by Joyce Lavene
At one point, the north end of Charlotte had been growing as fast as the campus. Strip malls had brought traffic, and IBM had brought industry. The wealthier denizens of the city moved out to Ballontyne and Pineville, leaving behind their expensive homes. Now many of those buildings sat empty, victims of massive unemployment. As more and more jobs were shipped overseas, computer technicians joined the unemployment lines or looked for jobs at Taco Bell.
Inside the campus, Peggy and her dad found Harwood’s office.
“I’d like to see Professor Harwood.” Peggy told his assistant. “He’s expecting me.”
The pretty girl in the tight pink tank top and green short shorts smiled and whipped her long auburn hair back over her shoulder. “He was called to a meeting. He should be back soon. He quit, you know. That leaves me having to look for another summer job.”
“Really?” Peggy commiserated. “That’s too bad. It must be his work with Feed America.”
“Yeah,” the girl mourned. “They say he’s got some real money now, you know? But I won’t see it.”
Peggy looked around the foyer. There were no chairs. “Could we wait in his office?”
“Oh, sure. Go ahead. I don’t care.” The girl took out her nail polish again and started liberally applying poppy red polish to her toenails.
“Thanks.” Peggy smiled at the back of the girl’s head, then beckoned her father into Holles’s office. It was barely more than a closet. “No wonder he wanted to take over Feed America.”
“Not much here,” her father agreed, squeezing himself into a corner where a folding chair was open. “I take it Darmus has a bigger office?”
“Much bigger. I’m sure he could have had more, but he’s always been a sparse man. I have a feeling Holles won’t be the same.” Peggy didn’t sit down right away. Instead, she calmly started rifling through Holles’s desk.
“What are you looking for?” Her father watched her. “Should I stand outside the door and whistle if I see him coming?”
“That would be great, Dad. But we don’t want to look too suspicious.” She glanced at the closed door. “Just stand over there and hold the doorknob. That will give me a minute to sit down if we’re interrupted. Holles will think the door is stuck.”
But there was nothing incriminating on the desk—at least nothing she could find. If Holles was involved with what happened to Darmus and Luther, he didn’t leave any trace of it here, unlike the blatant information the police found on Darmus’s desk. There was also nothing here about Feed America.
Just then, Peggy saw something on the floor under the desk and stooped down to get it. It was a cottonseed. She heard Holles’s voice outside the door and rushed to sit down as she stuffed the seed in the pocket of her jeans. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t preserved. The police couldn’t use it anyway; this was an illegal search.
As they planned, Peggy’s father held the doorknob for a moment, and then finally opened the door with a big, hokey smile on his face. “Sorry about that. I was about to go look for the bathroom and didn’t realize you were on the other side of the door.”
Was it Peggy’s imagination, or did Holles scan the room carefully like he was checking to be sure nothing had been removed?
“That’s all right.” Holles clapped his hand on her father’s shoulder. “You’re Dr. Lee’s father, right?”
“That’s right, Ranson Hughes.” He shook Holles’s hand. “Up here from the Low Country for a couple of weeks.”
Holles’s eyes glittered at Peggy. He closed the door behind her father as he left the office. “Well! I’m pleased to see you here. I was hoping our little exchange the other day didn’t sour our relationship. What can I do for you?”
“Have you considered that whoever killed Luther might have been trying to get his hands on the group? If you take over, you could be next.”
He laughed. “I’m not really worried about that. Someone will have to head up the organization. It might as well be me.”
Might as well be a skunk as a snake, the old phrase repeated in her mind as she looked at his oily smile. “Well, you certainly have the credentials. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Is that all? I’m hoping to see Darmus today. He’s out on bond, you know.”
“I heard. Thank you, Holles.”
Peggy’s father came around a corner as she walked out of the office. “How did it go?”
“It might be pointless.” She took the cottonseed out of her pocket. “But I found this under his desk.”
“A cottonseed.” He nodded. “It’s not something you see much in a city. Could be it’s significant. It’s about time to head to that lawyer’s office. Maybe you can tell him about the cottonseeds. Maybe he’ll be able to do something with the information.” He glanced at his watch. “Remember? You gave me this for my sixtieth birthday.”
“I remember.” She smiled. “Want me to drop you at home before I go over there? It’s likely to be pretty boring.”
“No, that’s okay. I’d rather go with you. This is kind of exciting!”
“It would be a lot more exciting if I actually found something that made sense.” She sighed as she got into her truck.
Her father agreed. “It’s possible no one from Feed America had anything to do with what happened to Luther. Maybe it was someone from his church. They were bound to know he was asthmatic, too, right?”
She grinned at her father. “Right. You’re good at this, Dad.”
