you.”
They went into the library, and Peggy closed the door behind them with a wry smile at her son, who was left staring after them.
Peggy sat in her favorite burgundy velvet chair and urged Mai to sit down, too. It wasn’t that long ago the young assistant medical examiner was at her house every day. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“This isn’t a social call,” Mai told her. “There’s some evidence the ME would like you to have a look at.”
“What kind of evidence?”
“It involves the hyacinth you gave him from Luther Appleby’s shirt pocket. He thought you might like to consider starting on that contract work the two of you talked about.”
Peggy felt a little thrill of excitement run through her. She was still a little uncertain about being a forensic botanist, even a part-time one. But she loved the idea of work that involved digging into the depths of what really separated one plant from another and looking at the vast array of botanical evolutions. She figured she could handle the dead bodies. “Let me get my coat.” They walked out into the foyer, where Paul and Peggy’s father were waiting. “I have to go out for a while,” she told them.
“Now?” Both men echoed, then glanced at each other uncomfortably.
“Jinx!” Aunt Mayfield called out. “Y’all come and eat now! The food is getting cold!”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Peggy responded, “save me some potatoes.”
“They have lard in them,” Paul told her.
“Never mind.” She shook her head. “I’ll get something while I’m out.”
“I’m sorry to have to come and get you this way,” Mai apologized when they were outside in the rapidly cooling evening air.
“Don’t be silly. This is the best way to find out if I want to do this on a part-time basis. Normally I don’t have a whole house full of people. But that’s okay.”
Mai drove them to the ME’s office. It was only a few minutes on the nearly empty roads, but their conversation faltered. Peggy didn’t know why Mai wasn’t saying much. Usually the two of them chattered together like magpies. Maybe she was thinking about Paul.
When they reached the office, Mai suddenly apologized for being so quiet. “I hope you don’t think I’m angry with
“I’m not upset at all. I’m sorry you and Paul couldn’t have worked things out between you.”
“Sometimes, I am, too. But it’s okay, you know?” She pulled down her bright yellow jacket. “I’m good.”
Peggy hugged her. “Yes, you are!”
“Paul probably doesn’t even deserve me.”
“He’s my son, Mai. I can’t go that far. I already had names picked out for the grandchildren.”
“Names?”
“Nicknames. You know. Sparky. Corky. Sooner. Wheezy. Bowtie.”
“How many children were we supposed to have?” Mai laughed. “And why do they sound like the names of the seven dwarfs?”
“Ladies?” Dr. Harold Ramsey, Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner, tapped his foot impatiently as he waited inside the doorway for them. “I hope I’m not cramping your style too much?”
Peggy wasn’t impressed with his bravado. “We’re here. That’s what matters. What do you want me to look at?”
He frowned, his thick glasses sliding down his nose as he glanced around the empty hallway and then pulled them both inside the office, closing the door behind them. “One of the churches did an audit on the Feed America program and found money missing. Captain Rimer obtained a search warrant for Professor Appleby’s office at the university. The officers found records of the missing money. And something more.”
“Well, tell us,” Peggy scolded. “What else did they find?”
“They found a detailed explanation of how to use
11
Wisteria
PEGGY WASN’T IMPRESSED. “Like Darmus would need to look up and print out a way to do that!”
