by Sherri Bryan
“You’re welcome,” said Charlotte. “If you need to chat, you know where to find me. More tea?”
Chapter 9
“You don’t really think Olivia had anything to do with Roman’s death, do you?” said Charlotte as she and Nathan took the dogs on a late walk.
Nathan shrugged a shoulder. “I’d like to think not but, honestly, I don’t know. She’s been such a loose cannon in the past, it’s not easy to forget everything she’s done.”
“Well, I don’t think she’s involved.” Charlotte called out to Pippin and he stopped digging in the sand and ran towards her. “Don’t you remember how fantastic she was when we got married? She played a huge part in making sure everything was perfect for us, and nothing was too much trouble—I’ll never forget that. And when Molly was born, she turned up on the doorstep out of the blue, with that beautiful hand-painted nameplate for her bedroom door.”
“Yes, she was great, but you know I can’t let personal stuff like that get in the way of the investigation,” said Nathan. “And she’s hardly done herself any favours, has she? Even now, after all the therapy she’s had, she still flips her lid from time to time. What’s to say that seeing Roman Haley in St. Eves, in the school she thought should be hers, didn’t tip her over the edge? You’ve got to admit, she’s got a mean streak.”
Charlotte nodded. “Yes, I know, but when I saw her today, she swore she didn’t have anything to do with it. She said she knows that most people have probably already made up their minds that she’s guilty, but if she says she wasn’t involved, then I believe her.”
“Oh, you didn’t say you’d seen her,” said Nathan. “Where was that?”
“I bumped into her on the marina and then I invited her back to the house for a cup of tea.”
Nathan stopped walking. “She came to the house?” The look on his face told Charlotte he wasn’t pleased.
“Yes, she came to the house. We were hardly going to stand and talk about things in the middle of the marina, were we? And don’t get all Detective Chief Inspector about it with me, Nathan. It’s not as though she’s a serial killer, is it?”
“No, but she’s a suspect in the very high-profile murder case of a very popular TV personality. All things considered, I don’t think it looks good that you’re entertaining her at tea parties in our home. And I’m sorry about getting “all Detective Chief Inspector”, but it sort of comes with the job.”
Charlotte ignored the comment. “It wasn’t a tea party,” she said, with a frown. “And don’t patronise me.”
Nathan sighed and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. It’s just that, however innocent she may sound, we don’t know for sure if she’s guilty or not. And you know I’m not usually one for keeping up appearances and pulling rank, but it really wouldn’t look good for me if it came out that she did have something to do with Roman’s death, and she’d been sipping cups of tea around our kitchen table.”
Charlotte nodded against his chest. “You’re right. I didn’t think of it like that. I’m sorry. I won’t ask her round again until you’ve solved the case.” She pulled her coat around her. “I still don’t think she’s involved, though—call it a gut feeling—so I’m not going to avoid her.”
Nathan nodded. “Okay. And I promise not to get all Detective Chief Inspector again. He kissed her on the nose and whistled the dogs. “Come on, let’s go home and talk about something other than Roman Haley and Olivia Floyd-Martin.”
____________
“I’ve lost count of how many favours you owe me now, Nathan,” said Pathologist, Wendy Myers, with a half-grin.
Nathan held up his hands. “Any time you want to call them in, you just let me know. So, what can you tell me?”
“Well, as we thought, it’s a case of foul play. Mr. Haley’s death was caused by ingesting a substantial quantity of raisins which contained a solution of Aconite tincture, which caused the symptoms exhibited before he died. He must have had a very strong constitution; having seen the number of raisins in his stomach, I’m surprised he didn’t succumb to the poison long before he did.”
“Aconite?”
“It’s a poison derived from the wild Aconite plant. If that’s not familiar, you may know it by its more common name of Wolf’s Bane or Monkshood. It has the most beautiful flowers—purple, usually—but it can be so deadly in the wrong circumstances. However, in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing, it’s possible to extract Aconite in various forms which can be used perfectly safely as a natural remedy—it’s used quite widely in homeopathic medicine. However, if the poison is extracted from the root in its pure form, it’s deadly, as was the case here.”