“I love mystery novels. Mind you, I don’t always know who did it, but I like trying to figure it out. Perry Mason was my one of my favorites. But I like The Thin Man, too. And that 007 fella. Some of the new ones are good, too. Like your sheriff friend.”
Parking was congested at the deck for the lawyer’s office. Peggy wasn’t sure they were going to get a place until a man in a gold Cadillac left, and they swooped in to take his spot. She was careful to notice where they parked before they took the elevator into Founders Hall. It was too easy to get turned around when you came back out into the deck.
While they were there, they might as well check and see if there was already a spot set up for the Smith & Hawken store. She hoped it was only rumor. It was nice having the market to herself. But what were the chances someone wouldn’t see the growth in the uptown area and want to get their share?
She stopped and introduced her father to David and Kathy Friese at the Bookmark Bookstore as they walked through the crowded shopping and business center.
“Sorry to hear about that Smith & Hawken store,” David said to Peggy. “I wouldn’t want to have to share our business with another bookstore.”
“Smith & Hawken isn’t exactly the same as the Potting Shed,” Peggy replied. “But I agree. I’d rather them not come into town.”
“It seems odd, since they’re already at Phillips Place,” Kathy said. “Maybe it’s just a rumor.”
“Let’s hope so,” Peggy agreed.
They left the couple at the bookstore and walked toward the address on the lawyer’s business card. The office suite was expensive and tastefully decorated with recessed lighting and black marble floors. Long, low sofas looked uncomfortable next to plastic plants and tall lights with tentacles like octopi.
“No wonder the lawyer looked like that when he visited the Potting Shed,” Peggy murmured to her father. “He was probably uncomfortable with so many living things.”
“There’s definitely not enough plastic or metal in the Potting Shed for his tastes.”
“Can I help you?” A young, sharp-faced woman whose thick black hair had pale blue highlights, faced them across a huge glass desk.
“We’re here to see Erasmus Smith,” Peggy explained.
She didn’t see the woman move a finger, but a second later, the flashy lawyer stood in the doorway. “Dr. Lee, please come in.”
With her father trailing behind her, they both walked carefully into the back, moving like the dead descending into Hades. The wide doors closed behind them, and Peggy
smiled, her eyes filming with tears as she saw her old friend. “Darmus!”
“Peggy . . .”
Peggy launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly to her. He felt thinner inside his yellow and red African robe, but the pleasure of finding him alive and so much different than the last time she saw him made her incredibly happy. “I heard you were out on bail. I never dreamed you’d be here.”
“I sent Erasmus for you.” Darmus hugged her back with passion. “There’s so much to explain. I wanted to see you, but I don’t dare leave here right now.”
“Why?” Peggy wiped tears from her eyes as she introduced her father, and Darmus shook his hand. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone was drugging me.” He sat down on one of the low sofas and invited her to do the same. “I think it might be someone who wants Feed America. I think it might be the same person who killed Luther. As long as he continues to think I’m out of commission and harmless, it will be fine. I have to give him a chance to show himself.”
“Are you sure?” She sat beside him.
“Positive. They found the drug in my system when I was in the county jail. They thought I ingested it purposelly. Amanita muscaria.”
Peggy nodded. “Fly agaric, the poison mushroom.” That explained a great deal about his strange behavior. Fly agaric could cause delusions, paranoia, and hallucinations.
“I have no idea how long I’ve been ingesting it. I guess I’m lucky to be alive. Whoever was giving it to me knew what he was doing.”
“Who’d do such a thing?” she asked. “And why?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. “I didn’t know I’d engendered such hatred from anyone. Who would want to destroy me, Peggy?”
Holles Harwood’s name came to mind, but she didn’t speak it. She had no real proof beyond her feelings of revulsion for the man.
“And now Luther is dead, too. My only brother.”
Peggy put her hand on his. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Whoever it is knows about botanicals,” her father said. “Enough to use them to kill or just manipulate a situation.”
“Exactly,” Darmus agreed. “He needed Luther out of the way permanently and knew what to do. He also made it look like I was the one who did it. He knew by the time they found the mushroom in me, it would be too late.”
“Whoever did this might have also thought people would assume you took the mushroom yourself to get high,” Peggy considered.
“Yes,” Darmus said sadly. “I feel like such a fool. I was so wrapped up in saving the world, but I couldn’t even save Rebecca or Luther.”
“There was nothing you could do about either of them,” Peggy argued. “Rebecca died from natural causes. But we can find out what happened to Luther so the right person pays his dues for it.”
“How do we know?” Darmus turned unbearably sad eyes to her. “How do we know the same person didn’t cause Rebecca to have cancer?”
“Now Darmus, that’s paranoid.” Her mind raced over the idea. It was paranoid, wasn’t it?
