Ladle to the Grave (A Soup Lover's Mystery Book 4) (13 page)

T
HE MORNING RUSH
was in full swing by the time Lucky arrived at the Spoonful. Elias had left in the wee hours to go home and change before starting his day at the Snowflake Clinic. She had no memory of doing so, but she must have turned off her alarm clock and fallen back into a dreamless state. She woke in a panic, aware she’d be late. When she rushed through the back door of the restaurant, she realized no harm was done. Unlike her, everyone else had arrived either early or on time.

She dropped her purse in the office and pulled a fresh apron from the closet. The Spoonful’s aprons were yellow with the outline of a steaming bowl of soup in blue. Her mother had created these and her dad had followed suit with the neon sign in the front window of the restaurant. She pushed through the swinging door into the front room. Meg was taking orders from new customers and Janie was manning the counter. Jack was at the cash register and handing out flyers for the library drive as each customer paid.

“Thanks, Janie. I’ll take over. I’m running late today.”

“No worries. Everything’s under control. By the way, you just missed Marjorie. She left a few minutes ago,” Janie whispered.

“Oh?” Lucky’s eyebrows rose. “Was Cecily with her?”

“Uh-uh.” Janie shook her head. “I think they’re still spatting.”

“Oh dear. Poor Cecily.”

“I think it’s terrible the way her sister keeps her in the doghouse. She always seems so disapproving.”

“She does, I know. But she’s the older sister, and I think she’s always played mother with Cecily.”

“Cecily’s a grown woman. So what if she wanted to take part in that ritual? I think it’s kinda cool. I wouldn’t have thought that old bat Cordelia could have dreamed this up.”

“Shh. Someone will hear you.” Lucky suppressed a laugh. “I know she’s a terrible snob, but actually I suspect she’s very vulnerable. Who knows? Maybe she was just bored and thought this would be exciting.”

“Exciting, all right,” Janie said in a stage whisper. “Dead body and all.” Janie wiped her hands on a dish towel. She glanced over at Meg, who was starting to look a little harried. “I’ll give Meg a hand.” She pulled an order pad from her apron pocket and ducked under the hatch of the counter. Lucky watched her as she moved between the tables. Janie was planning to start college in the fall. Lucky was excited for her but knew they’d all miss her terribly when the time came.

The bell over the door rang and Lucky looked up to see Cecily, on her own. Lucky waved her over, and Cecily took a stool at the counter.

“How are you today?” Lucky asked as she placed a napkin and fresh silverware on the counter.

Cecily smiled, but she seemed to have lost her usual exuberance. “I’m all right, dear. As you can see I’m on my own today—again.”

Lucky nodded sympathetically. “Tea and croissant? The usual?”

“Yes. Please.”

Sage had spotted Cecily at the front door and had already prepared her order. It was waiting on the hatch. Lucky carried it to the place mat. “Here you go.”

“Thank you, dear.” She looked up. “I assume my sister has already been and gone?”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Hmm. Good. She’s been so crabby since all this happened in the woods.”

“I’m sure she’ll get over it soon. And I’m sure she just worries about you.”

“I know she does. But it’s ridiculous. I’m not a child anymore; nor am I an idiot.”

Lucky noticed two customers leaving. She hurriedly cleared away their dishes and delivered fresh place mats and napkins to the empty seats. She refilled the coffee cups of the three remaining patrons and moved back to the spot where Cecily sat.

“Cecily . . .” Lucky leaned closer. “I wonder if I could talk to you about the day you picked up those herbs from Jack.” She glanced over at the cash register where Jack sat, hoping he hadn’t overheard her question.

“Of course. You can ask me anything.”

“Let’s step into the corridor, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.” Cecily placed her napkin next to her teacup and rose from the stool.

Lucky glanced over the counter. This would take only a minute, and everything was handled for the time being. She pushed open the swinging door for Cecily and followed her into the hallway.

“I don’t mean to bug you. I just want to make sure of this because Jack’s been torturing himself about the plants he picked. And . . .” Lucky hesitated, not willing to share the news that Elias had given her the night before.

