Fruit of the Poisoned Tree plgm-2 Read online

  Peggy nodded as she brought the hot mugs of cranberry tea to the table and sat opposite Mai. “What can I do?”

  “I guess I was hoping you’d talk to him.” Mai sipped her tea, warming her hands on the mug. “I don’t want to break up with him over this. I want us to stay the way we are for a while.”

  “I’ll be glad to try to set him straight,” Peggy promised. “His father was the same way. John and I were married within a month after meeting. He followed me around until I thought I’d have to slap him to get him to go away. I told him I never wanted to see him again. He sent me magnolia flowers in the dead of winter. I still have no idea where he got them.”

  Mai grinned. “So what did you do?”

  “I guess I succumbed and married him. I wasn’t so sure about it, but he seemed sure enough for both of us. I never regretted the decision. It wasn’t that I didn’t love him, you see. It was just that it was too fast for me. John was always one step ahead.”

  “Then Paul does take after his father,” Mai agreed. “But I can’t do this right now, Peggy. Please see if you can get him to understand. I don’t want to hurt him.”

  Peggy agreed, and they talked about other things. They went downstairs to look at Peggy’s plants, and Mai tried to catch the bullfrog who laughed at her from the edge of the pond. She never even got close.

  Mai left an hour later after more tea and ginger cookies. They hugged quickly, then she disappeared into the night outside. After discussing her problem with Paul, they talked about everything else but her son. Peggy wasn’t sure if she could convince him to back down from getting the house. If Mai’s arguments weren’t enough, what good would her words be?

  She talked to Steve for a while on the phone while she recorded data on her experiments. He didn’t have any advice about Paul. He told her about his animal emergency from that morning. A cat had her claw stuck in the leather collar her owner was trying to teach her to wear. It wasn’t much as emergencies went, but everything he did helped his new veterinary practice to grow in Charlotte.

  After finishing with her plants, Peggy went upstairs to her room to shower and change. Contrary to her personal pledge not to get wet, she was soaked again. She shivered when she got out of the shower and threatened the old furnace with getting a new one. She didn’t want to think what that would cost for a twenty-five-room house. She hoped the trust fund set up by John’s grandparents would take care of it. She’d have to approach John’s uncle to find out. Not a pleasant proposition, since he’d made it clear he thought she should move out when John died.

  The message light was flashing on her computer, sidetracking her from joining Shakespeare in the warm bed. She wrapped her robe a little closer and sat down at the desk. She’d been waiting for a message from a colleague at Berkeley for some help with her strawberries. Maybe this was it.

  She waded through the hundred e-mails she normally received in a day. There were ten phishing letters from banks and credit card companies. Some she did business with. Some she didn’t. They always asked for personal financial information under the guise of helping her in some way.

  She knew better but wasn’t sure if everyone did. She saw a message about phishing for information that could lead to identity theft on a university bulletin board. It was a warning for students, but clearly, anyone using a computer needed to be aware of it.

  Four messages were left when she got done with her junk e-mail. One was from her mother in Charleston, asking if Peggy was coming down for her birthday in June. Another was from the university giving her the final dates for exams. The third was from a student who wondered if Peggy would give him a private tutorial in poisonous plants. The fourth was an invitation to play chess.

  There was no doubting who the invitation was from. His return e-mail address was different, but his handle was the same. She hadn’t heard from Nightflyer in weeks. A tiny thrill ran down her spine even as she debated whether or not she should get involved with him again.

  Not that she knew him personally. She’d never met him except over the cyber chessboard. But he was an exceptional opponent. She’d missed playing against him. She thought she might never hear from him again, not sure if he was only in contact with her because of the Warner murder. He was an ex-CIA agent who’d worked with John and was very mysterious about himself, but he’d been right about the incidents involved with the murder.