He buried his face in his hands, his gaunt figure the depth of sorrow. “I hope so. But if nothing else, I was guilty of ignoring her when she needed me. I wasn’t there for her, God help me. I never thought she’d die.”
“Let’s concentrate on what we know,” Peggy said, trying to bring him back. “We’re scientists, Darmus. Let’s stick to the facts. What do we know so far?”
He wiped his nose and eyes with a large white handkerchief. “We know someone wants power over me and wanted me to be alone.”
“That’s true,” she agreed.
The door to the inner office opened, and Darmus looked up and smiled. “But they didn’t expect to find me with a family.”
Peggy turned around to see Abekeni and Rosie standing in the doorway.
“Peggy!” Rosie smiled and rushed toward them. “I’m so glad you’re here!”
“Rosie! I can’t believe you’re here!”
Her friend hugged her and stepped back. “I know. But you coming to me was like a beam of sunlight. Suddenly I understood what I should do.”
Peggy was at a loss for words. Abekeni even smiled at her. Something is definitely wrong here, she thought.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Darmus put his arms around Abekeni and Rosie. “After all these years, I find out I have a son! My life is complete now. Nothing anyone can do can harm me.”
“It’s wonderful!” Peggy couldn’t think of what else to say. Seeing the three of them together was overwhelming.
“Can you believe how handsome he is?” Darmus asked her. “And smart, too. Did Rosie tell you Abekeni is a musician, too? It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Peggy wished she could think of something else to say. She was happy for Darmus. But after her last conversation with Rosie, she was shocked to see them all together.
“I know it couldn’t have been easy for you all those years, raising Abekeni by yourself.” Darmus smiled into Rosie’s face. “I promise you, now that we’ve found each other again, nothing will separate us. I will always be here for you.”
Darmus looked happier than Peggy had seen him in years. She touched her father on the arm to signal that they should go. The family looked very wrapped up in one another at that moment. She felt like she was eavesdropping.
“I know that look,” Darmus chided her, turning away from Rosie.
“You do?” Peggy smiled.
“Yes! You’re thinking this is too good to be true. I know you. You’re as much a skeptic as I am. I thought the same thing myself. But Rosie convinced me it’s true. Be happy for me, Peggy. It’s wonderful!”
“I am,” she agreed. “I’m just worried about everything else going on.”
“We’ll take care of that.” Darmus snapped his fingers. “Everything will be right as rain again. You’ll see.”
“I think you might need this.” Peggy took his wedding band out of her pocket. “Luther had it when they found him dead in the garden.”
Darmus took it from her and slid it on his finger. “Yes. He’d promised to bring it to me. I felt naked without it. It was the one thing I couldn’t bear to leave behind.” He looked up at her. “I wish I’d been there to get it from him. Maybe he would still be alive today.”
Peggy couldn’t help it. She had to ask. “Where were you?”
Darmus shook his head. “I’m not sure. I remember getting ready to go to the garden. It all becomes hazy after that. The next thing I knew, it was night. The mushroom took my memory away from me.”
“We have to come up with a list of people you think could have been drugging you,” Peggy said. “That might lead us to Luther’s killer as well.”
“Stay for dinner,” Darmus coaxed. “We’ll talk about it then.”
“I wish I could.” Peggy needed an excuse. “But my mother is at home by herself. I have to go. Maybe I could have a rain check on dinner.”
“Of course.” Darmus threw his arms around her. “I’ll talk to you later. We’ll find the answer to all this. Don’t worry.”
Peggy wasn’t so sure when she walked out with her father, leaving Rosie gazing happily into Darmus’s face.
“You’re not happy for your friend?” her father guessed.
“I’m happy for him. I guess I can’t figure out how it happened. If you could have seen her, Dad, when I talked with her in Asheville, she wasn’t anything like this about Darmus. And Abekeni was downright hostile. Why this turnaround?”
He shrugged. “It may be like she said. People can change their minds, Margaret. Maybe she did just that.”
“Or she decided Darmus could help Abekeni.”
“Maybe that, too. But he seems happy.”
“I think he is. But how will he feel if she’s only using him?”
“I believe he’ll cope. We all get used in one way or another. Look at me and your mother. She only wants me for my credit card.”
Peggy laughed. “But you’ve always known that.”<
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“True.” He shook his head. “Just let them be, sweet pea. Everything may be fine. A man might not mind being used when it comes to discovering he has a family.”
She knew he was right. Besides, she couldn’t bear to tell Darmus his family’s affection might not be genuine. “Let’s go out to Luther’s church before we go home for dinner. I’d like to take a look around before anyone else gets any ideas.”
“I’m sure Steve can handle your mother for a mite longer. He’s a good man, Margaret. I don’t know how you lucked out twice, but I believe you did.”
