A Taste of Death (Maggie Olenski Series)

by Hughes, Mary Ellen

  CHAPTER 9

  Maggie stood in the foyer of Morgan's and looked around, impressed with the atmosphere of the place which, despite a certain formality, managed to have a cozy feel to it. She wondered how that had been achieved.

  "You should have been here a couple years ago," Dyna said. "What a difference. Early seventies dowdy. This is a transformation."

  At that moment a hostess appeared, menus in hand. A fifty-ish, slightly plump and friendly-looking woman, she smiled at Dyna's comment. "Karin Dekens did the decorating. She started working on it shortly after the Morgans took over. Karin put on the final touches just a few weeks ago."

  "The Morgans?" Maggie asked. "Dan is married?" She remembered seeing him at the town meeting during the growing debate. He had sat silently alone.

  The hostess, whose name tag read, "Vickie," grimaced. "I should be more careful about that. Brenda Morgan was killed a year ago in an accident. I was hired to take her place here."

  "Killed! How sad," Dyna said. "What happened?"

  "She was driving alone, late at night on icy roads, when she apparently lost control of the car and crashed into a tree. Dan was devastated."

  With Dyna looking close to tears, Maggie said, "How brave of him to carry on with a business they must have planned together."

  "Yes. I'm sure it's what Brenda would have wanted. Dan's immersed himself in this place ever since. It's been his life. I'd like to see him get out a little more, but," she added with a smile, "his customers certainly appreciate his dedication. His specialties always get raves. Table for two?"

  Vickie led them to a table near the large fireplace and, after mentioning a few specials not on the menu, left them to decide.

  "See, I told you we'd be seated right away," Dyna said.

  Maggie nodded, still taking in the atmosphere of the place. Decorated in blues and beiges, the room had a colonial theme that didn't jump out at you, she felt, but slowly snuck into your consciousness. She liked it. And she liked being near the fireplace which had a low fire glowing in the grate, the smell of hickory barely discernable. Pewter pieces graced the mantel above, and antique-looking prints decorated the walls.

  The few patrons on this week night were scattered widely at the other tables, and she recognized Regina White at a corner table with two companions. Maggie's attention having been diverted by the room itself when she first entered it, she now realized that she had passed by the table of the Dekens family - Karin, Alexander and their young son Ethan - and her gaze settled on them.

  "I can't decide between the eggplant Parmesan, or the herb-cheese omelet with sun-dried tomato," Dyna said.

  Maggie hadn't even looked at her menu, and quickly began scanning it. "The Beef Bourguignonne sounds good."

  Dyna wrinkled her nose, and Maggie countered with, "I'll need the protein to get my brain cells working on my book tonight."

  "What you'll be getting is a lot of fat."

  "Well, my brain cells will need some fat too." Maggie knew a lot of what Dyna said about diet made sense, but she also knew she wasn't ready to give up foods that still had an emotional, sentimental hold on her. She had grown up in a family that ate pot roast and had back yard cook-outs on Sundays. The smell of smoking hamburgers or steak always carried pleasant memories with it. Then there were the teen-aged group trips to MacDonald's or the local pizza place. How could she give up the good feelings those foods still gave her? She couldn't, was the answer, so she decided on Beef Bourguignonne.

  A young waitress came and took their orders, and Maggie picked up a bread stick from the basket she had left behind. As she nibbled at it, her gaze returned to the Dekens' table. So Karin had decorated Dan Morgan's restaurant. Maggie remembered seeing Karin and Dan deep in conversation at the town meeting, shortly after the meeting adjourned. She also remembered Alexander walking by, his lips curling unpleasantly as he looked at the two, and she wondered what exactly that meant.

  Alexander's face had a flushed look to it tonight, and he reached for his wineglass after each bite of food, which necessitated refilling it often. Karin's face had the studied lack of expression Maggie had seen before. Only Ethan, their four-year old, seemed to be enjoying himself, murmuring quietly to himself as he lined up peas on the edge of his plate.

  "Regina's over there in the corner with some of her picketers," Dyna said, breaking into Maggie's thoughts. "Now that Jack's gone, I wonder what they could be planning?"

