before answering.
The group whispered quietly as I spoke to my sister. I could see that Marley was almost as tense as I was as she waited to hear the fate of her best friend in the entire world. I don’t know what I was expecting Siobhan to report, but of all the things I anticipated might be wrong with Maggie, the truth was so much worse than I feared.
After we finished at the Bait and Stitch for the day, Max and I decided to head over to the marina to see if Danny was around. When I arrived at the boat, Danny and Tara were sitting on the deck of his boat enjoying a beer with Cody. I almost turned around and left, but everyone had seen me and I didn’t want to seem pathetic. Danny handed me a bottle as I sat down across from the group.
“It’s nice to see you, Cait.” I tried not to look at Cody, who looked even better than I remembered him. I’d managed a brief glance at him when he’d come by with Danny to fix the screen, but I’d been so terrified about being caught in just a towel that I hadn’t taken the time to really appreciate the way he’d filled out.
“I heard you’re on the island for the whole summer,” I said.
“I’m about to finish my tour with the Navy and am trying to decide whether to re-up or move on to something else. I had some leave coming, so I decided to come back to the island to think things through.”
“I’m surprised you’d come here,” I said snottily. “Now that your parents have moved, I can’t see that there’s a lot for you on Madrona.”
“I have friends.”
“Good friends.” Danny shot me a look. “Cody was just telling us about his time with the Seals. It’s really fascinating.”
“I’m sure it is. I heard from Siobhan,” I changed the subject in an abrupt manner that I was certain didn’t present me in the best light. I thought both Danny and Tara understood how much Cody had hurt me, but here they were, chatting with him like he was the best thing since sliced bread.
“And?” Danny asked. I knew he was as anxious about Maggie’s health as I was.
“According to the lab results, Maggie has a significant amount of arsenic in her system. Not enough to kill her; just enough to make her sick.”
“Arsenic?” Danny frowned. “How on earth did she get arsenic poisoning?”
“Siobhan said that someone has to be slipping it to her. Probably in her food.”
“That sounds like it could be serious,” Cody added.
“Yes, I imagine it is,” I replied.
“So the person would have to have access to her food. Other than you, who could that possibly be?” Tara wondered.
“I’m not really sure,” I admitted. “Maggie doesn’t eat out often, so chances are that the food in the house is somehow being contaminated.”
“You’ve been cooking for Maggie and eating at her house most nights since she’s been sick,” Tara pointed out, “yet you seem to feel just fine.”
“That’s true,” I agreed. “If the food in Maggie’s kitchen was contaminated I should be sick as well. Whatever it is that’s making her sick, it must be something only she eats or drinks.”
“Maybe she’s coming into contact with the substance at the store,” Danny suggested. “One of the regulars could be slipping the poison into her food when she isn’t looking.”
I frowned. “Who would do that?”
“I don’t know, but someone obviously is.”
Danny was right; someone was slipping the poison into her food and I knew it wasn’t me.
“Okay, let’s say it’s true. Other than the three of us, who does Maggie come into contact with on a regular basis?” I asked.
“Maggie spends more time with Marley than anyone else,” Tara began.
“Yeah, but there’s no way Marley would hurt Maggie.” Maggie and Marley had been best friends since they were young girls. Sure, they argued at times, but everyone knew they cared deeply about each other.
“The ladies from the quilting circle seem to spend an awful lot of time at the Bait and Stitch,” Danny
The group whispered quietly as I spoke to my sister. I could see that Marley was almost as tense as I was as she waited to hear the fate of her best friend in the entire world. I don’t know what I was expecting Siobhan to report, but of all the things I anticipated might be wrong with Maggie, the truth was so much worse than I feared.
After we finished at the Bait and Stitch for the day, Max and I decided to head over to the marina to see if Danny was around. When I arrived at the boat, Danny and Tara were sitting on the deck of his boat enjoying a beer with Cody. I almost turned around and left, but everyone had seen me and I didn’t want to seem pathetic. Danny handed me a bottle as I sat down across from the group.
“It’s nice to see you, Cait.” I tried not to look at Cody, who looked even better than I remembered him. I’d managed a brief glance at him when he’d come by with Danny to fix the screen, but I’d been so terrified about being caught in just a towel that I hadn’t taken the time to really appreciate the way he’d filled out.
“I heard you’re on the island for the whole summer,” I said.
“I’m about to finish my tour with the Navy and am trying to decide whether to re-up or move on to something else. I had some leave coming, so I decided to come back to the island to think things through.”
“I’m surprised you’d come here,” I said snottily. “Now that your parents have moved, I can’t see that there’s a lot for you on Madrona.”
“I have friends.”
“Good friends.” Danny shot me a look. “Cody was just telling us about his time with the Seals. It’s really fascinating.”
“I’m sure it is. I heard from Siobhan,” I changed the subject in an abrupt manner that I was certain didn’t present me in the best light. I thought both Danny and Tara understood how much Cody had hurt me, but here they were, chatting with him like he was the best thing since sliced bread.
“And?” Danny asked. I knew he was as anxious about Maggie’s health as I was.
“According to the lab results, Maggie has a significant amount of arsenic in her system. Not enough to kill her; just enough to make her sick.”
“Arsenic?” Danny frowned. “How on earth did she get arsenic poisoning?”
“Siobhan said that someone has to be slipping it to her. Probably in her food.”
“That sounds like it could be serious,” Cody added.
“Yes, I imagine it is,” I replied.
“So the person would have to have access to her food. Other than you, who could that possibly be?” Tara wondered.
“I’m not really sure,” I admitted. “Maggie doesn’t eat out often, so chances are that the food in the house is somehow being contaminated.”
“You’ve been cooking for Maggie and eating at her house most nights since she’s been sick,” Tara pointed out, “yet you seem to feel just fine.”
“That’s true,” I agreed. “If the food in Maggie’s kitchen was contaminated I should be sick as well. Whatever it is that’s making her sick, it must be something only she eats or drinks.”
“Maybe she’s coming into contact with the substance at the store,” Danny suggested. “One of the regulars could be slipping the poison into her food when she isn’t looking.”
I frowned. “Who would do that?”
“I don’t know, but someone obviously is.”
Danny was right; someone was slipping the poison into her food and I knew it wasn’t me.
“Okay, let’s say it’s true. Other than the three of us, who does Maggie come into contact with on a regular basis?” I asked.
“Maggie spends more time with Marley than anyone else,” Tara began.
“Yeah, but there’s no way Marley would hurt Maggie.” Maggie and Marley had been best friends since they were young girls. Sure, they argued at times, but everyone knew they cared deeply about each other.
“The ladies from the quilting circle seem to spend an awful lot of time at the Bait and Stitch,” Danny
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