A Geek Girl's Guide to Arsenic (19 page)

“The leaf. It’s papyrus. You know, a big-ass leaf from Egypt or something. Can I go now?”

Jake nodded and looked at me. “Yeah. He doesn’t know anything.”

The kid yanked his mask off the ground and pulled his hood over the back of his head before strutting away like the punk he was.

I tapped the note against my free palm. “When do we have to be at your place?”

“You don’t have to come. You should probably be with your family.”

I wrapped my arms around my middle to steady my shaking limbs. “I need to talk to the florist. Do you think it’s really papyrus?”

“Maybe.”

“I’ll text Nate to take his time. I want to ask about the leaf, stop by the ER and change into jeans. I can ride with him and meet you later.”

Jake moved steadily at my side, providing strength where mine was failing. “I’m the marshal. I was already planning to ask the florist about the leaf before that kid said it was papyrus. Why don’t you go home and change? I’ll come by later and let you know what I find out.”

“No way!” I screeched. “Some insane person threatened my family. He threatened a baby!”

“Fine. You can come with me, but I’m following you to your place afterward and driving you to mine. Nate and Fifi can follow us.”

“Fine.” I tapped my phone screen and blinked back boiling emotion. “I have to start the phone tree.” The phone tree consisted of my parents and Grandma, plus Bree and me. Tom was fair game if Bree was unreachable. Small but effective and used liberally.

We sidled into the florist shop like a normal browsing couple, minus my scowl and slight tremor.

I pretended to thumb through a book of bouquets, while watching the clerk for any signs of guilt. I raised onto my toes after a minute and whispered to Jake. “He’s not acting like someone who just poisoned my brother-in-law.”

He turned his lips to my ear, grazing my cheek and sending flames through my core. “Sociopaths never do. They don’t have actual feelings. Just schemes.”

My brain flailed with mismatched emotion.

He untwined our arms and moseyed through the shop.

I shook off the goose bumps and strolled up to the register. “Hi, Duff. Remember me? Mia. Do you recognize this leaf?”

The florist rubbed the leaf between his thumb and first finger. “Papyrus?”

“Yeah. Papyrus.” I forced a droll expression. “Do you carry it here?”

“Nah. It’s impractical and expensive. People come here to order flowers. Pretty ones, not leaves. You can probably get it online. Try eBay.”

“What will it cost me?” I waited for an exact figure or some other indication he was a sociopath and liar.

“I don’t know, lady. What do you want from me?”

Jake met me at the counter. “It’s true. I don’t see anything like it here.”

I made a peace sign with my fingers and pointed them at my eyes before turning them on Duff.

“Come on.” Jake tugged me toward the door. He extracted the note from my white-knuckled grip. “Dan’s at my place. We’ll hand this off to him tonight.”

I nodded stiffly, craning my neck to glare at the florist until he was out of sight. “Can we swing by the hospital?”

“I wouldn’t have gone home without stopping. Your family needs an explanation.”

Local security breezed past us, moving double time. Each man and woman had a freezer bag of food or a tray in hand.

“Is that from the buffet?”

“Yep.” Jake tugged me along. “I called them while I chased the kid. They bagged everything for analysis. Someone’s questioning the other dancers and stage hands. EMTs are responding for basic health checks. Everyone will get a non-specific spiel about potential food poisoning and advised to seek medical attention if they suspect they’re getting ill after they leave here.”

I released a shuddered breath. “A lot of people could be sick because of me.”

“Doubt it. This guy’s calculating. Your family was targeted.” He squeezed my fingers. “My team’s on their way. I need to speak with Dan. I’d rather do it at my place than the crime scene.”

“Why not call him? Maybe you should stay. See what you can find out.”

“Nope.”

The moon loomed low, like my spirit, casting an eerie glow on the world. Unease washed over me. The killer could be anywhere. Anyone.

I inched closer to Jake as we made our way to my car. “What if they find a clue and you aren’t here?”

He wiggled his cell phone. “Technology.”

“Right.”

“Let’s get you changed. Visit your family and head to Friendsgiving. There’s nothing to do here. My responsibility’s with you and your family now.”

I beeped Stella’s doors open and hesitated. “Why aren’t you more worried about Tom and Bree? They could...be like John.”

