Poisoned Petals (16 page)

 
He had Naomi bring the letter to Peggy because Darmus was out there and might need a contact. Luther urged Darmus to turn himself in, assuming
he
was already dead and wouldn’t be hurt by the exposure.

 
Peggy truly wished Luther had thought of that
before
he and Darmus did this crazy thing. She could hardly imagine one grown man doing this. But two of them actually
accomplishing
it was preposterous.

Half an hour later, she walked with Naomi to the front door and watched her walk away through the courtyard. She’d managed to get the young woman’s phone number at the church. From what she’d seen of the letter, she might need it.

She’d comforted Naomi the best she could. It was never easy to learn your idol had feet of clay. It would take much longer for her to deal with the truth.

She planned on telling Darmus to turn himself in to the police, too,
if
she could find him. Maybe they would go easier on him. He had to know Luther was dead if he was still in Charlotte. Did he know of Luther’s plan to give her the information if something happened to him?

She was pretty sure the cell phone number was a link to Darmus, but there was no answer when she used it. She ended up leaving a message, telling him to meet her at the address in the envelope on Stonewall Street. She doubted he’d come.

In short, Darmus was in the worst possible trouble. She’d lived long enough with a police detective to know what Al would think. The autopsy result of a diseased liver would help him somewhat. At least they couldn’t accuse him of killing Albert Jackson. Luther’s letter would back him up on that.

But Darmus was still involved with perpetrating a fraud and probably violating several other laws and regulations by moving a dead body and changing dental records. It would all fall squarely on his thin shoulders when they found him.

The only thing she knew to do was to go to the address on Stonewall Street and look for Darmus. If she could convince him to turn himself in, it would be easier for him. If not, she would have to consider doing what her conscience told her was right for Albert Jackson, no matter what the personal cost to Darmus.

Peggy went home but planned to sneak out of the house later that night. She didn’t want to take her family with her, especially when she found out the address in the envelope was a nightclub.

Paul was working, thank goodness, so she didn’t have to explain her plan to find Darmus to him. He shouldn’t have to compromise his integrity because she had an idea about finding her friend. She didn’t know what he would do anyway. He might decide he had to turn Darmus in before she could talk to him. She was thankful she didn’t have to take that chance.

But when she explained she had to go out again after having coffee at Steve’s house, Aunt Mayfield, Cousin Melvin, Sam, and Steve all wanted to go with her.

“What will you do while I’m looking for Darmus?” she asked her relatives. She realized Steve and Sam could be useful, since they knew what Darmus looked like.

“We’ll just sit back and enjoy ourselves.” Her father nudged her mother. “We haven’t been in a nightclub for years, eh, Mama?”

“We don’t want to sit here and watch television.” Her mother got her pocketbook as though that settled the matter. “You don’t have many chores to do around here compared to the farm. And we
did
come here to visit with you, Margaret!”

“Sweet pea, you should try to slow down,” her father added. “You’d make the Energizer Bunny tired!”

“You’ll wear yourself out,” Cousin Melvin offered with a yawn.

“It will make you old before your time,” Aunt Mayfield chipped in.

“All right!” Peggy gave in. “You can come with me! But you’ll have to sit at a table and enjoy the music. You can’t help me look for Darmus. Too many of us could scare him away.”

“No need to lecture, Margaret!” her mother said. “We know how to behave in public.”

“Looks like
that’s
settled,” Steve responded. “I don’t think we can get everyone in my Vue for the trip over there, but I can use the van I borrowed to transport some sheep to the zoo.”

Peggy glanced at him, her expressive brows arched.

“Don’t ask. Let’s just say you have to do what you have to do to stay in business.”

“Great!” Peggy huffed beneath her breath.

“Say something, sweet pea?”

“No, Daddy. Let me get my jacket.”

THE NIGHT WAS CHILLY and misty after the light rain they’d had that day. They needed the moisture desperately. What they got didn’t even touch the bottom soil where it was really dry, but it was better than nothing. After the dry winter, it was going to be a difficult summer for people and plants. By fall, they’d all be crying for rain.

All of them piled into Steve’s van, although Sam opted to take his own car since he lived closer to the nightclub than to Peggy’s house. What was supposed to be a secret operation, finding Darmus and convincing him to turn himself in to the police, was now a major effort. Peggy knew her family would never sit at a table and wait for her. She had to find some way to integrate them into the search before they ruined everything.

The streets of Charlotte were crowded. Ironically, rain always seemed to bring people out. She had a friend who owned a small restaurant in Dilworth, another section of the city, who always swore the restaurant was more crowded when it rained.

Saturday nights were busy on the streets anyway. Peggy wasn’t sure, but she thought it might be race week at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. That always meant more people everywhere you went. Adding another 200,000 people visiting the speedway and events to keep them entertained was always hazardous.

When they arrived at the nightclub,
Crush
, a fashionable South Beach club on Stonewall, her worst fears were realized. It was packed. People were streaming in and out of the club and packed inside like turnips in a farm truck.

“Peggy, no one comes here on Saturday night,” Sam assured her when they met inside. “We’re wasting our time.”

“We have it to waste. Sit still. Look attractive. Maybe someone will take an interest in you.” She didn’t tell him this was her last opportunity to find Darmus without turning to the police. Darmus had wanted a different life, she considered, watching the dancers on the crowded floor. He was about to pay for it.

