Edna gazed into her oatmeal. She gathered her gumption to face the day. As far as she knew, Paul was still the prime suspect. He seemed to be holding up better than she was.
Saturday was another volunteer day, so they were off to an early start. Edna drove separately in case she would want to leave before Paul was ready. By the end of May, temperatures got brutal by 10:30 a.m., but Paul could handle an extra hour. She passed Karol, a senior gardener who always got there before anyone else. Karol had a reputation for being a zealous pruner. Once, Betty joked about Karol, “Don’t stand too close, or you’ll get a surprise haircut.” Karol was busy trimming an overgrown firebush when Edna waved.
“Psst! Edna, come over here,” Karol said.
“Hi, things are looking good over here.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you what I overheard on Wednesday. I was down low weeding behind that gardenia when those two detectives stopped and talked on the other side of the bush. I don’t think they knew I was there. They talked about doing complete background checks on all of us, even some on people who were off that day. Did you know that?”
“I guess I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Well, I have. I have three outstanding parking tickets. Now, what am I going to do? I was saving that money for a cruise. Damn.”
Edna walked on, looking at the condition of the gardens. Jack was having difficulty keeping the weeds controlled in the Cactus Garden. Edna decided to work there and observe his behavior at the same time. She knew she was right about him. Even if Miori destroyed her theory notes, she would go back Monday with copies and hand them to Brumbaugh.
Joanie, an occasional Saturday gardener, was crawling around pulling weeds between two large century plants in the Cactus Garden.
“This place is a disaster zone. I’ve been gone three weeks and look at this mess--weeds all over,” Joanie said while she kept tearing out weeds. “This Jack character doesn’t seem to know what he is doing. I found a fishing line and a hook, so I took it down. If he is trying to support a cactus with that, he is wasting his time. Paul needs to have a talk with him.”
Edna’s heart sank when she thought of her evidence, the fishing line, ripped from its crucial location. She was hoping no one would notice it until she could show the detectives.
“Don’t worry, Joanie. I’ll get Charly and we’ll work there with you. He’ll work over there today, and Paul can talk to him later,” Edna said as she nodded toward Jack who was several yards away.
Charly turned off her weed trimmer when she saw Edna by the wedding gazebo.
“Sure, I’d be glad to help.”
“I can tell you haven’t worked there before. Please be very careful.”
Betty approached the pair as she walked toward the Peace Garden.
“Are you OK?” Charly asked Betty.
“It was some news Jack told me, and now I have to look at him all morning,” Betty said. “He says his mother isn’t doing too well in Ohio. He’s thinking about moving back as soon as we are all cleared in this nasty business.”
Charly and Edna offered sympathy. Betty shrugged, frowned, and walked on
Edna hoped that Joanie would stay at the south end of the Cactus Garden with Jack at the north, and she and Charly would take the middle. Paul could deal with Joanie’s complaints.
Joanie wasn’t finished. She approached Edna a few minutes later.
“I know why I feel so bad. Partially, it is this murder business. With all these weeds and plants being a mess, it reminds me of when the hurricane came through here and ripped everything up. I felt horrible.”
“Ah, Ah! Oh, hell,” Charly screamed.
Edna and Joanie turned toward the screams to see Charly gritting her teeth.
“Was it a snake?” asked Joanie.
“My butt,” Charly said turning her rear end for viewing.
Seven or eight needles stuck out of Charly’s pants. Spots of blood made little circles on her white shorts.
“Those are from that prickly pear. You’d better get those spines out. They have barbs on them. You’ll be sorry if you don’t,” said Joanie.
“I’m already sorry,” Charly said.
“Come on. We have tweezers in the first aid kit in the tool shed. I’ll help,” Edna said.
“Remember when your mother told you to wear good underwear in case you have to go to the hospital? Well, wouldn’t you know it? Today, I’m wearing my worst granny panties,” Charly said, trying to smile.
“That’s OK. You’re a granny anyways, aren’t you?” Edna asked.
Charly endured the surgery bravely. The first aid cream seemed to help.
“I’m heading back. That cactus is in for a fight this time.”
“I’m going to make some coffee, and I’ll be along in a minute.” Edna set up the coffee maker. There wasn’t enough coffee for a full pot, so she reached for a new can from the coffee club supplies in a plastic tote, and heard a noise behind her.
“Hi, dear,” Edna said, then, turned around. “Oh, sorry. I thought you might be Paul.”
Jack stood in the shed doorway.
“I thought something was wrong. I heard a scream earlier.”
“The prickly pear left an impression on Charly. She’s OK,” Edna said. “I’m going to open this can you brought in, if you don’t mind. We’re out of coffee.”
Before he could answer, Edna took the plastic lid off the can. There was no foil underneath it. Instead, Edna saw a volunteer shirt --with dirt or maybe blood on it--wadded up in the can. She quickly replaced the lid hoping Jack hadn’t noticed.
“So, did you come in here to get a shirt--shit--I mean a shovel?” Edna’s mouth was dry.
“I think you know what I came to get. I would have gotten it earlier, but the police have been watching me day and night.”
Edna tucked the can under her arm.
