Fruit of the Poisoned Tree

“Thank you.” She hugged him and smiled at Steve. “Remind me that I owe you two tarps.”

Steve crouched down beside her and took her hand. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get this place cleaned up. Where do you want to start?”

“You don’t have to do that.” She got to her feet. “I’ll take care of it later. It’s almost midnight. We both have work tomorrow.”

Paul stood up. “My shift ends at midnight. I agree with Steve. Let’s get this place cleaned up. I know you, Mom. You won’t sleep tonight. You’ll be up all night putting things back together. This way, you can get done sooner.”

“I’ll order the pizzas and beer,” Steve added. “I already called Sam. He said he’s on his way over with Keeley. They called Hunter, too.”

Peggy’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Let’s get started then.”

Sam and Keeley were there a few minutes later. Hunter didn’t show up for almost an hour.

“You’re always giving me hell about being late,” Sam ribbed her as he shoved a slice of pizza in his mouth. “Where have you been?”

Hunter smiled at him. “You’re just jealous because I have a life.” She looked around the wrecked kitchen. “Any idea who did this?”

“Not yet.” Sam opened a bottle of beer. “Paul lifted some prints they’re checking out. I just finished helping Peggy in the basement. Whoever did this took out months of her work down there. I’d like to get my hands around his neck.”

“Why assume it was a man?” Keeley asked. “Crimes committed by women are the fastest growing group of offenses. Maybe some women broke in here and did all this. It looks like it took more than one person to make this mess.”

“Doesn’t she have video cameras or some kind of security monitoring company for the house?” Hunter wondered. “A house this size, it seems like it would be protected.”

“It would’ve been if I’d left the alarm system on,” Peggy said as she joined them in the kitchen. “It always seems like a wasted few minutes to set it. No one breaks into these houses.”

“They did tonight.” A short, thin man with a large nose on his swarthy face walked in through the kitchen door.

Sam, Hunter, Keeley, and Steve stared at him. “He must be a security alarm salesperson,” Hunter whispered.

“Uncle Dalton!” Paul greeted his great-uncle as he entered the kitchen. “How are you? How’s Aunt Sarah?”

“She’s fine, Paul. Thank you for asking.” But though Dalton spoke to his great-nephew and shook his hand, his narrow brown eyes were focused on Peggy. “I’d like a moment of your time, Peggy. I know you’re busy, but what I have to say won’t wait.”

Peggy knew why he was there. He’d heard about the break-in on the news, and it fueled his resolve to get her out of the family estate.

She tried to stiffen her back, but it hurt from leaning over the pond, cleaning up the mess. She was in no mood to accommodate Dalton’s demands or his rude manner. Steve moved closer to her. She wanted to lean on him and absorb some of his strength, but she knew she had to do this alone. “Not right now, Dalton. Neither one of us wants to do this right now.”

The old man pulled his heavy black coat closer around his emaciated frame. “Very well. If you don’t mind a public forum, I certainly don’t mind. You aren’t able to take care of this house anymore. You need to give it back to the trust.”

“The trust is set up so that the widow of the man who inherits the house can live here until she dies,” Peggy reminded him. “I’m not dead yet.”

“If I can’t appeal to your generous nature in letting go of the estate so my son’s family can live here, I’ll take it to court. You don’t need a house this size, and you certainly aren’t able to care for it. You just admitted you don’t have time to set a simple alarm system. Do you think John would want you living in his family’s ancestral home and destroying it?”

Peggy squared her shoulders, the only part of her that wasn’t aching. “I don’t care. I love this house, and I intend to live here as long as I can. I’ll fight you in court if necessary. It won’t make for pleasant family holidays, Dalton. Think carefully before you take that course of action.”

He put his black felt hat on his head. “I’ll see you in court, Peggy. Good night all.”

His departure was as sudden as his entrance, leaving behind a stunned silence. The group turned to look at Peggy, who shrugged and grabbed another box of trash bags from the cabinet. “Are you going to stand there and eat pizza or are you going to clean?”

Everyone followed her back upstairs. “Can he do that?” Paul asked. “Can he kick you out?”

“I have a friend who can help you,” Hunter said. “All he does is inheritance law. He could take that guy out with one hand tied behind his back.”

“Let’s not talk about that right now,” Sam urged. “I’d like to get home sometime tonight. What else needs to be done?”

“My bedroom and the kitchen,” Peggy answered, relieved that they stopped talking about her losing the house. It was one of her greatest fears. If she lost the house, it would be like losing John all over again. So much of her life was here. She wouldn’t let Dalton take that away from her without a fight.

“We’ll go downstairs and tackle the kitchen,” Hunter and Keeley agreed.

“I’ll go downstairs and supervise,” Sam said. “Otherwise nothing will get done but a lot of giggling.”

“You’re just jealous,” Hunter accused. “I have friends and a boyfriend.”

“How’s that going?” Keeley asked her.

“Wait until I tell you . . .” Hunter’s voice trailed down the long stairway.

“Great!” Sam threw up his hands. “Not only do I have sleep to catch up with and hundreds of philodendron to plant tomorrow, I have to listen to Keeley and Hunter gossip about David.”

“You could be more supportive,” Peggy reminded him. “You didn’t want to spend all your time with your sister. She found someone who wants to be with her.”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me.” Sam grinned and followed the two women downstairs.

When all three of them were gone, Steve shook out a trash bag and smiled at Peggy. “Where do you want me to start?”

“Could you start with Dalton?”

He laughed. “I could. But I’d probably need your help getting rid of the body. You’re better at that kind of thing.”

“Dalton doesn’t really bother me,” Peggy admitted. “This break-in is a lot more confusing.”

“How so?”

“Because it seems so pointless. Nothing stolen. Nothing written on or abused except for things that were in the way.” She shook her head. “Someone was looking for something. But what?”

“I don’t know. You said nothing was missing. I tend to agree with the police. This looks like something kids would do.”

“Nothing that I know of is missing. But the timing is too perfect. I don’t believe kids did this. And I don’t believe this was a random happening. Someone knew I wasn’t here and they had plenty of time to search the house from top to bottom. Maybe someone thinks I have something that could incriminate them.”

Steve looked bewildered. “You mean something to do with the murder case? Someone knows you’ve been poking around. What could you possibly have? If someone wanted to keep you from discovering anything else, they should’ve smashed your computer.”

“What if they think I have more than that?” She sat on the side of her bed and pushed her tired thoughts forward. “I was in Isabelle’s house while the crime scene team was still working. Isabelle’s body had just been removed. Maybe they think I found something and kept it.”

“The dragon’s head is still missing.” Mai suggested as she and Paul joined them in the bedroom. “Maybe whoever did it thinks you have the dragon’s head from Isabelle’s walking stick. We haven’t been able to find it. Maybe he or she can’t find it either.”