Picture Perfect Murder (Ryli Sinclair 1) (18 page)

Glad to be home, I emptied my arms of my food and purse on
the table. I walked down the hall and put my silver fuck-me pumps in the back
of my closet. I didn’t want to see them for a long time. I was still
embarrassed for having worn them.

I changed into yoga pants and a tank top and piled my hair
on top of my head. Taking off my makeup, I felt more like myself. Deciding to
heat up the rigatoni with marinara I saw on one of the plates, I portioned some
of it on another plate to heat in the microwave. I smiled when I saw the tiny
parsley on top…whoever had delved up my food had went out of her way to put an
extra special touch on it.

I put the parsley on the table to eat later. Believe it or
not, I love parsley. Taking the food out of the microwave, I then poured a
glass of red wine. Hearing movement behind me, I saw Miss Molly snatch my
parsley off the table.

“Hey, that’s mine!” I cried as I went to scoot her off the
table and retrieve my parsley hanging from her mouth.

Miss Molly chewed on one of the leaves, breaking it off at
the main stem. The rest of the parsley fell on the floor. She continued to chew
as I snatched the fallen parsley off the floor.

“No more for you, you little scamp,” I said to her as I
threw the rest of the parsley in the garbage. After I washed my hands, I picked
up my plate and glass of wine and sat down at the table. Miss Molly was still
eating the parsley, or at least I thought she was. It actually looked like she
was trying to spit it out of her mouth. She finally succeeded.

Sighing, I got up from the table and picked up the
half-chewed leaf.

“Serves you right for eating my parsley,” I laughed at her.

By the time I’d finished my meal and glass of wine, I was so
full and tired from the long day I decided to skip the bubble bath and head
straight to bed. It was still early, only eight o’clock, but I was exhausted.

I woke up to the sound of wheezing and hacking in my ear.
Sitting straight up in bed, I knocked Miss Molly off my shoulder. Chuckling at
how fast my heart was beating, I reached over to pet Molls.

“Hey, girl,” I said, “you scared me to death.” It took me a
few seconds before I realized something was wrong. Her breathing was labored.
Switching on the lamp, I grabbed Miss Molly. Saliva was leaking from her mouth,
and the odor coming from her was putrid. I looked into her eyes and noticed
they were dilated.

Screaming, I scooped her to my chest and ran to find my cell
phone. In my delirium, I couldn’t remember if it was still in my purse or on
the table. Sobbing and stumbling down the hall, I reached out to find the light
switch.

Light flooded the living room, and I saw my phone on the
table. My hands were shaking so badly, it took me two tries to find Garrett’s
number and call him. I tried to calm my breathing as I waited for him to pick
up, but I couldn’t seem to think clearly.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” I heard myself chanting over
and over.

“Hello…Ryli?” his sleepy voice asked, “I must’ve fallen
asleep. I was going to call but—”

He must have heard my sobbing.

“What’s wrong?” Garrett demanded, sounding suddenly alert. “Take
a breath and relax. What is it?”

Taking a deep breath I told him about Miss Molly, about her
labored breathing, dilated pupils, vile breath, and how she couldn’t stop
shaking.

“Miss Molly? Your cat?” he asked. I heard the exasperation
even though he tried to hide it.

“Yes!” I screamed at him over the phone.

“Okay. Hold on, I’m coming over. Call Doc Powell. It’s a
little after ten, but it sounds serious.”

I glanced up at the kitchen clock and saw he was right. It
was pretty late, but I knew something was seriously wrong. I hung up and
grabbed a cardigan to throw over my yoga pants and tank top. Sitting down on
the couch, I continued to hug Miss Molly, rocking her gently as I sang to her.
I knew I should pick up the phone and call Doc, but I was terrified to let Miss
Molly go. I could swear the shaking was turning into seizures.

Praying Garrett would hurry, I got up and unlocked the door.
Grabbing my cell phone I found Doc’s number and hit the green telephone.
Continuing to pace, I cooed to Miss Molly, telling her it would be okay, help
was coming.

