Heaven Preserve Us (15 page)

"That guy you were with at the preserves exchange?"

"Mmm hmmm." She licked her finger, and as she turned the
page I saw the headline Cadyville Creep Continues Attacks. Was
that the same jerk who assaulted the woman in the alley, the one
Barr had told me about on the phone? I thought about the lurker
in the pea coat and tasseled earflappy hat from the night before. He'd looked pretty creepy in my opinion, all sneaking around in
the fog.

"Kelly O'Connell," Meghan said, still not looking at me.

I refocused on our conversation. Crap. Erin had told me at the
preserves exchange that Meghan and Kelly were finally going out
on Friday, and I'd completely forgotten.

"Oh, no. I'm so sorry," I said.

She looked up. "What? You can take Erin to the hospital, can't
you? She'd love to see Barr."

"I'll go see him this afternoon," I said. "They're letting him go
home tomorrow."

Her face lost all animation, and she examined the floor, radiating disappointment.

"It's okay, Megs. We'll work it out. Tonight is my night to volunteer for the Helpline at HH, is all. Can't Erin go over there with
me? She can hang out and do her homework, and then dink
around with that silly pinball game until I'm done. It'll only be
nine-thirty when we leave. And tomorrow's Saturday."

Her expression alternated between relief and hesitation. "I ...
I don't think so, Sophie Mae. Maybe she could stay with Tootie
tonight."

"What? Why?"

She bit her lip. "That guy. The one who's been bugging you. He
knows you were at Heaven House on Tuesday. He might look for
you there again. And what about this whole theory you have about
someone deliberately killing Philip?"

"I thought you said I was nuts to think that."

"I didn't say that. Not exactly. And the more I think about itand I've been thinking about it all night-the more possible it
sounds. Tell me again what he said when he got so sick."

"Philip?"

"Yes, Philip." She sounded exasperated.

I repeated his whispered words to me. "Threat. Meant it."

"That's all?"

"He passed out then"

"Sounds like he was really afraid."

"He was terrified. He knew something was wrong, and seemed
to know who did it."

"Well, even if you are completely wrong-"

"Thanks a lot."

"-I know you. I don't want Erin dragged into some crazy
investigation."

I was stunned. And hurt. "You think I'd put her in danger?"

"Not on purpose. Besides, it'd be a pain for you to have to
watch her while you're answering the phone."

"The Helpline doesn't ring that much, and you know it. I'm
happy to bring her with me, and you know Caladia Acres isn't set
up for overnight guests. But you do what you feel is right. You're
her mother, after all."

Her smile was tentative. "Don't be mad"

"I'm not."

"Of course she can go with you. Just, you know, be careful.
Okay?"

"I promise. So, what are you doing on your date with this Kelly
character?"

She tried to hide the grin that came to her face at the mention
of his name, but couldn't. Oh, Lord. But I knew that giddiness myself lately, and found myself grinning back at her.

"We're going out for Thai food and then over to Monroe for a
movie."

"What are you going to see?"

"I have no idea." There was that grin again.

"Gotcha. I'll be here by five to take over Erin."

"Thanks. But we're not leaving until six."

"Bet you wouldn't mind the time to do a little primping, eh?"

"Um, no, I guess not."

"What's he do?" I asked.

"He's a financial consultant."

"That sounds ... interesting."

She laughed. "More like really boring. But he doesn't talk much
about his work, so I haven't nodded off yet."

"What's his association with Heaven House?"

"He's a volunteer there, just like us. I met him when we were
both working on the free legal aid project. It took a lot of research."

"Whatever happened with that?"

She shook her head and stood up. "I don't know. We gave our
report to Philip and never heard another word. Anyway, Kelly
wanted to get away from the rat race in Seattle, and he conducts a
lot of his business online. So he moved up here about three months
ago. When he heard about Heaven House, he saw it as a chance to
give something to his new community, and thought it might be a
good way to meet people."

I smiled. "Turns out it was a good way to meet someone."

She blushed, swear to God, and ducked her head. It was pretty
cute, seeing her all flustered. She stepped out of the kitchen, then
turned around and met my eyes. "Thanks, Sophie Mae."

"No problem," I said. "I hope you guys have a great time."

She turned back and headed toward the stairs. "We will," she
called over her shoulder.

Sighing, I put the egg carton back in the fridge. Breakfast seemed
like too much work now. I'd muddle through on coffee until lunch.

I was happy for my friend. Heck, my best friend. But I couldn't
help but wonder about this Kelly guy. Meghan's past taste in men
wasn't much of a recommendation for him. And he was so new to
town; how much did anyone here know about him?

Down in my workroom, I packed another dozen boxes with
retail orders off the Winding Road website. Then I went back upstairs to put out the sign I used to alert Joe Allingham, our trusty
UPS driver, that I needed him to stop. It was so nice to have that
service that I tried at least weekly to have a treat for him, even if
he was only doing his job. I wrapped up some of the lemon cookies that Meghan, Erin, and I had made the past weekend so Joe
could have them for an afternoon snack.

Cookies encased in foil, I opened the front door to put my
makeshift sign out by the sidewalk and found Luke unloading a
bale of chicken wire from the back of their work truck. Luke
hefted it onto his shoulder and came up the sidewalk toward me.
Seth met my eyes through the window of the pickup, blinked rapidly a couple of times, then turned his attention to the street as he
pulled away from the curb.

"Wouldn't it be easier to go around to the alley with that stuff?"
I asked Luke as he veered toward the side of the house.

"Hey, Sophie Mae. Yeah, probably, but it's pretty light. 'Sides,
Seth has to run back to the hardware store to get more fence staples."

