Sweet Ginger Poison (17 page)

“Your granddaughter?”

“Yes. She was 12. And halfway through the movie she
had to go to the bathroom. Navy saw her in the hallway and followed her into
the restroom. He threatened to hurt her if she screamed. But when he pulled
down his pants and grabbed her, she screamed anyway. He got out of there before
anybody else saw him.”

“That’s awful. Why didn’t you ever tell me about this,
Addie?”

“Bobbie didn’t want anybody to know. She was
embarrassed. And she was afraid to tell her momma because she had been told to
stay with the other girls at all times. But they didn’t want to miss any of the
movie. And she couldn’t wait.”

“Poor thing.”

“We explained to her that we needed to tell the police
about it so Navy couldn’t do it to any other girls. They took her statement.
But nothing ever came of it. I always wondered if Ellegora paid somebody to
make the whole thing go away.”

“So the chief thinks
you
poisoned Navy?”

“
Ellegora
thinks I did. I had motive—or least I
used
to. At the time he did that to Bobbie I wanted to kill him. I don’t
know whether I really could have. I hated him.”

“But you got over it.”

“Not completely. I could hardly stand to be in the
same room with him. But I wouldn’t have killed him.”

“The chief has apparently been looking through old
records.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, so you had motive and opportunity. You
could
have put fish oil in that coffee cake. But what about the Epi-Pen? What did
the chief say about that?”

“He didn’t have
anything
to say about it. As
soon as I brought it up, he told me he was done.”

“Good. Hopefully he’ll move on now.”

“He’ll probably go right back to Lacey.”

“Actually, I have a few suggestions for him.”

“Other suspects?”

“Yes. For example: Manny Monet. I’ve been told that he
does loan sharking on the side.”

“I’ve heard that.”

“And I was thinking that if Navy had borrowed money
from him and couldn’t pay it back—”

“—Manny would
kill
him? I don’t know. It’s a
possibility.”

“And Cash Crawley. Oh—I haven’t had a chance to tell
you: Cash is the one who has the fake recipe book. He must have hired Navy to
steal it.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“He
admitted
it to me.”

“That
does
surprise me.”

“Yeah. I was shocked. But he says Navy
gave
it
to him. And that he had nothing to do with Navy’s death.”

“Well of course he’s going to deny
killing
him.”

“But I believe him. I can’t really see a motive. But
I’m wondering about his brother, Bull, because from what I understand, Bull and
Cash hate each other.”

“Always have.”

“So, suppose Bull somehow found out that Navy was
stealing the recipe book for Cash. He might have figured that once the police
discovered that Cash hired Navy to steal the book, they might think Cash killed
him to cover up the theft. If anybody ever learned that his new cupcake recipes
were really mine, his business would be ruined.”

“Boy, you’ve really put a lot of thought into this,
haven’t you?”

“I’m just trying to keep Lacey, or you, or some other
innocent person from going to prison.”

“When are you going to share your ideas with the
police?”

“When I’m sure.”

“You know, Ginger, I was thinking…if the coffee cake
wasn’t poisoned until after Navy left here with it, how did the killer get the
fish oil into it? You couldn’t just pour it on top. Do you suppose they used a
hypodermic needle?”

“They must have,” said Ginger.

“You don’t think the killer would have been stupid
enough—”

“—to buy it at Coreyville Pharmacy? Who knows?
Sometimes criminals do really dumb things,” said Ginger. “I’m gonna find out.”

**********

Ginger had gone by Bull Crawley’s Bar & Grill
after her trip to Coreyville Pharmacy. The cashier told her Bull was gone and
would not be back until 4:30. Ginger wanted to have a private conversation with
him, so she decided to come back after the dinner rush.

It was nearly 7:00 p.m. when she left her house to
walk down to the square. She heard several police sirens and possibly an
ambulance. Must be a bad wreck, she thought.

Only three tables were occupied in Bull’s place. Two
men sat at the bar drinking and watching the TV.

“Is Bull here?”

“Yes. Oh, you came by this afternoon looking for him,
didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“He’s in his office. I’ll take you back.”

“Thanks.”

“He can be hard to catch sometimes. He’s in and out
all day.”

His office door was open, but he was not there.

“Hang on. Let me check the restroom.”

When Ginger had gone to Coreyville Pharmacy that
afternoon Sherry, the pharmacy assistant, had checked their records for
purchases of latex gloves and syringes over the past few weeks. Sherry was an
old friend.

Ginger had been shocked to discover that Bull Crawley
had used his company credit card to buy syringes and latex gloves. Perhaps he
had some legitimate purpose for them. Was he diabetic? Not according to their
records, Sherry told her.

Ginger stepped into Bull’s office and looked around.
Did she really think he was stupid enough to leave a syringe lying around?
Maybe.

Then she saw a potted plant in the corner of the
room—just like the unusual one she’d seen in Cash’s office. Weird.

“I’m sorry. It looks like he’s already taken off.”

“That’s okay. Thanks anyway.” Ginger walked out of the
restaurant. Activity on the square was almost nil at this time of night. Most
of the shops closed by 6:00 p.m.

Ginger walked down the sidewalk until she got to the
corner. After checking to make sure nobody was watching her, she stepped off
the sidewalk, out of the light, and went through the narrow passageway to the
alley. She prayed there were no muggers or mean dogs waiting to pounce.

She stepped out, and looked down the alley, locating
the back of Bull’s restaurant. It would take less than a minute to walk from
his place, go around the corner and get to the back of Cash & Carry Donuts.

