Eventually, much of the mess was cleaned up and put away and Myrtle finally turned in. She managed to sleep this time, too, although she had nightmares about the scraped-off sauce growing and growing around the dining room table until she and the guests were barricaded in by it.
Miles called her as she was getting ready the next morning.
“I really don’t feel like going to class this morning,” he said. “I feel as if we just saw those people.”
“We did just see them. Although I really didn’t even have a chance to talk with any of them. Come on. We should go. We’re practically at the end of the class,” said Myrtle.
A few minutes later, Miles had picked her up and they were heading to the community college.
“I suspect that Louvenia isn’t going to be her usual, chipper self in class today,” said Miles dryly.
Myrtle nodded. “She’ll be nursing a huge hangover. We’ll probably get out of class early. I can’t imagine what possessed her to arrive intoxicated to my dinner party.”
Miles smirked and Myrtle gave him a sharp look. “No jokes about my cooking! Everything would have gone perfectly last night if I hadn’t been distracted by having so many dishes to cook.”
Miles said, “So you think she actually arrived drunk.”
“Well, she couldn’t have gotten drunk at my house unless she brought some sort of flask with her,” said Myrtle. “Erma was serving everyone coffee when they came in, remember?”
After they’d arrived at the school and parked, they ascended the stairs.
“It’s awfully quiet in here,” said Miles.
“Then it’s just as we said—Louvenia is probably keeping very still in there to keep her head from hurting,” said Myrtle.
But when they walked in the classroom, Bonnie and Amos were the only ones in there.
Bonnie looked worried. “Louvenia was in bad shape last night. You do think she’s okay, don’t you?”
Amos said, “I told Bonnie that Louvenia was probably running a little bit behind today, that’s all. I went ahead and unlocked the classroom for her so that y’all could come in and wait.”
Myrtle frowned. “That’s very unlike Louvenia to be late and not to have emailed us.”
“It’s very unlike Louvenia to be wasted at a dinner party,” pointed out Miles.
“True. But that was over twelve hours ago.”
Amos said, “Maybe she forgot to set an alarm. Considering her condition, and all.”
They waited and chatted for thirty more minutes with Myrtle growing more concerned as time went on.
Finally, Myrtle said, “I don’t think she’s coming. Miles, I think we should check on her.”
Miles looked squeamish. “If she’s sick, shouldn’t we just leave her to recover? We could call her on the phone to check in.”
“I want to check in personally. After all, I was the hostess last night. I feel a certain responsibility to make sure she’s okay,” said Myrtle.
Bonnie said, “You don’t think it was something she ate? I mean, in addition to the alcohol.”
Myrtle said huffily, “We all ate the same thing and the rest of us are fine.”
Bonnie blushed.
Miles and Myrtle were back in the car minutes later.
Miles said, “Don’t you think you’re taking this a little too far? Felix made sure she was tucked in all right last night. This morning is probably a simple combination of a hangover and a forgotten alarm.”
“Let’s hope so,” said Myrtle. “But I’m starting to have my doubts.”
Louvenia had a pretty little white house surrounded by meticulous flowerbeds and shrubs. Her car was in the driveway.
“She must have been pretty horrified by your yard yesterday,” remarked Miles.
Myrtle said, “Louvenia was probably dying to get her gardening gloves on. Even Dusty is wanting to tackle the yard at this point.”
Myrtle gave a firm knock on the front door and then rang the doorbell a few times. They waited. No response.
“Miles, run around to the backdoor and knock there. Maybe that door is closer to her,” said Myrtle.
Miles dutifully headed around the back. He returned a couple of minutes later, shaking his head.
“Her car is here. She’s not at school. She’s not answering the door,” said Myrtle. “Let’s start looking in through the windows, Miles.”
They peered in any uncovered window they could find. Finally, Miles said grimly, “I see her. She’s passed out ... I think.”
“All right. It’s time to call for an ambulance,” said Myrtle, pulling out her phone.
Miles said, “I’ll call Red, too. The doors are locked and someone will need to break into her house.”
Red and the ambulance arrived almost simultaneously. He kicked in Louvenia’s front door after his attempts to get her to the door were also unsuccessful. The paramedics took Louvenia away, siren blaring.
He led them over to his police car. “Here. Let’s get off the property completely in case there’s any foul play. I don’t want to mess up a potential crime scene.”
Myrtle said, “Naturally, Miles’s and my fingerprints will be on windows and doors and doorbells. And Felix took Louvenia home last night, so his prints are sure to be here, too.”
Red rubbed his forehead. “Okay, back up. First of all, why are you here to begin with? Isn’t it kind of early in the day to be paying visits?”
Myrtle said, “Well, Louvenia didn’t show up in class this morning. And she was always the first person there because she liked getting everything set up. She didn’t send the class an email to let us know that she was going to be late.”
Red raised his eyebrows. “So you just took it upon yourself to be nosy and find out why she wasn’t in class? By going to her house instead of phoning or sending her an email?”
Miles coughed. “There was a little more to it than that. Louvenia was at Myrtle’s dinner party last night and ... well, she wasn’t herself.”
“She was drunk as a skunk,” said Myrtle.