“No. The note was a threat. Meant to scare. Nothing more. Besides, you’re obviously the target, not them. Not yet. Whoever wrote the note wanted to rattle the weak link. They’re a family with a baby. If there was a perfect person to scare, it was Bree. As a bonus, she has influence on you. The killer didn’t want to end them, just motivate them to stop you.”

I dropped onto the driver’s seat and stuffed my key into the ignition. “Okay.”

He braced his hands on my roof and leaned in on me. “What about you? Why aren’t you more upset?”

“Me? Oh, I’m numb. I think I’m in shock. Ask again in an hour.”

“Will do.” He shut the door and walked away, presumably to his truck.

I swiped a hot tear sliding over one cheek. The shock was wearing off.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The hospital was a nightmare. By the time we got there, Mom was hysterical. Dad had Dan in a corner, growling about his role in the situation, and Bree was in the bed beside Tom. Grandma played peek-a-boo with Gwen in the waiting room. Apparently, Bree got sick after arriving and the staff had admitted them both. Dan had called ahead and filled the doctors in, so they were treated to couples’ stomach pumps and a regimen of fluids.

Results weren’t in yet, but I could guess what they’d find in those stomach contents. Belladonna. Nightlock. Hemlock. Maybe even some other whacked-out medieval poison. Seeing her helpless did things to my heart. Bree wasn’t helpless. She was fierce. I’d seen her battle through a fifteen-hour labor and natural childbirth, but someone had broken her. Someone who wanted to punish me.

I apologized every way I could imagine until she kicked me out, insisting I attend Friendsgiving and tell her about it in the morning. She would be fine. I wasn’t sure I would be.

Dan assigned a detail to my family and promised to meet us at Jake’s in a few hours.

I pressed the elevator button to my floor and rubbed the chill of stress from my arms. “You’re positive she’s fine? There aren’t any slow-release poisons working their way through her blood right now? No chance something went unseen by the doctors? What if she’s worse in the morning?” A wedge of pain clogged my throat.

Jake held the door while I stepped into my apartment foyer. “I heard her ask the doctor how much her stomach contents weighed. You’re worried she might die. She’s worried about her dress size.”

I hung my cloak and zombied down the hall to my room. I pulled on my softest jeans, a fitted vintage blouse, appropriately in black, and stuffed my feet into penny loafers. A swipe of lip gloss and two doses of mascara later, I replaced my glasses and went to the kitchen with purpose.

Jake pivoted in front of my window wall as I passed. “You look nice. What are you doing?”

I whipped a fresh trash bag into the air and opened my refrigerator, dropping cartons of berries and packages of cheese into the receptacle. Condiments. Leftovers. Yogurt. Gone. I lined beverage cartons, bottles and containers along the sink, unlidded them and turned them upside down over the drain.

A warm hand landed between my shoulder blades. “Mia. Hey. Look at me.”

I turned tear-blurred eyes on him. “He poisoned my sister.”

Jake pried my fingers off an orange juice container and pulled me against his rock-solid chest. He stroked my hair and folded his free arm protectively across my back. I’d never imagined him as the comforting type. That was Nate’s natural talent, but Jake’s instinct to guard and protect was there in every fiber of his skin against mine.

An ugly sob built in my chest, ready to erupt. “He hurt them and threatened Gwen. It’s my fault.”

His hand froze. He gripped my biceps and pushed me off him in a swift, jostling move. “Hey.”

I blinked the heavy tears loose and dared a moment of eye contact.

“This is not your fault. There’s a monster out there hurting people, and that has nothing to do with you.”

“I’m meddling.” My lips quivered in betrayal.

His brows dove together. “My grandmother meddles. You think someone should kill her?”

A sudden laugh spouted from my lips. “No.” I pressed a hand to my mouth, settling my rampant emotions.

“No?”

I shook my head. “No, but I also provoked him.” Or her. Women could be psychotic, too.

“You provoke the daylights out of me. Maybe you have a point.”

I shoved him and walked to the counter where I kept tissues. “Shut up.”

His hands were back on my shoulders. “This is not your fault. I need you to trust that we will catch whoever is behind this. You’ve got two Archers, the local PD and a marshal unit on the case.”

I ran a tissue under each eye and turned with a nod. “Okay.”

“Now, can you do me a solid and let us handle the investigation for a few days?”

I returned to my trash bag and emptied my cupboards. “Yeah.”

“Now what are you doing?”