“Is there any way it could have got into the raisins accidentally, or as part of a natural process; cross-contamination in their natural habitat, for example?”
“Not a chance,” said Wendy. “Those raisins were deliberately contaminated with poison—injected, most probably. And, as I understand that other people ate the raisins without any ill effects, it looks very much like Mr. Haley was purposely targeted. I’m very sorry to say, Nathan, but it looks like you’ve got another case of murder on your hands.”
____________
“See, I told you it wasn’t Olivia,” said Charlotte, when Nathan kicked off his shoes, left his clothes where they fell, switched off the light and climbed into bed at quarter-past two in the morning.
“Well, we don’t know that for sure, although it does look less likely after the post-mortem results.” He yawned and snuggled up to Charlotte.
Charlotte sat up and switched on the light again. “Less likely? Impossible, I’d say. How could it be her? If the poison was in the raisins, they must have come from the culinary school. Mini raisin loaves were one of the things they made—I saw it on Harriett’s itinerary.”
“I agree that would be the obvious crime scene,” said Nathan, “but we heard this afternoon that none of the stock at the school was dodgy. Everything from the sugar to the raisins was squeaky clean, so they must have come from somewhere else.”
“You mean someone planted them in the room with the ingredients the students were going to be using for the lesson?”
“Looks that way. Which points to the two tutors, primarily, but it’s far too early to say for sure. It could just as easily have been one of the students, or anyone else who had access to the room before Roman Haley ate the bread. Unfortunately, any evidence that may have been left by whoever planted the poison will be long gone by now.”
“You can hardly blame yourself for that,” said Charlotte. “You weren’t treating it as a murder investigation initially, were you? How were you supposed to know he’d been poisoned? Didn’t you say that even his assistant thought his stomach pains were due to a stomach bug?”
Nathan nodded and yawned widely. “That’s true, but not very helpful. Now, can you turn off the light, please? Sorry, but I’ve got a really early start.”
Charlotte flicked the switch and lay in the dark with her eyes open. Not for the first time, she began to go over what she knew about the investigation.
Who had wanted Roman dead? And why?
____________
The next morning, after she’d finished her pre-natal exercises, Charlotte settled herself at the kitchen table with a mug of tea and a notepad and pen.
She wasn’t planning on getting physically involved in the investigation - she had no intention of putting either her baby, or herself, at risk - but she could at least put her ideas down on paper and give them to Nathan. They’d helped in the past, there was no reason to doubt they could help again.
She cast an idle glance at the silent TV and watched the recently-crowned winner of a talent show hold a four-way conversation with his ventriloquist’s dummy, and two bemused breakfast show presenters.
The doorbell rang, sending Pippin and Panda running to the front door, skidding on the wooden floor and barking at the visitor.
“Yoo-hoo, dear, it’s only
me,” Ava shouted through the letterbox. “Sorry to disturb. Can I come in? I won’t stop for long.”
“You can stay as long as you like,” said Charlotte, giving her a hug. “I was just having a cup of tea. You want one?”
“Love one, thank you, dear.” Ava unwound the scarf from her neck and hung up her jacket before following Charlotte into the kitchen. “How’s the little one?”
“Pretty quiet, apart from a few drop-kicks and a Mexican wave,” said Charlotte, with a grin, as she poured tea into a cup and opened a tin which contained the remainder of the homemade fruit cake Olivia had done her best to demolish. “Are you on your own?”
“Well, Derek’s rehearsing, as you know, Betty’s gone on a day trip to a rubber glove factory with the retirement home social club,” Ava pulled a face, “and Harriett’s just locking up the car and giving Leo a quick call. I left the front door open because she’s coming in to say hello, but she’s not stopping because they’ve got a ginseng class in an hour.”
“Ginseng?” said Charlotte.
“Yes, you know, that martial arts thingy they’ve started doing.”
Charlotte chuckled. “You mean Ju-Jitsu?”
