A Grid For Murder Part 18

"No, because of what happened in Asheville. The friend she gathered plants with that awful day was Joanne Clayton."

Chapter 14.

"YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS," I SAID.

"I wish I weren't, but it's true enough. Why, is that significant?" Myron looked honestly perplexed by my question.

"Joanne Clayton was poisoned as well," I said.

"I didn't hear that. Are you certain of your information?"

"I'm positive," I said, having a hard time believing that there was still so much I didn't know.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence," he said. "I've known Robert his entire life. He isn't capable of murder."

"Not even to avenge his wife's death?"

Myron frowned. "No one ever blamed Joanne, including Robert. He knew his wife's nature. She could be a little reckless at times. Besides," Myron added after a moment's consideration, "it's not like Joanne didn't get sick herself."

"She didn't die though, did she?"

Myron shrugged. "No, but it was touch and go for several days, and I know for a fact that Joanne was weakened for a good many weeks from drinking the tea herself. I believe in my heart that Robert accepted it as an accident."

"How can you possibly know that with any certainty?"

"He told me so himself, just after it happened." Myron seemed to chew on the new information, and then added, "Besides, if Robert was going to exact his revenge, he wouldn't have waited so long to do it. If he suspected Joanne of murdering his wife, he would have shouted it from the rooftops, not waited patiently all these years to strike back. No, I'm sorry, but I could never believe it."

"Believe what?" Rob asked from behind me. How had he managed to approach us so quietly?

"I didn't hear you," I said.

"Soft-soled shoes," he said, pointing to his treads. "It's the only way standing on concrete all day is tolerable for me. What are you two talking about?"

"The past, with all its glory and tragedy," Myron said. As he got into his truck, he said, "If you two will excuse me, I've got work to do."

He drove away in a hurry, and Rob frowned at me. "You said something to spook him, Savannah. What were you two discussing?"

I had two options: I could lie to him, or I could tell him the truth and take my chances. It was broad daylight and there were dozens of folks out and about. I couldn't imagine a safer place to confront him about what I'd learned, though I wouldn't have minded having Zach standing right behind me.

"Rob, why didn't you tell me that your wife was poisoned?"

He looked startled by my question. "I just a.s.sumed you already knew," he said, clearly puzzled by my tone.

"We didn't live here when it happened," I said. "You know that."

He shrugged. "Sometimes it feels as though you and your husband have lived in Parson's Valley all your lives. I wasn't trying to hide anything from you, Savannah. In fact, I've been sort of waiting for you to bring it up yourself. It's a strange coincidence, isn't it?"

"I know it must be painful for you, but I'd really like for you to tell me what happened," I said.

His shoulders slumped slightly. "From the look on your face, Myron already did. Becky picked the wrong plant to make into tea, and it killed her." His voice was cold and flat as he said it, as if he were reciting a poem he'd memorized back in grade school.

"Joanne was with her when she died," I said. "You never mentioned that, either. Rob, surely you must realize that you had more reason to want her dead than anyone on our list! I've heard a rumor that you blamed Joanne for Becky's death, but you haven't said a word about it to me. I had to dig through the courthouse records to find out the truth."

"Savannah, have you been investigating me?" he asked, the outrage thick in his voice.

"I've looked at everyone who had a motive for murder," I said firmly. "Besides, I'm not about to let you blame your righteous indignation on me. I wouldn't have had to go digging into your life myself in the first place if you'd just been honest with me from the start."

"I don't like your tone of voice, or what you're implying." There was an edge there now, nothing soft and friendly about the way he was speaking to me. Perhaps I should have waited for Zach before I confronted Rob after all. "I didn't blame Joanne for what happened to Becky then, and nothing's changed my mind since. I had no reason to kill her."

"But you can still prove that you were in your hardware store all day when she was murdered, right? At least tell me that much."

He shook his head. "No, I was over at the Asheville Hardware Store picking up some supplies. I ran low on carriage bolts, and I have an arrangement with them there. They sell me whatever I need at cost, and I do the same for them. It's a courtesy, really."

This was beginning to look worse and worse for him. "Did you see Joanne while you were in town?"

"I did not," he said flatly, "and frankly, I'm insulted that you could even ask me that."

"I don't blame you. They're hard questions," I agreed, "but they have to be answered."

He shook his head. "Savannah, I thought you knew me better than this. I never expected you to accuse me of murder."

"I'm not," I said. "I'm just trying to get to the truth. Did Joanne ever write you any letters or notes?"

"Of course not. What kind of question is that?"

"I'm not exactly sure," I said.

"You'd better make sure, before you come around here again accusing me of murder."

As he started to walk away, I called out, "I'm still gathering facts."

"Well," he said as he stopped and turned to me, "you're going to have to do it without me from here on out. It should go without saying, but I'm finished helping you."

After Rob was gone, I thought about what he'd said, and what he'd left unspoken. Would I feel different now if he'd told me from the beginning about how his wife had died? Could that have made a difference in my mind? I'd never know, because he'd held out on me, something that made me immediately suspicious of him. When I thought about enlisting him in my cause, it made my skin crawl a little. Had he really been trying to help me as he'd claimed, or had he volunteered to give me a hand so he could stay close, in case I stumbled onto the truth? What would he have done then? If Rob was the killer, I might have gotten a dose of poison myself.

