decorated by the Vermont Country Store and doesn’t believe in cell phones or fax machines, let alone e-mail—but a great lawyer.”
“Ah, yes, you’ve mentioned Oscar before. But isn’t he a criminal defense lawyer?”
“Yeah, he wasn’t even in our law firm. We didn’t do criminal defense. But I think he used to do civil cases, too, and he’s aggressive. He’ll figure out a way to get rid of this in short order.”
“Okay,” he said. “Sounds good. If he can’t do it, I’m sure you know lots of others who can. In the meantime, though, I’ve got a class to teach. Do you want to stay here until you’re sure Greta has gone away?”
“It doesn’t matter one way or the other.”
Aldous got up from the chair and reached for the doorknob, then paused. “You know, Jenna, you really can’t blame Greta for being hostile to you.”
“What? Why?”
“Because she thinks you leaked that she had that job downtown.”
“I didn’t do that.”
“I know. But everyone around here thinks you did.”
“That really pisses me off.”
“I’m just telling you what I hear.”
I had been having an internal struggle about whether to tell Aldous about the dying plant, and the conclusion I’d reached about who had been the target of the killer. On one level he didn’t seem like the best person to tell because our relationship was so fraught. But on another he did care about me. I decided to tell him, even if we had only minutes left before he had to leave.
“Aldous, before you go, there’s one more thing we need to talk about. And it’s something I haven’t wanted to bring up because it seems nuts.”
“What?”
“I believe there was poison in that coffee; not just in Primo’s cup but in the pot—I’ll explain later why I think so. So I think someone was trying to poison me , not Primo.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, and I’m scared. Terrified, really. So afraid that when the process server served me with the lawsuit this morning, I thought he was an assassin. Not only that, I’m thinking of moving to a hotel until they catch the person who did it, and I’ve pledged to myself not to eat a single bite of anything that I didn’t make myself.”
Aldous sat back down in the chair. “I can be late for my class. Tell me the details of why you think Primo was poisoned and why you think the poison was in the coffeepot.”
I told him. When I was done, he looked at me and said, “This is a lot more serious—for you—than I thought it was. When you came in here, I thought you were just being paranoid.”
“And now?” I asked.
“Crazy as it seems, someone may actually have tried to kill you. Although I think we need to find out for sure what was in that coffeepot. Going to the police right away is a good idea. But I have another idea.”
“Which is?”
“Why don’t you stay at my house while I’m gone?”
“It’s lonely up there. You don’t even have any close neighbors.”
“I can hire a security guard for you if you want.”
I thought about it for a moment. It was one of those on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand conversations I was always having with myself. Oddly, one of the on the other hands was that despite sometimes being attracted to Aldous because of his wealth, I didn’t want to be dependent on him and his money. Which somehow, in my warped internal monologue, seemed to balance out my life being in danger.
“I don’t think that’s necessary, Aldous, but I appreciate the offer.”
“Will you at least think about it?”
“I will, but I don’t think I’ll change my mind.”
“Okay, I do really have to go now.” He got up from the chair, opened the door and looked back at me. “There’s one more thing, Jenna.”
“What’s that, Aldous?”
“Emotionally unavailable as I am, I love you.”
He exited through the door and shut it gently behind him.
CHAPTER 21
A s soon as I got back to my own office, I picked up the phone and called Oscar. It had been
“Ah, yes, you’ve mentioned Oscar before. But isn’t he a criminal defense lawyer?”
“Yeah, he wasn’t even in our law firm. We didn’t do criminal defense. But I think he used to do civil cases, too, and he’s aggressive. He’ll figure out a way to get rid of this in short order.”
“Okay,” he said. “Sounds good. If he can’t do it, I’m sure you know lots of others who can. In the meantime, though, I’ve got a class to teach. Do you want to stay here until you’re sure Greta has gone away?”
“It doesn’t matter one way or the other.”
Aldous got up from the chair and reached for the doorknob, then paused. “You know, Jenna, you really can’t blame Greta for being hostile to you.”
“What? Why?”
“Because she thinks you leaked that she had that job downtown.”
“I didn’t do that.”
“I know. But everyone around here thinks you did.”
“That really pisses me off.”
“I’m just telling you what I hear.”
I had been having an internal struggle about whether to tell Aldous about the dying plant, and the conclusion I’d reached about who had been the target of the killer. On one level he didn’t seem like the best person to tell because our relationship was so fraught. But on another he did care about me. I decided to tell him, even if we had only minutes left before he had to leave.
“Aldous, before you go, there’s one more thing we need to talk about. And it’s something I haven’t wanted to bring up because it seems nuts.”
“What?”
“I believe there was poison in that coffee; not just in Primo’s cup but in the pot—I’ll explain later why I think so. So I think someone was trying to poison me , not Primo.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, and I’m scared. Terrified, really. So afraid that when the process server served me with the lawsuit this morning, I thought he was an assassin. Not only that, I’m thinking of moving to a hotel until they catch the person who did it, and I’ve pledged to myself not to eat a single bite of anything that I didn’t make myself.”
Aldous sat back down in the chair. “I can be late for my class. Tell me the details of why you think Primo was poisoned and why you think the poison was in the coffeepot.”
I told him. When I was done, he looked at me and said, “This is a lot more serious—for you—than I thought it was. When you came in here, I thought you were just being paranoid.”
“And now?” I asked.
“Crazy as it seems, someone may actually have tried to kill you. Although I think we need to find out for sure what was in that coffeepot. Going to the police right away is a good idea. But I have another idea.”
“Which is?”
“Why don’t you stay at my house while I’m gone?”
“It’s lonely up there. You don’t even have any close neighbors.”
“I can hire a security guard for you if you want.”
I thought about it for a moment. It was one of those on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand conversations I was always having with myself. Oddly, one of the on the other hands was that despite sometimes being attracted to Aldous because of his wealth, I didn’t want to be dependent on him and his money. Which somehow, in my warped internal monologue, seemed to balance out my life being in danger.
“I don’t think that’s necessary, Aldous, but I appreciate the offer.”
“Will you at least think about it?”
“I will, but I don’t think I’ll change my mind.”
“Okay, I do really have to go now.” He got up from the chair, opened the door and looked back at me. “There’s one more thing, Jenna.”
“What’s that, Aldous?”
“Emotionally unavailable as I am, I love you.”
He exited through the door and shut it gently behind him.
CHAPTER 21
A s soon as I got back to my own office, I picked up the phone and called Oscar. It had been
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