2 Yule Be the Death of Me (10 page)

“She’ll be
fine.” Kathy hushed her and sat down in one of the chairs.

Vivienne sat
down beside her. Some soothing orchestral music played softly from speakers in
the ceiling above them and for a moment, she relished the peace. “Why are you
so certain that there’s going to be a sudden crowd?”

Kathy pointed
toward the windows where two large vans pulled up slowly along the curb, each
packed to the gills with the faces of boy and girl scouts. “How’s that for a
reason?”

The children
began to file out of the vans in neat lines, heading for the automatic doors.
“Oh, I see.” Vivienne remarked as the first wave of excited faces stomped their
feet on the rubber mats, knocking clumps of dirty snow out of boots and shoes.

Vivienne tried
to look casual, but she could feel her cheeks reddening. She didn’t like all
this sneaking around and hoped that she wasn’t setting up another situation
where Joshua was going to have to explain to the sheriff why she was somewhere
she shouldn’t be.

The children
hurried into the lobby carrying homemade paper ornaments and cards. Several
chaperones were trying their best to keep their conversations down to an
acceptable level, but the excitement of a field trip just proved too much.

“Go for the
elevators.” Kathy ordered like a general directing troops on the battlefield.

Vivienne could
see that Helen was suddenly overwhelmed with the group of children and was soon
surrounded on all sides by a colorful horde of puffy jackets, knit hats, and
woolen mittens. She pressed the call button three times as Kathy waited
impatiently behind her.

Just as one of
the scout leader’s raised his voice to quiet the group down, the elevator
chimed and the doors slid open. Vivienne and Kathy rushed inside and pressed
the five key.

Once on the
fifth floor, it was a simple matter to find Eunice’s room. As they neared the
nurse’s station, they were relieved to find it unmanned. “This way.” Kathy led
them both down a hallway and stopped outside room 508. From inside the double
room, they could hear a television program squawking from one of the bedside
speakers. Kathy popped head into the room and noticed a petite member of the
blue rinse crowd crocheting happily away on the first bed. “Hello there.” Kathy
said sweetly.

“Are you
looking for me?” The little lady smiled hopefully.

“No, I’m here
to see my friend Eunice.” Kathy glanced around the room.

“I’m Delores.”
She replied. “Your friend is on the other side of the curtain.”

“Thank you.”
Kathy replied as she walked slowly toward the other side of the curtain
divider.

“Are you here
to see me?” Delores asked Vivienne as she followed behind Kathy.

“Well, I’m
here to see our friend Eunice too.” Vivienne replied. “But I can visit with you
if you’d like for a few minutes.”

Delores’ face
brightened and she reached over with shaky hands to turn off the television.
“Really?”

Kathy peeked
around the curtain and then looked at Vivienne with concern. “She’s asleep.”

Delores
pointed to the basket in Vivienne’s hands with a metal crochet needle. “Is that
for me?”

“Do you like
peppermint?” Vivienne asked.

Delores nodded.
“My Leroy used to buy me peppermint sticks when we were teenagers.”

“Eunice.”
Kathy spoke softly trying to rouse her. “Eunice?”

Vivienne
reached into the basket and pulled out a chocolate peppermint
whoopie
pie. She set it on the bedside stand. “I don’t know
if the nurses would agree with this for your dietary plan, but I won’t tell if
you won’t.”

Delores smiled
and picked up the dessert. She gave it a quick smell and closed her eyes. “I
never get tired of that. I can almost see Norman’s Malt Shop if I think hard
enough.”

“Are you from
Cayuga Cove?” Vivienne asked.

Delores took a
small bite of the confection and shook her head. “I was born and raised in
Rhode Island. I didn’t move here until my husband died about fifteen years
ago.”

Kathy
re-appeared from behind the curtain. “It’s no use. She won’t wake up.”

“How does she
look?” Vivienne asked.

“Bruised and
battered.” Kathy’s voice was low. “But alive.”

Delores
swallowed and looked up at Kathy. “She hasn’t been awake at all.”

Kathy looked
at Vivienne. “The whole time?”

Delores set
the
whoopie
pie down on the bedside stand and cleaned
her hands off with a tissue. “They brought her in the other day but she just
sleeps all the time. Haven’t heard a word out of her.”

“Has she had
any visitors?” Vivienne asked.

“Just her
brother. He’s tall, with salt and pepper hair and is always dressed very
conservatively in a suit and tie. Very proper looking.” Delores explained.

“Did he tell
you his name?” Kathy asked.

