5 Buried By Buttercups (11 page)

As she remembered how much she’d loved his smile, she forced herself to do what John had told her—go completely limp.

“Professor?” Tanner whispered. “Did you faint on me? I thought you were tougher.”

He moved, sliding his hand from her mouth, as he tried to peer into her face. His foot had moved one step closer to the edge of the pond.

With all her strength, Peggy brought her head up hard into his jaw. Surprise put him even more off balance. She used that opportunity to push him into the pond.

She didn’t wait to see what came next. By the time she’d heard the splash, she was already opening the French doors. Shakespeare ran past her, back into the house. Peggy ignored him and ran into the backyard.

You need a place to hide. You need to press speed dial and call Paul or Al.

A thousand thoughts flew through her mind.

Shakespeare ran back out of the basement and started jumping at her, thinking this was a new type of game. He was always ready to play whatever Peggy wanted to play.

Peggy heard Tanner’s shout of rage as she was trying to make it to a stand of red tip bushes near the end of her property line. They were thick and would make good cover.

The grass underfoot was wet from the rain, the ground muddy and slippery. Shakespeare jumping at her made her lose her balance.

Tanner was on her in an instant.

“You can’t get away that easy.” He ground the words out hoarsely as he tipped her head to the right. “You and I have unfinished business. Let’s get this over with.”

Shakespeare, thinking he had encountered another playmate, bounded against both of them. Tanner dropped the syringe and lost his hold on Peggy.

Peggy crawled away from him, trying to get to her feet, when a shot rang out in the backyard behind them.

“This isn’t what I had in mind, Dr. Lee.” Walter Bellows was holding a nine millimeter pistol, staring at her and Tanner. He’d followed them out of the basement. “I heard the splash in the pool. Are you in need of assistance?”

“Dr. Bellows,” Peggy yelled. “This man is trying to kill me.”

“Oh! Well, why didn’t you say so, my dear? I always carry my weapon with me. Can’t be too careful in the city. Hold still, you ruffian. My pistol is trained on your head and I’m quite a good shot with it. Cease and desist.”

Peggy managed to press Al’s number on speed dial. She scrambled to her feet, breathing hard, covered in mud.

Tanner had turned around to face Dr. Bellows. “Take it easy.” His hands were in the air. “There’s no reason to get crazy. Dr. Lee and I were having a disagreement. That’s all.”

Shakespeare was disappointed. No one was moving. He lunged back and forth between Peggy and Tanner. Finally, he gave up and ran back into the basement.

It wasn’t more than a few minutes before Al arrived. He hadn’t brought backup since he had no idea what was going on. The look on his dark face was comical when he took in the situation.

“Peggy, what the hell is going on?”

#

Long before Sunday dinner at Peggy’s house, Tanner had confessed to poisoning the three men and trying to kill Peggy. He’d been smugly unrepentant—until the police had found his lab where he’d made the poison extracts.

He told Al that he’d wanted Peggy to start working with the police again so they could talk about poison plants. It was the best way to have the police put her back on staff. In the basement, he hadn’t planned for what had happened. Tanner asked Al to tell Peggy that he was sorry.

Sunday dinner went on as planned. Peggy had invited Al and his wife, Mary, along with Sam and his sister, Hunter, and Selena. She’d also invited Walter Bellows. He’d saved her life after all. She wanted him to know that there were no hard feelings.

Dr. Bellows also apologized for trying so hard to get Peggy to move. “I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I’m sure we’ll be fine now.”

Peggy made sure Steve and Paul knew that she would’ve ended up being involved in the investigation no matter what. Tanner had manipulated the situation so it would end up that way.

“I get what you’re saying, Mom,” Paul said as he cut the ham he’d made for his wife. It was dripping with brown sugar and pineapple. “I still think this was aggravated by your participation.”

“In other words,” Sam said, “he still thinks it’s all your fault.”

Peggy had already talked to Hunter about her car. They’d reached an agreement—Peggy was going to loan Hunter some money—Sam would never need to know.

“I think the important thing is that it all worked out,” Steve said as he brought in the baked acorn squash from the kitchen. “If the case hadn’t involved Peggy, Tanner could have gone on killing and never been caught.”

“Amen to that!” Al raised his glass of iced tea.

“So, what else is new?” Mary asked with a broad grin.

Mai stood up abruptly. “Why not go ahead and say it? You all know the truth. I hope you have a good laugh while you’re at it.”

Peggy put her hand on Mai’s shoulder. “Mai, what’s wrong? What are you talking about?”

“I’m pregnant.” Mai burst out crying and ran out of the room.

Paul stopped slicing the ham. “What? What did she just say?”

“You heard her, son.” Al nodded in the direction Mai had fled. “Best go talk to her right away. Whatever you do, don’t admit you didn’t know. They hate that.”

Peggy was surprised for an instant then put all of the data together.
Of course.
It was obvious. That’s what had been going on. She smiled, excited about being a grandmother.