Red sighed. “I told Elaine not to bring that bottle of wine over.”
“That’s the funny thing, Red. She must have been drinking before she even came to my house. Puddin proclaimed her intoxicated while I was still cooking dinner. And before dinner, I made sure that Erma was strictly serving coffee.”
Red blinked at her. “Erma Sherman was at your party? You invited her? Clearly, I’m going to have to have a full run-down of this dinner party later. Okay, so you think she arrived drunk to your house. Did she drink while she was there?”
Myrtle and Miles looked at each other. “I don’t think so,” said Myrtle. “But then, I was so busy cooking and serving that I might not have seen her drink.”
Miles shook his head. “She didn’t have a drop. Not even with dinner. I saw Puddin skip her on purpose and Louvenia didn’t even notice.”
“What about the food?” asked Red.
Myrtle bristled. “What about the food?”
Red sighed. “Don’t be sensitive. I mean, did she eat at all?”
Myrtle said, “She was so uncoordinated that she didn’t even seem capable. I’m not sure she ate much food at all, if any.”
Red pulled out his notebook and jotted down a few notes. “Okay. I’m going to head inside and take a look around and then I’m going right to the hospital. Y’all have done enough for today.” He paused and then added grudgingly, “You did the right thing. She looked to be in bad shape. I’ll check back in with you later.”
Red walked back into Louvenia’s house and Miles said, “Now what are we going to do? Our schedule totally opened up without cooking class.”
Myrtle thoughtfully considered this. “I think we need to go to Bo’s Diner. By now, we’d usually have already eaten some of our classroom creations.”
Miles looked perkier. “That sounds like a plan.”
“And don’t get anything healthy this time! None of that avocado and egg whites stuff. Get some good old sausage and scrambled eggs and hash browns,” said Myrtle.
Bo’s Diner was packed. As Miles circled the area multiple times, Myrtle remembered why she rarely went to the diner for breakfast. Finally, he was able to park the car and they went inside. It was standing room only in the diner waiting area, but a young man immediately stood and let Myrtle have his seat.
“Age has its benefits,” said Myrtle, smiling at Miles as he stood.
Miles looked out the diner window and leaned over. “It looks like Felix Todd is coming in.”
“Oh good,” said Myrtle. “Let’s try to find out what happened last night after he left with Louvenia.”
Felix walked in with his usual confident stride. Also as usual, he was impeccably attired with a pink button-down shirt, pink and yellow tie, and light blue pants. He started greeting everyone around him.
Miles said in a hushed voice, “He looks like an Easter egg.”
“I think pastels on men is ‘in’, now,” said Myrtle. “Hush. Here he comes.”
Myrtle was preparing to reach out and grab Felix’s shirt sleeve but to her surprise, he came right over to them.
“Do you know what happened this morning?” he asked them, his features growing suddenly serious.
“To Louvenia, you mean?” asked Myrtle.
“Yes. I was running late this morning, but by the time I got to class, Bonnie told me that Louvenia hadn’t shown up and that you two left to try to find her,” said Felix.
Myrtle and Miles caught him up. Myrtle asked, “How was Louvenia last night? I mean, how was she on the way home and at her house?”
Felix winced. “We had to stop on the way home and open the car door. Louvenia was ... well, she was sick to her stomach. She also seemed really disoriented and dizzy. I managed to find her keys, get her inside, and laid her on the bed. I left her keys inside, locked the door, and pulled it shut behind me.”
Miles nodded. “I could tell she was in bad shape.”
“The thing is, that I had absolutely no idea that she drank like that,” said Felix. “She was completely out of it. It’s a pity, too, because I’d been wanting to ask her about a volunteer project at the church that I’m heading up. I was hoping to get Louvenia involved in it because she’s so organized.”
Felix looked thoughtfully at Myrtle and she hurried on in case he decided that she looked like a good candidate to help with a volunteer project.
“She didn’t say anything at all?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not a word. Except to say that she was going to be sick.”
The waitress came up and seated the people ahead of them and then called for Myrtle and Miles.
“Let me know what you find out, will you?” asked Felix.
“I’ll be following up with you soon,” promised Myrtle.
After breakfast at the diner, Myrtle and Miles felt completely stuffed.
“I can’t believe I ate all of that,” said Miles as he drove out of the parking lot.
Myrtle said, “A couple of eggs are good for you. Gives you protein.”
“That wasn’t a couple of eggs. That must have been at least a half-dozen,” groaned Miles. “And it wasn’t just eggs. It was their Super Scrambler. They threw in bacon, sausage, and a lot of different cheeses.”
“So you’ll just skip lunch,” said Myrtle with a shrug.
Miles looked a little ill. “Don’t even mention lunch.”
“Fine. What are we doing now?” asked Myrtle.
“You can do whatever you like. I think I need to go home and lie down for a while. I’m not feeling one hundred percent.” His eyebrows drew down. “You don’t think that I’m in danger from this, do you?”
“What do you mean?” asked Myrtle. “You think Wanda meant you were in danger from high cholesterol? Wanda’s not a doctor, Miles. Does she look healthy to you?”
