“Never,” I assured him firmly. “I’m proud of you, Trey.”
He grinned and then announced that he had laundry to do. I promised to be back in time to cook him something wonderful and hurried outside, hopped on the scooter, and drove into town, stopping at the ATM before parking in front of the Secret Garden.
Thirty minutes later, with the scooter’s title safely in my purse, I returned to my mother’s house and finally called Sean.
His voice blasted out of the phone as soon as he answered. “Lila, where on earth did you go? Why did you leave the scene? Are you all right?” I wondered how he knew it was me calling before I’d even said anything, but then I realized he must have my number programmed into his cell phone, generating my name on his call display. That thought warmed my heart.
“I’m sorry, Sean. I really needed to get away from there. And I had to return Bentley’s car,” I added lamely.
He sighed loudly into the phone. “Lila, you reported the murder, and we don’t even have your official statement. You should have come to the station so we could record it.” His voice softened a little. “At least you’re safe and you sound as though you’ve recovered.”
“I’m safe enough, but I don’t feel very normal.” It was obvious he was upset, but I could also sense that he’d been worried about me. “I know I shouldn’t have left, but I had to get away from the image of Luella in her bed…” I trailed off, not wanting that picture to appear in my mind again. “Did you find anything that might point to who did it?”
“Nothing concrete. There was an item on her credit card statement from the bee venom company, so your instincts were right. It looks as though she was probably involved in Marlette’s murder, but we still don’t know what her motive might have been for wanting him dead.”
Feeling validated that my investigations had proved correct, I was nonetheless mystified about more than just the motive. “There’s something else I can’t figure out,” I said. “How could Luella have injected Marlette with the bee venom when she arrived at the office after he was already dead?”
“I can answer that. With the arson case put to rest, we were finally able to interview the employees of the businesses near Novel Idea. The clerk at the pharmacy across the street…Let’s see…” I could hear him flipping through his notebook. “Here it is. Brenda Wagner. That morning while she was sweeping the stoop, she saw you go into Espresso Yourself from the agency. She noticed you because she’d never seen you before and wondered what you were doing at the agency.”
I tried to remember seeing Brenda, but I must have been too focused on my new surroundings.
“Shortly after you went into the coffee shop,” Sean continued, “she saw Luella arrive at Novel Idea, and then Marlette. Apparently he’d been following Ms. Ardor, because he entered the lobby right behind her. Luella hurried out of the main door again a few minutes later. You were still in the coffee shop looking at a book with Makayla—Ms. Wagner is very observant—anyway, while you and Makayla were discussing literature, Luella disappeared down the street. Ms. Wagner didn’t see Marlette leave, and the next thing she knew, the police had arrived.”
“Wow. We lucked out with that witness.”
“We?” Sean teased. “I didn’t realize you were a member of the police force.” He cleared his throat and went on. “The timing of Marlette’s reaction to the bee venom in conjunction with his time of death fits right into that window of Ms. Wagner’s observations. Luella probably injected poor Marlette as soon as he arrived in the reception area.”
“She must have known about his bee allergy from camp!” I exclaimed, wondering how long Luella had been carrying the venom and syringe in her purse, waiting for just the right opportunity. Had she also had the dead bee at the ready? It was a creepy thought. “Did you find out anything else?”
“There were fingerprints in the house that didn’t belong to Luella. The techs are coming to Novel Idea to fingerprint all the agents in search of a match. Including you, I’m afraid. We need to eliminate yours from the mix.”
“But I’m not at the office right now. I’m at my mother’s.” Being in my mother’s house was like hiding in a safe cocoon. I was disinclined to leave the warmth and calm of her home so soon, and I wasn’t ready to face my coworkers.
“Lila, I need you to meet us at the agency. This way, we can get everyone’s statements and prints at the same time.” Clearly, this wasn’t a request.
“All right,” I agreed reluctantly.