The Princess and the Poison

by Carol E. Ayer

  * * *

  I put Cameron in charge at the park, and Donna and I went shopping before Becca's baby shower. For once, we were doing something unrelated to the murder. It felt good, especially since we were shopping for something other than clothes for me. Donna also seemed in a good mood.

  After we'd decided on a car seat and Donna had pulled me away from a darling Wizard of Oz necklace, we had our gift wrapped, and we left for the Beetle.

  Driving toward Becca's parents' house, I spotted a familiar figure walking along Orchard Drive and slammed on the brakes. So much for a day without murder investigations.

  "Hey!" Donna objected as her purse flew off her lap onto the floor.

  "It's Ryan! Let's follow him."

  "We'll be late to the shower."

  "Not that late. I want to see where he's going. I don't completely trust him. He's the obvious choice for the killer." I wasn't sure what I expected. What could he possibly do to implicate himself? Buy a box of syringes? Dig up the spindle? But onward.

  I turned the car in the direction Ryan was headed, pulled ahead of a slow-moving Ford Focus, and swung into a parking lot. But there wasn't an available space.

  "Let's give up, hon," Donna said.

  "Shoot. We're gonna lose him." Ignoring Donna's protestations, I circled around the lot until someone pulled out.

  "Stay here. I'll be back soon." I tore out of the lot and onto the sidewalk. It was a particularly busy area, but I finally caught sight of Ryan. Thank goodness for his neon yellow shirt. He walked up to the movie theater on Chestnut Drive, bought a ticket, and went inside. I ran up to the ticket booth, looked up to the marquee, and saw that a series of Katrina's movies was playing in memoriam to her. Oh. So he just wanted to see his girlfriend again. How sweet.

  "Well? Are you buying a ticket or not?" the ticket seller asked me irritably.

  "What? No. No, thanks."

  So, okay. Ryan sincerely missed Katrina. Or…was there another explanation? Maybe he had killed her but regretted it and just wanted to see her face on the big screen again.

  I headed back to the parking lot and got in the car, debriefing Donna as I turned on the ignition.

  "I don't know what to make of him, Donna. Maybe he's just exactly as he seems. He loved his girlfriend. She was murdered, and now he's mourning her."

  "So he's off the list?"

  "I'm not quite ready for that step. But he's moved down the list. Damn this whole curare problem. His father confirmed that someone knowledgeable would have had to make up the mixture. I still haven't been able to figure out who would have the know-how. Other than Dr. Rythersen himself. But I really feel he was telling me the truth when he said he wouldn't have known how."

  Donna didn't comment, but her face went pale. She knew as well as I that Charlie was the obvious suspect from that angle.

  "If you come up with any ideas as to how I can talk to Mariana again, let me know," I said, and Donna nodded. Maybe Mariana killed Katrina to get Ryan back, and again, I worried for Ryan's safety if he'd broken things off with her.

  We drove on to the shower, and I tried to adjust my frame of mind to exclude murder and focus instead on babies. We arrived a few minutes later and parked on the street.

  Blue balloons and streamers decorated the mailbox, the porch, and the front door. Donna rang the doorbell, and Jamie and Becca's mother, Charlotte, answered. She wore a blue sheath the same color as the decorations, and her dark hair was done up in a neat French braid.

  "Hi, Charlotte," I said as she kissed my cheek. "How have you been?"

  "It's good to see you, darling. And how are you, Donna?"

  "I'm very well, thank you."

  I flicked my eyes at Donna, but she only smiled. Obviously she didn't want to ruin the occasion by talking about her troubles. That was the kind of person Donna was. Unselfish and always thinking of others. Once more, I mentally slapped myself for thinking she could have killed Katrina.

  Charlotte ushered us into the living room, where we appeared to be the last to have arrived. Every seat was taken. Donna raised her eyebrows at me, no doubt admonishing me for making us late, but I just smiled at her innocently.

