A Taste of Death (Maggie Olenski Series) (21 page)

BOOK: A Taste of Death (Maggie Olenski Series)
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"Well, yes. Some of each. And a few cousins."

"I don't have anyone."

Leslie sa
id it very matter-of-factly, which
stopped
Maggie
cold.

"You mean, no family whatsoever?"

"No family, nothing. Mama died before I finished high school. Never had a daddy. No husband now, either. Although, I didn't really have him for quite a while."

Maggie said nothing, and Leslie continued.

"I knew about his affair with Elizabeth, you know. But I also knew about the affairs before that." She reached for her water glass and took a swallow, looking up after a moment with a bright smile. "But I asked about you, and here I am talkin' about me. Just ignore me and go on."

Mmm. "Let's see. What else. Oh, I managed to get through college, and have been teach
ing high school math ever since
and loving it."

Leslie loo
ked at Maggie. "You must be really
smart."

Maggie laughed, shaking her head, and popped a marinated mushroom in her mouth.

"You are," Leslie insisted. "Smart women don't mess up their lives like I have."

"I guess it helps to have someone watching out for you," Maggie said, softly.

"Uh-huh."

The phone rang, and Leslie stood up to answer it.

"Oh, Dan, hi," she said, and wandered a few steps into the kitchen, receiver to her ear. Maggie played the part of the good guest, absorbed in her food and pretending not to hear a word of a conversation that had nothing to do with her. But in fact there was little to hear. Dan, it seemed, did most of the talking. Leslie finally did murmur a few words at the end, but her back was to Maggie, who could decipher none of it.

Leslie ended the call
and returned to her chair.

"Dan's so sweet," she said as she took her plate back onto her lap. "He offered to come over with some of his fabulous wild mushroom soup. He knows how I love it. But I told him we still had enough leftovers to feed an army."

"Maybe he should take the soup over to Karin."

"Hmm? Oh. Yes. Perhaps he will." Leslie looked doubtful. Whether it was over the possibility of Dan's taking something to Karin, or over how she, Leslie, would feel if Dan took something to Karin, Maggie couldn't tell.

Maggie felt a surge of protectiveness for this so-alone woman across from her. A well-spring of sisterly, motherly, grandmotherly advice, the kind Leslie may never actually have been given, bubbled up. "Leslie, do you know anything about Dan, other than that he's a restaurant owner?"

"Dan? Well, no, I guess not. I do know he's a widower." Leslie offered that extra bit of information proudly, as though to prove she wasn't totally in the dark.

"Did you know him when he was in Atlantic City? I think you said something about Jack having a hotel there."

"No. I never met Dan until we came here. Why?"

Maggie hesitated. "It's just, well, it's probably not a good idea, right now, for you to jump into anything. I mean, you've had it pretty rough, emotionally, for a while, and maybe you need to take some time ou
t. Just to get your head straight
. Don't you think?"

Leslie stared at Maggie, who waited, not sure what kind of reaction was coming.

"Was I getting into something?" Leslie asked.

"It looked like you might be"

Leslie stared some more, and Maggie could almost see the wheels and cogs of her mind working. They might have been a little rusty, but they still worked. "I think you're right. I didn't realize it, but it was awfully nice to have a man, an attractive man, care about me."

"There's nothing wrong with that. I'm just suggesting you hold off a bit. Don't get into something until you're sure it's what you really want. No need to rush into things."

"No, you're right, there isn't. You know, I do have to fly back to New York. Jack's business partners have put together a memorial service now that his body has been finally released for cremation. I'll have to go and play the grieving widow. Jack's lawyers wanted me to stay around some, to talk about all the financial stuff. I was hoping to put that part off - the thought of staying at our apartment there for too long just, just... well, even with Mrs. Hanson there with me, it would seem awful cold and depressing.

"It was startin' to feel a bit nicer here, especially with the party last night. Well, most of it. So I didn't want to stay in New York. But I suppose the better thing to do right now, the grown-up thing to do, would be to get things settled, and maybe take time to get my head
straight
, like you said."

Leslie looked at Maggie, as if for approval, and Maggie smiled.

"I think that's a good idea. You can always come back, you know."

"Yes, I can. And I could always close up that apartment in New York and move somewhere else too. Somewhere warm. I'm a southern girl, you know. I've never gotten used to these cold winters. Maybe I could even get back into modeling. But I don't need the money. I'd only take the jobs I really wanted."

It sounded to Maggie like Leslie was beginning to realize she co
uld take charge of her own life
and not simply depend on someone to take care of her. That was good. Just a beginning, but still good.

Something Maggie's mother used to say popped into her head: Long journeys began with small steps. She glanced at Leslie's shoe
s - high heeled, open-toed slides
, quite a bit on the flimsy side. Maggie hoped they were up to the trip.  

 

<><><>

 

Maggie left Leslie's house with a full stomach and slightly easier mind, as well as a couple of plastic containers of party leftovers Leslie insisted she take. She doubted she had learned anything that would help her solve Jack and Alexander's murders. But she had at least firmly crossed off one name from her list of possible suspects. Leslie's name had been mostly erased anyway. But the clincher for Maggie had been when she asked Leslie straight out who she thought had poisoned her husband.

Leslie had looked at Maggie with steady eyes. "I don't know, Maggie. But I'm sure as can be it wasn't Elizabeth, and I told the sheriff so. That may be making him look at me a lot closer, but I don't care. As long as he stops worryin' that poor girl"

Maggie put her car in gear and pulled away from the Warwick home for the second night in a row. Tonight hers had been the only car parked in front, and traffic was nearly non-existent. As she made the U-turn to head back home her headlights swung over a dark figure standing across the street against some trees.

