Weeding Out Trouble

  Adjusting the blower on the dash, I directed heat toward my frozen face. I laughed. "No need to adjust your medication. The Mill is apparently the new home of a pair of wild turkeys."

  He sighed wistfully. "Too bad you're not referring to my kind of Wild Turkey."

  I stole a glance at his face. "I thought you quit drinking."

  "I did, but I miss it."

  Times like these I could see why. Fortunately, Perry hadn't had a problem with alcohol—just the calories that came with it. He was on a diet and hoarding points for Thanksgiving dinner like a hungry squirrel gathering nuts for hibernation.

  Five days. Thanksgiving was in five short days, and I hadn't even bought the turkey yet. Maybe the neighborhood's wild turkeys were a sign from above to get my act in gear. Twenty people were due at my house Thursday afternoon. The Big Day. The day my family was to meet Bobby's. Plus, I'd invited a few strays. Mario and Perry, Tam and Ian, Flash Leonard, several people from work, and of course Kit.

  "No inside scoop on Kit?" Perry asked, slowly turning onto the northbound I-75 on ramp. Sparse traffic kept a steady pace, sloshing down the salt- and snow-covered highway.

  I slipped on my sunglasses, the glare from the sun on the snow harsh. "Nothing." He'd simply vanished. Poof. Gone.

  Perry glanced at me. "Have you been watching the news?"

  I warmed my hands in front of the blower, started counting all the cars that had slid off the side of the road. Five minutes and I'd already seen three. "I've been trying not to."

  According to the reports I had seen, the police weren't saying much. Daisy was shot to death, Kit was a person of interest, and it appeared that drugs might have been a factor in her death. One newscast mentioned a broken window at Heavenly Hope and how the perpetrator might have gained access that way.

  Little did they know.

  "Stupid bloodthirsty media." Perry's creamy skin glowed with good health, and his tawny hair lay hidden beneath a cream-colored cashmere stocking hat.

  Usually I wasn't as jaded as Perry, but I couldn't help but agree with his assessment, especially since the media was going out of its way to make it seem that Kit was guilty until proven innocent.

  "We need to think about this case rationally," he said.

  "Are you saying I'm not rational?" I teased.

  "Sugar, I'm surprised you're functioning. I know how you feel about Kit."

  To me, Kit was another sibling. Nina, Maria, Peter . . . Kit. It tore me apart to think about all the what-ifs in light of Daisy's death.

  Obviously trying to comfort me, Perry patted my hand. "Back to rational. Who would want Daisy dead? What are some motives?"

  "Money, greed, betrayal, revenge. The list is endless."

  "We know Kit didn't do her in, so someone out there did. We need to put her life under a microscope, talk to anyone and everyone who knew her. She had to have employees, right?"

  "Heavenly Hope looked well-established. I would think so."

  "They'd be a good place to start. Clients too. Do you think we can track any down?"

  "I don't know. The master list was probably on her hard drive, and that was missing from her office. Maybe we can find a few through her employees."

  "It's not much to go on," he said. "But it's a start."

  It was more than the police were doing.

  "Lord above, it would be nice if Kit's hiding out at his mom's, and we can get the whole story."

  Again my mind went to the dark side. That he couldn't be at his mom's because whoever killed Daisy killed him too.

  Think positive, Nina. Think positive.

  It was hard. Very hard.

  Dropping my head back against the seat, I wondered who could help if Kit's mom hadn't heard anything. One name jumped to the top of my list, and I made a mental note to give her a call.

  Perry chattered about the snow, and Mario, and my hair, which he said needed retouching. I liked Perry. A lot. He was a lot of fun. But right now I missed Ana. She was my usual partner in crime. Plus, she would have brought hot chocolate.

  "There's hot chocolate in the backseat," Perry said, as if reading my mind. "Godiva, mmmm."

  I definitely agreed with his assessment, and decided maybe I didn't miss Ana so much after all.

  After foraging for the thermos and pouring myself a capful of cocoa, I glanced in the side mirror. No one seemed to be following us.

  Perry sipped from an insulated cup as I said, "I hope we're not wasting our time."

  "Listen, sugar, imagine you're in trouble, possibly in danger. Where would you run to?"

  Without a second thought I said, "Mom."

  "Exactly. There's no place like home when you're in need."

  Kit's mother lived two hours north of the Mill in a small town. Ash, population 2,000, was but a speck on my Ohio map. "His Hummer was in the parking lot at Heavenly Hope. How would he have gotten up to Ash?"

  "Could he have had Daisy's car?" he asked.

  I shook my head. "It was at her house."

  "Maybe Mama Pipe drove down and picked him up. It would be nice if we could get our hands on his cell phone records."

  His cell phone had been found in his Hummer, but that didn't mean he hadn't made a call before he took off.

  Or was taken out.

