THE WITCH AND THE TEA PARTY (A Rachael Penzra Mystery) (7 page)

“Can I take the ladies over to my place?” I asked.

“Nobody can leave yet,” Joe said, not looking at me.

U
h, oh.

Uncomfortable with my silence, he added, “There seem to be a few things that don’t look just right to the medics. Probably nothing.” He took my arm and led me a little ways from the other officer. “Might be something they were…
er… using that caused the problem. An overdose or something. And don’t you say a word about that possibility to anybody. Okay?”

I nodded. I wondered how long it would take them to connect the tea with the possibility of something lethal. It wasn’t, of course. I’d drunk some myself. But with the three friends, always full of new ideas, who could swear that they hadn’t decided at the last minute to add something new to the concoction. All my worry flooded back. I really needed to talk to Aunt Myrtle.

That wasn’t to be, not for many long hours. The sheriff arrived and Joe quickly faded back into the house, wisely deciding that he didn’t need to be seen talking to me. The sheriff sent his hard stare around the area, stopping at me. He pointed a finger at me and said, “Go home!”

“Aunt Myrtle’s in there,” I pleaded.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to repeat his order. “Go home!”

I went, but not without grumbling about never voting for him again. Since I couldn’t get inside
Dora’s, it wasn’t a bad idea to return to the house. For one thing, it was chilly out and the bugs were out in full force. For another, I happen to possess a good pair of binoculars that I use for bird watching and looking out at the lake. I grabbed them from the living area and hurried to my bedroom where I could look out from above onto the scene. Really a much better view, I decided immediately. Short people have a disadvantage at ground level. The outdoors scene was brightly lit between the street lamp and the headlights of the squad cars. I could look right into the open back of the emergency vehicle and nobody was inside. The limos, I noticed for the first time, were still at the curb. I wondered if anybody thought of the poor drivers. I could occasionally see movement inside the one closest to me.

Nothing much happened for another long stretch of time. Okay, half an hour. The coroner did arrive, complete with little black bag. If I hadn’t been so upset, I would have been bored. I thought of calling David, but decided against it. It was late and he’d insist on driving over to wait with me. A car pulled into our driveway. Patsy.
She jumped out and headed straight across to the action, pausing to talk to the young officer who’d first stopped me. After a minute she crossed the street, pausing to eye the scene more carefully before coming into the house.

“Aunt Rachael?” she called up the stairs. “Are you here? What’s going on? Is Aunt Myrtle okay?”

“Up here,” I called, going to my bedroom door to motion her inside. “All three of them are fine. Someone had a seizure of some sort over there. I think it must have been fatal, since they didn’t do anything until the coroner arrived and he just got here a few minutes ago. Worst yet, I think the paramedics felt something was off key with the death.”

“Oh
Lordy!” She often fell back on the lament of her grandma, my mother. “The tea!”

“There’s nothing wrong with the tea,” I was almost begging her to agree with me. “We both drank some and unless someone can die of bad taste, it’s harmless. Besides, I’ve looked up everything they put
in it. They promised me they’d provide a list of the ingredients right on the table by it.”

“That should be all right then,” she paused and took a breath before continuing. “Did you think to make them promise not to add anything at the last minute?”

“I can’t think of everything!” I snapped. But the same worry had already passed through my mind. Not one of them ever seemed to stop and
think
. “I’m sure they didn’t. They were just fine here while they were eating, and you know how they give things away without meaning to. There were no exchanged glances when I asked if they thought they’d have enough hot water with the one urn. Nothing, and you know they’d realize I wouldn’t be happy if I found out later that they’d done something like that.”

“True,” she agreed, thinking it over. “Well, that’s a relief. Anyway, unless they added a real poison, the most they could be had up for would be accidental killing.”

“Patsy!” I yelped. “Don’t even think it.”

“If it involved anybody other than those three, I wouldn’t.”

We sighed in unison. I decided that changing the subject somewhat before we got too depressed wouldn’t hurt. “I wonder if those limo drivers know what happened?” I pointed down at the two long vehicles.