  Maggie glanced over at Regina's table. The older woman's expression looked just as fierce as she conversed with her companions as it had during the debate at the town meeting. Maggie suspected, though, that Regina carried the same intensity into most areas of her life. She could picture Regina discussing the likelihood of snow coming with an "argue to the point of death" approach.

  "I wonder," she said to Dyna, "if Jack's departure will actually be the end of Regina's or Paul Dekens' problems, as far as Big Bear is concerned. I've been thinking about it, and it's possible Jack's power in his company may just be passed on to others, who might continue to follow the course he set."

  "I hadn't thought of that."

  "You keep playin' with your food like that, son, and you'll make the famous Chef Morgan mad." Alexander's voice came loudly from his table, his words slurred. "You don't wanna get someone with a room full of meat cleavers mad."

  Maggie's attention, as well as that of the entire room's, flashed to Alexander. He tipped his chair back on two legs, then drained his wine glass in a single gulp. Ethan had frozen in his little game and stared wide-eyed at his father. Karin reached over and brushed a few stray hairs from her son's forehead, murmuring something softly.

  Maggie looked back at Dyna, who raised an eyebrow at her, but as their waitress arrived at that moment with their dinners, said nothing. The normal conversations of the room gradually resumed, and Maggie turned her attention to her food.

  Vickie was winding her way slowly through the tables, exchanging pleasantries, when she neared the Dekens' table.

  "Why don'cha ask Chef Morgan to come out and join us?" Alexander called out to her, an unpleasant grin distorting his face. "There's a chair right here for him, right next to Karin." He kicked it out several inches with his foot as if to prove his point.

  Vickie answered genially that Dan was very busy and asked if they'd care for dessert.

  Karin shook her head no, her dark hair swinging softly, and began gathering their things. She offered a last drink of milk to Ethan and rose to help him off his booster seat, avoiding looking at her husband and the other diners. Ethan immediately ran to the foyer, stopping to play with a large spinning wheel that sat in a nest of potted plants.

  Alexander stood up unsteadily, scraping his chair noisily.

  "Hey Chef Morgan," he called out, "your decorator's leaving. Don'cha want to come out? Give her a nice, big hug?"

  The door to the kitchen slapped open, and Dan Morgan emerged, wiping his hands on his white apron, a dark scowl on his face. He spoke quietly to Karin, who had gone up to him, and she shook her head. Maggie caught some of her words: "It's okay. I'm sorry."

  Karin took her husband firmly by the arm and led him to the foyer, he stumbling and protesting that she hadn't said a proper good-bye to her special friend. Somehow she managed to get the three of them out the door, leaving behind a room of uncomfortable diners, some pretending nothing had happened, others exchanging knowing looks and muttered comments with their companions. Dan Morgan pushed back into his kitchen without another word, and gradually the level of noise in the room returned to normal.

  "Poor Karin. I had no idea," Dyna said, poking at her omelet with her fork, looking distressed.

  "Annette told you Alexander had gambling debts. Looks like he has other problems too."

  Dyna just shook her head. "Poor Ethan," she said, and pushed a forkful of omelet into her mouth, chewing glumly.

  Maggie watched, realizing she'd have to distract her somehow or Dyna would be up all night with indigestion. She search
ed her mind rapidly and pulled out a subject that was never far from reach.

  "By the way, I've been struggling with a section in my book, lately. Maybe you can help. Would you mind?"

  Dyna looked up. "Help you on your math book? I don't know anything about math, you know."

  "Yes you do. I need to know if I'm explaining something clearly enough. Would you listen to it? Tell me what you think?"

  "Sure. Go ahead." Dyna forked some lettuce into her mouth and munched, her gaze no longer returning to the door through which the Dekens had just departed, but fixed on Maggie, some of the distress in her eyes replaced with a flicker of interest.

  Maggie told her about the magic square, quoting the directions as closely as possible. Since she had worked that explanation over at least a dozen times, it wasn't hard to do. "Does that make any sense to you?"

