Poisoned Petals plgm-3

by Joyce Lavene

  “Then it might be Abekeni. My God, how much more does Darmus have to take?”

  Peggy didn’t say another word as Al drove through the night streets like a NASCAR driver. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t actually think besides a cold, analytical portion of her brain that kept pace with what they were doing. Drive down Tryon to Highway 49. Get off on the ramp. Follow the signs to Hampstead Apartments. Oh, God, please let Paul be all right.

  At that moment, she didn’t care about anything other than that. Nothing mattered. Not Darmus or Abekeni, not herself. Her mind replayed over and over the night John was killed. She saw Al’s face when he came to tell her. The face of the surgeon who told her there was nothing he could do. Her own face in the mirror at home when it was over, realizing he was gone. She didn’t even recognize herself.

  There were already flashing lights in the apartment complex when they got there. An ambulance crew was getting out and starting toward a dark, grassy area illuminated by the orange lights above their heads. Two police cars were there, officers keeping the growing crowd back from the site.

  She saw Rosie on the ground and for a moment, she thought she was hurt. Then she realized she was crying over Abekeni’s still form. Her face was distorted in anger and grief. Naomi knelt on the ground beside her, a lost and bewildered look on her face.

  “I don’t see Paul,” Peggy said to Al, fear tasting like brine in her mouth. “Where is he?”

  “He’s here.” Al’s voice was calm and deep. “He’s here somewhere.”

  They rode around to the left of the crime scene. Al parked the car as Ranson tried to contain Shakespeare, who was throwing himself against the window. Peggy was out before Al could turn off the engine, searching the faces of the people there. Officers took statements from onlookers, glancing at her as she walked by. A paramedic rolled another stretcher from the back of an ambulance while his partner called in someone’s vital signs.

  It was at that moment that Peggy saw her son. He was sitting on a curb beside the ambulance holding a thick wad of bandage on his forearm. Blood, a strange dark shade against the white, seeped out around his hand.

  “Paul!” She forced herself not to throw her body against him and sob. “Are you all right?”

  “I got a crease, Mom. Nothing to worry about.”

  “You’ll get a few days off for it, rookie,” Al told him. “I hope you’re satisfied.”

  Paul winced as the paramedic moved his hand away from the bandage. “It could have been worse.”

  “Always.” Al settled his weighty body beside him on the curb. “What happened here, son?”

  “We took the call to check on Harwood’s apartment and got here to find Naomi—or Ms. Bates—and Abekeni trying to get into the building. Abekeni turned and fired. I returned fire. His bullet grazed my arm. He fell to the ground.”

  “You killed my son!” Rosie yelled, running toward Paul. “Peggy, your son killed my Abekeni!”

  She was stopped by Paul’s partner who looked at Al for instructions.

  “Take her and the Bates girl in for questioning.” Al dealt with the problem. He looked down at Paul. “I think you’re headed for the hospital. Good work, Officer Lee.”

  Sam and Holles, both barefoot and shirtless, stood outside, watching the scene, confusion on their faces. Peggy couldn’t find the energy to hail Sam and explain. She wanted to fall on the ground and not get up again. Her legs didn’t feel like they had the strength to carry her back to the car.

  Sam saw her and walked over to where she sat beside Paul on the ground. “Peggy.”

  “Sam.”

  He shrugged and nudged some grass with his foot. “So I’m scheduled to do the Parkers’ yard next week. Is that okay with you?”

  She smiled. “I’m sure Mrs. Parker wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Never mind. If two friends can’t get mad and say a few stupid things to each other without it being the end of the world, what are friends for?”

  “Thanks.” Sam looked at Paul. “Thank you, too, dude.”

  Paul shook his hand. “That’s my job.”

  Sam nodded and left them. He took Holles’s hand and walked back into the apartment building.

  “Are you okay, Mom?” Paul asked after the paramedics convinced him he had to ride on a stretcher.

  “I will be,” she promised. “Once I go home and totally fall apart, I’ll be fine.” She breathed a silent word of thanks toward the night sky. She’d been lucky this time.

  PEGGY WALKED WITH STEVE through the quiet only found in cemeteries. Albert Jackson and Luther Appleby had been buried that morning.

  A simple plaque bore Albert’s name. There were no mourners. But Peggy put a bouquet of waxy white lotus flowers on his grave.

  “What do those mean?” Steve asked.

  “Mystery and truth. I thought they were apt for his ending.”

  Steve hugged her close to him. “It was ironic, wasn’t it? Paul killing Darmus’s son.”

  “I know.” She drew her black shawl closer to her against the chill. “The kind of irony I could live without.”

  She got a late warning from Nightflyer about Abekeni. He’d found a store photo of the young man in an herbal shop in Asheville and managed to produce a receipt for the fly agaric he’d purchased. It was useless in the long run. But it made Peggy decide to take the contract position with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. If she could use her knowledge to help people, she was going to do it.