  He’d given her a link to a new chess site. Peggy clicked on it and found she was already signed up to play. This site was different than most she played on. Two opponents were matched all the time unless one asked to change. Most places she waited to find a partner for a game. It could be anyone, anywhere, from Canada to New Zealand.

  Nightflyer logged in right after her. As always, it was as though he was monitoring her computer. Or maybe he was just set up to receive a message when she logged in. It wasn’t unheard of. She had to stop thinking conspiracy theories about him.

  “Hello, Nightrose!” He greeted her. “Are you ready to play?”

  The board was set up on Peggy’s screen with her as the white player. She made her first move: pawn to e4. “I didn’t expect to hear from you again.”

  “Sorry I had to desert you for a while. Some old war wounds giving me trouble.” He moved to counter her: pawn to c5.

  “I hope you’re feeling better. I’m not going to let you win because you tell me some sob story.” Peggy smiled as she moved her next piece: knight to f3.

  “Excellent move. You’ve been practicing.” He slid his piece across the checkered board: knight to f6. “How have you been? I was sorry to hear about your friend.”

  “I’m fine. I just got back from a conference in Pennsylvania. I won’t ask how you know about Park. I have this picture in my mind of you sitting in front of twenty monitors, reading news reports from all over the world.” She moved again: pawn to e5.

  “That’s too close to the truth!” He took her pawn. “His wife will be charged with his murder.”

  “Are you psychic now?” Knight to c3. She moved too quickly and bit her lip. “Park was killed in an accident. I’m sure you know I witnessed it.”

  “There’s more going on than you realize. I believe Park was killed in the accident you saw, but what caused the accident?” Pawn to d4.

  Peggy considered his move before making her own. “Are you saying Beth is responsible for his accident in some way?”

  “No. I’m saying she’ll be charged in the matter. I don’t think she’s guilty. I’m waiting for a pattern to emerge.” Bishop to g5.

  “Not in the mood for subtlety, are you?” She surveyed her position. “Are you telling me everything you know? Is there something I should look for?”

  “I’ll let you know. Your move. Careful not to make yourself more vulnerable. Speaking of which, be careful, Nightrose. This could be dangerous for you.”

  Peggy was distracted by his conversation and didn’t move at all. “Could you be more precise about the danger? I like riddles as much as anyone, but nice, solid answers would be good. If I’m going to help Beth, I need to understand everything.”

  “That’s all I can tell you until I know more. I’ll get back to you when I do. Do you want to finish the game?”

  His evasive answers made her angry. “I don’t think so. I’d like to know more about how you gather your information.”

  “Maybe some other time. Good night, Nightrose. Better get that dog some training!”

  She sat back in her chair. “How did you know? Are you monitoring my phone calls?”

  “ROTFL! Or I saw your name and Shakespeare’s name on Rue Baker’s Web site. What do I have to do to get you to trust me?”

  “Lunch?” ROTFL: online chat and e-mail talk for rolling on the floor laughing. So he thought it was funny?

  “Maybe. Someday. Oh ye of little faith. I may have to call you Thomas. Good luck with finding out what happened to your friend. I’ll do what I can to help you.”

  “Thanks.” She logged off right a
fter him. Men could be such a problem!

  PEGGY WAS BETWEEN CLASSES the next morning when Mai called her cell phone. “We finished most of the new work on Lamonte’s car this morning. Took it apart. There was nothing wrong that would make it unsafe. Just like the insurance company said.”

  “That’s good news,” Peggy replied in relief. “What about the autopsy?”

  “That’s another story. There was nothing overt that we found in examining him the first time. He definitely died from massive trauma following the accident. But there was something unusual in his tox screen when we dug deeper. They sent the results to Raleigh for more analysis. We couldn’t identify what we found.”

  “What did you find?”

  “Some kind of foreign substance. The ME isn’t sure if it has anything to do with the case. In fact, he’s really leaning toward it being a natural health food kind of thing.”

  Peggy frowned. Park never used a natural health food product in his life. The few times they’d discussed anything of the sort brought snickers and jeers from him. He was definitely a meat-and-potatoes, traditional medicine (if any!) kind of person. “Can you tell me what the substance was without endangering your job?”

  “I don’t see why not, since it probably isn’t anything important anyway. It was bee pollen. The kind people take for instant energy. You know what I mean? Mr. Lamonte had a high concentration of it in his body.”

  “Bee pollen?” Peggy was amazed. Had Park finally succumbed to her way of thinking? Was he trying to combat the fatigue she saw in his face with bee pollen?

  “That’s it,” Mai agreed. “Looks like your friend is off the hook. At least on her husband’s death.”

  “Thanks for letting me know. May I tell Beth?”

  “I think the chances are pretty small that a police detective will tell her.” Mai laughed. “They tend to only want to deliver bad news. Everything else you get in a report. Does Beth have a lawyer yet?”

  Peggy told her about Hunter being involved. “I’m sure they’ll both be glad Park’s death didn’t turn out to be a homicide investigation.”

  “I’m not too sure about Hunter. I think she’s still looking for that big score that will make her famous.”

  It was past time for Peggy to go to her next class. She half agreed with Mai about Hunter, thanked her again for calling, and hurried out of the teachers’ lounge. She wasn’t able to call Beth until the Botany 301 class was over. By that time, Hunter had already gleaned the information from her sources and given her client the good news.

  “I can’t believe it’s over!” Beth gushed. “I thought it would be so much harder.”

  “You were lucky it didn’t go any further,” Peggy assured her. “Anyway, I’m very happy it turned out this way for you and the boys.”

  “Thank you so much for your help. Why don’t you bring Steve over for a celebration dinner tonight? Is seven okay with you?”

  “That’s fine. I’ll check with Steve.”

  “Please come anyway, even if he’s busy. I feel like there wouldn’t be a celebration without you.”

  Peggy called Steve at his office and asked him about dinner.

  “That’s fine,” he agreed. “I should be done checking out this pregnant hamster by then.”

  She laughed as throngs of students passed her, spilling out of the school into the sunshine. “What is there to check out on a pregnant hamster?”

  “The owner thinks the hamster is past her due date,” Steve said then added, “Well maybe not. Here they come now. Call you back later.”

  There was no sign of the snow or ice that had changed everyone’s lives for a few days. Peggy got her bike out of the rack and headed for home. She’d managed to squeeze in an appointment with Rue Baker at Whiskers and Paws right after lunch. Things were looking up.

  She watched a noon report on Channel 14 news that included a small bit about Isabelle. The reporter talked about the mysterious circumstances of her death and her life as a social leader in Charlotte before her husband died.

  Peggy couldn’t believe the police would continue to investigate Isabelle’s death as a possible homicide after Park’s death was declared an accident. The Dragon Queen’s autopsy probably wouldn’t be finished for a few days. Hopefully, it would indicate natural causes. The position of her cane, missing dragon’s head, even the bloody letter could go away in that light. If Beth was cleared of any wrongdoing in Park’s death, it wouldn’t make sense for her to attack Isabelle.

  Of course those were all her concepts. The police brain was different. Especially Jonas’s brain!

  Keeley pulled up in Peggy’s drive a little before one. It took both of them to get Shakespeare into the Potting Shed truck. Once he was inside, he kept trying to get on the floor, wagging his tail and barking at them. “I hope this woman you’re taking him to knows what she’s doing,” Keeley said, pushing the dog away with her foot.

  “I hope so, too. Steve thinks Shakespeare’s the same as he’s always been. But I think he’s much worse. I don’t know what happened to him.” Peggy finished speaking just as they were about to go over the same ramp that she’d watched Park’s car plummet from. It seemed to go up much higher than she noticed before. At one point, it looked as though the truck was going to fly off the edge as well.

