Pretty Poison (25 page)

But the students were leaving, and the lecture was over. There was no sign of Nightflyer. She gathered her notes and ruminated over becoming a worried old woman who jumped at sounds in the night.

“Hi, Peggy.” Sam’s cheerful face appeared in her line of vision. “I was over here mulching some gardenias for the Bostics and noticed it was about time for your class to be over. Need a ride to the shop?”

She hugged him. “Yes, I do. Thanks for thinking of it.”

His face turned red, and he glanced around at the group of rapidly retreating students. “It’s only a ride. You even paid for the gas.”

“Sometimes it’s the little things that matter, Sam. Let’s go.”

Shakespeare was waiting in the truck. “Thought I might as well pick him up.” Sam helped her into the truck and shut the door behind her. “How did it go last night?”

While the dog licked her face, she described the whole experience in dramatic detail for him. She knew he liked it that way. “The big surprise was walking out into Paul. But I think Mai took care of that problem.”

“She somehow managed to take the oak tree out of his butt?”

“No.” She laughed. “She kissed him.
Really
kissed him.”

“Wow! That was above and beyond. I wouldn’t have gone that far.” He considered the matter. “Well, probably not anyway. So little Paul finally has a girlfriend. I hope you got pictures.”

“I barely got to see it. They were outside. But it looked pretty hot and heavy. I knew they had a thing for each other. I guess we’ll have to see what develops.”

“What happens now?” Sam pulled the truck behind the shop. “We find out someone slipped Warner some alcohol, and then what? How do we find out which one of his many women did him in?”

“Don’t count out the men in those women’s lives,” she replied. “It could’ve been one of them.”

Sam stroked his chin. “Hmmm, Keeley didn’t have a man in her life besides Mark. You said he broke up with his personal assistant a while before. Unless you’re thinking the man who replaced him . . .”

“No, not really. I think that’s a dead end altogether. Excuse the pun.”

“Excused. That only leaves one man who might have been jealous enough to do something to Mark for sleeping with his wife: Bob McGee.”

“That’s right. Ronda said he was out of town that night. But suppose he set the whole thing up to make it look that way. Maybe he wasn’t out of town at all.”

Sam laughed. “And you’re going to prove that
how
?”

“Don’t ask me.” Peggy shook herself. “I’m new at this detective thing. I suppose I’ll walk up and confront him. That seems to work best for me.”

“Has it occurred to you that your style might be what got you thrown off the dock? Or that it could happen again if you confront the wrong person?”

“You mean the
right
person? Don’t worry. I’ll be careful. I’ll either have Shakespeare with me, or I’ll make sure I do it in a crowd. Then I’ll have Shakespeare with me afterward.”

“I don’t know if that dog would do anything more than wag his tail and bark a lot, Peggy. Maybe you should get a gun.”

“And shoot myself in the foot? No, thanks. I appreciate your input though. Where are you off to now?”

“I’m going to talk to a buddy of mine who’s working for the new arena group. He promised us a shot at bidding for the plant work.”

Peggy raised her eyebrows. “That’s a big contract! Is that interior or exterior work?”

“Both. And whether we get it or not, you need to start thinking about hiring someone to take Keeley’s place. I talked to Dawn, but she’s not interested in doing fieldwork all the time. I need some help. I can’t keep going with school and work without someone else helping out.”

She patted his hand. “I know, and I’m sorry. I should’ve already seen to that. There’s been so much going on that I forgot. Or maybe I was hoping Keeley would come back. But I’ll get some ads out today. Thanks, Sam.”

He cleared his throat. “I can manage for a while. Just don’t forget about me.”

She promised not to and got out of the truck. She walked up the back steps, her eyes torturing themselves by going over the ground where she’d fallen from the dock. She knew if there was anything left behind, Al would’ve found it. Resolutely, she turned away from the area and went inside.

The extreme warmth from the shop hit her as she walked in. Keeley and Selena were sitting behind the counter talking. The front door was open into the courtyard.

“I hope you called maintenance,” Peggy said to Selena as Shakespeare ran into the shop and found his familiar spot. “It must be a hundred degrees in here!”

