A Deadly Promotion

by Melanie Jones Brownrigg

  “Oh, about that … well, I didn’t say anything before because I just couldn’t believe it.” Penny took another bite, followed by another. “Julie told me…” Then her face began turning pale while her lips took on a bluish tint. She began gagging. “I can’t breathe,” she choked out, gasping for air.

  “Penny, what’s wrong?” I thought for sure a bite had lodged in her throat and so I began hitting her on the back. When that failed, I began performing the Heimlich maneuver – not that I really knew what I was doing – but I did what I’d seen on TV, expecting to see a chunk of chicken go flying across the room.

  Penny became limp, her breathing was suddenly erratic, and she began writhing in pain. “Oh shit,” I screeched. “Help! Someone, please help,” I screamed at the top of my lungs while at the same time I grabbed for my purse. Thank God I’d brought it back with me when I went for soda money. Frantically I began dialing 911. As I went through what was happening with dispatch, Penny began vomiting and fell to a heap on the floor.

  “Penny,” I helplessly screeched, fearing she was going to die.

  While I was still on the phone with 911, Lidia, James and David rushed in after hearing my screams.

  “My God, what’s happening?” Lidia asked after taking one look at Penny convulsing on the floor.

  “I don’t know,” I yelped. “She’s having a seizure or something.” Lisa, Carter and several employees from different divisions crowded in to see what the fuss was about. “Does anyone know if she has a medical condition?” I inquired.

  “No,” was the echoing response.

  “Maybe it has to do with her pregnancy,” David suggested.

  Word quickly spread to Mr. Harrington and within minutes he stormed in the room and began barking orders. “Everyone, stand back,” he demanded clearing a path for EMT. “Over here,” he yelled to the first responder.

  Giving the emergency technicians room to work, we all backed away, watching in terror while magnanimous attempts were made to save Penny from a horrific, painful and degrading death. Sadly, Penny didn’t make it.

  “This lady was poisoned,” one of the paramedics informed us. He looked at the table, then at the sandwich. Then he called the police.

  And I immediately called my attorney.

  “Paul, please, I need you to come to my office. Someone has died … from eating my sandwich.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The Employees

  Lidia Gentry couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Paige hovering over Penny’s convulsing body. It only took her a millisecond to know the partially eaten sandwich had mistakenly been eaten by Penny and now she was dying. Damn the luck, she thought. That sandwich was meant for Paige. Paige should be the one dying on the floor. She felt sorry for Penny, but in the back of her mind she wondered if she could somehow hang Paige out to dry. She deeply wanted to get rid of Paige, by any means possible.

  Before long, the breakroom was a zoo … uniformed policeman, suit-and-tie detectives, crime scene units, the coroner, and all kinds of forensic equipment. The employees were separated into various rooms within the company. Lidia Gentry was the first to be interviewed. At first, she was completely distracted by the handsome looks of Detective Tanner Sutton and had to be prompted twice.

  “Tell us what you saw,” Detective Sutton repeated.

  “Oh, uh, sorry. After hearing a loud scream coming from the breakroom, I immediately ran in there. When I arrived, Penny was convulsing on the floor and Paige was hovering over her while dialing 911.”

  “Was anyone else in the room?” Detective Andrews, the older of the two detectives, asked.

  “Not when I first entered. But everyone from my department was right behind me.”

  “Who all in this company has access to the fridge?” Detective Sutton asked, simultaneously making a note of everyone who had followed Lidia.

  “Everyone in the company, I suppose, but generally it’s only occupied by our department and few from marketing. Most of the employees use the large breakroom at the other side of this floor.”

  “What do you think happened to Ms. Mathis?” Detective Sutton posed.

  Lidia was aware the sandwich was Paige’s. She had watched her stuff the remaining one-half in the fridge yesterday. But she decided to keep that tidbit to herself because it might not look good if the detectives thought she had an opportunity to put something lethal in the croissant. “I have no idea,” she claimed innocently. “But there was an altercation this morning between Penny, Lisa and Carter.”

  “What altercation? Tell me what happened,” Detective Sutton requested.