A late-night jogger pausing to catch his breath? Someone walking her dog? Except the sidewalks were pretty icy for jogging, and Maggie saw no leash or dog. She mulled this over, feeling uneasy until she pulled into the cabin's driveway. Once again the cabin's windows looked down on her ominously th
rough the dark. Maggie shivered,
and regretted for a moment having let Dyna go
off
.

She pulled into the garage and climbed out of the car, locked the garage door, and hurried across the few feet to the cabin's steps. She was glad she had thought to leave a single lamp lit so that at least she wouldn't be stepping into a totally dark house.

Maggie shut
the
cabin's door firmly
and shot the dead bolt, feeling instantly better. As she turned around, though, movement at the edge of the stairs caught her eye, and she caught her breath.

Ali meowed, and marched up to her, seemingly as happy to see her as she was to realize it was him. When her heart beat returned to normal, Maggie reached down and swept the large cat up in her arms, nuzzling her face into his fur.

"Feeling lonely, boy? So am I. How about we stick together the rest of the night?"

Ali purred.

CHAPTER 20

 

M
aggie woke slowly the next morning, disturbing dreams lingering in her consciousness. Dreams that sprang from nightmarish memories. It was summer. She had been tied up and left alone in a dark, strange place, frantic to escape before a faceless killer returned.

Maggie tried to stir and found that, as on that summer night, she could not move. The realization jolted her fully awake, only to recognize that as well as being immobile she was not alone. Heavy breathing sounded in her ear.

Maggie's heart stopped. Then the fishy smell of cat food wafted to her. She lifted her head, wrinkling her nose. Ali lay beside her, having taken her up on last night's impulsive offer of togetherness, and made himself at home on the bed, weighing the covers down tightly
next to her with his bulk. With
the other edge of the sheets was tucked firmly under the mattress, Maggie was effectively pinned down. At first relief flooded her as her heart resumed its regular beat. Then grumpy annoyance moved in as she struggled to get loose. Her flailings failed to dislodge the immovable cat who had apparently staked a claim on that portion of her bed.

"Don't let me disturb you," Maggie m
uttered, when she managed to wriggle
up enough to l
ean over to his ear. Ali sighed
and nuzzled deeper into the comforter, oblivious
to her sarcasm. Maggie gave up
and climbed out of bed. She pulled the window curtain aside to let the light in, and saw snow falling. Lots of it.

The sight wasn't as thrilling as it had been the other morning, when Dyna had cheerfully called her attention to the new snowfall. For one thing, Maggie was alone, except for Ali. And for another, the snow was still coming down, heavily, which was disconcerting since she had no idea how long that would continue and what that would mean to her for the day ahead.

Well, nothing could be done about it, so she shuffled into her robe and slippers, ran her fingers through her tousled hair, and prepared to face the day.

Downstairs, not feeling hungry after last night's feast with Leslie, Maggie simply set up a pot of coffee to perk, then dutifully filled Ali's food and water bowls. As the coffee maker gurgled and hissed, she wandered over to the sliding glass door, hands in pockets, and looked out at the snow. A bleak feeling of isolation crept over her.

Although she knew she was walking distance - granted, not easy walking distance, especially now - from the town's main street, here on Hadley Road she was the only resident. And now, with Dyna away and only a sleeping cat for company, and with heavy snow cutting her off at least temporarily from other people, Maggie felt her aloneness keenly. She rubbed her arms, feeling cold, although she knew the cabin's temperature hadn't changed.

Suddenly she shook her head.
Enough! You told Dyna you were used to being on you
r
own, and you are. This is not a big problem.
Maggie turned back to the kitchen with determined energy. If she couldn't go out, she would have plenty to keep her
self
occupied. She'd work on her book. And when she couldn't write anymore, she'd clean the house. Wash windows. Anything. And before she knew it Dyna would call to tell her all she had been doing in Atlantic City.

The coffee maker hissed its final hiss, and she poured out a mugful of coffee and blew on it, eager to ta
ke her first sip. She was anxious to get started
and chase away the doldrums.

 

<><><>

 

Ali looked up through slitted, disapproving eyes as Maggie switched on the vacuum cleaner in her bedroo
m. He remained prone on the bed
and tolerated the disturbance warily as long as it kept beyond two feet of his nesting quarters. But when Maggie began bumping the edge of the bed with the noisy cleaner, Ali jumped up, not troubling to hide his contempt for her lack of consideration, and stalked out of the room.

A load of
wash was chugging in the washer
and one spinning in the dryer as Maggie vacuumed the entire upstairs area. The carpets hadn't been in dire need of cleaning - except for the likely deposits of cat hair in the last twenty-four hours - but Maggie needed noise, as well as the activity of vacuuming.

She had worked on h
er book for most of the morning
until the silence began to get to her. She swore she could hear the individual flakes landing outside, as the snow continued to come down. The phone had been disturbingly silent as well, even when Maggie stared right at it.

What was Dyna
doing? she wondered. Was she okay
? When was she going to call? Along with that thought had come uneasy ones about Rob. They hadn't actually talked for how long now
?
Maggie lost track. They each seemed to call only when the other was out
of reach
. Should she try again? What if sh
e just got his voice mail
? A stubbornness crept up that kept her from doing anything other than postponing the decision. And so she tried to keep busy.

When work at the computer didn't occupy her mind enough, when she reached points where she had run out of ideas and simply sat staring at the screen
,
she turned it off and sought out the cleaning supplies.

BOOK: A Taste of Death (Maggie Olenski Series)
5.28Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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