“Go away, Peggy.” He turned to leave the room.
“Wait! Let me help you. Don’t be so stubborn. Are you sick?”
He came back to the door and opened it so quickly that she took a step back. “Am I sick? No, I’m not sick! I’m angry! You lied to me and sneaked out last night to meet your strange
She smiled and held up her plastic zip-seal bag. “I have muffins.”
“Do you think leftover muffins are going to make me feel better?” He scrutinized her face. “Are you sleeping with him?”
“You’re a botanist, and you have a child. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Answer the question. Are you sleeping with him?”
“Why not?”
“I haven’t slept with anyone s-since John. I wouldn’t sleep with anyone except—”
“Except?” He prodded her.
“You.” She smiled, knowing her heart showed in her face. “I wouldn’t sleep with anyone except you.”
He grabbed her wrist in one hand and the bag of muffins in the other. “Get in here.”
Peggy giggled. When she realized it, she hiccupped. “There’s no coffee.”
“We can have coffee and muffins later.” He kicked the door closed and locked it. “I think there’s something else we should do first.”
THEY WERE LOUNGING in Steve’s kitchen eating muffins and drinking coffee much later than either of them had planned on leaving that morning. It didn’t matter. Peggy had lost her early jump on the day and was still smiling. Steve was ignoring messages from his answering machine.
“So you found cottonseeds in Holles’s office and Luther’s office. There was a piece of a cottonseed on the hyacinth you think killed Luther and at the crime scene in the Community Garden. Harwood’s brother owns a dairy farm where cows eat cottonseeds.” He went over what she’d told him. “That makes it look like he visited Luther. But couldn’t that be explained? He lived in a rural county where there are probably lots of dairy farmers.”
“It could be explained. But it’s all I’ve got.”
“So you think Holles drugged Darmus and talked him into pretending he was dead to take over Feed America. But they gave it to Luther, so he killed Luther. How could he be certain the Council of Churches would let him take over after that? Isn’t there someone else who could be in line for the job?”
“Not as far as I can tell. There’s not a lot of order in the organization. They relied heavily on Darmus running the group. And they
“I see. And of course, he’s still running it.”
“But he won’t be running it from prison if he’s convicted of killing Luther.”
“So what’s next?” Steve sipped his coffee. “I know you have something else in mind.”
“I’m going to talk to Al about the cottonseeds. It might not mean anything, but I think he should know.”
“Good plan.” He approved. “Get the police involved.”
“And I’m going to plant my white garden.” She got to her feet and stretched. “I’ll see you later.”
“Is that it?”
“Is what it?”
He smiled lazily. “I feel so cheap. Not even the promise of dinner. You might as well have left some money on the bedside table.”
“You’re crazy!” Peggy laughed as she kissed him. “You might not want to see me at dinner. I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk after so much unusual exercise today. I haven’t planted a large garden like this or—or—”
“Or made love?”
“That, too . . . in a long time.”
“Thank you.” He hugged her. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. And thank
His phone rang again, and while he answered it, Peggy slipped out the kitchen door. This was a good thing. Isn’t this what she was thinking about last night when she couldn’t sleep and she was worried about doing something stupid with Nightflyer? She walked home quickly, not noticing the traffic now, humming under her breath as she got the truck out to go to the Potting Shed.
“Looking for some company?” Her father walked out of the house when he saw her.
“Aren’t you and Mom doing something today?”
He scratched his head. “She’s going to some crystal shop on the outskirts of town with your aunt. I’d rather do almost anything else.”
“You know, it would be okay if you just said you’d rather be with me,” she told him. “But hop in. I’m going to set out a garden, so you’d better be prepared to work.”
