Poison Me (18 page)

Grandma shook the woman’s hand away. “And I need to ask you to not speak again until spoken to.”

The mortician huffed and puffed, but eventually withered under Ruby’s glare. Ruby turned from her and searched her friend’s body with her eyes. She took a step closer, stumbling. Michael jumped to her side. Ruby righted herself and waved him off. She leaned over the corpse, her tears falling on Marissa’s chest. Jake could’ve sworn his grandma sniffed Marissa’s neck.

Still bending over, Ruby licked her finger, touched Marissa’s chin, and then licked her finger again. Michael nodded as if he understood this strange behavior. Jake shook his head but didn’t dare question her.

Mrs. Smelter’s eyes widened, and she approached Ruby again. “I’m so sorry for your tragedy, dear, but I really must ask you to leave so I can care for the body.”

“Marissa, oh, my Rissa! No, not Rissa,” Ellie cried, collapsing to the tile floor. Chanel knelt next to her, gently patting her back like a mother comforting a small child.

Ruby turned to the mortician, wiping the tears from her cheeks and ignoring Ellie’s sobs. “Alaina,” she said, “why does her neck still feel warm?”

The plump mortician replied, “The body will stay warm for a while after the heart stops beating.”

“Really? The phrase ‘cold as death…’” Ruby’s voice cracked. “That saying isn’t true?”

The mortician’s mouth quivered. “The body will stay warm for an hour or more sometimes, depending on the cause of death and the amount of blood lost.”

Ruby glanced at Jake.

“She’s right,” he said.

“Thank you, dear,” Mrs. Smelter said. “Now I really must do my work.”

Ruby inclined her head. “Can you promise me that work will include determining a cause of death?”

Mrs. Smelter nodded. “Of course, dear. I will do all I can to help.”

Ruby turned and touched Marissa’s cheek. Tears spilled past Grandma’s eyelashes and onto Marissa’s face. “I’ll miss you, sweet friend,” she whispered.

A respectful hush descended on the room—even Ellie’s cries ceased for a moment. Finally, Ruby lifted her hand from Marissa’s wrinkled cheek and whispered, “Goodbye.”

Ruby turned on her heel and nodded her thanks to Mrs. Smelter before striding past. Michael rushed to Ruby’s side and escorted her from the room. The look of gratitude she favored him with wasn’t lost on her grandson.

Jake and Chanel gently helped Ellie up and led her the front door. He tried in vain to block out her cries of “My Rissa.”

Chapter Sixteen

Lunch had been cleared from the commons area, and the room rearranged for a large assembly. Nervous-looking residents congregated on the chairs, brought together for a meeting organized by Ellie. The managers had approved the gathering, and Ellie had demanded at breakfast that the residents attend. Ruby noticed most of the chairs were filled¾there were few who dared disobey Ellie.

Unable to bear the tender glances cast her way, Ruby glanced down at the notes she, Ellie, and Michael had compiled. Marissa’s name jumped from the page, burning into Ruby’s brain. Marissa was among the murdered. Ruby would never forget the image of her friend lying on that cold table at the mortuary. She could still smell the terrible poison on Marissa’s rosebud lips.

The worst part was, if Tracy was the murderer, Ruby had been the intended target. Her friend had died in her place. It was too much. Ruby’s tears wet the paper, causing the ink to blur. She set the notebook aside, wiping a trembling hand across her face. She couldn’t seem to stop shaking.

Ellie perched on the edge of a chair to Ruby’s left. Michael filled the one on her right.

Ellie shook her head. “Get yourself under control,” she whispered, squeezing Ruby’s hand.

Ruby winced. Michael offered his handkerchief, and she took it with a small smile, muttering her thanks. She glanced from him to her stoic friend. Last night, Ruby and Michael had sat with Ellie until she cried herself to sleep. Marissa’s name was the last sound she uttered before giving into exhaustion. This morning Ellie wore her poker face. She spent an hour on the phone with the police, dictated notes to Ruby during breakfast, and quickly organized the residents’ meeting. No one but Ruby and Michael would ever know how deeply Ellie mourned.

Ellie glared at the group of forty or so residents. “Okay, women and man.” She nodded to Michael. “Lots of man.”

