A Taste of Death (Maggie Olenski Series) (23 page)

Annette took a sip of tea. "You know, I never even got a chance to tell anyone about that, because first thing the next morning we all heard about Brenda Morgan's accident. Terrible thing."

Maggie
thought Annette looked
miffed that a juicy piece of gossip had been trumped by an even bigger story. How much more considerate it would be if only people would spread their gossip-worthy activities out, not bunch them up one on top of the other.

A series of loud thumps sounded on the ceiling. "Jason, Jeffrey! Don't make me come up there!" The thumping ceased, and Annette forked a piece of cake daintily. "By the way, how is Dyna enjoying Atlantic City?"

Maggie's surprise must have shown because Annette smiled  sweetly with a hint of triumph. "Someone I know just happened to see her at the airport in Boston."

Good Lord, Maggie thought, she's got a network of spies checking in with her. "Actually," Maggie said, "she's visiting a friend who lives in New Jersey."

"That's nice. Most people I know go to New Jersey thi
s time of year for the casinos – ”

"Annette," Maggie interrupted to avoid a discussion of what Dyna may or may not be doing, "I've been thinking back to the night of the town meeting. I'm sure the sheriff asked if you saw anything strange happen just before Jack got sick."

"Oh, yes he certainly did, and no, I'm afraid I didn't." Annette's voice had filled with regret that she had missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Life, her tone seemed to say, could be very unfair.

"I wondered, was anyone from town at the meeting who wouldn't normally have been?"

Annette thought for a moment, chewing. "Well, it was a bigger turn-out than we usually have. But then this was a special topic, and the whole town seemed to be interested."

"How did you feel about the zoning change, by the way? Did you want the sale of Big Bear to go through or not?"

Annette looked at Maggie with wide-opened eyes. She seemed honestly surprised by the question. "Why, what would the sale of Big Bear have to do with me?" She began waving her hands in the air, tossing out the various points of the controversy. "Selling, buying, ski resorts, mining, the environment." She shook her head. "Those are others' concerns." She took a sip of her tea and looked at Maggie somewhat reproachfully.

"I try to keep out of other people's business."

<><><>

Maggie had to park her car two blocks from the market. It seemed a lot of people had run out of things at the same time, and the small lot as well as the street parking in front had been filled. As she walked down the hill, she thought about Paul having been out early the morning of Alexander's murder.

Could Paul be the murderer? It was a distressing thought, but Maggie couldn't ignore the strong possib
ility. Both murders had benefit
ed Paul by halting the sale of Big Bear. With Alexander dead, his stock would go to Karin, who certainly would side with Paul. And Maggie had seen plenty of tension and anger rather than brotherly love between the two.

But could Paul have planted the false evidence at Elizabeth's? Had the concern Maggie thought she had seen in Paul for Elizabeth, tender concern, all been a sham?

Maggie was so absorbed she almost didn't notice Vickie coming towards her, a bulky, brown grocery bag clutched in her arms. As Vickie came nearer Maggie called out, "Since you're not working this must be Monday."

Vickie peered around the bag and grinned. "Yes, and see what fun I have in my leisure time."

"Ah, yes. Shopping for groceries has always been my idea of a good time too."

"Actually, I'll be stopping in at the restaur
ant to drop off some fresh parsley. Dan ran out of it
yesterday, and he'll be starting some soup bases early tomorrow. I told him I wouldn't mind picking it up."

"That reminds me," Maggie said before Vickie could move on, "you said Dan ran a restaurant in Atlantic City. Did he ever mention seeing Alexander in it? I understand Alexander spent a lot of time at the casinos there."

Vickie shook her head. "Dan's not much of a chatterbox on the job, but I could ask him. I suppose Alexander could have come into his and Brenda's last place, The Terrapin. Ale
xander certainly came
to the restaurant here a lot
with Karin
, but toward the end we all wished they didn't, or at least that he didn't. You were there that last time, weren't you? You and Dyna?"

Maggie nodded. She remember
ed well the tension of the room
as Alexander drunkenly hinted at a relationship between Dan and Karin beyond a business one. With a husband like that, few would have blamed Karin if she actually had looked for comfort elsewhere
. However, Maggie didn't think
that had been the case.

Vickie had started walking again, then stopped to say, "I hear Mrs. Warwick will be leaving us - going back to New York for the memorial service, but not coming back like she planned." Probably because Maggie looked surprised, Vickie explained, "She called Dan to tell him at the restaurant yesterday. Things were slow, because of the snow, and I was nearby when he got the call. I could tell he wasn't happy to hear it. I'm kinda disappointed myself. I thought they just might be good for each other."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, well, she's so lively and he's so quiet, and he seemed to be helping her in a way."

Maggie remembered Dan steering Leslie away from the bar at the party, and nodded. "Maybe she'll come back to Cedar Hill," she said.

"Yeah, maybe. Well, see you!"

Maggie walked on to the market and joined the throng shopping for food. She only needed a few things - milk, bread, fruit-flavored sourballs. Her supply of essentials had run low. She wound her way through the aisles, found what she wanted, and got into the express check-out line.

It was when she was leaving the store that she encountered Regina, who did not look happy.

"Good morning," Maggie said, smiling tentatively.

"Hmmph! Not much good happening lately, is there?" Maggie was wondering what to reply to that when Regina said, "Go see Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth?"

"I just came from there. She doesn't look good."

"Okay
. Sure." Maggie was just starting to think pleasant thoughts about Regina's thoughtfulness when she suddenly found herself on the receiving end of a piercing glare.

