the word. Contact your friends and coworkers, and get the news out there as soon as possible.”
“I’ll alert the neighbors,” Bethany said.
“Not necessary,” the chief said. “We’ll have officers canvassing this street tonight to find out if anyone noticed that gift bag or any strangers in the neighborhood. The officer will give your neighbors the warning.”
“I’ll call my school principal. She can activate the telephone tree to warn all the parents.”
Val said, “I’ll tell my café customers tomorrow.”
The chief grunted. “I hope tomorrow is soon enough. After three nights in a row, I don’t want it to happen again tonight.”
Val was surprised. “Three nights? You’re including Jake’s gift even though it wasn’t chocolate?” And had cyanide, not caffeine, in it.
“The last thing Jake and Oliver ate came from a gift bag. That could have been a coincidence. Now, with a third case of an unidentified person leaving a sweet that sickened or killed someone, we have a possible copycat crime or a serial killer. That means I can put the chocolate analysis and Oliver’s autopsy on the fast track. And I may get more law enforcement assigned to the case.”
Val studied Bethany’s face. How was she handling the news that a serial killer might have gone after her? “Are you okay?”
Bethany took a deep breath and released it. “Lightning never strikes the same place twice. The bolt struck, and I’m still here, right?” She made a feeble attempt at a smile.
She was understandably worried, as was Val. The adage about lightning would apply to the poisonings only if chance dictated who the victims were, but did it? “Chief, do you think all three poison victims were random?”
He shrugged. “I only know one thing for sure—the two of you need to be very careful.” The chief stood up and pointed to the front door. “I see you have a peephole in your door, Bethany. If you hear a knock or a doorbell, check who’s outside before you open the door. Val, make sure you and your granddaddy look through the sidelight before unlocking the door.”
Val hugged herself, feeling chilled. “You think the serial killer, if we have one, might change tactics?’
“Our announcement will tell folks to beware of anonymous gifts. The killer will hear that warning, know we’re on to him, and possibly use a different weapon.”
“You used the word him, Chief,” Val said. “Is there a reason you think a man is behind this?”
“Serial killers—and murderers of any kind—are overwhelmingly male.”
“Isn’t poison considered a woman’s weapon?” Bethany said.
“Men are responsible for about half of all poisonings.” The chief walked to the door and the
n turned back. “I hope we find out that the chocolate was just chocolate. Until we do, don’t let your guard down.” He closed the door behind him.
Chapter 16
Val sighed and caught her friend’s eye across the coffee table. “Why don’t you come home with me, Bethany, so you don’t have to be alone tonight?”
Bethany petted Muffin. “I don’t expect a restful night, but I’ll do better in my own bed.”
“Then I’d like to stay here with you.”
“I appreciate that. The guest room’s ready, and I’ll leave a nightgown for you on the bed.”
“Tomorrow you can come with me to the café.”
Bethany shook her head. “I’m going to school in the morning.”
“Even though the doctor said to take it easy?”
“Sticking to the routine will take my mind off all this. And it’s better for the children not to have a substitute teacher. I’ll call my principal right now. She’ll make sure all the parents are warned. We don’t want a child to leave for school, see a gift of candy on a doorstep, and eat poisoned chocolates.” Bethany stood up and hugged Val. “Thank you for taking care of me.” She headed toward the bedrooms at the back of the house.
Val called Granddad to tell him she would spend the night at Bethany’s house and stop by the house in the morning to change clothes. She also passed on the chief’s advice to check who was at the door before opening it.
Next she called her cousin Monique. Val could imagine Monique’s two preschoolers gobbling up candy they’d found in a gift bag without telling their mommy, who frowned on unhealthy sweets. Val told her what had happened to Bethany and asked her cousin to warn other parents to check their doorsteps for anonymous gifts. She also asked Monique for any photos of Santa she’d taken at the festival. Val didn’t need to explain why. Monique had heard that Santa had been the poison victim and could guess that Val was trying to figure out who’d killed him. A photo of Santa with one of the suspects could suggest what type of relationship they’d had.
After talking with Monique, Val put her phone away. Last night she’d fretted that Bram’s departure from Bayport would ruin the holidays for her. Tonight the chances of a merry Christmas had gone from bad to worse. She paced from the living room to the kitchen and back, trying to contain the anger welling within her. Until now she’d viewed Jake’s murder as a puzzle to solve and Oliver’s death as a possible piece of that puzzle. But with Bethany threatened, Val had a personal reason to expose the culprit.
* * *
By the next afternoon Val would have been surprised to find anyone in the vicinity of Bayport unaware of the police bulletin. She’d heard it first on the radio while driving to work and several times on the café’s TV. The local station had interrupted regular programming all morning to repeat the police announcement.
The Bayport Police Department issued a warning against eating food from unknown sources. Town residents have become seriously ill after consuming candy left for them in a gift bag. Anyone who sees an unattended bag or box should notify the police. Investigations are underway to determine if these incidents are related to the poisoning death of a man last Saturday during the Bayport Dickens festival.
An effective warning, short and punchy, but it left out key information—that one of the candy eaters hadn’t just gotten sick, but had died. She assumed the chief was waiting for the chocolate to be tested before blaming Oliver’s death on it.
The café was busier than usual for a Wednesday, possibly because the frightening news had driven people together and made them crave company and comfort food. Val worked steadily from the time she opened the café until two in the afternoon, when she turned it over to Jeremy.