“I’ll go see,” she said, grabbing at the excuse to do something, anything.

“Ask if they’d like some coffee,” I called after her. That would give her an excuse other than pure snoopiness. I come from a family that always covers its snooping tendencies with socially acceptable excuses.

I watched as she appeared below me and wisely skirted the lightest areas to reach the first car. She leaned down as the driver’s window opened and I could see her exchanging words with the person inside. It looked amiable enough. I hoped it would garner us some much needed information.

She waved good-bye and headed back to the house. “They wouldn’t mind some coffee, Aunt Rachael,” she called up. “So I’m starting a pot. Can I defrost some cookies quickly?”

I gave permission readily. I keep a well-stocked freezer, mostly goodies. Besides, it was after midnight and they were probably ready for a snack. The thought reminded me that I wouldn’t say no to something to help calm my battered nerves. Chocolate immediately sprang to mind.

With a last glance across, where nothing seemed to have changed much, I trotted down to the kitchen. “What did he say?” I asked.

“
She
said they didn’t know any more than we do. The other driver’s in with her, waiting. They haven’t even had a cell phone message from inside about whether or not they should wait or leave. They’re staying, of course, simply out of decency. They were only hired until midnight, but under the circumstances they can’t see taking off and leaving the party stranded. They’ll either get paid extra or take the loss. It isn’t as though they had another affair at this time of night, so the limos aren’t needed elsewhere.”

“Mrs. What’s her name with the hyphen hasn’t thought to call them?”

We exchanged looks. “Do you think she’s the one who’s dead?”

“Brown-Hendricks!” I suddenly remembered. “That’s her name. You’d think she’d be a little worried about their transportation, but I suppose she figures that if they don’t wait, she can call a cab. She sounds rich enough not to mind the expense.
Still…”

“Yes, there’s been plenty of time for her mind to start functioning normally, and it would seem natural to think of their getting out of there as soon as possible. But maybe they’re not being allowed to make any calls, although that seems unlikely. But Aunt Myrtle hasn’t called here, has she?”

I closed my eyes, wishing it would all go away. “No. And usually that would mean that she’s done something she’d just as soon we don’t know about. On the other hand, she tends to forget that sort of thing when she’s excited.”

“Wishful thinking if she believes neither of us has noticed all the activity,” she groaned. “I hope they haven’t gotten themselves into a mess again. Ah, coffee’s done. I’ll run this across to Verna and the other driver. Maybe they’ve heard something by now.”

George and Binky watched her leave with what they had figured part of would be theirs for the begging. They turned their attention to me, hopefully. “Okay, a healthy dog treat for each of you and that’s it.”

I fixed myself some instant hot chocolate, defrosted a bag of cookies, extracted several, and beat it back upstairs to my watch tower.

Just in time. Finally there was some action. Patsy had apparently delivered the supplies to the two drivers. Now she stood straight, watching the house. She was closer, but she didn’t have the good angle I did. Joe and two other men came out of Dora’s, his glance quickly looking my way, searching for his beloved. The three of them conversed for a few minutes before the others climbed into a squad car and drove away. Joe, with another quick glance my way, turned and went back inside. The crowd (if you can count six people as a crowd) were mostly the neighbors, not many since the street consisted mostly of shops. There had been more earlier, but the boredom must have driven most of them to their beds.

Recalling the theory that a murderer always returns to the scene of the crime, I studied the people below me carefully. None of them looked like potential killers. Mostly they looked chilled and bored. If I hadn’t been so closely involved with the three little old ladies, I would have sought my own bed long ago, figuring I’d find out anything of interest on the news the next morning.

A while later, I’d given up and fetched a straight chair into my room. I’d tried seeing in the shop windows through the binoculars, even scanning the dark areas of the neighborhood with the night vision they provided. It was astonishing how well I could see things with them, but I didn’t spot any prowlers. I did catch sight of a skunk at the edge of the woods. I wondered if it was one of Fleur’s relatives.

