Fruit of the Poisoned Tree (7 page)

Peggy knew when she saw Beth’s pale, tearstained face the police had done their job. She was relieved but felt guilty at her own cowardice.

Beth made a mewling noise in the back of her throat, then launched herself into Peggy’s arms. “I can’t believe he’s dead,” she sobbed. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

“Let’s get inside,” Peggy urged her out of the chilly breeze. “I think we’ll need some tea.”

Beth was pliable, unable to really take in what happened. Fortunately, her two sons, six-year-old Reddman and eight-year-old Foxx, were still at school. “Should I bring them home? I don’t know what to do.”

Peggy took the cheerful orange kettle off the stove and poured steaming water into two mugs. Immediately the scent of last year’s lemon balm mixed with chamomile. She’d sent over a plentiful supply last fall. It was an abundant year for the herbs in her backyard. She knew Park and Beth both loved it. “The boys are fine for now. Take a moment for yourself. Once they get home, there’ll be no end to everything. Drink this. It will help.”

Beth slumped at the polished wood table. She sipped at the tea and raised empty eyes to her friend. “The sergeant from the Highway Patrol said you were there. He said you stayed with Park as long as you could.”

Peggy wrapped her hands around the hot mug for warmth. “I was. I saw what happened. I was on my way south, just before the ramp.”

“Tell me.” Beth didn’t look at her, focusing on the steam coming from the tea. “Tell me what happened.”

“I’m sure the sergeant already told you.” Peggy tried to convince her not to hear it again, even though she knew she’d wanted to hear what happened to John more than once. It seemed to make it more real.

“He did. I want to hear it from
you.
Please.”

Peggy took a deep breath and told her everything she knew about the accident. “I was there with him when he died.”

“Good.” Beth’s sable brown head nodded. “At least he wasn’t alone or with some stranger, wondering what happened.”

The silence between their words was as thick as the smell of the herbs. A grandfather clock in the hallway chimed the hour. One o’clock.

“Did he say anything?” Beth’s brittle voice asked out of the blanket of silence that enclosed them.

“Yes. He asked me to tell you he loved you and the boys.”

“That was Park. Always thinking of us first.”

“You were everything to him, especially after that first disaster.” Peggy shuddered, thinking about Park’s first attempt at marriage. It only lasted two years, but he put himself through hell with that woman. People said Beth was too young for him when they married. She was fresh out of college, and he was forty-two. But it worked for them.

“The police said he went off the overpass,” Beth said carefully. “Was it icy up there? He was always such a good driver.”

Peggy put her hand over Beth’s. “He told me he thought he fell asleep. He said he woke up as the car hit the ground. He said he’d been ill. Did you know about that?”

“That’s hard to believe, isn’t it? Park is always so alert. I’ve never known him to fall asleep in the car. Most of the time, it’s all I can do to persuade him he needs sleep at all. You know how he is. That’s one of the things I love about him.” Beth corrected herself in a flat voice. “Loved about him.”

“I know. I thought it was odd, too. But when I saw him in Philadelphia, he said he wasn’t sleeping well, and he looked ill.” Peggy squeezed Beth’s hand. “Do you think something was wrong? Could he have been sick and didn’t want to worry you? He said you made him go to the doctor for a checkup.”

Beth smiled slowly. “He’s kind of a baby when it comes to being sick. I’m always glad it doesn’t happen often. Even a cold might be pneumonia to him. It’s hard to imagine he could hide a serious illness. Besides, I saw the doctor’s report. He was healthy.”

“Did you notice him being more tired than usual after he came home?”

“No, not really. But he only got home late last night. Do you think something was wrong with him?”

Before Peggy could answer, the doorbell rang. Tears slipped down Beth’s cheeks as she took out a lacy handkerchief. “I hate to ask, but I don’t want to see anyone else right now. Could you get it?”

Peggy stood up and hugged her. “Not a problem. Shall I send whoever it is away? Have you called Isabelle or your family?”

“Not yet. Although I hope the police called Isabelle. I don’t want to talk to Park’s mother right now.” Beth wiped the tears from her face. “But you know
her.
She won’t come over here. I expect her to call me later when she thinks about the boys being here and Park being gone.”

“Okay. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take care of it.” Peggy smiled at her, then went to look out through the leaded glass embedded in the heavy front door. A large black man with a shaved head stood on the front step. She opened the door. “Al! I’m surprised to see you here!”

“Peggy.” He nodded solemnly. “I heard you were there when Mr. Lamonte died this morning. I’m sorry for your loss. Is his wife at home?”

“Beth’s here, But she’s not in any kind of shape for visitors.”

“I’m here in my official capacity.” He took out his badge through force of habit. “There seems to be some question about Mr. Lamonte committing suicide on that ramp this morning. I need to speak with his wife.”

“MY HUSBAND WOULD NEVER commit suicide.” Beth’s passionate condemnation of Al’s suggestion left the police detective with an understanding and patient expression on his dark face.

Peggy sat in the caramel and cream colored living room at the front of the house with them. She offered to wait in the kitchen for them, but Beth wanted her to stay. After hearing Al’s startling revelation, she was glad she obeyed her impulse to come to the house. It was ridiculous to know Park and imagine him committing suicide. She felt as strongly about it as Beth did.

“No one ever expects a loved one to take his or her own life,” Al explained. He took out a small notebook from the inside pocket of his heavy coat. “Your husband suffered some severe stock losses the last few years. Maybe that had something to do with his decision. Sometimes men get too worried about taking care of their families. They opt to let them have their life insurance. That way, they don’t have to see them suffer.”