  I couldn't allow myself to think that way. I needed a clear head, not one filled with anxiety. With a shaky hand, I reached for the thermos for a second shot of cocoa.

  "I think he's too smart to have used his cell phone," I said. "Too easy to track with the GPS in his phone." Hope buoyed. "That might be why he left it behind."

  I liked that conclusion better than the one my morbid mind had jumped to.

  "He is a smart cookie, that Kit. You have to remember, sugar, that he's been around the block a time or two. He can take care of himself."

  Perry was right. But it was hard not to worry.

  His cell phone rang, a rousing rendition of the "William Tell Overture." He looked at the readout and cheerily answered the call.

  After a second his smile faded. "Maybe," he said. Then added, "What did you tell them?"

  I could vaguely hear Mario's smooth voice crackling through the phone. I looked out the window. The car count was up to eight as I spotted a blue sedan in a snow bank on the side of the highway.

  "All right, thanks. I will. Buh-bye."

  Perry tucked his cell phone into his cup holder and looked over at me. "You've apparently upset some people."

  I could make a list. "Anyone specific?"

  "Two detectives just called Mario, looking for you."

  Lewy and Joe, no doubt. "What did Mario tell them?"

  "He said you were with me on a road trip to Indiana to see my aunt, but we were incommunicado for the next four hours. And that hunky ex of yours called too."

  Kevin? "Why?"

  "Same deal. Except he didn't believe Mario."

  "He's smart that way. Detectives Zalewski and Nickerson are probably headed to Indiana right about now. Out to track us down."

  "Why, sugar?" He peered at me.

  "Why what?"

  "Why are they watching you so closely? They don't suspect you, do they?"

  I shook my head. "They're hoping I lead them right to Kit."

  He smiled. It lit his whole face. "Then let's have some fun with them."

  Shifting in my seat, I said, "What do you have in mind?"

  We'd driven almost ninety minutes before we had the plan in place. By the time we pulled up to Kit's mother's house, a well-kept modest ranch, I had called Tam and set the plan in motion.

  There were two cars in the Pipe driveway. I recognized neither one. Snow crunched beneath my Timberlands as Perry and I made our way to the front door.

  "What have you got?" I asked.

  "Bundt cake," he said, holding up a pretty cake plate he'd pulled out of the backseat. "Made it myself."

  I hadn't thought to bring anything. But then again, I hadn't been thinking too well since finding Daisy's body.
>
  The doorbell echoed.

  Shivering, I tried to keep warm by moving from foot to foot.

  "Stop," Perry ordered. "You're making me motion sick."

  The door flew open, and I looked into the teary eyes of Madelyn Pipe, Kit's mom. "Nina!" she cried, tugging me into a hug. She was a sturdy woman, maybe five-foot-eight, two hundred pounds, with an enormous smile. Her chest heaved as she stepped back. "I'm so glad you're here," she said, not letting go of my hand.

  "Maddie, this is Perry Owens," I said, introducing him.

  She smiled. "I recognize you from that show!"

  Perry and I groaned. We both wanted to forget the reality show we'd done.

  "Come in, come in," she said. "I'm sorry the place is a mess. I haven't been able to think straight since I heard the news."

  My condition was apparently contagious. "Don't worry about it, Maddie."

  Perry handed her the bundt cake. "I made it myself."

  Maddie smiled, but her eyes still looked sad. "Perry, is that fresh coconut?" she asked in awe.

  "Grated this morning!" Proud as a peacock, he and Maddie talked baking as if nothing untoward had happened and Perry and I dropped in all the time.

  I stepped into the living room and froze as I spotted a clearly upset couple sitting on a comfortable looking ultrasuede sofa. "Hello," I stammered.

  Maddie came up behind me, touched my shoulder. "Nina, Perry, this is Dill and Rose. Daisy's parents."

  If there were ever a time I wanted to crawl under a rock and hide, this was it. I eyed the bottom of the sofa. I wouldn't fit, even now that I was leaner thanks to Duke's hardcore training.

  What to say? Certainly not Pleased to meet you. "I, uh, I'm so sorry for your loss," I said. I shot a look to Perry. He looked sorrier for the position he was now in than for Daisy being dead.

  "Me too," he said, minding his manners.

  Rose Bedinghaus nodded. "Thank you."

  Maddie set the cake on a glass-topped coffee table. "This here is Nina Quinn and Perry Owens. Nina is Kit's boss."

  Dill's eyes widened. Rose gasped softly.

  Maybe I could squeeze under that couch if I tried really hard . . .

  "Sit, sit," Maddie offered, her cheeks bright red.

  Perry took my arm and guided me into a side chair. It wasn't until I sat down that I realized how dizzy I'd been. Spots swam before my eyes, the kind you get if you stare at the sun for a second too long.

  What did one say to the parents of the woman you just found dead the day before?

