Killing Weeds (2 page)

Steve was also part of law enforcement, and had even worked with John a few times before his death. He’d recently revealed that fact to Peggy when he’d been named director for the Charlotte bureau office.

“I can’t look into it professionally,” Steve agreed. “But I can help clean up.”

“No.” Peggy grabbed a tissue out of her bag. “You’re going to the conference for the next two days. If there’s something else to clean when you get back, I’ll stick a broom in your hand.”

“I’m not leaving you like this.” The expression in his dark brown eyes was serious. “They can get along without me. I’m staying until you get through it.”

Peggy wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “Don’t be silly. Sam, Selena, and I can handle it. We’ll inventory everything for the police and the insurance company. I’ll have to send an email to all our customers and let them know we’ll be closed for a few days. But I’ll be fine. No one died—except the fish. We’ll be okay.”

“Peggy’s right,” Sam said. “It’s just a mess, Steve. But we’ll take care of it, and I’ll take care of her until you get back. I just hope we find out who did this. I don’t care if it’s a teenager or not. I’m kicking some ass.”

Steve shook his hand. “You have my cell phone number. Call me if you need anything. Thanks.”

Peggy hugged him and fussed with his tobacco brown hair that was a little longer than he usually wore it. She straightened his blue tie, and kissed him.

She could see he was ready to go, his suitcase at the door. “He’s right. Everything will be fine. It was just such a surprise. And don’t worry. I’ll take care of Sam while you’re gone.”

“All right. I guess I’m going then.” Steve kissed Peggy and hugged her. “I love you. Don’t let me come back and find the two of you skulking around looking for whoever did this. Let the police do their job. Okay?”

She smiled into his warm eyes. “Okay.”

“Really, Peggy.” He glanced at Sam. “You too.”

“We’re not going after anyone,” she promised. “Unless he has a large garbage container to hold the debris.”

Sam and Peggy waved as they watched Steve’s SUV leave the driveway.

“Are we gonna look for who did this?” Sam asked.

“Only after coffee and tea,” she responded.

“Then I could do with some toast too.”

“And some toast.” She smiled as she went into the house and put on water for tea.

She fed Shakespeare, playing with his floppy ears as she did. When she’d rescued him, he’d been older than the usual pup when they had their ears cropped. She didn’t have the heart to have it done after everything he’d been through. He looked beautiful to her.

Sam and Peggy strategized over bagels with cream cheese and fresh strawberries.

“I don’t know how we’ll figure out who did this,” Peggy said. “Unless the police come up with a suspect from fingerprints or some other evidence, I can’t imagine who’d do such a thing.”

Sam swirled his strawberry in sugar before popping it into his mouth. “What about that man a few weeks ago who gave Selena such a hard time?”

“I don’t think a man who was disappointed because we couldn’t get the pink and white hellebore he wanted would trash The Potting Shed. Either this was a kid thing or someone has a serious problem with us.”

He snapped his fingers. “What about Mrs. Stanton? I wouldn’t do her yard last month, remember? She’s rich. Maybe she hired someone.”

“Maybe.” Peggy finished her bagel and wiped her hands on a napkin. “Do you want me to go with you to explain to Mrs. Hood about what happened?”

“No. I’ll be fine. It’s not like it’s going to cost her any extra money. We’ll have to absorb that cost until the insurance kicks in.”

“I know. I guess I was just offering emotional support. She’ll hear about it on the news, probably.”

“Yeah. Speaking of which, I’d better go home and change. I’m supposed to be working at her house at eight this morning. You should call Selena, I guess. Want to meet back at The Potting Shed at ten to do the inventory?”

“Sure. That’ll be fine.”

She hugged Sam and thanked him for being there. She knew he felt as bad as she did about all the dead plants. He might be big and reminded people of Thor, but he had a soft heart.

Peggy watched him leave, but he’d only been gone a moment when her next door neighbor scooted in through her still-open door.

“Walter? I’m surprised to see you so early.”

Walter Bellows grinned and took Sam’s spot at her kitchen table. “Any tea left? What a terrible night. I heard the whole thing on the police scanner.”

