A Taste of Death (Maggie Olenski Series)

by Hughes, Mary Ellen

  The first murder, Jack's, may have been a long time in the planning. But the second, Alexander's, seemed impulsive, a hasty action possibly spurred by a greater urgency. It looked to Maggie as though the murderer were getting bolder and less cautious. What would he or she do next, to be rid of a perceived threat? How desperate was this person becoming?

  She loaded her breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and rinsed out the coffee carafe. Ali's bowls had been attended to, but the cat still slept upstairs, this time in Dyna's bed. Maggie wondered if he were sulking, as she had kept her bedroom door closed against him last night. Well. Dyna would be back before long, and he would get more than his share of pampering. He'd just have to wait.

  She pulled on her boots and jacket and grabbed her keys from the kitchen counter.

  "So long, Ali," she called out, immediately feeling ridiculous for doing so, then tramped down the cabin steps and started shoveling.

  Maggie backed her Cavalier out of the garage and drove cautiously down the scraped and sanded road toward town. Hers were the only tracks being laid on the thin layer of snow that had blown onto the road after the snow plow had done its work. She drove past empty cabins with shade-drawn windows and was glad to turn onto Main Street with its signs of life and activity. One full day of solitude had been enough for her.

  She had checked Annette's address, remembering Dyna's scramble for it a few days back. Timber Drive was easy to find, not far off Main, and when Maggie pulled up to number 238, she saw someone she thought might be Annette, shoveling the front walk. She wasn't sure since the person stood knee-deep in snow and wore a knitted, face-covering ski mask, topped with a pom-pom-festooned hat. The apple-red jacket, however, as well as the shape, was identifiable as Annette's, and Maggie climbed out of her car and called a greeting.

  The masked figure looked up and set down the snow shovel.

  "Well, hellooo." Annette's voice came through the mouth hole of the mask, and she stepped out of the snow onto a cleared portion of her walk. "And how are youuuu?"

  "I hate to interrupt you, but I wondered if I could talk to you a minute? About the murders?"

  Annette whisked off her cap and ski mask at Maggie's last words and beckoned Maggie toward the house. She was already bustling up her porch steps as she said, "Come in, come in. I'll fix us some nice tea."

  By the time Maggie stepped through her front door, Annette had peeled off her snowy outerwear and was making clattering noises in the kitchen. "Just drop your things anywhere. Jason! Turn off those cartoons and go play in your room with your brother!"

  A small boy about five years old darted out of the nearby family room and brushed by Maggie in his scramble to get up the stairs. Maggie heard a door slam above her as she pulled off her boots and jacket. She followed the clattering sounds to the kitchen and saw Annette pulling out cups and saucers, small plates, and utensils. A teakettle sat on one of her stove's burners, and a pound cake had been uncovered from its Tupperware dome.

  "Please don't go to any trouble for me," Maggie protested.

  Annette waved a hand impatiently. "No trouble at all. We'll be all set in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Sit down."

  Maggie obeyed, pulling out a yellow and white vinyl-cushioned chair from the table. She looked around at the spotless kitchen as Annette scurried about, feeling somewhat bombarded with cheeriness from the daisy-printed wallpaper and duck-trimmed curtains, to the framed embroidered mottos on the wall. The cake Annette plopped in front of her, however, looked good.

  The tea kettle whistled, and Annette emptied it into the tea pot, centering the pot on the table as she settled herself across from Maggie.

  "Now, what was it you wanted to know."

  "What's been happening in connection with Alexander's death?" Maggie asked.

  Annette's face took on such a business-like expression Maggie eerily felt as though she were facing a school superintendent preparing to expound on the next year's budget. "The sheriff's been busy," Annette began. "He and his men, as you probably know, visited every house in town right after Alexander was discovered."

  Maggie nodded.

  "They said they were checking on everyone's well-being, but I think they were also checking for alibis."

  Maggie remembered Elizabeth telling her the deputy had asked if she had been out early that day. He probably had looked for fresh footprints in the snow, as well as other signs.

  "Did they come up with anything?"

