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Three minutes later, we were standing in front of Ruth’s apartment.
And Denise was with us.
“You gonna tell me what’s going on?” she hissed.
Ruth’s apartment was upstairs, which meant Aidan and I had no choice but to take the stairs near the dining room, especially because the elevators were filled with residents going to lunch. Denise must have seen us.
“I’m looking for new...details,” I said, remembering the words I’d used the other day when I’d convinced her to give me a little more time.
“At Ruth’s apartment?” Denise asked. “But...but you said it was Mary!”
“I never said that. I told you what I’d found out about her but that I wasn’t totally convinced. Which is why I wanted more time...”
Aidan interrupted us. “Can we hurry up?”
Denise fixed him with a stare. “I didn’t know you were in on this, too.”
“I’m not in on anything.”
Denise sniffed. “Well, you are now.”
I smiled reassuringly at Aidan, who was beginning to look a little pale. “Go ahead,” I said, doing my best to sound encouraging. “Open the door.”
He hesitated but eventually pulled out the key. I waited, my hands clenched tight as he inserted the key into the lock. It turned and he pushed the door open.
“What the...?” he said as I nudged him into Ruth’s apartment.
He surveyed the plant-filled living room with wide eyes. “How many plants does she have in here?” he asked.
“Uh, a lot.”
He approached a credenza filled with lush greenery and purple and pink flowers. “So many,” he marveled. “She has quite the green thumb.”
It appeared as though he’d forgotten the reason why we were standing in Ruth’s apartment.
“The leaves.” I touched his arm to get his attention. “Do you see the plant in here? The monkhood thing?”
Aidan immediately sobered. He straightened and then began a slow walk of the living room, his eyes drifting slowly over every plant.
He pointed. “There,” he said, his finger aimed at an innocuous-looking flowering plant sitting on top of a low bookshelf. Two succulents flanked either side of it, both with delicate pink petals.
Aidan crossed the room and lifted the planter it was in, and I had a momentary flash of a Catholic church I’d gone to once, a funeral, and the priest had lifted the goblet of wine with complete and total reverence. The way Aidan was holding the planter was oddly similar.
“This is it,” he announced.
I was by his side in a flash. “You’re sure?” I examined the leaves but realized within half a second that I had no idea if they were a match or not.
“Yes,” he said firmly. “This is a monkhood plant.”
Denise clapped her hands. “Well, that seals it. I don’t know what else you found out about Ruth but if she has this thing growing in her room, then she’s the one who did it.”
Aidan was still holding the plant, but now he was frowning. “Are you telling me that Ruth purposefully planted monkhood leaves in Arthur Grigg’s food? To kill him?”
“It sort of looks that way,” I admitted.
He blew out a breath. “Why?” he finally asked.
“It’s a long story.”
“You said that in the hallway.” He gave me a pointed look before glancing at the watch strapped to his wrist. “Guess what? I have time.”
“Well, I don’t,” Denise barked. “I gotta get back to the dining room and serve them residents their lunch.” She yanked her phone out of her pocket. “I’m gonna call the police so they can start getting this mess sorted out.”
“Denise, wait.”
She glared at me. “I am done waiting. You said you needed more info and you found it. You are literally holding the murder weapon in your hands. It’s time to let the police sort out the details.”
“I will,” I said. “Just...we need to slow down. I want to make sure.”
Denise looked like she was ready to strangle me. “What on earth do you need to know? What more do you need to find?”
A shadow crossed the room and a voice asked, “What are you doing in Ruth’s apartment?”