The front doorbell rang. “I’ll get it. Will you take over the ham slicing duties, Steve?”

He agreed and she went to answer the door. Two men in dark suits were standing on her doorstep. They looked at her then looked past her into the foyer.

“Excuse us, ma’am. We’re looking for Agent Newsome.”

“Who? Do you mean Steve Newsome? Is this a veterinary emergency?”

The two men exchanged glances then looked back at her.

The taller man on the right took out a badge. “I’m Agent Tim Johnson with the FBI. This is Agent Pat Anders. We’re new in Charlotte. We need to speak to Agent Steve Newsome about an operation. Is he around?”

“I’ll take it from here, Peggy.” Steve came up behind her.

Peggy moved back into the foyer. She listened to what the two agents told Steve. When they were gone, he shut the door and faced her.

“You’re an FBI agent?”

He took a deep breath. “They didn’t know not to come here.”

“What are you saying?”

By this time, everyone except for Mai and Paul, were in the foyer.

“We need to talk about this, Peggy,” Steve said. “I want you to know the truth.”

Garden Journal

As I write this, fall is moving across the South, painting leaves brilliant crimson and golden yellow. I love this time of year, despite the fact that plants are dying and the growing season is coming to an end.

Winter will be coming in a few months following pumpkins and Christmas trees. Isn’t it wonderful how plants are still part of our traditions?

Cool fall breezes make gardening this time of year pleasant. Getting ready for the time when plants will be dormant is very important. Here are some steps that will help you start your checklist.

1 – Remove diseased plants from the garden. They might infect next year’s plants. Don’t put these plants into your composting pile. Compost doesn’t get hot enough to kill diseases. Healthy plants that have died from cooler temperatures can be added to compost.

2 – Allow plants like Black-Eyed-Susans, asters and coneflowers to go to seed without cutting them down. These plants have important nutrients for birds. Cut these back after the flower heads are gone.

3 – As we talked about in the book, this is a good time to mulch your garden. Use compost, pine bark, pine straw, hardwood mulch or even shredded leaves to cover the soil around bushes, trees and across open crop space. These materials will protect the soil and enhance it as they decompose. Apply at least three or four inches of mulch.

4 – This is also a good time to sharpen shovels, hoes, axes and other tools. Apply a protective covering of oil or WD40 to the blades and store inside for the winter.

5 – Fall is a great time to create new flower beds. Choose your site carefully then alternate layers of carbon and nitrogen-rich material. These will decompose into rich soil. Be sure you choose a good, sunny spot, at least six hours of sun each day. Use six layers of black and white newspaper or cardboard on the bottom to stop any plant growth.

Use compost, manure, coffee grounds, or grass clippings next in about a one-inch layer. Add a layer of dead leaves, sawdust or peat moss as the next layer. Continue alternating layers until the bed is about two-feet high. Finish with newspaper or cardboard weighed down with rocks or other objects to keep it from blowing away.

Recipes!

Everyone seems to be hungrier when it gets cool again. It’s a good time to take advantage of harvest foods – pumpkins, onions, potatoes and squash – to feed those appetites in a healthy, seasonal way! Here are two recipes that will make your mouth water!

Herb Roasted Potatoes

Cut two pounds of fresh potatoes into chunks and leave the skins on. Add three tablespoons of olive oil, one tablespoon each of fresh thyme and rosemary. Toss this together and place in an oven pan. Your oven should be at 350 degrees. Roasting time should be about one hour. Potatoes should be crispy and brown. You can also do this on the grill! Great way to eat potatoes!

Spiced Pears

Pears can be such an ordinary fruit. But if you have a pear tree, you’re always looking for something to do with the fruit.

Wash pears, cut in half, and remove core and stem. Leave on the peel. Place them with the cut side down in a baking dish. For each pear, combine one tablespoon of water, one tablespoon of butter, one tablespoon of sugar or Splenda. Add six cloves, two cinnamon sticks and two pieces of gingerroot for each pound of pears (about three).

Bake one hour at 375 degrees, basting occasionally. Delicious!

Don’t mix kids and pets with poison plants

Most poisonings are accidental, yet thousands of people are poisoned by plants every year. Don’t grow toxic plants within reach of a child or a pet. It’s best to grow only safe plants in the house or garden.

If you do decide to grow poisonous plants, be sure to properly identify and label them with the botanical name. Plants often have several common names which vary by region, but only one botanical name.

If a plant has been ingested, contact poison control. Keep a copy of the local number on your refrigerator or by your phone.

Learn how much was eaten and watch for adverse symptoms. Be sure to take the plant with you if you must go to the emergency room.

Some non-toxic houseplants include: African violet, spider plant, Christmas cactus, wandering Jew and peperomia.

See you in the spring!

About the Authors

Joyce and Jim Lavene write bestselling mystery together. They have written and published more than 60 novels for Harlequin, Berkley and Charter Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications.