03 Murder by Mishap Page 7

  “Hello, Guy,” Peg said quietly, staring steadily back at him.

  “Sit down, please, Guy. She came to show me something.” Cherisse’s smile held a touch of annoyance at his interruption before she looked back anxiously at Peg’s hands.

  Instead of sitting, Guy moved to stand in front of the window. From behind his sister, he studied Peg curiously. Brother and sister looked very alike except where Renee appeared skeptical, Guy’s expression held curiosity.

  Peg looked down at her open palm, at the object resting in the paper. Edna noticed her take a deep breath before lifting the brooch by its backing and holding it out for Cherisse to see.

  The old woman said nothing at first. She simply stared at the object in Peg’s hand while the tiny clock on her bedside table ticked away the seconds. Then, what little color she had drained from her face, and Cherisse’s eyes seem to roll back in her head as she fainted.

  No more than two seconds elapsed before the room erupted into chaos. Renee stood abruptly, her book falling to the floor with a loud slap. She bent over her mother at the same time as she reached for the cord to summon a nurse. Guy hurried around to the other side of the bed, pushing Peg aside to bend over his mother and take her hand. There was no sign of humor in his eyes when he turned to glare at Peg.

  “What have you done? What is that?” His gaze dropped to the pin she still held between thumb and finger.

  Seeing her friend frozen in shock and horror, Edna walked quietly to Peg’s side and took hold of her arm. “We should go,” she whispered.

  Peg grabbed the box and the tissue paper from the bed and jammed them into her purse. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she said, staring at Cherisse’s still form. “I had no idea ... I thought she’d be relieved.”

  “Get out,” Renee hissed with suppressed fury.

  “You’d better go,” Guy said, more kindly but just as firm.

  At that moment, a middle-aged woman in a pink, button-down blouse and white slacks hurried into the room and inserted herself between Renee and the bed. “What’s the trouble?” She spoke across Cherisse to Guy.

  Wanting to get her out of the room, Edna tugged on Peg’s wrist, noticing as she did so that Peg’s hand was balled into a tight fist. She pulled Peg toward the door and out into the corridor. The walk to the parking lot seemed endless. In the car, fastening seatbelts, she thought to ask, “Do you have the brooch?”

  Raising her fist, Peg slowly opened her fingers. She had been clutching the jewel so fiercely that the pin had jabbed into her palm and drawn blood.

  “Oh, Ed. What have I done?” The question was filled with sorrow and humiliation.

  Edna knew Peg wasn’t talking about the bloody wound. She also knew that nothing she could say would help right then. Gently, she patted Peg’s forearm, started the car and drove wordlessly back to Peg’s house, feeling her friend’s anguish as Peg silently stared out the side window.

  When they reached the Graystocking mansion, Edna wasn’t going to leave Peg to dwell on the events of the afternoon. Parking the car, she escorted her friend into the house and through to the kitchen, where they found Virginia sitting at the table, staring out at the back yard. She held a red rosary in her hands that she dropped hastily into her apron pocket when Edna and Peg walked into the room. “Are you alright, Mrs. Bishop,” she asked, getting to her feet and eyeing Peg with concern.

  “Would you get some antiseptic and bandages,” Edna asked once they had explained how Peg had punctured her hand. Nothing was said about the visit to Cherisse.

  Virginia had finished dressing Peg’s wound and was gathering up bottles and bandages when Stephen strode into the room, speaking as he entered. “I won’t be here for dinner tonight, Virginia. I’m …” He stopped talking when he saw the group huddled around the table. “I didn’t know you were home, Margaret. Hello, Edna.” Coming closer to his wife, he saw the bandage and asked what she’d done.

  “It’s nothing,” she replied. She’d left the brooch on the table so they could clean it with alcohol once they’d bandaged her hand.

  As Stephen reached for the pin, Peg covered it with her undamaged hand and, without looking at him, said, “No, Stephen. I’m keeping this for now.”

  He glared at her for several seconds before turning to Virginia. “As I was saying, I won’t be home for dinner.” With that, he spun on his heel and left the way he’d come.