  Lidia went into detail, telling the detectives all about the outburst. “I don’t know what all went on behind Paige’s closed door, but when Penny left, she said something to the effect of, ‘As soon as Mr. Harrington hears the truth about you, he’ll know exactly why you killed Julie and you’ll be out of this firm on your ass.’ I hate to be accusatory, but what if Paige put something in that sandwich and then offered it to Penny? The way I see it, Paige decided to kill her, just like she killed Julie Mitchell. That’s what I think.”

  Lidia smiled inwardly, knowing she had at least pointed an accusing finger at Paige. If things went her way, the corner office that was supposed to have been hers, was as good as available. And if not, maybe there’d be another sandwich.

  * * *

  When Lisa Harris had first entered the breakroom and saw Penny floundering on the floor, she knew Penny must have eaten Paige’s sandwich. She knew it was Paige’s sandwich because Lisa and Carter had been heading off to lunch yesterday when Paige had returned from the downstairs deli. When Lisa took her afternoon break and searched through the fridge for her diet shake, she had noticed Paige had left an uneaten portion of her sandwich. While she knew the sandwich was meant for Paige and Paige should be the one dying on the floor, Lisa could barely mask the smile on her face, realizing Penny had eaten it instead. She wanted to dance around in a circle and shout something about the wicked witch being dead. With Penny out of the picture, she wouldn’t be around to cause problems between her and Carter. No more Penny. No more baby. How fortuitous. While she was doing inward cartwheels as Penny took her last breath, in the back of her mind she wondered if she could somehow hang Paige out to dry. She deeply wanted to get rid of Paige, by any means possible.

  “Have a seat Ms. Harris,” Detective Andrews instructed.

  “Tell us about the altercation this morning,” Detective Sutton began.

  For a moment, Lisa was awestruck by Detective Sutton’s amazing good looks. Then she remembered Carter was every bit as handsome, and Carter was hers. All hers now, considering Penny had croaked. “Penny announced she was pregnant. I think she was lying because Carter always uses protection. She was simply jealous of me … Carter chose me over her.”

  “Did you try to choke Ms. Mathis?” Detective Andrews queried after referring to his notes.

  Lisa laughed, making light of the situation. “It was just to let her to know she needed to back off my man. Paige wrote me up for it, trying to throw her weight around as the new CFO. I guess it made her feel important. It wasn’t like I was really trying to kill Penny.”

  “But you threatened to kill her, and now she’s dead,” Detective Sutton pointed out.

  Lisa put on her best sad face. “It’s terrible. I never wanted her dead.” Don’t smile. Don’t smile, she repeatedly admonished herself.

  “Where did you go after you left Ms. Davis’ office?”

  “I stepped into the hallway and took a few breaths to clear my head, and then I returned to the workroom. I wasn’t in the breakroom until I heard Paige screaming.”

  “What do you think happened to Ms. Mathis?”

  Lisa knew it was Paige’s sandwich, but decided against revealing that knowledge to the detectives. She didn’t want them to get the idea she might have poisoned it in the hopes Paige would eat it. “Well, I’m not a doctor, but it looked like Penny was dying from poisoning. I sa
w a sandwich in front of her … maybe someone put something in it?” She paused and let her eyes grow wide. “My God, I just remembered, when Penny left Paige’s office, she said, ‘As soon as Mr. Harrington hears the truth about you, he’ll know exactly why you killed Julie and you’ll be out of this firm on your ass.’ Do you think … no, it’s not possible? Dear Lord, do you think Paige might have poisoned Penny?”

  Lisa smiled inwardly, knowing she had at least pointed an accusing finger at Paige. And if it didn’t work, maybe there would be another sandwich.

  * * *

  The moment Carter Hughes heard a loud scream, he hurried to the breakroom. When he arrived, Paige was on speaker with 911 and they were discussing possibly giving Penny mouth-to-mouth. He took one look at Penny’s vomit-covered face and body, and thought no way in hell. He wouldn’t do it. Thankfully, the paramedics were only a block away and had arrived before any heroic measures were called upon.

