Sales had been picking up since mid-April. It was the end of May, and the trend showed no sign of reversal. She knew it didn’t mean they wouldn’t have some slow time over the long, hot summer. But she hoped the new contracts they negotiated for landscaping services would carry them through. She wasn’t desperate, but she was still a little worried.
The Potting Shed was still a toddler. She knew the first five years were critical to a business, just like a child. She didn’t want to rush into early retirement from the university only to feel the pinch of financial strain.
But there were only so many hours in the day. The Potting Shed was taking up more and more time. She loved her work there as well as the side projects she took on for various friends and associates in her field. She believed those, plus her speaking fees as a poisonous plants expert, would carry her through. But that didn’t do anything for the large butterflies in her stomach.
Emil and Sofia disappeared out the door after her parents, but they returned at three with bagel sandwiches and tea. The shop had cleared out by then, leaving Peggy and Selena straightening up and replacing stock. The Balduccis glanced around as they entered through the heavy glass and wood door. “Where is everyone?”
Peggy looked up from trying to remove some gum from a box of fertilizer spikes. Small hands probably put it there while the child’s mother or father was browsing. “The lunch rush is finally over.”
“Thank God!” Selena sighed from behind a shelf of plant stakes.
“No. Your parents,” Sofia explained. “Where are they?”
“Probably still at the mall.”
Emil and Sofia exchanged meaningful glances. Sofia rolled her expressive eyes. “You think that is such a good idea? After all, they didn’t take to Steve too well, did they?”
“I think it will be fine.” Peggy refused to let them make her any more paranoid than she already was. “The food looks good!”
Emil and Sofia both sighed heavily, and Sofia crossed herself. “Did I ever tell you about my great-aunt Baba? Heaven forbid you should end up like her.”
Selena whispered to Peggy, “Here we go again.”
“My great-aunt Baba on my mother’s side was very independent. She owned a big house and a fine vineyard.”
“It’s true.” Emil validated his wife’s story. “She even had a big car. I think it was a Buick.”
“Baba only had one fault. She couldn’t pick a good man. Time after time my family watched her pick the worst of the bunch. Until finally my uncle Savio on my father’s side said, ‘Baba I will pick out a good man for you.’ That’s all it took. Sometimes we can’t see what’s best for us, Peggy. Sometimes we have to rely on our family and friends, you know?”
The phone rang, and Peggy ran to get it, grateful to get away from yet another parable that closely resembled her life.
“Don’t leave me here!” Selena ran after her. “I’m sure you need help answering the phone.”
Sofia crossed herself again. “May none of us know a death alone.”
Selena shook her head, blond/brown curls bouncing from her ponytail. “I’m going for a little walk, Peggy, before they launch into the next story. This is too weird for me.”
Peggy wished she could go with her, but already two new browsers were in the shop. Sofia began her new tale of woe. Peggy hoped her browsers would become buyers before she had to run screaming from the shop as well.
At four, Peggy put in a call to her friend, Detective Al McDonald, on the Charlotte Police Department. She didn’t plan to tell him everything, but she had to start somewhere. She needed some answers. There were pockets of questions in her mind
She could only speculate on what happened until she had some firm answers. It looked like the man she rescued from the burning house was made to look like Darmus. Someone, wanted him to be mistaken for Darmus.
And what about the police? They weren’t going to like the fact that a mistake was made in Darmus’s identity. How far were they supposed to go to identify a man who was clearly who he was supposed to be? And who
Peggy fingered Darmus’s ring in the pocket of her jeans. Was Luther going to give Darmus his ring back the day he was killed in the garden? Could the two brothers have been working together?
Luther acted strangely that day in the hospital. She couldn’t help but recall his speech in Albemarle. With Darmus’s death, a man of God
If so, it was short-lived. Now Luther was dead, too. Was he killed because he’d taken Darmus’s place? How much money was involved in Feed America anyway? And who would take Luther’s place?
7
Peppermint
