Twenty-Seven

Oriana’s neck muscles became taut.

“I did something terrible,” said Oriana. “It could ruin my life if it got out. I confided in Louisa. That’s all.”

“You didn’t get Seth’s room key from Addi, did you?”

“No.”

“Did you swipe it from him, or did he give it to you?” I asked.

“He gave it to me. I had an affair with Seth. It was a mistake. Such a huge mistake. I love my husband. I have a wonderful family. I don’t know what I was thinking. And I certainly didn’t want Addi to know. She wasn’t seeing him anymore, but it still smacks of betrayal, going behind her back and having a relationship with her former boyfriend. It was wrong on so many levels. I didn’t know he would be here. And then, of all the crazy things, he was staying here at the inn, and his room was just across the hall from mine, and, as if that wasn’t bad enough, my husband was arriving the next day!”

She massaged her forehead. “When we returned to the inn to change for dinner, I went to his room. He tried to seduce me, but I was very firm. We were through. I couldn’t do it anymore. I didn’t want to do it anymore.”

I wasn’t sure I believed her. “Then why did you have his key?”

“He must have dropped his room key into my purse, because I found it there that night. I had told him my husband was coming the next day, and he made some veiled threats about outing our relationship. I suspected he put his key in my bag in the hope that my husband would discover it. It would serve to back up any story he told my husband. But then he died! And I realized how it would look. So that night, I took the little bottle of hand sanitizer that I travel with and I wiped down his room. I had to lock the door when I left, but what was I going to do with the key? I mean, Seth was dead. It wasn’t like the key could turn up anywhere or suddenly be turned in or discovered at the reception desk. So I buried it in a bag of Garbo’s toys and stashed it in the closet until my husband left and I could figure out what to do with it.”

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. “Please, Holly. I beg of you, please don’t tell anyone. I will lose everything. Everyone I love will turn against me. Please.”

“I have no reason to tell your husband or any of your friends. But I have to tell Sergeant Quinlan. And I have to say that it doesn’t bode well for you. I’m sorry, Oriana.”

I left her crying silently with Garbo’s head nestled in her lap. I felt terrible for her. But the truth was that I could very easily imagine a slightly different scenario than what she had told me, and I suspected that Dave would see it, too.

Oriana might have gone to Seth’s room as she said. And Seth might have threatened to tell her husband about their affair. Oriana realized her mistake and that she would, as she had said, lose everything and everyone. That was certainly motive for murder. She had to silence him before he could blab. And she was the one who took his room key. I could imagine her filching it when she was leaving his room. She planned to return to wipe it clean of her fingerprints, exactly as she had done.

Nevertheless, a few questions remained in my mind. When had she collected wolfsbane? If she hadn’t known he was coming, which could have been a lie, when would she have had time to get a syringe? And why did Seth go to Rose’s house? Did he go on his own? To upset Oriana? She couldn’t have set the fire because she was with Oma, Rose, and the WAG Ladies. They would have noticed if she had left the dinner.

Maybe she was telling the truth after all.

I brought my clipboard back to the office. Oma and the Richardsons were gone. In case she needed me, I told Zelda that I was headed for Mae Swinesbury’s house and left the inn thinking about the WAG Ladies and Seth.

He’d seemed so nice on the surface. Who wouldn’t like a guy who found missing dogs and cats and brought them back home? And if Garbo was any example, he was a good dog trainer, too. But underneath that good-guy image lurked someone who manipulated people to his advantage. Addi had said her family didn’t approve of him. I wondered what they knew. Or were her parents better judges of character than I was?

Judge Barlow’s house appeared quiet and calm. I couldn’t tell if he was home or not. I passed his gate and walked up the sidewalk to the house next door.

From the street, it didn’t look as large as the Barlow home. Italianate in style, I thought, given the detailed brackets and small third floor with three arched windows. The porch was Wagtail chic at its finest. Giant ferns hung between the columns, and in true southern fashion, the ceiling had been painted sky blue. There were forest green rocking chairs with white cushions that didn’t seem like props. They were pleasantly worn, as though Mae spent evenings out on her porch observing the world. Tall, trendy lanterns flanked the front door along with no less than a dozen sculptures of cats in a variety of poses.