  Annette took a breath, said, "Indeed they did," then looked into the teapot. She pulled out a dripping tea ball, then poured out a cup of golden brown tea for each of them. Maggie waited, aware of how Annette enjoyed building up the suspense. Finally, she continued.

  "Paul Dekens, it seems, had been out early that morning."

  "Paul!"

  "Yes, Paul. He said, from what I've heard, that he went to Big Bear to work on some papers."

  "But nobody was there who can confirm it?"

  "No one." Annette smiled. "Sugar?"

  Maggie shook her head. This would be terrible news to Elizabeth. Elizabeth had feared Paul would be highly suspect. He had strong motives for both murders and now apparently opportunity as well, for both.

  "Paul has been to the sheriff's office, accompanied by his lawyer, I'm told." Annette shook her head as though in dismay, her lips pressed grimly, but the light in her eyes reflected an inner excitement. "Such a terrible thing. Now, I'm not saying Alexander deserved to be shot, but, you know, he did bring a lot of this on himself. The life he was leading! If he hadn't been murdered, he would have killed himself, eventually."

  "Do you mean suicide?"

  "Oh, no. He'd never have done anything as thoughtful as that. I mean his drinking would have killed him. His drinking and driving. Why, I saw him myself, walking past here at three in the morning one night. It was the same night that poor Mrs. Morgan was killed, driving on icy roads. I was up because of my youngest, Jason, being sick with the croup. I could hardly believe it when I happened to look out, and there he was, Alexander Dekens, tramping up the hill. More cake?"

  Maggie shook her head.

  Annette cut a slice for herself then continued. "I thought I was seeing things at first, but it was him. Drunk as could be, weaving and grabbing on to things. I watched him all the way up to Piney Grove, where he turned toward his house and I couldn't see him anymore. Turned out he had plowed his car into a snow bank at the bottom of Main. Just left it there and walked on home. Why, he could have fallen down somewhere and frozen to death. No one would have found him until the next day."

  Annette took a sip of tea. "You know, I never even got a chance to tell anyone about that, because first thing the next morning we all heard about Brenda Morgan's accident. Terrible thing."

  Maggie thought Annette looked miffed that a juicy piece of gossip had been trumped by an even bigger story. How much more considerate it would be if only people would spread their gossip-worthy activities out, not bunch them up one on top of the other.

  A series of loud thumps sounded on the ceiling. "Jason, Jeffrey! Don't make me come up there!" The thumping ceased, and Annette forked a piece of cake daintily. "By the way, how is Dyna enjoying Atlantic City?"

  Maggie's surprise must have shown because Annette smiled sweetly with a hint of triumph. "Someone I know just happened to see her at the airport in Boston."

  Good Lord, Maggie thought, she's got a network of spies checking in with her. "Actually," Maggie said, "she's visiting a friend who lives in New Jersey."

  "That's nice. Most people I know go to New Jersey this time of year for the casinos – ”

  "Annette," Maggie interrupted to avoid a discussion of what Dyna may or may not be doing, "I've been thinking back to the night of the town meeting. I'm sure the sheriff asked if you saw anything strange happen just before Jack got sick."

  "Oh, yes he certainly did, and no, I'm afraid I didn't." Annette's voice had filled with regret that she had missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Life, her to
ne seemed to say, could be very unfair.

  "I wondered, was anyone from town at the meeting who wouldn't normally have been?"

  Annette thought for a moment, chewing. "Well, it was a bigger turn-out than we usually have. But then this was a special topic, and the whole town seemed to be interested."

  "How did you feel about the zoning change, by the way? Did you want the sale of Big Bear to go through or not?"

  Annette looked at Maggie with wide-opened eyes. She seemed honestly surprised by the question. "Why, what would the sale of Big Bear have to do with me?" She began waving her hands in the air, tossing out the various points of the controversy. "Selling, buying, ski resorts, mining, the environment." She shook her head. "Those are others' concerns." She took a sip of her tea and looked at Maggie somewhat reproachfully.

  "I try to keep out of other people's business."

  <><><>

  Maggie had to park her car two blocks from the market. It seemed a lot of people had run out of things at the same time, and the small lot as well as the street parking in front had been filled. As she walked down the hill, she thought about Paul having been out early the morning of Alexander's murder.