  While he watched Penny die, he couldn’t help thinking he was the luckiest man on the face of the earth. Talk about dodging a bullet. Penny wouldn’t be around to make his life a miserable hell. And there wouldn’t be a baby. No weekend visitations to interrupt his playboy lifestyle. He wouldn’t have to explain having a child to girls. And best of all, there wouldn’t be any child support.

  Carter, being smart, as well as handsome, had already concluded the sandwich must be the culprit. He remembered Paige coming back from the deli just as he and Lisa were leaving for lunch. And when he took his afternoon break, he had noticed Paige’s uneaten remains next to his power shake. He was also smart enough to keep it to himself that he knew about the sandwich, lest the detectives might wonder if he doctored the sandwich, hoping Paige would eat it.

  “Let’s go through your version of this morning’s altercation,” Detective Sutton began.

  Carter gave the detective the once over. He was damned good looking but, of course, Carter had him beat by a longshot. No worries there. “Okay, okay. I see where you’re going with this line of questioning. You’re thinking because Penny said she was pregnant that I might have offed her with that sandwich. Well, you’ve got it all wrong. After Penny announced she was having a baby, Paige pulled rank and called us into her office to have a little chat. I was last in her office of the three of us and when I was released, Penny wasn’t in the workroom … and while I went to the men’s room after my reprimand, I didn’t search for Penny. I didn’t have anything to do with whatever happened to her.” He paused for a moment and straightened in his chair. “But you know who did? Paige did,” he replied without waiting for an answer. “Paige stepped out of her office and asked all of us where Penny was. When none of us had any idea, she headed off to find her. And sure enough, she found her. How about that? And you know what else?” Once again, he didn’t wait for a response. “When Penny left Paige’s office, she said, ‘As soon as Mr. Harrington hears the truth about you, he’ll know exactly why you killed Julie and you’ll be out of this firm on your ass.’ Here’s what I think … I think Paige hunted Penny down and somehow conned her into eating that poisoned sandwich … maybe she said she needed to keep up her strength or some such nonsense. But at any rate, I think Paige killed Penny, just like she killed Julie Mitchell.”

  Carter inwardly patted himself on the back, knowing he had at least pointed an accusing finger at Paige. And if it didn’t work, maybe there would be another sandwich.

  * * *

  James Pierce took one look at Penny and the sandwich and put two and two together. He wasn’t sure how Penny got hold of it, but he knew it was Paige’s leftovers because yesterday he had taken the sack lunch his wife packed for him and gone to the breakroom. Paige was eating with David. But not long after he and Lidia entered, Paige bundled her leftovers, stored them in the fridge and left. He decided to play dumb on the sandwich. It might not bode well if the detectives thought he might have poisoned it, thinking Paige would eat it.

  After a series of questions about this morning’s altercation and about him asking for a raise, the questions worked around to what happened to Penny. The way James saw it, if Paige wasn’t around, he might get that big promotion after all. Maybe he should throw Paige under the bus and suggest she had a motive to give Penny a lethal serving.

  “After I finished asking for a raise, Paige came out into the workroom and asked where Penny was. When no one knew, she went searching for her. Not long afterward, I heard a scream. We all raced to the breakroom, and there was Penny on the floor. It was awful. Just awful.” He shook his head while gazing at the floor.

  “What do you think happened to Ms. Mathis?” Detective Andrews inquired.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t know. It looked like she was having a violent reaction … like when you see someone on TV who’s been poisoned.”

  “Do you think she was poisoned?” Detective Sutton posed.

  “My goodness. I know one of the paramedics mentioned something like that, but is that what happened … it was poisoning?” James asked, trying to act as if the thought never truly occurred to him. He waited a beat, then added, “You know, when Penny left Paige’s office, she said, ‘As soon as Mr. Harrington hears the truth about you, he’ll know exactly why you killed Julie and you’ll be out of this firm on your ass.’ Would … do you think? No. Surely Paige wouldn’t have poisoned Penny.” He paused. “My goodness, I never would have thought.”