I knocked on the varnished-brown front door and could hear Mae walking toward it. She opened the door wearing a floral shirtdress with a Carolina blue apron. “Holly! I was just planning to take a little break from my housework. Could I offer you a glass of iced tea?”

“That would be lovely.”

She paused and frowned at Trixie. “Maybe I should bring the tea out here. I don’t think my kitties would appreciate a dog in their home.” She leaned over to Trixie. “Nothing personal, dear. I think you’re darling.” To me she said, “Go around to the side and I’ll bring it right out.”

We followed the porch around the corner to more rocking chairs and ferns. Mae emerged from a side door that I suspected led to her kitchen. We sat down, and I realized that she had a perfect view of the Barlow house. Granted, there were bushes and a few trees in between their houses, but if anyone could spy on the judge, it was Mae.

I thanked her for the tea and sipped the icy brew. How to draw her out? “This is a lovely home.”

“Thank you. I take a lot of pride in it. I’m always going through magazines looking for decorating ideas.”

“You’re a cat person?”

“Oh my, yes! I don’t know what I would do without them. They bring me such joy. Dogs are fine for some people, but there’s nothing like the love of a cat.”

“I understand your husband passed away?”

“That’s what I tell people,” she whispered. “More like ran away, the louse. Ran off with a woman ten years younger than me. Good riddance. She can take care of the lazy bum in his old age.”

Ouch. Not much love lost there. “I’m sure Judge Barlow can give you a hand if you need it.”

“Theona was more likely to do that. She was the practical one. I do miss her. She used to come over here and sit with me sometimes. We’d gossip and carry on. She was a fine person.”

“I imagine the judge must be very lonely without her.”

“Hah! There’s been a steady stream of women going into his house. I thought I’d take him some dinner when Theona died, but Dovie shooed me away. Said they had so many casseroles that they were stacked up in the refrigerator. But they keep bringing them. They’re not all women his age, either. A pretty redhead about your age showed up to visit with him just the other day. She was in there for a good long while, too!” Mae raised her eyebrows as though a visit from a pretty redhead was quite the scandal.

“What day was that?” I asked.

“Let’s see. I believe it was the day the WAG Ladies arrived in town. Or maybe the day after.”

“Did she have a dog with her?” I asked, wondering if it could have been Louisa.

“I don’t believe so.” She lowered her voice as though she was speaking confidentially. “I’ve been over a few times when Dovie wasn’t there. I wait until I see her leave and then I drop in to visit the judge.”

“I’m sure he appreciates that.” In truth, I seriously questioned whether he welcomed her visits.

“He does! I’ve been waiting for a year to pass since Theona died, but women in this town are not playing fair. One of whom, I might add, is your very own aunt Birdie. She comes around here like a cat that smells tuna. And her, with all her proper airs. I can’t imagine why she doesn’t think rules of polite society apply to her as well as everyone else.”

“Aunt Birdie can be a bit of a pill.”

“It’s no wonder that your mother went so far away. But Birdie isn’t the only one slinking around the judge. Still, I have an advantage living right next door.”

I was getting a little concerned and set the tea down. How stupid of me to drink it! Had this sweet lady poisoned Dovie and Birdie to get rid of them? But wouldn’t she have poisoned Rose, too, if her goal was to keep the judge all for herself? Or had her plan gone awry somehow?

I went along with what she was saying. “You certainly are in the best position to see who comes and goes.”

“During daylight hours that’s very true. But after dark, I can’t see a thing over there. And my bedroom looks out at the backyard on the other side of the house, so I don’t hear anyone coming or going at night, either. I have considered moving into the bedroom that’s on this side of the house, but it’s just not big enough for me and my kitties. They’d be very upset if there wasn’t room for them.”

She was starting to worry me. Did she really have nothing better to do, or was she hoping the judge would be the new man in her life? Maybe she had been lonely since her husband departed. I played along.

“You’re a good neighbor to keep such a close eye on the judge.”

“Addi has been coming around more lately since she’s been in town. I did wonder why she stayed at the inn instead of with her grandfather. That seemed odd to me. I think I might be offended if my granddaughter didn’t stay here in the family home with me when she came to Wagtail. And that young man who was murdered. Wasn’t that something! I saw him go into the house. They claim it was about finding Fritz. Do you think Rose killed him, like they’re saying?”

Seth’s death in Rose’s garden was probably a hot topic of conversation in town. “No. I’m fairly sure we can exclude her.”

