Lethal Lily (A Peggy Lee Garden Mystery) (11 page)

“Not yet. I was soaking wet, and my cheek was bleeding. I decided to come home first.”

“Okay. Now the thing is to call Al and tell him what happened. Have him meet you at the hospital, and get the video footage from the parking lot around the time you were attacked.”

“And get another copy of the file.” She nodded, green eyes less watery and more determined.

“Exactly.” He kissed her gently. “Want me to drive you?”

“No. You’re here for lunch. I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

“I’ll see you downstairs.”

“Thanks. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Peggy got dressed slowly in emerald green pants and a pink and green summer top. She hadn’t realized how sore she was until she bent down to put on her shoes. She wasn’t looking forward to the near future.

When she was presentable, she went downstairs again. Shakespeare whined at her heels trying to get her to play with him. She patted his big head and told him it was all right. She knew he was just reacting to
her
mood. She tossed his rubber ball down the spiral stairs. He went skidding and sliding to the ground floor, overjoyed at her being happy with him again.

Steve was still in the kitchen finishing his lunch and checking his email on his laptop. “I made you a sandwich to take with you.”

 “Thanks. I had lunch with Paul.” She put it into the fridge.

“Don’t forget the video. They might be able to ID the man who attacked you.”

“I won’t forget.” She smiled at him as she put on a clean, dry, rain poncho. “Thank you for not getting upset and demanding to come back out with me.”

He kissed her, but his brown eyes revealed the depth of his emotions that he was keeping under control. “You’d better go quickly before that happens. I’ll see you later.”

* * *

Peggy was feeling rebellious when she returned to the hospital. She’d parked in a no-parking zone close to the door where the morgue was located.

She’d called Al first and let him know what happened. She called Dorothy afterward and explained the situation. Dorothy was upset and offered to find a police escort for Peggy to return to the medical examiner’s office.

“I’ll be careful,” Peggy told her. “I’m meeting the police in a few minutes.”

“It looks like your theory about Harry and his wife must be true. Be careful. I don’t want to do
your
autopsy.”

Peggy saw Al pull into the parking lot as she finished speaking with Dorothy. She met him at his car as he came up behind her.

“You didn’t have to prove that Harry Fletcher had a checkered past and enemies.” Al put his big arms around her. “We already
knew
that. Are you okay? Do you need a doctor to look at that?”

“What I need is the video footage of the parking lot from about two hours ago when I was attacked. The man who confronted me might be on that tape. He was also at the auction of Harry’s papers this morning.”

“You’ve been busy,” he said. “Did he buy the files you were looking for?”

“No. But I might have the name and address of the man who did.” She told him about their bidding war.

He whistled when he heard how much the wheezing man had paid. “Let’s go inside and talk to someone in charge about that video. Twenty-five hundred, you say? Harry
must’ve
had something important in that storage unit.”

Al and Peggy confronted the same young man at the morgue desk. But this time Al sent him scurrying for hospital security when he took out his badge. Dr. Wyman returned with the head of security. Al shook hands with both men and then demanded a copy of Ann Fletcher’s autopsy report as well as the video footage.

Dr. Wyman gawked at Peggy. “We just gave you a copy of that report. What kind of game are you playing?”

“She’s playing the kind of game where she works for the medical examiner’s office, and she was assaulted in your parking lot. The file was stolen from her not even a hundred feet outside your door.” Al didn’t pull any punches. There was no doubt, looking at his angry face, that he was serious.

“Our security chief will take care of the video footage from the parking lot.” Dr. Wyman backed down. “My assistant will get that copy made for you, Detective. I’m sorry about your injuries, Dr. Lee. Do you need to go to the emergency room?”

“No. I just need to get that information back to my boss at the medical examiner’s office, thank you.”

Al nodded at her as the men went to do his bidding. “How do you think this man knew that you were here getting this file?”

“Maybe he followed me. I saw him at the auction. It wasn’t just him, Al. It was at least him and someone else in the van. Each of them opened one of the doors, trapping me there.”

“There’s a special kind of hell for a man like that who pushes helpless women around.”

