A Taste of Death (Maggie Olenski Series) (12 page)

Regina nodded. "Of course. I'll be home in the morning. You know my house?" She raised her eyebrows inquiringly at Dyna.

"Sure, right up there at the top of Fernhill Road?"

Regina nodded, twice this time, since it apparently also signified her good-bye. "Not before eight," she said as she turned and walked away, jamming her knit cap over her grey hair before she pushed through the outer door.

"Eight?" Maggie repeated, to Dyna.

"She goes out hiking before sunrise - even in the winter!"

"Hmm. Maybe vegetarian does have its merits," Maggie said, but grinne
d quickly to show she wasn’t really serious.

"So we're going to Leslie's fund-raiser," Dyna said. "Have you thought about what we'll wear? This sounds like a fancy function."

"Oops. I sure didn't pack anything remotely fancy. Well, we'll figure something out." Maggie finished up her dinner, resisting an urge to mop up the last of the delicious sauce, and asked Dyna if she wanted dessert. She ferven
tly hoped she didn't because Maggie
was anxious to get back to the cabin. Dyna must have picked up on the vibes because she shook her head, puffing out her cheeks at the same time as if to prove she was full enough. Maggie asked for their check and before long they both rose from the table to leave.

As they paused in the empty foyer
to zip
jackets, Maggie  looked down at the greenery that hugged the antique spinning wheel. "Does any of that look like what was in Leslie's sun room?" she asked Dyna.

"I don't know. It all looks the same to me. Are you going to pinch some of this too?"

Maggie glanced around. Vickie was across the room, engaged in conversation. Diners were occupied with their meals or with each other, not paying attention to them. She bent to reach for a twig when the outer door suddenly pushed open
,
and the Mayor and Susan Larson stepped in, Susan, at sight of them immediately singing out, "Well, hello! How nice to see you again."

Maggie straightened up and snapped h
er hands behind her back. "Hi
," she said, knowing her face probably said, "I wasn't doing anything", and she struggled to neutralize it. She recalled having spoken with Susan Larson at the town meeting, just before Jack W
arwick had slumped to the floor
and tried to remember what they had talked about. She was spared having to come up with a conversation opener, however, when Susan and Tom alternately congratulated them on having chosen this fine restaurant, asked how they had enjoyed their din
ner, and launched into a listing
of their own favorites. Vickie appeared with menus and the older couple followed her, still talking amiably, but now directing most of it to the seated diners they encountered as they progressed. By then more new customers had arrived and Maggie reluctantly gave up on finger-pruning Dan Morgan's plants that night.

"Maybe we'll hear from our plant expert and at least find out what's growing in Leslie's indoor garden," she said, following Dyna out the door. She pulled her coll
ar up against the chilling wind
and hurried toward the car.

T
he cabin looked forbidding to Maggie for the first time, as she pulled up in its driveway, the unlit windows looking down at her with ominous gloom. Maggie felt a shiver go down her back, but told herself it was the cold, the short ride from the restaurant not having been enough time to warm up her car. D
yna's car was tucked coz
ily in the small garage, but hers had to remain outside. After she and Dyna climbed out, she locked her car for the first time since she had come there, something she always did back in Baltimore, but had felt unnecessary, until now, in Cedar Hill.

The uneasy feeling dissipated once she was inside the cabin, and Dyna flicked on the switch, flooding the downstairs with light and chasing away the goblins. The
first thing Maggie spotted was the blinking
light on the
answering mac
hine.

"I hope that's our plant expert," she said, tucking her gloves into the pocket of her jacket and hanging it up. The warmth of the cabin was comforting. She pulled off her boots and padded in to the phone. There were two
messages, the
first
, she soon learned,
had come at 5:36 P.M.

"Oh, ah, Miss Olenski. This is Dave Fortier. I'm calling about the plant specimens you left with my daughter. Most of them are just fine, but I'd get rid of the oleander if there'll be small children around. It's extremely poisonous. All parts of it. That's the one has narrow leathery leaves with big, white or pink flowers. You can call me back here until 6:00 if you want more details. Or tomorrow will be fine."

Maggie looked at Dyna, who hovered over the other side of the answering machine.

"Wow," Dyna said. "Leslie could have done it then."

"If Jack Warwick was poisoned by oleander. We don't know that yet. But we can talk to John, tell him what we found, and maybe he will have gotten the toxicology results."

"I bet it will be oleander. It has to be. Leslie has a whole slew of motives to kill her husband. And you saw how guilty she was acting. And she has this poisonous plant right there in her house. Nothing could be more convenient."

"I agree
there seems to be a lot pointing to her right now. But let's wait for the final report before we jump to conclusions."

Maggie pushed the button for the second message. It was Rob.

"Hi," he said. "It's me.
I tried your
cell phone first, but couldn’t get through
.
Sorry I missed you, 'cause I'm going out soon. I'll try again if it's not too late."

The machine beeped off, and Maggie made a face, her shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"Gee, that's too bad, Dyna sa
id. "You missed a call from Rob.
"

"
Right. With the cell phone reception here being so
iffy, I don’t bother leaving mine
on.
Oh, well. Maybe we can catch each other later." Maggie turned briskly away. "It's probably just as well. I've got to get some work done." She headed over to her laptop and flipped on t
he switch. As it hummed and blink
ed through its booting up process, she began sorting through her papers.

"I'm just going to fix some tea to take upstairs with me, and then I'll be out of your way," Dyna said. She put a mug of water in the microwave, then started rummaging around the cupboards. "Didn't we buy some Oreos?" she asked.

"I thought you were stuffed."