  Peggy gripped the dash as they went past the spot where the safety wall was demolished. In her mind, she could see the Lincoln flying down over the edge again.

  “Are you okay?” Keeley asked, her dark eyes concerned.

  “I’m fine.” Peggy smiled at her and forced herself to let go of the dash. “I guess I’m just a little nervous after seeing what happened to Park.”

  “I can understand that. My psych professor says the mind plays tricks on us, but usually it’s trying to protect us from what we can’t deal with.”

  “I’m sure he’s right in this case.” Peggy took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. “It’s hard seeing something like that happen to a stranger. To find out it was someone I know has been very difficult.”

  Whiskers and Paws was easy to find once they got to the Ballantyne area. It was a neat little shop with cartoon dogs and cats on the windows facing the street. Rue Baker was as nice as Steve described her. A good thing, since the moment Shakespeare saw her, he ran and jumped on her. His weight pushed her back into a desk and shoved several plastic paper trays clattering to the white tile floor.

  “This must be Shakespeare.” Rue laughed as she righted herself. She ran a hand across her very short, very blond hair. Her brown eyes summed up the problem. “You need obedience classes more than most dogs, don’t you? It would take a poodle a long time to do the damage you could accomplish in five minutes.”

  Shakespeare woofed deeply and tried to push his nose into the pocket of her jeans.

  “Nope. No treats for you, big fella. Treats are for good dogs who don’t assault strangers.”

  Peggy ran up and dragged the dog off of the trainer. “I’m so sorry. He’s been such a handful lately. I hope you can help.”

  They introduced themselves as Rue rubbed Shakespeare’s head. “I hope so, too. Let’s get an idea of what he already knows. I don’t like to overtrain. If he already knows some commands, we’ll work from there.”

  She tried to get the dog to sit. Shakespeare lay down on the floor. She tried to get him to stay, and he ran toward the door. “Let me see what you can do with him, Peggy.”

  It was the same. “I know he’s big and unruly, but I think he listened better before I went to Pennsylvania recently. Could that have anything to do with it?”

  Rue shook her head. “I don’t think so. Behavior with a dog is learned. You probably noticed it more after being away. I’d like to get classes set up with him twice a week to start. Can you commit to that? It’s very important you’re here as well.”

  Peggy agreed. At that point, she would’ve agreed to almost anything that might help. They set up for that week on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. She thanked Rue
and apologized again for Shakespeare’s rude behavior.

  “That’s okay. We’ll take care of it. Right, boy?”

  In response, Shakespeare knocked over two plastic chairs in the waiting area. Peggy was sure she felt a headache coming on.

  10

  Bay

  Botanical: Laurus nobilis

  Family: N. O. Lauraceae

  Common name: Sweet bay

  Bay is another name for laurel, the leaf of fame and glory. In ancient times, this small tree was endowed with many magical properties including warding off evil and averting lightning strikes. It is now used mainly in the kitchen to flavor meats and vegetables and for decorating purposes.

  STEVE PICKED HER UP at the shop that evening. “You’ll be happy to hear I have five healthy baby hamsters.”

  “Congratulations.” Peggy smiled at him. “I suppose the owner is very happy.”

  “You don’t get it. I’m the owner. The mother hamster’s owner doesn’t want the babies. Her allowance won’t stretch to feeding more than one. She bought the hamster without realizing she was pregnant.”

  “Oh. What do you do in a case like that?”

  “I try to give them away.” He turned the car on Providence Road and grinned at her. “Want a hamster or two?”

  “I don’t think so. I can’t even handle my dog.” She told him about her visit to Rue’s shop. “You were right. She’s very nice and seemed very professional.”

  Beth’s house was a riot of light when they pulled up in the drive. Several other cars were already there, including Hunter’s SUV.

  “Rue is special,” he agreed. “She has a lot of patience with animals. I’m sure she’ll be good for Shakespeare.”

  “Did you date her?” Peggy asked without thinking. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business.”