At the conclusion of the lecture on collecting and preserving sample pollens, Peggy answered questions from the group. She wondered if Nightflyer was in that sea of faces. Would she know his voice in person? From his previous behavior patterns, she felt sure he’d give himself away to let her know he was there. He definitely wanted her attention.
But the students were leaving, and the lecture was over. There was no sign of Nightflyer. She gathered her notes and ruminated over becoming a worried old woman who jumped at sounds in the night.
“Hi, Peggy.” Sam’s cheerful face appeared in her line of vision. “I was over here mulching some gardenias for the Bostics and noticed it was about time for your class to be over. Need a ride to the shop?”
She hugged him. “Yes, I do. Thanks for thinking of it.”
His face turned red, and he glanced around at the group of rapidly retreating students. “It’s only a ride. You even paid for the gas.”
“Sometimes it’s the little things that matter, Sam. Let’s go.”
Shakespeare was waiting in the truck. “Thought I might as well pick him up.” Sam helped her into the truck and shut the door behind her. “How did it go last night?”
While the dog licked her face, she described the whole experience in dramatic detail for him. She knew he liked it that way. “The big surprise was walking out into Paul. But I think Mai took care of that problem.”
“She somehow managed to take the oak tree out of his butt?”
“No.” She laughed. “She kissed him.
“Wow! That was above and beyond. I wouldn’t have gone that far.” He considered the matter. “Well, probably not anyway. So little Paul finally has a girlfriend. I hope you got pictures.”
“I barely got to see it. They were outside. But it looked pretty hot and heavy. I knew they had a thing for each other. I guess we’ll have to see what develops.”
“What happens now?” Sam pulled the truck behind the shop. “We find out someone slipped Warner some alcohol, and then what? How do we find out which one of his many women did him in?”
“Don’t count out the men in those women’s lives,” she replied. “It could’ve been one of them.”
Sam stroked his chin. “Hmmm, Keeley didn’t have a man in her life besides Mark. You said he broke up with his personal assistant a while before. Unless you’re thinking the man who replaced him . . .”
“No, not really. I think that’s a dead end altogether. Excuse the pun.”
“Excused. That only leaves one man who might have been jealous enough to do something to Mark for sleeping with his wife: Bob McGee.”
“That’s right. Ronda said he was out of town that night. But suppose he set the whole thing up to make it look that way. Maybe he wasn’t out of town at all.”
Sam laughed. “And you’re going to prove that
“Don’t ask me.” Peggy shook herself. “I’m new at this detective thing. I suppose I’ll walk up and confront him. That seems to work best for me.”
“Has it occurred to you that your style might be what got you thrown off the dock? Or that it could happen again if you confront the wrong person?”
“You mean the
“I don’t know if that dog would do anything more than wag his tail and bark a lot, Peggy. Maybe you should get a gun.”
“And shoot myself in the foot? No, thanks. I appreciate your input though. Where are you off to now?”
“I’m going to talk to a buddy of mine who’s working for the new arena group. He promised us a shot at bidding for the plant work.”
Peggy raised her eyebrows. “That’s a big contract! Is that interior or exterior work?”
“Both. And whether we get it or not, you need to start thinking about hiring someone to take Keeley’s place. I talked to Dawn, but she’s not interested in doing fieldwork all the time. I need some help. I can’t keep going with school and work without someone else helping out.”
She patted his hand. “I know, and I’m sorry. I should’ve already seen to that. There’s been so much going on that I forgot. Or maybe I was hoping Keeley would come back. But I’ll get some ads out today. Thanks, Sam.”
He cleared his throat. “I can manage for a while. Just don’t forget about me.”
She promised not to and got out of the truck. She walked up the back steps, her eyes torturing themselves by going over the ground where she’d fallen from the dock. She knew if there was anything left behind, Al would’ve found it. Resolutely, she turned away from the area and went inside.
The extreme warmth from the shop hit her as she walked in. Keeley and Selena were sitting behind the counter talking. The front door was open into the courtyard.
“I hope you called maintenance,” Peggy said to Selena as Shakespeare ran into the shop and found his familiar spot. “It must be a hundred degrees in here!”
“I called when I first got here,” Selena answered. “No one was there yet. I left a message. It’s the same at the Kozy Kettle. Probably the same at all the shops.”
“Hi, Peggy,” Keeley said quietly. “I thought I’d stop by for some tea.”
Peggy took off her cape and hugged her. “I’m glad you did. How are you feeling?”
“Ready to go back to work. Light duty for a few weeks. But I’d really like to have something to do.”