  A slight figure came toward them through the misty graveyard. He carried a green Army duffel bag and wore his coat with the collar pulled up close to his face against the cold. His shoulders were bent, his head down. He shuffled his feet through the carpet of leaves that littered the pathway.

  Darmus looked up as he approached them. A shaft of sunlight broke through the mist, illuminating his face. “Peggy. I thought I’d find you here.”

  She didn’t rush to greet him as she would have weeks ago. Nothing could ever be the same between them again. Even with their long-standing friendship, the shadows of sorrow would stand in the way. “Darmus. Are you leaving?”

  “Yes. There’s nothing left to fight over now. The Council of Churches has abandoned Feed America.” His grim eyes played over the austere landscape. “I wish to God I had never started it.”

  “You tried to do something wonderful,” she consoled. “There was no way for you to know.”

  “Maybe if I’d looked up from teaching once in a while to live, I might have seen. I don’t know.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Away. The charges aren’t clear against me yet. They may never be. If they want me, they’ll have to come find me. I don’t care.”

  Peggy couldn’t help him. He was broken, depleted. She didn’t care about the shadows. She rushed to him and threw her arms around him. “Take care of yourself. And call me when you can.”

  His look of amazement was genuine. “I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me again. My son shot Paul and tried to kill you. I will never forgive myself for that. I thought I could protect him, even though I knew he killed Luther.”

  “It wasn’t you.” She had tears in her eyes. “Not even the part that was you. The mushroom almost destroyed your brain.”

  He hugged her with one arm. “Ah, pretty Peggy. You are a true friend.” He looked up at Steve. “Take care of her. She’s a treasure.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Darmus smiled as Peggy stepped back and wiped her eyes. “I see someone I have to visit over there. The list grows longer every year. Friends and family. Take care, Peggy. I know God goes with you.”

  “Take care, Darmus,” she echoed, watching him walk past them toward Albert Jackson’s grave.

  Steve put his arm around her. “You’re freezing. How about some tea?”

  “That sounds good.” She smiled up at him, seeing the sunshine in his hair, loving the way he looked at her. “I’m off the rest of
the morning.”

  He kissed her and smiled wickedly. “I know just the place.”

  PEGGY SAID GOOD-BYE to her parents, Cousin Melvin, and Aunt Mayfield at eight a.m. Thursday morning. There wasn’t a dry eye in the group, of course. She promised to come down when the shop got slow for the summer. Her parents didn’t mention the sale of their farm outside Charleston again, but Peggy felt sure the next time she saw them they would be ready to make their move.

  Paul was going to be fine. He was staying with her for a few days while his arm healed, then he’d be back at work on administrative duty until he was cleared on the shooting. Peggy was sorry he’d already had to take someone’s life, but she was happy he’d survived. She wanted to be long dead before anything like that happened again.

  “Mom?” She heard Paul call for her as she walked toward the TV room with a tray full of goodies they were going to eat while they watched the entire Star Wars epic on DVD.

  “I don’t think I can carry anything else,” she said.

  “It’s not that. I just thought about something.” He smiled at her. “Cousin Mayfield left his fishing pole here. How would you like to take a drive out to Badin Lake and do some fishing while I have the time off?”

  She put the tray of goodies down on the coffee table and put the first DVD into the player. “Mayor Harrison owes me a favor anyway. You can fish off the back of his boat, and I’ll admire the scenery. How’s that?”

  “Sounds great,” he said around a chip in his mouth. “We used to go out there all the time when I was little. Remember that time we were looking at his cows and I thought cows laid eggs? That was funny.”

  “It was,” she agreed. “Your father explained for a long time where calves came from. You just wouldn’t believe it.”

  “Yeah. I miss Dad.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you? I mean, with Steve and everything?”

  She smiled. “I will always love your father, Paul. No one can ever change that.”

  “Steve’s great, though,” he replied. “I really like him.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “Remember that last time we were on Morrow Mountain out in Badin and we saw all those tiger swallowtails in that tree?”

  “Yes! We still have the pictures your father took.”

  “Maybe we should take your butterflies out there and let them go. Steve could come, too, if you like.”

  “I think just the two of us should go,” she answered. “And that would be a great spot to let them go.”

  The theme from Star Wars started and Peggy sat down.

  “I love you, Mom,” Paul said. “I know I don’t say it enough and . . .”

  “Don’t be silly! Love is more than pretty phrases. You show me you love me all the time.” She picked up a chip. “And I love you, too. Now be quiet so we don’t miss the movie!”

  Peggy’s Garden Journal

  Spring

  Spring is the gardener’s time of year! Sweet breezes beckon as the land warms and thrives. There is nothing like the beginning of the year for anyone who loves to get outside and watch things grow.

