Lethal Lily (A Peggy Lee Garden Mystery) (12 page)

* * *

Sam and Selena sat silently as Peggy outlined the attack and the vandalism on her car.

“It’s what you were saying all along,” Sam said. “You’ve got a nose for this stuff.”

“In that case, she’d better have some plastic surgery,” Selena added. “It’s not good for your health to have people beat you up in parking lots.”

“It was just a warning,” Peggy said.

“A warning that you’re going to ignore.” Sam was fast to reply. “You should let the police handle this.”

“I gave everything to Al. All I’m doing now is looking into the poison that was used in Ann Fletcher’s death and if the same poison was used on Harry. That’s it.”

“Yeah.” Selena started to gather her books and backpack. “I’ll believe
that
when I see it.”

“It’s true,” Peggy said. “Al has the information from the storage unit. He knows about Ann’s death. He’s supposed to send me information about the wheezing man who outbid me this morning so I can identify him.”

“And then what?” Sam demanded. “Don’t go out again by yourself, huh? Not until this is over.”

“Sam, I just cut my face. It’s not like someone shot me!”

“Not that
you’d
care!” He shook his head. “Have you told Steve?”

“He knows.”

“Did you give Al the picture from the auction? Or are you just waiting until Al tells you who the wheezing man is so you can pay him a visit?”

“Even Peggy wouldn’t be that crazy.” Selena put up her umbrella.

“Don’t you know that’s bad luck?” Sam demanded.

A wicked grin came over Selena’s face. “You mean opening an umbrella inside like this?” She opened and closed the bright red umbrella several more times.

Sam advanced on her with a murderous expression. Sofia chose that moment to come into the shop with tea and a pastry box for Peggy. Selena almost knocked her down trying to evade Sam.

Sofia stepped quickly out of their path. “You two should take that rough and tumble outside,” she barked at them. “There is an old woman in pain here. Be respectful for once. Young people today!”

Selena laughed and waved to Peggy as she left for the day.

Sam offered to get Peggy her cane and shawl so she wouldn’t have to leave the rocker and then disappeared into the back of the shop with a hoot of laughter.

Sofia shook herself after she made the sign of the cross on her chest. “I don’t know why you have such crazy people working for you. The two of them are like small children. Large, small children. You know what I mean?”

“I know.” Peggy smiled when she thought about how crazy Sam and Selena thought Sofia and Emil were. “That’s something I love about them. It can be annoying sometimes, but mostly it’s good.”

“Here is your tea and a nice sweet roll to get you past the bad things. Call us if you need anything. You should not be here alone. Where is that worthless man you call a husband? If this had happened to me, Emil would be searching through the city for this man who attacked me.”

“Thanks.” Peggy took the tea and white pastry box from her, trying not to take offense at Sofia’s description of Steve. “Steve is working, but Sam’s in the back.”

Sofia waved her hand. “I meant
real
people.”

Peggy laughed as Sofia went back across the courtyard to the Kozy Kettle.

No matter what, Sofia and Emil were two of the most good-hearted people she’d ever known. She knew they’d close their shop in a heartbeat and run hers, if she needed them to. She’d do the same for them. She wasn’t sure why they disliked Steve so intensely. Maybe he wasn’t around enough for them to get to know him.

Peggy had just opened the box that held the delicious-looking sweet roll when the front door bell rang. A woman she recognized from her weekly garden club meetings stepped in. Claire Drummond was a frequent customer who lived in an expensive house, not too from Peggy’s. Her husband was a well-known attorney in Charlotte, so she always had plenty of money to spend on her yard.

“I’m so happy you’re here, Peggy.” Claire smiled when she saw her. She was tall and muscular, her very large, white teeth prominent in her face. “I was hoping to talk to you.”

“What can I do for you, Claire?” Peggy put her tea and sweet roll under the counter.

“I’m thinking about clearing all those old holly bushes out of my yard. I’d like to plant beautyberry bushes instead. I just love the blue berries, don’t you?”

“I do,” Peggy agreed. “But beautyberry isn’t native to this area, so it may take more attention than the hollies. I hate to see you rip out native bushes that have probably been in place for at least fifty years.”

