The Diva Goes Overboard

What’s the difference between a fruit plate and a fruit board?

Gone Fruity in Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania

The biggest difference is the surface on which the fruit sits. It’s mostly a presentation thing. The board is more likely to contain small bowls with a dipping sauces and may be larger to feed more than one person.

Sophie

Unless I missed my guess, Audrey would be tied up at the hospital and the police station for some time. I was very tempted to peek in her garden to see if her trowel was there. But she could have taken it indoors, and I didn’t want to leave my fingerprints anywhere or mess up her home or garden, which would be thoroughly searched once they found the peanut powder in her purse.

Instead, Nina accompanied me to Chatsworth Antiques, where I bought a painting and took merciless kidding from everyone because I insisted on paying for it, when technically, it all belonged to me anyway.

The next morning, Wolf stopped by when Nina, Mars, Bernie, and I were eating waffles in my garden. I retrieved a plate, napkin, and a mug of coffee for Wolf, who promptly helped himself to a waffle and topped it with butter, maple syrup, and raspberries.

“After all the digging you did,” he said, “I thought the four of you deserved to know what was happening. First of all, we did find peanut powder in Audrey’s purse as well as on the Canadian bacon, just as Sophie said. It was a lucky thing that you happened to be there watching.” Wolf shot me a look that meant he wasn’t happy about the fact that we were spying on Audrey.

“Tripp felt pretty lousy and started spilling information fast. It happens sometimes when a person is sick. He, um, didn’t want us to let his aunt anywhere near him. It took a while to get the story out of the two of them. It seems that Audrey wanted to poison Wanda, not Orson. As she put it, she needed to keep Orson and his money alive. To do that, she had to get rid of Wanda. She cooked up the hemlock in a sugar syrup, and Tripp, who was serving at the engagement party, was supposed to put it in Wanda’s glass, but he goofed and gave that glass to Orson. Audrey was devastated. Tripp had ruined all her dreams for her future.”

“Wanda! That was a close call,” said Nina, exchanging horrified glances with me.

Audrey had noticed the poison hemlock growing behind Karl’s building. She figured he wouldn’t notice if they took some. So she sent Tripp over to dig it up and bring it to her. But Tripp accidentally left Audrey’s trowel there, which worried her.

“Audrey was suspicious when Joan died suddenly. From everything she could glean, Jordan had an alibi. She was convinced that Tripp was getting too bold. Taking too many chances, and he had to be eliminated. She called him ‘a loose cannon who was going to take her down with him.’ He has a pretty lengthy record of crimes in Kentucky where he was living before he moved here.”

“Will he be okay?”

“The doctors think so. But he’ll likely go from the hospital to the jail.”

“Why did he kill Joan?” asked Bernie.

Wolf shook his head. “He hasn’t admitted to that yet, but he was on our radar for that crime.”

“I think I know,” I said. “Scuttlebutt has it that Joan was seeing Tripp and then it sounds like she threw him over for Jordan,” I said. “Both relationships were supposed to be hush-hush, but I guess they weren’t.”

“Speaking of Jordan, did you question Terry about him?” I asked.

Wolf nodded. “Your buddy Terry was bailed out of jail by his brothers. You were right, Sophie. Terry made a loan to Jordan. Jordan didn’t have the money to pay it, so he gave Terry his Rolex. But that wasn’t enough, so when Orson died, Jordan broke into Chatsworth Antiques and stole what he thought was an antiquity to give to Terry for the remainder of the loan. But Terry took it to an antiques dealer in town who laughed in his face and told him it was probably made last year in China along with ten thousand more.”

“That was when Terry beat Jordan and left him in the alley. It was Jordan who broke into Orson’s house, too, wasn’t it?” I asked.

“How’d you know that?” asked Mars.

“The same day, Nina and I had lunch with Jordan, and he had an injury on his arm. I didn’t think it was a coincidence. Whoever broke in would have had to reach inside through the broken glass to unlock the door.”

“What about Stella? Is Bonnie her sister?” asked Nina.

