Murder by Yew (An Edna Davies Mystery #1)(53)

So why did Mary come into my room? What if she planned to smother me with a pillow? There are three on the bed. If I were a heavier sleeper, I probably wouldn’t even have felt her lifting one of these extra pillows, wouldn’t have felt it pressed over my face until it was too late.

Could Mary have killed Tom? She knows about plant poisons. After all, she had spent a lot of time with Hazel Rabichek. Tom could have driven over here last Thursday after leaving my house. It would be natural, wouldn’t it? He’d been talking to Mary and she had left so suddenly, without any explanation. He might have wanted to talk to her about finding that friend of his, that Bobby what’s-his-name from high school. Had he added her to his appointment book? Was that why she was so reluctant to ask Nancy about it? Does she think she can get away with killing me, too?

Edna mulled over this problem, trying to figure out how Mary might pull off a murder in her own home. Perhaps she would rig things to look like someone broke in and came up the back stairs. The house is big, and Mary could reasonably deny ever hearing a thing, if Edna were overpowered and smothered in her bed. Besides, Mary probably knew what the police would look for. She would probably know how to cover her tracks.

“You’re being ridiculous,” Edna scolded herself softly. Am I? her other self asked. She didn’t know the answer. Her head throbbed. Of one thing she became certain. She would leave this house at first light. She would go home and later think of a plausible excuse as to why she couldn’t stay at Mary’s any longer.

Once her mind was made up, Edna vowed to stay awake until dawn, but the next thing she knew, she was opening her eyes, and the little bedside clock read six-fifty-six. Feeling muzzy, she slipped out from beneath the warm covers and only then noticed her bedroom door was ajar. She crossed the room, her uneasiness of the night returning, and closed the door tightly. Then, as quietly as she could, Edna dressed and packed her suitcase while Benjamin watched, yawning, from his perch on the wooden radiator cover.

These chores completed, Edna slipped an arm through the handles of her tote bag, picked up the overnight case, and eased open her bedroom door. Poking her head into the hall, she paused, listening for sounds. Nothing. Certainly, Mary must be asleep. Edna went back to gather up Benjamin, who seemed quite content to stay on his warm shelf beneath the window. Then she tiptoed down the back stairs.

“Good morning,” Mary said as Edna reached the bottom step. “Coffee should be ready in about five minutes.”

Edna jumped, almost dropping the suitcase, while Benjamin leaped to the floor. She could only stare at Mary, who with her back turned was taking plates and mugs down from a cupboard and arranging them on a large metal tray. Hank, lying in the middle of the floor, turned to gaze over his shoulder.

Busy with the plates, Mary hadn’t yet turned toward Edna. “Sorry I woke you earlier, but I thought I heard Benjy crying.”

“Benjamin.” Edna corrected automatically, setting her suitcase near the back door and balancing the tote bag on top.

“Yes, well, he probably wanted to explore the house or something. He came into my room about an hour later. Hope you don’t mind, but I opened your door so he could come and go without my having to get up again.”

When Mary turned, her look moved at once to Edna’s luggage. “Where’re you going? I thought you’d be staying until Albert got home.” Her face flushed, and a deep crease formed between her eyebrows as she stared at Edna.

Not expecting to run into her hostess, Edna hadn’t yet thought of an excuse as to why she was leaving. She stammered, “I’ve put you to enough trouble, and I have so much to do. I think it would be best if I stayed in my own house.” She hurried on before Mary could protest. “I’ll call someone today and have them change the locks, and I’ll make sure the doors and windows are secure before I go to bed tonight. I’ll be fine.”

Mary looked doubtful. “Charlie’s going to be mad at me. I promised him I’d watch you. I was even going to call the hospital this morning and cancel my volunteer shift.”

“Oh, don’t do that.” Edna still wasn’t convinced that Mary’s nocturnal wanderings were innocent, and she didn’t want to have to watch her back—or her food—the entire day. Knowing she would have to come up with an acceptable compromise, she said, “Look. I’m sure they depend on you at the hospital, and I have lots of errands to do today, so I won’t be home much anyway. Let’s see how the day goes, and we can talk later about where I’m to stay.”

“Well …” Mary hesitated.

“It’ll be okay. I’ll call Charlie and let him know. I’ll even wave to every policeman I see.”

Mary laughed at that and nodded her head. “Okay, but how about breakfast first. You have to eat before you go. I’m making pancakes. Hank likes my pancakes, don’t you, Boy?” She smiled at the lab, who thumped his tail on the floor at the sound of his name.

Edna supposed if Mary also ate, and if she fed the same food to Hank, it could hardly be poisoned. Besides, the coffee smelled good, and her stomach felt empty. She told herself to relax and went to take the tray from Mary, offering to set the table.

The two women ate a leisurely meal. Edna had to admit that Mary’s pancakes were delicious with a generous dollop of warm maple syrup. She sat back, enjoying the last of her coffee, her gaze drifting from the yearbooks at the end of the table to the view beyond the windows. She noticed absently that the rain had stopped. She had probably been wrong about Mary being a threat, but what had she meant last night about Tom promising something? Edna brought her thoughts back to the present and was just turning to ask Mary to explain when a clock began to chime from somewhere deeper in the house.