He smiled, reaching under the table to touch Ruby’s hand.
I could get used to having him around,
she thought. She wished she could express how grateful she was for his presence, for the fact that he was there to hold her hand and smile at her, when she had treated him horribly for so many years. She had spent most of her adult life without much support save for Ellie, Marissa, and Anne. Although her girlfriends had been wonderful, Ruby had forgotten how comforting it was to have a strong shoulder to lean on, especially when two of her close friends had been taken from her. She thought of Ellie’s expression “Lots of man.” Michael was that and so much more. Ruby didn’t know how she’d survive without him right now.

Standing at the front of the room, Ellie cleared her throat and said, “I’ve called this meeting because we need to put our brains together.” She looked around the group of elderly people.

“Why do we have to have so many meetings?” Lanna Jeppson asked. “I can’t keep up with everything they are always telling us. It’s the government, I tell you. When I was a girl, they couldn’t micromanage our lives like—”

“Those of us who have any brains left,” Ellie interrupted.

Lanna’s mouth fell open. “Well, I never—”

“Woman,” Ellie warned with a shake of her finger, “if you speak without being called upon again, I’ll have you escorted from the room.”

Lanna clamped her lips together and raised a fleshy arm into the air. Ellie ignored her. Finally, Lanna set her arm on the armrest, grumbling about being treated unfairly.

Ellie clapped her hands together and said, “Okay. We need to get to the bottom of these murders.”

“Who says they’re murders?” Samantha Jacobs asked. “The policeman told me there’s nothing suspicious going on. Anne, Richard, and Marissa were all sick. Old people die—it’s a fact of life.”

Ellie’s eyes turned to slits of blue. “You want to die next?”

Samantha gasped. “Well, no, I guess not.”

“Then shut your yap and stop questioning the experts.” Ellie slammed her fist on the table. Everyone jumped, and she nodded with satisfaction. “We say they were murdered.” She paused for effect. “So they were.”

“Oh, I believe they were murdered.” Jennalou slunk from the back of the room until she stood next to Ellie. She pointed a finger at Ruby. “Every time someone has died, I’ve seen Ruby Merrill sneaking around the hall by their room. And,” Jennalou paused, “I caught Ellie and Ruby in my room the other night, searching through my personal belongings. Anne, Richard, and Marissa were murdered, all right, and Ruby Merrill is the murderer.”

Several people started whispering before Ellie silenced them with a glare. “Jennalou, you’re a psycho. Everybody knows you lie and complain because you need a little attention. Ruby and I would never stoop to looking through your rubbish. Besides, Ruby was the one who discovered her friends and cousin murdered.”

Jennalou’s eyes narrowed beneath her painted-on eyebrows. “I’m not lying about this. Ruby found them because she is the one who poisoned them!”

Michael gave Ruby’s hand a squeeze and mouthed, “Don’t worry about her.”

She smiled at him and took his advice, ignoring Jennalou’s wretched face.

“Jennalou, I will not tolerate lies about my friend,” Ellie declared. “You are hereby banned from this meeting.”

Jennalou folded her arms across her chest. “Who’s going to make me go?”

Ellie snapped her fingers. “Michael, can you take care of this pest?”

Michael cast Ruby a slow grin and stood to his full six feet three inches.

Jennalou looked him up and down with contempt. “You wouldn’t dare,” she said.

“You think I’m going to sit by and let you talk that way about my Ruby?” Michael raised his strong hands to make his point.

Ruby’s heart fluttered.
My Ruby
?

Jennalou harrumphed. She studied Michael for several long seconds before stomping away and shouting, “You’ll all regret not listening to me when you’re dead!”

Michael sat down and winked at Ruby. She glanced back at the rest of the residents, who stared with wide eyes and shared uncertain glances.

A buzzing sensation started in her brain. Something didn’t fit. “Wait a minute.” Ruby shot to her feet. “Jennalou, wait. How did you know they were poisoned?”

Jennalou stopped near the back of the room. “Any idiot could come to that conclusion.”

Ruby glanced at Ellie.

“Then how did you figure it out?” Ellie asked.

Jennalou tossed her stringy gray hair. “You two are not the judge and jury. I am not going to tell you how I guessed that the victims were poisoned.” She turned and strode from the room.

Ellie gave Ruby a look but didn’t say anything. They would discuss Jennalou’s slip of the tongue later.

Ellie pulled a chair forward and turned it to face the group, then sat. “Excuse the interruption folks. Now, where were we before psycho wench interrupted?” She tapped her forehead, looking at her notes. “I say they were murdered—already did that. Hmm. Oh, here I am.” She lifted her chin. “Okay, people. We have to work together. We can’t let this murderer get away with our friends’ blood on his or her hands.”

