“It’s weird, I suppose.” Hunter picked up her jacket. “Except when you consider the DB was found right here.”
“DB?” Selena asked.
“Dead body,” Hunter explained. “I have to go. I have a drunk driver in court this morning. Whatever you do, don’t contact Keeley. The chances are all of our phones are bugged. Hopefully, they didn’t get one in here, too.”
Selena and Sam glanced around the shop, looking for listening devices.
Peggy laughed. “Like they have the budget for that! I’ll talk to you later. Thanks, Hunter.”
Sam left right after his sister. The twin of the blue spruce in the shop was scheduled to be planted in Claire Drummond’s front yard that morning. “Let me know if you hear anything. Or if you think of anything else we can do.”
Peggy promised she would, but she knew she was out of plans. Everything she’d tried worked, but it wasn’t enough. Julie stayed one step ahead. And now that she was aware the police could be looking for evidence, she was bound to make sure there was nothing for them to find.
Keeley’s mother called and thanked Peggy for her help. From her tone and her carefully stilted words, Peggy knew Hunter already warned her about wiretaps.
“Don’t worry, Lenore,” Peggy said, mindful of her friend’s paranoia about her daughter. “We’ll think of something. Take care of yourself.”
The shopping crowd was brisk all morning. Peggy didn’t know if it was early Christmas shoppers or people happy to see the warm, sunny weather. Whatever, she was glad to take in the extra money. She thought again about another assistant to help at the shop. It would be nice to have someone she could call if there was an emergency.
Al called her after lunch. She’d been dreading the call all day. It meant they’d found Keeley and taken her into custody. “Can you meet me at Carolinas Medical?”
“She? Oh, you mean Ms. Prinz. She’s not here. We haven’t found her yet. This is something else. Can you come?”
Peggy agreed to be there as soon as she could. She hung up the phone and looked around the crowded shop. What could she do? Sam and Selena were both busy. Dawn was out of town, and Brenda was taking Keeley’s place cleaning and watering plants at the Overstreet Mall.
If there wasn’t so much traffic, she might be able to get Sofia or Emil to watch the shop for a while. But she knew they were busy, too. She racked her brain to come up with an alternative. Without letting herself stop to question the wisdom of her actions, she dialed Steve’s number.
Twenty minutes later he was there, putting on an apron. “I take the money and give them a receipt, right?”
“Yes. If they have any questions, refer them to the gardening encyclopedia at the end of the counter. If that doesn’t work, get their name and number. I’ll call them back as soon as I can.”
“Okay. Would you like to take my car? I know you’re in a hurry.”
Peggy wrestled with her conscience. She swore she wouldn’t drive another internal combustion engine machine again. But letting people drive her around in them was just as bad. She took his keys and promised herself she was going to work on the Rolls. “Thanks, Steve. You’re a lifesaver.”
“You owe me dinner.” It was all he had a chance to say before a woman in a bright red suit cornered him to ask about growing tulips on her patio.
Peggy left before she got caught in the middle of it. Al wouldn’t call her unless he had a good reason. If it wasn’t Keeley, she couldn’t imagine what it could be. She felt sure he’d tell her up front if it was Paul. She thought about a dozen more reasons he might call her on the way there. Then she parked the Saturn in the visitors’ parking lot and hurried into the hospital.
Al was waiting at the side entrance from the parking lot. “I think this may be the break you’re looking for. Lieutenant Rimer is on his way over. I wanted you to hear this first, but let’s speed it up. He might not understand me calling you.”
They went up on the elevator to the third floor. “For goodness sake, Al, tell me what’s going on.”
“A doctor gave me a call this morning. It seems he got the test results back on one of his emergency room cases. The man was poisoned by anemonin.”
Peggy’s eyes widened. “Really? How did it happen?”
“His name is Dwayne Johnson. He’s got a rap sheet for drugs as long as your arm. Anyway, this time he picked up some capsules he found in a trash can on Queens Road. Free drugs are the best drugs, you know.”
“How is he?” she asked, excitement building in her chest.
“Sick as a dog. But the doctor says he’ll be fine. I’ve got two officers picking up the rest of the capsules from his house. If it turns out the way I’m thinking, we may have to change that arrest warrant. Johnson identified a photo of the Warner house. He says that’s where he got the drugs.”
“I’m sure Jonas will love that.” She laughed as the elevator stopped.
“Yeah, he’s just peachy about it.” Al smiled at her. “I think you did good on this, Peggy. Even if you should’ve stayed out of the way.”
“Thanks, I think. Why did you ask me to come up, besides telling me this?”
“As awkward as it may be, I’d like you to come with us when we search the Warner house again. I don’t know what the hell we’re looking for over there. What do you make poison out of?”
