Fruit of the Poisoned Tree

by Joyce; Jim Lavene

  They parked on the road. There was no way to get in the drive through the bevy of police and crime scene vehicles. It looked as though every light was on in the house. Peggy pushed open the car door and ran up through the wet grass.

  Her neighbor, Clarice, and her apricot poodle, Poopsie, met her halfway to the house. “Oh Peggy! Imagine something like this happening here. In this neighborhood. What’s the world coming to? I’m so sorry. I hope all of your valuables were insured.”

  Peggy brushed by her without a word, focused on the house. Steve smiled at the woman whose hair matched the color of her poodle and patted Poopsie’s head as he ran after Peggy. Clarice continued to fret as she followed the two of them.

  “Mom!” Paul waited for her at the front door. “I know this looks bad, but it could’ve been worse. These home invasions can be dangerous, too. Thank God you weren’t here.”

  “What about Shakespeare?” Peggy asked immediately as she continued through the house toward the kitchen. She ignored his attempts to soften the blow for her, focused on her concern for the dog. “Have you seen him?”

  “No.” Paul shook his head. “I heard him when we first got here. He’s here somewhere. Hello, Steve.”

  “Hi, Paul.” Steve kept up with Peggy’s frantic pace.

  “I thought she’d be worried about the antiques or her jewelry.” Paul shrugged. “Go figure.”

  “Your mother’s not an ordinary person,” Steve explained with a grin.

  “You noticed that, huh? I thought I’d learned to live with it. But she always manages to surprise me.”

  Peggy rushed by them and finally reached the kitchen, skirting the small groups of crime scene people rummaging through her house. She opened the laundry room door, and Shakespeare jumped down from the top of the dryer. Dropping to her knees, she threw her arms around his broad neck. “Thank goodness you’re all right.” She looked around the small room. He’d knocked over detergent and fabric softener, almost made his way through the wall near the door in his quest to get at the person who broke into the house. “I wish you could talk. You probably know who did this, don’t you?”

  The dog wagged his tail and licked her face, almost twisting his body around her as she stroked his head and back. She apologized to him for leaving him in the laundry room, even though it may have saved his life.

  Peggy got to her feet. “I guess you might as well come out. There’s not much that hasn’t been damaged out here.”

  “If you could get us the insurance list you keep in case of fire,” Paul said awkwardly. “I’ve got Crime Scene looking for whatever they can find that might help. There may be some fingerprints or some other DNA evidence that was left behind. I don’t think professionals were responsible for this. You didn’t set the alarm, did you?”

  “No.” Peggy was embarrassed by her lack of responsibility. It wasn’t that she forgot to set the alarm. It was easier not to set it. No one bothered houses on Queens Road. She couldn’t even remember the last time anyone had a break-in. “Have you noticed anything specific being gone?”

  “Just a few things.” Paul shrugged. “And I’m not sure if anything was taken. There must’ve been more than one of them. The place is a mess.”

  “Have you gone in the basement?”

  “Yeah.” He looked away. “You aren’t going to like it.”

  Steve walked with her into the basement, Shakespeare staying a sedate step behind them. Paul excused himself, not wanting to see the look on his mother’s face when she realized how much of her work was ruined.

  The pond was emptied. Plants and dirt were scattered everywhere. The container that was keeping the thrips and spider mites in the area with the strawberries was tossed aside. Even the plants themselves were torn up and tossed on the floor. The red berries were crushed. The French doors going to the backyard were smashed and left open to the cold night outside.

  Peggy picked up a few water plants and put them back in the violated pond. The frog croaked at her from the edge. She smiled at him as she shivered. “At least you were smart enough not to run outside. I’ll have to get something up over those doors until they can be repaired.”

  “I’ve got some tarps at my house. We could use those,” Steve volunteered.

  “That would be great.” She tried to inflect some excitement into her voice. She really appreciated his help. It was just overwhelming to see everything so devastated. It looked more like a tornado hit there rather than a break-in.

  Steve hugged her. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you clean up. There isn’t anything here that can’t be replaced. I know you have a lot of work in this, but Paul is right. At least you weren’t here. At least you’re all right. Shakespeare, too.”

  Peggy sat down in the basement with her ruined experiments. She could hear Steve talking to someone on the stairs as he left to get the tarps. Shakespeare curled up on her feet, trying to get as close as possible.

  At least you weren’t here. The phrase kept echoing through her mind. It bothered her. Not that it was unusual for her to be gone at night. Was someone watching the house and learning her habits? She thought about Nightflyer but immediately took him off of her list. He was far too secretive to leave a mess behind. If he did break in, she felt sure she’d never know.

  “Hi, Peggy.” Mai joined her, glancing around the basement. “I came as soon as I heard. I’m so sorry about this.”

  “Thank you.” Peggy’s lips were tight with the effort it took not to cry. Everyone was right. She wasn’t hurt. Shakespeare wasn’t hurt. Everything else could be redone and replaced. “I haven’t looked upstairs yet. Is it like this?”

  Mai nodded. “I’m afraid so. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a mess like this at a break-in before. It’s like it was trashed by a horde of barbarians. I don’t know how they could see what they wanted to take. It had to be kids.”

  “I suppose you’re right.” Peggy got up from her chair. There was no point feeling sorry for herself. She had to move on, move through this. “I guess I should check out the important stuff.”

  “I’ll walk around with you, if you like. I’m not working. Paul called me, and I wanted to be here.”

  Peggy squeezed Mai’s hand. “Thank you. I’d like that.”

  BY THE TIME PEGGY and Mai had conducted a thorough tour of the house, Al and Jonas were there. Al put his arm around her. “Sorry this happened to you, Peggy. Do you have a list of what’s missing?”

  “No.” Peggy looked at him in amazement. “There’s nothing missing. At least nothing I can think of. Every room was rummaged through, but my jewelry, John’s coin collection, antiques. Nothing’s missing.”

  Al exchanged glances with Jonas. “Probably just kids. Was the door forced open?”

  Mai nodded. “The French doors in the basement were knocked open.”

  “It’s like someone was searching for something.” Peggy looked around herself in the trashed-out television room. “Why else would someone do this but not take anything? Even kids would’ve taken something or spray painted graffiti. Something.”

  “Don’t worry, Peggy.” Jonas smiled at her. “I’m sure the burglary unit will be able to give you some answers. We just wanted to check in on you after we heard the call. Sorry about your place. Do you need a hand getting things straightened up?”

  “I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “But I know it’s almost impossible for you to find suspects on something like this.”

  Al cleared his throat noisily. “That doesn’t mean you should go out and look for them.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that.” She laughed. “I think I’ll have my hands full here. Thanks for stopping by.”

  Al lingered behind a moment while Jonas walked outside. “About the information you gave me regarding the honey.”

  Peggy’s eyebrows lifted. “Yes?”

  “There may be something to it. I checked out Mr. Hollings with the Dubuque Police Department. He was a lawyer working on the same case as Mr. Lamonte. He got
the same gift basket at the same hotel. We’re trying to contact people at the hotel and find out where the baskets came from.”

  “That’s great, Al! Thanks for telling me. And Fletcher Davis?”

  “I don’t know. We can’t find the boy, for one thing. He’s impassioned, that’s for sure. He’s been arrested a dozen times for stunts he pulled. Nothing violent.”

  “He’s right here in Charlotte,” Peggy informed him. “He’s staying at UNCC with Darmus Appleby.”

  “And you think he seems like a killer?”

  Peggy repeated what Fletcher said when she told him about Park’s death. “He was pretty cold about it.”

  Al grunted. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Does that mean Beth isn’t on the suspect list anymore? Are you dropping the charges against her?”

  “Not yet.” He eyed a green velvet drape that was about to fall on the floor. “Even if we do, that won’t change my mind about her killing the old lady. Even if she didn’t have a hand in what happened to her husband, it’s clear she was involved in Isabelle’s death.”

  Peggy rolled her eyes. “That’s ridiculous! Whoever did it wanted Beth to be blamed for Isabelle’s death.”