“Listen, you nosey bitch. Hand that over, and I’ll be on my way.”
“Over my dead--never mind.”
“Fine,” he said looking at the tool assortment to his right. Any choice, shovel, rake, or hoe, could render Edna unconscious or worse.
Edna’s escape through the shed door was blocked. Backward was the only choice. The back corner had a small hole where a cat kept coming in. Maybe she could force her way through somehow, butt first, if necessary. She pulled the coffee club plastic tote across the floor between her and Jack. He had his hand on a shovel.
As he turned toward her and started to raise his arm, she hurled a partial bag of sugar that exploded on impact with his chin. He laughed and tightened his grip on the shovel.
Edna flipped open the pour spout on the coffee creamer and threw it as hard as she could.
Her shot hit Jack’s shoulder and powdery dust filled the shed. She crouched down trying to scoot out backwards through the cat hole.
Jack drew the shovel back and kicked the coffee tote out of his way. Edna took a two-ounce spray bottle of mosquito repellant out of her Capri pants pocket and squirted it toward Jack. The spray hit the middle of his belly.
Just as Jack started to lunge at her, Edna saw him jerk into reverse and stumble backwards. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Brumbaugh and Paul had grabbed Jack by the shoulders and pulled him out of the shed.
Edna came out of the shed blinking. Jack was face down on the ground with Miori kneeling in the center of his back. She handcuffed him probably as quickly as she put on lip gloss.
“I have it. I have evidence. It’s a bloody shirt in this can. If you check it, you’ll find a ‘J’ on the label. I gave him this shirt, and he took the extra one.”
“You look like a ghost,” Paul said.
“I almost was. This stuff? Oh, that’s creamer.”
“You’d better sit down over here. Dear, you can let go of the can.”
As Miori stuffed Jack in the back of a Lee County Sheriff patrol car, Missy walked up to the car. She let out a scream of delight and twirled around in a victory dance. Her hair swirled out like the spokes on a sprinkler.
“You bastard,” Missy yelled pointing. “I hope they hang you.”
Edna sat on the stoop of the shed. She could see Paul talking, but she felt like she was underwater and couldn’t react to what he was saying.
“Edna, you’re not letting go of the can. Edna,” Paul said.
She looked at him and started to cry.
“I thought I might not get to see you again.”
He hugged her and helped her to stand.
“You OK to walk?” Paul asked. “You scared me. You could have been dead in the shed. I hope you have learned from all this.”
“Trust me. I have. I’ve learned something that I’ve suspected all along.”
“Which is?”
“Bug spray doesn’t really work very well. I need a cup of very strong coffee before I do anything else, OK?” said Edna. “Oh, and skip the creamer.”
Saturday was another volunteer day, so they were off to an early start. Edna drove separately in case she would want to leave before Paul was ready. By the end of May, temperatures got brutal by 10:30 a.m., but Paul could handle an extra hour. She passed Karol, a senior gardener who always got there before anyone else. Karol had a reputation for being a zealous pruner. Once, Betty joked about Karol, “Don’t stand too close, or you’ll get a surprise haircut.” Karol was busy trimming an overgrown firebush when Edna waved.
“Psst! Edna, come over here,” Karol said.
“Hi, things are looking good over here.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you what I overheard on Wednesday. I was down low weeding behind that gardenia when those two detectives stopped and talked on the other side of the bush. I don’t think they knew I was there. They talked about doing complete background checks on all of us, even some on people who were off that day. Did you know that?”
“I guess I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Well, I have. I have three outstanding parking tickets. Now, what am I going to do? I was saving that money for a cruise. Damn.”
Edna walked on, looking at the condition of the gardens. Jack was having difficulty keeping the weeds controlled in the Cactus Garden. Edna decided to work there and observe his behavior at the same time. She knew she was right about him. Even if Miori destroyed her theory notes, she would go back Monday with copies and hand them to Brumbaugh.
Joanie, an occasional Saturday gardener, was crawling around pulling weeds between two large century plants in the Cactus Garden.
“This place is a disaster zone. I’ve been gone three weeks and look at this mess--weeds all over,” Joanie said while she kept tearing out weeds. “This Jack character doesn’t seem to know what he is doing. I found a fishing line and a hook, so I took it down. If he is trying to support a cactus with that, he is wasting his time. Paul needs to have a talk with him.”
Edna’s heart sank when she thought of her evidence, the fishing line, ripped from its crucial location. She was hoping no one would notice it until she could show the detectives.
“Don’t worry, Joanie. I’ll get Charly and we’ll work there with you. He’ll work over there today, and Paul can talk to him later,” Edna said as she nodded toward Jack who was several yards away.
Charly turned off her weed trimmer when she saw Edna by the wedding gazebo.
“Sure, I’d be glad to help.”
“I can tell you haven’t worked there before. Please be very careful.”
Betty approached the pair as she walked toward the Peace Garden.
“Are you OK?” Charly asked Betty.
“It was some news Jack told me, and now I have to look at him all morning,” Betty said. “He says his mother isn’t doing too well in Ohio. He’s thinking about moving back as soon as we are all cleared in this nasty business.”