  Becca, looking sweet in a yellow maternity sundress, hopped up and hugged us. She placed a necklace strung with a dozen safety pins around each of our necks. "Every time someone says 'baby,' the first person to call out can steal a pin from her necklace. At the end of the shower, whoever has the most pins gets a prize." She winked at us and added in a near-whisper, "I know it's kind of cheesy, but my mom wanted to do it."

  Charlotte brought in two more folding chairs, and Donna and I sat.

  We all chatted for a few minutes about the upcoming birth. The parents-to-be had been taking birthing classes, and Becca demonstrated the techniques she'd learned. We clapped enthusiastically.

  Becca's long-time friend, Rochelle, asked if she and Joey had decided on a name.

  "No, not yet."

  This was followed by a flurry of suggestions, replete with laughs and groans. The most unusual idea was "Jocca," an unfortunate attempt to merge the baby's parents' names. Unsurprisingly, Becca shot it down immediately.

  Donna was especially adept at noticing when someone used the word "baby," and soon her necklace was crowded with pins. I laughed at her. She was very competitive and always had to win the board games we played.

  After we'd exhausted the subject of a name, Charlotte passed out pieces of paper with scrambled words on them.

  I'd always been good at word puzzles. I finished first, much to Donna's chagrin.

  "Are you sure that's a word?" she challenged me, pointing to my sheet.

  "Of course it is!"

  Charlotte agreed after checking over my work, and she brought me a small potted plant as my reward.

  In the lull between games, I poked around a little. The house didn't look much different from the last time I had been there, on the heartbreaking occasion of Jamie's memorial service. Before then, I had visited a number of times. I'd always gotten along well with Charlotte and her husband, Donald. They had some rough times after Jamie's death and had separated, but they'd reconciled and been together ever since. Becca had been having a difficult time herself, and I was happy her parents were still together to help her. Plus, I hated to think the tragedy of Jamie's death had caused further trouble within the family.

  While the girls chatted, I examined the family photos on the mantel, noticing the many pictures of Jamie. I was touched to see one of Jamie and me hamming it up at his cousin's wedding.

  After the next game, Charlotte directed us to a table laden with desserts. I chose a small sliver of chocolate cake, a couple of madeleine cookies, and a mocha Charlotte made out of a fancy coffee machine. Moderation, as Donna had advised.

  Becca sat beside me when everyone settled down to eat. "I want to run something by you."

  "Shoot." I nibbled on a madeleine.

  "We actually do have a name in mind. We're thinking of naming him Jamie."

  My stomach dropped. My throat constricted. Tears sprang to my eyes, and joy filled up my insides, exhausting the heck out of me. "That's…that's so nice," I managed to squeak out.

  "Oh, good. I'm glad you like it. My parents are thrilled too."

  "It's great, Becca. I'm really happy for you. You seem to be doing well."

  Her eyes teared up. "I am doing well, Ashling, really. Of course, I still miss Jamie, but I'm so happy. I love being married and being pregnant." She squeezed my arm. "What about you?"

  I said quickly, "I'm fine."

  "Ashling."

  "Okay, I'm maybe not fine. But I'm hanging in there."

  "How's your love life?"

  The question I really didn't want to answer. "Not much to say on that front."

  "I hope you find someone soon. I really want you to be happy."

  "Thanks."

  Present time was next. Becca exclaimed over the car seat. She also received a stroller, a breast pump, and countless baby cloth
es. Rochelle gave her a set of beautiful blue blankets, which Becca passed around so we could feel how soft they were.

  While Becca opened more presents, one of her friends approached me and asked, "You're the one who works at StoryWorld, right?"

  "Right. I'm the owner and manager."

  "I'm Maggie. So you were there when Katrina Irvine died?"

  Gulp. Another Katrina devotee. I should have anticipated there would be at least a couple of her fans here. "Yeah, I'm afraid so."

  "I was so sad when I heard the news. I cried for an entire day."

  "I'm sorry," I said, thinking that I'd really, really like to tell Maggie about Katrina's true nature. But that would be as cruel as the things Katrina had done. So I kept my mouth shut.

  "I belong to an online forum for talking about her and her movies and stuff. You should have read how upset everyone was after she died. Oh, wait, Becca's opening my present."