"I am. I just want a little taste of chocolate."

Maggie smiled. "It's a good thing chocolate isn't an animal protein, isn't it." Dyna had long ago confessed she was a chocoholic, but unashamedly and with obvious relish. Dyna grinned, still rummaging.

Maggie couldn't resist a little more teasing. "You know there's caffeine in chocolate, don't you?"

"Don't even say things like that," Dyna said, putting her hands over her ears. "I didn't hear it.
La-la-la.
" She found her cookies and tucked the package under her arm, carrying her tea mug in both hands. As she stepped carefully up the wrought iron stairs she called over her shoulder, "If it's true - and it isn't - the holistic theory is that a very little of the bad stuff brings out the good stuff in you. Or something like that. And if chocolate has caffeine, which it doesn't, it's very little."

Maggie laughed. Another example of what she called "Dyna logic". She watched Dyna disappear into her room, then turned back to her papers, determined to put all thoughts from her mind but math-related ones. It wasn't easy. Thoughts of Rob intruded. When she
managed to push
them away, images of Leslie fixing poisonous brews crept in.

Oleander. Had there been a plant like that at Dan Morgan's? She tried to remember, but not having been looking for it specifically at the time, the appearance of the various plants didn't sink in enough to recall. Did it matter, though, she wondered, if Dan Morgan kept a poisonous plant, not among the supplies of his kitchen of course, but decorating his foyer? Yes, it did, she answered herself. Because everyone who had been at the town meeting had to be suspect for now. Regina had been there, and certainly had a motive for murder. And tomorrow morning she would go to see Regina. What could she find out from her?

"Stop!" Maggie ordered herself. "Math Puzzles and Games. What you need to fi
nd out is how to start Chapter Five
. Worry about murder tomorrow." She heard the crinkle of Dyna's Oreo package come from above, and the taste of that chocolate, creme-filled cookie immediately flooded her mind. Maggie sighed. Writing, she thought, would be a lot easier if one's brain had little switches that would turn certain parts off. She looked at her computer screen which blankly waited for her to fill it with words. And a switch, she thought wryly, to turn the part you needed on.

<><><>

The next morning, Maggie tried to coax Dyna out of her Oreo-induced lethargy by pulling back her flower-printed comforter and shaking her. She had already called her twice, with little response.

"Wake up. We have a busy day ahead of us."

Dyna pulled the comforter back, snuggling into its warmth, but opened up one eye towards the window.

"It's not even totally light out," she protested. "Regina's probably still out walking somewhere."

"I think we better see John first thing. Tell him about the oleander."

Dyna moaned. "John's probably still asleep too."

"I doubt it. C'mon. By the time you're downstairs, I'll have breakfast ready.

Dyna groaned a few more half-intelligible things which Maggie decided she didn't want to have repeated, then dragged herself to a sitting position and rubbed at her face. "Never, ever, start watching a re-run of "Terms of Endearment" with a full package of cookies at your side." She swung her feet to the floor and held her stomach. "Just tea and toast for me."

"Okay
. Dress warm. The wind is howling out there." Maggie heard a final groan as she trotted down the stairs.

Dyna got herself togeth
er in a surprisingly short time
after all her groaning, and to Maggie's satisfaction they were on their way to the sheriff's office within forty-five minutes. Unfortunately, the lone deputy there informed them within seconds of their arrival that John was out.

"It's just some kids done some minor vandalizing, though. I would'a gone, but Dottie particularly wanted John. You could probably catch him at her coffee shop, if you want."

Maggie did want, so they backtracked to Main Street, pulling up behind the sheriff's car parked in front of the coffee shop. John stood with a grey-haired woman beside a cracked window, she talking agitatedly with much arm waving and pointing, he listening patiently, an open notebook in hand . He looked over as Maggie turned off her ignition, flipping his notebook closed. The woman said a few final words, then tramped into the shop
, clapping at her chilly arms
.

"'Morning," John said, as Maggie climbed out of her car. The wind had calmed down somewhat, but was still brisk enough to make her glad she wore a hat.

Dyna swung her door closed and called, "You get started early." It was a statement, but Maggie thought she detected an undertone of complaint, perhaps from lingering thoughts of the warm bed she had been dragged out of because of John's disagreeable work hours.

"A certain two young criminals," he gestured towards the cracked window, "got started even earlier. Fooling around with icy snow balls, I suspect. Forgot how hard they can be. Dot said they took off like two bats out of hell when it happened"

"Are they in big trouble?" Dyna asked.

"Mostly with their parents. I'll have to drive over and tell them about it. Dot, the way she feels right now, would like to have them sent up the river, but she'll likely be satisfied with a replacement window. The kids will be shoveling a lot of snow this winter to pay for it, I'll wager."

"Before you go," Maggie put in, "can we talk?"

John looked at her, possibly gauging the seriousness of the talk, and suggested they have a cup of coffee inside.

The shop had a long counter where two men in
plaid coats and
wooly, ear-flapped hats sat, the only customers at the moment. They turned a fraction on their stools and nodded to John as he passed. He led Maggie and Dyna to a booth near the back where they all piled in, John calling to Dot for two cups of coffee, "and a cup of...?" he looked at Dyna.

"Just orange juice for me," Dyna said, wisely, Maggie thought. She could imagine the likely reaction of Dottie and the two ear-flapped patrons to a request for rose hip or hibiscus flower tea.

Maggie waited until their order came, then told John what she had discovered in Leslie's sun room.

"Ah, it's there too," was his surprising response.

"So you knew about it. Was oleander the poison that killed Jack Warwick, then?"