The Diva Goes Overboard

We’re trying to cut back on butter, but my family loves butter boards. Are there any similar alternatives we could try?

There are alternatives to butter boards, and they’re very tasty. Try a hummus board or a cream cheese board!

I opened my tote bag, removed the container inside, and held it out to him. “I think we got off on the wrong foot, Karl. I brought you some of my banana pudding as an apology.”

He couldn’t have been more shocked. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to.”

“Thank you very much. I’m forgetting my manners. Won’t you come in?”

“Thanks, this is Mars Winston.”

Mars shook Karl’s hand and apologized for barging in on him in such a gracious manner that I was doubly glad I had asked him along. I could see Karl’s expression changing. First the gift of a yummy dessert and now southern graciousness.

I heard the lock clink in place behind us, which made me a little bit nervous, but I reminded myself that I always locked the door when I was alone in Orson’s store.

“Now, who is this?” He stroked Daisy’s head. “She looks like a hunting dog.”

“This is Daisy. Did you grow up with dogs?”

He opened the door to his kitchen and invited us inside. “Oh my, yes. I lived on a farm as a child. We had all kinds of dogs over the years, but my favorite was an Irish setter. We did everything together. Fish, swim in the pond, muck out horse stalls, sleep outdoors in the summertime. He was a wonderful friend to me.”

“I’m surprised that you don’t have a dog now.”

“You know, I really ought to get one.”

“My friend, Nina Reid Norwood, works at the shelter. I’m sure she would be happy to help you find the right one.”

“I might just call her tomorrow.”

“We got Daisy through Nina,” Mars said.

“I hope you don’t mind us intruding on you so late in the day.”

“Not at all. This is a most pleasant surprise.”

“I’ve been checking into Orson’s background, and it occurred to me that you have known him as long as Myra, maybe longer.”

He nodded. “That’s true. We go way back. Doesn’t make me like him any better, but in the beginning we got on pretty well.”

“Did you know him before he married Myra?”

“Yes. I remember their wedding. It wasn’t anything fancy. None of us had much money back in those days. But Myra wore a pretty white dress with lace on it. Stella was a cute little girl. She stole the show. I believe Myra’s mother and sister cooked all the food. We ate outside in her mother’s backyard. I helped them shove together some long tables and carry a neighbor’s folding chairs to their yard. It was nothing like the weddings you see today. But it was one of the warmest and friendliest weddings I’ve ever been to.”

“Do you remember Orson having another daughter?” asked Mars.

I knew Karl had the ability to hide his feelings, but the surprised look on his face seemed genuine. “No. Was there another child?”

“We don’t know,” I said, quickly getting his mind off it by asking, “What do you know about Stella’s mother?”

Karl’s lips pulled tight. “Do you remember when I told you Orson had deep, dark secrets?”

“I do.”

“He told me that her mother had passed away. But I didn’t believe him.” Karl leaned toward us and spoke in a hushed voice as though he didn’t want anyone else to hear. “Not one family member of Orson’s came to the wedding. Not a one!” He held up his forefinger as emphasis. “Who does that? We weren’t youngsters at the time, but he didn’t have a sister or a brother or any parents living? Not a cousin or a grandparent? Seemed very suspicious to me.” Karl sat up straight. “No, ma’am. He was hiding something. And now that he’s dead, all his deep dark secrets will come tumbling out into the daylight.”

“Did he ever talk about his youth?” asked Mars.

Karl sucked in a deep breath of air. “Not much.” Then he snapped his fingers. “Here’s something else. He didn’t have a single picture of his mom or dad. Now don’t you think that’s odd? That’s something that happens when you take off in a hurry and there’s no time to pack. Nope, I always knew there was something terrible in his past. I hope you’re not going to tell me that he murdered someone. You think somebody finally caught up to him and killed him for revenge?”

There was an awkward moment while I pondered how to respond. “Anything is possible. There seems to be some confusion about his early years. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.”

“Most certainly. I appreciate the banana pudding.”

“I saw your bean crop and carrots in the back. I guess you still do some gardening.”

He swiped his hand through the air. “I swear those are magic beans. I planted them seven years ago and every single year, they come back on their own. When they’re young, they’re nice green beans. Let ’em grow a little longer and they get delicious beans inside the pods. I’ll save you some this year if you like. Just stick those dry beans in the dirt and they’ll pop right up. But I don’t have any carrots. Wish I did.”

“Are you sure? I thought I saw some.”

Karl switched on a light in the back of his building and opened the door for us. We filed outside.

“Right there.” I pointed at the lush carrot greens.

“Those aren’t carrots. They’re poison hemlock! Sure look like carrot greens, don’t they?”