  James felt successful in pointing the finger at Paige and for the first time, he felt one step closer toward a big fat promotion. And if it didn’t work, maybe there would be another sandwich.

  * * *

  David Ross had almost fainted when he saw his beloved Paige crouched over Penny. He could barely resist taking her into his arms and comforting her. His poor, poor darling would be traumatized by this horrific ordeal she had witnessed. He had pushed through the others, trying to get to her. But before he could reach her, she was on the phone calling that man … her attorney. He stood back, his blood curdling inside. When, oh when, was he ever going to catch a break?

  “What do you think happened to Ms. Mathis?” Detective Sutton asked after grilling him about this morning’s altercation.

  “I don’t know,” he answered, not bothering to add one thing about it being Paige’s sandwich that Penny was eating. Yesterday, much to David’s absolute joy, he had the pleasure of dining alone with Paige. His heart had exploded when she had confided in him, letting him know about her promotion … all before anyone else knew. Unfortunately, when James and Lidia had interrupted their quaint time together, Paige had suddenly excused herself and placed the remaining one-half into the fridge and left.

  “Everyone else seems to think the sandwich Penny was eating was poisoned. What do you think?” Detective Sutton prodded.

  “Oh, really. I can’t imagine anything so awful. Don’t you think it was probably food poisoning … maybe the sandwich was bad?”

  “So, you don’t think Ms. Davis might have poisoned Ms. Mathis?”

  “Goodness no. Paige is gentle and caring. She wouldn’t do such a thing. Not her.”

  “Do you know of any reason why Ms. Davis might have wanted to shut Ms. Mathis up, and in doing so, she might have poisoned her?” Detective Sutton continued.

  “No, no! Absolutely not,” David answered firmly. “There wasn’t any reason to have to shut her up.”

  “Is that right? A few of your coworkers reported Ms. Mathis leaving Ms. Davis’ office, saying something to the effect of, ‘As soon as Mr. Harrington hears the truth about you, he’ll know exactly why you killed Julie and you’ll be out of this firm on your ass.’ What do you think Ms. Mathis meant by that statement?”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t know. I would only be speculating.”

  “Give it a shot,” Detective Sutton encouraged.

  “Hmm, well, I know Penny was upset with her because Paige – I mean Ms. Davis – was going to transfer her to a different department. Penny didn’t want to leave her current position. We all know Paige has been wrongfull
y accused of killing Julie – I think Julie fell down those steps and Paige tried to catch her —but anyway, I think Penny was referring to the truth coming out to Mr. Harrington and Ms. Davis would be cleared of any wrongdoing.”

  “How would that put Ms. Davis out of this firm on her ass?” Detective Sutton pushed.

  “Oh, I didn’t hear that part. I don’t recall that at all.” David swallowed hard. “I heard something to the effect of, ‘As soon as Mr. Harrington hears the truth, he’ll know you didn’t kill Julie.’ That’s what I heard.”

  “Everyone else heard it differently,” Detective Sutton pointed out.

  “It’s not what I heard,” David responded firmly.

  It was his duty to protect his girl, even if he had to lie. And he would, over and over, before he let anything happen to Paige. He would protect her at all costs, even if he had to kill someone in the process.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Paul and I were taken into my office by the same two detectives who had arrested me at the hospital.

  “As you’re aware, I’m here as Ms. Davis’ counsel,” Paul announced. “We want to assist in what happened to Penny Mathis. This isn’t going to be a fishing expedition about Julie Mitchell.”

  Detective Sutton nodded. “Let’s begin with the sandwich. It was yours … correct?”

  I nodded. “Yes. It was left from yesterday. Penny mentioned being hungry and so I offered it to her, along with a Sprite. I didn’t know it would kill her. Deadly bacteria must have formed on the chicken salad.”

  “No, if it didn’t make you ill yesterday, unless the sandwich was left at room temperature, it should’ve been safe to eat,” Detective Sutton argued. “Ms. Mathis had an immediate reaction. Therefore, it’s more likely the sandwich was purposely poisoned.”

  “Then someone must have poisoned it, thinking I’d eat it and I’d be the one who was dead,” I pointed out.