“I am,” she agreed. “I’m just worried about everything else going on.”
“We’ll take care of that.” Darmus snapped his fingers. “Everything will be right as rain again. You’ll see.”
“I think you might need this.” Peggy took his wedding band out of her pocket. “Luther had it when they found him dead in the garden.”
Darmus took it from her and slid it on his finger. “Yes. He’d promised to bring it to me. I felt naked without it. It was the one thing I couldn’t bear to leave behind.” He looked up at her. “I wish I’d been there to get it from him. Maybe he would still be alive today.”
Peggy couldn’t help it. She had to ask. “Where were you?”
Darmus shook his head. “I’m not sure. I remember getting ready to go to the garden. It all becomes hazy after that. The next thing I knew, it was night. The mushroom took my memory away from me.”
“We have to come up with a list of people you think could have been drugging you,” Peggy said. “That might lead us to Luther’s killer as well.”
“Stay for dinner,” Darmus coaxed. “We’ll talk about it then.”
“I wish I could.” Peggy needed an excuse. “But my mother is at home by herself. I have to go. Maybe I could have a rain check on dinner.”
“Of course.” Darmus threw his arms around her. “I’ll talk to you later. We’ll find the answer to all this. Don’t worry.”
Peggy wasn’t so sure when she walked out with her father, leaving Rosie gazing happily into Darmus’s face.
“You’re not happy for your friend?” her father guessed.
“I’m happy for him. I guess I can’t figure out how it happened. If you could have seen her, Dad, when I talked with her in Asheville, she wasn’t anything like this about Darmus. And Abekeni was downright hostile. Why this turnaround?”
He shrugged. “It may be like she said. People can change their minds, Margaret. Maybe she did just that.”
“Or she decided Darmus could help Abekeni.”
“Maybe that, too. But he seems happy.”
“I think he is. But how will he feel if she’s only using him?”
“I believe he’ll cope. We all get used in one way or another. Look at me and your mother. She only wants me for my credit card.”
Peggy laughed. “But you’ve always known that.”
“True.” He shook his head. “Just let them be, sweet pea. Everything may be fine. A man might not mind being used when it comes to discovering he has a family.”
She knew he was right. Besides, she couldn’t bear to tell Darmus his family’s affection might not be genuine. “Let’s go out to Luther’s church before we go home for dinner. I’d like to take a look around before anyone else gets any ideas.”
“I’m sure Steve can handle your mother for a mite longer. He’s a good man, Margaret. I don’t know how you lucked out twice, but I believe you did.”
“Thanks, Dad. I think he is, too.” She told him how they met. “Meeting him has changed my life. And maybe he’s using me for something. If so, I don’t want to know. I guess that’s why I kept my mouth shut with Darmus.”
“I think that was the best course of action.” Her father commended her. “So let’s go and shake down Luther’s office.”
“Shake down?” Peggy laughed as she got in the truck.
“Yeah. You know. Fine PI you are!”
Peggy called Naomi to let her know they were coming out to the church. It wasn’t a great distance, but it wasn’t worth the trip if they couldn’t get inside to look around.
Traffic was light going out of the city, and the drive to Albemarle was fast. Sometimes it was much slower. The small town was only about thirty miles from Charlotte, but some of the way was still two-lane roads. It was easy to get stuck behind a tractor running slowly down the highway.
The church looked deserted when they got there, but Naomi was waiting for them out front. “Peggy! It’s good to see you! How are things coming with the investigation?”
Peggy introduced her father to Luther’s assistant. Then she answered Naomi. “Slow. The police believe Luther was murdered. I’m sorry. They think his brother did it.”
Naomi’s pretty face was troubled. “Would Darmus do something like that? Who would hurt their own brother?”
“No, he wouldn’t have hurt Luther,” Peggy reiterated. If only words could make it so. “But I’m trying to find out who did kill Luther.”
“Are you looking for something out here?”
“Yes. I’d like to take a look at Luther’s office, if you don’t mind. There may be something there that could give us some answers.”
“Of course.” Naomi led the way. “What do you think might be here?”
“I don’t know.” Peggy told her what she knew about Luther’s death. “So you see, whoever killed him knew