  Online forum? My eyes darted to Donna, who was taking more safety pins from guests who couldn't help saying "baby." Surely Donna wouldn't have belonged to the forum? Could she have implicated herself further by complaining publicly about the star?

  After another half hour, the event wound down. Donna won the safety pin game and was presented with a potted plant similar to mine. Everyone said their good-byes, and Donna and I left for the car.

  "That was so nice," Donna commented as we drew away from the curb. "I'm really pleased for Becca."

  "Me too. And guess what? They're going to name the baby Jamie."

  "Oh, Ash. That's terrific."

  "Yeah. It is."

  "Maybe one day I'll be throwing a baby shower for you."

  It seemed very unlikely at that point, but I said, "Maybe."

  "You could bring her to StoryWorld. She could sleep in a crib in the office. Or in the restaurant. I could look after her."

  I glanced over at her. "Wow, you have this all planned, don't you? Even down to the gender."

  "A girl can dream, can't she?"

  "Sure. I guess."

  "Of course, maybe I'll be in prison." She sounded a little too serious.

  "No! It's going to work out. I promise."

  "I hope so."

  No time like the present. I had to find out if she'd ever posted anything negative about Katrina on the internet. I bit my lip. "So, uh, you didn't ever post anything about Katrina online, did you? Like on a fan forum or social media?"

  She suddenly seemed very interested in the stick of gum she'd just gotten from her purse.

  My stomach did a nervous gurgling thing, and I had to work to keep the car from swerving into the other lane. "You did?"

  "Okay, yeah, a couple of times on one of the fan forums. But I'm not completely stupid. I deleted my posts after we were interviewed by the police the first time."

  "Yeah, but isn't there usually some indication a post was there but was deleted? And it has your name attached to it?"

  "Just a nickname. Not my real name."

  "I don't know, Donna. I'm still worried. They can probably find out you were a member of the website and that you posted. They probably can recover what you wrote. What did you write? Nothing inflammatory, right?"

  Donna rubbed her mouth with her hand. "Oh God. This is terrible."

  My mom, a fan of the old TV show Lost in Space, often quoted the line, "Danger, Will Robinson." The phrase resounded in my head, so loudly I was sure Donna could hear it. "What did you say on the forum? Tell me."

  "It was the day I had the shouting match with her. I was really steamed. I guess I said some uncomplimentary things. I don't really remember, though."

  "You didn't say anything about wanting to kill her?"

  "I know you can't say that on the internet. But I guess I might have said something about wanting her to get her comeuppance. Please, let's not talk about it anymore."

  I agreed, but later, at home, I fretted. Would the detectives find the posts? Or something else incriminating enough to arrest Donna and Charlie? What if Donna really did go to prison? I pictured visiting her, she in her orange jumpsuit and me with nothing to say because I had failed her. Then I'd go to the men's prison to visit Charlie. Ugh. I couldn't let that happen. They were innocent, and I had to prove it. It was time to do something drastic. I just had to figure out what.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Ryan came to see me again the next day. Joaquin was in the office working on our website, so I suggested to Ryan we head for Jack and Jill's Hill to talk. We passed by the statues of the title characters in their undignified positions at the foot of the hill and climbed the incline. We sat cross-legged at the top of the hill and looked out over the park. The sun shone in our faces, and, because it wasn't too hot yet, the sensation was almost pleasant.

  "How are you doing?" I asked.

  "Sometimes I'm okay, I guess. But most of the time, I'm not. I've been crying a lot."

  "Believe it or not, that's a good sign. You're not avoiding your feelings. They won't kill you, even though it feels like they will."

  "I broke up with Mariana."

  "Oh, okay. How did that go?" I held my breath.

  "Not as bad as I thought it would."

  And he was still alive, which was good. Which still didn't prove Mariana hadn't killed Katrina.

  After a minute of silence, Ryan asked, "Is it worth it?"

  "Is what worth it?"

  "Loving someone and losing them."

  "Honestly, yeah, I think so. I'm grateful for every day I was able to know Jamie and to love him. As much as it hurts that I lost him. And it does still hurt. Just not as much as it used to."

