Poisoned Petals

Table of Contents

“I cannot recommend this work highly enough. It has everything: mystery, wonderful characters, sinister plot, humor, and even romance. The way the authors merge plant knowledge into the story line is great! Come on! Does it get much better than this? I am a fan for life; well done Joyce and Jim, keep ’em coming!”

—
Midwest Book Review

 
“All the characters are well drawn and cleverly individualized. The botanical information never gets in the way of the story, and the plot is just complex enough to keep the reader in suspense.”—
ReviewingTheEvidence.com

 
“I love the world of Dr. Peggy Lee! The Lavenes have a wonderful way of drawing their readers into the world of well-rounded and sympathetic characters . . . Well crafted with a satisfying end that will leave readers wanting more!”—
Fresh Fiction

 
“The authors do a wonderful job of crafting a mystery that is organic to both Peggy’s area of expertise and her personal involvement. Information about plants and gardening is woven seamlessly into the narrative . . . I’m looking forward to much more in this series.”

—
The Romance Reader’s Connection

“A fun and informative reading experience . . . With a touch of romance added to this delightful mystery, one can only hope many more Peggy Lee mysteries will be hitting shelves soon!”—
Roundtable Reviews

 
“A fantastic amateur sleuth mystery ... Will appeal to men and women of all ages . . . A great tale.”

—
The Best Reviews

 
“Peggy is a great character . . . For anyone with even a modicum of interest in gardening, this book is a lot of fun. There are even gardening tips included.”

—
The Romance Reader’s Connection

 
“The perfect book if you’re looking for great suspense . . .
Pretty Poison
is the first in the Peggy Lee Garden Mystery series, and I can’t wait for the next!”—
Romance Junkies

 
“Joyce and Jim Lavene have crafted an outstanding who-dunit in
Pretty Poison
, with plenty of twists and turns that will keep the reader entranced to the final page. Peggy Lee is a likable, believable sleuth and the supporting characters add spice, intrigue, and humor to the story.”

—
Fresh Fiction

 
“Complete with gardening tips, this is a smartly penned, charming cozy, the first book in a new series. The mystery is intricate and well plotted. Green thumbs and nongardeners alike will enjoy this book.”—
Romantic Times

PRETTY POISON
FRUIT OF THE POISONED TREE
POISONED PETALS

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for authors or third-party websites or their content.

 
POISONED PETALS

 
A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the authors

 
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / May 2007

 
Copyright © 2007 by Joyce Lavene and Jim Lavene.

 
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without
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For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
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375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

eISBN : 978-1-429-57542-3

 
BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME
Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
The name BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the BERKLEY PRIME CRIME design are trademarks belonging
to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

 

“SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO LET things die.” The North Carolina Department of Transportation supervisor waxed philosophic as he stood beside U.S. Highway 52 South between the towns of Albemarle and Norwood. “It’s the way of the world.”

“It certainly is.” Dr. Margaret Lee, known to her friends as Peggy, stepped a bit farther away from the busy road toward the ditch that teemed with spring green plants growing under the power lines. “But not today, Mr. Jenks. Today, we’re going to keep this particular thing from dying. Are you ready?”

“They tell me that’s what I’m here for, ma’am.”

Peggy ignored his lack of enthusiasm. “You’re helping to preserve an ancient plant. Your grandparents may have eaten this plant’s tubers to survive a long winter. It may be why you’re alive today.”

“My grandparents were from the Poconos. I don’t think they stopped by here for a snack.”

“You don’t have much of an imagination, do you?” She waded down into the wet ditch, a burlap bag at her side to capture the roots of
Helianthus schweinitzii
, more commonly known as the Schweinitz’s sunflower. The scent of spring, of life, was everywhere, from the muddy water in the ditch that teemed with tadpoles, to the dogwoods and wisteria above her head.

“No, ma’am. They don’t pay me enough to have an imagination.” The burly man in the yellow hard hat and orange vest, with a red and white T-shirt peeking out above the faded jeans, followed her into the ditch with a shovel. “And I don’t see much good in saving a bunch of wildflowers. Sure, they’re pretty and all. But in the scheme of things, they don’t seem like they have much use.”

Peggy tugged on her orange vest. It was too big and kept sliding up, covering her face. A straggly piece of wild rose, just starting to green, caught at her mostly white/red hair. She untangled herself, pricking her finger, and moved forward again. “These wildflowers are part of the ecological chain. If we break one link, what will happen to the rest of the chain?”

“We put another pretty yellow flower in its place?”

“Hardly.” She sighed as she pulled down her vest again. It seemed a little useless to wear the vest in the ditch. What did it matter if drivers saw her down there? Surely they weren’t
trying
to go off the road!

It was hard enough to convince people endangered animals were worth saving. Most of the time the only people who wanted to conserve them were hunters. And even the hunters thought plants were almost useless, since there was no sport in shooting them. Peggy gave up. “Never mind. Let’s just dig up the tubers and get out of here.”

It was early spring, but it felt like summer. Outside the deep ditch that stretched back to a few thin jack pines, dogwoods, and some scrub brush, it was dry and hot. The smell of baking pavement scorched the air. But down at the feet of the sunflower plants they were moving to accommodate road expansion, it was cool, wet, and humid. She squinted across the road at a new field of cotton starting to grow. Stanly County was a big producer of the two
C
s, cows and cotton, both staples to the agriculture industry in North Carolina.

“Could you hold that bag a little lower?” Her NCDOT, North Carolina Department of Transportation, companion didn’t bother to hide his feelings about the job.

Mosquitoes buzzed around them, their constant whine filling in when the road beside them got quiet. They stayed away because of the insect repellent Peggy used, but they were annoying anyway. She supposed she understood, in principle, how her companion felt about the plants, since she felt that all mosquitoes should die. But she understood they, too, had a purpose, albeit a disgusting one.

Peggy was one of the North Carolina botanists helping out with the roadside removal of the Schweinitz’s sunflower to another location in the town of Davidson, about fifty miles away. The highway they stood beside was about to undergo a major growth spurt that would kill one of the few places the sunflowers were located. The sunflower only grew in about six counties in the state, even though it was a native plant. Many of them had been lost to other road construction before the federal government decided the plants were endangered and issued a protection notice.

They only grew in open areas, which tended to be under power lines and in right-of-ways. The electric companies sprayed herbicide to keep trees from growing under the lines and had a hard time understanding the difference between a tall plant and a tree. Many of the sunflowers were lost to that problem.