Her phone rang as she was climbing into her car. A woman who lived on Belleview Avenue canceled a holiday party Val was supposed to cater. She chalked up the cancellation to mischief by Elaine’s sister. Cyndi had apparently talked to a neighbor and made good on her threat to ruin Val’s reputation. If this was the first stone in an avalanche of cancellations, it would be a leaner Christmas than Val had planned. She’d have to reduce her gift budget, but that was the least of her problems.
On the way home she stopped at the library to talk with the new head librarian, Shantell, the only person from the volunteers’ tea Val hadn’t seen since the night Jake died. She spotted the middle-aged, dark-skinned woman through the glass partition behind the book checkout counter. Sitting at a computer, Shantell looked attractive and efficient in a navy and light blue sweater over gray slacks, a far cry from the frump in the shapeless dress she’d worn as Madame Defarge.
As a library volunteer wheeled a book cart into the room, Shantell turned away from the computer. She glanced through the glass wall, made eye contact with Val, and hurried out to greet her. “I’m glad to see you again. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
Exactly the question Val would have asked Shantell. “Yes.” She glanced at the library’s main room filled with bookshelves and library patrons. “Can we talk here or should we go outside?”
Shantell smiled. “Librarians don’t hush people the way they used to. Yes, we can talk here, but our meeting room isn’t reserved. Let’s go there.” She spoke to the woman checking out books and then led Val to a room with folding chairs around an oblong table.
Shantell sat straight in her chair as if on the witness stand. “I live around the corner from Bethany O’Shay. My dogs and Muffin are good buddies. When I was walking my dogs last night, I saw you go into the house with her. Later, the police knocked on every door in the neighborhood. From their questions and this morning’s police bulletin, I assume Bethany was one of the people who became ill from candy someone left for her. How’s she doing?”
“She felt bad last night so I took her to the emergency room. After a few hours, she recovered. She even taught school today.”
“I’m glad she’s okay, but the police announcement worries me. It suggested a connection between Jake, who died after eating a cookie, and the poison victims who got sick after eating candy. I can’t imagine two people with less in common than Jake and Bethany.”
“I agree.” Val didn’t understand Shantell’s point. “Are you saying that you don’t think there’s any connection?”
“Not exactly. Like the current Librarian of Congress, I enjoy reading mysteries. When I heard the police bulletin, an Agatha Christie book came to mind. It involves a killer who murders seemingly random people. The series of crimes distracts the police so they don’t focus on the one murder for which the killer has a motive.”
“The police aren’t distracted from Jake’s murder. He made a lot of enemies in the short time he lived here as you know. You and the neighbors who banded together to stop his real estate scheme won’t mourn him.”
“The neighbors who expected him to buy their houses might mourn him.” A note of bitterness had crept into Shantell’s voice. “Some of them have even implied I might have poisoned him. I was just trying to protect them from a bad deal. Jake was going to pay the sellers only half of the money upfront. They’d have to wait for the rest of it until he put up new houses and made a profit on them, a time that might never come. I managed to talk two people out of selling to him.”
“You were right to mistrust him.” Val summarized what the chief had told her about Jake’s previous real estate ventures. “With his track record, the chance of his paying what he owed your neighbors was slim. If they knew that, they’d be less likely to mourn him.”
“The wounds he opened up will take a while to heal. When they do, I’ll still be here. I’ll never sell the property I inherited from my grandmother to anyone for any price.”
“You must have fond memories of visiting the house.”
“I have fond memories of the garden. My life revolves around books, but my roots are in the ground. When my grandmother was young, during the Depression, the yard behind the house kept my family alive.” Shantell gazed out the window as if it offered a view into the past. �
�They grew their own food and raised chickens. The land is part of my family history. Bulldozing it to make room for a big house would be like digging up my grandmother’s bones.”
“I understand what you mean.” Val had similar feelings about the kitchen in Granddad’s house. It was where Grandma’s spirit remained alive.
“Librarians are good researchers, so I know all about your involvement in other murder investigations.” Shantell’s prominent brown eyes bore into Val. “I suspect you came here to pursue your research into Jake’s murder. I hope you got what you wanted from me.”
“Your view of Jake was what I wanted and got,” Val said. Shantell had pursued her own agenda, making it clear that she had nothing to gain by killing Jake. In fact, he had a motive to kill her, the holdout who could prevent his real estate scheme from going forward.
The librarian glanced at her watch and stood up. “My break is about over, but I have one more thing to say. Whoever killed Jake and tried to poison two other people is ruthless and won’t hesitate to kill again. You’d be wise to leave this case to the police.”
“Thank you. I appreciate the warning, and I’ll be careful.”
Those weren’t empty words. A couple of times in the past, Val had gone toe-to-toe with a murderer. She’d rather avoid that trauma, especially with a serial killer. Yet she couldn’t stop thinking about who was behind the poisonings and why anyone would target Bethany.
Each time she’d talked to a woman with an apparent motive to kill Jake—his wife Jewel, his jilted fiancée Holly, and his business nemesis Shantell—Val came away doubting that the woman had killed him. They were all sitting at the table when the ghost delivered the gifts. But Franetta hadn’t yet arrived for the tea. She’d had the opportunity to disguise herself as the ghost, but no apparent motive for killing Jake. Maybe the files on Jake’s thumb drive would point to someone else as his murderer.
Gingerdead Man Page 14