“I’m seeing someone,” Sam blurted out with a charming, boyish grin.

“That’s wonderful!” Ranson exclaimed.

“How nice, Sam!” her mother chirped in. “You’re such a good person. You deserve to meet someone.”

Peggy shook her head, more surprised by the break in her thoughts as she searched for Darmus, than Sam admitting he was seeing someone. It always amazed her that he
wasn’t
mobbed by admiring fans everywhere he went. He was gorgeous, smart, easygoing. If he were twenty years older and not gay . . . she dreaded explaining
that
part to her family. “Then what were you doing
here
last night?”

“We came here together. He works at UNCC. He’s a little older but—”

She made a face. “Please tell me you’re not dating a professor! Didn’t we just go through this with Selena?”

“It happens all the time.” Sam looked up as Steve came back with drinks for everyone. “Tell her, Steve. College students are adults. They date professors.”

“It’s not ethical.” Steve set the drinks on the table. “But I know it happens.”

“At least I’m not seeing him because I want better grades, like Selena! He doesn’t even teach any of my classes. You know him. Holles Harwood. He’s Darmus’s assistant. He helped him with Feed America, too. Well, he
was
his assistant anyway. Or is. Which is it?”

“I don’t know yet.” She took her ginger ale from Steve. She was hoping the conversation had gone over her parents’ heads, but she should have known better.

“So you’re gay.” Ranson nodded. “I would’ve never guessed it.”

“You don’t seem gay,” Lilla said.

“He’s
always
in a good mood,” Cousin Melvin disagreed. “I’m happy for him.”

“Not
that
kind of gay, Melvin,” Ranson told his cousin. “The kind where you date men.”

“I’ve been married,” Aunt Mayfield snorted. “Men aren’t
everything
they tell you, I promise you
that
!”

Sam started laughing, but Peggy was horrified. They might live on a farm, but did they have to
sound
like it? “Keep an eye out for Darmus. That’s why we’re here. Sam, you and Steve know what he looks like.”

“Are you sure he’ll be here?” Steve sat down beside her in the alcove they’d picked for a good view of the club.

“No, of course not.” Peggy bit her lip. She didn’t want to think of Darmus hiding out here in a crowd of students he’d taught. The idea was too awful. “I don’t know what’s going on yet. But I’d really like to find out.”

“You mean before the police start looking for him?” Sam played with his straw.

“You haven’t mentioned this to Holles, have you?” Peggy’s glance was sharp.

“No. But he could help. He knows what Darmus looks like, too.”

“The fewer of us who know about this, the better.” She smiled at Sam. “I’m not saying Holles is a bad guy. I like him. But he could slip and tell someone else before I see Darmus.”

The music was loud, and the crowd continued to grow. It was almost impossible to tell what anyone looked like with the bodies pressed so close together. Peggy felt like standing on the table and searching the faces.

She didn’t want to find Darmus here. But the alternative might be that they wouldn’t find him at all. It was foolish for him to think he could disappear in a crowd of people he worked with and taught for many years. But didn’t John always tell her people tended to stay close to home when they tried to hide? It was the principle that made escaped convicts easy to find.

“What’s this fella you’re searching for look like?” her father asked.

“He’s older, black, very short, and very thin,” Peggy answered. “Outside of that, he’s probably in some kind of disguise. If you know him and you’re looking for him, you might see him. Otherwise—”

“This isn’t working.” Sam got to his feet. He was taller than most average young men and resembled the god Thor in ancient Viking myths. But he still couldn’t see over or through the crowd. “I’ll walk around and see if I spot him.”

“Good idea.” Peggy got to her feet facing Sam, away from her family at the table. “I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be.” He laughed. “They’re fine. You wouldn’t apologize if you’d ever spent time with
my
family! Don’t worry about it. I’m going to look for Darmus.”

Steve stood up beside them. “Where do you want to start?”

“If we spread out, we can cover more space.”

“Okay. Let’s synchronize cell phones in case we find him.” He searched his pockets. “I forgot my handcuffs. How am I supposed to get him to stay put until you get there?”

“Think of something. You’re smart. And he’s obviously not himself. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

“I’d rather mingle with you.” He snuggled her in close to his side.

“Steve!” She pulled away and nodded toward her parents, who were watching with interest.

“We can help, too, Margaret.” Her father got up and nodded to the rest of the family. “If we all spread out, we should be able to find one short, old black fella.”

“That’s okay, Dad. Remember, you’re supposed to stay right here and listen to the music.”

Ranson wasn’t happy with that. “Aww, Margaret! Let us help, too.”

“I don’t want to help,” her mother replied. “It’s dirty and noisy in here.”

“Thank
you
!” Aunt Mayfield nodded, her chin almost settling on her chest. “I thought maybe I was the only one who noticed the smudges on these glasses! I shudder to think what the floor looks like.”

“No telling what diseases are out there.” Cousin Melvin looked at the gyrating bodies on the dance floor.

“I want to come anyway,” Ranson declared. “I know I can help.”

Peggy gave in. “All right! But stay with me. I don’t want you to get lost.”

Steve frowned. “I thought we couldn’t stay together.”