  "Yeah, I think so." Dyna turned her fork around and drew with the rounded end on the tablecloth. "What you're saying is you divide up a square into nine small squares, and pick different numbers to put in them." She tapped her fork on the table into her creased squares. "And the numbers in each row have to total up to the same thing no matter what direction you go in. This way, this way, that way...." Her fork made horizontal, vertical and diagonal swipes on the table cloth. "Is that right?"

  "Yes! You got it." Maggie beamed at her, and Dyna beamed back.

  "I guess that means if I understood it, some elementary school kid's gonna get it too, huh?"

  "Dyna!" Maggie said, exasperated. She hated when Dyna put herself down like that. She had just drawn a breath to say so, when someone's loose sleeve brushed her shoulder in passing, distracting her.

  "Sorry," the woman apologized, pulling her jacket tighter to her. Maggie smiled an "It's okay," recognizing one of the people who had been sitting with Regina. Regina followed in a moment, buttoning up her pea coat. She paused at their table, checking out their plates.

  "Good," she fairly grunted to Dyna. "I see you're continuing to take your diet seriously." Her words were approving, but anyone hearing only the tone, or seeing her face might have thought she was scolding Dyna. Maggie wondered what it would be like to truly be on the receiving end of Regina's wrath, and hoped she'd never find out.

  "Yes, Regina, I've been cutting out meat for nearly a year now. Have you met my friend Maggie Olenski?"

  "Saw you at the town meeting. How do."

  Maggie shook the firm hand Regina held out to her. She felt uncomfortably on the edge of a squirm as she noticed Regina glaring at her plate of Beef Bourguignonne, but a flash of annoyance brought out her stubbornness instead. She speared a chunk of beef and popped it into her mouth, smiling benignly up at her critic as she chewed. Regina continued to glower, but Maggie thought she caught a glint of amusement in Regina's eyes before she turned back to Dyna.

  "You came to the right restaurant for a good choice of vegetarian meals. Had to convince him," Regina tossed her head in the direction of the kitchen, "it was in his own best interests to add them, but he did a good job on it once he got going."

  Maggie wondered what form Regina's 'convincing' took, and how she managed to persuade Dan Morgan - who looked like he had a stubborn streak of his own - to do something he might not have originally intended. She was picturing the two matching glare for glare when Regina broke into her reverie.

  "You two hear about the school's fund-raising dinner?"

  "Uh-huh," Dyna answered, "today, as a matter of fact."

  "You can buy tickets from me, if you like. I wasn't going to be involved, with it being at the Warwick's home. But now it's just Mrs. Warwick, I don't mind. It's a good cause, you know." Regina smiled for the first time, and Maggie wasn't sure if it was in honor of the good cause, or at the thought that now there would be one less Warwick in attendance.

  Maggie realized she wanted to find out more about this woman, and she spoke up before Dyna could respond. "We would like to help the school. As a teacher myself..." Maggie paused and saw Regina's face immediately show approval, as she knew it would. Everyone she met since she received her teaching degree seemed to react the same favorable way, which was pleasant, but would have been even more pleasant if that approval had extended to voting for increased teachers' salaries. She continued, "...I understand the often dire needs of schools. Can I stop by and get the tickets from you tomorrow?"

  Regina nodded. "Of course. I'll be home in the morning. You know my house?" She raised her eyebrows inquiringly at Dyna.

  "Sure, right up there at the top of Fernhill Road?"

  Regina nodded, twice this time, since it apparently also signified her good-bye. "Not before eight," she said as she turned and walked away, jamming her knit cap over her grey hair before she pushed through the outer door.

  "Eight?" Maggie repeated, to Dyna.

  "She goes out hiking before sunrise - even in the winter!"

  "Hmm. Maybe vegetarian does have its merits," Maggie said, but grinned quickly to show she wasn’t really serious.

  "So we're going to Leslie's fund-raiser," Dyna said. "Have you thought about what we'll wear? This sounds like a fancy function."

