Poison Me

by Checketts, Cami

  She rubbed her forehead with aching fingers, hoping to ease the pounding of her skull. Then she pulled her hand away and held it out in front of her. When had those ugly veins poked through the thinning skin of her hands? Her turn came. She drew a 10 and immediately placed it onto the discard pile.

  “Anne would appreciate us playing her favorite game,” Ellie reassured Ruby.

  Marissa drew a card. “You should be resting,” she said to Ruby, flashing her newly acquired joker around the table for all to see. With a smirk, she replaced her queen and tossed the high-points card at Ellie.

  “Thanks,” Ellie muttered.

  “I already tried to rest.” Ruby brushed impatiently at a stray hair. “Every time I close my eyes, I see Anne struggling to catch a breath and coughing. That cough was horrible. I kept praying for her to stop coughing, but then…” She shuddered. “Oh, it was awful. Wasn’t it, Ellie?”

  Ellie shrugged her shoulders and focused on her cards.

  Ruby glanced past the manicured rear gardens, studying the forest flirting with the southern edge of the canyon. Anne had loved exploring the paths in those trees, and now Ruby would have to explore alone. “It was just a cold,” she said. “I can’t figure out why someone would take Anne away from us. She was still so young.”

  Ellie snorted. “Give it up, honey. She wasn’t that young.”

  Ruby’s gaze snapped from the view to her cynical friend’s glare. “She was seventy-five.”

  “And that’s some young filly?” Ellie pushed the vase of fresh-cut daisies to the side, the emerald color of her eyes intensified as she challenged Ruby.

  Ruby drew a 9 of spades and slammed it onto the discard pile. “It is when you’re seventy-two.”

  Marissa patted her hand. “You got a lot of life in you for an old lady.”

  She yanked her fingers back and snapped them at Marissa. “Don’t give me that baloney. I’m only six months older than you.”

  Marissa smiled and said in a singsong voice, “Still older.”

  A rush of warm air announced a visitor. Ruby’s grandson, Jake, strode through the sliding glass doors. His dress shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. His tie was loose, his dark hair unruly, his face rough with a couple day’s growth. Marissa sighed and drew bright pink fingernails to her heart.

  Ellie fluttered her salon-enhanced eyelashes. “If that isn’t the hottest man I’ve ever seen.”

  Marissa gasped. “That’s a crude word, young lady. He’s not hot.” She whistled, twisting a lock of white hair into place. “He’s fine.”

  Ruby ignored her friends and smiled at Jake. How she loved the boy she’d raised as her own.

  When he reached them, he bent and kissed her cheek. “I came the first break I had. How’re you holding up?”

  Ruby breathed in his warm cologne and felt wetness building behind her eyelids. She hadn’t cried when Anne stopped breathing. She hadn’t cried while she and Ellie waited twenty minutes for the paramedics. She hadn’t cried as the policeman scoffed at her story of foul play, then covered her friend’s body with a thin sheet and helped the mortician haul her away. But one kind word from her grandson, and Ruby turned into a blubbering imbecile.

  Ruby blinked. “Sit down, sweetheart.”

  He pulled out a leather-upholstered chair and reached for her hand. “How are you?”

  “I’m okay.” She sniffed.

  Jake tilted his dark head to the side and lowered his long-lashed eyes. “Don’t you lie to me. You look upset.”

  Ruby bit her lip, wiping at a tear that escaped. “I’m…” She searched for a cuss word that was strong enough. “Flippin’ mad.”

  Jake lifted one eyebrow. “Grandma, such strong language.”

  Ellie chortled. “You almost got her to swear, Jakey.”

  Ruby clenched her jaw as heat flooded her face. “Well, I am darn mad. It wasn’t Anne’s time. Someone killed her, and the policeman thought I was an idiot.” Her eyes narrowed. “He said, ‘Old people just die.’ The punk.”

  “Are you mad at the police, or upset because one of your closest friends is gone?” Jake asked.

  Ruby looked away. “A little of both.” She exhaled slowly. “No, you’re right. I’m more upset about Anne. Hang the police.” She stared at her grandson for half a second before pursing her lips and snapping a finger at him. “Stop psychoanalyzing me, Jake.”