“I don’t consider myself helpless.” She smiled. “But they did gang up on me.”

“What about this other man who bought Harry’s stuff?” Al asked.

“I haven’t had a chance to look him up. I’ll do that as soon as I get this autopsy report back.”

Al shook his head. “You know this puts a different spin on everything, Peggy. I’ll go back with you to the ME’s office. You give me the information you have about this man, and I’ll take it from there.”

Peggy didn’t like that idea, but didn’t have a chance to say so before the security chief returned. He gave Al a DVD of the video from the parking lot and offered to do anything Al needed to clear up the attack.

A minute later, Dr. Wyman and his assistant showed up with the copied files.

“Thanks for your help.” Al shook hands with them again. “I’ll let you know when we find out what happened.”

“I hope you’re all right, Dr. Lee.” Wyman shook her hand too. “I’ll be attending your lecture at Queens. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know.”

“Thank you.” Peggy smiled, not one to hold a grudge.

She walked out with Al who saw her to her car, and closed the door after her. She knew he was going to follow her back to the ME’s office. She was stuck giving him the information he wanted.

Maybe it was for the best. Whatever Harry was into had gotten him killed. Trying to find out what it was had made two men attack her. Maybe it was better for Al to look into it. She could help by working with Dorothy.

It seemed to her as though whatever was going on had to be something Harry had been part of
before
John’s death. His wife had died about ten years before John. It may have begun there—a theory that might be proven if they were both killed with convallatoxin.

The rain had stopped again. Watery sunlight followed her from the hospital to the morgue. Dorothy was waiting anxiously when Peggy and Al walked inside.

“Thank heaven you’re all right.” Dorothy hugged Peggy. “Are you sure you don’t need a few stitches in that cut?” She thoroughly examined Peggy’s cheek.

“My doctor said it would be all right.” Peggy smiled when she thought of Steve putting the bandages on her face. “In the meantime, the autopsy report from the hospital found a large amount of toxin in Ann Fletcher’s body. When we get Harry’s tox screen back, I think we might find the same thing.”

Dorothy nodded. “Would that be reflective of what you saw when you found his body?”

“Yes. It would have to be a large amount of toxin to kill so quickly, but it could be done in food or drink.”

“Or scotch.” Dorothy smiled.

“Exactly.” Peggy took out her phone and sat down at her computer. She removed the micro-SD card from her phone and used it to transfer her photo of the list that she’d taken at the mini- storage to the computer. “I can send this to you, Al. I don’t which name is the right one for the wheezing man. I’d planned to go through them until I found him.”

“That’s great,” Al assured her. “I can do the same thing, but faster. I’ll let you know when we find something.”

Peggy also downloaded the picture she’d taken of the wheezing man. “This isn’t a great photo, but it might help ID him.” She hoped Al would keep her in the loop on this. “Thanks for your help at the hospital.”

Dorothy and Al shook hands before he left. She promised him copies of their results when they came in too.

“So you have Ann Fletcher’s file,” Dorothy said to Peggy when Al was gone.

“I do. I’ve already perused it, but I’ll go through it more thoroughly.”

“Tomorrow.” Dorothy put her hand on the manila folder. “I think you’ve been through enough today. We’re still waiting for Harry’s information. It will keep overnight.”

Peggy agreed with her. “You’re right. I have to relieve my assistant at The Potting Shed for a few hours. That’s the only trouble with hiring college students—they have tests they have to study for.”

Dorothy laughed. “And dates. And countless clubs. Yes, I remember. See you tomorrow. Be good to yourself tonight.”

“Thanks. I will.”

Peggy walked out to her car, after telling Tom goodbye. She was surprised to find a Charlotte police cruiser waiting for her. The officer told her that Al said to make sure she got where she was going safely.

“Thanks. I appreciate that, but I’m sure it was an isolated incident.”

The young man, probably only a few years younger than Paul, nodded and smiled. “This is my job, ma’am. I do what they tell me.”

“I know you do. Okay. Let’s go.”

When she got to her car, she was horrified to see that someone had sprayed it with red paint.

