Peach Cobbler Poison

by Diana DuMont

  Relief flooded Theo’s face. “Thank you,” he said, his voice breaking. “When I get out of here, I promise you I’ll make it up to you. Money, wine, someone to vouch for you in the community… Whatever you need, whatever you want—it’s yours.”

  “I’m not doing this for payment. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”

  Theo nodded, his eyes looking suspiciously moist. All of these macho men who were suddenly breaking down in tears were making me feel disconcerted. I supposed it was to be expected in situations like this. Having your life turned upside down by a murder accusation was bound to make even the toughest guy a little emotional.

  I decided the best thing to do here was to focus on taking action. If Theo felt like I was taking action, then hopefully he would take heart, and at least have something to focus on besides the bad.

  “Is there anything you can tell me that might be helpful?” I asked. “Any of your employees at the winery whom you suspect might not be completely upright and honest?”

  Theo shook his head slowly. “There’s no one in particular, unfortunately. All of my long-term employees I would trust with my life. The guys in the tasting room are seasonal employees. They’re interns who come through for the busy summer season or the busy holiday season. But I hardly ever get the same intern twice, so I never really get to know them that well. I would say they’re the most likely suspects. But I couldn’t point to any particular one of them and say I thought they were the one.”

  I considered this. “Okay. Well, at least knowing that the tasting room employees are the most likely suspects gives me a place to start. I’ll head to the winery and see if I can get any more information on any of them. I’m sure Scott and Molly will be happy to help me as well. No one in Sunshine Springs wants to see one of the locals put away. Especially not an innocent local.”

  Theo thanked me again, and then I went to call Mitch to let him know we were done. Once Theo had been returned to his cell, I went to Mitch’s office to talk to him. Mitch greeted me with a tired but sincere smile.

  “So? How did it go? Did he convince you to be his lawyer?”

  “No.” I flopped into the rickety guest chair in Mitch’s office. “But he did convince me that he’s innocent, and that I should help find evidence to prove it.”

  Mitch grimaced. “I don’t have to tell you that I hope you’re right and that he is innocent. But I do have to tell you that the evidence against him looks pretty bad.”

  “He told me. But he made a good point: anyone at the winery could have been responsible for those emails. Sure, Theo would have been the most able to carry out a scheme like slipping a bottle of poisoned wine into the mix when Caitlin visited. But it’s not impossible that it was someone else.”

  “I know it’s not impossible. It’s just unlikely. In fact, it’s so unlikely that our local judge has insisted that we not allow Theo to post bail. That’s why he’s still in here.”

  “And Josie? Is she still in here?”

  Mitch leaned back in his creaky office chair. “Yep. She’s still here. She can’t get out on bail either, considering that she violated our trust on the first round of bail by attacking you guys. But at least she’s pretty much off the hook for the Caitlin murder. We’re almost certain she had nothing to do with it. I’m assuming Scott’s already told you that the pills you guys took from her weren’t poisonous?”

  I blushed. Mitch knew all too well that Scott was privy to most of the gossip in town, and that he happily passed that gossip along to me. There was no sense in denying it. “Yes, Scott told me. I’m sorry we troubled you with all of that.”

  Mitch waved away my apology. “Don’t worry about it. That was a line of evidence we were investigating anyway, since Violet insisted she saw Josie put something in Caitlin’s drink. But I don’t think anything’s going to come of that. It was always a bit of a weak case against Josie. After all, you have to be a special brand of awful to kill your own sister. Maybe Caitlin was putting something completely benign in her sister’s drink, like ground-up pain medication. Or maybe Violet misunderstood what she saw. Violet’s a good lady, but she is a little bit old and nervous. And maybe a little bit crazy.”

  “Yeah, a little bit crazy is putting it nicely. But I guess once you get to that age you’re allowed to be a little bit crazy.”

  “Like your grandma, huh?” Mitch teased. “She’s about as crazy as they come.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him. “Grams might be crazy, but at least she’s not insanely anxious. I don’t know if I could live with that kind of anxiety. Violet should go see a shrink or something.”

