Chapter 8
Dear Sophie,
At the last funeral I attended, a woman’s cell phone rang, and she had the nerve to answer it! We’re still talking about this. Do we have to put up a sign that says “Cell Phone Free Zone”? Is that what we have come to?
Appalled in Transylvania County, North
Carolina
Dear Appalled,
Alas, such signs have become commonplace at weddings and parties. There is simply no excuse for taking a phone call at a funeral. Leave the phone in the car.
Sophie
Wolf had a very good point. “It does suggest that the marriage might have been on a downward trajectory,” I said. “I can’t imagine suspecting my spouse of wanting to harm me. It must be terrible to live that way. I guess he wanted to be sure. He could have just separated from her.”
“Did he have any food tested?” asked Wolf.
“I gave the food to Humphrey. He has a pal who is testing it.”
Wolf nodded. “Thanks. I’ll check with him.”
“He definitely died from poisoning? It seemed like he had a respiratory problem.” It certainly sounded that way, but I had to ask. I felt as though I’d had a hand in it by keeping Hollis’s secret for him.
“He was poisoned but it was from something he inhaled, not something he ingested. I doubt that they’ll turn up anything in the food, but I’m obligated to check it out.”
I felt a little bit better. “So it could have been accidental.”
“We’ll know more after the autopsy. What’s the scuttlebutt on Haberman’s wives? Any gossip I should know about?”
“It was an ugly divorce—”
“Aren’t they all?”
“Mine wasn’t. Mars and I were very civilized.”
“An exception, I’m sure.”
“Unfortunately, I overheard Hollis arguing with his ex-wife at the dinner last night. Seems he didn’t want to pay for their son’s education.”
Wolf’s eyes narrowed. “Any threats?”
“On both sides.”
“How about the new wife? The one he thought was poisoning him?”
“I don’t know her well. But I spoke with her a couple of times at the dinner last night. She’s young and insecure, but in a way she was very sweet. I wouldn’t have thought her capable of poisoning anyone, much less her husband.”
Wolf grinned. “Aw, come on, Soph. You know better than that. Murderers come in every shape and size.”
He was right, of course. Still, some little part of me wanted to believe that Kelsey hadn’t meant to kill Hollis.
Wolf gazed around my kitchen. “I miss coming here. You ready for the big storm?”
I tried to toss it off lightly, as though I wasn’t concerned. “Oh, sure. It ruined my beach plans, but this house has been around since the 1800s. I don’t think a few storms are going to blow it away.”
Wolf stood up. “I’m sorry to have been the bearer of bad news.”
“Wolf? Is there any possibility that Hollis’s death could have been related to a beesting?”
He shrugged. “I think they’re concentrating on his respiratory system. I guess that could be the case with a beesting, but it seems unlikely unless it was an anaphylactic reaction.”
Wolf gazed at me like he could see right into my thoughts. “Don’t kick yourself about this, Sophie. You were doing what you thought was right.”
“But I was dead wrong.”
He laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “None of us have crystal balls. You can’t begin to imagine how many times I wish I had handled something differently. Besides, chances are very good that he didn’t die of poisoned food.”
I appreciated his kind words, but I still felt enormously guilty. I walked him to the front door and opened it.
Wolf stepped outside. “The wind has kicked up.”
The two of us watched tree leaves twist in the air. The sky was still blue, but a band of clouds was filtering in, like cream mixing in a sauce.
“Will Mars or Alex be here with you?” asked Wolf.
“I have no idea. I’ll be fine.”
He nodded. “Call me if you need help.”
It was a generous offer. I watched him walk away, knowing full well that I would never take him up on it. Never say never, Sophie, I reminded myself. But deep in my heart, I knew I would have to be desperate to make that call to Wolf.
I closed the door and was thinking about the fact that Nina and Francie would probably rely on me for meals if the power went out. The phone rang, interrupting my thoughts.
I answered it and Humphrey said, “Please tell me that my friend isn’t testing food for a Mr. Hollis Haberman.”
“I’m afraid so.”
“In that case, I think we should turn the samples of food over to the cops. Are you okay with that?”
“Absolutely. You may get a visit from Wolf. He was just here asking me about Hollis. You . . . you don’t have any results yet, do you?” I held my breath.
“No, I was just over at the morgue and everyone is talking about Haberman. There’s a lot of speculation about what happened to him.”
“Oh?” I said, afraid to hear what they might suspect.
“Conflicting symptoms. It will be interesting to hear what caused his death. One thing’s for sure—no one expects it to be natural causes.”
“Keep me posted, okay?”
“Sure.”
I hung up, feeling miserable and wondering what I should have done that could have prevented Hollis’s death. Still thinking about him, I pulled out tapioca, lemon, sugar, and fresh blueberries to make a blueberry pie.
* * *
The sky grew dark early in the evening. When Mars, Daisy, Nina, Francie, and Duke, Francie’s golden retriever, gathered in my kitchen, the sky unleashed a downpour. We had just sat down to a dinner of roast chicken and rice when Mars calmly said, “Sophie, someone is lurking outside in the rain.”
We all rushed to the bay window in the kitchen. Not the smartest thing to do since we were backlighted. The person outside could probably see us far better than we could see him.
He stood there without as much as an umbrella. The rain poured down so hard that it pelted the window and left streaks on the glass.
The lurker covered his face with his hands, and there was something about that movement that caused me to think I knew who was out there.
I flung open the front door and dashed out into the rain but hadn’t expected the sheer strength of the wind. I had to bend forward against its force to make any headway. The rain had seemed different inside the house. Outside, the wind drove it at me in sheets.
My steps were painfully slow, like an ancient person who could barely move one foot ahead of the other. The elements plastered my clothes against me. I pitied anyone caught outside in this weather.
The lurker staggered backward into the street, her arms stretched out wide.
Still bent forward, I forced my hands straight ahead, but it was slow going. I finally reached Kelsey Haberman and managed to grasp her wrists.