Mulligan’s stew. I’d of course heard the rumors that the stew had been the source of everyone’s sickness, but hadn’t thought much about the fact that I hadn’t gotten sick—not till I heard rat poison had been an added ingredient, anyway.
Tony’s brow furrowed. “Then the poison must have been added between ten-thirty and noon. That’s helpful to know. Thank you.”
I almost said, “The Borne Girls Detective Agency aims to please.” But instead I had the sense to just nod.
“My Lord,” he said. His steely eyes had softened. “That might have been a close call for you. And your baby.”
“Yes, but there was only one fatality. Madam Petrova. Because she was elderly, I guess, and her system just couldn’t take it.”
“She was the oldest person there,” Tony said with a nod.
“Does Mrs. Mulligan know that someone doctored her stew? That she isn’t responsible for this tragedy?”
“Not yet. None of this is for public consumption.”
Sort of like stew with rat poison in it. “Look, you need to tell her. She probably feels terrible about it. The word is all around town that it was her stew that was tainted, you know.”
“Well, we haven’t released that info yet.”
“No, but Mother overheard the coroner speculating about the stew as the source at the scene. And if Mother knows, Serenity knows.”
Tony closed his eyes. “How can you stand it?”
“I love her. You don’t have to, but I do. Listen, something else about that stew—I don’t know if you’re aware, but none of those five out-of-town bidders ate at the church.”
“I do know—we interviewed them today. They ate at their hotel. How do you know? If this is more amateur detective nonsense—”
“Not guilty! I just ran into them at a restaurant—they were eating together again. Do you think one of them is your murderer?”
His eyes widened, then narrowed. “Possibly. We searched their hotel rooms and rental vehicles—they cooperated fully, no search warrants required—but an artifact as small as that egg could be easily hidden. Could even have been discreetly shipped somewhere by now.”
“And you’ve searched the church?”
“Top to bottom. Father O’Brien has been very helpful. We still have police stationed there. Considered a crime scene.” He sighed. “That’s how I got the media out of there so quickly, and we’ve been very lucky on that front, actually.”
“Yeah, we had all the Quad Cities stations represented.Which are all the networks, including Fox. I expected to see them hanging around.”
He waved as if batting an invisible fly. “They took off shortly after the auction went to hell. They’d come expecting a fun story about a Fabergé egg helping bail out a flood-wracked town, and instead got a church filled with people puking. But when this murder stuff hits the local papers, that might attract national attention.”
We just sat there a while and he even slipped an arm around my shoulder. No more talk of murder or anything else. We just enjoyed the fire and each other’s company. I fell asleep briefly, nestled against his shoulder.
Then I woke up, feeling a little embarrassed, yawned and stretched, and said, “It was a lovely supper, Tony. A lovely evening. But Mother will be worried—you better run me home.”
He did.
But I sat in the front seat this time.
A Trash ‘n’ Treasures Tip
Bidding at auction is not for the shy. Hold your card up high, or speak loudly when you bid. Mother can go too far in this regard, however, jumping up and blocking other bidders. It’s just remotely possible that she does this on purpose.
Chapter Six
Walking on Eggshells
A t around nine o’clock that evening, Tony dropped me off at my house. He pulled up at the curb, turned, and asked me if I had my cell phone with me.
“Sure,” I said. “Why?”
“I want to give you my unlisted number. You have any problems, of any kind, day or night—just call.”
I didn’t quite know what to say, but
Tony’s brow furrowed. “Then the poison must have been added between ten-thirty and noon. That’s helpful to know. Thank you.”
I almost said, “The Borne Girls Detective Agency aims to please.” But instead I had the sense to just nod.
“My Lord,” he said. His steely eyes had softened. “That might have been a close call for you. And your baby.”
“Yes, but there was only one fatality. Madam Petrova. Because she was elderly, I guess, and her system just couldn’t take it.”
“She was the oldest person there,” Tony said with a nod.
“Does Mrs. Mulligan know that someone doctored her stew? That she isn’t responsible for this tragedy?”
“Not yet. None of this is for public consumption.”
Sort of like stew with rat poison in it. “Look, you need to tell her. She probably feels terrible about it. The word is all around town that it was her stew that was tainted, you know.”
“Well, we haven’t released that info yet.”
“No, but Mother overheard the coroner speculating about the stew as the source at the scene. And if Mother knows, Serenity knows.”
Tony closed his eyes. “How can you stand it?”
“I love her. You don’t have to, but I do. Listen, something else about that stew—I don’t know if you’re aware, but none of those five out-of-town bidders ate at the church.”
“I do know—we interviewed them today. They ate at their hotel. How do you know? If this is more amateur detective nonsense—”
“Not guilty! I just ran into them at a restaurant—they were eating together again. Do you think one of them is your murderer?”
His eyes widened, then narrowed. “Possibly. We searched their hotel rooms and rental vehicles—they cooperated fully, no search warrants required—but an artifact as small as that egg could be easily hidden. Could even have been discreetly shipped somewhere by now.”
“And you’ve searched the church?”
“Top to bottom. Father O’Brien has been very helpful. We still have police stationed there. Considered a crime scene.” He sighed. “That’s how I got the media out of there so quickly, and we’ve been very lucky on that front, actually.”
“Yeah, we had all the Quad Cities stations represented.Which are all the networks, including Fox. I expected to see them hanging around.”
He waved as if batting an invisible fly. “They took off shortly after the auction went to hell. They’d come expecting a fun story about a Fabergé egg helping bail out a flood-wracked town, and instead got a church filled with people puking. But when this murder stuff hits the local papers, that might attract national attention.”
We just sat there a while and he even slipped an arm around my shoulder. No more talk of murder or anything else. We just enjoyed the fire and each other’s company. I fell asleep briefly, nestled against his shoulder.
Then I woke up, feeling a little embarrassed, yawned and stretched, and said, “It was a lovely supper, Tony. A lovely evening. But Mother will be worried—you better run me home.”
He did.
But I sat in the front seat this time.
A Trash ‘n’ Treasures Tip
Bidding at auction is not for the shy. Hold your card up high, or speak loudly when you bid. Mother can go too far in this regard, however, jumping up and blocking other bidders. It’s just remotely possible that she does this on purpose.
Chapter Six
Walking on Eggshells
A t around nine o’clock that evening, Tony dropped me off at my house. He pulled up at the curb, turned, and asked me if I had my cell phone with me.
“Sure,” I said. “Why?”
“I want to give you my unlisted number. You have any problems, of any kind, day or night—just call.”
I didn’t quite know what to say, but
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