  “Well, like you said,” Al’s gaze took in the demolished room, “you’ve got plenty to do. We appreciate everything you’ve done to help. Now stay out of the rest. Please.”

  Angered by his tone, she nodded. “Better get going before Jonas has to lean on the horn. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Steve and Paul came in after Al left. “We tacked up those tarps over the French doors,” Paul told her, sitting beside her on the brown sofa.

  “Thank you.” She hugged him and smiled at Steve. “Remind me that I owe you two tarps.”

  Steve crouched down beside her and took her hand. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get this place cleaned up. Where do you want to start?”

  “You don’t have to do that.” She got to her feet. “I’ll take care of it later. It’s almost midnight. We both have work tomorrow.”

  Paul stood up. “My shift ends at midnight. I agree with Steve. Let’s get this place cleaned up. I know you, Mom. You won’t sleep tonight. You’ll be up all night putting things back together. This way, you can get done sooner.”

  “I’ll order the pizzas and beer,” Steve added. “I already called Sam. He said he’s on his way over with Keeley. They called Hunter, too.”

  Peggy’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Let’s get started then.”

  Sam and Keeley were there a few minutes later. Hunter didn’t show up for almost an hour.

  “You’re always giving me hell about being late,” Sam ribbed her as he shoved a slice of pizza in his mouth. “Where have you been?”

  Hunter smiled at him. “You’re just jealous because I have a life.” She looked around the wrecked kitchen. “Any idea who did this?”

  “Not yet.” Sam opened a bottle of beer. “Paul lifted some prints they’re checking out. I just finished helping Peggy in the basement. Whoever did this took out months of her work down there. I’d like to get my hands around his neck.”

  “Why assume it was a man?” Keeley asked. “Crimes committed by women are the fastest growing group of offenses. Maybe some women broke in here and did all this. It looks like it took more than one person to make this mess.”

  “Doesn’t she have video cameras or some kind of security monitoring company for the house?” Hunter wondered. “A house this size, it seems like it would be protected.”

  “It would’ve been if I’d left the alarm system on,” Peggy said as she joined them in the kitchen. “It always seems like a wasted few minutes to set it. No one breaks into these houses.”

  “They did tonight.” A short, thin man with a large nose on his swarthy face walked in through the kitchen door.

  Sam, Hunter, Keeley, and Steve stared at him. “He must be a security alarm salesperson,” Hunter whispered.

  “Uncle Dalton!” Paul greeted his great-uncle as he entered the kitchen. “How are you? How’s Aunt Sarah?”

  “She’s fine, Paul. Thank you for asking.” But though Dalton spoke to his great-nephew and shook his hand, his narrow brown eyes were focused on Peggy. “I’d like a moment of your time, Peggy. I know you’re busy, but what I have to say won’t wait.”

  Peggy knew why he was there. He’d heard about the break-in on the news, and it fueled his resolve to get her out of the family estate.

  She tried to stiffen her back, but it hurt from leaning over the pond, cleaning up the mess. She was in no mood to accommodate Dalton’s demands or his rude manner. Steve moved closer to her. She wanted to lean on him and absorb some of his strength, but she knew she had to do this alone. “Not right now, Dalton. Neither one of us wants to do this right now.”

  The old man pulled his heavy black coat closer around his emaciated frame. “Very well. If you don’t mind a public forum, I certainly don’t mind. You aren’t able to take care of this house anymore. You need to give it back to the trust.”

  “The trust is set up so that the widow of the man who inherits the house can live here until she dies,” Peggy reminded him. “I’m not dead yet.”

  “If I can’t appeal to your generous nature in letting go of the estate so my son’s family can live here, I’ll take it to court. You don’t need a house this size, and you certainly aren’t able to care for it. You just admitted you don’t have time to set a simple alarm system. Do you think John would want you living in his family’s ancestral home and destroying it?”

