Twenty-Eight

“Why would Seth know that?” I asked.

“I’ve been obsessing about how my husband managed to pull this off. They played golf together about a month ago. It seemed so unimportant then. I remember wondering, Why Seth? But now I know. Seth has done a lot of backpacking through the gritty underbelly of Central America. Mind you, I don’t mean the beautiful beaches and lovely resorts. I mean the places people go when they want to disappear. I’d have gone to Seth if I had been in need of that sort of advice. My best source of information on that subject is now deceased.”

“I wish I could do more than tell you how sorry I am. Joanne, if there’s anything I can do to help, I hope you’ll let me know.”

“Know a good PI?” she jested.

I left her sitting there, steeped in her problems, and headed for Rose’s garden. Her beautiful home with the gorgeous rose arbor at the gate looked peaceful and gracious. Anyone new to Wagtail would never imagine the horror that had transpired there. I walked along the bushes and flower beds, looking for wolfsbane. I kept checking the photos on my phone, but I didn’t see any plants that resembled wolfsbane.

At the rear, bushes, trees, and vines covered most of the fence. The gate was open, as it had been the night Seth died. I wandered through it, tracing the path Fritz had used. A thick layer of discarded pine needles provided a cushion underfoot. It wasn’t like the city, where one could often see all the neighbors’ houses. I caught a glimpse of a couple of homes as I walked. The trees were old and large and had clearly been there for decades, providing privacy for the residents of the street. I knew when I reached Dovie’s house because the odor of the fire lingered in the air.

I turned to the right and sneaked into her lot. Trixie led the way. A burned-out heap that used to be her shed was emotionally wrenching to see. But her bungalow appeared to be fine. Smoke had left it filthy. She would have to put on a fresh coat of paint.

I studied the black heap. Could Birdie have set the fire? She was brash, opinionated, and self-centered, but I had never thought her stupid. In fact, she had always struck me as highly intelligent. She didn’t mince words and didn’t suffer fools at all, but was she capable of doing anything so foolish as setting a fire? I didn’t think so.

Nor did I believe that Rose was so desperate for the judge’s affections that she would have poisoned her rivals. This wasn’t 1500s Italy, when people allegedly offered their rivals tainted wine to kill them. This was Rose, who was sweet and helpful to everyone.

I could see why it would be easy to blame Rose for poisoning the salads. And it would be equally easy to blame Seth’s death on Brenda. The town gossips might even wish they could blame the fire on Aunt Birdie. But none of that seemed right to me. There were holes in all the theories.

It did seem reasonable that the person who killed Seth was the same person who’d poisoned the salads. Unless there was a copycat in town. Could it be the same person who had been snooping on the judge?

My phone rang. In response to my cheerful hello, Aunt Birdie cackled, “Get me out of this place!”

Uh oh. I could just imagine how eager the nurses were for her to leave. She was back to her usual cranky self.

“Has the doctor discharged you?”

“I don’t care what he says, I’m leaving. Come and get me right now.”

“It will take me a while to—”

She hung up the phone.

I called Dr. Engelknecht’s office to ask if Birdie was ready to go home and was told she would be discharged in an hour or so. Trixie and I returned to the inn. We found Oma and Gingersnap enjoying the beautiful weather on the private patio outside the office.

“Rose is coming home,” she said. “I can’t believe they put her through an interrogation.”

“I’m sure she’s glad it’s over.”

“I still don’t understand why she didn’t tell me about her relationship with the judge,” said Oma.

I sat down in a chair, and Trixie observed the lake from the lawn. “Because not enough time had passed since Theona’s death, and she knew it.”

“Yes, this is a problem. What was she thinking? It is true, I would have told her it was not the right time for such a thing yet. Am I so critical that my best friend finds it necessary to keep secrets from me?”

I sighed. There was no tactful way of answering that question. “Yes.”

Oma gazed at me in shock.

“You are very outspoken. That’s not a bad thing. People know what you think.”

“You are painting it with a fine brush. It is a problem when a friend cannot confide in you for fear of being struck down. I must let Rose know that I support her no matter what.”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that. May I leave Trixie with you and Gingersnap while I drive to the hospital to bring Dovie and Aunt Birdie home?”

“Of course.”

“Trixie, you’re going to stay here with Oma because you can’t go into the hospital. But I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

I gave her a hug and a smooch, which reminded me of the lipstick on Fritz’s head.

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“Ja, ja. Take your time.”

I probably should have stopped for lunch, but I knew how anxious Birdie was to go home. I would feel the same way.

But I took the time to check on Louisa first. A nurse directed me to her room, and as I approached, a man exited. He was attractive, with chestnut brown hair and tortoiseshell glasses. I felt as though I had seen him before. I didn’t think he was medical staff, because he wore jeans and a hunter green golf shirt. I didn’t see a name tag like the staff wore.

“Louisa?” I said from her doorway.

“Holly!” A flush of red flashed up the sides of her face.

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thanks. I’m sorry everyone has had to make such a fuss over me.”

“Have they told you when you might be discharged?”

“Soon. Maybe tomorrow. It’s all so embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing? You’re a victim. It’s not like you took the wrong pills on purpose.”

“That’s true. And they do look so much alike. I was flabbergasted when Dr. Engelknecht showed them to me side by side.” She wilted a little. “Why would someone have done that? Why try to hurt me? I’ve been lying here thinking of almost nothing else. I don’t know who to trust.”

“Do you think it could have been one of your WAG friends?”

She stiffened. “They’ve all been here to visit, and every time I want to shout, ‘Which one of you did this to me?’”

“Which one do you think did it?” I asked.

She squirmed uneasily. “I can’t believe any of them would harm me this way. I thought they were my friends! But now . . .” She paused, trying to collect herself. “It seems that one of them wants me dead!”

