Pretty Poison (33 page)

“Is that legal?” Selena asked.

“Keeley hasn’t been arrested yet,” Hunter answered. “Rich people do it all the time.”

“But where would I go?” Keeley wondered. “I’m not rich. My mom lives here in Charlotte. It’s not like I can take off and go to Paris for a few weeks.”

“What about your aunt?” Peggy suggested. “Doesn’t she live out in Montgomery County? It’d be hard to find you out there.”

“That’s true!” Keeley jumped up. “And it’s better than going to jail.”

“Let’s go.” Hunter grabbed her pocketbook and keys. “We didn’t have this conversation. Keeley needs some time away after losing the baby. You’ll each have to decide what to answer if the police ask you if you know where she is. Technically, she’s not a fugitive yet. That could all change very quickly.”

“I was working when this happened, and I have no idea where she is.” Sam folded his arms across his broad chest. His blue eyes were defiant.

“Besides,” Selena said, “I don’t know where her aunt lives. Even if I
knew
she was going there.”

“Thanks, guys.” Keeley hugged them all. “I guess I should go.”

“Right now,” Hunter agreed.

When the two of them were gone, Peggy looked at Selena and Sam. “I guess it’s just us getting the store set up for the Christmas rush.”

“I hope this is over before the holidays.” Selena tied her hair back with a white scarf. “I hate bad stuff happening over Christmas.”

Sam went out to get the blue spruce he bought for the shop. The roots were bundled in burlap so the tree could be planted after they were done with it. They decorated it with seed packages, bulbs, and miniature garden tools. Peggy put a row of red poinsettias around the base.

They stowed all the autumn decorations in the back and took out the giant snowflakes and bells from last year. Peggy had been forcing paper-white narcissus to bloom in the cooler storage area. Several of the purple Christmas cactus that grew in the front window near the counter were flowering.

They swept and mopped. Sam stocked the usual Christmas fare that traditionally sold. This year they added gift certificates as well. Peggy was working on the idea of a club that would send one potted plant a month to the recipient.

It was late when the store was finished. It smelled of lemon oil and spruce. The aisles were tidy for once and stocked almost to the ceiling. There was a little over a week until Thanksgiving and the start of the Christmas marathon.

“That’s it for me.” Selena sat down on the floor and refused to move.

“I think we’re done.” Peggy looked around the store with a smile. “Thanks, you two. I couldn’t have done it without you. How about some dinner? My treat.”

But Selena had to study for a makeup exam she was taking the next day. And Sam had a date.

“Don’t make a big deal out of it or anything.” He grinned. “But this guy is
really
hot.”

“Then what’s he see in
you
?” Selena laughed as she put on her coat.

“Some people think I’m hot.” Sam glanced at himself in the dark shop window.

“People on the Internet who’ve never seen you.” Selena slapped her hand on the counter. “I’m
good
tonight!”

“At least
I
have a date,” Sam scoffed. “At least I’m not a pathetic loser who has to go home and study for a makeup test.”

Selena opened the door to leave. “Snappy comeback. Good night, Peggy. You, too, Shakespeare.”

Sam looked at himself again in the window. He flicked his fingers through his golden hair. “You think I’m hot, don’t you, Peggy?”

“I’m sure I would if I didn’t think of you like Paul.” She laughed. “Don’t pay her any attention, Sam. She’s mad that you’re not interested in her.”

He made a face at himself. “Don’t say
that
! How can I work with her, knowing she’s longing for me?”

“Go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He started to leave, then realized she’d be there alone. “I can wait. I don’t want to leave you here like this.”

“I’ll be fine. Someone would have to be pretty daring to take on Shakespeare. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes anyway.”

He left, after calling a taxi to come and get her, insisting she shouldn’t ride home late at night, even with the dog. Peggy absently said good-bye as she put together a small train set. It was John’s. Each of the cars carried a package of seeds. She watched it race around on the track before she roused herself to go.

She looked up when the front door opened. She meant to lock it behind Sam. Now she might have to deal with a customer. “We’re closed.”

“I didn’t come to buy anything.”

Peggy got to her feet and faced Julie Warner.

Botanical:
Rosa hybrida
Family:
Rosaceae

“I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS, Peggy.” Julie methodically took off her gloves. They were black leather like the long skirt and short jacket she wore.

Peggy felt threatened. She couldn’t help it. She was still holding a garden trowel. Her hand tightened on it. The menace was there in Julie’s stance and the dangerous look in her eyes. “Acquaintances.”

“All right. Acquaintances then. Why would a
friendly
acquaintance accuse me of murdering my husband?”

“I’m sorry, Julie. I believe you had good reason to hate the man. He made a fool of you, your family, and your marriage vows. But there’s never a good reason to kill someone.”

“What would you know about it?” Julie slapped her gloves against her thigh as she walked through the front of the shop. “When your husband died, did the papers say he was known to step out with other women? Did the police consider one his many mistresses to be his killer? Did he almost die in the arms of his
pregnant
lover?”

Peggy didn’t move. She watched the other woman, wondering how fast she could dial 911 on her cell phone. Shakespeare was growling behind the counter, but he didn’t move. What would it take for him to attack someone? Not that she wanted him to randomly go around attacking people in her shop. But maybe she could come up with a signal to let him know when she was in trouble.

“Well, Peggy?” Julie stopped walking and ranting. “Did any of those things happen to you? Or did they only say what a hero your husband was and how he was an honorable man?”