“I called when I first got here,” Selena answered. “No one was there yet. I left a message. It’s the same at the Kozy Kettle. Probably the same at all the shops.”

“Hi, Peggy,” Keeley said quietly. “I thought I’d stop by for some tea.”

Peggy took off her cape and hugged her. “I’m glad you did. How are you feeling?”

“Ready to go back to work. Light duty for a few weeks. But I’d really like to have something to do.”

“What about school?”

“I’ve decided to drop the rest of this semester. My brain needs some time off. But the rest of me needs to be busy.”

Selena went to help a customer. Peggy faced Keeley. “You know I’d like to have you back, and Sam is crying for some help, but I don’t want you to come back too soon.”

“Are you worried about the Warner thing?” Keeley suggested. “Because I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. Even if they decide not to prosecute Mr. Cheever, I think I’ll be fine.”

“I’m not worried about that. I know you’ve been through a strain, and I want you to have plenty of time to get better.”

“So you don’t want me back.” Keeley’s voice was flat. “Okay. I understand.”

Peggy laughed. “I think we’re talking, but we’re not communicating. Of course I want you back. You can start on light duty whenever you’re ready. But if you start back too soon and your mother comes after me, I’m going to tell her it was your idea.”

Keeley hugged her. “Thanks, Peggy. I won’t do more than I can handle. Don’t worry. Besides, I’ll be with Sam. He’s close enough to being a doctor that he can take care of me if I try to do too much. And no matter what, I won’t tell Mom. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention to her that I’m skipping this semester. I haven’t told her about that yet.”

“You’ve got a deal.” Peggy consulted her workbook. “Sam’s trying to get us a bid on the new arena. But I could use your help counting supplies before we order at the end of the month.”

“Sounds great. I don’t think counting supplies should be too strenuous.”

The shop was busy for a Wednesday. Peggy was hoping to get her presentation for the Thursday morning garden club ready while she manned the cash register, but it was going to have to wait. Between getting ready to order supplies and the steady stream of customers, it was all she could do to keep up. She was glad to have Keeley there. Maybe she needed to consider another assistant for the shop.

Just after the lunchtime crowd began to dissipate, Hunter and Jane Cheever arrived at the shop. Keeley and Selena took over so Peggy could have lunch with the two women.

“The judge postponed the trial indefinitely while the doctors try to make some kind of judgment about Mr. Cheever’s medical condition,” Hunter told her as they sat down inside Anthony’s Caribbean Café.

“That’s good news.” Peggy waved to Anthony, who hurried over to her table.

“I was beginning to wonder if you’d taken a strong dislike to my food, Miss Peggy.” The tall, thin Jamaican man hugged her. “But here you are, and you brought some friends.”

Peggy introduced him to Hunter and Jane. “I don’t know what they’d like, Anthony, but I want my usual. Rice ’n’ peas, candied yams, fried plantain, and red sorrell tea.”

Hunter shrugged. “Sounds good to me, too.”

Jane agreed, and Anthony took their order back to the kitchen. The colorful café was crowded with shoppers who were taking a late lunch. Flags from the island nations hung from the ceiling, and palm trees decorated the walls. A huge mural of the ocean covered one whole side of the café, while a thatched roof covered the kitchen and the bar areas.

“This is good news,” Hunter continued with their conversation. “It gives all of us time to do what we can for Mr. Cheever. If there’s any information out there to support the possibility of his innocence, now’s the time to bring it forward.”

Peggy didn’t respond. She knew Hunter wanted what she knew about Ronda McGee. But after talking with Mark’s lover in the courtyard, she agreed that it wouldn’t make sense for Ronda to kill him. Maybe Ronda made a mistake by having an affair with Mark, but that didn’t make her a killer.

“Dad’s doing much better.” Jane thanked the waiter for her iced tea. “The doctor isn’t sure how much he’ll recover from the stroke. He may never really remember that night.”

“I believe he remembers the important part.” Peggy explained her theory about Mark’s alcohol allergy to them. She didn’t go into detail about what she and Mai had done to discover the truth.

Hunter put more sugar in her tea. “Didn’t they release his body today?”

“I heard something about that,” Peggy agreed.

“How are the police going to run tests on him if they don’t have the body?”