I was still standing in the parking lot, and was so lost in my thoughts I nearly screamed when I heard my husband call out to me.

"Why are you so jumpy, Savannah?"

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I tried to collect my breath.

"I had a suspicion that you'd be over here." Zach looked at me closely, and then added, "You look as though you've just seen a ghost."

"Or a killer," I amended.

"What are you talking about?"

I brought him up to speed on what I'd discovered, and he nodded briefly as I talked. "That's good work."

"You didn't know about how his wife died?" I asked.

"I never had a clue. I need to tell North as soon as I can."

I suddenly felt bad about just blurting out what I'd discovered. "It doesn't mean he killed her," I said.

"It's not exactly a ringing endors.e.m.e.nt, either, is it? North needs to talk to him herself and form her own opinions."

He got out his telephone, but before he could call, I put a hand on his arm. "Hang on a second," I said.

"What is it? Is there something else I need to know?"

"I just had a thought," I said, spinning it out as I went along. "What if the killer knew Rob's history with Joanne? Wouldn't poison be the perfect way to divert suspicion from anyone else? The timing is too spot-on to be coincidental. It's all just a little too neat, wouldn't you say?"

"Sometimes murderers think they're being clever when in actuality they're begging to be caught."

I still couldn't see it. "Would he really poison her all these years later?"

"I'm not saying that he did it," Zach said. "But the investigating officer needs to know about this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention."

He finished dialing, and I heard him in deep conversation with Captain North. It seemed that Rob was going to be getting a visit in the next few minutes because of me, and if our friends.h.i.+p had been hurt before, I was certain this would kill it completely. I hated it, especially if he wasn't guilty, but if it was collateral damage, there wasn't a thing I could do about it.

That didn't make it go down any better, though.

After Zach finished his call, he said, "She's coming here, and we're going to question him together."

"Zach, what if he didn't do it?"

"Then he'll have to get over it. Once he settles down, Rob will have to realize that this wasn't personal."

"That's kind of the point, though, isn't it? It doesn't get much more personal than accusing someone of murder."

He hugged me briefly, and then said, "Savannah, you know the risks connected with digging into a case. The fact that we live here just makes things that much harder. It's a great deal simpler accusing someone that you don't know of murder." He paused, and then added, "Maybe this is the time to stop your investigation."

"I'm in too deep already," I said. "I'll see it through, one way or another."

CAPTAIN NORTH DROVE UP TWO MINUTES LATER. WHEN she got out of the cruiser, she walked straight over to me. "I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. If I've been a little hard on you in the past, you should know that I was just doing my job."

"I don't think Rob did it," I blurted out. I couldn't handle looking at Zach, afraid of what his reaction to my outburst might be.

"n.o.body said that you did," the state police captain said gently. "I'm not going in there accusing him of anything. It's important that we get the facts before we leap to any conclusions." She turned to Zach and said, "You can sit this one out, if you want to. I know you have to live in this town long after I'm gone."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to come in with you."

"I owe you at least that much," she said.

I waited out front as they went inside, wondering what I'd just done to Rob. If he was a murderer, which I highly doubted the more I thought about it, it was necessary, but if someone was using the circ.u.mstances of his wife's death to commit murder and blame it on him, I'd done him a huge disservice, one I was not certain he'd ever be able to forgive. Waiting was torture, but I wasn't about to budge until they had finished speaking with him.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, THE HARDWARE STORE'S FRONT door opened and Captain North and my husband came out. She nodded to me but didn't say a word as she got into her cruiser and drove off, leaving me with Zach.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He denied everything. What did you expect, a full confession? We both know that only happens in the movies."

"Do you think he did it?" I asked, barely able to bring my voice above a whisper.

"I'm not in any position to say right now," he said.

"Cut the att.i.tude, Zach. I'm asking you for your opinion, not what your cop's instincts are saying."

"How do I separate them, Savannah? Every conclusion I reach is based on my years of experience as a police officer. I can't just turn it off and on like some kind of switch."

"You've got to think something, one way or the other. I'm not asking for proof, just an opinion."

He shrugged, took a few moments, and then said, "I'm not entirely certain what I'm basing it on, but in my personal opinion, he had nothing to do with Joanne's murder."

I hadn't realized that I'd been holding my breath until I let it all out in a rush. "I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear that."

"You shouldn't be," he scolded me. "I have nothing to go on other than my instincts."

"I trust your gut over physical evidence and eyewitnesses any day of the week," I said.

"It's too bad Captain North doesn't share your high regard for my intuition," he said with a wry smile.

"Does she actually think he did it?"

"I wouldn't go that far, but I do believe he's shot to the top of her suspect list. She pushed him pretty hard in there, but he never wavered."

"Then we've got to help him," I said.

"Savannah, if I were you, I'd steer clear of the man until this is all settled. He's in no mood to talk to you right now."

"But I can make it better," I said plaintively.

I started to go back inside when Zach gently grabbed my arm. "How are you going to do that? I said that I didn't think he killed her, but I could be wrong. Until we know for sure, I want you to treat him as though he were covered in barbed wire, do you understand?"

"The longer this rift lasts, the harder it will be to heal," I said a little reluctantly.

"Then it's just going to have to be hard," Zach said. "At the moment, there's nothing you can do about it."

"I guess you're right," I said, "but I don't have to like it."