This was going to be the best-built chicken coop for miles
around, I thought as I went back inside and headed for the phone.
I'd made enough inroads on my workload for the morning. Now I
could take a break and find out more about the people Philip
Heaven had angered with his ineptitude.

I LEANED AGAINST THE reception desk at Caladia Acres and
watched two snow-haired men play a hot game of checkers, waiting for the young volunteer to track down Ann Dunning. After I'd
confirmed that she was [email protected], she'd agreed to talk
with me over a cup of coffee. Her puzzlement at my request had
filtered through the phone line. Maybe she thought I wanted to
talk about Nana Tootie, as Erin called Petunia Hanover, or perhaps something concerning the massage-related work Meghan did
at the retirement home. My roommate offered gentle rubdowns to
the residents as well as training the nursing staff in therapeutic
massage techniques. I'd managed to verbally duck and weave my
way through the conversation with Ann, and I was pretty sure she
had no idea I wanted to talk to her about the nasty email she'd
sent to Philip Heaven.

"King me!" crowed the taller player, waving a red checker in
his companion's face.

"Yeah, yeah, here ya go," his friend said, handing over a previously captured piece.

The clatter of dishes anticipated the early lunch soon to be
served in the dining room, and the scent of something warm and
savory rode the air. None of the residents paid any mind to me,
though I saw a few I knew in passing, having spent many hours on
the premises with Tootie and her friends. Then I remembered this
was when Tootie et al had their weekly mah jong tournament in
the activities room toward the back of the building. No wonder
none of her particular cronies were wandering about.

The muscles in the back of my neck and shoulders relaxed an
iota. I'd been afraid I'd have to explain my presence to Betsy Maher.
I didn't want her to know I was investigating Philip's death. It's a
well known fact among my friends that I'm a terrible liar. I fidget
and fuss and flush and stutter. If we exchanged more than five
words, the Chief's mother would be on me like a cat leaps on a
particularly enticing, wiggly bug.

The mah jong would keep them busy through the first seating
in the dining room. I crossed my fingers anyway.

A woman with a pair of silver barrettes holding her long brown
hair away from her face lugged a karaoke machine through the
front door. In her other hand, she juggled a large notebook and
microphone. I smiled at her and she smiled back. Must be the new
activities director Tootie and Betsy had been talking about. I
wanted to be there when they started in on the singing. Knowing
the folks who lived at Caladia Acres, Frank Sinatra and Lena Horne
would have some serious competition.

My thoughts returned to Ann. Her email had been angry, very
angry, yet well thought out and to the point. Furthermore, it seemed to me that she was right to be upset about how Philip had
effectively scrapped the senior visitation project, leaving so many
people high and dry and Ann scrambling to see it through on her
own. I could see drafting such a missive under the same circumstances, but certainly didn't consider myself capable of killing anyone over such a thing.

But I was me, and Ann was Ann. I didn't know her well enough
to judge whether she had a temper or tended to hold a grudge. For
now she was a viable suspect.

As I pondered her ability to commit murder, Ann emerged
from the hallway that led to the residents' rooms. "Sophie Maehi! Want to go in the dining room?"

I shook her cool, plump hand and said, "I've been standing
here smelling something wonderful cooking for the last few minutes, and my mouth is positively watering." My stomach growled
right then, punctuating my words.

Ann flashed a smile, showing off two cherubic dimples in her
pink cheeks. "We're not serving the early lunch for another half an
hour, but there might be some pastries left over from breakfast.
I'll see what I can dig up" She nodded toward the source of the
clattering dishes, and her glossy dark hair swung forward and
back in one smooth motion.

"I won't say no," I said, following behind her ample backside,
unfortunately clad in classic nurse-white. This cheerful woman
had written that vitriolic email. It was a stretch, but from our past
interactions I knew she was intelligent, capable, and brooked no
B.S. from anyone.

Ann led me to a table in the corner, well away from two women
lingering over cups of tea on the other side of the room. I was happy for the privacy. At least I wouldn't have to be coy; according
to Meghan, subtlety wasn't exactly my strong point.

"Have a seat," she said. "I'll be right back. Do you want coffee?
Or tea? We have a nice herbal blend."

"Coffee would be great. Black."

She walked away, and I belatedly covered a gigantic yawn with
my hand. I was too darn old to handle two nights with next to no
sleep with any kind of grace.

Ann returned with a small tray holding two steaming cups and
a plate of fruit Danish. She watched with amusement as I dug in,
suddenly starving. Yum.

"These are fabulous Danish," I mumbled.

"We get them fresh from Cadyville Loaf and Latte," she said,
referring to a recently opened bakery and coffee shop. "You're lucky
any are left today. Usually they're gone by ten." She took a bite of
her own Danish, and we chewed contentedly for a few moments as
I mused on how to start.

"You know Philip Heaven died a couple of days ago?" I asked,
and took a big swig of the strong, hot coffee.

Ann looked startled. "Um, I heard something about it."

"It was botulism." I licked cherry goo from my fork.

She grimaced and put her cup down. "That's a terrible way to
die."

"I guess you know how that would work, being a nurse and
all."

She narrowed her eyes. "Very painful. And extremely frightening. The mental faculties remain, but the botulism toxin progressively paralyzes the muscles."

"Mm hmm. He got sick really fast."

"Have they found the source?" she asked

Watching her carefully, I nodded once. "Presumably. The Health
Department discovered a jar of unsavory beets in his kitchen."

She leaned back in her chair, ignoring her half-eaten pastry. I
took another bite of mine.