Murder by Yew (An Edna Davies Mystery #1)(14)

“No,” she said curtly. “If you need to get hold of him, why don’t you just call?”

“Did. Weren’t no answer at his place.” After a slight pause, he added, “Weren’t no answer here neither.”

Edna chose to overlook what sounded like an insinuation. “Doesn’t he have a cell phone?”

“Bah! Ain’t providin’ him no cell phone. Waste of money. Besides, that don’t tell me where he is.”

“Well, obviously, he’s not here.” Looking for a distraction, Edna leaned over to swap her sketchbook for a trowel and gardening gloves that lay beside a nearby planter. Trying hard to ignore Norm, she pinned the trowel against her side with one arm while she methodically pulled on the gloves, hoping he would take the hint and leave.

“He’s probably off playing with that grandson of his.”

“And why not?” She smiled at the thought and looked up at the clear, blue sky. “It’s a beautiful day.”

“Bah,” Norm spat again. He took the pick out of his mouth and pointed it at her. “We’ll see when he turns in his hours. We’ll see.” Scowling, he jabbed the tiny stick back into his mouth. “You’re the one’ll get charged in the end.” He chuckled to himself as he started to turn around.

“Tom gives us a detailed account of his time and materials, you know.” When Norm didn’t respond, Edna went on, wanting him to know he wouldn’t get the better of her. “I keep my own log of the time Tom spends here,” she lied, “and I’ll certainly notice if you charge us in excess of those hours.

“You’re probably in cahoots.” Norm’s beady eyes narrowed as he glanced sideways at her. “I bet you pay him extra in cash.”

“I think you’d better leave.” She bent toward a small potted plant, examining the leaves with a concentration she didn’t feel as she watched Norm out of the corner of her eye. Without another word, he ambled back toward the driveway and his ancient Ford pickup. She followed at a distance to the corner of the house, making sure Norm left her property. As she waited for her heart to stop thudding with anger at the man’s accusations, she wondered how two such different men could come from the same family.

Still on edge, Edna went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Since it was almost one o’clock, she made a sandwich, and after lunch, she felt as if her blood pressure had dropped back to normal. When she returned to weed the herb garden, the rest of the afternoon passed quickly.

She was deep in thought, mentally composing her garden club talk as she pulled the last weed in the patch she’d been working on. So engrossed was she that she didn’t hear Mary approach until her neighbor spoke.

“Are you busy?”

Edna jumped, dropped her spade and spun around, her heart pounding. “You scared the life out of me.” The feeling of annoyance disappeared at once when she noticed Mary’s red and swollen eyes. “Oh dear, what’s the matter?”

Mary opened and shut her mouth several times, like a banked fish gasping for water, before finally squeaking, “Tom’s in the hospital.”

Edna frowned, uncertain she’d heard correctly. “You can’t mean Tom Greene.” She stared at her neighbor in disbelief, making no sense of the news.

Mary could only nod, her face a mask of misery. A single teardrop leaked from the corner of her eye, and she took a deep, unsteady breath. “It’s pretty bad.”

“That can’t be.” Edna felt unaccountably angry. Mary was being absurd. She must be mistaken. “He was right here a few hours ago. He was fine. You saw him.”

Mary looked down at her feet and said nothing.

Slowly, anxiety began to replace Edna’s anger. “An accident?” she asked. Thinking about it, she couldn’t imagine what else it might be. “A car accident?” When Mary still didn’t speak, Edna scowled. “Is Danny all right? Was Tom’s grandson hurt, too?”

Mary shook her head, obviously trying to gain control of herself, then lifted a tear-soaked tissue and blew her nose.

“What is it?” Edna felt her insides grow cold. She shook Mary gently but firmly. “Please … tell me what happened.”

“They don’t know.” Tears filled Mary’s eyes and overflowed onto her cheeks. She made no move to wipe them away.

Edna, growing increasingly agitated by Mary’s seeming evasiveness, decided they both needed something to calm themselves. “I think we can use a cup of tea,” she said, putting an arm around Mary’s waist. Supporting the younger woman as they moved toward the mudroom gave Edna the momentary diversion she needed to quiet her own nerves. When she opened the back door, Benjamin scooted in ahead of them.

In the kitchen, she sat Mary at the table and moved a box of tissues within reach. The activity of brewing tea relaxed Edna even more, and the tightness in her chest began to subside. She thought again that Mary must be exaggerating. How bad could Tom be?

While the hot tea steeped, Edna threw out the rest of the iced tea, since there really wasn’t enough to keep, and washed the glass canning jar. Besides keeping herself occupied, she wanted to give Mary time to gain control of herself. When Edna finally turned around with a steaming mug in each hand, she saw that Benjamin was sitting in Mary’s lap.

Her neighbor seemed totally absorbed, gently stroking the cat while he purred loudly enough for Edna to hear halfway across the room. She watched the two, enjoying the peaceful moment. How does Benjamin always know when someone needs comforting, she wondered.