“But I heard they took her over to the police station in Snowball for an interrogation!”

“That doesn’t mean she’s guilty. Rose didn’t even know Seth. Why on earth would she kill him?”

“I’m sure I don’t know why. Rumor has it that she gathered wolfsbane from her own garden and killed him with it. It’s a pretty plant with those purple flowers.”

“Do you grow it?” I asked.

“Not anymore, really. I used to, but my husband yanked most of it out. He was afraid of it! A few still come up and make me think of him. Do you know why it’s called wolfsbane?”

“I have no idea.”

“A long time ago, when people had problems with wolves, like maybe they were attacking chickens or cattle, they’d mix wolfsbane in a tasty dish of food and leave it out for the wolves. Killed ’em dead.” She glanced at her watch. “Oh my. Will you look at the time? That nice Wylie Landon is coming over to build me a catio. Have you seen them? They’re outdoor enclosures for cats so they can go outside without wandering away. He’s a widower, you know.”

“I’d better get going then. I was wondering, did you have dinner with the judge, Dovie, Birdie, and Rose the other night?”

“Wasn’t that something? I brought them some fresh basil from my garden just to be friendly.”

I knew exactly what she meant—to snoop!

“You’d think the polite thing would have been to invite me to join them, but Birdie took the basil and shooed me right out the door!”

“I apologize for Birdie. Thank you for the tea.”

“Drop around again, dear. I’m always glad to have company.”

When Trixie and I left, I felt terribly sorry for Mae. She struck me as infatuated with the idea of having a gentleman friend. If one of the other widowers or single gentlemen in town had been her neighbor, she would very likely have zeroed in on him instead of the judge. She did admit to having wolfsbane in her garden, which was a strike against her. Dave had said Rose did not have wolfsbane growing in her garden. Still, I felt that I ought to check for myself. Maybe Dave had missed it.

I headed for Rose’s house. But as Trixie and I entered the green, I spotted Joanne sitting on a bench under a tree.

“Joanne?”

“Holly! I’m still looking for Hershey. This is the last place he was seen. It’s as though he vanished after this point. I hope nothing bad happened to him.”

“It has only been one day. Maybe he’s getting hungry right about now and he’ll come out of hiding.”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ve been looking up in the trees. He could be sitting among the leaves watching us.”

“That would be just like a cat.”

“Losing him would be worse than being broke. He’s my baby!”

I knew exactly how she felt. “Let’s not give up on Hershey yet. Do you garden?”

“The full extent of my gardening is buying cat grass for Hershey to nibble on. Why do you ask?”

“I was just talking with someone about wolfsbane, the poisonous plant that killed Seth.”

“Brenda’s the one who lives to garden. If you have any questions about the most esoteric plant in the world, Brenda will know all about it.”

I smiled at her exaggeration. “I take it she has bored you with plant talk before?”

“Once or twice. It’s her thing. I’m sure she tires of my chitchat about my business. Is she under suspicion for the murder of Seth?”

“I presume so. What do you think?”

“I have learned that I am not as observant as I thought. I didn’t notice where anyone was that night. I have reviewed it in my head like an old movie, but I still can’t see who was where and when. That’s the crucial part, and I am no help at all. I can see moments clearly, but mostly what I recall is the fire. Watching it and thinking that my life was going up in flames without any blaze. Poor Dovie. She was lucky, though, because she didn’t lose her home. I just couldn’t help thinking that everything can be gone in an instant. You don’t even need a real blaze. We’re all so fragile. We think we’re not. We soldier through the days, feeling accomplished, but in the end, everything can be lost. I spent the first part of my life coveting everything. And the second part of my life acquiring what I had coveted. And now it’s gone. I’d have been better off if my house had burned down. At least it would have been insured. Sadly, no one issues insurance for the way people treat you. It’s bad enough when they’re strangers, but all the ills of my life have been visited upon me by family.”

I was horrified and had no idea what to say. I thought the subject had been Brenda, but somehow, Joanne had brought it all back to her and her problems.

“Maybe a good lawyer can help,” I uttered weakly.

“I don’t need a lawyer. I need a private investigator to find out where the slimy weasel is and what he did with my money.” She shot me a sad smile. “Too bad Seth didn’t run into me that night at Rose’s. I’d have kept him alive because I think he knew where my husband went.”