He removed his tweed cap so that little tufts of his gray hair sprang up all over his head. He was a tiny man with a bird-like countenance who’d only been Peggy’s neighbor for a few years.

“I have one cup left.” She poured it for him. “The shop was a mess.”

“So I understood. I saw Steve leave earlier. Is he going to get the FBI to help you?”

“The FBI doesn’t do things like that.” She sat with him for a moment. “I have a lot of things I have to do today, Walter. The shop won’t be open, but there’s the insurance and police matters to resolve.”

“Any idea who did it?” He grabbed the last strawberry on the plate. “Need any help sussing him out?”

“I don’t have a clue. I wish I did. I think we’ll have to spend today recovering from it before I can really worry about who did it.”

“But aren’t the first few hours critical to finding the suspect?” His puffy gray brows met above his sallow face and pale blue eyes.

Peggy hadn’t always been friends with Walter. They’d had many disagreements after he’d moved next door. But she’d found they had more in common than she’d thought. He was a plant lover too, and a botanist like her.

“Unless the police find something to track the people who did this, I’m at a loss. But if I’m going to ‘suss out’ the person, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

He rubbed his hands together. “Thank you. You know how I enjoy your little excursions into the forensic field. I even took the same forensic botany class that you did in Raleigh. If something ever happens to you, the police may call upon me.”

She laughed. “I’ll be sure to let them know.”

Her cell phone rang as she was gently trying to shoo Walter from the house so she could leave. The call came from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police so she assumed it had something to do with the vandalism.

Instead, it was John’s old partner—now a homicide lieutenant—Al McDonald.

“Hey, Peggy. I have a case right up your alley. Can you come and take a look at a murder over on Providence Road?”

Hakone Forest Grass

A handsome Japanese perennial that is long-lived and grown around the world, prized for its long, slender leaves and not growing wildly outside its planted area.

Chapter Three

Peggy didn’t bother changing clothes. Usually she dressed in something more office casual for her forensic botany work for the city. With the day she’d had so far, jeans and a T-shirt seemed to be appropriate.

She was glad Walter went home without much argument. He was excited by the prospect of another case for her with the medical examiner’s office. Peggy was their contract forensic botanist. It was only a part-time job when the ME believed she needed advice on anything to do with plants that could influence a police investigation.

She’d taken the forensics course years ago out of curiosity rather than expecting to make much money from the work. Her specialty had evolved into poisonous botanicals after she’d finished college. She looked at the forensic botanist job as an extension of that, and it was fascinating.

Peggy frequently led workshops and programs for local law enforcement on how to know if they were dealing with something in her field of expertise as well as how to collect and store potentially poisonous plants. It was fulfilling to her, even though her schedule could get hectic at times.

Al had called her to a huge building filled with luxury condos. The whole place looked like a castle. The grounds were beautifully landscaped with all the neatly trimmed flowering trees and shrubs that one would expect. There were flowering pear and cherry trees. Remnants of their blossoms drifted to the sidewalk at her feet. There was bright yellow Hakone forest grass that artfully draped close to the walkway without touching it and square holly bushes that barely reached a foot tall.

Police officers were at the front door to the building. She’d seen their cars on the street before she’d parked. Two young officers—maybe their first time out—were stationed there to check IDs before allowing anyone inside.

Peggy didn’t know them and had to show her ID from the medical examiner’s office. They waved her through, and another officer handed her covers for her shoes and gloves. She took a paper mask from him with a smile, though she didn’t think it would be necessary to use it and then followed the trail of officers to the eighth floor.

Al was waiting for her, having been notified by the front door officers that she’d arrived. The police seemed to be on their best behavior in this case, perhaps because of the high-dollar housing they were investigating.

“Peggy.” He smiled and hugged her. He’d been on a diet since his last doctor’s visit and had lost ten pounds. It didn’t show yet on his heavyset body or his thick, muscular neck, but he said it made him feel better.

“Everyone is so polite and quiet,” she mentioned. “They’re doing everything but tiptoeing and whispering. This is a beautiful place. I guess they’re impressed.”