Leave it alone!

Blueberry

In Ireland, baskets of blueberries are still offered to a loved one in commemoration of Lammas Day. Once only known as wild berries, botanists have improved the flavor and size of the berries, which we now know are so good for you. These bushes are related to rhododendron and azalea and can be a nice addition to a yard with their white flowers in spring and red-orange fall foliage.

Chapter Twelve

Officer Blandiss was extremely apologetic for not realizing what had happened to her car in the parking lot. He wrote out the report for the vandalism and reported it to Al.

“There was no way for you to know this happened, unless you checked every car in the lot,” Peggy told him. “You didn’t even know which car was mine.”

“Yes, ma’am, but I still feel bad about it since I was sent here to protect you. This paint is still tacky—the vandal may have done it while I was waiting.”

“Don’t forget it’s been raining. It takes longer for paint to dry in this humidity.”

Al said he would send a tow truck to bring her car in for processing, in case the vandal left fingerprints. He told Officer Blandiss to take her to The Potting Shed.

“Be sure to thank him for me.” Peggy smiled, even though she was shaken at the idea that the people who attacked her were so intent that they would follow her here. She was glad she wasn’t in the parking lot again when they were there.

Officer Blandiss nodded. “We’re good to go whenever you’re ready.”

Peggy got into his car, aware of the eyes that were watching from inside the medical examiner’s office. Twice in one day was a lot for anyone. It was more than enough for her. She needed to be at The Potting Shed for a while to soothe her nerves. It was difficult to think rationally with so much going on.

Officer Blandiss drove her to Brevard Court but had to drop her off to leave for another call. “I hate to leave you here, ma’am. If you need anything, give Detective McDonald a call. Have a good day.”

“Thank you for everything—Luke.” She read his nametag. She’d been too upset about her car at the office to notice his first name.

He smiled and gave her a little salute before he switched on his blue and white lights and disappeared into traffic.

Of course, Sofia and Emil were at their street-side window in the Kozy Kettle when she was dropped off. They immediately ran out of their shop to ask what had happened.

Peggy kept it simple, but the cut on her cheek was evidence that there was something more involved than her car being vandalized.

“Oh my good gracious!” Sofia dramatically raised her hands to the sky. “What kind of world do we live in where a man assaults a woman and paints her car?”

Emil shook his head, his thick mustache drooping in the humidity. “Only in this godforsaken place could this happen. America. Land of opportunity to commit crime.”

Sofia tapped her long, red fingernail on her cheek. “What about your Aunt Babba? She was thrown down in the street and pulled behind a cart for miles. That was a worse crime than this.”

“You’re right,” he agreed. “But Babba was in her prime—not like poor Peggy here. It might have killed her!”

Peggy had been smiling and trying to sneak away from them as they reminisced about the old days and tried to decide if she was in her dotage. If she could make it inside The Potting Shed, they might not follow. Especially if a new customer went into their shop.

“Oh, look!” Peggy pointed. “I just saw a woman go into the Kozy Kettle.”

“Where?” Emil’s forehead furrowed. “We should get back.”

“Yes!” Sofia took a moment to squeeze Peggy’s hand. “I am so sorry. As soon as the new customer is seen to, I’ll bring something good over for you. Good food. Good drink. They make us forget the bad things, eh?”

“Thank you so much.” Peggy scooted into The Potting Shed.

“What was going on out there?” Selena asked. “I thought I might have to come out and rescue you.”

“A police car dropped me off.”

“Why did a—
Peggy
! What happened to your face?” Selena’s golden eyes were horrified as she stared at the cut on Peggy’s cheek.

“It’s really not as bad as it looks.” Peggy took off her rain poncho. “If you need to leave, I’m here for the rest of the day.”

“No way. Not until I hear everything. Quick! Tell me before Sam hears you. I’d like to get the scoop before him for once.”

“What scoop are you talking about now?” Sam joined them. The grin on his tanned face disappeared quickly when he saw Peggy. “Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital or something? What happened?”

Peggy sat in her old rocker. “I’m glad you’re both here together. This way, I only have to say it one more time.”