Charly and Edna offered sympathy. Betty shrugged, frowned, and walked on
Edna hoped that Joanie would stay at the south end of the Cactus Garden with Jack at the north, and she and Charly would take the middle. Paul could deal with Joanie’s complaints.
Joanie wasn’t finished. She approached Edna a few minutes later.
“I know why I feel so bad. Partially, it is this murder business. With all these weeds and plants being a mess, it reminds me of when the hurricane came through here and ripped everything up. I felt horrible.”
“Ah, Ah! Oh, hell,” Charly screamed.
Edna and Joanie turned toward the screams to see Charly gritting her teeth.
“Was it a snake?” asked Joanie.
“My butt,” Charly said turning her rear end for viewing.
Seven or eight needles stuck out of Charly’s pants. Spots of blood made little circles on her white shorts.
“Those are from that prickly pear. You’d better get those spines out. They have barbs on them. You’ll be sorry if you don’t,” said Joanie.
“I’m already sorry,” Charly said.
“Come on. We have tweezers in the first aid kit in the tool shed. I’ll help,” Edna said.
“Remember when your mother told you to wear good underwear in case you have to go to the hospital? Well, wouldn’t you know it? Today, I’m wearing my worst granny panties,” Charly said, trying to smile.
“That’s OK. You’re a granny anyways, aren’t you?” Edna asked.
Charly endured the surgery bravely. The first aid cream seemed to help.
“I’m heading back. That cactus is in for a fight this time.”
“I’m going to make some coffee, and I’ll be along in a minute.” Edna set up the coffee maker. There wasn’t enough coffee for a full pot, so she reached for a new can from the coffee club supplies in a plastic tote, and heard a noise behind her.
“Hi, dear,” Edna said, then, turned around. “Oh, sorry. I thought you might be Paul.”
Jack stood in the shed doorway.
“I thought something was wrong. I heard a scream earlier.”
“The prickly pear left an impression on Charly. She’s OK,” Edna said. “I’m going to open this can you brought in, if you don’t mind. We’re out of coffee.”
Before he could answer, Edna took the plastic lid off the can. There was no foil underneath it. Instead, Edna saw a volunteer shirt --with dirt or maybe blood on it--wadded up in the can. She quickly replaced the lid hoping Jack hadn’t noticed.
“So, did you come in here to get a shirt--shit--I mean a shovel?” Edna’s mouth was dry.
“I think you know what I came to get. I would have gotten it earlier, but the police have been watching me day and night.”
Edna tucked the can under her arm.
“Listen, you nosey bitch. Hand that over, and I’ll be on my way.”
“Over my dead--never mind.”
“Fine,” he said looking at the tool assortment to his right. Any choice, shovel, rake, or hoe, could render Edna unconscious or worse.
Edna’s escape through the shed door was blocked. Backward was the only choice. The back corner had a small hole where a cat kept coming in. Maybe she could force her way through somehow, butt first, if necessary. She pulled the coffee club plastic tote across the floor between her and Jack. He had his hand on a shovel.
As he turned toward her and started to raise his arm, she hurled a partial bag of sugar that exploded on impact with his chin. He laughed and tightened his grip on the shovel.
Edna flipped open the pour spout on the coffee creamer and threw it as hard as she could.
Her shot hit Jack’s shoulder and powdery dust filled the shed. She crouched down trying to scoot out backwards through the cat hole.
Jack drew the shovel back and kicked the coffee tote out of his way. Edna took a two-ounce spray bottle of mosquito repellant out of her Capri pants pocket and squirted it toward Jack. The spray hit the middle of his belly.
Just as Jack started to lunge at her, Edna saw him jerk into reverse and stumble backwards. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Brumbaugh and Paul had grabbed Jack by the shoulders and pulled him out of the shed.
Edna came out of the shed blinking. Jack was face down on the ground with Miori kneeling in the center of his back. She handcuffed him probably as quickly as she put on lip gloss.
“I have it. I have evidence. It’s a bloody shirt in this can. If you check it, you’ll find a ‘J’ on the label. I gave him this shirt, and he took the extra one.”
“You look like a ghost,” Paul said.
“I almost was. This stuff? Oh, that’s creamer.”
“You’d better sit down over here. Dear, you can let go of the can.”
As Miori stuffed Jack in the back of a Lee County Sheriff patrol car, Missy walked up to the car. She let out a scream of delight and twirled around in a victory dance. Her hair swirled out like the spokes on a sprinkler.
“You bastard,” Missy yelled pointing. “I hope they hang you.”
Edna sat on the stoop of the shed. She could see Paul talking, but she felt like she was underwater and couldn’t react to what he was saying.
“Edna, you’re not letting go of the can. Edna,” Paul said.
She looked at him and started to cry.
“I thought I might not get to see you again.”
He hugged her and helped her to stand.
“You OK to walk?” Paul asked. “You scared me. You could have been dead in the shed. I hope you have learned from all this.”
“Trust me. I have. I’ve learned something that I’ve suspected all along.”
“Which is?”
“Bug spray doesn’t really work very well. I need a cup of very strong coffee before I do anything else, OK?” said Edna. “Oh, and skip the creamer.”
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