“Doc speaking.”

At the sound of his voice I started to sob again. I knew I
had to get a hold of myself, but I couldn’t help it. The thought of Miss Molly
dying was making my heart ache in a way I didn’t know was possible.

“Hello? Ryli? Your name came up on my caller ID, are you
there?”

“Yes,” I managed to whisper. “Doc, something’s wrong with
Miss Molly.”

“What’s the problem?” he asked.

“Everything was fine up until the time I went to bed, but then
I woke up with her panting in my ear, her breath stinks, she’s shaking, her
eyes are dilated. I think she’s almost having seizures, and her breathing keeps
getting worse.”

Doc was silent for a moment. “I know she’s a house cat, but
has she been outside on accident? Anything like that?”

I thought for a second, begging my brain to work. “No, no.
She’s always inside.”

Again, Doc was silent. I wanted to scream at him to do
something, but I knew it wasn’t his fault. Feeling Miss Molly seizing again, I
cried, “Please, Doc, she’s having another tiny seizure.”

“Did she eat anything poisonous? I’d think mushrooms if
she’d been outside. It almost sounds like poison.”

Poison! Where the hell would she get poison? I didn’t have
any rat poison or antifreeze anywhere in the house. I purposely didn’t keep
anything like that because of Miss Molly. I even got rid of my houseplants
because I’d catch her nibbling on them when I first got her.

“Ryli. Hey, Ryli,” I guess Doc had been saying my name for a
few seconds, but I was so distraught I didn’t hear him. “What about a houseplant
or something like that?”

“No, I don’t keep anything green because I know she’ll eat…”
my voice trailed off.

Oh, my
God! Oh, my God!

“Would parsley cause this?” I asked. “There was some parsley
on the leftover pasta from the memorial service that I ate tonight. I took it
off and set it on the table. When I turned my back she’d gotten a hold of it
and only ate one leaf. Well, actually she spat that out now that I think about
it. But she did eat some of the parsley.”

Doc Powell was silent. Again I had to count to ten so I
wouldn’t scream at him. Finally I heard him say, “Ryli, did you eat any of the
plant. It’s important you tell me.”

The seriousness in Doc’s voice had me almost peeing my
pants. Now I was downright scared shitless. “No, like I said, Miss Molly
grabbed a hold of it and tried to eat one of the leaves. Most of the parsley
fell to the floor so I threw it away.”

The pounding on the door startled me and I let out a yelp.
Miss Molly tried to lift her head off my shoulder and meow. It was so pitiful I
started crying again.

“Ryli, open up!” I heard Garrett shout.

“It’s open!” I yelled.

“Is someone there?” Doc asked.

I watched as Garrett barged through the door, slamming it
shut behind him. “Garrett’s here. I called him to come over. I’m so scared.”

“Listen to me, Ryli. Put me on speakerphone, please. Garrett
needs to hear this.”

Trembling, I took the phone away from my ear and pushed the
speaker button with my thumb. I then handed the phone to Garrett so I could
cradle Miss Molly with both arms.

“Doc, it’s me, Kimble. What’s going on?”

Doc cleared his throat. “Chief Kimble, I think Miss Molly
has been poisoned. I can’t imagine parsley doing this, but I guess it’s
possible. It’s imperative you get out here now. I’ll start getting the
medications and IV set up. You just get out to my place as fast as you can. If
there’s any of the plant left, please bring it. But don’t touch it. Sometimes
oils from poisonous plants can contaminate the skin.”

Garrett’s face was like stone. I couldn’t read anything.
“Got it. Be there in five.”

With that he hung up and demanded, “Where’s this plant Doc’s
talking about?”

I pointed to the trashcan and watched silently as he flipped
up the lid and looked inside. Reaching over and grabbing a handful of napkins,
he grabbed the parsley I’d thrown away. Without saying anything, he put it in
his jacket and pushed me out the door, locking up behind him. He didn’t say
anything until we were in the police-issued suburban.