Delores
thought for a moment. “Pastor Kilpatrick. He said he drove all the way from
West Virginia.”

Vivienne
shrugged at Kathy. “I didn’t even know she had a brother.”

Delores took a
sip of water and then licked her lips. “He seemed nice and all, but he kept
pestering me about saving my soul. Asking me if I walked in the light with
Jesus.”

“Has he been
in to visit today?” Kathy asked.

“Not that I
remember.” Delores smiled at Vivienne. “It’s easy to lose track of the time in
here.”

“What are you
here for, Delores?” Vivienne asked.

“My heart,
dear.” Delores wrapped the rest of the
whoopie
pie in
another tissue and set it off to the side with a small stack of magazines.
“It’s been filled with joy, it’s been broken by sorrow, and now it’s winding
down.” She gave a little sigh. “Leroy and I never did have children so everyone
I ever loved is gone now.”

Kathy’s eyes
blinked a few times as she fought back tears. “You’re all alone?”

“When I was a
little girl, I remember wishing on many a star to live to be a hundred.”
Delores spoke softly. “I shouldn’t complain after ninety-five years, but I
really wish I had added in a part about having someone with me until then.”

Vivienne
reached out and took Delores’ hand in hers. “I would be happy to call you a
friend, Delores. My name is Vivienne and I run a little bakery downtown.”

“I wish I
could see it.” Delores smiled.

Kathy reached
into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. “I have pictures on my phone if
you’d like to see them.”

They sat with
her for almost an hour, before leaving with the promise to return every Monday
for a visit. As Eunice dozed quietly in the next bed, she remained unaware of
the circle of friends around her. Like most blessings, they didn’t announce
themselves with great fanfare or trumpets. They just happened during the
routine of an ordinary day.

Joshua set a
thick folder down on the marble topped table in the kitchen of the Sweet Dreams
Bakery. “You’re not going to believe this. Eddie Robertson died of
hydroxybenzene
poisoning.”

Vivienne set
the bowl of wet sugar cookie ingredients down onto her large stand mixer with a
thud and locked it in place. “I have no idea what that is, but it sounds an
awful lot like murder to me.”

Joshua opened
the folder with the autopsy report and proceeded to recite what the medical
examiner had written. “Trauma to vascular and respiratory centers suggests
paralysis due to oxidation. Blood of exceedingly dark color with poor
coagulating factor.  Severe damage to esophagus, stomach, and intestinal
lining suggests acute gastroenteritis due to long-term duration of exposure to
phenol.” He scanned the next few lines and shook his head. “There’s more
technical terms here that I don’t even want to attempt to pronounce.”

“Someone
poisoned him for a few weeks.” Vivienne turned the mixer on low. “So that means
that the killer has been here in Cayuga Cove for some time now.”

“Yes.” Joshua
agreed.

“Can you write
some of that down on my notepad?”

Joshua looked
over the table where sheets of recipes were scattered and pulled a yellow
tablet out from under a stack of wire-bound cookbooks with vintage pictures of
holiday cookies from the 50’s and 60’s on the cover. “Sure thing.” He scribbled
down the basics and did his best to make it legible.

“Did you find
out why Natalie was ruled out as a suspect?” Vivienne asked him as he scanned
the report with his index finger and copied more information down.

“She
cooperated fully with an investigation of her home right after the incident.
Nothing was found that suggested foul play.” Joshua explained as he finished
his brief notes. “You’ve got the basics now.”

As the mixing
paddles churned the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract, Vivienne added
the dry ingredients in small increments. “Did anyone suspect poisoning during
the initial investigation?”

“No.”

Vivienne
raised the speed of the mixer up one notch as the dough began to form. “Is
Sheriff
Rigsbee
going to re-examine the scene again?”

“They’re doing
it now. That’s why I was able to sneak this report over to you.” Joshua added.
“Speaking of which, I need to get back to the station.” He closed the report
and tucked it beside his hip. “How’s Eunice doing?”

“She’s stable
but has been unconscious the entire time.” Vivienne replied as she turned off
the mixer and tipped the paddles back to inspect the cookie dough. “Did you
know she has a brother?”

“I did not.”
Joshua leaned forward and gave her a kiss. “But then again, she and I barely
spoke.”

“Well, he just
came into town after the accident. Her roommate at the hospital met him
briefly. Said he was a Pastor.”

“I’m glad she
has someone to watch over her after the accident.”

“Me too.”
Vivienne agreed. “I’m looking forward to meeting him soon.” She stared at his
deputy uniform for a moment and then brushed away a few crumbles of flour.
“Can’t have you looking a mess going back to the station.”