"We don't need more busybodies here!"

"Excuse me?"

Regina glared a few more seconds to make her point, then stomped around Maggie and pushed her way into the grocery store, leaving Maggie dumbfounded.

"What in the....?"

Maggie stared after her, open-mouthed, and briefly considered followin
g Regina into the store. She
quick
ly reject the thought, remembering the crowd of potential eavesdroppers inside
. Instead, she turned and c
ontinued on to her car. W
hen she came close
enough to pull out her keys, she saw
Annette and Vic
kie
standing near the corner, chatting. The last two people Maggie had been talking to. The last two she had been asking questions of concerning Alexander.

Regina must have passed by them
on her way to the store
. Had she heard what they were discussing? What had they been discussing?

And what would that mean for Maggie?

M
aggie pulled up to the Book Nook, still frowning over Regina's comment. She climbed out of the car and clambered over the snow piled high at the curb, thinking that the problems in the town seemed to be growing as fast as these mounds of snow. As she tramped around to Elizabeth's back door she wished she could clear those problems as easily as the snow plow had cleared her driveway. Or that they would simply melt away, along with
the snow, with the arrival of s
pring. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that simple. She tapped on her friend's door.

"Maggie, I'm so glad you came," Elizabeth said, tension evident in a wrinkled forehead, her eyes looking troubled. She stepped back to let Maggie in, and as Maggie shucked her jacket asked, "Did you hear about Paul?"

"Yes," Maggie said, turning from the coat rack, "but I wouldn't worry just yet. Not having an alibi doesn't automatically lead to a charge."

"I hate knowing he's going through this, though. It's bad enough, his own brother being killed" - Maggie noticed how Elizabeth avoided the word murdered - "but to have questions, insinuations on top of that. It's just too awful."

"It doesn't seem that long ago that Paul was worried for the same reasons about you."

Elizabeth clenched her hands together. "The whole situation is terrible. This used to be such a wonderful community. Now people are dying
,
and we're all peering at each other with suspicion. When is it all going to end?" She sat down and rubbed at her face.

"Soon, I'm sure," Maggie said, wishing very much she had something more concrete to offer. She looked toward the kitchen and, remembering the comfort effect of Dyna's pancakes, asked, "When's the last time you ate? Can I fix some tea?"

Elizabeth looked up over her fingers and managed a smile. "Let me get it. And don't worry, I have plenty of food. Regina dropped off another casserole, though I've begged her to stop doing that." She glanced at the clock. "It's just about lunch time. Want to join me?"

"Sure. I was just planning to have a sandwich at home. If Regina's casserole looks as good as the one I saw her fixing the other day, I'd love to try it."

Maggie made tea, while Elizabeth doled out two platefuls of Regina's veggie and cheese concoction and warmed them in the microwave. They took their plates to the couch to hold on their laps, setting their mugs on the end tables.

As they ate Maggie chatted about anything unconnected to the murders, eventually getting around to Dyna's recent acquisition of Ali, and some of his mischief. The tension in Elizabeth's face gradually eased. She laughed over Ali, and brought up old memories of a dog she had owned as a child. The time, as well as their lunch, disappeared quickly.

"Regina knows how to put a good dish together," Maggie said, scraping up her final forkful. "She might not be too pleased to know I had some of it, though. I seem to have made her angry today."

"I find it hard to tell when she's
not
angry. But what did you do?"

"Well," Maggie began, as Elizabeth took her plate from her, "I needed to know what's been go
ing on since Alexander was shot
and went to ask Annette. I'm afraid she may have been talking about our conversation sooner than
I expected, and that Regina might
have overheard her. I should have gone right to John, I suppose. He wouldn't have mentioned it to anyone else. But then neither would he have told me anything."

"I'm sorry for John," Elizabeth said. "I know he has his job to do, but he cares about the people here. All this probably hurts him as much as anyone."

"By the way," Maggie said, "John and Dyna seem to have something starting between them."

Elizabeth smiled at that, looking interested.

"Unfortunately, though, as far as that's concerned anyway, she's off in Atlantic City right now. She checking into what Alexander's activities were when he was there. With a bit of luck, she might dig up something helpful." Maggie suddenly had an idea. "Elizabeth, why don't you come stay with me while she's gone?"

Elizabeth looked over at her, and shook her head. "No, I think I'd be very poor company for anyone right now."

"You don't have to be great company. I have Ali for that," Maggie said, smiling. "But why should we both be alone? Come on over."

Elizabeth smiled. "I can't. Not now. I just have to be by myself. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Maggie sighed, and, looking at Elizabeth's determined face, gave up. She knew Elizabeth wasn't "fine", but simply hanging on, day by day. Visits and distractions might relieve her pressures for a while, but they were only temporary. She required a much more permanent fix. Elizabeth needed her life back, and soon. Maggie had to get busy.

With that thought in mind, Maggie stood up and began gathering her things. "The milk I left out in the car is probably close to freezing by now so I'd better go before a cap pops. Promise to at least think about coming over?"

"I will."

They hugged, and Maggie left after extracting a second promise that Elizabeth would call if she needed her.

Out in her car, Maggie sat quietly and thought. Making up her mind, she put the car in gear and pulled away from the curb. She didn't know what good it would do, but she was at least going to try. She headed for the sheriff's office.

<><><>

John didn't look particularly happy to see her when Maggie walked in, but he greeted her politely. His deputy had ushered Maggie into John's office without questioning her on her need to see him, and Maggie wondered if that would get him a chewing out later or not. John looked harried, and Maggie realized she'd better be quick and to the point.