  “I’d better be getting home.” Edna was the first to speak and break the uneasy silence that had settled into the room. “First, though, I’d like to talk to your gardener, see if he has any questions about the plans we drew up for planting the herbs.” Glancing at the wall clock, she noticed it was after five. “Will he still be working?”

  Peg replied half-heartedly, “He was off today. He’ll be back tomorrow. I’m sure he’s following our blueprint.”

  “Just the same, Peg, if you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to him sometime.” Edna didn’t want to voice her true reason in front of Virginia, that she wanted to question Goran to find out how much he actually knew about gardening.

  Peg smiled weakly. “Will you ever forgive him for mistaking lemon balm for mint?”

  “Well, for heaven’s sake, everyone knows all you have to do is crush a leaf between your thumb and forefinger to smell the difference.”

  “Of course everyone knows that,” The amusement in Peg’s eyes looked genuine for the first time since they had entered the nursing home. “Well, if you don’t mind the drive, come by and check on Goran whenever you’d like. He should be working the next two days.”

  Edna drove home with a myriad of images whirling around in her head. Cherisse’s ghostly pallor, Renee’s and Guy’s fury, Peg’s humiliation and Stephen’s anger. As she reached South County and neared her own home, her thoughts turned to the conversation she’d had with Charlie that morning. On impulse, she turned up onto her neighbor’s driveway. If Jaycee answered the door, Edna would invite her over for a glass of wine.

  Chapter Nine

  In fact, Jaycee was home but hesitated over Edna’s invitation, at first. Thinking it was a natural shyness on the young woman’s part, Edna said she would welcome the company since her husband was out of town and her daughter had returned to her condo in Boston. Odd, Edna thought, that Jaycee should seem relieved at the news. She accepted with pleasure and agreed to come over in a half hour, giving Edna time to prepare appetizers and open the wine.

  After feeding Benjamin and letting him outside, Edna rummaged in the refrigerator for sour cream and cream cheese. She mixed equal parts of each before stirring in freshly chopped dill, chives and basil. Transferring the spread to a small Wedgewood bowl which she placed on a matching plate, she surrounded the dip with two varieties of homemade crackers and some celery sticks. She carried the food into the living room and set it on the coffee table along with cocktail napkins and was returning to the kitchen to fetch wine glasses when the doorbell rang. Her young neighbor was prompt.

  Once they were settled on the gold brocade sofa, she attempted to put her guest at ease. “Jaycee’s a pretty name. One I haven’t heard before.”

  “Thank you. It’s really sort of shorthand for my initials.”

  “Oh?” Displaying only polite curiosity, Edna was nonetheless pleased that one of her hunches had been correct. She tucked it to the back of her mind to let Charlie know.

  “Yes. You see, I was named for my two grandmothers, Joanna and Charlotte. My parents didn’t want to favor one grandmother over the other, so they called me by both names. When I started school, ‘Joanna Charlotte’ was too much of a mouthful, so the kids shortened it to my initials and it became a nickname, JAYcee.”

  Joanna, Edna thought. I’m certain that was the name of the home buyer Charlie mentioned this morning. So the grandmother purchased the house. Another bit of news to be tucked away for Charlie.

  As Edna chatted with Jaycee, she found the young woman to be poised and intelligent but guarded. If her guest had any idea
she was being pumped for information, Edna was certain she would lose the young woman’s trust, so she tried to make her questions sound innocent.

  “I detect a slight accent. Are you from the Midwest?”

  “I have spent time there,” Jaycee replied noncommittally. “What gives me away?”

  “More of a guess on my part than anything. My sister lives in Chicago. Some of your speech reminds me of listening to her friends.” Edna grinned mischievously as she admitted, “Besides, I recognized the area code on the envelope you dropped off last night.”

  Jaycee spread a cracker with the herb mixture and took a thoughtful bite. Chewing, swallowing and taking a sip of wine before she spoke, she eventually shook her head. “Actually, I moved here from Florida. The phone number belongs to an old friend.” She didn’t look at Edna, but examined the plate of food instead, before selecting a celery stick. Her hesitation gave Edna the feeling that Jaycee thought she was revealing too much of herself. Still, Edna pushed to know more.