  Could Paul be the murderer? It was a distressing thought, but Maggie couldn't ignore the strong possibility. Both murders had benefited Paul by halting the sale of Big Bear. With Alexander dead, his stock would go to Karin, who certainly would side with Paul. And Maggie had seen plenty of tension and anger rather than brotherly love between the two.

  But could Paul have planted the false evidence at Elizabeth's? Had the concern Maggie thought she had seen in Paul for Elizabeth, tender concern, all been a sham?

  Maggie was so absorbed she almost didn't notice Vickie coming towards her, a bulky, brown grocery bag clutched in her arms. As Vickie came nearer Maggie called out, "Since you're not working this must be Monday."

  Vickie peered around the bag and grinned. "Yes, and see what fun I have in my leisure time."

  "Ah, yes. Shopping for groceries has always been my idea of a good time too."

  "Actually, I'll be stopping in at the restaurant to drop off some fresh parsley. Dan ran out of it yesterday, and he'll be starting some soup bases early tomorrow. I told him I wouldn't mind picking it up."

  "That reminds me," Maggie said before Vickie could move on, "you said Dan ran a restaurant in Atlantic City. Did he ever mention seeing Alexander in it? I understand Alexander spent a lot of time at the casinos there."

  Vickie shook her head. "Dan's not much of a chatterbox on the job, but I could ask him. I suppose Alexander could have come into his and Brenda's last place, The Terrapin. Alexander certainly came to the restaurant here a lot with Karin, but toward the end we all wished they didn't, or at least that he didn't. You were there that last time, weren't you? You and Dyna?"

  Maggie nodded. She remembered well the tension of the room as Alexander drunkenly hinted at a relationship between Dan and Karin beyond a business one. With a husband like that, few would have blamed Karin if she actually had looked for comfort elsewhere. However, Maggie didn't think that had been the case.

  Vickie had started walking again, then stopped to say, "I hear Mrs. Warwick will be leaving us - going back to New York for the memorial service, but not coming back like she planned." Probably because Maggie looked surprised, Vickie explained, "She called Dan to tell him at the restaurant yesterday. Things were slow, because of the snow, and I was nearby when he got the call. I could tell he wasn't happy to hear it. I'm kinda disappointed myself. I thought they just might be good for each other."

  "You think so?"

  "Yeah, well, she's so lively and he's so quiet, and he seemed to be helping her in a way."

  Maggie remembered Dan steering Leslie away from the bar at the party, and nodded. "Maybe she'll come back to Cedar Hill," she said.

  "Yeah, maybe. Well, see you!"

  Maggie walked on to the market and joined the throng shopping for food. She only needed a few things - milk, bread, fruit-flavored sourballs. Her supply of essentials had run low. She wound her way through the aisles, found what she wanted, and got into the express check-out line.

  It was when she was leaving the store that she encountered Regina, who did not look happy.

  "Good morning," Maggie said, smiling tentatively.

  "Hmmph! Not much good happening lately, is there?" Maggie was wondering what to reply to that when Regina said, "Go see Elizabeth."

  "Elizabeth?"

  "I just came from there. She doesn't look good."

  "Okay. Sure." Maggie was just starting to think pleasant thoughts about Regina's thoughtfulness when she suddenly found herself on the receiving end of a piercing glare.

  "We don't need more busybodies here!"

  "Excuse me?"

  Regina glared a few more seconds to make her point, then stomped around Maggie and pushed her way into the grocery store, leaving Maggie dumbfounded.

  "What in the....?"

  Maggie stared after her, open-mouthed, and briefly considered following Regina into the store. She quickly reject the thought, remembering the crowd of potential eavesdroppers inside. Instead, she turned and continued on to her car. When she came close enough to pull out her keys, she saw Annette and Vickie standing near the corner, chatting. The last two people Maggie had been talking to. The last two she had been asking questions of concerning Alexander.

  Regina must have passed by them on her way to the store. Had she heard what they were discussing? What had they been discussing?

  And what would that mean for Maggie?