  Peggy squared her shoulders, the only part of her that wasn’t aching. “I don’t care. I love this house, and I intend to live here as long as I can. I’ll fight you in court if necessary. It won’t make for pleasant family holidays, Dalton. Think carefully before you take that course of action.”

  He put his black felt hat on his head. “I’ll see you in court, Peggy. Good night all.”

  His departure was as sudden as his entrance, leaving behind a stunned silence. The group turned to look at Peggy, who shrugged and grabbed another box of trash bags from the cabinet. “Are you going to stand there and eat pizza or are you going to clean?”

  Everyone followed her back upstairs. “Can he do that?” Paul asked. “Can he kick you out?”

  “I have a friend who can help you,” Hunter said. “All he does is inheritance law. He could take that guy out with one hand tied behind his back.”

  “Let’s not talk about that right now,” Sam urged. “I’d like to get home sometime tonight. What else needs to be done?”

  “My bedroom and the kitchen,” Peggy answered, relieved that they stopped talking about her losing the house. It was one of her greatest fears. If she lost the house, it would be like losing John all over again. So much of her life was here. She wouldn’t let Dalton take that away from her without a fight.

  “We’ll go downstairs and tackle the kitchen,” Hunter and Keeley agreed.

  “I’ll go downstairs and supervise,” Sam said. “Otherwise nothing will get done but a lot of giggling.”

  “You’re just jealous,” Hunter accused. “I have friends and a boyfriend.”

  “How’s that going?” Keeley asked her.

  “Wait until I tell you . . .” Hunter’s voice trailed down the long stairway.

  “Great!” Sam threw up his hands. “Not only do I have sleep to catch up with and hundreds of philodendron to plant tomorrow, I have to listen to Keeley and Hunter gossip about David.”

  “You could be more supportive,” Peggy reminded him. “You didn’t want to spend all your time with your sister. She found someone who wants to be with her.”

  “Yeah, thanks for reminding me.” Sam grinned and followed the two women downstairs.

  When all three of them were gone, Steve shook out a trash bag and smiled at Peggy. “Where do you want me to start?”

  “Could you start with Dalton?”

  He laughed. “I could. But I’d probably need your help getting rid
of the body. You’re better at that kind of thing.”

  “Dalton doesn’t really bother me,” Peggy admitted. “This break-in is a lot more confusing.”

  “How so?”

  “Because it seems so pointless. Nothing stolen. Nothing written on or abused except for things that were in the way.” She shook her head. “Someone was looking for something. But what?”

  “I don’t know. You said nothing was missing. I tend to agree with the police. This looks like something kids would do.”

  “Nothing that I know of is missing. But the timing is too perfect. I don’t believe kids did this. And I don’t believe this was a random happening. Someone knew I wasn’t here and they had plenty of time to search the house from top to bottom. Maybe someone thinks I have something that could incriminate them.”

  Steve looked bewildered. “You mean something to do with the murder case? Someone knows you’ve been poking around. What could you possibly have? If someone wanted to keep you from discovering anything else, they should’ve smashed your computer.”

  “What if they think I have more than that?” She sat on the side of her bed and pushed her tired thoughts forward. “I was in Isabelle’s house while the crime scene team was still working. Isabelle’s body had just been removed. Maybe they think I found something and kept it.”

  “The dragon’s head is still missing.” Mai suggested as she and Paul joined them in the bedroom. “Maybe whoever did it thinks you have the dragon’s head from Isabelle’s walking stick. We haven’t been able to find it. Maybe he or she can’t find it either.”

  “Wouldn’t they think she gave it to the police?” Paul wondered. “Most people give evidence to the police.”

  “They’d know better if they knew your mother.” Steve frowned as he picked up shards of broken glass from the floor.

  “I know,” Paul agreed with a thoughtful glance at Peggy, “but that would imply that whoever it is knows her that well, too.”

  “That’s scary.” Mai shivered.

  The thought sobered them, and no one spoke for a moment. Then Peggy shook her head and stood up, stretching her back and shoulders. “We’re never going to get this done just standing here speculating. It’s late, and we all need to get to bed. Let’s save the scary thoughts for tomorrow, huh?”