  “Did you grow up in Florida?”

  Jaycee merely nodded in reply. When she finally glanced over at Edna, a curious look narrowed her eyes, as if she were trying to decide something.

  Edna was beginning to feel awkward at the young woman’s reticence, but went on cheerfully with her chatter and her probing. After all, her questions were no more than anyone would ask when getting to know someone, she thought.

  “Folks usually move to Florida from New England, not the other way around. What brought you to Rhode Island?”

  “My mother’s family was from Westerly. Her parents--my grandparents,” Jaycee added unnecessarily, “moved to Florida when my grandfather retired. Gran’s a widow. I stay with her sometimes.” She sat back against the corner of the sofa. Holding her wine glass in two hands, she looked around the room. “Your home is very comfortable. I like antiques. Gran’s house is filled with heirlooms, too.”

  Edna recognized the obvious change of subject, but decided not to give up just yet. She was trying to figure out how to ask what Jaycee did for a living when her guest leaned forward and twirled a celery stick in the herb spread before taking a bite. “Hmmm. This is good. Did you make it?”

  She definitely wants to get out of the limelight, Edna thought. “Yes,” she said, “it’s become a new interest of mine, experimenting with various herbs from my garden.”

  “Yum. I should pick your brain. I’m working on an idea for a cookbook.”

  “Really? What sort of cookbook?”

  Jaycee’s eyes sparkled and her face brightened with enthusiasm. “I want to put together authentic New England recipes and illustrate them with photographs of historic and scenic places along the coast. You know, sort of a gourmet travel guide. That’s why I moved here, to work.”

  “What an interesting concept. Have you collected many recipes?”

  “You bet. That’s what gave me the idea. I have Gran’s file box. It’s crammed full of cards and scraps of paper, hers plus many from friends and relatives. She’s also given me a few of her old cookbooks and those have notes all along the margins. Kind of fun to read, you know?”

  Edna nodded and reached to spread a cracker for herself. Still determined to find out more information for Charlie, she said, “Your ‘Gran’ must be your mother’s mother. From Westerly, did you say?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Does your father’s family also come from this area?”

  Before Jaycee could answer, the doorbell rang, causing her to jump and slop wine onto her navy slacks. She quickly grabbed a napkin from the coffee table to soak up the spill, but not before Edna saw worry in the young woman’s eyes.

  Hurriedly, she tried to reassure her guest. “I’m not expecting anyone. It’s probably kids out selling something to earn money for school. I’ll see who it is and be right back.”

  But when she opened the door, it wasn’t local school children who’d come calling. Mary stood on the stoop, grinning down at her. Hank and Benjamin stood beside the tall redhead and stared up expectantly at Edna before the cat, followed closely by the dog, bounded past her and down the hall. Before Edna could utter a word, Mary, too, swept past her into the house. “Hi. Benjy came over to visit. Hank and I decided to walk him back home.”

  “Benjamin,” Edna corrected automatically as she shut the door.

  Undaunted, Mary went on, “Thought you could use some company since Al’s out of town.”

  “Albert,” Edna corrected, again automatically. One of these days, Mary might get the hint and use their full names. Knowing it would be difficult to send Mary home before she was ready to leave, Edna said dryly, “Won’t you come in” and wondered if Jaycee would feel betrayed, since she had been assured they would be alone. Oh well, nothing to be done but make introductions.

  As they approached the archway into the living room, Edna heard Jaycee talking to the animals. “What’s your name, big fellow?” When she entered followed by Mary, Jaycee looked up with a laugh. She seemed not at all disturbed by having someone else join their little party. All the concern in her expression had evaporated. Hank sat at her knee, one paw on her thigh, and Benjamin stood on the sofa beside her.

  “How adorable and friendly.” She chuckled, patting the dog’s head as she scooped the cat onto her lap.

  Edna introduced the two neighbors, relieved that, for once, Mary looked fairly normal in white slacks and a lime-green jersey, one of her hospital volunteer costumes. Edna guessed Mary had not expected to meet Jaycee that evening, or she probably would have donned one of the Hawaiian-print caftans she wore for special occasions. As Edna’s mind wandered through Mary’s distinctive wardrobe, the red-head dropped into the mahogany arm chair at right angles to where Jaycee sat stroking Hank’s back. “He’s my buddy,” Mary explained as Edna wheeled around to head toward the kitchen.