  "Anyone hungry?" Perry asked, obviously trying to break the tension. "I'm sure Maddie and I can grab plates, forks, and some coffee."

  Maddie looked like she was as eager to escape as Perry. "Coffee's good. I've got some in the kitchen. Perry, want to help? Kit bought me one of those newfangled grinders, and I can't figure it out."

  "My specialty," he said. They fairly sprinted out of the room.

  It struck me then that Maddie didn't seem too worried about Kit. Had she heard from him? Was he here? Hiding upstairs? I listened closely for creaks but didn't hear anything.

  Finally, I forced myself to look at Daisy's parents. "I'm sorry. This is awkward."

  Rose had the same color hair as Daisy, a lively red, except hers was cut short in a cute pixie style, while Daisy's had been long and flowing. Dill looked to be mid-sixties, with graying brown hair, a nicely trimmed beard and mustache. Both had bright blue eyes that swam with tears.

  "Kit always spoke highly of you," Rose said. "I know how grateful he was that you let him stay with you this past month."

  I leaned forward in my chair. "You were still in touch with Kit?"

  "Some," Dill answered for his wife. "He'd become like a son to us over the last few years. Those ties are hard to break, lickety-split."

  "I really am sorry," I said again. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a child. I was a basket case when Riley so much as got a paper cut, and he wasn't even my flesh and blood.

  Rose's gaze didn't waver. "Did she look like she suffered?"

  My stomach turned. "No," I said honestly. "There didn't appear to be a struggle. The only wound I could see was the shot to her chest, which had to have killed her instantly." I'd made up that last part, but felt the need to say it to ease their pain, if just a little.

  Rose's breath caught. "Thank you for being honest."

  Since I hadn't been—completely—I felt the sudden urge to study the intricacies of the wrought-iron coffee table base.

  Dill shifted on the sofa. His dark brown blazer pulled taut against his shoulders as he leaned forward, steepling his fingers. "Do you think Kit did it?"

  There was no hesitation on my part. "No."

  Rose nodded. "We don't think so either. Kit isn't the violent type. I tried to tell the officers that, but they didn't seem to care."

  A loud grinding noise came from the kitchen. The scent of fresh coffee filled the air. I inhaled, having recently become addicted to the brew.

  "I have to admit," I said, "the circumstantial evidence is stacked against Kit. But everyone who knows him realizes he would never hurt anyone, let alone Daisy."

  "Even though they broke up, he still loved her," Rose said with conviction.

  "He did," I said. "More now as a friend, I think, but yes. He cared for her quite a bit."

  Dill leaned back. "Too bad she didn't feel the same."

  "Dill," Rose chastised.

  "It's true," he said. "Or why would she take up with someone else and walk away from a man like Kit?"

  Rose said softly, "We can't choose love."

  Dill harrumphed.

  I felt my eyes widen. Heat suffused my face. "Someone else?"

  "You didn't know?" Dill asked me.

  "No, I didn't."

  Rose tried to soften the blow. "A few months ago she fell head over heels for a man she met through work."

  Months? Plural? She and Kit had only been broken up for one month. "Do the police know this?"

  "We told them. It just seemed to fuel their fire where Kit was concerned. Added motive, they said. A lover spurned."

  "Have you met this man?"

  "No, but I know his name is Kent Ingless. I saw it on her caller ID one day—that's probably the only reason we know about him. Daisy was very private. Kit knew," Rose added. "About Kent."

  "He did?" He'd never said anything to me. Yet, why would he?

  "Kit met him once while at Heavenly Hope helping Daisy," Maddie said, coming in from the kitchen, carrying a tray filled with steaming mugs and colorful plates.

  "Kit was helping her?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

  Maddie perched on a love seat. She sliced through the bundt cake. "With her business."

  Rose took a proffered plate. "She'd been having some trouble."

  Perry sat across from me in a matching chair. Fork poised, he said, "Trouble?"

  The drugs. It had to be. How much did Daisy's parents know?

  Dill waved off the cake. "We're not sure with what. We're hoping the police can figure it out. All I know is that Daisy had been grateful for Kit's help. And that she was hoping they'd be able to stay friends."

  "Did Daisy have many employees?" I asked, hoping to get some names.

  "No," Rose said, taking a bite of cake. "She had a part ner, Randall Oh, an acupuncturist who studied old world herbal medicine. Between the two of them, they covered all the work."

  "Not even a receptionist?"

  Rose set her plate on her lap and reached for her mug. "Not even."

  Interesting. Why not? If business was booming, why not add more employees?

  Unless Daisy was going to great lengths to keep people out.

  I remembered again about Kit being worried about Daisy's safety. Whatever danger she'd been in revolved around Heavenly Hope. That, I knew for sure. Was it simply the medicinal marijuana business? Or had there been something more? Something to do with those little white pills?

  And just how involved was Kit
?

  Six

  "I love that woman," Perry said. "I want her to be my mother."