Pretty Poison plgm-1

by Joyce Lavene

  “Yes,” Selena answered. “This gentleman wants a hundred-pound bag of potting soil. His car is parked in back.”

  Peggy frowned. “You don’t need to do that, Steve.”

  “No problem,” he answered. “Where’s the potting soil?”

  Selena grinned at Peggy after showing Steve the back storage area. “Who’s he?”

  “Never mind,” Peggy answered, ringing up the next customer in line. “Just don’t ever do that again!”

  “Hey, if he likes you, he better like your shop, right?”

  Peggy didn’t answer. When Selena was caught up, she walked back to the loading dock to find Steve helping another customer with a fifty-pound bag of bird food. The woman waved as she pulled away from the loading area.

  “Thanks for your help,” Peggy said, embarrassed. “I didn’t expect you to do this.”

  “Not a problem. Are you free for dinner tonight?”

  “Not really. I have so much to do. Tests to grade. My experiments are at a critical point.”

  “Just don’t tell me you have to wash your hair.”

  She stared at him. “I’m sorry. I might need a little time. I wasn’t expecting this to happen.”

  “Take all you like. I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed her lightly on the lips.

  A sharply indrawn breath followed by a wild whooping noise caught their attention. Steve slipped his arm around Peggy as they faced the back door.

  Sam ran out laughing. “Wow! Peggy’s got a boyfriend.”

  “Sam, this is Steve Newsome. He’s a veterinarian who lives a few doors down from me,” Peggy introduced them. “Steve, this is Sam Ollson. He’s going to be a doctor someday. Right now, he works for me.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Sam shook Steve’s hand. “Make sure you get her in by ten, or I’ll be out with my shotgun.”

  “That’s not funny,” she told him. “We just saw Paul.”

  “Right. He’s really got a shotgun.”

  Peggy didn’t laugh. “What are you doing here? I thought you had classes today.”

  “I did. But I couldn’t get you on your cell phone.” Sam waggled his eyebrows. “Have you heard the news yet?”

  “We were having lunch,” she said. “What news?”

  “Keeley turned herself in to the police. She all but told them she killed Mark Warner.”

  9

  Blackberry

  Botanical: Rubus fruticosus

  Family: Rosaceae

  Common Names: Blackberry, dewberry

  In France, it was believed the color of the fruit turned black when the devil spat on it. In England, it was bad luck to pick the fruit after Old Michaelmas Day, October 11. Brambles of blackberry were planted around graves to prevent the dead from rising as ghosts.

  PEGGY AND HUNTER’S FRIEND, JANICE,another attorney, met Lenore at the downtown precinct. After Keeley’s announcement to the press about her involvement with Mark Warner, she turned herself in to the police. Al and Jonas had been questioning her since then.

  “Thank God you could come.” Keeley’s mother ran to Peggy and hugged her. “I haven’t even had a chance to deal with this pregnancy issue. Now this! I feel like I don’t know my own daughter anymore.”

  Peggy introduced Janice to Lenore. “What is Keeley telling them?”

  Lenore shrugged. “I don’t know. Why did she think she had to do this? Wasn’t the rest of it bad enough?”

  “I think I know why she did it,” Peggy said. “It’s my fault. I talked to her about Mr. Cheever going to jail for the rest of his life. I didn’t know she’d do anything like this.”

  “You knew what a fragile state of mind she was in.” Lenore moved away from her. “How could you do this? What if they arrest her for murder? Did you want to save your friend and doom my daughter to a lifetime in prison?”

  “Lenore,” Peggy tried to reason with her, “you know I think of Keeley as a daughter. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”

  “Then why did you tell her to turn herself in to the police?”

  Janice took over, hushing them as a few officers passed coming into the station. “We have to stick together here, ladies. Let’s not assume the worst at this point. I’ll go in there and see what’s going on.”

  Lenore nodded, crying.

  “Thanks, Janice.” Peggy went to Lenore and put her arms around her. “We’ll wait here until you come out.”

  The police parking lot was starting to fill up with vans from the major local news stations. Peggy could see them setting up from the window. The reporters weren’t allowed in the precinct, but they’d be waiting when they came out. Lenore excused herself and went to the rest room. Peggy put her pocketbook on the chair beside her to save her place.

  She felt completely responsible for Keeley’s ill-advised confession. She should’ve waited to talk to her until she was out of the hospital. Losing a baby wasn’t an easy thing. She should’ve taken that into consideration. She was so eager to find a way to save Mr. Cheever that she might have done something that would cost Keeley dearly.

  “Hi, Peggy.” Mai walked into the station. “How are you? Are you here about the new development in the Warner case?”

  Peggy explained what happened. “Are you here because of Keeley?”

  “Hardly. Nothing moves that fast around here. I’m working on another case.” Mai held up her digital camera. “It’s a simple breakin over on the north side. I hope you aren’t expecting to see your friend.”