Claire pouted—not a good look for her. “You sound like my husband. Honestly, what does everyone like about holly bushes anyway? They’re prickly, and you said the berries are poisonous, right? I know they’re less work, and they made it through the last drought very well. But that’s why I have a yard service. I expect
them
to take care of any problems that come up.”

Peggy knew Sam had wanted to take over Claire’s yard service for a long time. She wished he was up there with them, although she knew he’d feel the same way about taking out the holly bushes.

“I understand. What about something else with blue berries?”

“I don’t know. What did you have in mind?”

“What about blueberry bushes? You’d get the same color, and you could eat the berries.”

Claire considered it. “I don’t know if my yard is right for blueberries, though the idea is intriguing. I’ve been reading about people planting edible gardens. Maybe something like that would work for me.”

“You could have your yard service people test the soil and see if blueberries would live there. After that, you could consider putting in all edible plants. It might even get your yard on TV again. The idea is revolutionary.”

“That’s exciting, Peggy! That’s why I wanted you to be here when I came. You always have the best ideas.” Claire’s expression turned unhappy. “But I lost my long-time yard service last month, and this new service is only interested in what kind of grass we grow. My husband doesn’t care, but frankly, I’d like to rip all the grass out too. What is that but a waste of time and energy?”

No lawn service, huh?
Peggy grinned. “You’re in luck, Claire. I think Sam could fit you into his schedule.”

Claire’s brown eyes widened. “Really? You think Sam could—fit me in?”

This was obviously the real reason Claire had come to visit. Peggy was okay with that.

“Let me get him. I know he’ll be excited to talk to you about your new project.”

“Give me a minute to freshen up,” Claire whispered. “Where’s your ladies’ room?”

Peggy pointed the way and went in back to get Sam.

“Seriously?” he asked, almost as excited as Claire. “She doesn’t have a yard service?”

“Not one she’s happy with. Although I think she might be more interested in
you
than her yard. I don’t think she’s checking her makeup for me.”

He grinned and tossed back his long blond hair. “Not a problem. I can keep her—and her yard—happy.”

Peggy laughed. “It’s a good thing all these women don’t know you’re gay. It might impact the yard service contracts.”

“They don’t want sex with me anyway,” he proclaimed. “They just want someone to pay attention to them. I don’t mind sitting around and eating cake after the job is done. That’s why they love me.”

“You’re lucky Selena isn’t here now. I don’t want to think what she’d have to say to that.”

“She’s a brat. Where’s Claire?”

Sam went back up front with Peggy. Claire shook his hand, her eyes gleaming and lips slightly parted. They decided to take a ride to Claire’s house and see if her soil could grow blueberries.

Peggy sat in her chair with a sigh. Her tea was cold, but the sweet roll was delicious.

Customers went in and out, most coming in because they’d received her email about the new bulb shipment. She got a few calls asking her to set some bulbs aside too. She was happy to accommodate customers she knew well with special favors. They were the rock of her business. She couldn’t compete with the big box stores around the city—but none of them could match her customer service.

She was surprised to see Al holding the door for a customer who was leaving with a bag of bulbs. When she was alone with him, she smiled. “Are you thinking about something new for your spring garden?”

Al scowled. “You know that I don’t know a tulip from a rose. I leave all that stuff to Mary. I have a note from her about some kind of flower bulbs she wants. But mostly I came by to see how you were doing. You had a rough morning.”

Peggy took the note from Al and got a bag for his wife’s bulbs. “My cheek is a little painful, but not too bad. Did you have a chance to look at my car yet?”

“I looked at it—what a mess. You’ve really made somebody angry. As far as fingerprints, I won’t know about that until tomorrow. Crime scene is all over the motel where Fletcher was killed. The car has to come after that.”

“Of course.” She put five black tulip bulbs into the brown paper bag. “What about the wheezing man?”

“We’re working on that too. So far, no one on that list you gave me has a criminal background. They all seem like good, law-abiding folks.”

“Does that mean we don’t have pictures of them?”