  Ryan scooted closer and looked into my eyes. Without thinking, I leaned in, and our lips met. After a few seconds, I realized what I was doing and drew back. I scrambled to my feet.

  "I'm sorry." He looked up at me while shading his eyes against the sun. "I shouldn't have done that."

  "It's all right. But it can't happen again. I'm kind of involved with someone." Poor Scott. Now I was cheating on him? Yeah, technically we weren't really together, but I still considered us pseudo-involved because we'd never officially broken up. I couldn't believe me.

  "I was just feeling so sad about Katrina, you know?"

  I nodded. "I guess I needed comfort too. But this isn't a good idea."

  "I hope we can still be friends, Ashling." He got to his feet. "We have something in common, something I don't think I would have in common with many other people my age. Our significant others died too soon."

  "I know what you mean. Yeah, we can still be friends. But I better get back to the office for now. See you?"

  "See you, Ashling."

  Halfway to the office, I turned back. Ryan was still standing at the top of Jack and Jill's Hill. I was too far away to make out his expression, but I could have sworn he was crying.

  In the office, I couldn't stop thinking about Ryan, partly because I felt terrible for kissing another man when I considered myself involved with Scott. But more than that, I couldn't get over wondering if Ryan could have killed Katrina. His grief seemed sincere, but could guilt be driving it? I remembered him telling me how sweet and kind Katrina was. Could it all have been an act, an artifice to hide what he'd done? If he had murdered Katrina, I'd just kissed a killer.

  * * *

  The next morning, Cameron and Katie arrived in the office hanging all over each other. I had to look twice. Was Cameron's hand really in Katie's back jeans pocket? Did people still do that?

  "Hey, boss," Cameron greeted me. "Guess what?"

  They'd found their brains, like the Scarecrow? Okay, that was snarky. But I really didn't want to attempt a guess. "What?"

  "Katie and I are getting married. We got engaged on the Fourth of July."

  Katie flashed me a huge smile. It occurred to me with a start that I had never seen her smile before. It was good to know she had teeth. She seemed genuinely happy. But how old was she? If I recalled correctly, she had just turned nineteen. And Cameron wasn't a who
le lot older. Whoa. Way too young to get married. But it really wasn't any of my business, was it? I wasn't their mother, their therapist, or their religious advisor. I should stay out of it.

  I summoned all my energy. "Wow, that's…exciting! Congratulations!"

  Katie tilted up her left hand, and a tiny diamond sparkled at me.

  "We're gonna have a destination wedding. In Hawaii!" Cameron said, and I hoped Katie's parents would be just as pleased. It sounded expensive, and Katie and Cameron weren't exactly raking in the dough working here at StoryWorld. Besides, Cameron must have spent every last penny he had on the ring. Probably Katie's parents would have to bankroll the happy event.

  Brittany came in a few minutes later while Katie was gushing over the planned wedding, and I slapped my hand across my mouth. I had forgotten my promise to not schedule Brittany and Katie at the same time.

  "Hey, guys!" Brittany said brightly.

  Katie and Cameron took turns hugging her. Whaaa? When had that happened? They were all now one big happy family?

  "Isn't it great news?" Brittany said to me. "That they're engaged?"

  "Um. Yeah. Great news."

  Katie and Cameron left together, hand in hand.

  I watched Brittany closely as I handed her the keys for the merry-go-round, but she seemed fine. How had that happened? She thanked me sweetly and left for the ride. How did I end up in Wonderland?

  After I'd greeted the rest of the staff and sent them to their stations, I considered the big news. Cameron and Katie were engaged. In my typical cynical way, I wondered if the engagement would last. They were so young.

  This thought was followed immediately by another. How had they managed to commit to each other when I still hadn't figured out what to do about Scott, and I was going around kissing other men?

  * * *

  Around the time Cameron and Katie were surprising me with their announcement, Becca gave birth. Leaving the swooning groom-to-be in charge, Donna and I visited the new mother at the hospital early in the afternoon.