needle?”
“They must have,” said Ginger.
“You don’t think the killer would have been stupid enough—”
“—to buy it at Coreyville Pharmacy? Who knows? Sometimes criminals do really dumb things,” said Ginger. “I’m gonna find out.”
**********
Ginger had gone by Bull Crawley’s Bar & Grill after her trip to Coreyville Pharmacy. The cashier told her Bull was gone and would not be back until 4:30. Ginger wanted to have a private conversation with him, so she decided to come back after the dinner rush.
It was nearly 7:00 p.m. when she left her house to walk down to the square. She heard several police sirens and possibly an ambulance. Must be a bad wreck, she thought.
Only three tables were occupied in Bull’s place. Two men sat at the bar drinking and watching the TV.
“Is Bull here?”
“Yes. Oh, you came by this afternoon looking for him, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“He’s in his office. I’ll take you back.”
“Thanks.”
“He can be hard to catch sometimes. He’s in and out all day.”
His office door was open, but he was not there.
“Hang on. Let me check the restroom.”
When Ginger had gone to Coreyville Pharmacy that afternoon Sherry, the pharmacy assistant, had checked their records for purchases of latex gloves and syringes over the past few weeks. Sherry was an old friend.
Ginger had been shocked to discover that Bull Crawley had used his company credit card to buy syringes and latex gloves. Perhaps he had some legitimate purpose for them. Was he diabetic? Not according to their records, Sherry told her.
Ginger stepped into Bull’s office and looked around. Did she really think he was stupid enough to leave a syringe lying around? Maybe.
Then she saw a potted plant in the corner of the room—just like the unusual one she’d seen in Cash’s office. Weird.
“I’m sorry. It looks like he’s already taken off.”
“That’s okay. Thanks anyway.” Ginger walked out of the restaurant. Activity on the square was almost nil at this time of night. Most of the shops closed by 6:00 p.m.
Ginger walked down the sidewalk until she got to the corner. After checking to make sure nobody was watching her, she stepped off the sidewalk, out of the light, and went through the narrow passageway to the alley. She prayed there were no muggers or mean dogs waiting to pounce.
She stepped out, and looked down the alley, locating the back of Bull’s restaurant. It would take less than a minute to walk from his place, go around the corner and get to the back of Cash & Carry Donuts.
If Bull had somehow known that Navy would be stopping at Cash’s on the way to the nursing home Saturday morning, he could have been hiding there with his syringe of fish oil. As soon as Navy went inside, he could have unwrapped the coffee cake, injected the fish oil at several spots, rewrapped the cake, and stolen the Epi-Pen from the glove box. It wouldn’t have been that difficult. And his employees probably wouldn’t have even missed him. They would have thought he was in his office or in the restroom.
Ginger walked back through the eerie passageway. Just as she stepped out, someone called her name and she jumped.
“I’m sorry, Ginger. It’s me—Elijah.” He stepped out of the shadows.
“You startled me.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I drove by your house, but you weren’t home. Then I spotted you over here. What were you doing?”
“Uh, let’s get out of here first,” said Ginger. “I’ve got the creeps.”
They got into his car.
“What were you coming to see me about?” said Ginger.
“I couldn’t get you on the phone.”
She felt her pockets. “Oops. I must have left my phone at the house.”
“I’ve got bad news.”
“What?”
“Cheryl Iper called me. Danny is dead.”
“What happened?”
“Apparently somebody murdered him.”
“Oh, no. Poor Lacey. Do you know if Cheryl called her?”
“Yes, she did. So, I thought you might want to go check on her.”
“Yes, please.”
Elijah started the car to make the short drive to Lacey’s apartment. “Some guy found his body out at that illegal dump south of town. At first he just saw his car. Then he grabbed a flashlight to look around. Danny was lying face down in the dirt.”
“When did it happen?”
“They’re not sure. Probably last night. The guy found his body less than an hour ago.”
“
Elijah pulled into the apartment parking lot and they went inside.
When Lacey opened the door and saw Ginger, she hugged her with both arms, laid her head on Ginger’s shoulder, and cried like a baby.
“I’m so sorry, Sweetie,” said Ginger.
“Why do people keep killing the men I love?”
“I don’t know, Honey.”
“I’m a curse to all mankind.”
“No, you’re not. Don’t say that. What happened to them was not your fault.”
Ginger finally got Lacey calmed down. She and Elijah talked to her for nearly two hours. Finally, Ginger suggested that Lacey go to bed for the night. She tucked her in, and then she and Elijah left.
Elijah drove Ginger to her house and walked her to the door.
“You’re a great friend to her,” said Elijah.
“Sometimes I think I’m her
“But not tonight. Worry about it tomorrow. You need rest.”
“Okay.”
He stepped closer and took her head in his hands.
Whatever he was about to give her, she was ready to receive.
Elijah kissed her gently on the forehead. “Goodnight, Ginger.”
He turned and walked down the porch steps.
“Goodnight.”
Chapter 23
The afterglow of Elijah’s kiss to her forehead was just beginning to wear off when Ginger remembered the gun. Danny was dead, but she still had his pistol locked away downstairs in the basement.
She wondered if Danny would be alive right now if he’d had his gun for protection. What was he doing at that illegal dump site in the middle of a storm? Dropping off a load of garbage? Not likely. He must have gone there to meet someone.
Ginger remembered that on Saturday morning Danny had been late for work. He said he’d overslept. But couldn’t he have been waiting in the alley behind Cash & Carry Donuts when Navy dropped off the stolen recipe