  CHAPTER 22

  Maggie pulled up to the Book Nook, still frowning over Regina's comment. She climbed out of the car and clambered over the snow piled high at the curb, thinking that the problems in the town seemed to be growing as fast as these mounds of snow. As she tramped around to Elizabeth's back door she wished she could clear those problems as easily as the snow plow had cleared her driveway. Or that they would simply melt away, along with the snow, with the arrival of spring. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that simple. She tapped on her friend's door.

  "Maggie, I'm so glad you came," Elizabeth said, tension evident in a wrinkled forehead, her eyes looking troubled. She stepped back to let Maggie in, and as Maggie shucked her jacket asked, "Did you hear about Paul?"

  "Yes," Maggie said, turning from the coat rack, "but I wouldn't worry just yet. Not having an alibi doesn't automatically lead to a charge."

  "I hate knowing he's going through this, though. It's bad enough, his own brother being killed" - Maggie noticed how Elizabeth avoided the word murdered - "but to have questions, insinuations on top of that. It's just too awful."

  "It doesn't seem that long ago that Paul was worried for the same reasons about you."

  Elizabeth clenched her hands together. "The whole situation is terrible. This used to be such a wonderful community. Now people are dying, and we're all peering at each other with suspicion. When is it all going to end?" She sat down and rubbed at her face.

  "Soon, I'm sure," Maggie said, wishing very much she had something more concrete to offer. She looked toward the kitchen and, remembering the comfort effect of Dyna's pancakes, asked, "When's the last time you ate? Can I fix some tea?"

  Elizabeth looked up over her fingers and managed a smile. "Let me get it. And don't worry, I have plenty of food. Regina dropped off another casserole, though I've begged her to stop doing that." She glanced at the clock. "It's just about lunch time. Want to join me?"

  "Sure. I was just planning to have a sandwich at home. If Regina's casserole looks as good as the one I saw her fixing the other day, I'd love to try it."

  Maggie made tea, while Elizabeth doled out two platefuls of Regina's veggie and cheese concoction and warmed them in the microwave. They took their plates to the couch to hold on their laps, setting their mugs on the end tables.

  As they ate Maggie chatted about anything unconnected to the murders, eventually getting around to Dyna's recent acquisition o
f Ali, and some of his mischief. The tension in Elizabeth's face gradually eased. She laughed over Ali, and brought up old memories of a dog she had owned as a child. The time, as well as their lunch, disappeared quickly.

  "Regina knows how to put a good dish together," Maggie said, scraping up her final forkful. "She might not be too pleased to know I had some of it, though. I seem to have made her angry today."

  "I find it hard to tell when she's not angry. But what did you do?"

  "Well," Maggie began, as Elizabeth took her plate from her, "I needed to know what's been going on since Alexander was shot and went to ask Annette. I'm afraid she may have been talking about our conversation sooner than I expected, and that Regina might have overheard her. I should have gone right to John, I suppose. He wouldn't have mentioned it to anyone else. But then neither would he have told me anything."

  "I'm sorry for John," Elizabeth said. "I know he has his job to do, but he cares about the people here. All this probably hurts him as much as anyone."

  "By the way," Maggie said, "John and Dyna seem to have something starting between them."

  Elizabeth smiled at that, looking interested.

  "Unfortunately, though, as far as that's concerned anyway, she's off in Atlantic City right now. She checking into what Alexander's activities were when he was there. With a bit of luck, she might dig up something helpful." Maggie suddenly had an idea. "Elizabeth, why don't you come stay with me while she's gone?"

  Elizabeth looked over at her, and shook her head. "No, I think I'd be very poor company for anyone right now."

  "You don't have to be great company. I have Ali for that," Maggie said, smiling. "But why should we both be alone? Come on over."

  Elizabeth smiled. "I can't. Not now. I just have to be by myself. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

  Maggie sighed, and, looking at Elizabeth's determined face, gave up. She knew Elizabeth wasn't "fine", but simply hanging on, day by day. Visits and distractions might relieve her pressures for a while, but they were only temporary. She required a much more permanent fix. Elizabeth needed her life back, and soon. Maggie had to get busy.