“They’re poisonous?” Mars pulled Daisy closer to him.

“They’re noxious weeds but very poisonous. The flowers look like Queen Anne’s lace. My daddy always warned us against touching them. It’s amazing that they even grow here in the city,” said Karl. “I’ll have to pull them tomorrow.”

Mars quickly took a picture of them. The flash on his phone caught on something shiny.

Trying to act casual, I aimed the light on my phone in that direction. It looked a lot like Audrey’s cast aluminum trowel. Clearly, everyone was onto the new trend and tired of rusted garden tools. Even a man who sold rusted items in his store.

“Now what was that for?” Karl asked Mars, sounding a lot less friendly.

“I’d like to show it to my friend Bernie to make sure we don’t have any of this in our yard.”

Karl seemed agreeable about that. We thanked him again and walked out to the alley.

“What do you think?” I asked Mars.

“I think he knew perfectly well that he had poison hemlock growing in the back of his house. Somebody obviously pulled some out.” Mars held up his phone and showed me the picture. There was no mistake that the soil had been disturbed in two places.

It was getting past the time for phone calls when Mars escorted Daisy and me to the kitchen door.

“Want me to make sure no one is hiding in your house?”

I laughed at him. “Don’t be silly.”

“Sophie, I’m not sure what to make of Karl. He seemed friendly enough, but that poisonous weed was very suspicious.”

“He could have simply agreed that it was a carrot plant if he was trying to hide the fact that it was poisonous.”

“Not everyone thinks fast on their feet. Don’t forget that someone clobbered Jordon. Somebody is out there, and if you get too close to figuring out who it is, he might come after you.”

I unlocked the door and opened it. “Okay, fine.” Mars ran through the house while I stashed away the tote bag and fed Mochie a bedtime snack. I looked at the clock. It was too late to call Wolf. But maybe not too late to send a text.

Has the lab tested Orson for poison hemlock?

Mars bounded up the stairs from the basement. “All clear.”

“Thanks, Mars. And for going with me, too.”

“It was more interesting than sitting around watching TV. Keep me posted?”

“Will do.”

I locked the door behind him and went up to bed.

The phone woke me early the next morning. I rolled over in bed and stretched to reach it. “Hello?” I croaked.

“What’s this with the poison hemlock?”

I forced myself out of bed and walked barefoot down the stairs to put on the kettle for tea. “Mars and I were at Karl Roth’s house last night. It’s growing in his backyard.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Mars got a photo. It’s very clear that someone yanked out two plants beside it.”

“That doesn’t mean anything, either. How do you know those plants that were pulled weren’t some other kind of weed, like dandelions?”

“I don’t, which is exactly why you should have the lab test for it.” I looked it up on my phone while I spoke. “Here, it’s called coniine. It’s a poisonous chemical compound. An alkaloid.”

“Sophie, I appreciate your efforts, but that’s not much to go on.”

“Wolf, do you know what caused Orson’s respiratory failure?”

“No.”

“Then what’s the harm in testing for coniine?”

I could hear him sighing. “Okay, okay. I hoped you had something more concrete. Thanks, Sophie.” He disconnected the call.

Feeling as if someone had pricked a hole in my balloon, I let Daisy out and drank my tea. I was still in my nightshirt when I rinsed my cup and looked out the window over the sink.

Tripp Fogarty was walking by carrying a bird cage. I caught a glimpse of bright yellow inside the white cage.

I ran upstairs and changed clothes as fast as I could. I peeked out of the window and saw him cross the street.

I hurried down the stairs, grabbed my keys and Daisy’s halter, and ran outside. “Daisy!” I hissed. “Daisy!”

I locked the door, and she came running from the backyard. I slid the halter over her head, latched it, and the two of us ran to the corner where I had last seen Tripp.

He had passed my house and turned right. Daisy tried to run and I did my best to keep up with her, grateful for the cool morning air. Fortunately, we spotted him. I slowed down and kept well in back of him so he wouldn’t see us.

It was silly of me to follow him. But when I saw the yellow bird, all I could think of was James Bond, Audrey’s blue parakeet who needed a friend. There was no reason in the world that Tripp couldn’t know or be friends with Audrey. But each of them had been especially close to one of the people who had been murdered. It was a hunch, one that I hadn’t thought through very well before I ran out of my house. Now, as I followed him down the street, I thought I was being ridiculous, reaching out for any clue, stretching unimportant connections into sinister relationships.

I wasn’t far from the store. No one would be there yet, so it would be a good time to sneak into Orson’s secret room and reconsider those photographs.

Mindlessly, I followed Tripp when he turned onto another block. The block where Audrey lived.