Killing Weeds (9 page)

“How do you get them to come so early?” she yawned as she spoke to him.

“They like me. I work with them, and I give them gifts at Christmas.”

“Are you sure coming at this hour of the morning means they like you?”

He grinned as he put his arm around her shoulders. “Is this sour grapes because I called Lilla and Ranson last night?”

“That’s right. In my near unconscious state, I almost forgot. Later today we’ll have words.”

When everything was unloaded, Sam left, and Peggy got Shakespeare and went back inside. She’d forgotten to lock the door and set the perimeter alarm while she’d been outside with Sam. She remedied that situation with a touch of the keypad.

She wanted to go back to sleep for an hour or so. She hadn’t slept well, nightmares plaguing her dreams.
Not surprising
.

She lay down on the bed but was wide awake. She wasn’t exactly sure what the plan was for today. Without her forensic work, and with the shop still closed, it seemed her time was open ended.

Peggy went quietly down the marble stairs again and into the kitchen to make some tea. The kettle was just starting to boil when the kitchen door suddenly opened. She panicked for a moment, grabbing the first thing she saw—an iron frying pan. It would’ve been better to have a gun, but the frying pan was closer.

Shakespeare lifted his head and started barking, but he was also wagging his tail and moving to the door in a welcoming manner. Peggy knew whoever had a key was someone familiar to him.

“Good morning,” Steve said as he turned off the alarm. “I hope I didn’t wake you. What’s with all the plants in the yard?”

Peggy put down the frying pan and hugged him tightly. “You came home early. Everything was fine. You could’ve stayed for the whole conference.”

He kissed her. “With all the excitement going on here? I didn’t want to miss a thing.”

They sat at the old wood table together, talking and drinking coffee and tea. She told him all the news as he rubbed Shakespeare’s head.

“You’ve been busy,” he said with a smile. “I’m sorry about Paul and your job. I’m sure we can find out who’s really behind this, and everything will go back to normal.”

“I hope so. And I hope it happens before Paul is formally charged. Right now he’s just a person of interest. They’ve got him as far as delivering the mink coat, and I’m sure they think he knew how to poison it because of me. The one thing they don’t have is motive. They can’t prove he knew Ms. Honohan before that day. That’s the only thing in his favor.”

“I agree with Millie that someone is setting you up. Whoever it is has been careful and methodical about what they’ve done. It wouldn’t surprise me for the police to find more evidence to convict Paul.”

Peggy shivered as she wrapped her hands around her mug of tea. “But who would do such a thing? Someone had to know me very well to set this up. They knew destroying the store would be like ripping out my heart, and they knew how to scam Sam into ordering those plants. They want to ruin my reputation and hurt Mai and Paul. I can’t think of anyone who’s that diabolical.”

Steve put his hand over hers. “You should get a pen and paper and think of all the people your personal sleuthing, and working with the ME’s office has put in jail. The chances are that’s where we’ll find the killer.”

“Which then would also have to be someone who is out of jail now,” she added.

“Exactly. You come up with the list. I’ll check it out.”

“But you can’t be involved,” she reminded him. “The FBI wouldn’t be part of this.”

“If you think I’m going to sit around while this happens to you and Paul, you’re wrong. Al has friends too. Between us, we’ll get this person, Peggy. Try not to worry about it.”

She went downstairs to the basement to check on her work as Steve showered and changed clothes. By the time she got back upstairs, the strong smell of bacon and toast was wafting through the air.

It had to be her father. Her mother rarely cooked—especially not breakfast.

Peggy wasn’t surprised to see Ranson cooking a breakfast big enough to feed an army. She was surprised to see Sam and Millie there again.

Steve’s assistant, Norris Rankin, was also there. For some reason, Peggy could never find his good side. The two of them butted heads over everything. Sometimes she wondered if he was jealous of her and Steve. It was complicated.

“Good morning, everyone.” She smiled at the three people sitting at the table—Norris with his ever-present laptop. “Dad, that’s probably enough food for us and all the neighbors.”