“Life insurance?” Beth scoffed. “How could that
ever
replace him? Will money help my sons grow up without a father? Will it keep me from being alone? The idea is stupid and irrational!”

“Desperate people do desperate things, Mrs. Lamonte. No one else can understand what goes through a person’s mind when they think what they’re doing is best for everyone. Those are dark thoughts. Nothing
we’d
comprehend unless we were in his state of mind. But maybe Park thought about those things. Maybe that was what was in his mind this morning when he went over the ramp. There’s no way for you to know.”

Beth glanced at Peggy with a growing expression of horror. “Then there’s certainly no way for
you
to know! Peggy, tell him. Park
wouldn’t
commit suicide. He was dedicated to his family, but he wouldn’t kill himself for any amount of money.”

Peggy didn’t know what to say. She knew what Al was getting at. After listening to John talk about suicides and accidents during his years as a police officer and later, a homicide detective, she knew the psychology behind the difficult accusation. But it was unreal to her. Like everyone else who was shocked by the death of a close friend or loved one, she couldn’t imagine it could be true.

But even though she knew Park well, she couldn’t see inside his head. Neither could Beth. The analytical researcher in her brain told her to remain objective, even though her heart was crying out in pain. She still wanted to find some way to prove it didn’t happen the way Al was suggesting.

Maybe this would be a good time to tell him what Park confided in her before he died. “He said he fell asleep at the wheel. He was ill. I don’t think he
meant
to kill himself. It just happened. I’m sure it was an accident.”

Al’s red-rimmed brown eyes narrowed. “What makes you think that?”

“I was with him for those few minutes before he died.” Peggy told him what Park said and about her encounter with him in Philadelphia. “I think he was more sick than he realized. He seemed very tired.”

“You know a predeath confidence weighs heavily with the department.” He wrote down what she said in his notebook. “I take it you’d be willing to swear to this under oath?”

She nodded. “Beth’s right about him, too. I’ve known him longer than I’ve known you. You knew him, too. He went to school with you and John, didn’t he?”

Al squirmed a little on the caramel-colored sofa. “It’s true we were both friends of John’s, but Park and I barely knew each other, and
that
was years ago. You know how his parents were. They had a thing about him hobnobbing with us
poor
folk.”

He didn’t elaborate, but Peggy felt the words
black folk
hovering in the air between them. There was no excuse for it, but prejudice still lingered.

It was worse when Park, John, and Al were growing up in Charlotte. The city changed as people moved there from all parts of the world in the 1970s and 80s, bringing their cultures and traditions with them. But until then, it was a small, tightly closed environment.

“I understand. I guess you’ll just have to take
our
word for it. He wasn’t the type of man to give up that way. A few business losses wouldn’t do that to him.”

“I’d like to debate this issue, Peggy. But you know I can’t. This is an ongoing investigation until we get some answers. Maybe if he fell asleep at the wheel, it would make sense there were no skid marks on the ramp. He didn’t even
try
to stop. We always look into things like this, especially when a ten million dollar life insurance policy is involved.”

Beth’s slender hand went to her throat, and her brown eyes blinked almost comically. “Ten m-million dollars? Park never told me.”

Al shrugged his big shoulders. “He planned well for you and your sons, Mrs. Lamonte. As soon as the insurance company was informed of his death, all the bells and whistles started up. A questionable death brings out the investigators on big policies. I just want to warn you.”

“Will they do an autopsy on him?” Peggy asked.

“No!” Beth shook her head as she started to her feet. “No! It’s bad enough. No autopsy.”

Peggy understood what Beth was feeling, but counseled, “It’s the only way to really know what happened to him. An autopsy could prove his death
wasn’t
a suicide.”

“No,” Beth disagreed.

Al took a deep breath. “I’ll do what I can, Mrs. Lamonte. But chances are the insurance company will insist. I’m sorry.”

“Can they do that? Even though I forbid it? I’m his
wife.
Don’t I have any recourse? Can I get a judge to issue a stay?”

“You’ll have to ask your lawyer that question.” He rolled to his feet. “I’d suggest you get one of Park’s associates on board right away. I’ve worked cases like this. You’ll need someone to advise you.”

Beth was wild-eyed, bordering on hysteria. “Thank you, Detective. I appreciate your honesty. When Park’s mother hears about this insurance policy, it’s going to be a lot worse than any investigation. A lawyer can’t protect me from
that.
”

Al glanced at his notes, “You don’t get along with Park’s mother?”

“Does
anyone
get along with Isabelle Lamonte?” Beth’s tone challenged him to deny her claim.

At that moment, Reddman and Foxx raced through the door, throwing aside their jackets and book bags and calling for their mother. Beth excused herself and went to talk to them while Peggy walked with Al to the front door.

“That isn’t much to go on,” she told him. “No skid marks, losing some money, and a big life insurance policy. If he fell asleep, he wouldn’t have been able to hit the brakes. That’s pretty simple. Everyone’s lost money on stocks in the last few years. And I’d be more amazed if a man like Park
didn’t
have a ten million dollar life insurance policy.”

“You know I’m doing what Lieutenant Rimer tells me, and he just does what they tell him. We’re all just cogs in the wheel. The life insurance company doesn’t want to pay out that ten million dollars if they don’t have to. You know better than most how it goes. Maybe you can help your friend.” He chuckled. “Wish you could’ve seen the look on the lieutenant’s face when he saw
your
name on the report! He said there was going to be trouble if you were involved. I’m afraid you solving that murder in your shop still rankles him a little.”