“Same thing I was doing before. How would I know if someone poisoned my food? Security here isn’t that good.” I pulled a painful breath and imagined someone in the shadows of my closet or guest room. “The killer might have already been here. He might be here now.”

A knock sounded on the door and I squeaked.

Jake’s posture stiffened as he walked into the foyer, right hand on his sidearm. One look into the peephole and he dropped his arm. “It’s your friends. How’d they get in the building?”

“I gave Nate the code.”

My front door sucked open, and Jake greeted Nate with his usual booming enthusiasm. I released a long breath that had felt like the only thing keeping me upright.

Nate strode into the kitchen and leaned one broad shoulder against the doorway. His retro Space Invaders shirt peeked through an open jacket. “Whatchadoin’?”

I loaded the last of my plates, cups and bowls into the dishwasher and opened the silverware drawer. “Washing dishes.”

“Weren’t they clean when you put them away?”

I stopped to stare, a fist full of cutlery in each hand. “Who really knows?”

“Jake,” Nate called, pushing off the counter. “What’d you do to her?”

Fifi bounced to my side. “Here, let me help.” She opened cupboards until she found something to wash and turned hot water on at the sink.

Jake groaned into a fist. “She’s taking precautions against poisoning.”

I snapped the dishwasher shut and set it to annihilate mode, or pretended as much. Surely, no poison could survive my high-end bowl blaster.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Fifi shut the water off and dried her hands. No questions asked. “I can finish this when we get back.”

My heart swelled into my throat and tears pressed the backs of my eyes. “Thanks.”

Now, for the truly scary portion of my evening.

* * *

Jake’s house was lined in twinkle lights and pickup trucks. Country music poured from closed windows, and a pair of four-wheelers raced through the field like really loud ghosts in the night.

He parked in the loose gravel outside his garage and gave me a look. “I’m not responsible for anything you see or hear tonight.”

“Got it.” My turn to see his family at its best. I slid off the seat and into the gravel beside him.

Headlights bobbed along the pitted drive in our direction. Nate, no doubt, was doing his best to preserve his glossy white paint.

Time to meet the family again. My heart thundered and roared in my ears.

Nate stepped close to my side. “Nice place you’ve got here, Archer. How much land is this?”

“About ten acres. Our grandparents divided their estate and distributed the land to the grandkids at our high school graduation parties. I think the plan was for everyone to follow grandpa’s love of farming, so he’d grow old in a rocking chair, looking over one hundred and forty acres of farms.”

Jake’s front door swung open, and Parker jumped onto the porch. “Jake!” She bounced into his arms and a twinge of emotion pinched my lungs. What must it feel like to be so comfortable with him?

Eric lumbered into view behind her, and the porch light flicked on. “Hey. Come inside. Pizza’s getting cold.”

At the word
pizza
, Nate was through the front door. Fifi followed.

I brought up the rear, with Jake’s hand at the small of my back, impossible to ignore. He was quiet, even for him.

He stopped at the oversized porch swing and motioned me to have a seat. I gladly accepted. The swing groaned on an oversized spring and creaked under our weight.

Jake pushed off with his boot. “My family’s big.”

I bundled my coat tighter at my middle. “And?” My breath lifted into the air on a cloud of crystals.

He looked out at the land. His land. Trailing the four-wheelers with his eyes. “I thought you might need a minute to mentally prepare before going inside.”

“Thanks.”

“Those two knuckleheads turfing my field are Boston and Phoenix, siblings named after their places of conception. My aunt and uncle are the family hippies. Your folks would love them.”

I mulled that over. “Probably.”

The four-wheelers roared past the porch and disappeared into the side yard.

“Inside, I expect to find all my cousins. Their spouses or dates. My brothers and their ladies. Neighbors. Friends. People I grew up with and possibly a face or two I don’t know. A few are probably gaming. Some are playing poker. Most are already swapping stories based partially on fact and heavily on alcohol.”

I smiled, imagining the scene he described. “Do you mind having a full house like this?”

“Nope. I’m used to it. There’s no privacy in Archer life. There are only endless lines of people who want to give you advice and casseroles, the homemade all-fat kind. They cook with lard and cow’s milk from our family cattle. They use full-fledged cane sugar and no substitutes.”

“Bree would die.”

He nodded. “Yep.”

“Okay. I’m ready.”

He pulled his gaze to mine and lifted a brow. “You sure? They’re going to have a lot of questions for you.”

“I’ve got Nate. I’ll be okay.”