“Are you going
to be working late tonight?”

She glanced at
the stack of slips that were waiting to be started on the order board. “I’ll
have Stephanie for a few hours this afternoon so not too terribly late. I
should be home no later than six thirty or seven. Why do you ask?”

“Late dinner?
I was thinking of takeout from Shanghai Sunset.”

“Sounds
perfect. I’ll shoot you a text when I’m about a half hour from locking up. That
way the food will be nice and hot when you bring it over.”

“Our usual
order?”

Vivienne
thought for a moment and nodded. “Could you add some spring rolls in too? I’ve
been craving them lately for some reason.”

Joshua waved
goodbye and strolled out the door just as two customers pushed their way in
with holiday order forms in their hands. ‘It’s going to be a long day.’
Vivienne thought as she greeted them from behind the counter with a smile.

*         
*          *

As the sun
slipped lower on the horizon, Vivienne couldn’t help but stare at the information
Joshua had written on the notepad. Giving in to her inquisitive mind, she asked
Stephanie if she would mind closing up alone as she could use the last hour to
conduct some research at the public library to find out more information about
this
hydroxybenzene
poisoning that had been Eddie’s
ultimate undoing.

Harriet
Nettles was thrilled as Vivienne stepped into the front entrance and stopped at
the circulation desk. “Vivienne Finch, I’m so glad you stopped by today.” She
gushed. “The bake sale was a huge success and I wanted to personally thank you
for your help with the tea selections. The library board was so impressed, they
want to start a monthly afternoon tea and book discussion club.”

“That’s
wonderful, Harriet.” Vivienne loved the smell of old books that filled the air.
There was just something about it that made her feel so at ease and eager to
soak up knowledge.

“I’ll be
stopping by after the New Year holiday to talk more about it when the board
comes up with a budget.” Harriet adjusted her gold wire-rimmed glasses so that
the bifocals were properly lined up in her field of vision. “What brings you
here today?”

“I was
wondering if you could point me in the right direction to look up some medical
information?
”

Harriet
straightened her back and pivoted her office chair toward the desktop computer
that was in front of her. “Sure. What do you need?”

Vivienne
pulled out the notepad from her purse and set it on the desk. “
Hydroxybenzene
poisoning.”

“Could you
spell that?”

Vivienne
handed the yellow notepad to Harriet. “This will make it easier.”

Harriet typed
in the name and then scanned the screen as information scrolled down. “There’s
quite a bit of information here. Did you want to add anything else in with your
search to narrow it down a little?”

Vivienne
thought for a moment. “Could you cross-reference Cayuga Cove?”

Harriet nodded
back. “This new system has made finding information so much easier these days.”
She waited for the query to yield the new results. “Everyone just hops onto the
internet and finds things on their own these days. But the problem is, not
everything on there is factual.”

“I agree.”
Vivienne thought back to her days in school having to write a paper on some
random subject. Having to learn to use a card catalog and understand the Dewey
Decimal System.

  
“Here we go. It looks like I found quite a few cemetery records that match your
query.”

“So, other
people have died from this?” Vivienne leaned forward to try and read the
information on the screen.

“Not recently.
Most of these records are from the late 1800’s. Let me print you a copy.”
Harriet sent the information to the printer. “Do you want a medical
encyclopedia for symptoms and signs of this type of poisoning?”

“That’d be
great.” Vivienne smiled, finally feeling as if she were getting somewhere. “I
knew you’d be able to find what I needed.”

Harriet pulled
the paper from the printer.

“Okay, the
cemetery records are stored on disc up in the genealogy section on the second
floor. You can use the terminals up there to find and print what you need as
the actual books are not stored here.”

Vivienne
nodded. “I can do that.”

Harriet
printed another document and handed that to Vivienne. “Now, the medical
encyclopedia is on this floor. If you want to head upstairs, I’ll locate it and
bring it up.”

‘That’d be
great.”

“We’re only
open for another half hour, so I thought I’d save you some time.” Harriet
glanced at the clock on the wall which read four-thirty.

“Thanks. I’ll get
right on it.” Vivienne hurried to the staircase that led upstairs, forgoing the
elevator ride and figuring the extra burned calories would help offset the
extra holiday calories that invaded her hips every winter.

Upon reaching
the top level, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye as another
patron pulled a book off a shelf and disappeared into the long rows of
bookcases that lined the carpeted floors. The roof of the old building had been
retro-fitted with modern skylights to allow natural light to fill the space,
saving money on the electric bills. But, in the winter months, the sunlight was
weaker and it gave a rather dim pallor to the upper level that made one want to
gravitate to one of the nice walnut tables where brass reading lamps glowed
softly.

