“I don’t want to pry,” I began a little hesitantly. “But my grandmother is thinking about taking an apartment in that building. If there’s a problem”—I held up a hand—“I don’t want her to live there.”
Daisy’s lips were pressed together in a thin, tight line. “I think you’d be wise to encourage your grandmother to look for somewhere else to live.” She leaned toward me. “I saw a naked man walk by the windows.”
I put a hand to my chest. “That’s awful,” I said. “Thank you for telling me. I don’t want Gram to live in a place like that. Did you call the police?”
She gave me a cool, gracious smile and touched her free hand to the side of her head. “Some people when they get old go a little . . . funny. I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble just because they’re old.”
“You’re kinder than I am,” I said, hoping my face looked appropriately judgmental.
Daisy looked at the delicate gold watch on her arm. “I have an appointment,” she said. “I need to get going.” She got to her feet and smiled at me. “Thank you for calling me about the gravy boat. And thank you for the tea.”
My heart was pounding so loudly it seemed to me that she should have been able to hear it. “You’re very welcome,” I said. “I’ll speak to the owner of the china tonight and give him your offer.”
“I’ll talk to you soon, then,” she said.
I walked her to the door and stood there until I saw her car drive away. Elvis wandered over and rubbed against my leg. I bent down and picked him up. He looked at me with his wide green eyes and meowed once. “Good job,” I said. “There’ll be a little something extra in your bowl tonight.”
That got me another, way more enthusiastic meow.
I turned around to see Avery peeking around the side of the storage room door. “Is she gone?” she hissed in a stage whisper.
I nodded and set Elvis down. “She’s gone.”
“The coast is clear,” she called over her shoulder. She bounded over to me, followed a lot more sedately by Charlotte and Mac.
“Did you find out anything that could help Maddie?” Charlotte asked.
“I did,” I said. “I know who killed Arthur Fenety.”
Three pair of eyes stared at me.
“Who?” Charlotte asked.
“Yeah, who?” Avery echoed.
Mac just looked at me, frowning slightly, and I could see him make the connection.
I let out a breath. “Daisy,” I said.
Chapter 26
“No sh— No!” Avery said.
Charlotte stared at me, stunned. “Daisy?” she said.
Only Mac seemed to have all the pieces put together. “I heard most of your conversation,” he said. “She saw Mr. P., didn’t she?”
I nodded.
“But the timeline’s wrong.”
“It is,” I said.
Charlotte looked confused. “I don’t understand,” she said.
“Daisy saw Mr. Peterson when he walked down the hall in his—”
“Naked glory,” Avery finished. “I told you someone would see him.” She had a very self-satisfied grin on her face.
Mac shot her a look and she wiped the smile off her face.
“If Daisy’s appointment was when she said it was, she would have been finished and long gone when Alfred did his little walk of shame,” I said.
“But I thought Alfred checked on that appointment time?” Charlotte said.
“He did,” I said. And I was really hoping he’d done it more or less legally. “But he checked the computerized appointment schedule. It’s possible there’s a daily paper schedule that they use in the office and it has cancellations and any other changes.”
“I’ll call Rose,” Charlotte said. “Maybe she and Alfred can find out.”
“Good idea,” I said.
Charlotte headed over to the counter.
“I’ll close up,” Mac said.
I nodded. “Thanks. There’s something I need to do.”
“What?” Avery asked.
“Let’s just say Mr. P. isn’t the only person who knows how to use Google,” I said.
In the end it took a lot less time than I’d expected. When Mac tapped on my door I was leaning back in my chair, looking at the computer screen, with Elvis sitting on the desk, craning his neck sideways so he could see, too.
“Any luck?” Mac asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“What did you find?”
“Arthur Fenety Senior—actually he was Edward Arthur Fenety—was a groundskeeper at a cemetery. He would have likely used pesticides. Years ago most people did. Daisy could have known about the napthathion. If Liz could find out that a lot of people still have it in their sheds and garages, so could Daisy.”
“Are you going to call the police?” Mac asked.
“I don’t really have a lot of proof,” I said with a sigh. “Mr. P.’s backside isn’t really evidence.”
Mac smiled. “No, it isn’t.” He studied my face. “So, what are you going to do?”
“Gram says you catch more flies with honey than you do with brown sugar.”
“You’re going to sweeten the pot,” he said with a smile.
I smiled back at him. “More like the gravy boat.”
• • •
Daisy Fenety arrived at the shop at twenty minutes after eight. I should have worn a track in the floor, I’d walked back and forth so many times after I hung up the phone.
“I can’t believe you got an answer so quickly,” she said to me as I let her in.
“Well, between you and me, money is a little tight for my customer.”
The china gravy boat was nestled in a box of paper shavings. Daisy smiled when she caught sight of it and walked over to the counter.
“I really do have to thank you, Sarah,” she said as she picked up the box. “The gravy boat is a very difficult piece to find.”
“You’re very welcome,” I said. I reached under the counter for the fake bill of sale I’d prepared.
“I’m actually a tiny bit sorry that I’m going to have to shoot you,” she said.
I turned around to see a small silver gun pointed at my chest.
“Take it easy, Daisy. You’ve been under a lot of stress in the past week,” I said, slowly taking a step backward. “Put the gun down and we’ll talk.” It sounded lame even to my ears. Could I run to the storage room before she could shoot me? I got a crazy mental picture of myself bobbing and zigzagging my way to the double doors. Panic was making me stupid. I took a shaky deep breath and let it out.
She shook her head. “You’re a tedious young woman,” she said. “Although you are loyal, I’ll give you that.”
“Shooting me isn’t going to fix anything,” I said, putting my hands in my pockets so she couldn’t see them shake. “How do you know I haven’t already gone to the police?”
“And told them what? You think I killed my brother because I told you I saw a naked man when I went to the dentist?” She gave me a condescending smile. “Do you know what happened after I got home this afternoon?” she asked. “I had a call from the dentist’s office. The receptionist had e-mailed a statement that showed exactly when my appointment had been and how long it had lasted, but she wondered if I wanted to stop by the office for a copy signed by the dentist himself.” The smile reminded me of a crocodile. “Such a conscientious girl.”
That had to have been Rose who had called for the statement. There was no point in bluffing anymore.
“Why did you kill your brother?” I asked. I glanced at the front door.
“You can try to run if you’d like,” she said. “Daddy taught me how to shoot when I was a little girl. I won’t miss.”
I took a shaky, deep breath. “You didn’t answer my question. Why did you kill Arthur?”
“You’re right, I didn’t answer you,” she said. The hand holding the gun didn’t waver and I knew she had every intention of shooting me. I, on the other hand, had every intention of getting out of this alive, and part of that meant keeping Daisy talking. “He’d gone soft. He’d fallen in love for real with that little Florence Nightingale and her organic garden.” She rolled her eyes.