  He grinned.

  “Whoo-ee,” Ellie said. “With a smile like that you can psycho-whatever me, anytime you like.” She extended her thin fingers and leaned her gray head to the side. “If you’ll hold my hand.”

  Ruby swallowed, staring at her friend. Ellie refused to let the conversation linger on Anne’s death. Maybe Jake should analyze her.

  He smiled. “Sorry to neglect you, Aunt Ellie.”

  “Forget this aunt business. We ain’t blood.” Ellie winked. “I’m young enough you could think seriously about taking me to dinner sometime.”

  Marissa groaned. “You’re over seventy years old, woman. Stop throwing yourself at the poor boy.”

  Jake inclined his body towards the last member of the group. “How are you, Marissa?”

  She shook her head, gnawing at her lip. “We’re all so affected.”

  “Some of us more than others.” Ellie winked.

  Ruby glared at her friend. “You were there last night. You saw everything I saw. How can you be so flippant about Anne’s death?”

  “Hell-freeze, Rubes. We’re all gonna die—what’s wrong with it? So, we’ll miss Anne. She’s with James now and that baby she lost.” Ellie shook a small fist at Ruby. “Think about it. She’s healthy. She’s happy. She’s holding that baby. She’s kissing her husband’s ugly mug. Stop being so selfish and look at the bright side.”

  Ruby tapped her fingers on her arm. Her once-firm skin seemed even spongier today. “It wasn’t her time to go.”

  “That’s the Lord’s call, not yours,” Ellie said, glancing down her nose at Ruby.

  Ruby frowned. “Not if someone poisoned her.”

  “Oh, no, not this again.” Ellie patted Ruby’s hand condescendingly. “Let the authorities deal with it.” Ellie angled to face Jake. “Are you going to play cards with us? It’s Baseball in memory of our sweet Anne.”

  Jake shrugged. “Deal me in. I cleared my schedule until after lunch.”

  Marissa reached out to gather the cards.

  Ellie leaned over the table, her small bosom protecting the piles. “Wait just a rockin’ minute. We haven’t figured out winner and loser.”

  Marissa rolled her eyes and sat back.

  Ruby shook her head. “Are you really going to do that? It was Anne who cared about the score and enforced the penalty.”

  Ellie grabbed all the piles. “Yes, I’m going to do it. It’s what Anne would do.” Silence reigned for a minute as she added up the scores. “Aha. As I suspected. I was in the lead and…” She grinned viciously at Marissa. “No wonder you tried to grab those cards so quickly.”

  Marissa sighed. “What’s it going to be?”

  “Hmm.” Ellie tapped her fingers against her chin. “I believe a monkey is in order.”

  Marissa stood, shoved her hands into her armpits, and said, “Eee, eee, eee,” then quickly sat back down.

  Ellie rolled her eyes. “That was pathetic. Around the room if you please.”

  “You’re not going to make me.”

  “You’d make me if you won.”

  Marissa stood again, glowered at Ellie, and shot off across the room, rubbing at herself with her hands and screeching horrifically. Jake watched with a bemused expression.

  Ruby looked away and said, “Anne was always the best monkey.”

  Ellie nodded. “Yes, but her pig imitation was my favorite.”

  Marissa returned to the table and sank into her chair, her pale face pink. “I’m going to kick your butt this game,” she muttered to Ellie.

  “Are you three ever going to grow up?” Lanna asked as she ambl
ed past their table.

  Marissa ignored her, gathered the cards, and reshuffled. “How are the babies today?” she asked Jake as if nothing had happened.

  He smiled. “Squawking like little monkeys.”

  Marissa took a swat at him. “Not another word. You might lose this game, and I’ve seen how funny you look as a donkey.”

  Jake nodded. “As long as Ellie isn’t the winner, I’m not too afraid.”

  “You’re pretty brave,” Ellie said, “starting a pediatric practice in a town as small as Preston, Idaho.”

  Jake sorted out the cards Marissa’s quick fingers hurled at him. “It’s going well, and I get to be closer to Grandma Ruby this way.” He turned her way with a grin.