The genealogy
department was walled off with office partitions that could easily be converted
to cubicles in a different setting. Here, they simply were arranged around a
cluster of four computer terminals that were much less modern than the sleek
touch screen at Harriet’s desk. Basic metal shelving was installed where
sleeves of data discs were arranged by years and grouped by cemetery. Vivienne
set her purse down at the nearest computer and stared at the paper in her hand.
Most of the records were located at the Cayuga Union Cemetery, which was not
that far from the trailer park where Natalie, Connor, and Eddie called home.
The earliest death linked with her search was 1856, but there appeared to be
many more associated with the years 1872 and 1873. She decided to start with
those discs and see what information she could find.

After locating
and loading the discs into the computer, she scanned through the records. All
of the deaths were listed as carbolic acid poisoning, but she saw no mention of
hydroxybenzene
. Rather than write them all down, she
selected a bunch of records and sent them to the printer. She was about to ask
Harriet if there had been a mistake when there was the sudden clap of a heavy
book hitting the floor nearby. Vivienne nearly jumped out of her chair, turning
around to see who had caused the commotion. She expected to see the patron whom
she had glimpsed a few minutes earlier, red-faced and apologetic, but the
upstairs was quit empty.

“Are you okay
Vivienne?” Harriet called out as she ascended the stairs and appeared at the
top of the landing with a rather thick book in her hands.

“I was going
to ask you the same thing.” Vivienne felt relieved to see Harriet.

“What’d you
drop up here?”

“It wasn’t
me.” Vivienne shook her head and pointed to the fiction area several feet away
from them. “It must have been the other person up here.”

Harriet walked
over and set the book down on the table next to Vivienne’s purse with a thud.
“Other person?”

“Yes, someone
was up here when I first came up.” Vivienne shrugged. “I only saw them from the
corner of my eye.”

Harriet shook
her head. “There’s no one else here but the two of us. It’s been empty all
afternoon.”

“I could have
sworn I saw someone else up here.” Vivienne squinted in the dim light.

Harriet
smiled. “It can get a little spooky up here in the late afternoons. Sometimes I
think I see people moving amongst the shelves too, but it’s just a trick of the
light.”

Vivienne
scratched her chin. “Was whatever fell a trick of the light also?”

Harriet shook
her head. “People shove books back on the shelves in the wrong spots all the
time. It was probably just waiting to fall and when you walked up here it
finally did.”

“If you say
so.” Vivienne felt a little chill pass through the air.

“Vivienne Finch,
don’t tell me you think it’s a ghost.”

Vivienne
wanted to tell her it was entirely possible, but she knew better than to do
that. “Well, I’m guessing probably not.”

“Now that
woman opening that peculiar store downtown, I’d expect her to think that.”

“You mean Miss
Octavia?” Vivienne asked.

Harriet
snapped her thin fingers. “Yes, that’s the one.  She looks quite
eccentric, but I must confess I found her personality to be quite ebullient.”

Vivienne
smiled knowing how much Harriet enjoyed using uncommon words to describe people
and places. There wasn’t a crossword puzzle invented that she couldn’t solve.
“Has she been in here recently?”

“She was, as a
matter of fact. Wanted me to locate some books on myths and folklore.” Harriet
recalled. “I wasn’t at all surprised at her request.”

“I had a
chance to talk to her and look around her shop. She’s really making it a
diamond in the rough, given the location.”

“Magic and
spells, just pure nonsense.” Harriet’s voice sounded like a school teacher
correcting a student who completed a report with information from sketchy
internet sources. “I don’t know who in their right mind is going to shop at a
place that peddles superstitious mumbo jumbo.”

“Well, you
just never know.” Vivienne tried to be diplomatic. “So, you said she was
looking for information on folklore. Did she say anything else?”

Harriet
shrugged. “Not that I recall.”

Vivienne had a
feeling it may have been information on werewolf mythology. “Do you think you
could locate that book for me too?”

“I could but I
thought you were looking up medical information?” Harriet adjusted her glasses
once more as they had slipped down the narrow bridge of her nose.

“I am, but you
just got me thinking about adding in searches about folk remedies for
accidental poisonings and such.” Vivienne wished that Kathy could have been
there to see how easily the lie had rolled off her tongue.

“Oh, that’s a
clever idea.” Harriet clapped her hands together. “I’ll go down and look it
up.”