Ava clicked her fingers. “That’s it! You know, I have no idea why, but that name just will not stay in my head. No matter, I’ve brought you a present.” She delved in her bag and handed Charlotte a package.
“Aaw, that’s so sweet of you! Thank you.” She squeezed it and it yielded slightly under her fingers. “Ooh, feels interesting.”
“I hope you like it. It was Betty who gave me the idea.” Ava beamed as Charlotte tore off the wrapping paper.
“Oh,” said Charlotte, her smile fading a little. “It’s a rubber ring. Thank you… I think.”
“It’s to help with any piles that may be lurking, my dear,” said Ava, looking very pleased with herself. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, they can be the bane of a new mother’s life after all that pushing and shoving. And when it’s deflated, you can carry it around in your bag. If you need it, you can just whip it out wherever you are, and in a couple of puffs, voila! Instant comfort. And when you’re not using it, you can fold it up and keep it in that little black pouch. Very discreet, I thought.
“Anyway, I blew it up for you before I wrapped it, and had to put my head between my knees in the car because it made me terribly light-headed. That’s because I don’t have a very big lung capacity—they told me so when I went for my top-to-toe medical check-up. All the other parts are in perfect working order, though.” She crooked her little finger as she sipped her tea and left a perfect pearly-pink lipstick imprint on her cup.
Charlotte grinned as she looked at the rubber ring, and remembered the present Ava had given her when she was pregnant with Molly; a book entitled, How Not to Be a Pain in the Butt When You’re Expecting. “Thank you, Ava. I’ll keep it in my bag, just in case.”
“What are you up to, anyway?” asked Ava, peering at the notebook on the table.
“Not much,” said Charlotte. “I was just thinking about what could have happened to Roman.”
“Hmpf, aren’t we all, dear. We were talking about it on the way here. I don’t suppose Nathan’s let slip anything that you can tell us about the investigation, has he?”
Charlotte grinned. “Nice try, Ava, but no.” As much as she thought the world of Ava, she would never divulge anything that Nathan might have shared with her with anyone.
Harriett appeared in the doorway. “Morning, Charlotte. You’re looking well.” She gave her a peck on the cheek and looked her up and down.
“Thank you. Ava was just telling me you’ve got a ginseng class later?” Charlotte winked and gave Ava a gentle nudge.
Harriett replied with an eye-roll. “I’ve given up trying to remind her—it’s a lost cause.” She took a comb and a powder compact from her bag. “I must just use the bathroom. Won’t be a sec.”
“Ooh, look, there’s something on the news about Roman.” Ava turned up the volume on the TV when local reporter, Andrew Somerfield, appeared on the screen, standing in front of the culinary school.
“Good morning, Patricia. We have new information coming in regarding the death of Roman Haley. I am now able to report that the post-mortem results indicate he was killed by a lethal dose of poison called Aconite. It was administered into a quantity of raisins which were an ingredient in some bread eaten by Mr. Haley on the day before his death. What makes this news even more shocking is that the bread in question was prepared by students who were taking a course at his very own culinary school.”
There was a clatter as Ava’s cup and saucer dropped from her hand, hit the table and smashed.
“Blimey, Ava!” said Charlotte, as she jumped in her seat, a hand over her heart. “I know you’re keen to see the baby, but I don’t think that’ll get it out any quicker.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, dear,” said Ava, her face as pale as the marble worktops. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I’ll clean it up. And I’ll replace what I broke. ”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Charlotte. “It’s just a cup and saucer.” As she dabbed at the spilt tea with a handful of paper towels, she noticed that Ava had turned ashen, and began to fan her with her notebook.
“What’s the matter? Are you feeling okay? Shall I call an ambulance?”
Ava flapped a hand. “No, it’s nothing medical… it’s that news report. It’s made me come over all strange.”
“What’s going on?” asked Harriett, reappearing and returning her comb and her compact to her handbag.
“You won’t believe it, Harriett!” said Ava. “Roman was poisoned by our bread!”
