Chapter Twenty-three
Mavis went into the kitchenette, pulled a plastic container of homemade lemon sugar cookies from a shelf under the counter and began arranging them on a large plate. Connie set two boxes of mixed tea bags on the table and distributed mugs. Patience, Robin and Harriet took places at the table. Mavis brought the cookies and Connie poured hot water. Carla handed out napkins then perched on a stool at the island.
'Patience,” Harriet began, “do you think it's possible that one of Selestina's friends decided to spare her the indignity of dementia?'
'What are you talking about? Selestina didn't have dementia. She was as sharp as you or I. What gave you the idea she had dementia?'
Harriet was confused. Tom had been very clear. “I was talking to her son…” she began.
'Is Tom telling that story again?” Patience asked, a look of righteous indignation on her face. “Last year the school barely broke even, so Tom got this idea he could build assisted living apartments that were geared toward the arts. Someone had talked to him about how much money he could make if he turned the school into a multi- level senior care facility. He's been trying to convince Selestina she had some kind of dementia ever since.'
'Wouldn't that be pretty easy to disprove?” Robin asked. “All she'd have to do is have an evaluation. Do you know if she owned the property herself?'
Patience twined her fingers around the handle of her cup. “It's not that simple. Tom is her only child. She herself was an only child, so Tom is it as far as relatives go. Selestina didn't want to risk making Tom mad and being left all alone.'
'So, what was she going to do?” Harriet asked.
'She complained about it to anyone who would listen, but she wasn't willing to do anything,” Patience said, and sighed. “I told her I would help her, but she wouldn't hear of it. Her plan, if you could call it that, was to try to get more students, so she could put off closing. She figured she couldn't stop him from building the apartments in the meadow by the pond, but she could keep signing students up for long-term programs and keep him at bay.” She slipped a crumpled tissue from her pocket and began rolling the edge between her fingers, leaving a small pile of lint on the table.
'That sounds like a disaster in the making,” Mavis said.
'It's been a terrible strain on Selestina. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out her heart gave out in the end.'
'That's not likely,” Harriet said. “The police are pretty sure she was killed with a plant poison.'
'Well, that would be right up Tom's alley,” Patience said. “He was a botanist for the forest service before he came home to work at the school.'
Harriet leaned back in her chair. It was a lot to take in. Patience sipped her tea and reached for a cookie.
'Is there going to be a memorial service for Selestina?” Mavis asked.
'Every session we have a meeting on the Sunday before everyone goes home. We usually do show-and-tell, and people talk about their classes. We thought this Sunday we would do a tribute to Selestina. Of course, we'll do a proper memorial in town. Selestina was a big part of this community, after all.'
'I thought she'd never leave,” Harriet said fifteen minutes later when Patience had finally finished her cookie and tea and made her exit. “Her little bombshell certainly puts a different spin on things.'
'Oh, yeah? What spin is that?” Aiden said as he came in followed by Carla, who had apparently been the only one to hear him knock.
Mavis quickly summarized the information Patience had conveyed.
'I knew there was something off about that guy,” he said when she'd finished.
'Being a botanist isn't proof he killed his mother,” Harriet protested.
'Yeah, but knowing about an obscure yet plentiful poisonous plant does put him in the running, and at the front of the pack, if you ask me.'
'That still doesn't make it okay to hit him,” Connie reminded him.
'Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know-use my words not my fists. You've been telling me since I was seven years old.'
'And I will
'What did we really learn here tonight?” Robin asked the group.
'Tom thinks Selestina had dementia,” Connie said.
'And Tom wants to build some sort of assisted living facility here,” Mavis added.
'Someone is working hard to make us think Lauren prepared the poison that killed Selestina,” Harriet said.
'Bainbridge has the knowledge to prepare the poison,” Aiden said, and sat down next to her.
'Person or persons unknown are running a quilt counterfeiting operation and may or may not be willing to kill people to defend it. That is, if you believe the person who lit the fire knew we were in there,” said Harriet.
'Lauren's brother might have set us up,” said Carla. Her cheeks immediately reddened.
Harriet looked at her and smiled. “Good point.'
'Unfortunately, none of this would stand up in court,” Robin pointed out. “None of it except the poison plants in Lauren's room. That would be considered evidence. Let's just hope whoever put it there wiped the container clean of prints, including Lauren's. That would at least be some help.'
'The damaged Ford Explorer must be evidence,” Aiden said.
'If they match the paint up with the white truck, it proves the two vehicles came in contact. It doesn't tell us who was driving the Ford, or how it connects to anything else. Sorry,” she added when she saw disappointment cloud his face.
'We aren't going to solve this tonight,” Mavis said. “I say we call it a night and see what tomorrow brings.'
'That would be a little easier for me if I knew where Lauren was,” said Robin.
'Sarah's not home, either,” Connie noted.
'Yeah, it's been kind of nice,” Aiden muttered. Harriet bumped him with her shoulder and tried to give him a stern look but grinned instead.
'You want to get up early and go into town for coffee?” he whispered to her. “I'll pick you up in my spiffy gray rental sedan.'
'Oh, be still my heart.'
'We haven't gotten to go on our date yet,” he pleaded.
'Okay,” she conceded, “you had me at coffee. What time?'
'That's the tricky part,” he said, still keeping his voice low.
'I can tell I'm not going to like this.'
Aiden shielded his face with his hands before speaking, peeking from between his spread fingers. “Six-thirty,” he said, and ducked.
'Oh, my gosh,” Harriet said then turned it into a cough when Connie asked her what was wrong.
'I'm fine. I just swallowed wrong,” she gasped, and looked at Aiden.
'You'll be up?'
'With bells on,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-four
Harriet gathered her half-rectangle pieces and stowed them in her bag. “I'm going to call it a night,” she said, and headed up the stairs. In spite of her intentions, however, it was several hours before she fell into a restless sleep.
She woke with a start at four in the morning. She listened for the telltale sound of a door closing on the floor