“Where did you get this parsley?” he asked quietly.

The fact he was so calm scared me to death. I continued
stroking Miss Molly, her soft mewing was making my heart hurt like nothing I’d
ever felt. “The church. It was on one of the leftover plates that I took home.”

“Did you dish out the food, or did someone else?”

I thought back in my foggy haze and started sobbing again.
I’d done this to Miss Molly. I’d poisoned my own cat.

“Ryli, I need you to focus. Did you dish it out or someone
else?”

“Someone else. I found the food sitting near my purse and
shoes. I asked some of the ladies who did it, who had dished out my food. They
thought it was Mrs. Nelson.” I turned to look at Garrett. “The thing is, Mrs.
Nelson is about eighty years old. There’s no way she poisoned me on purpose, or
killed Dr. Garver, or even Iris.”

Garrett still didn’t say anything. His eyes were on the
road, but the lights from the dashboard illuminated his face, and I could see a
tic in the side of his cheek.

“Was this the only piece of parsley, or is there more on the
other plates.”

Seeing the plates of food in my head, I was pretty sure this
was the only piece. “I can’t be one hundred percent certain without checking
again, but I’m pretty sure this was the only piece.” I wasn’t sure if now was
the time to say anything about my suspicions, but I figured it was now or
never. “Since I knew the drug was ketamine, I thought I could narrow it down to
Dr. Powell, Patty Carter, and a couple other people in the medical field.”

“And let me guess, you questioned both of them, if not more
people, at the memorial?”

“I didn’t see Doc downstairs.”

“But your presence was noticed.”

He sounded pissed. Rightfully so, I knew. I didn’t want to
listen to a lecture, so instead of answering, I whispered words of
encouragement to Miss Molly. Her only response was a lick to my neck. This tiny
gesture bolstered my belief that she’d be okay. Relief surged through my cold
body.

Please, God…please let her be okay.
I
prayed silently, repeating the words over and over in my head. I stroked her
black and white fur, her long hair moved smoothly through my fingers. The
rhythmic petting helped to calm my nerves.

“You do realize that it’s quite easy for someone to get
their hands on just about any drug they want, right? Ketamine is not just
regulated to people in the medical field.”

I was saved from answering as we sped through the gate of
Dr. Powell’s clinic. The clinic was located five miles south of town on a
gravel road, so we’d made excellent time. Doc’s home was just twenty yards away
from his clinic, so it was no surprise the lights were already on inside the
building.

Garrett slammed on the brakes, spraying gravel everywhere,
put the SUV in park and jumped out. I’d barely gotten my seatbelt off before he
threw open my door and helped me down. I gave Miss Molly a kiss on her head.

“You’ll be fine now, baby,” I soothed softly. “Doc’s gonna
make you all better.” Silence greeted me.

I was about to reach hysterics when the door burst open and
Doc was standing there with his arms out. “Hurry, give her to me.”

I thrust Miss Molly at him, getting a hurtful meow from her.
A stab straight to my heart. Without a word, Doc turned and rushed her inside,
yelling over his shoulder to come back with the plant.

Garrett took me by the elbow and led me inside. The sitting
room was eerily silent. Usually it was a bustle of activity, animals weaving in
and out of people, TV blaring, phones ringing. Now it was just a hollow
shell…exactly how I felt.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back. I don’t want you back there
in case…” he didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t have to.

With a sob, I sat down on one of the plastic chairs. Garrett
handed me a tissue from a box sitting next to me. “I’ll be right back.” He
leaned down and kissed my forehead. Nodding, I sniffled into the Kleenex.

I didn’t realize how much I’d come to love Miss Molly until
now. I’d always taken it for granted she’d greet me at the door when I came
home from work...that she’d always be a pain in my ass howling at me to either
clean her automatic litter box or buy the most expensive cat treats I could
find. Now that I faced losing her, I felt an ache in my heart that was
indescribable.

I let the tears fall, not once brushing them away. I wanted
to feel this pain as a reminder that she was still alive, that there was still
a chance.