“He shouldn’t. I’m sure whatever happened to Agnes had nothing to do with him,” Cecily replied.

“I agree with you. I just wish Jack felt the same way. Tell me again how all this was arranged.”

“Well, I was appointed to ask Jack for the things we needed for the May wine. I spoke to him one day—oh, maybe a couple of weeks ago—and he said he’d be happy to pick the plants for us. He said to just give him a call the day before I needed the herbs. I called him . . . Let’s see, the morning of the twenty-eighth, two days before our ceremony. As far as I know, he picked the plants the same day and I stopped by his house after we closed the shop that evening. And he gave me the basket. It was probably more than we needed, as it turned out, and then I drove up to Cordelia’s house and dropped it off.”

“Was she there to receive it? Or did you leave it on the stairs or anything?”

“Oh no. She opened the door right away and thanked me and took it in.”

“Would there be any herbs left over, by any chance? Maybe Cordelia didn’t use them all, or maybe she saved them?”

Cecily shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She thought a minute. “No, I’m sure there wouldn’t be. I remember her saying she put them all in the wine.”

“I see.”

“I don’t think Jack had anything harmful in there at all. I think Agnes . . . Oh, it was terrible to see, Lucky. Agnes had a terrible reaction. She seemed to become dizzy and then she clutched her throat and started gasping. She couldn’t breathe, her chest was heaving and then she fell on the ground and just lay gasping like a fish out of water.” Cecily shuddered. “I really don’t want to think about that anymore.”

“I don’t mean to make you relive it, Cecily. My only motive in asking is to find out if someone could have added anything dangerous to that basket.”

“I understand, dear. But be patient. Everything will eventually come out.”

Lucky heard a crash from the front of the restaurant and a man’s raised voice. “Uh-oh. What was that?” She felt an adrenaline rush as she pushed the door open and hurried to the front of the restaurant. Cecily was right behind her.

Leonard Warner stood in the middle of the restaurant. He had pushed a table, crashing some dishes to the floor and knocking over a chair. His face was beet red. He looked enormous. He was over six feet tall and probably weighed two hundred pounds. He was shouting at Jack. “You killed her. You killed my wife.” Tears were streaming down his face. The restaurant was completely silent. No one dared to breathe. Lucky heard Sage’s footsteps as he rushed out of the kitchen in defense of Jack.

Jack’s complexion had turned a ghastly white. He stumbled to his feet behind the cash register, knocking over his stool. His mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to speak, but no words came out. He stared speechlessly at Leonard, shaking his head.

Lucky stepped in front of the cash register in an effort to protect Jack from further abuse. She had to crane her neck to look up at Leonard Warner. She spoke quietly but everyone in the restaurant could hear. “He did no such thing. He never harmed anybody in his life. You’ll have to leave. Now. Before I call the police.” Sage had moved to Jack’s side, ready to take action if needed. Hank Northcross and Barry Sanders were on their feet, also ready to rush to Jack’s aid.

Lucky felt a moment of compassion for Leonard, but her first priority was to protect Jack. “This isn’t going to bring your wife back.”

Leonard Warner seemed to collapse into himself. He raised a shaking hand and pointed at Jack. “You’ll pay for this, old man.”

Barry moved swiftly. He was next to Lucky before she realized it. “You heard the lady.” Barry stood with his legs apart. “You better get out now.”

Lucky’s face was as red as Leonard’s. The damage had been done, she knew. Jack could go into an emotional tailspin. She stabbed a finger in Leonard’s chest. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” She wondered whether Leonard had received the report of the autopsy yet. Did he know as much as she had learned from Elias? “Her death had nothing to do with Jack.”

Leonard took a step backward. He wiped his face with the back of his hand.

Lucky could feel her anger mounting. She moved closer to Leonard and stared directly up into his eyes. She spoke quietly. “I better never see you anywhere near my grandfather again. Never.”