Just before one, more activity.
This time a stretcher was rolled out and loaded into the waiting ambulance. The figure was entirely covered, no sign of a face. The sheriff appeared in the doorway to watch the body being driven away. He turned and went back. Ten minutes later I saw Patsy lean back toward the car window, seemingly interested in what was being said. I wondered if the people inside had finally placed a call. Almost as soon as the thought went through my mind, my own phone rang. I rushed to grab it.

Aunt Myrtle’s voice sounded weak and tremulous. “I’m sorry to wake you, Rachael, but something’s happened over here and I would like to bring Dora over to spend the night. Is that all right?”

“Aunt Myrtle! What a question. Of course it’s all right. We’re still awake. We saw all the… activity over there and other than Joe assuring us you three were all right, we haven’t heard anything. What happened? No, never mind that. Just get over here. I’ll fix hot chocolate.”

“The trouble is that Dora won’t leave Eloise alone. I don’t blame her. Rachael, they think Mrs. Brown-Hendricks was poisoned! They took away all our tea, too. I think they might believe it was poisonous.”

I tried to think in order. That usually helps me. “First, find a box to stuff Eloise in, just enough to hold her until she’s inside. We still have the big live trap. It isn’t home sweet home, but it’ll do for her overnight. If Dora raises a fuss tell her that I intend to personally come and drag them both over. Now, what about Moondance? I don’t like the idea of her driving home alone. Patsy’s outside. She can go with her.”

“No, that’s okay.
Jimbo’s on his way to pick her up. He didn’t sound very happy about the whole thing. We could hear him yelling on the phone.”

“He’s just worried,” I reassured her. Worried? Ha. The poor man was probably feeling a little murderous himself, and only rest
rained by not knowing whether to kill his wife, her buddies, or all three. I choked on that thought. It wasn’t the time to think of murder as something to kid about. “Why don’t you wait until Jimbo collects Moondance and then come over here? Patsy’s right outside talking to the limo drivers. Okay?”

She agreed, sounding a little stronger. That was one of her abilities. She recovered from trauma without a backward glance. The sheriff was letting them go, Dora could bring Fleur, and there would be hot chocolate and cookies waiting. On that thought I told her goodbye and pattered downstairs. I went outside and signaled Patsy over, telling her the news. She said that the others were being released, too, and had called to see if the limos were still available. I left her to wait for
Jimbo and then to bring the other two home.

Cage first, hot chocolate second.

When they came, Joe was with them. “I’m just seeing the ladies safely over here,” he told me, looking longingly at the full cookie plate.

I handed him an already prepared bag to bring back with him. “I hope you’ll be allowed to munch on them without contaminating the scene,” I said.

Patsy was already at the counter, emptying the rest of the coffee pot into a thermos for him. “Take this along. You know your boss. No matter how he grumbles, he’ll eat the cookies and drink the coffee.”

“It’s blatant bribery,” Joe smiled. I was glad to hear him beginning to lighten up a bit. That was the one fault I’d found in him. He was a very serious young man.

I seated the exhausted looking pair and plied them with hot chocolate and cookies. “Give me Eloise,” I told Dora. “I’m going to put her in the trap until you’re ready to lock her in with you. I don’t think she can escape from Aunt Myrtle’s room, but be sure you check that Alexander isn’t hidden in there before you let her loose.”

The rat was an escapee from somewhere, we figured, but we never did track down where she came from. She’
s an Allegheny wood rat, nicknamed “pack rat” or “trade rat”. We’ve never noticed any inclination on her part to trade anything. I’m still missing a ring I have a lot of sentimental feeling for. She’s a fairly large rat, but thank goodness she has hair on her tail. Why this should be important to me is something I’ve never delved into, but it matters. To balance that, she doesn’t have hair on her ears. She eats greens and nuts and is a bit of a hoarder. She’s a friendly little soul and I can understand why her breed is endangered in many areas. She made up to us humans almost at once, no fear at all. What she was doing in the northern half of Minnesota will probably always remain a mystery. What I do know is that she’s brought a whole new dimension to her new owner’s life.