Diva Runs Out Of Thyme

The scratching at the kitchen door alerted me to Daisy’s return. When I opened it, she and MacArthur bounded inside and wedged their noses in Daisy’s water bowl at the same time. Then Mom, Dad, and June entered and clustered around the fireplace. Dad hung up coats while Mom clasped her hands and said, “We’ve had the best idea. June will be leaving tomorrow after the stuffing contest and we’ll be going home the next morning, so we thought we should all get together and go out to dinner tonight.”

Francie let out a little cry.

Mom patted Francie’s hand. “I wish the colonel were here to come with us, but we think it’s a way of honoring him. We should invite everyone who came for Thanksgiving. Sophie, will you call Mars and ask them to come? I’ll call Humphrey.”

Having dinner again with Mars and Natasha, not to mention Humphrey and Wolf, appealed to me about as much as a root canal. But Mom unknowingly handed me exactly what I needed—an empty house. Except it wouldn’t be empty. I would make some kind of last-minute excuse and stay home to spy and see if anyone turned up to retrieve the vial. I embraced her suggestion with enthusiasm.

I could hear Mom giving Francie a little pep talk while I dialed Mars’s cell phone number.

He answered on the first ring and asked, “Is Mom okay?”

“She’s fine. Right here in front of me. Why? Has something happened?”

He took a minute before answering me. “Sophie, I don’t know what to do with her. Natasha is certain that something awful will happen to her if she goes home and stays by herself, and I couldn’t live with that. We’ve been talking about this all morning and I’m afraid . . . Andrew and I don’t have any choice, we’re going to have to put her in a home where they can watch her.”

I bristled at the thought. June would not go to a retirement home until she wanted to go. Even if I had to take her in to live with me. This time Natasha had gone too far. Lowering my voice so June wouldn’t overhear, I wandered into the sunroom with the phone. I told Mars about the dinner plans and insisted he come over immediately to discuss June’s situation.

When I hung up, I found Mom behind me, listening. “Is he on his way?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Run upstairs right now and change into that white sweater I gave you last year. And put on some makeup.”

“Mom, they want to put June into a home for the aged.”

“Because she talks to her sister’s ghost?”

“No, because they think she started the fire at Natasha’s. Mars is afraid something horrible will happen to her if she lives by herself.”

Mom crossed one arm over her abdomen and massaged her chin with the other hand. “Nonsense. We can’t have that. I’ll have a talk with Mars when he arrives.”

The knocker on the front door sounded.

“Too late to change.” Mom reached toward me and fluffed my hair. “You couldn’t have put on a little lipstick? You ought to keep some in the console in the foyer for these emergencies. Natasha does.”

I escaped her and answered the door. It couldn’t possibly be Mars yet anyway.

When I opened the door, Wolf stood on the stoop. “Is Mrs. Winston here?”

I presumed he meant June. “She had nothing to do with the colonel’s death. I promise you she did not kill him.” I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. “I don’t know what you’ve heard but she’s a very sweet lady and she’s not incompetent.”

He drew back, a perplexed look on his face. “Someone murdered the colonel?”

I’d put my foot in it. “I don’t know that he was murdered. But whatever happened, June wasn’t involved.”

“He’s dead? When did this occur?”

“Last night. I assumed you knew.”

Wolf flipped open his phone.

I motioned for him to come in the house. “You can talk in the living room. I can’t guarantee privacy but it’s your best bet.”

Digging in my pocket for the vial, I followed him and said, “Mochie found . . .”

Wolf held up his forefinger in a gesture that meant “wait a minute,” turned away from me, and spoke into his phone.

I didn’t want to stick around the living room to eavesdrop, but when I retreated to the dining room, I caught Craig ducking into the foyer. I’d had about enough of his creeping around and spying and was about to tell him off but thought better of it. Maybe the poison vial did belong to him.

Pretending I hadn’t seen him, I acted as though I was hiding the vial in the top drawer of the dining room buffet, while actually leaving it safely in my pocket. Hopefully when we were all out to dinner and he thought the house was empty, the killer would feel free to come back to retrieve it. Except I would be waiting.

Mustering courage and a friendly smile, I strode toward the kitchen, feigning surprise when I saw Craig. “Back from your run? Good that you got it in. I think they’re calling for rain this afternoon.”

I continued to the kitchen. What a horrible day.

Craig followed me, plopped into a fireside chair, and Hannah promptly sat on his lap. Why did she turn into a simpering sexpot around him? Yuck.