Murder by Yew (An Edna Davies Mystery #1)(47)

Peggy coughed, drawing Edna’s attention. The detective seemed to be hiding a smile behind her hand as she rubbed her cheek. “If they know the neighborhood, they know that Mary keeps a good watch on this area.” Only her eyes moved to flick across to her partner while she kept her head bent over the pocket-sized notebook.

“She’s right.” The smile on Charlie’s face broadened. It was as if the two were sharing a private joke.

Edna was annoyed at their childish behavior. “But it still doesn’t make sense.”

Both officers turned to her, puzzled. “Why’s that?” Charlie asked.

“It was pouring rain. Surely, they wouldn’t try to move things and risk water damage? Even if the rain stopped, they’d be hindered by darkness. You say they’ve been working in this area for a while, so why wouldn’t they wait for a better time, when the weather’s better and when Albert and I are both away?”

As Edna heard her own words, dread returned. If what she’d just said were true, then whoever was in her house last night could only have been after her. She stopped and looked from Charlie to Peggy, feeling her eyes widen with the horror of her own thoughts.

“Exactly, Mrs. Davies.” Charlie spoke softly. “Which brings us back to the question, do you know of anyone who might want to harm you?”

She lowered her head and began to think. Could all this have anything to do with Tom’s death? Was he killed because of something he knew, something having to do with this house? No, she shook herself mentally, that’s absurd. Then she wondered about Nancy. Would Tom’s daughter want to harm her? Maybe whoever it was just wanted to scare her enough that she would leave town. Thinking of the wagging tongues that were forcing the Sharps to sell their home, Edna didn’t want to accuse anyone unless she was absolutely certain. Lifting her gaze to Charlie’s face, she said. “No. I can think of no one.”

He again glanced silently at his partner, and Edna’s fury broke. “That’s not only rude, it’s infuriating.” She sat straighter in her chair, squared her shoulders and glared at the two detectives. “I wish you two would stop looking at each other as if you were sharing some big secret. If you have something to say, spit it out. Instead of sitting here scaring me to death, why aren’t you out trying to find these people? And what about Tom? Have you found out who poisoned him?” She flinched inwardly as Charlie straightened in his own chair and stared back at her.

After what seemed like a long minute, his eyes softened, but his mouth remained grim. “We are trying to find these criminals, Mrs. Davies. That’s what we’re doing here. As for Tom, we’re still waiting for a complete autopsy report before making any decision on the case. It takes time to run toxicology tests.” He turned his wrist and looked at his watch. “I think we’re finished here, except for one thing. We’d like to take your canisters—with your permission, of course.” He nodded toward the tins lined up on the kitchen counter that held her tea mixtures.

Still with an edge to her voice, Edna said, “You’ve already taken samples of my teas. Why do you want more?”

“We’d like everything, if you don’t mind,” Charlie answered noncommittally, “including the containers.”

Edna’s anger vanished, and with a sinking heart, she nodded.

“Do you need anything from here before we drive you back to Mary’s?” Peggy asked.

Sensing that the policewoman might be trying to break some of the tension that hung in the air, Edna tried to smile as she shook her head. “You don’t need to drive me back. It’ll take time for me to pack a bag, and I need to be here for the repairman. As soon as the phone is fixed, I want to call my husband.” She looked from one officer to the other. “I should be safe here during the day, don’t you think?”

Ignoring the question, Peggy said, “I’ll call Mary. She can bring Hank over and wait with you.” Pulling aside her jacket, she plucked a phone from a small black holster hooked to her belt.

While his partner was on the phone, Charlie pushed himself up from the table and strode over to the counter, motioning toward the canisters. “Do you have a paper bag I can put these in?”

She went to the pantry off the mudroom where she kept her recyclables and returned just in time to hear Peggy say, “We’d better go check.”

“What’s wrong?”

“No answer at Mary’s. We’d like you to come with us while we see what’s up.” Peggy smiled at Edna as she snapped the handset back into its case on her belt. “It’s probably nothing. She’s probably just out walking the dog.”

Seventeen

The rain had increased to a steady drizzle as Edna followed the officers out to the unmarked police car. Sitting in the back seat, she noticed, as she had on the ride over, that the inside door handles were missing. This time, however, a vision resurfaced of Aleda Sharp and the officer’s hand pressing down on the top of her beautifully coiffed dark hair, and Edna wondered if that’s how she herself would be carted off when the police came to arrest her for Tom’s murder.

In front of Mary’s house, the detectives got out, and Edna noticed Peggy’s hand move briefly to the gun at her waist. Charlie leaned back in before closing his door. “Wait here ‘til we know what’s going on.” As if she had a choice.