“It’s not as much as it looks,” he countered. “Paul is on his way over too. People who eat a good breakfast are happier and more satisfied with their lives. Did you know that? I read it online a few days ago. Get some plates out. I already put on another pot of coffee.”

Peggy fed Shakespeare as Al and Paul arrived. Mai had gone into work that day. Dr. Beck planned for her to be on other cases.

Everyone was filling their plates with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast as Shakespeare started barking in his way that let her know someone he didn’t recognize was outside. She looked out the door and saw several CMPD squad cars in her drive along with a crime scene unit.

“What now?” she asked.

Mock Orange

Also known as orange jasmine. The shrubs exude a citrusy scent, hence the name, but are not related to the orange tree. The plants attract butterflies, which make them popular with gardeners. They can become easily overgrown and must be heartily pruned, which make them less popular.

Chapter Fourteen

Peggy and Steve went outside together with Ranson right behind them. Captain Hager was instructing his officers how to look through the hundreds of plants in containers.

“Why are you here?” Peggy asked him bluntly. She was tired of being nice about it.

“Dr. Lee.” He nodded to Steve. “And you are?”

“I’m Agent Steve Newsome, FBI Director for this area—and Dr. Lee’s husband. I hope you have a search warrant.”

Captain Hager looked momentarily taken aback when Steve introduced himself, but he recovered quickly as he brought out the warrant with a flourish.

“Agent Newsome. I’m assuming you’re not here to look into this case.”

“No. What are you hoping to find this morning?”

Peggy had been studying the search warrant—she’d seen a lot of them in her day. “He’s here because he thinks there might be hogweed plants in this shipment.”

“That’s right,” Captain Hager acknowledged. “Don’t play with me. You’re trying to hide these plants here instead of taking them to your garden shop. Why is that?”

“Because someone broke into my shop and trashed everything I had. I don’t want that to happen again. These plants might not look like much to you, but they’re worth ten thousand dollars. We’ve already lost them once. We can’t afford to lose them again.”

Sam had joined them outside. “Do you really think there’s going to be giant hogweed plants in here? It wouldn’t hurt you to do a little homework on this and realize that hogweed is, as its name implies, a weed. You can’t buy it as far as I know.”

“Excuse us if we want to check that for ourselves.” Captain Hager smiled and walked away.

“I’ve got my Louisville slugger in the car,” Ranson growled with his fists clenched.

“Maybe you should go back inside, Dad,” Peggy suggested. Paul and Al had wisely stayed in the house. No reason to reveal their plans to find the truth to Hager.

“Good morning,” Walter said cheerfully as he approached the group. “I think it’s going to be another lovely day.”

Captain Hager grunted when he saw him. “Are you Dr. Bellows? Feel free to dive right in.”

Peggy was surprised at that. “You told them the plants were being delivered here this morning?”

He shrugged. “I’m so sorry, but it was part of my duty as the forensic botanist on this case to alert them. I knew you wouldn’t have hogweed out here. You were completely safe.”

Sam took a menacing step toward him, towering over the short man. “You called the cops? I thought you were Peggy’s friend.”

Walter took a few steps back. “As I said, I was only observing my due diligence to the city and county by alerting them to the delivery. Anyone in my position would have done the same. Back me up here, Peggy.”

“You’re on your own,” she said. “This was beyond due diligence.”

“Why you little weasel—” Sam started after him.

“I’d better go help the police.” Walter walked quickly away from them.

“Did you know he took your place with the medical examiner?” Sam asked.

“No,” Peggy said. “But since they took me off the case, they were bound to look for another botanist.”

“I don’t think reporting you to the police is something a friend would do,” Ranson said. “I’m going back in. All this has upset my digestion.”

Peggy and Sam stayed outside with the police to make sure the plants weren’t harmed.  A few broken stalks could kill parts of the more delicate plants. Steve went back in with Ranson.

Hunter arrived only a few minutes later, driving her blue Camaro like a demon, which had earned her several speeding tickets since she’d purchased it.

“Let me take a look at that search warrant,” she demanded.

“I think it’s in order.” Peggy gave it to her.

“I’m the lawyer. I’m supposed to decide that stuff. Lucky Sam called me right away. This borders on harassment.”

