“I haven’t done anything wrong. I think I’ll wait for Lucas, thank you.”
He flexes his fingers and then balls both hands tightly. His face is getting a bit red. He’s angry. He scowls again and asks, “Why do you want a lawyer if you haven’t done anything wrong? I think it’s because you poisoned Miss Kelleher’s vitamin water in the elevator. Your prints are on the bottle.”
I pressed my lips together and looked at him.
He leaned across the table and his coffee tobacco breath hit me hard. “If you don’t tell me now, it will be worse for you. I’ll see to that.”
I crossed my arms and said, “I’m waiting for my lawyer. Leave me alone Detective Heidelberg.”
He yelled, “It’s Berg.” He stood so quickly the chair he was using flew across the room.
“No, it’s not,” I yelled back. “I know your parents for goodness sake.”
The door flew open, and Officer Bill Todorov stood in the doorway. “Is everything okay in here? I heard a crash. Oh hi, Annie, I mean Mrs. Ryan.”
I smiled at the first friendly face I had seen in an hour, “Hi, Bill. How are you? I’m waiting for Lucas.”
“I saw Mr. Stone walk in just a minute ago. He should be right in to see you.” He smiles.
The detective’s face was as red as a fresh summer beet, and he screamed, “Get out of here, Todorov. We don’t need you. Mrs. Ryan and I aren’t finished.”
“Yes, you are,” Lucas’ voice cut Detective Berg off at the knees. I smiled and waved my fingers at him.
“C’mon Annie, we’re leaving.” Lucas said.
I stood and followed Lucas out of the interrogation room. I heard a few obscenities spewed before I was out of earshot.
Poor, Bill. I hope he doesn’t get the brunt of the detective’s anger. I’ll let Lucas know how I was treated and that Berg was awful to Bill, too.
Once safely in Lucas’ car, I told him the entire story.
Lucas told me not to worry. Berg was just fishing. Mags was poisoned, but the amount in her system was more than came from her bottle of vitamin water.
Okay, Annie. Someone is after you and Mags. You and Mags are the only two with a claim to Yummy. Someone is after the estate, but which of the three Kelleher men is responsible? Georgie and I need to brainstorm.
Just before Lucas dropped me back at my store, he said, “If you need me again, don’t hesitate to call day or night. Also, don’t answer any police questions. Direct them to me.”
I thanked him and walked to the shop. The closed sign was on the door, but I needed to check and make sure everything was okay.
#######
I walked into the bookstore but left the closed sign on the door and didn’t turn on the overhead lights. I walked to my backroom and heated water for a cup of tea. When my tea was ready, I walked to the seating area of the store and turned on a small lamp on the side table next to the couch. I sat and pulled out my phone. I texted Georgie and Clark to let them know I was out of custody. I called Aunt Irene to let her know. Yummy was fine and playing outside at her cottage. I told her I’d be home after I stop at the market. I sipped my tea when I felt my phone vibrate. A row of smiley faces and “I’ll call later” text from Georgie showed on my phone. A few minutes later another text arrived from Clark. He sent one smiley face but added an image of a burger and “I’ll see you at dinner.”
I hope he isn’t expecting burgers. I planned to grill chicken and beef strips along with veggies to make fajitas. I hope he likes them. If he doesn’t, he’ll have to have a peanut butter sandwich. I’m hungry for fajitas.
I headed for the market mentally making a list of what I needed to buy.
I was busy adding things to my cart. One aisle left, and I’d be on my way home when I heard a voice that grated on my nerves. I turned and saw Claudine with her best friend, Barbara.
Claudine strode up to me and looked in my cart. “That’s a lot of food for one person, but rumor has it that you’re spending too much time with Clark Cavenaugh.”
Barbara laughed. I shot her one of my angry looks, and she stopped.
“What I do is none of your business.” I turned my cart and walked away.
She called after me, “What is lover boy going to do when you’re in prison for trying to kill Mags Kelleher?” Her laughter followed me while I finished the last of my shopping.
Hmm, if it didn’t put me in a bad light I would walk right up to Miss Smarty Pants and tell her if she thinks I tried to kill Mags then she should be careful because she’s enemy number one on my list. I’d love to see the look on her face. I better not do it.
I smiled and hurried through check-out and headed home.
#######
I was happy Jimmy’s market sold the chicken and beef strips pre-cut. I placed the meat in the fridge, and I washed and sliced three peppers, one green, one red, and one yellow. A sliced red onion added a nice touch. I began to sauté them in one pan while the meet sautéed in another. I wasn’t sure if Clark liked fajitas. I bought the usual flour tortillas, but also hard corn tortilla shells that could be made into delicious tacos. Jimmy also made fresh salsa every day and the spicy aroma made my mouth water. I cheated a bit and bought a boxed Spanish rice side-dish mix. Laci prepared it when she was home for spring break, and it was good. Grated cheddar cheese added a final touch.
With dinner under control, I hurried over to Aunt Irene’s to pick up Yummy. They were curled up