  “No. I brought a lawyer for her. And I’m here with her mother.” Peggy introduced Lenore as she joined them. “But if you have any information you can give us, we’d appreciate it.”

  Mai nodded, the light shining on her silky black hair. “I’ll see what I can do. Just don’t expect too much. No one is going to like this case blowing up in their face.”

  Al and Jonas came out of the side door, passing Mai on her way to her office. The station was crowded with officers and other personnel. Reporters watched anxiously, peeking in every time the outside door opened.

  “You!” Jonas focused on Peggy, the frown on his face becoming darker. “Did you have something to do with this?”

  “Only minimally,” she answered. “I’m sorry it isn’t going well for you. I think the case is much more complicated than you’re giving it credit for. There’s more involved than just a homeless man looking for new shoes.”

  “You know, I really like you, Peggy. On a personal level. But professionally, I wish you’d go home and make some tea or something. Quit messing around with my investigation. I thought Al made it clear. But I guess when it comes to you, Al is fluff.”

  “Lieutenant!” Al protested. “I did what you asked. She didn’t tell me she knew about this girl.”

  “Well it’s too late now. The whole damned city knows. We have to do some damage control to save our butts.”

  “What about Keeley?” Peggy demanded. “What’s going to happen to her?”

  Jonas smiled nastily. “Maybe she could take your friend’s place in jail. How would that be?”

  Peggy didn’t back down from him. “I think you need a colonic. You sound a little backed up to me. I have just the thing. I could run home and get it for you.”

  He looked puzzled for a moment, then shook his head. “Go home. Leave the police work to us. No tonic or witch’s brew is going to help this situation.”

  Janice emerged from the inner door. “My client is ready to speak with you again, Lieutenant.”

  Lenore grabbed her arm before she could follow the two detectives back to where they were holding her daughter. “Money is no object, Janice. Please save my daughter.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Janice promised, not quite disguising the gleam in her eyes at the mention of money. “We should be out soon.”

  Peggy and Lenore sat back down to wait. Peggy didn’t know what to say that could make it better. She apologized to her friend, then glanced at the little ficus she’d moved away from the door. It was doing qu
ite well.

  “You know I didn’t mean those things I said,” Lenore answered. “I know whose fault this is. What did I do wrong, Peggy? Keeley has always been so high-spirited. She and I are like aliens together. I don’t understand her at all.”

  “You’ll be fine.” Peggy patted her hand. “A few years from now, Keeley will have her own family, and things will be different. All of this will be a bad memory.”

  They waited for another two hours. Peggy called the school and canceled her afternoon lecture. Lenore fell asleep with her head back against the wall, a testimony to her sleepless night at the hospital. Peggy woke her as the door opened, and she heard Janice’s voice. Keeley came out before her lawyer, teary-eyed and eager to leave.

  “What happened?” Lenore was on her feet at once, clinging to her daughter. “Are they letting you go? Are they going to arrest you?”

  Janice silenced them and hurried out of the station. A barrage of reporters shouted questions and videotaped them leaving. They made it to Janice’s car and drove to a parking lot to talk.

  “I’m okay, Mom,” Keeley assured Lenore. “They didn’t charge me. But they might want to talk to me again. I didn’t kill Mark. I guess they believed what I told them.”

  “It’s more that they have a stronger case against Mr. Cheever,” Janice explained. “They’ll probably check back through their forensic evidence now that they have your fingerprints. If they find anything that could link you to the crime, it will be a whole different scenario. If you think they might find anything, you should tell me now.”

  Keeley shook her head. “There’s nothing for them to find. I didn’t even touch him that night. Why would I? He made it clear where he stood about me and the baby. He might’ve fooled around a lot, but he wasn’t leaving his wife for anyone else.”

  Peggy hugged her. “Everyone makes mistakes.”

  “Especially with men,” Janice finished. “The stories I could tell you!”

  Lenore and Peggy stared at her. Keeley sniffed and waited to hear more.

  “Well, that doesn’t matter. It’s good you didn’t touch him. We’ll wait and see what happens,” Janice cautioned.

  Peggy left the other three women in Janice’s car. She’d brought her bicycle in the trunk and decided to ride to the Potting Shed. She knew Selena and Sam would be anxious for information about Keeley. Steve had told her he was going back to work. She’d left him with everything up in the air between them. But right now, her whole life seemed to be that way.

  Before she could get to the shop, she found herself face-to-face with Ronda McGee. The tall brunette ran to catch up with her as soon as she saw her go past the wrought-iron gate into Brevard Courtyard. “Peggy? Could I have a word with you?”

  “Of course.” Peggy glanced at the Potting Shed. It didn’t look exceptionally busy. She felt guilty that Selena had to miss her break, but she’d been looking for a reason to speak with Ronda again.

  They sat in the courtyard and ordered coffee from Sofia. The smell of frying food from the French and Caribbean restaurants spilled enticingly out to the afternoon shoppers who were enjoying the beautiful weather.