  "Oops. I sure didn't pack anything remotely fancy. Well, we'll figure something out." Maggie finished up her dinner, resisting an urge to mop up the last of the delicious sauce, and asked Dyna if she wanted dessert. She fervently hoped she didn't because Maggie was anxious to get back to the cabin. Dyna must have picked up on the vibes because she shook her head, puffing out her cheeks at the same time as if to prove she was full enough. Maggie asked for their check and before long they both rose from the table to leave.

  As they paused in the empty foyer to zip jackets, Maggie looked down at the greenery that hugged the antique spinning wheel. "Does any of that look like what was in Leslie's sun room?" she asked Dyna.

  "I don't know. It all looks the same to me. Are you going to pinch some of this too?"

  Maggie glanced around. Vickie was across the room, engaged in conversation. Diners were occupied with their meals or with each other, not paying attention to them. She bent to reach for a twig when the outer door suddenly pushed open, and the Mayor and Susan Larson stepped in, Susan, at sight of them immediately singing out, "Well, hello! How nice to see you again."

  Maggie straightened up and snapped her hands behind her back. "Hi," she said, knowing her face probably said, "I wasn't doing anything", and she struggled to neutralize it. She recalled having spoken with Susan Larson at the town meeting, just before Jack Warwick had slumped to the floor and tried to remember what they had talked about. She was spared having to come up with a conversation opener, however, when Susan and Tom alternately congratulated them on having chosen this fine restaurant, asked how they had enjoyed their dinner, and launched into a listing of their own favorites. Vickie appeared with menus and the older couple followed her, still talking amiably, but now directing most of it to the seated diners they encountered as they progressed. By then more new customers had arrived and Maggie reluctantly gave up on finger-pruning Dan Morgan's plants that night.

  "Maybe we'll hear from our plant expert and at least find out what's growing in Leslie's indoor garden," she said, following Dyna out the door. She pulled her collar up against the chilling wind and hurried toward the car.

  CHAPTER 10

  The cabin looked forbidding to Maggie for the first time, as she pulled up in its driveway, the unlit windows looking down at her with ominous gloom. Maggie felt a shiver go down her back, but told herself it was the cold, the short ride from the restaurant not having been enough time to warm up her car. Dyna's car was tucked cozily in the small garage, but hers had to remain outside. After she and Dyna climbed out, she locked her car for the first time since she had come there, something she always did back in Baltimore, but had felt unnecessary, until now, in Cedar Hill.

  The uneasy feeling dissipated once she was inside the cabin, and Dyna flicked on the switch, flooding the downstairs with light and chasing away the goblins. The first thing Maggie sp
otted was the blinking light on the answering machine.

  "I hope that's our plant expert," she said, tucking her gloves into the pocket of her jacket and hanging it up. The warmth of the cabin was comforting. She pulled off her boots and padded in to the phone. There were two messages, the first, she soon learned, had come at 5:36 P.M.

  "Oh, ah, Miss Olenski. This is Dave Fortier. I'm calling about the plant specimens you left with my daughter. Most of them are just fine, but I'd get rid of the oleander if there'll be small children around. It's extremely poisonous. All parts of it. That's the one has narrow leathery leaves with big, white or pink flowers. You can call me back here until 6:00 if you want more details. Or tomorrow will be fine."

  Maggie looked at Dyna, who hovered over the other side of the answering machine.

  "Wow," Dyna said. "Leslie could have done it then."

  "If Jack Warwick was poisoned by oleander. We don't know that yet. But we can talk to John, tell him what we found, and maybe he will have gotten the toxicology results."

  "I bet it will be oleander. It has to be. Leslie has a whole slew of motives to kill her husband. And you saw how guilty she was acting. And she has this poisonous plant right there in her house. Nothing could be more convenient."

  "I agree there seems to be a lot pointing to her right now. But let's wait for the final report before we jump to conclusions."

  Maggie pushed the button for the second message. It was Rob.

  "Hi," he said. "It's me. I tried your cell phone first, but couldn’t get through. Sorry I missed you, 'cause I'm going out soon. I'll try again if it's not too late."

  The machine beeped off, and Maggie made a face, her shoulders slumped in disappointment.

  "Gee, that's too bad, Dyna said. "You missed a call from Rob."