Peggy smiled at her. “It’s already been taken care of.”

“Then why haven’t I been informed of any changes in the case? If they found alcohol in Warner and he was allergic, it would change everything. There was no way for Mr. Cheever to know he was allergic or to administer the alcohol.”

“There haven’t been any changes
yet
.” Peggy thanked the waiter for her plantain. “When there are, I’m sure you’ll be the first to know.”

Hunter leaned closer to her, her bright eyes flashing. “What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me? You hired me to save Mr. Cheever. Whatever you know that could help—”

“When I know something I can share, I’ll tell you,” Peggy said. “Right now, all I have is theory and speculation. We need proof.”

The lawyer sat back in her chair. “You’re sure you’re not trying to protect Keeley now that she’s been implicated?”

“I wouldn’t know how to make that choice. I just don’t have all the answers yet.”

The three women ate their peas ’n’ rice in silence. The funky island music played around them, and the waiter kept their drinks filled.

“I’m really going to push Dad to come home with me again, if he gets out,” Jane interrupted the silence. “This wouldn’t have happened if he’d been at home where he belongs.”

Hunter and Peggy agreed with her. The conversation picked up involving elderly relatives and their care. None of them mentioned the trial again.

“Well, I have to go.” Hunter glanced at her watch. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything new. I assume you’ll do the same.”

“I will,” Peggy promised. “Thanks again for taking the case.”

Jane lingered a little longer, talking about the way her father was when she was a child. “It’s terrible to see this stranger. I don’t know what to do about it. He doesn’t think rationally, but he’s not a child. I can’t send him to his room.”

“He’s one of the most rational men I’ve ever met,” Peggy disagreed. “I don’t understand why he prefers to live on the street. But it’s certainly not because he’s a half-wit.”

“You think it’s me, don’t you?” Jane wrung her hands.

Peggy squeezed her arm. “Of course not! It’s him. Something inside of him won’t let him rest. I wish I understood it more, and I could help. But it’s not anything you’ve done.”

Jane thanked her, then gathered up her belongings. “I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know, too, if you hear anything.”

“I will.” Peggy smiled as she watched the younger woman leave the café. Talking to her made her think about her relationship with Paul. How much was there between them that neither of them understood?

“Your friends eat like rabbits,” Anthony told her with a laugh. “Next time bring somebody with an appetite!”

Peggy promised she would and thanked him for lunch. She walked back to the Potting Shed, for once glad to see her customers had thinned out. She sent Keeley home when she saw how tired she looked and had Selena wait to leave until she could take Shakespeare for a short walk.

“You think Keeley’s okay?” Selena asked her when she got back.

“I think she’ll be fine,” Peggy answered. “She needs time to get her strength back. Losing a pregnancy isn’t only the physical aspect. It’s the emotional one as well.”

“I can’t believe she was pregnant! Especially with that old guy’s baby. What was she thinking?”

“That he wasn’t all that old?”

Selena ducked her head. “I guess I should go before I say anything else stupid. See you later, Shakespeare. Bye, Peggy.”

When Selena was gone and the shop was empty, Peggy called in her monthly plant order. She included some poinsettias for Christmas as well as a large supply of paper-white narcissus. Besides some decorations and a few gift ideas for gardeners, it was the only consideration she gave the holiday season. Christmas wasn’t as big for her as for some other retailers.

Feeling accomplished when the order was in, she sat down behind the counter and put her leg up on a basket. Her knee was feeling a little better, but she might have to give some thought to a few sessions of physical therapy, as the doctor suggested. It was still a little stiff, and she didn’t want to give up riding her bike.

She picked up the newspaper and glanced through it, checking out competitors’ ads as well as some news stories. A short mention in the society page caught her attention. Ronda McGee had filed for divorce yesterday. Peggy’s eyes narrowed and lost focus as she considered what that could mean. It might not have anything to do with Mark’s death. But on the other hand . . .

Before she could consider her actions, she looked up the address of the McGee household on the computer. She could empathize, take Ronda some tea and a plant. It was the least she could do. They were passing acquaintances anyway. After her thoughts that morning about Bob McGee, she had to know what happened. The best way was to go to the source.