Ellie swallowed, blinking back tears. Everyone waited silently for her to continue. Finally, her voice came low and quavering. “Let’s figure out who’s committing these atrocities before more ‘old people die.’” She emphasized the last three words and looked pointedly at the residents. “Got it?”

Everyone nodded, probably terrified of sharing any honest opinions.

“Good.” Ellie’s voice was at full strength again. “Now here’s what we know. Psycho woman, Jennalou, was spot on for once. They were all poisoned.”

Several ladies gasped and a low mumble started, rolling across the room like an afternoon storm.

“I said quiet,” Ellie warned. The room settled and she started again. “Ruby recognized the same substance on Anne and Richard as on…” Ellie paused and gulped, her throat bobbing several times. “As on Marissa.” Ellie closed her eyes for a few seconds, then wiped her cheeks dry.

Ruby looked at Michael. He wrapped his strong fingers around her hand.

“The police,” Ellie’s voice squeaked. She cleared her throat and continued. “The police are checking into some leads, the best one being that there was a medication in Marissa’s blood that wasn’t on her prescription list, but unfortunately Samantha was right—the police assume these people were old and sick. The cops aren’t going to be much help. So we need to be on high alert. Watch who goes into and out of rooms. Lock your doors. Don’t open up for anybody.”

Ellie pounded on the desk. “And I mean anybody! Stay in pairs when you go to dinner or for walks.” With narrowed eyes, she studied those unfortunate enough to have chosen the front row. “Do any of you have that home-health-care hooker come check on you?”

A few hands reached into the air, but more confused whispers were heard.

Ellie held up a hand for silence. “Well, you make danged sure someone else is in your room when anybody visits, but especially” —she raised her eyebrows and pointed at a group of women— “especially when that underwear-showing nurse comes in.”

“Tracy?” Samantha asked, covering her heart with her hand. “Tracy is my niece’s daughter.”

“That explains a lot,” Ellie muttered.

“She doesn’t show her underwear,” Samantha said, “and she would never poison anyone.”

Ellie’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve
seen
her underwear, but I didn’t say she poisoned anyone.” She looked at Ruby. “All I’m asking is for you to be careful who you let in your room. Every murder has happened with a resident alone in their room. Make sure you’ve got a friend visiting when home health comes by, even if she is your niece’s daughter. Got it?”

Samantha murmured, “She’s not a hooker.”

She was silenced with a glacial stare from their self-elected leader. “Do you understand?” Ellie pronounced the words slowly.

Samantha nodded.

Ellie leaned back in her chair. “Spread the word to the residents who skipped today’s meeting. Don’t let your friends become martyrs.”

“Don’t you have to be standing up for a cause to be a martyr?” Lanna questioned.

Ellie slammed forward in her seat. “Shut it,” she warned.

Lanna made a grandiose gesture of locking her lips and throwing away the key.

Ellie struck an imperial pose. “Now, does anyone have any
intelligent
questions or thoughts?” She continued on without bothering to wait for a response. “Uh-huh. I didn’t think so. This meeting is dismissed. Be safe, and let’s work together to find that killer!”

As the residents filtered from the room, Samantha muttered, “Don’t know why the killer would take Anne, Richard, and Marissa, and leave someone as cranky and mean as Ellie.”

“She’s extra cranky because she lost another one of her best friends,” Lanna said. “Give the old biddie a break.”

Ellie’s shoulders slumped. Ruby hurried to her side and wrapped an arm around her. Ellie wiped the wetness from her face and turned to look at Ruby. “I should’ve listened to your cockeyed story sooner.” She swallowed and looked down. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Ruby. Maybe Marissa would still be here if I hadn’t been so skeptical.” Ellie clenched her small fists. “That murderer better watch it, because I’m on her like flies on rotting cow poop.”

***

Ace flipped through the cable channels in the dumpy room he shared with Willy. The Preston Motel would’ve been filled with cockroaches, if the climate were conducive to the pests. The room stank of dirty socks and last night’s pizza.

Willy sneaked out of the room earlier, claiming he was going for a walk. Ace was sure it would be a meander. Willy didn’t do cardiovascular exercise, claiming it reduced his bulk. He was a muscle-head, always powering through more weight sets. In the three years Ace had known him, Willy had never wasted the energy to go on a walk.