“What about Oriana? Maybe she was afraid you would spill her secret.”

The flush drained from her face. “That’s just silly. What secret?”

I was impressed by her loyalty to Oriana, even in the face of the possibility that she had tried to kill Louisa. “About her seeing Seth.”

“You know about that?” Louisa asked.

I nodded. “Oriana told me.”

“I wish we had never come here. Everything is falling apart.”

“Not everything. All your friends are staying until you can go home with them.”

“Really? I didn’t know that. I’ve been so self-absorbed that I didn’t even consider them. You’re right. They’re good friends.”

They were very good friends, with the exception of the person who had switched the pills on her.

“Louisa, did you go to visit Judge Barlow?”

She studied my face. “I don’t see why that would be any of your business, but yes, I did.”

“May I ask why?”

She let out a long sigh. “To pay my respects.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that you knew Judge Barlow.”

“I didn’t. But I knew Theona. And she was a wonderful person. When Tom died, a couple of people I had never met took the time to visit me and tell me things about him that I didn’t know. I appreciated that they bothered to come by and share little parts of his life with me. I wanted to do that for Theona. To let her husband know how much she would be missed.”

I felt deeply ashamed. Here I was, nosing around, when Louisa had done something noble.

“Did you talk about Wallace and Seth?” I asked.

“He didn’t bring it up, and neither did I. I decided that it might be better for the letter to speak for itself. It came from Tom’s heart, and I didn’t want to diminish that by adding my two cents.”

“I hope you’re back on your feet soon.”

I said goodbye and went to spring Dovie and Aunt Birdie. They fussed with the nurses in the hospital. And they fussed with each other on the drive back to Wagtail. I understood how moms felt when they drove arguing children around.

Dovie refused my offers to make her a cup of tea and help her get settled, saying, “All I want is a nap. Those crazy people never let a person sleep. Always coming in to poke me.”

Aunt Birdie, on the other hand, informed me that I would make her a cup of tea while she showered and got rid of the hospital malodor clinging to her. I gladly put the kettle on and found some nice cookies with chocolate icing in the cupboard that I thought she might like. I set them on a table by the chair I presumed she probably preferred. Her house was decorated with flair, but as an antiques expert, she had more than her fair share of ancient and uncomfortable furniture.

She emerged from her shower in an elegant bathrobe with her hair wound in a turban. “Is Rose in prison?”

“I certainly hope not.”

Aunt Birdie gasped. “Your lack of concern for your sole living relative overwhelms me. Which team are you on, Holly?” She peered into her teacup. “I hope this isn’t wolfsbane tea.”

“Aunt Birdie! Now stop that. You know Rose didn’t poison you.”

“You’d feel differently if your stomach had twisted and churned until you thought you were dying.”

She had a point. “How do you know it wasn’t the judge?”

She choked on her cookie and hacked. “He is one of the most respected men in this town. How dare you even jest about such a thing?”

I hadn’t meant it seriously, but now that I thought about it, maybe the judge was behind the poisoning. In fact, what if he was behind all those silly things that had happened to him? The window, the oatmeal, the floral mix-up, even the letters. He was in a perfect position to have done all those things. For attention, perhaps? Was he too lonely without the lovely Theona? Was it a cry for help of some kind? He could even have murdered Seth. He walked all over town. No one would have thought a thing about it if they had seen him out on a walk. Aunt Birdie wasn’t with him that night, nor was Dovie or Rose! In fact, until Holmes and I returned Fritz to him, he was most likely all alone.

Aunt Birdie was blathering on about something. I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I have to run now. Call me if you need anything.”

I was already walking out the door when she cried out, “Will you answer if I call?”

I went straight back to the inn and found Mr. Huckle having a cup of tea. “I thought you were off today.”

“You were tied up with your aunt and Dovie, and your grandmother very much wanted to visit with Rose, so she called me to fill in while you two were out. It’s been very quiet here.”

“Where’s Trixie?”

“She took the dogs to Judge Barlow’s house with her. I think Fritz likes their company.”

“Barlow? Rose didn’t go home?”

He smiled coyly. “My dear Miss Holly, you are the one who informed us that there is an affaire d’amour between the judge and Rose.”

“Thank you, Mr. Huckle.” I left in a hurry.

As I ran along the corridor to the registration lobby, Twinkletoes sprang out of nowhere, probably thinking I was up to something fun. I grabbed a golf cart key and beat a hasty exit. Twinkletoes readily jumped on the passenger side of the front bench.

We sped to the judge’s house as fast as the golf cart could go. Oma’s golf cart was parked in front of the house, which was a relief. At least she hadn’t left Rose alone.

I knocked on the door, and Holmes opened it. Twinkletoes sped past him into the house.

“Holly!” Holmes grabbed me in a bearhug. “I’m so glad you came,” he whispered. “It’s been the worst day.” He let go of me, took my hand in his, and smiled at me. Trixie bounded to me, acting like she hadn’t seen me in a month.

I closed the door and swept her up into my arms. “How did it go?”

“It was a nightmare. Grandma Rose had nothing to tell them. She doesn’t grow wolfsbane. She knows about it, the way we all do. It’s a plant that grows on its own in the mountains. She has no ill will toward Birdie or Dovie. The cops over on Snowball don’t know her like we do. Dave says the best thing is to get Oma and the WAG Ladies together to see if we can account for her whereabouts the night Seth was killed.”

“Poor Rose. How’s she doing?”

“The judge is out in the conservatory with my dad and the dogs. Have you seen it?”

“I have. Where are Rose and Oma?”

“Upstairs. Rose wanted to rest. She’s wiped out.”

“Great. Don’t leave anyone alone with the judge.”

“What?”

“Just trust me. I’ll explain later.”