Miles dropped Myrtle off at her driveway and then headed home.
Myrtle worked on a follow-up story for Sloan, worked the crossword puzzle, watched her soap opera with Pasha, and then unloaded the dishwasher from last night. She and Puddin had hand-washed the pots and pans and had used the dishwasher for the plates, but had left the coffee cups and wine glasses and water glasses to be washed the next day. Myrtle stared at them. She had no inclination whatsoever to start loading them all up. Myrtle had half a mind to get Puddin back over there to give her a hand. But it was now suppertime and Myrtle wanted to make herself something to eat. She sighed.
The doorbell rang. Myrtle, glad for a distraction, hurried that way.
“Red!” she said, pushing the door open. “Come on in.”
Red came in and plopped down on his mother’s sofa. His face was tired.
“What’s going on? Something happen?” asked Myrtle.
“Something happened. Louvenia Defore is dead.”
“Oh no.” Myrtle sat down slowly into her chair. “That seems rather extreme, considering.”
“Considering what?” asked Red.
“Considering the fact that she didn’t appear to have even drunk any alcohol at all while she was at my house,” said Myrtle. “According to Miles, anyway. Puddin wouldn’t serve her. She was all judgmental about it.”
Red nodded his head. “That fits in with what I saw at Louvenia’s house.”
“Which was?”
“Louvenia didn’t have any bottles of alcohol in her trash. And she didn’t have any bottles in her fridge or on her counters. The only alcohol I could dredge up in her house was a dusty bottle of rum located in a far corner of her pantry,” said Red. “I don’t think she was much of a drinker.”
Myrtle frowned. “Not even any red wine to cook with?”
“Oh, there was a bottle of cooking wine in her pantry, but it was unused,” said Red.
Myrtle said, “Then I’m confused. Did someone ambush her on the way to my house and force alcohol down her throat?”
“Not exactly. What the state police and I are wondering is whether Louvenia was poisoned while at your house,” said Red.
“Poisoned!”
“There are apparently some poisons that create symptoms like drunkenness. Antifreeze was mentioned,” said Red, making a face.
Myrtle said, “Someone poured antifreeze in Louvenia’s drink at my party? How did they manage that?”
Red shook his head. “I don’t really know. I’m here to find out what I can. It does sound weird. Lieutenant Perkins was telling me that manufacturers of antifreeze now have to put a really bitter-tasting component in there so that animals won’t accidentally drink it. Remember how it used to be sweet? But now it’s more of a bitter taste. I’m not exactly sure how you’d get someone to drink it. And you say that Louvenia didn’t even drink any wine?”
Myrtle said slowly, “She didn’t. But she did drink coffee. And coffee is bitter.”
Red’s eyes grew big. “You’re right. You served coffee before dinner?”
“Well, Erma did. I was trying to keep the dinner party a little cheaper and not serve a lot of wine. Maybe Erma did it,” said Myrtle spitefully.
Red snorted. “You just keep trying to throw Erma under a bus, don’t you? She didn’t have anything to do with this and you know it. But I do want to talk to her.” He made a note in his notebook. Then he rubbed his eyes. “My head is just killing me. This case is killing me. There are so many bits and pieces.”
“What’s one bit or piece?” asked Myrtle, trying not to appear too nosy so that Red would answer.
“I’ve got to chase down some people for accepting bribes from Chester,” said Red with a sigh.
Myrtle nodded. She already knew about that, from Louvenia. She tried to act as though this was the first time she’d heard about the bribes. No need to let Red know how well her investigating was going.
Red sighed. “Now we’ve got Louvenia’s death. I just wish we had some kind of evidence here. They say it’s going to take a while to analyze Louvenia’s blood. Has to be shipped away and whatnot. But I know what a good housekeeper you are.”
Myrtle sat very still. She said, “Actually, I’m not a very good housekeeper. At least not today. All the pots and pans and plates and silverware are clean and put away ... but I haven’t gotten around to the cups and glasses yet.”
Red jumped up and walked to the kitchen. He looked at the table and counters full of coffee cups, wine glasses, and water glasses and then turned and beamed at his mother.
“Can you do without coffee cups for a while?” he asked. “And I may have to pack up the other glassware, too, depending on what the forensic guys tell me.”
Myrtle shrugged. “Go ahead. I’ve got a bunch of plastic cups in my pantry that I can use. That’s going to be a lot of analyzing, considering I have no idea which cup belonged to Louvenia.”
“But it will be worth it. It’ll tell us without a doubt what happened to her. Because I don’t for a moment think it had anything to do with alcohol,” said Red.
He pulled his phone out of his uniform pocket and then paused. “I just remembered—I was going to give you an update on the mower, too. It came in late this afternoon to the shop and naturally I haven’t had time to go pick it up. It arrived a lot earlier than that window they’d given me.”
Myrtle sighed. “I suppose tomorrow is looking busy too, under the circumstances. How about if Dusty picks it up? He’s having to rent one from Tiny now and I bet he’ll be delighted to go get it.”
Red nodded, “I’ll call the store tomorrow and tell them that Dusty can pick it up.”
Then he dialed the number for Lieutenant Perkins.