  Ruby tried to smile. Jake was one of the few good things in her life. She needed to get him alone, so she could explain why she thought Anne was murdered. He would help her find the killer. Her mental planning session was interrupted by a hush spreading over the room, followed immediately by a barely discernible whistle from Ellie’s lips. Ruby turned to see the source that had settled the usual prattle. She shouldn’t have.

  Michael Trapper sauntered down the curving staircase from the second story. His gray hair was combed perfectly, and his tailored pants and golf shirt complimented his tall, lean form. Card games throughout the room halted. No woman could concentrate on Gin Rummy when that man walked her direction. Ruby should’ve looked away, but lacked the self-control. He approached their table with a compassionate smile. Startling blue eyes, clearer than a mountain lake, focused on Ruby.

  “I was sorry to hear about Anne.”

  His voice rippled across the space separating them. Ruby nodded curtly. If she spoke he might recognize how deeply his silken voice still affected her. Ellie kicked her under the table.

  “Ouch.” She glared at Ellie, rubbed her shin, and swung her eyes back to the tall man overshadowing her chair. “Thank you, Mr. Trapper,” she managed to say.

  He frowned and still managed to look perfect. “How many times have I asked you to call me Michael? You’ve known me since grade school, when I used to chase you around the playground to try and make you show me your ruffled undies.” He winked. “I liked the purple ones.”

  Ruby gasped and her friends laughed. “Did he just say he liked Ruby’s purple panties?” Marissa asked Ellie in a blaring tone.

  “Yes, he did, and yes, she used to wear ruffled ones.” Ellie cackled, nodding and rubbing her hands together. “You still got those undies, Rubes?”

  Ruby snapped her fingers at Ellie. “Hush.”

  Jake stood and offered Michael his hand.

  The lean fingers Ruby used to love wrapped around her grandson’s. “Good to see you, Jake,” Michael said.

  “You too, sir.” Jake inclined his head. “Didn’t know you had such a past with Grandma.”

  Michael’s eyes darkened to a smoky blue as they locked on her again. Ruby’s heart stopped as they communicated silently, his smoldering look meant for her alone.

  “Yes, we’ve had quite a past,” he murmured.

  Jake turned to Ruby with a question in his eyes. She shook her head. Michael better watch what he says around my grandson. “Thank you for your condolences, Mr. Trapper,” she said. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we are in the middle of a game.” It took great willpower to break from his intense gaze, but after several seconds she refocused on her cards.

  “Good to see you too, Ruby.” Michael nodded to everyone else at the table and walked toward the back door and the rear gardens. He was interrupted by offers to join a group for Monopoly, Phase 10, or Pit. He declined with a kind voice. Ruby hated that she could always hear his voice, no matter how soft or commanding. Heavens, she heard the blasted thing in her sleep.

  She looked up in time to see him disappear and let herself breathe again. Not for the first time, she ached to chase after him and beg him to forgive her. She pushed the thought aside. He was the one who needed to ask for forgiveness first.

  It was impossible not to notice Samantha and Lanna sneaking after him into the garden, giggling and chirping at each other like hens chasing after the prize rooster. Expelling a breath of frustration, Ruby pined for the right to rip their tail feathers out.

  “Best day of our lives when Jezebel passed away,” Ellie said.

  Ruby whirled on her friend, shocked to hear what she only dared think. “What kind of talk is that?”

  “She’s right.” Marissa rubbed her hands together. “Did you not look at that man? His crotchety wife dies and now he’s free game.” Her red lips puckered, smearing creamy lipstick onto her upper teeth. “Ooh la la, c’est chouette.”

  “What on earth does that mean?” Ruby lifted her upper lip and mimicked rubbing her finger across her teeth.

  “Oh, thanks,” Marissa said. She pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped off the lipstick. “‘Ooh la la, c’est chouette’ is French.” She touched the soft white fluff that had once been the most coveted blonde locks in town. “It’s an expression I learned from my days in Paris.”

  “‘Days’ being the key word there,” Ellie muttered.

  Marissa’s nostrils flared. She shook a slender finger at her friend. “I lived in Paris.”

  Smiling, Jake drew an ace and exchanged it for a 9. Marissa focused on drawing her next card. Jake leaned close to Ruby for an explanation.