  Carrying the wine bottle and a glass for Mary, Edna refilled Jaycee’s glass and her own before reclaiming her place on the sofa. Her guests seemed to be having a pleasant time talking to and about the animals in the room. If Jaycee still had reservations about the person she’d described as “a little odd,” she hid her feelings well.

  Edna was beginning to fear she’d never get back to finding how Jaycee was connected to Chicago, when Mary piped up. “Where’re you from?”

  With a sigh, knowing she’d never control the conversation with Mary in the room, Edna sat back, sipped from her goblet and listened while Jaycee answered questions she’d already been asked. As Edna watched the other two, she realized how fortuitous Mary’s arrival had been. With the animals and Mary vying for her attention, Jaycee finally seemed to relax.

  While the women talked, Edna’s thoughts were busy building on the seed of an idea Jaycee had planted in her head. As soon as she could politely interrupt, she explained to Mary, “Jaycee is compiling recipes and photographs for an illustrated New England cookbook.”

  Mary was an off-again, on-again cook who, when the urge took hold, threw together whatever ingredients grabbed her fancy. Oddly enough, her dishes were very tasty, in Edna’s opinion. The two women had recently begun to compare notes and, once or twice, had even worked side-by-side. To date, these culinary events had taken place only in Mary’s kitchen. Edna wasn’t yet ready to share her space with someone who was apt to dirty every dish in the pantry and coat every working surface with bits of food.

  She turned to Jaycee and nodded at the tray on the butler-style coffee table. “Mary made the crackers and cheese sticks you’ve been nibbling on this evening.”

  Jaycee’s eyes widened as she turned to Mary who was looking as smug as the Cheshire Cat. “Did you really? These are delicious. Are they family recipes?” Her questions held obvious delight.

  Blushing slightly at the praise, Mary said, “The basic recipes come from a little book called “Easy Homemade Crackers using Herbs” by Jim Long. Sometimes I try different herbs or a different flour, like rye instead of wheat.”

  “Wasn’t it Mrs. Rabichek who got
you interested in cooking with herbs?” Edna prompted, already knowing the answer.

  “She gave me the idea,” Mary admitted with a nod. Turning to Jaycee, she said, “I went online to look for herbs that Old Mrs. Rabichek didn’t have in her garden, so I could get her something new. She was always looking for different stuff to try growing and experimenting with. I found the Long Creek Herb site and that’s where I found this book on crackers. If you’re looking for New England recipes, you gotta include crackers. They were invented in Newburyport, Massachusetts, you know, in the late seventeen hundreds. That’s in Jim’s book, too, a history of how crackers were discovered.”

  Edna thought she’d better cut in before Mary got too wound up and talked Jaycee’s ear off. Distracting both guests by passing the hors d’oeurves plate, Edna spoke to Jaycee. “You said you have lots of recipes, but how about pictures?”

  She wrinkled her nose and squinted in mock dismay. “That’s the hard part. Since I’ve never lived here myself, I need to do some research. I bought a scooter so I could start roaming around and get a feel for the place. My other problem is that I don’t take very good pictures.” She now looked more self-conscious than dismayed. “I hope to find a good camera and practice. Hopefully, I’ll come up with some useable photos.”

  Excitedly, Mary sat straighter in her chair and gaped at Edna. “You should introduce her to Starling.”

  Edna smiled, mentally thanking Mary for verbalizing the idea. “Just what I was thinking,” she said.

  Chapter Ten

  Wondering how Albert was coping, Edna tried his cell number first thing the following morning. Her call went directly to voice mail.

  “Drat,” she muttered, looking at the receiver as if it were responsible for her husband turning off his phone or letting the battery run down. She was also concerned about Stan and wanted to know if he were any better and out of intensive care. She wondered if Bea had arrived and how she was handling her husband’s sudden heart attack. Heaving a sigh of frustration, she left a brief message for Albert to call as soon as he got the chance.