  But it can be difficult to know what to do once you get outside. Many would-be gardeners are discouraged when they face the enormous amount of work to be done.

  The best thing to do is set up a list of projects. This list can be maintained according to priorities. Don’t get overwhelmed. Focus on each project and see it through, even if it takes longer than one season. Your yard will start to look better right away!

  Another good thing to do is to create a plan of how you want your garden to look. Where do you have shade and where do you have sun? Do you want to plant a color garden all in red or yellow? Do you have room for trees or a pond?

  Taking a good look at what you have to start with can influence what you want to do for the rest of the year. Be ambitious in the spring, maintain in the summer, harvest and replant in the fall, and prune in the winter. A good game plan will see you through all the phases of your garden!

  Happy Gardening!

  Peggy

  Care and Feeding Guide

  SPRING BUSHES

  Lilac. Nothing smells as good as a lilac! They are a low-maintenance shrub that offers beautiful flowers for weeks in the spring and a nice shade plant for summer. Once planted and properly cared for, the lilac will last for the life of your garden.

  Lilacs don’t like to keep their feet wet so be sure to plant them where they can get adequate drainage. Water frequently and deeply in the case of prolonged dryness. Their roots run deep.

  Use plenty of mulch to keep soil moisture and to keep weeds down. Lilacs don’t mind almost any kind of soil from clay to sand. Use a general-purpose fertilizer in early spring, preferably one high in phosphorus to promote blooming. Repeat in summer after blooms have fallen off.

  Forsythia. Forsythia or golden bell is an extremely fast-growing bush. It can grow one to three feet per year! Pruning is the only way to take care of it and still maintain any sort of shape. It is the earliest spring-blooming bush. It can be planted individually or as a group to provide a nice row. After the yellow flowers are gone, it will keep leaves the rest of the year.

  They are easy to grow. Established bushes require very little care. They should be set out in full sun to partial shade areas for best results. They will grow well in most soil but will need to be well drained.

  Fertilize once a year in early spring with a high-phosphorus fertilizer. Water only during extended dry spells.

  PLANTING A BUTTERFLY GARDEN

  What gardener wouldn’t love to have a yard full of flitting, gorgeous butterflies to add to the attractive landscape? It doesn’t take a lot of work to attract butterflies to your yard, just some planning.

  To begin with, you’ll need a location with plenty of sun and protection from the wind. A planting along a wall or line of bushes will work great. The specific plants you place in the garden will determine which butterflies you’ll attract. Achillea, aster, bee balm, liatris, lavender, lilies, thistles, and violets are all good bets.

  A good butterfly flower needs shape, color, and fragrance. Butterflies have a long tongue (proboscis) for sipping nectar from deep flowers. Having lots of small flowers packed tightly in a composite head is very attractive to them.

  To attract the widest array of butterflies, a variety of colors is best. Butterflies see colors in flowers that are not visible to humans. Mass plantings of a flower are more attractive than just one or two of each. Fragrance in flowers is also important. Butterflies have a good sense of smell. Use flowers with more scent rather than hybrid varieties that are showier but have less scent.

  A water supply can serve as a resting spot for some to drink and obtain minerals. You can make a nice mud puddle or push a saucer into the ground and keep it moist.

  Butterflies are cold-blooded and need to warm themselves on cool mornings before they can fly. Add a supply of dark rocks to collect warmth for butterflies to rest on.

  Some butterflies are attracted to fermenting fruit. A feeder can be made with cut apples, plums, peaches, or other ripe fruit. Red admirals and mourning cloaks may visit these.

  You can get a book or go to sites online to check out what type of butterfly is visiting your yard. This will give you some clues on what flowers to plant next year. A few of the butterflies you might attract to your garden are tiger swallowtails, sulphurs, skippers, hairstreaks, and buckeyes.

  Websites:

  www.butterflyworld.com

  www.butterflywebsite.com

  Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden 6500 South New Hope Rd.

  Belmont, NC 28012

  www.dsbg.org

  In 1989, Daniel J. Stowe, a retired textile executive from Belmont, North Carolina, reserved 450 acres of prime rolling meadows, woodlands, and lakefront property and established a foundation to develop a world-class botanical garden. A lifelong nature lover and gardening enthusiast, Dan Stowe and his wife, Alene, envisioned a complex evolving over several decades to rival other internatio
nally renowned gardens. One hundred and ten acres are complete.

  The Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden site has a long history. Native American tribes, the Catawba and Cherokee, trapped, fished, and raised families here. Later, the area was home to early European settlers. Recently, the gardens were used as pasture for farm animals. Most of the site is covered by mature woodlands and pine forest.

  The gardens offer many classes and children’s programs on horticulture, botany, gardening, and nature conservation. The facilities are open year-round and are available for special events such as weddings, parties, or other events.