so yesterday. She was nasty about it, too. I really believe she was the one who called and threatened me about seeing Mark. If you could’ve seen the look in her eyes when I passed her that night leaving Mark’s office. If looks could kill, as my mama always said, I’d be stone dead.”
Peggy thanked her and showed herself out of the house. It was easier for her to understand Julie’s point of view on not sharing her husband with other women. She wasn’t sure what she would’ve done if she’d found out John was cheating on her. Maybe Ronda considered jealousy a thing of the past. But clearly the controlled infidelity she believed in didn’t always work either.
She got back in the car with Steve and Shakespeare. The lights that shone on the house picked up the crystals of ice forming in the drops of water as the sprinkler system rained on the yard. It was almost a fairy-tale setting in the beautifully manicured park that surrounded the McGees’ unhappy home.
“Did you get what you were looking for?” Steve pushed the dog into the backseat.
“Yes and no.” She closed the door and put on her seat belt. “Bob McGee was with his lover the night Mark was killed. Ronda has proof of it. Since they were both unfaithful, it would hardly follow that Bob would kill Mark over his wife anyway. That theory is useless.”
Steve started the Saturn. “I’m sure you’ll think of something else. Someone killed him. If you don’t believe it was either one of your friends, the truth about who was responsible will have to surface at some point.”
“We have some extra time anyway.” She told him about the postponement of the trial. “I guess it’s just as well. This is taking a while.”
“While we’re waiting, how about dinner? I know this great place for frozen potpies.”
Peggy laughed as she patted Shakespeare’s head. “Sounds like my kind of place.”
WHILE THE POTPIES WERE cooking, Steve showed Peggy around his house. It was very much the same style as her own but on a smaller scale. He was in the midst of remodeling, tearing out the old carpet to reveal the beautiful patina of the old heart-of-pine floors and replacing the worn drapes at the big windows.
“I plan on operating my private practice from here,” he told her, flicking on the overhead fluorescent light in a front area of the house. “My uncle did pretty well here. Business is starting to come in for me, too.”
She looked around the white and silver exam room, investigating the medical instruments he used. “You must really love animals to want to work with them all the time.”
“I guess I could say the same thing about you and plants.” He smiled. “And kids, for that matter. Animals have to be better than college students.”
“Sometimes there’s not much difference,” she agreed. “I think you’ll do well here.”
He crossed the room deliberately and put his arms around her. “You do, do you?”
Peggy stifled the frantic impulse to be embarrassed at his casual embrace. She smiled up at him. “Yes, I do.”
He kissed her lips lightly, and the oven timer buzzed. “It’s always something. But don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. We have plenty of time.”
“Thanks. Those potpies smell delicious!”
They ate their potpies with an Aussie 2001 Annvers Shiraz from Steve’s uncle’s wine cellar. The conversation was intimate as they tried to learn more about each other. Peggy laughed and enjoyed herself more than she had in a long time. Shakespeare rolled over on his back by the kitchen door and looked totally at ease.
It was nine before she looked up at the clock. “I hate it, but I have to go. I have tests to grade for tomorrow.”
Steve laced his fingers through hers. “Why do you work so hard to stay busy? It seems like the garden shop would be enough.”
It was difficult to explain how empty her life was after John died. It wasn’t something she was willing to try to put into words. Not yet. “I like to be busy. And the kids keep me on my toes. I was worried about the Potting Shed making it to begin with. Then I just enjoyed having something to do.”
He nodded and smiled at her in a way that made her feel he understood some of what she didn’t explain. The kitchen was quiet around them as they sat together at the table. It was a good, pleasurable silence that drew them together, giving them a few moments of tranquillity from the outside world.
The peace was shattered when Peggy’s cell phone rang. She apologized to Steve but answered when she saw the number that came up. “What is it, Mai?”
“I’ve got the results of the tox screen, Peggy. You aren’t going to believe this.”
13
Hyacinth
Botanical: Muscari racemosum
Family: N. O. Liliaceae
Common Names: Common hyacinth, garden hyacinth
MAI WOULD ONLY AGREE to meet her at the Waffle House off of Interstate 85.
Peggy wasn’t sure why the younger woman considered the Waffle House a safe place to meet, but she agreed. She took Steve with her since she needed a ride, and taxis were hard to find at night. They dropped
