“What about school?”
“I’ve decided to drop the rest of this semester. My brain needs some time off. But the rest of me needs to be busy.”
Selena went to help a customer. Peggy faced Keeley. “You know I’d like to have you back, and Sam is crying for some help, but I don’t want you to come back too soon.”
“Are you worried about the Warner thing?” Keeley suggested. “Because I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. Even if they decide not to prosecute Mr. Cheever, I think I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not worried about that. I know you’ve been through a strain, and I want you to have plenty of time to get better.”
“So you don’t want me back.” Keeley’s voice was flat. “Okay. I understand.”
Peggy laughed. “I think we’re talking, but we’re not communicating. Of course I want you back. You can start on light duty whenever you’re ready. But if you start back too soon and your mother comes after me, I’m going to tell her it was your idea.”
Keeley hugged her. “Thanks, Peggy. I won’t do more than I can handle. Don’t worry. Besides, I’ll be with Sam. He’s close enough to being a doctor that he can take care of me if I try to do too much. And no matter what, I won’t tell Mom. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention to her that I’m skipping this semester. I haven’t told her about that yet.”
“You’ve got a deal.” Peggy consulted her workbook. “Sam’s trying to get us a bid on the new arena. But I could use your help counting supplies before we order at the end of the month.”
“Sounds great. I don’t think counting supplies should be too strenuous.”
The shop was busy for a Wednesday. Peggy was hoping to get her presentation for the Thursday morning garden club ready while she manned the cash register, but it was going to have to wait. Between getting ready to order supplies and the steady stream of customers, it was all she could do to keep up. She was glad to have Keeley there. Maybe she needed to consider another assistant for the shop.
Just after the lunchtime crowd began to dissipate, Hunter and Jane Cheever arrived at the shop. Keeley and Selena took over so Peggy could have lunch with the two women.
“The judge postponed the trial indefinitely while the doctors try to make some kind of judgment about Mr. Cheever’s medical condition,” Hunter told her as they sat down inside Anthony’s Caribbean Cafe.
“That’s good news.” Peggy waved to Anthony, who hurried over to her table.
“I was beginning to wonder if you’d taken a strong dislike to my food, Miss Peggy.” The tall, thin Jamaican man hugged her. “But here you are, and you brought some friends.”
Peggy introduced him to Hunter and Jane. “I don’t know what they’d like, Anthony, but I want my usual. Rice ’n’ peas, candied yams, fried plantain, and red sorrell tea.”
Hunter shrugged. “Sounds good to me, too.”
Jane agreed, and Anthony took their order back to the kitchen. The colorful cafe was crowded with shoppers who were taking a late lunch. Flags from the island nations hung from the ceiling, and palm trees decorated the walls. A huge mural of the ocean covered one whole side of the cafe, while a thatched roof covered the kitchen and the bar areas.
“This is good news,” Hunter continued with their conversation. “It gives all of us time to do what we can for Mr. Cheever. If there’s any information out there to support the possibility of his innocence, now’s the time to bring it forward.”
Peggy didn’t respond. She knew Hunter wanted what she knew about Ronda McGee. But after talking with Mark’s lover in the courtyard, she agreed that it wouldn’t make sense for Ronda to kill him. Maybe Ronda made a mistake by having an affair with Mark, but that didn’t make her a killer.
“Dad’s doing much better.” Jane thanked the waiter for her iced tea. “The doctor isn’t sure how much he’ll recover from the stroke. He may never really remember that night.”
“I believe he remembers the important part.” Peggy explained her theory about Mark’s alcohol allergy to them. She didn’t go into detail about what she and Mai had done to discover the truth.
Hunter put more sugar in her tea. “Didn’t they release his body today?”
“I heard something about that,” Peggy agreed.
“How are the police going to run tests on him if they don’t have the body?”
Peggy smiled at her. “It’s already been taken care of.”
“Then why haven’t I been informed of any changes in the case? If they found alcohol in Warner and he was allergic, it would change everything. There was no way for Mr. Cheever to know he was allergic or to administer the alcohol.”
“There haven’t been any changes
Hunter leaned closer to her, her bright eyes flashing. “What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me? You hired me to save Mr. Cheever. Whatever you know that could help—”
“When I know something I can share, I’ll tell you,” Peggy said. “Right now, all I have is theory and speculation. We need proof.”
The lawyer sat back in her chair. “You’re sure you’re not trying to protect Keeley now that she’s been implicated?”
“I wouldn’t know how to make that choice. I just don’t have all the answers yet.”
The three women ate their peas ’n’ rice in silence. The funky island music played around them, and the waiter kept their drinks filled.