  Ellie slithered into his other side. “She lived in Paris for two weeks back in the sixties,” she whispered. “She remembers a couple of phrases, so she repeats them all the time and brags about her experience.”

  “I lived in Paris.” Marissa straightened her rounded shoulders as much as arthritis would allow. “I worked for a famous designer. What was that designer’s name?” She tapped a card on the table. “I can’t remember his name. Ruby? Help me out here.”

  Ruby shook her head, almost forgetting her anguish over Anne’s death and her frustration with Michael. “I can’t remember either, dear.”

  Marissa waved a hand. “Well, it doesn’t matter. He was famous and I was on the fast track.” She grinned at Jake. “I was such a beauty that men would do anything I asked.” She clapped her hands together. “Like that—anything I wished and they would jump into action. You add that little bonus to my designing talent…well, I could’ve been the first Paris Hilton.”

  Jake nodded, casting a glance at Ruby. “Paris Hilton?” he mouthed. She shook her head, suppressing a smile. Marissa had heard the name on television and assumed the girl was a great designer because her name was Paris.

  Marissa sighed. “But I gave it all up. Sacrificed my career for love. Moved home to the States so I could raise my babies where the good Lord intended.”

  Ellie snorted. “She got homesick after twelve days, called her boyfriend, bawling for him to come get her. The poor sap had to sell his Chevy, and it was a nice one, mind you. A ’57 Bel Air.” She shook her head. “He pawned it off to buy the plane tickets and a wedding ring.” She gestured toward her friend. “And our beautiful Marissa was married and pregnant a week after she got home.”

  Marissa ignored Ellie. She winked at Jake, clumps of mascara trembling on the few eyelashes she had left. “My time in Paris taught me what men want from a woman.” She licked off the top layer of her lipstick. “Finally, I’ll be able to use my knowledge—I’m going to get a piece of that Michael.”

  Jake drew a card and remained silent.

  “Get in line,” Ellie said.

  Marissa glared at her. “I’m first in line, as long as Ruby doesn’t try to compete. Michael stares at her like she’s a slice of chocolate pound cake.”

  Ruby drew a queen, scowled with disgust, and placed it in the discard pile. Her friends’ conversation shouldn’t bother her. She was worried about Marissa, Ellie, and dozens of other women romancing Michael, when she should’ve been tracking down Anne’s murderer. “Don’t worry, dear,” she said to Marissa. “You’ll get no competition from me. I think the man is a cocky piece of crap.”

>   Jake arched an eyebrow. “Fighting words, Grandma.”

  “Well, he is.” She avoided the exchange of glances by studying her face-up cards. “He has been since high school.”

  “Good heavens, Ruby,” Ellie said. “Who wasn’t cocky in high school? The man’s grown up. It’s been more than fifty years since we marched out of Preston High.”

  “Once a crap, always a crap, I say. Can we please forget about Michael—I mean Mr. Trapper?”

  Marissa winked at Ellie.

  Chanel, the new activities director, hurried past them to her office. Jake’s eyes followed the tall, shapely brunette. The young woman shot the group a quick wave before bending over her desk. Jake inhaled quickly.

  Ellie watched him, a sly smile on her face. “Have you met Chanel yet?”

  He shook his head, looking away. “No, and don’t even think about introducing me.”

  Ellie grinned. “Honey, you can at least give me the enjoyment of watching.”

  Jake blinked and swallowed. “Watching what?”

  “You romancing that pretty young thing over there. Why don’t you go knock on her door and ask her out?”

  Chanel picked up the phone and dialed with a tapered finger. Jake studied her for a moment and then turned to Ellie with a warning glance. “Don’t even think about it, Aunt Ellie. I’d rather take you to dinner.”

  Ellie laughed. “I’m flattered, dear, but Marissa informs me I’m too old.”

  “Darn right,” Marissa said. “Disgusting the way you throw yourself at the boy.”

  Ellie chuckled. “At least I have fun,” she said, then hollered, “Chanel? Get out here and meet Ruby’s grandson.”

  Ruby watched the interchange with trepidation. How would Jake handle Ellie’s interference? Would he ever allow himself to fall in love again?

  “Aunt Ellie,” Jake said under his breath. “Stop, please.”