Poisoned Petals

She smiled and patted his cheek. “Definitely not, dear. Have a nice day. I’ll see you for dinner.”

“What was he talking about, Margaret?” her father asked once they were outside the house in the cool morning air. Fog swirled around the gnarled old oak trees and cloaked the morning sun. “Have you done something weird lately?”

Steve grinned. “Did she do weird stuff as a kid?”

“All the time,” her father confided. “There was that time they were going to cut down an old oak in the village square. She chained herself to it. The fire department had to get a locksmith to get her off. She’s a pistol.”

“So what are we doing weird this morning, Margaret?” Steve asked her.

“Nothing. I believe you have a surgery this morning. You told me about it last night.”

He swore softly. “That’s right A poodle with a growth on his ear.”

“Wow! I’d like to see that!” Her father beamed.

“Good. Why don’t you go with Steve, and he’ll show you how it’s done. I’ll see the two of you later.” Peggy was already walking toward the garage as she spoke. Sometimes things worked out okay anyway.

“But I’d rather spend the time with you, sweet pea,” her father said. “Especially if you’re going to be alone.”

“I’ll be fine, Dad.”

Steve’s forehead furrowed. “What do you have in mind, Peggy?”

“Nothing weird or unusual. I just have to do a few things at the mortuary prior to Darmus’s memorial service. That’s all.”

“Then I want to go with you.” Her father decided the matter. “Maybe next time, Steve.”

“Yes, sir.” Steve nodded toward him, but his worried eyes stayed on Peggy. “Maybe you can keep her out of trouble. I don’t seem to be able to.”

Her father laughed. “Hasn’t worked out for me, either, son. But I’ll do my best.”

Peggy had enough of their banter. Really, you’d think she was a teenager! She pressed the remote to open the garage and took out her keys. Her father was going with her. There wasn’t much she could do about it.

Her truck started up easily when she turned the key. Her father climbed in after her and smoothed his hand over the dark interior. “This is a beauty!”

“Thanks. The back is filled with batteries, but it hauls a trailer pretty well. I can drive it around town on a single charge.”

“Wow! Did you do it yourself?”

“With some help from an engineering friend and a mechanic.”

“I have a tractor I’m tinkering with. It’ll burn hydrogen when I’m done with it.”

“Great minds,” she quoted, then applied herself to redirecting his attention. “Listen, Dad. I’ll drop you off at a coffee shop near the mortuary. Then when I’m done, I’ll pick you up.”

“Don’t be silly, Margaret! I’ll go with you, and then we can both get some coffee afterward.”

She argued with him, but nothing she said changed his mind. Sighing over the stubborn men in her life, she finally gave in. “I do have something unusual planned. I’m not really going to the mortuary to check on things for the memorial service. Not exactly anyway.”

“Really?” He grinned. “Could’ve fooled me!”

“Am I that obvious?”

“I’m the man who had to drag you home after they unchained you from that tree, little lady. You can’t fib to me. I don’t know about Steve and Paul. But I don’t think they believed you weren’t doing something weird, either. They just weren’t as stubborn about going with you.”

“All right.” She detailed her plan for him. “Once I do this, I’ll know one way or another about Darmus. No one else is going to look for this but me. I have to check it out.”

“You’re like a starving dog with a bone.” He shook his head. “But I understand that you have to know the truth. What can I do to help?”

6

Lemon Verbena

Botanical: Aloysia triphylla

Family: Verbenaceae

Lemon verbena was brought to Europe by Spanish explorers in the seventeenth century from Argentina and Chile. It was grown for its lemony oil that was used in perfume and beverages until cheaper lemongrass oil replaced it. The plant has medicinal sedative properties.

TOGETHER, PEGGY AND HER FATHER walked into the venerable Charlotte mortuary whose sign boasted