“What are you talking about?” said Harriett. “And what on earth was that crash?”
“Ava dropped her cup and saucer, and I’m a bit worried about her.” Charlotte continued to waft the notebook in front of her friend’s face. “She’s gone ever so white.”
Harriett put the back of her hand to Ava’s forehead. “Hmm, it’s a bit clammy. Perhaps it’s the over-exertion of blowing up that rubber ring.”
Ava shook her head, “No, it’s not.” She pointed at the TV. “The news just said that Roman Haley died after eating poisoned raisins… they must have been in those loaves we made.”
“I sincerely hope you’re joking,” said Harriett, with a look of alarm.
“I wouldn’t joke about something like that,” said Ava. “Look!”
They all turned towards the TV to listen to the rest of the news report.
“I can also report that the inspections on the kitchens at The President Hotel, and Mr. Haley’s school, have now been completed, and both premises have been given a clean bill of health, as has all food stock therein.
“What’s so puzzling, Patricia, is that we’ve been told the only two places Mr. Haley ate on the day before he died were the hotel and the school, so it’s a mystery as to where the poison came from, and how it came to be in the raisins and, subsequently, the bread. However, the police are extending their investigation to establish answers to these questions and, as always, I’ll report again as soon as I have more information. For now, though, it’s back to you in the studio.”
Ava leaned across the table, as if there were eavesdroppers skulking in the kitchen, and said furtively, “We could have killed him without even knowing, Harriett! One of us could be Roman Haley’s murderer! You or I could have made the raisin loaf that poisoned him.” She slumped back in her chair and Charlotte wafted the notebook in front of her face again. “Oh my goodness… who will Derek take to the couples’ dance competition when I’m sharing a prison cell with a drug trafficker?”
“For heaven’s sake!” said Harriett. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
“I really doubt that either of you are in the frame,” said Charlotte, putting down the book and curling an arm around Ava’s shoulder. “How could you possibly be? Even if it was one of you who made the bread, you weren’t to know the raisins were poisoned, were you? All the in
gredients belonged to the school.”
Ava thought for a while, then nodded. “That’s true. I hadn’t thought of that. That makes me feel a lot better.” She patted Charlotte’s hand and managed a smile, the colour returning to her cheeks.
“Maybe Olivia did have something to do with it,” said Harriett. “She was in and out of the tasting faster than you could blink. I wonder if she stuck some poisoned raisins into one of the loaves on the breadboard without anyone noticing? You know, sleight of hand, and all that.”
“Sleight of hand?” repeated Ava, raising a brow. “Be sensible, Harriet, have you seen the size of Olivia’s hands? They’re like table-tennis bats with giant frankfurters for fingers. There’s no way those hands could have done anything surreptitiously, I can assure you.” She picked at a piece of fruit cake, and munched thoughtfully on a cranberry.
Charlotte grinned. “Well, I saw Olivia yesterday and after hearing what she had to say, I’m even more convinced she’s not involved, despite all the gossip. She said the only reason she didn’t hang around at the tasting session was because she didn’t want to be there; no other reason.”
She threw the dogs a biscuit and they settled down happily. “What was the set-up at the school? Where did you collect all your ingredients from before the class began?”
“We didn’t collect them from anywhere,” said Ava. “Everything we were using for the day was already set out in canisters on our workbenches when we arrived. All we did was follow along with Gavin. He was the tutor with the attitude problem I told you about—I still don’t feel quite right from inhaling all those exhaust fumes.” Ava coughed feebly, and finished the rest of her cake. “Shall I pour us another cuppa?”
Charlotte nodded and clicked the end of her pen in and out. “So, you have no idea who made the bread Roman ate?”
Harriett shook her head. “None at all. He was given samples which had been cut from a selection of all the loaves we’d baked, and arranged on a breadboard. By the time of the tasting, no one knew whose bread was whose. We were all told to set aside one mini raisin loaf from our batch, but seeing as he scoffed all of them, we’ve no way of knowing which was the poisoned one, or who’d baked it.”