  “I saw that girl on television this morning,” Ronda began. “I realized what it might look like to you. After all, I was seeing that bastard, too. I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

  Peggy sipped her coffee. “As I understand it, he was seeing a number of women.”

  “That’s right.” Ronda fidgeted with her spoon. “I guess I knew at the time. But I didn’t have any expectations of marrying him. Certainly not having a child with him! I’m happily married. I have two children already. I was just looking for some fun, you know?”

  Peggy realized there wouldn’t be a better opportunity to question her. Ronda was worried about being put in Keeley’s position, except with far greater consequences for her personal life. “What exactly did happen between you?”

  “I knew Mark for years. He worked with my husband. I don’t know what made me think about going out with him. It was one of those things.” She played with a strand of her hair and bit her lip. “We had dinner a few times. We stayed at this cute little bed-and-breakfast that was part of a winery. He didn’t drink alcohol, you know. He was allergic to it. But we still had a good time. We both knew we weren’t serious.”

  “What happened the night Mark was killed?”

  Ronda hesitated. “This might sound bad, but it’s the truth. My husband was out of town. I was supposed to go to Blumenthal to see Oklahoma! with some of my friends. Mark called and asked me to meet him at the Omni. I agreed, thinking I could cover my tracks by going to the performance, disappearing for an hour, then coming back before the show was over.”

  “That was quite a plan,” Peggy said. “Wouldn’t your friends have missed you?”

  “Of course! They wouldn’t say anything though. Half of them are having affairs, too. We cover for each other.” Ronda said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Anyway, I got this phone call. I couldn’t tell who it was or even if it was a man or a woman. The voice was disguised or something. It warned me to stay away from Mark. It threatened to hurt me if I didn’t. Whoever it was made it clear that it would be bad if I saw him again.”

  Peggy took out a notebook. “When was this?”

  “About an hour before I left to see Oklahoma!” Ronda answered. “I thought it was stupid at first. But the more I thought about it, the more afraid I got. I didn’t even call Mark to tell him I wouldn’t be there. Instead, I left the play and got in my car. I drove around for a while, then went back. No man is worth losing your life over.”

  “Why did you go out at all?”

  “Because I didn’t want my friends to know I chickened out. I didn’t tell them about the call. I wasn’t planning on telling anyone.”

  Peggy closed her notebook. Ronda didn’t have any more of an alibi than Angela, Keeley, or Mr. Cheever. Any of them could have killed Mark. Ronda and Angela seemed to have less motivation than Keeley. It sounded like their affair was all fun and games. Unless Mark threatened to tell her husband. But he seemed to have as much to lose by that as she did since Bob McGee was his boss.

  It was possible whoever called to warn her off was the killer. Maybe somehow the killer knew if Ronda didn’t show up at the Omni, Mark would go to the Potting Shed. That made it sound like Keeley.

  “Peggy? What are you thinking? I swear I didn’t kill Mark. I know we went to your shop sometimes, but I wouldn’t meet him there to have sex! I always thought Mark was a little conspicuous about the whole thing. Everyone I know is really careful not to get caught. It was like Mark wanted Julie to know. I know that sounds crazy. But he insisted on meeting places where people would notice us.”

  “Did he ever say anything about his marriage? Any possible reason he might want Julie to know he was cheating?”

  “No. We never talked about her. She and I have lunch once in a while. I tried not to think about it.”

  That was all Peggy could think to ask. “If the case goes to trial for my friend, his lawyer might contact you. The only way to help him might be to prove other people who were involved with Mark could’ve done the deed as well.”

  Ronda didn’t have much choice. “Isn’t it enough that college girl was having sex with him? Doesn’t that prove anyone could do it?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “It’s bad enough I have to go and be tested for STDs after finding out he was having sex with that girl. I don’t want to lose my marriage over it. I hope you’ll take that into consideration.”

  Peggy bristled at hearing Keeley referred to as “that girl,” but reassured Ronda, “I hope the police find the real killer before Mr. Cheever ever goes to trial, for your sake as well as everyone else’s.”

  “Thanks. I really didn’t kill Mark.” She put on her sunglasses and picked up her pocketbook. “Good luck finding who did.”

  Mark’s death was getting more complicated. Every conversation she had
with the many women in his life ended up with another suspect. Any of them could be responsible. She wasn’t sure how to tell the killer out of the group of suspects. But someone killed him, and she was sure it wasn’t Mr. Cheever or Keeley.

  Selena was glad to see Peggy, especially without the big dog. “Sorry you lost him. I guess he would’ve been some company for you. I hate to think of you locking up by yourself and going home to that big, empty house.”

  “You know, I never felt sorry for myself until you put it like that.”

  “I didn’t mean it that way. You have a busy life and all. I just meant . . . never mind. Tell me about Keeley.”