Wolf smiled. “Turns out that Orson told Myra the truth. Terry was a tough nut to crack, but he made a deal with us. I think he knew the murder of Stella’s mother had finally caught up to him. So he agreed to tell all if we didn’t prosecute Sharon. She was terrified. According to her, Terry walked in one day and handed her a baby girl. He told her that the child’s father had killed her mother, then he ran off with the other child, leaving this baby without any parents. She read the accounts of the crime in the newspaper, and they verified what Terry told her. She desperately wanted a baby. She thought about turning the baby over to the authorities, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.”

“Was Terry having an affair with Stella’s mother?” asked Nina.

“No. He wanted to build houses, but he needed a loan to get going. He and his brothers already had a rough reputation, and they were all broke with no collateral. Orson was the banker who turned him down. Terry was so outraged that he wanted to hurt Orson. He went to Orson’s house intending to kill Orson, but he wasn’t home. He shot Orson’s wife instead. Stella was screaming. He didn’t want her, but when he saw the baby, he thought of Sharon and took the baby with him. Given Terry’s history, I think Orson may have been right when he thought Terry would come back to finish the job by killing Orson and Stella, too.

“But why wouldn’t Orson have gone to the police?” asked Mars. “That’s what I would have done.”

“Because if Orson turned Terry in, one of Terry’s brothers would have murdered Orson or Orson could have ended up in the slammer for the murder of his wife and he would never find Callie,” I said. “Saving Stella and finding Callie became Orson’s lifelong mission.”

One week later, I made an appointment with Ronin. It turned out that I could do exactly what I had hoped with Chatsworth Antiques. Even better, he was able to confirm that Bonnie’s DNA matched Stella’s, proving that they were sisters.

I thought a party might be the best way to tell everyone my plans. Then I went shopping for a very specific blue baby blanket.

On Friday evening, I hosted a barbecue in my backyard. Stella provided the charcuterie boards and butter boards that served as appetizers. They were gorgeous, laden with meats, cheeses, crackers, olives, pickles, and fruits. We heated loaves of bread on the grill to use on the butter boards. My favorite was the one with onions and garlic.

Natasha, Wanda, and Griselda came together. Francie and her dog, Duke, arrived via the gate between our properties. Nina brought summer drinks with and without alcohol that we set up outside in tubs of ice. She brought along little Muppet and Orson’s dog, Rosebud.

Wolf shook his head at me when he saw Ronin arrive. I just smiled and introduced him to everyone, including Wong, who I thought looked particularly fetching that night.

Bernie and Mars manned the barbecue grills. Myra insisted on bringing Mochie outside in his harness and leash. He was fascinated by Myra. She was certain he could tell she was a cat person, but I suspected he was more interested in the cat smells on her flowing caftan.

I invited all of the employees of Chatsworth Antiques. Ian and Reba were thrilled to see Rosebud again.

Jordan had been released from the hospital, but wasn’t ready to party yet. I debated inviting Karl, and decided it was time to make amends. After all, I was sort of responsible for the trouble he landed in. But honestly, if he hadn’t jumped off the yacht and tried to swim away from the police, he wouldn’t have seemed so guilty.

Bonnie and her mom, Sharon, arrived, looking tentative. I steered them over to Myra. After all, Sharon and Myra were going through similar emotional states. Both of them had raised a spectacular daughter to whom they hadn’t given birth. In spite of the way they had become mothers, they were real moms to their daughters in every way.

We were a noisy, happy bunch. There were a lot of toasts, and even more laughter.

I had baked lemon meringue pies for dessert. After the tea, coffee, and after-dinner drinks had been poured, but before the pies had been sliced, I clinked my fork against my glass and stood up.

“Thank you all for coming. You’re such a wonderful group of people and I hope you’ll forge some new bonds as a good result of all the tragedies you’ve been through. When Orson announced that he had left Chatsworth Antiques to me, I was shocked, as were many of you.”

That brought on some chuckles.

“But I understood that he must have had a reason for doing that. I just didn’t know what it was. The only instruction he gave me was ‘you’ll know what to do.’ In a way, Orson was right about that because I was intent on discovering that reason. And I found it. It took me a while to understand that Orson had been searching for his daughter. When he lay dying, he said to me, ‘Tell Stella . . .’ I thought perhaps he wanted to say, ‘Tell Stella that I love her.’ Because he really did. Everyone told me what a wonderful father he was and how he doted on Stella. But I came to realize that he was trying to say, ‘Tell Stella she has a sister.’ ”

I glanced over at them sitting side by side. It was such a sad time for them, yet something good had come of all the sorrow. “So, I feel like my job is done now. Consequently, I am going to disclaim my inheritance of Chatsworth Antiques. Ronin has assured me that by doing so, according to Orson’s will, the store and everything in it as of now will be part of a trust for the benefit of his surviving children, Stella Chatsworth and Bonnie Shergold.” After a long moment of silence, everyone spoke at once.