“Not to mention being flat in the middle of stupidity,” Sam spat out.

“We’re just protecting our investment right now,” Peggy said. “If the search warrant is bad, by all means stop them from looking at the plants.”

Hunter checked the warrant. “I guess it’s okay. But I’m going to have a word with the lead investigator. Excuse me.”

Several of the shrubs were knocked over, top heavy in their pots. There were a few broken branches on the tender young trees too, but otherwise the shipment was fine after the search.

“We’re leaving for now,” Captain Hager told Peggy. “Dr. Bellows said there is no hogweed here. I guess we’ll take his word for it.”

Sam growled again as he left them. “I don’t understand why they refuse to educate themselves in this matter when Paul’s life is on the line.”

“Never mind now. It’s over. The plants are okay. Do you have somewhere to take them today?”

“Not all of them, but a good number. I had to discount some, but better less money than no money.”

“I agree,” she said. “Any other thoughts about Mary Hood last night?”

“Not really. I keep going over it in my head, but I’ve done the same thing a hundred times. I talk to someone, and if we click, they hire me for the job. There was nothing about her that was unusual. She was just another landscaping client.”

Peggy patted his large, muscular arm. “Don’t drive yourself crazy with it, Sam. You do a good job. There was no way to know you were blindsided.”

“It won’t happen again,” he promised. “I’m taking my tablet with me from now on. I have a new app so a client can sign right on the screen, and we’ll at least have that much. I don’t have to ask for money up front, but I’ll have proof that the transaction took place. I might even take pictures.”

He hugged Peggy and Hunter before he loaded a few quince bushes into The Potting Shed pickup and left.

“We need better evidence if we want to clear Paul’s name,” Hunter told her. “There has to be proof of all this.”

Walter was actually upset when Peggy told him it might be better if he didn’t join everyone for breakfast.

“Why? You always invite me. I was only doing what you would in this case.”

“Except that I wouldn’t have called the police, Walter.” Peggy stopped him at the door. “You were just grandstanding for them. You knew how terrible this situation has been for me. Go home.”

“I’m sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing.” Walter hung his head and finally went back to his house.

Peggy and Hunter went inside to go over everything that had happened. Hunter ate what was left of the pancakes Ranson had made, and Peggy had another cup of tea.

Al looked at his notebook, as he did in every case he worked. It gave Peggy a brighter feeling for the outcome knowing he was taking it as seriously as he did his other work.

“I think the first thing we need to do is head over to Stewart’s Furs. Maybe we have a chance of finding a video of this woman purchasing the coat. If someone at the store remembers her, we could put a face to a name.”

“I want to be there,” Paul said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Al disagreed.

“I don’t care,” Paul argued. “You can’t shut me out of this.”

Millie put her hand on his arm. “You’re already under suspicion for this murder. It’s likely that the police are still asking questions at the furrier. It’s not a good idea for you to be there.”

Paul glared at her but didn’t say anything.

“I feel the same way about you, Al,” Steve said. “I know you’re on vacation, but there are other things you and Paul can do without being high profile.”

“Okay.” Al’s voice was impatient. “But I took this time off to help. I’m not sitting on my hands.” He glanced at Paul who nodded back to him.

“We have the drawings Selena made,” Steve reminded them. “Maybe you could use them to canvas the neighborhood where Sam sold the plants, in Brevard Court, and at the condo building where Nita Honohan was killed. We might get a hit.”

Al shrugged. “Not a bad idea. We can do that, right, Paul?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

Peggy hugged her son. “Just be careful, both of you. Mary Hood, or whoever she is, is dangerous. She killed that poor girl, and she’s gone through a lot of trouble to set this up. We don’t want to lose anyone else.”

“And Peggy,” Steve added. “You need to stay here and come up with that list of suspects. Just figuring out who might have it in for you and Paul could narrow the search and save a lot of time.”

She felt like arguing too, but realized that what Steve said made sense. “Okay. I’ll come up with a list.”

Steve hugged her. “And don’t take any mink coats from anyone.”

“Is there somewhere online where a person could order a giant hogweed plant?” Ranson asked.