He pursed his lips before moving to the door.

I didn’t attempt to guess what that was about.

Inside, a fire warmed the busy room. Circles and crowds of people filled every inch of space. He’d nailed every scenario, though he hadn’t predicted the duo singing country karaoke by the fire. The house was small but inviting and made of logs. His furniture was nice, but worn, and a line of boots rode the carpet next to his door.

Fifi waved from the rug beside the fireplace. “Mia!”

I took a seat with her and absorbed the activity around us. Jake made his rounds, clapping shoulders and accepting hugs. There was easily a thirty-year age range from kids in high school letterman coats to others clearly old enough to be their parents. Maybe they were. Everyone nodded and welcomed me. No one asked questions. I had a feeling I could thank Parker for that.

After his hellos, Jake folded himself onto the rug with us. He settled a paper plate piled with pizza on one knee. “You doing okay?”

“Yep.”

He dug in his jacket pocket and freed his phone. “Fifi, you studied plants, right?”

“Yes!” She took the phone. “I love plants.” Her expression of peace and reverence at the sight of the thing morphed into something scary after she examined the little screen and took a minute to absorb the wretched words. “Oh my goodness.”

Jake dotted his lips with a napkin. “What can you tell me about it?”

“It’s a threat. The leaf looks like papyrus, but I can’t be positive from a picture. The ink is probably stuff you buy at the store.” She traced her pointer finger over the screen. “I bet this has something to do with what happened to Mia’s sister. Nate didn’t go into details, but this would explain a whole lot.”

I nodded. “We know. I checked with the Faire florist and he said you can order it online. Do you know anything about that?”

She returned the phone to Jake. “You can get anything online. It’s probably on eBay.”

I made a mental note to shop eBay more often. Apparently, they had everything. “What do you think the three means?’

“I don’t know, but it’s weird, right?” Fifi mused. “The whole Faire theme is Renaissance times. No one used papyrus during that period, so why didn’t the person sending this just use paper?”

Jake tipped a beer to his lips. “Dramatic effect? Maybe to make a point.”

“What point?” Fifi and I said in unison.

Jake set the bottle aside and squinted at his buzzing phone. “Dan’s here.”

The door opened, and Dan swept inside. He headed for the fridge and helped himself to a beer before scanning the room for Jake. He distributed handshakes on his way to the fireplace. Shockingly, he folded himself beside me. “Your sister and brother-in-law were discharged. They’re both fine. I put a detail on your family and debriefed the lot of them. Everyone’s staying with your grandma until this blows over. Those big old walls over at Horseshoe Falls will come in handy.”

Unless the killer knows about the path through the woods
. I pushed the thought aside. What were the odds of two killers knowing that little tidbit?

Fifi repositioned herself closer to Dan. “What happens next?”

“We’re retracing our original leads tomorrow. See if we missed something.”

I stiffened. “No new leads?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Ever find the goons who rented the car?”

“Nope.”

The door sprang open and two women covered in mud strode inside. They kicked off their boots and shucked their jackets before sliding out of camo print coveralls.

The taller one smiled at Dan. “They’re all yours.” She chucked a key, and he caught it in midair.

The other girl did the same, throwing her key to Jake. He spun the key on his finger and leaned my way. “Boston and Phoenix.”

“Gotcha.”

Dan stood slowly and arched his back. “Not me. I’m beat. Eric? You and Parker want to go muddin’?”

“Hell, yeah!” Eric folded his cards and vacated his seat at an ongoing poker game to collect the keys.

Jake grabbed my hand and shoved onto his feet. “Come on. I’ve got coveralls from junior high that might fit you.”

I stumbled across the room, seeking Nate for a speedy escape. He smiled and waved, cheerfully sliding onto the seat Eric had abandoned.

What the heck were we doing? Going mudding? What was that about? I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to find out. I liked it by the fireplace. “I don’t know how to mud.”

Jake laughed and shoved me into a bedroom. He slid the closet door open and tossed black coveralls my way. “Pull them on over your clothes and I’ll find you a hunting jacket.”

“We’re going hunting?” I squeaked.

He left without answering and dragged the door shut behind him.

This was why I avoided parties.

* * *

Parker gave me the rundown as we walked onto the front porch dressed for combat.

Jake and Eric climbed aboard the two mud-soaked four-wheelers and waved us over.

Jake scooted forward and smiled. “Climb on.”