  Mitch shrugged. “Yeah, well she’s old and set in her ways. Good luck getting her to change. But anyway, all that to say that it looks like Josie is innocent, at least of Caitlin’s murder. It will be up to you, Scott and Molly whether we charge her with assault for coming at you with the gun. But until we get all that sorted out, she’ll stay here behind bars.”

  “Honestly, I don’t care that much what happens to Josie at this point. Maybe you should talk to Scott and Molly and see how they feel, but it doesn’t make much difference to me whether she’s charged or not. I don’t want her coming after me to attack me again, but since I don’t have the records she wants anymore, I’d guess she has very little interest left in me.”

  “You’re probably right. My guess is that if we set Josie free, she’s going to get as far away from Sunshine Springs as she can as quickly as she can.”

  I nodded, and then stood. “Well, I guess I should get started on proving Theo’s innocence, although I don’t really know where to start. I don’t suppose I could take a look at all of those records you have again?”

  Mitch shook his head apologetically. “No, sorry. I can’t release evidence, especially if you’re not actually Theo’s lawyer.”

  For a moment, I had the crazy idea to agree to be Theo’s lawyer just so I could look through the evidence. But I pushed that idea away. If it came to the point that he was brought before the court and needed a lawyer, he needed a criminal lawyer. Besides, it sounded like I already had a pretty good idea of what was in the emails.

  In fact, it sounded like the whole town had a pretty good idea of what was in the emails. I’m sure if I had more specific questions I could figure out a way to get the information I needed.

  “Alright,” I said. “I’m gonna get going then.”

  “Where will you go?” Mitch asked.

  I smiled at him. “To Grams’ house, I think. Sometimes, when you can’t figure out what to do, talking to a crazy old lady who loves you more than anything can do wonders to help you figure it out.”

  Chapter Twenty

  After a quick call to Scott to make sure that he was okay hanging out at the café with Sprinkles for a little bit longer, I headed to Grams’ house. When I got there, I saw Violet’s giant white Buick sitting out front. I groaned, and seriously considered turning around to come back later. I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for Violet’s type of crazy right now. But before I could make the decision to drive away, Grams and Violet both appeared on Grams’ front porch. Grams saw me, and gave an excited wave.

  I was caught. There was no way I was getting away without spending at least a little bit of time here. Groaning to myself, I got out of the car and forced a wide smile onto my face.

  “Grams,” I greeted her. “And Violet. Nice to see you both.”

  Grams grinned at me. “You’re in luck. I’ve got a fresh pitcher of sun tea, and I baked a lemon cake this morning. I’m sure the cake isn’t as good as your pies, especially not the boozy pies, but it’s not too bad if I do say so myself.”

  I resisted the urge to groan again. If Grams had sun tea and lemon cake, that meant I would have to stay for a while, sipping tea and eating cake while listening to her and Violet prattle on about the minutest details of Sunshine Springs gossip. But I stuffed my feelings down and kept the smile on my face.

  “Wonderful! I’d love to sit and h
ave tea and cake with you and Miss Violet.”

  “Oh, I was actually just leaving,” Violet said. “I’ve been here for a while already, and I have an appointment for a massage down at the spa. Goodness knows I need all the relaxation I can get with all of this hullabaloo lately about Caitlin’s murder.”

  I nodded sympathetically, not mentioning the fact that I didn’t think all of the massages in the world could massage away the amount of anxiety Violet kept pinned up inside that shaky body of hers.

  “Well, I’m sorry I missed you then,” I lied. “But I hope you enjoy the spa.”

  “I will,” Violet assured me. “And I’m glad to see you here spending time with your grandmother instead of going off and playing detective. I suppose you finally learned your lesson after that crazy Josie girl came and attacked you at your café. Better to leave these sorts of things to the professionals.”

  I decided now was not the best time to mention that I had just agreed to do some detective work for Theo. Violet would be worried that I was going to mess up Theo’s case by sticking my nose into it, so I waited until Violet’s noisy Buick was halfway down Grams’ street before I admitted to Grams why I was really there.

  “Theo asked me to be his lawyer.”

  I expected Grams to laugh out loud at this. To my surprise, she only raised one slightly quizzical eyebrow. “Did he now?”

  She motioned for me to follow her to the back porch, where she had a pitcher of sun tea just as she’d promised. Next to the lemon cake, she’d set out enough plates that you’d think she was about to throw a full-on garden party. She also had on what I would consider a fancy party dress—it was frilly and hot pink. She’d accented it with a hot pink fashion hat and lime green necklaces and bracelets. On her feet, she wore bright orange sandals. I glanced over her outfit and the numerous place settings on her patio furniture, and it was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

  “Expecting company?”

  Grams shrugged. “You never know. It’s best to be prepared, especially when you bake a lemon cake. Somehow, every time I bake a lemon cake, folks start magically showing up at my front door. It’s like word quickly gets around that there’s lemon cake here. And you know everyone in town loves my lemon cake. In fact, you should sell it at your pie shop. I bet it’d be a bestseller, especially if you added alcohol to it. Boozy lemon cake! Can you imagine?”

  Grams closed her eyes in rapture, as though nothing in the world could possibly make her as happy as the mere idea of boozy lemon cake.

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’d be happy to sell lemon cake at my pie shop. But you won’t give up the recipe.”

  “True, true. I can’t be too careful guarding that secret. But don’t worry. I’ve bequeathed the recipe to you in my will. So when I croak, then you can serve lemon cake at the Drunken Pie Café in my honor.” Grams beamed happily as though she hadn’t just referenced her own death.

  “Grams! Don’t talk like that! I don’t even want to think about you not being here anymore.”

  Grams laughed. “Don’t worry, dear. I don’t plan on dying for a long time. But it is a fact of life that I’m going to die at some point. When I do, that lemon cake recipe is coming your way. Now, enough with all of that. Tell me what’s going on with Theo.”

  Grams put a generous slice of lemon cake on a plate for me as I began to explain everything to her. I told her the entire story, from the moment I’d run into Todd in San Francisco all the way up to the moment less than an hour ago when I told Theo I would do everything I could to prove his innocence. The only small detail I left out was the fact that Theo and I had almost kissed. But I had a feeling that Grams knew about that, anyway. She always seemed to know when I liked a guy before I even knew myself.

  When I’d finished telling her everything, she was silent for several moments. I took a big sip of sun tea, and hoped that she was going to have something helpful to say. But all she said when she finally did speak was, “Humph.”

  “Humph?” I asked. “That’s all you have to say?”

  Grams shrugged. “What should I say? It sounds like everything is clear. Theo’s innocent, and you’ve agreed to help prove it. Sounds like a good plan to me.”

  “I’m not sure it’s that simple. I really do think he’s innocent, but I have no idea how to go about proving it. I was hoping that you had some sort of ideas on how to help me.”

  Grams laughed merrily and waved her hand at me. Her lime green beaded bracelets clanked against each other as she did.

  “Now, why on earth would I know what to do? I’m just an old lady who likes to sit around eating lemon cake. I don’t have the faintest idea how to go about conducting a murder investigation.”

  “But,” I said, somewhat desperately. “You always know what to do. And you know this town so well. You’re the one who told me everything would work out to prove I was innocent. I have to admit I was quite irritated with you for being so confident of that—”

  “I noticed,” Grams interrupted in a dry tone.

  “I’m sorry for doubting you,” I continued. “But now I’m here admitting that I was wrong. I’m admitting that I need your help. You must understand something about how these things work, because you knew everything would work out for me. And I know you think Theo is innocent. You must have reasons for that, too. Tell me what to do, Grams. Where do I even start to look for evidence in this town?”

  Grams smiled at me. “Izzy, I knew that everything would work out to prove your innocence because I know you are innocent. And the truth always prevails. Sometimes, you have to help it along a little bit, but the truth does always prevail. I believe Theo is innocent, so the truth will prevail in his case as well. You’re a smart girl. Figure out how to help the truth along here. Put your head together with Scott and Molly and figure out a way. I might have joined you in my younger days, but these days I’m too old to be gallivanting around chasing down a murderer. Just follow your heart, and it won’t lead you wrong.”

  “Seriously? Follow your heart? That’s the best advice you can give me?”

  Grams reached across and affectionately stroked my cheek with her thumb. “Yes. Follow your heart. I believe in you. If anyone can do this, it’s you. I would only slow you down, and besides, I need to keep an eye on Violet.”

  “Violet? How long are you going to let her ride this ‘poor old me’ act? She didn’t even actually kill Caitlin. She just ran into Caitlin’s dead body. Why is she still so upset?”

  “Isabelle James! Have a little bit of sympathy for the old woman. She already deals with such bad anxiety that she can hardly walk straight. This whole ordeal has really set her off.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, even though I didn’t feel very sorry. “I guess I’m just a little bit salty because she doesn’t think I can handle being a detective.”

  Grams shrugged. “What can I say? She’s old and set in her ways. Don’t let it get to you. You just concentrate on helping Theo and let the naysayers say what they will. I believe in you. And if your Grams believes in you, shouldn’t that be all that matters?”

  I sighed and reached over to give Grams a hug. “Yes, you’re right. It’s all that matters.”

  Before I had even finished hugging her, the loud, musical sound of her front doorbell drifted out onto the patio through the open back door. Grams looked at me and winked.

  “I had a feeling I’d have more company soon. I’m sure Violet let it slip to anyone she met that I baked lemon cake today.”

  I followed Grams to the front door, and when she opened it, two white-haired ladies stood there, each wearing floral dresses and straw sun hats.

  “Rose! Matilda!” Grams greeted them. “How lovely to see you.”

  “Agnes,” said one of the ladies. “We just happened to be in the neighborhood, and I mentioned to Matilda here that it’s been a while since we’ve seen you. We thought we’d stop by and see if you happened to have time for a quick little chat.”

  “Of course, dears. And you are
in luck! I just so happened to bake a lemon cake today. Would you like a slice?”

  “Oh, we couldn’t possibly impose,” one of the ladies said.

  “I insist,” Grams said. “I was just saying goodbye to my granddaughter. Run along to the back patio. You know the way?”

  The ladies nodded.

  “Very well,” Grams said. “Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll be there in just a moment.”

  As soon as they disappeared onto the patio, Grams turned and winked at me. “See? What’d I tell you? Word gets out fast when I bake a lemon cake.”

  I laughed. “Well then, I won’t keep you any longer. You have lemon cake to serve, and I have a murder to solve.”

  “Yes, you do. And solve it you will. Just follow your instincts, darling. They won’t lead you astray.”

  I hugged Grams goodbye and got into my car. I wasn’t sure that I bought into the idea that instincts alone would be enough to solve this murder. But somehow, knowing that Grams believed in me did help.

  I decided to take the one piece of concrete advice she had given me. I would put my head together in a meeting with Scott and Molly. In fact, I thought it might not be a bad idea to include Todd. He wasn’t exactly my favorite person, but he was well-acquainted with the case. He might be able to give us information on how things had played out on that fateful day of Caitlin’s death.

  I pulled out my cell phone to make some calls. It was time for a meeting of the minds at the Drunken Pie Café.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  By the time Scott, Molly, Todd and I all arrived at the Drunken Pie Café, the sun was setting and twilight had taken over Sunshine Springs. I poured out glasses of wine for everyone, regretting that I didn’t have pie to offer as well. But the last few days had been so chaotic that I hadn’t baked anything. Sprinkles looked at me forlornly, and I shook my head at him.