“I can’t pretend to know what you’ve been through,” Peggy said in a soft voice. “But why didn’t you divorce him? No one made you stay with him.”

Julie’s laughter bordered on hysteria. “Why didn’t I leave him? Let me see. I have two children who are in private school and hope to go to Harvard. I have a lifestyle I enjoy and a home I love. I wouldn’t have any of those things if I left him.”

“We all make choices, I guess.”

“Where’s the fairness in that, Peggy? We can shoot a mad dog, but a human being who doesn’t act civilized ninety percent of the time can ruin anyone’s life he wants. Why should I have given up
everything
because Mark was a bastard?”

“I don’t have the answer to those questions. I only know killing him wasn’t the best way to handle the problem.”

“I didn’t kill my husband. Or that little tramp from Columbia. God knows I would’ve liked to. She actually came to the house and threatened me. She just didn’t realize that Mark would
never
have left me. It’s not that he loved me so much as he loved to show off.” Julie seemed to get control of herself. “Stay away from me and my family. You don’t understand what we’ve gone through.”

Peggy’s fingers clutched at the trowel. Her Irish temper kicked in. It was all she could do not to use her good left hook on the other woman as she put her gloves on and prepared to leave the shop.

The door closed behind her. Peggy didn’t move until the taxi driver knocked at the window and pointed to his watch. Her muscles ached from clenching them so long. She looked at Shakespeare. He was asleep on the rug behind the counter. “Fat lot of help you were. Next time someone threatens me, you jump up and bite them.”

The dog wagged his tail. She sighed and put on his leash. She slipped on her purple cape and picked up her backpack. It wasn’t until she was in the taxi and close to home that she realized she was still holding the trowel.

It wasn’t that Julie was big or overpowering. But Peggy could feel the deadly anger and fear emanating from her. Her words were threatening.

“Thanks for waiting,” she said to the taxi driver as he helped her take her bike out of the trunk.

“No problem, Peggy. I look forward to seeing you and your dog now. That eucalyptus rub you gave me really did the trick on my arthritis. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Is this your last fare?”

“Yeah, I’m headed home.” He glanced at her house silhouetted against the faintly orange sky. “Nothin’ as grand as this, I’ll tell you. What does one little woman do rattling around alone in a big place like this?”

She gave him what she owed him for the trip plus her usual tip. “It doesn’t seem so big to me. Besides, where would I keep Shakespeare if I didn’t have a house this size?”

He laughed and got back in the taxi. Peggy put her bike away and shook her head at the Rolls that slept in the garage. Maybe since the shop was set for Christmas and she didn’t have any classes, she could get to the project again. She let Shakespeare run in the yard for a few minutes, but she felt very vulnerable being outside. She finally dragged him into the house and locked the door.

She was able to lose herself in her work, as always. The eighth graft from the night-blooming lily seemed to be taking on the rose. It would be a few weeks before she knew if the experiment was successful or if she’d have to start over. Many of her colleagues preferred the newer bio-genetics, changing the plant on a cellular level. But she preferred the old ways. Plants had been propagated and changed for thousands of years. She didn’t see any reason to alter her technique. She got good results, and she was happy with her work.

At two-thirty, she climbed wearily up the stairs with Shakespeare. Luckily, she didn’t have to get up for an early class that day. She had a tendency to forget the time when she was with her plants. At least ten alarm clocks were in the basement. All she had to do was remember to set them.

The phone was ringing when she got out of the shower. Shakespeare barked and whined, startled by the sound. His floppy ears
almost
managed to stand up. “It’s okay.” She stroked his head and neck.

But she didn’t answer the phone. When the answering machine picked up, there was only silence on the line. Shivering, she turned out the light and climbed into bed. For once, she was glad to have the big dog beside her. He was the only reason she went to sleep that night.

 

 

PEGGY WAS MAKING chocolate mint tea when there was a knock at her back door. It was Al and Jonas. “I’m making some tea. Would you like some?”

“This isn’t a social call,” Jonas explained. “We’re looking for Keeley Prinz. Do you know where she is?”

“No.” Peggy didn’t mind lying to them. Especially after her visit from Julie last night. “Have you checked her apartment?”

“Yes,” Al told her. “And her mother’s house. We thought maybe she was out on a job for you.”

“No, she can’t work yet. She had the miscarriage. Her doctor won’t release her for six weeks. Her work is pretty strenuous, you know.”

Al ran his hand over his face. “Peggy, don’t you think it’s kind of weird that you knew the DA was going to issue an arrest warrant for your friend, and now she’s vanished?”

She managed to look surprised and upset. “I wouldn’t tell her to hide from the police. I believe in the system. You know that, Al.”

“What about hiding her here?” Jonas glanced into the kitchen. “This is a big house. A girl could feel safe here. Especially since she knows her friend who owns the house is buddies with the police.”

“If you’re suggesting you’d like to search the house, go right ahead. I wouldn’t hide a fugitive here. That’s illegal.”

“We might take a look around.” He strolled into the kitchen and sniffed the air. “What’s that smell?”

“Chocolate mint tea. It should be ready by the time you finish. Ignore the mess. I always do massive cleaning over the holidays when I don’t have classes.”

He took a cookie she offered him and walked into the dining room.

Al shook his head. “That was too easy. I
know
you, Peggy. You wouldn’t let us in if she was here. You would’ve had some contagious fungus or something that would keep us out until you found another place for her.”