Peggy considered carefully. “All my assistants have keys. Full time, that’s Selena, Keeley, and Sam. There are two others who come in part time, Brenda and Dawn. They’re all students. That’s five. Emil has one. I have one. The pest control man has one. The cleaning service has one. That’s all I can think of.”
“You don’t leave one anywhere, do you? Under a mat or taped somewhere on a window ledge?”
“No, nothing like that! My husband would turn over in his grave if I were that careless!”
Mai shrugged. “It’s not unusual. Have you asked your assistants about that night?”
“The last two were there around eight-thirty. Selena works days. She left with me. The pest control man comes in once a month. It wasn’t time for him. I don’t know if Emil has ever used his key. Mint Condition, the cleaning service, comes in once a week. But that wasn’t their night to clean.”
“Well, that didn’t help.”
“I’m afraid not.”
Mai glanced through the paperwork from the case. “Someone else is checking out Mr. Warner’s clothes. We never found his shoes. So far the only unusual thing we found was a piece of some kind of flower petal in his pocket.”
“Columbine?”
“Is that a flower?”
“I found this on the floor in the shop this morning.” Peggy pulled out the flower head. “It might match what you found. We don’t carry columbines this time of year.”
Mai used tweezers to take the flower. She sealed it into a plastic bag. “How did we miss this?” She carefully labeled the sample.
“It’s a flower in a garden shop. It doesn’t really look like evidence.”
“And it might not be,” Mai told her. “But thanks for bringing it in. I’ll let you know if it’s anything.”
The door to the office burst open. “Mom? I heard what happened. Are you okay?”
Peggy glanced up at her son. “Hello Paul! I know how to get to see you now. Have a murder at my shop.”
Paul Lee was tall and slender like his father. But his red hair and freckles came from his mother. He had her green eyes and delicate nose. He smiled less often, especially since his father’s death. “I’m sorry, Mom. I don’t have a lot of time.”
“Hogwash! Give me a hug.” She caught him close to her. He squirmed away almost as soon as she hugged him. “I managed to see your father, even though he walked a beat.”
“That was different.”
There’d been a rift developing between them since John died. She opposed Paul joining the police department. He’d wanted to be an architect until his father was killed. They argued about his decision. Paul moved out on his own only a month after John’s death and then became a police officer. Peggy felt like he was looking for revenge. “Never mind. I’m glad to see you anyway.”
He lowered his voice. “So why are you here?”
She laughed. “I came to pump Mai for information.”
Mai took off her heavy glasses, smiled, and shook her head.
He glanced at her. “I didn’t notice you there.”
“What else is new?”
“Don’t give her a rough time, huh?” Paul demanded.
“Grow up!” Mai growled. “I only do my job!”
“Whatever! Can I see you out here for a minute when you’re finished, Mom?”
Paul walked out. Peggy noticed Mai watching him. “You know him well?”
“No! Thank goodness! I see him around from time to time, that’s all. I’m sorry, Dr. Lee, but he’s a jerk.”
Mai wasn’t watching Paul like she thought he was a jerk. The young forensics officer seemed pretty interested in him. “Only my students call me Dr. Lee. My friends call me Peggy.”
“Thanks.” Mai glanced at the open doorway. “Maybe he’s still grieving. Maybe that’s why he’s such a jerk.”
“I’d like to think so. But I’m not really sure.”
“I’m sorry! I shouldn’t be talking about him that way.”
“No, that’s all right. He’s my son, and I love him, but no one’s perfect.”
“Has he always been so . . . ?”
“Difficult?” Peggy queried. “Yes. I’m afraid so. Worse since his father died. He looks like me, but he has his father’s moodiness. He was devastated when John was killed.”
“Are you finished with her yet?” Paul looked in from the doorway. “She’s answering questions voluntarily. I hope you’ve noted that.”
“I have,” Mai answered belligerently. “And after meeting her, I don’t know what happened to
Paul’s face turned red, but he recovered quickly. “Save the sarcasm. I’m getting my mother out of here.