“It’s nice enough.” He glanced at the heavy wood paneling that covered the walls. “I’d rather be out at my old fishing cabin than live here. How could anyone think of a place like this as home?”

She laughed. “I’m sure Mary would love it. The carpet is nice.”

“Whatever.” He started walking away from the elevator. “We’ve got a weird one.”

“Which is why I’m here.”

“That’s right. I hate the weird ones as much as I like seeing you.”

“I know you do. John always did too.”

He smiled at her. “I think he’d get a kick out of you doing this.”

“I’d like to think so.” It was years after John had been killed during a domestic dispute before she’d started working with the police. She really wasn’t sure how he would have felt about her job. Would he have been comfortable working with her?

Al looked at his notebook. “We have one dead woman. Ms. Nita Honohan. Mid-thirties, about five-five. Dyed blond hair. Obviously well-to-do. She’s lived here since the building opened. She was originally from New York. Owned some kind of business. We’re looking into that.”

“How did she die?”

“That’s why you’re here.” He grinned at her. “You don’t make the big bucks with no effort. Uh-uh. Mai’s got this one. She’s waiting inside.”

The large condo Peggy stepped into was as beautiful and carefully appointed as the outside hall and the entry downstairs. Everything appeared new and thoughtfully arranged. It seemed the building interior designer had very good, very expensive taste.

There were dozens of police officers and crime scene techs scattered throughout the three-bedroom condo. Two of them were closely examining the large balcony. There was one brilliantly red begonia out there. It was the perfect spot for it to make the most of the sun.

“Over here!” Mai Sato-Lee, the assistant medical examiner, waved to her. She was standing next to the covered body on the carpet.

“Good morning. You’re out early.”

“Yeah. Paul had to take Rosie to daycare. I usually do it so I get that time with her.”

Mai was married to Peggy’s son, Paul. Peggy had become a grandmother last year and found that it was the most glorious occupation of all.

“I can’t wait until playtime Thursday afternoon,” Peggy said. “She’s such a sweetie. And a lovely combination of you and Paul.”

Mai was Vietnamese. Her huge, almond-shaped brown eyes and pretty face complimented Paul’s green eyes and red hair. Rosie was a wonderful combination of the pair.

“Yes.” Mai cleared her throat as she glanced self-consciously around the crowded room. “I’m glad you’re here Dr. Lee. We have an unusual death. I think there may be something you can contribute. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Peggy steeled herself as Mai carefully crouched beside the victim and pulled back the sheet. It had never become second nature to see people in their final throes of life. No one should have to be on exhibit this way. No one should ever be killed by another human being.

This one was particularly gruesome. The woman had obviously been in terrible pain when she’d died. Her face and body were contorted, parts of her dress and coat ripped away from her body. But there was very little blood.

Peggy was horrified. And intrigued. She knelt on the carpet beside her daughter-in-law. “How did she die?”

The victim was dressed as though she was ready to go out. Her makeup was perfect. She still wore stylish black heels.

Ms. Honohan was also wearing a full-length mink coat. It looked new, but it was hard to say since she seemed to have taken very good care of her things.

 Everywhere the coat had touched her left the skin red with some kind of chemical burn. The worst of it was on her torso where her dress and skin had almost melted into the lining of the fur.

“She was trying to get the coat off,” Peggy said. “Something in it burned her.”

“We were thinking formaldehyde when we first got here,” Mai said. “People have been known to be poisoned by clothes that still have formaldehyde in them if they wear them without adequate cleaning.”

Peggy shook her head. “No. Look at her. She didn’t get this coat from a secondhand store. And formaldehyde wouldn’t have this effect. I can’t smell anything, can you?”

Mai agreed there was no scent. “But the only thing I could think of was an organic poison. What else could do something like this? I’ll have it tested, but I don’t think it’s acid. If it was, why wouldn’t it burn through the coat too?”

“I’ll need some samples.” Peggy studied the beautiful young victim as Mai sent one of the lab techs to fetch a sample container. She’d had everything going for her. How terrible that this had happened to her.