Leonard stumbled through the front door, shooting a last glare in Jack’s direction. Lucky caught a glimpse of Greta on the sidewalk. She held an armful of books, a terrified expression on her face. She had been heading to the restaurant but stopped when she heard the shouting. She turned and hurried away before Leonard reached the sidewalk.

Lucky took a deep breath. She looked around the restaurant at the shocked customers. “Okay, folks. It’s over. Everything’s under control. Sorry about this.”

Janie stood in the doorway to the kitchen with a broom and dustpan in her hands. “I’ll take care of this,” she whispered to Lucky as she passed by. Lucky signaled to Meg to take over the cash register. She put her arm around Jack’s shoulders. “Come into the office for a minute.”

He nodded mutely and followed her down the corridor. She forced him into a chair and shut the door behind them. She took both his hands in hers. “Are you okay?”

Jack was shaking. She knew this had been a terrible blow, as terrible as if Leonard had physically battered him. She was afraid Jack would lose his grip on reality and think he was back in the Pacific trying to rescue screaming men from the sea.

“I . . .” He couldn’t speak.

“It’s all over now. Nothing to be afraid of, Jack.”

“I didn’t know. I must have picked the wrong things.” He looked up at her. Tears had filled his eyes. Lucky thought her heart would break.

“You did not pick the wrong things, Jack. I know you didn’t.” She clung to that belief in spite of what Elias had told her the previous evening. “You’re too knowledgeable. Leonard is just in terrible grief. He’s angry, and he wants to blame somebody. You’re a very easy scapegoat. Please trust me on this.” She said a silent prayer that she was right, that whatever might have triggered Agnes’s reaction would be discovered and if anyone had added anything toxic to the wine, that person would be revealed.

“I know you mean well, my girl, but . . .”

“But what?”

“It’s my fault.” His chest shook as he stifled a sob.

“What is?”

“It’s my fault . . . your mom and dad. If I hadn’t been . . .”

What was Jack trying to tell her? “If you hadn’t been what?” she whispered.

“That night . . . they shouldn’t have been driving.” Lucky knew he was referring to her parents’ car accident. “They were supposed to stay in Bennington ’cause the roads had iced up. I
told
them not to drive with the weather like that but they wouldn’t listen. I was sick with the flu, real sick, and they were worried about me. They were trying to get home because of me.”

Lucky’s heart fell. “You’re saying you’re the reason they were on the road that night?” she asked quietly.

“Yes.” Jack could barely form the word. “I’m sorry, my girl. I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but I didn’t know how.”

“Jack, that wasn’t your fault. You didn’t cause anything. They made the decision to try to get home. You can’t blame yourself for that. They knew the dangers, and they made a terrible decision. It’s
not
your fault.”

“Do you know how many times I’ve told myself that? But it won’t let go of me. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about it. My only son and his wife. And you, left all alone now.”

“I’m not saying don’t grieve for them. I do. But it was an accident. It shouldn’t have happened, but it did. And it was terrible for them and for you and me. But we can’t turn back the clock. And you should not be beating yourself up about it either.”

“Easier said than done. This . . . I’m sorry, my girl. This has brought it all back.” Jack rubbed his forehead as if to chase the images away. “What if they find something that proves I picked a poisonous plant? What then?”

“I don’t know, Jack. I don’t have an answer to that one. But if they do find anything, there’s got to be another explanation. We’ll have some answers soon. I know we will.” She cringed, knowing that Nate could very well be on his way with the news of the autopsy findings.

Jack nodded and took a deep breath. “It’s only three bells, but I think I might call it a day, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s fine. This has been pretty upsetting, and I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve this. Want me to walk with you?”

Jack rose to his feet. “No. You’re needed here. I’ll be all right.” Jack stood slowly. He opened the office door and headed down the hallway to the back entrance. Lucky watched him from the doorway. His shoulders had slumped. His head was downcast. She hated to see him leave the Spoonful in such a state, but she couldn’t think what more she could say to erase the scene that had just transpired.