“That means it’s harder to find pictures of them—we’re checking with DMV, service records, and that kind of thing. I’ll let you know when we have something.”

Peggy sighed as she put the last four mixed-color iris bulbs into the bag. “Does it ever seem to you like an investigation takes a long time?”

He thought about it. “No. Not really. It takes what it takes. It’s not easy to run down files and people. We’re always shorthanded. We could do with a little help, but it has to be help we don’t pay for.”

She handed him the bag of bulbs. “I could help.”

“No, you can’t. You already have too much on your plate. Steve might not look real tough, but he’d have my head. How much do I owe you for the bulbs?”

“Nothing. Mary and I will work it out. Sometimes she makes extra casseroles and freezes them for me. That way she has flowers and I have food.”

“Don’t tell me about it. She cooks all the time.” He patted his broad belly. “How am I supposed to pass a physical every year when she always fattens me up like that Hansel kid in the stories?”

Peggy laughed and hugged him. “I’m sure you’ll think of something. Thanks for checking in on me and for the ride over. Officer Blandiss was very polite. I hope tomorrow has better weather so I can ride my bike here.”

“Speaking of Steve, you’re not gonna make
me
tell him about this, right? He should know what’s going on, Peggy.”

“You don’t have to worry.” She waved her hand near her wounded cheek. “Dr. Steve did my face at lunchtime. He knows.”

“Good.” Al frowned. “Paul was snooping around the Fletcher case a little today. I suppose he knows that you might be looking for new information about John’s death too, huh?”

She thought about Paul’s calm reaction to her news. “I told him. He didn’t seem very interested, unless it was part of a police investigation. Maybe he changed his mind.”

“I hope not. He’s a good officer, and I’d hate for him to get involved with this goose hunt. Besides, we aren’t investigating who killed John. We’re looking for who killed Harry Fletcher—and maybe his wife. Let’s not forget that.”

Peggy agreed. He kissed her forehead carefully. “You need a ride home tonight?”

“No. Sam should be back in time. He can take me home.”

“Okay. Watch your back. I’ll talk to you later.”

Peggy got on the laptop she kept at the shop after Al was gone. Rain had started again, probably keeping any potential customers from paying her a visit until it cleared. She mostly used the laptop to order supplies and check catalogs. She had a large email list of her customers who frequently used that medium to contact her.

Today she thought she might try to get in touch with Nightflyer again. It had been weeks since she’d heard from him. If he didn’t already know about Harry, she could inform him. He might have some suggestions on where she could go from here.

But there was no immediate response from her online friend. She knew he’d been on the run for a while, fearing for his life. She had no idea where he was. She knew he had enemies and could only stay in one place for a short time. It made communication very one-sided.

Maybe it was foolish to trust him, but he’d never forced her to follow up on any of his suggestions. That was all her. And his information was sound. It was because he didn’t come in and talk to the police—or the FBI—that made Steve, Paul, and Al distrust him.

Rain continued to fall as twilight settled in early. It was only four p.m. but it looked like night. Sam wasn’t back yet—though she couldn’t imagine him standing outside in this weather talking to Claire about her garden. They’d probably gone inside for that slice of cake he’d talked about. Sam was a good listener and knew more than his fair share of secrets about the women he worked for. Lucky for them, he also knew how to keep his mouth shut.

Peggy decided to call Steve and see if he could pick her up at five.

As she got out her phone, the door opened from the courtyard where the stones ran in deep streams of rain from Latta Arcade to Church Street. A tall, large man wearing a hooded poncho stepped into the shop.

The wheezing man looked up at Peggy, and used his inhaler.

Agastache

Commonly known as anise hyssop, the coarse leaves of this plant release their licorice/citrus aroma when they are crushed. Leaves of this plant are used as a food seasoning and for making tea. The flowers are edible and delicious. This is a good plant for the back of your perennial garden with its tall, upright, blue flower heads.

Chapter Thirteen

Peggy wished she had something more than a few garden tools to defend herself when she saw him. As he closed the door, she started to dial 911.

“My name is Arnie Houck,” the wheezing man introduced himself. “I know you were working with Harry Fletcher before he died.”