If Bull had somehow known that Navy would be stopping
at Cash’s on the way to the nursing home Saturday morning, he could have been
hiding there with his syringe of fish oil. As soon as Navy went inside, he
could have unwrapped the coffee cake, injected the fish oil at several spots,
rewrapped the cake, and stolen the Epi-Pen from the glove box. It wouldn’t have
been that difficult. And his employees probably wouldn’t have even missed him.
They would have thought he was in his office or in the restroom.

Ginger walked back through the eerie passageway. Just
as she stepped out, someone called her name and she jumped.

“I’m sorry, Ginger. It’s me—Elijah.” He stepped out of
the shadows.

“You startled me.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I drove by your house, but you
weren’t home. Then I spotted you over here. What were you doing?”

“Uh, let’s get out of here first,” said Ginger. “I’ve
got the creeps.”

They got into his car.

“What were you coming to see me about?” said Ginger.

“I couldn’t get you on the phone.”

She felt her pockets. “Oops. I must have left my phone
at the house.”

“I’ve got bad news.”

“What?”

“Cheryl Iper called me. Danny is dead.”

“What happened?”

“Apparently somebody murdered him.”

“Oh, no. Poor Lacey. Do you know if Cheryl called
her?”

“Yes, she did. So, I thought you might want to go
check on her.”

“Yes, please.”

Elijah started the car to make the short drive to
Lacey’s apartment. “Some guy found his body out at that illegal dump south of
town. At first he just saw his car. Then he grabbed a flashlight to look
around. Danny was lying face down in the dirt.”

“When did it happen?”

“They’re not sure. Probably last night. The guy found
his body less than an hour ago.”

“
That’s
what the sirens were.”

Elijah pulled into the apartment parking lot and they
went inside.

When Lacey opened the door and saw Ginger, she hugged
her with both arms, laid her head on Ginger’s shoulder, and cried like a baby.

“I’m so sorry, Sweetie,” said Ginger.

“Why do people keep killing the men I love?”

“I don’t know, Honey.”

“I’m a curse to all mankind.”

“No, you’re not. Don’t say that. What happened to them
was not your fault.”

Ginger finally got Lacey calmed down. She and Elijah
talked to her for nearly two hours. Finally, Ginger suggested that Lacey go to
bed for the night. She tucked her in, and then she and Elijah left.

Elijah drove Ginger to her house and walked her to the
door.

“You’re a great friend to her,” said Elijah.

“Sometimes I think I’m her
only
friend,” said
Ginger. “I’ve got to figure out who this killer is before he kills somebody
else.”

“But not tonight. Worry about it tomorrow. You need
rest.”

“Okay.”

He stepped closer and took her head in his hands.

Whatever he was about to give her, she was ready to
receive.

Elijah kissed her gently on the forehead. “Goodnight,
Ginger.”

He turned and walked down the porch steps.

“Goodnight.”

The afterglow of Elijah’s kiss to her forehead was
just beginning to wear off when Ginger remembered the gun. Danny was dead, but
she still had his pistol locked away downstairs in the basement.

She wondered if Danny would be alive right now if he’d
had his gun for protection. What was he doing at that illegal dump site in the
middle of a storm? Dropping off a load of garbage? Not likely. He must have
gone there to meet someone.

Ginger remembered that on Saturday morning Danny had
been late for work. He said he’d overslept. But couldn’t he have been waiting
in the alley behind Cash & Carry Donuts when Navy dropped off the stolen
recipe book?

He would have had enough time to inject the fish oil
and steal the Epi-Pen. But how would he have even known about the Epi-Pen?
Perhaps Lacey had mentioned it. But he would have also had to somehow know that
Navy would be stopping by to see Cash.

And what was Danny’s motive? Jealousy? Ginger had
witnessed Danny’s temper tantrums first hand. But they never lasted very long.
She didn’t believe he could sustain his anger long enough to carry out such a
murder plot.

Maybe somebody
hired
Danny to kill Navy. That
seemed more plausible. Danny was always looking to make the easy buck. Although
Ginger doubted he could actually murder someone—even for money. But what if he
agreed to kill Navy and then backed out? Perhaps whoever offered Danny the
money was afraid he would give away their identity.

Ginger picked up the phone and called the chief.

“Chief Foenapper.”

“Chief, this is Ginger Lightley.”

He sounded as though he wished he hadn’t taken the
call. “Hello, Mrs. Lightley.”

“I hate to bother you so late, Chief. In fact, I’m
surprised you’re still in the office. It’s nearly 10:00.”

“Yes, I know.”

“But I have something I need to give you.”

“Can’t it wait until Monday?”

“I don’t think so. It’s a gun.”

His voice perked up. “A
gun?
”

“Yes. It’s some sort of pistol. It belongs to Danny
Iper.”

“He’s dead, you know.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Well, how did you come into possession of his gun?”

“Lacey Greendale took it from him the other night
and—”

“—Lacey Greendale. I should have known.”

“Well, yes. She didn’t want it in her apartment, so
she brought it to me and I put it in my safe.”

“You didn’t clean it or wipe it off, did you?”

“No. I barely touched the thing. I don’t like guns.”

“I’ll come pick it up right now.”

“Okay. But there’s something else, Chief.”

“What?”

Ginger explained her theory about Danny being paid to
kill Navy, and how she thought the person who hired Danny might have been the
one who killed him tonight.

“That’s not a bad theory,” he said.