“It will be months before Gump can collect enough data to get permission. But how is any of this catching Marlene’s killer?” That’s what had Jax worried. He didn’t want Evie anywhere near killers.
She looked pensive—an odd expression for Evie. “I don’t know. Granny can’t tell me. Auras are fickle. All we know is that she stuck her nose too far into Sunshine’s business and someone took her out. The nurse had the knowledge and probably wanted her to stop snooping into her thefts. But Savanna wasn’t there. So it has to be Sunshine, somehow.”
“And a nurse won’t be at a board meeting, so that won’t help if she’s your main suspect. It’s a little hard to trace antifreeze purchases.” Jax crushed the over-tall grass under his feet.
Evie laughed. “Anyone buying antifreeze in August ought to be suspicious, but who would notice in a city? I’ll see if Reuben can trace Nurse Savanna’s purchases, just out of curiosity. Where does one even buy the stuff?”
“Anywhere that carries automotive supplies. I don’t think you’ll persuade Wal-Mart to cough up the info, and she could have paid cash. And since she wasn’t there to administer it, she really isn’t the killer, is she?”
“We need to take a look at that video again showing who visited while Granny was ill. Some of them brought food.” Evie jumped up and headed for the house.
“A bunch of old ladies,” Jax called after her. “You really think they’re a mob of killers?”
“One of them is!”
* * *
After dinner,Evie sat in the cellar with Reuben and Jax, scrolling through her email while they played the videos from Granny-cam over and over.
“A covered dish means hot food, right?” Reuben asked, halting the video on blue-haired lady #1.
Evie called up her memory of meeting Blue #1, found the apartment number on the home’s map, and ID’d her. “Leticia Mortimer, resident for five years. And yes, covered dish normally means hot food. Does antifreeze not work in that?”
“Imagine Gatorade in your scalloped potatoes.” Jax clicked the video to the next visitor.
“Granny is still well enough to answer the door in these first clips. She’s just not letting anyone in.” Reuben stopped the film on Mr. Charles bringing saltines and Seven-Up.
“Seven-Up in antifreeze? Is it clear?” Evie added Mr. Charles and his contribution to her list.
“Don’t think that would hide the taste, and no, probably not clear enough and not bubbly. We should buy some antifreeze and test it. Apparently it gels in gelatin salads. Does it cloud them?” Jax gestured for the next clip.
“Lucy Murkowski.” Evie identified this visitor easily. “And Ursula, from HR. Why isshethere? What’s Lucy carrying?”
“Lucy is probably trained not to enter a resident’s apartment without accompaniment for liability purposes. And if Marlene had already raised hell about theft, she’d be doubly cautious.” Jax studied the open bowl Lucy held. “Cold food. Fruit, maybe?”
“With antifreeze dressing? How much fruit would it take to finish off Granny? There’s a mess of it in there.” Reuben zoomed up the image so they could all admire the neat slices of peaches and melons and grapes decorated with blueberries.
“I’ll email Stacey and ask if there was any fruit salad left.” Evie shot off the message.
“But Marlene actually did have a heart attack,” Jax reminded them. “If the first attempt just made her sick, are we assuming a second attempt triggered the attack? Or maybe she didn’t need any extra at all for her heart to give out.”
“Are you saying we’re not indicting anyone?” Reuben asked indignantly.
“I’m saying Murder One will be a tough call, even if we can prove who administered the poison—which is unlikely since Stacey threw out all the evidence.” Jax didn’t look happy as he gestured for the next image.
“Tall, thin, ascetic lady.” Evie labeled her list. “That should be Mary Smith, Apartment 450. Can that be her real name? Maybe she’s another spy like Granny.”
“Looks like brownies,” she continued, studying the zoomed-up image. “But they need butter and eggs. Antifreeze won’t cut it. We don’t know anything.” She threw down her laptop in disgust.
“Chemistry lab!” Reuben hooted. “I’ll look up how to test for poisonous levels of antifreeze and figure out the formula for antifreeze brownies.”
“Who’s going to taste-test them?” Jax took the remote and scrolled through the video, stopping long enough for Evie to identify residents, then move on.
They repeated the exercise through the days after Granny’s death and Stacey’s visit, but the culprits were all pretty much the same.
Once they had a complete list, Evie sent it off to Roark to research. “This doesn’t feel as if we’re getting anywhere.”
“Any email from your flyers asking for suspects yet?”