I interrupted. “A couple more things. First . . .” I pulled out the baby blanket that was identical to the one Jordan had taken. I walked over and handed it to Stella. “Maybe Olly will think it’s the same one.”

Then I walked over to a covered item that I had set out earlier. “I bought this item from the store because I knew it meant a lot to Myra. I think if Orson knew she wanted it, he would have left it to her.” I whisked a cover off a painting of a mother cat and her kittens. Myra began to cry.

Nina popped up. “Just a minute. I think this would be the appropriate time to announce where Rosebud is going to live. I have to tell you, I love Rosebud and considered keeping her myself. But I think she’ll be happiest with Ian and Reba, who are planning to share custody of her. They’ll be taking her to work at Chatsworth Antiques, just like Orson did.”

Reba and Ian fussed over Rosebud and thanked Nina.

Myra hurried over to admire her painting. She gave me a hug. “I don’t think for one minute that Orson would have given this to me, but it means the world that you did. And that you brought light to something dark and horrible. It hasn’t been easy, but you did the right thing.”

As the sun went down, Mars turned on the outdoor string lights. They added a glowing ambiance to the party.

Stella and Bonnie approached me.

“We can’t believe you would do this,” said Stella. “Are you sure?”

“One hundred percent! That’s why your dad set up the documents to include his living children. He didn’t know if or when he would find you, Bonnie. He hoped I would be able to achieve what he hadn’t.”

“This is amazing,” said Bonnie. “A new family, now a store! Good grief, it’s overwhelming.”

“How is Jordan?” I asked.

Bonnie’s lips tightened.

Stella blew air out of her mouth. “He’s still in rehab.”

Bonnie threw a glance at her. “I’m having a lot of trouble feeling sorry for him. Do you know what he did?”

“I don’t think so,” I said.

“Stella, you’re the one who told me these things. You give him too much slack.” Bonnie ticked items off on her fingers as she spoke. “He is the one who called the police hotline and reported Stella for murdering Joan! He is the one who broke into Orson’s house and stole the baby blanket. Why? So he could claim that it wasn’t a safe environment for the children.”

“Well,” said Stella, “I’m not sure he meant to steal the baby blanket. It’s more like he picked it up to stop the bleeding on his arm where the glass cut him.”

“Oh, Stella!” Bonnie slung an arm around her. “Honey, he was doing everything he could to get custody because he hoped to live off the money tied to your children.”

“How do you know all this? Did he confess?” I asked.

“The police found his fingerprints on the door where he broke the glass. And then they found his blood on the baby blanket,” said Bonnie.

“I bet that’s what he used to wrap his hand when he broke the glass in the door of the antiques store. There was a tiny bit of blue fabric that snagged on the glass.” I would have to ask Wong or Wolf to compare it with the baby blanket.

“It was Ronin who put it all together and confronted Jordan’s lawyer with it,” said Stella. “They agreed to give me full custody. But Jordan gets supervised visitation.”

“And now,” said Bonnie with a big smile, “Stella has a baby sister to watch out for her. I have already told her that I will have to approve of the men in her life, so she won’t fall for another guy like Jordan.”

Myra and Sharon joined their daughters and my thoughts drifted as they talked about the painting.

Wanda drew me aside and whispered, “Natasha heard you say that daffodils are toxic. She stole the homeopathic meds from our store because she feared I had given Orson some to take and would go to prison for Orson’s murder. My wonderful daughter was trying to protect me!” She gave me a hug and returned to Natasha.

Ronin and Wong were seated next to each other, engaged in deep conversation. I liked that! I looked over at Wolf, who shook his head at me, which made me laugh.

Ian sat on the grass holding Rosebud, who was licking his face. Reba stroked Rosebud gently.

Everyone was having a good time. I looked up at the stars and hoped Orson was watching. At long last, his daughters were together again.