The shadow of daph, p.12
The Shadow of Daph, page 12
Fred. Possibly thinks he has a right, being Edwina’s ex.
Constance. Because she loves the sauce.
“You know, Sonia didn’t say if she had the recipe or not. Just that it was nobody else’s business what she knew. One has to wonder how long this sauce had been the object of so many people’s interest.” Daphne said.
“Interest or greed? Sounds as if more than one person believed this sauce has the potential to make them money.” John glanced through the window. “Still light enough for a walk. Do us good to take a stroll.”
Although Daphne preferred to stay right where she was, John was right. Keys and phones collected, they set out in the direction of the back of the camping park.
“I noticed a path through the trees earlier.” John pointed. “There’s meant to be a stream around here so shall we take a look?”
“I’m sorry you’ve not got any fishing in, love.” Daphne looped her arm through his. “I bet you’re looking forward to the conference weekend.”
He grinned. “Access to one of the best fishing river’s in the state? I am!”
“Still can’t believe they invited me.” It lifted Daphne’s spirits remembering her invitation to the annual Celebrant’s Conference next month. It was a weekend at an exclusive resort in the high country with fifty like-minded people and lots of interesting speakers. John was joining a few other spouses for an overnight camping trip fishing. “I might need to walk more and eat less so I can fit into that polka dot dress again.”
“Or you could get it adjusted.”
Nice thought. Daphne touched her stomach which was too rounded for her liking. No, she’d work on dropping a little weight. Best to care for one’s health.
They turned onto the path, which was wide and firm underfoot and wound through pretty bushland. Native flowers abounded and an echidna ambled across without bothering to look at them, John quickly snapped some photos before it vanished again. After a few minutes, bushland gave way to a little village with a handful of houses and one general store.
“Well, I had no idea this was here!” Daphne said. “Such a cute, peaceful spot.”
A park was ahead with a pond and gazebo. And in the gazebo, two people were embroiled in a heated argument.
So much for peaceful.
Their voices carried and Daphne gasped. “Ilona and Desmond.”
“We should go.” John said.
“No. In case it gets out of hand.”
“I still cannot believe you think Edie would want you to buy her property!” Ilona sounded furious. “She’s always maintained Sonia was to have the two cottages and land. And for the shop to go to—”
“Then she should have made a will.” Desmond snarled. He leaned on a walking stick and even from this distance, his face was beet red.
To Daphne’s surprise, John led them both closer, keeping to the tree line.
“Well, what if she did? You all assume she didn’t. You and Fred and Sonia. Just because there’s nothing lodged with a solicitor doesn’t mean there’s no will. She knew her health was deteriorating and she worried about the future. She also knew you lot would all swoop like vultures so don’t be surprised if there is a will.” Ilona put her hands on her hips.
“You are bluffing. I have every right to that piece of land and you know it.”
“What is he talking about?” John whispered.
“Tell that to Sonia.” Ilona said.
“I will. Time she knew the truth. Time everyone knew the truth.” Turning his back on Ilona, Desmond stepped down onto the grass.
“Wait!” Ilona flew down to get in front of him. “Sonia won’t cope. At least let her get through tomorrow and then we can have a proper meeting. You, Sonia, Fred. Me. Even Tracy if she insists. But we can work through this. Please, Desmond.”
“Very well. She can have her photo session and I’ll play nice. But sooner or later Edwina’s body will turn up and when it does, my bet is it’ll prove she didn’t have a heart attack. At least, not without some help.”
He lumbered away, barely using the walking stick.
Ilona was open mouthed.
Daphne made a move to go to her but John held her arm and nodded in Ilona’s direction.
She took out a phone and dialled. “We have a problem. A big, oafish problem.”
Stay or Go?
“The last thing I want to do is worry you. But Desmond is set on telling the world what he believes about Sonia and she’ll be the one hurt by it all.” Ilona continued.
Daphne and John tip toed their way closer.
“I don’t know how to stop him, but he did agree to leave his big announcement until after her session tomorrow. And I want you there. If truth is coming out then you need to be part of it.”
Ilona sank onto the bench and listened to the person on the other end of the phone.
Although John had no time for gossip and even less for inflammatory conversation, there was something going on here which he couldn’t ignore. People dying. Talk about blackmail and corruption. And secrets everywhere. He had every intention of leaving with Daphne after the photo session tomorrow but until then, wasn’t about to turn his back on what might be important information.
Listen to yourself!
He shook his head. Too much time hanging around with Daphne.
“Okay?” Daphne whispered.
Hanging around with Daphne was the best part of his life.
“Shh. Listen.”
From their position it was impossible to see Ilona’s face, as she was side-on to them and in the shadow of a tree. A shadow being just one of many creeping across the grass as the sun closed in on the horizon. Darkness would fall within minutes.
“What worries me, sweetie, is what will happen if Desmond—or any of the others—puts more pressure on Sonia to hand over the recipe. She’s trying hard to be brave but I see her pain and the last thing we want is for her to fall apart because of this. Her state of mind is fragile at the best of times and these are far from the best of times.”
Ilona’s head bobbed up and down in agreement to whatever was said in return.
“Stay strong. The truth will come out but until Edwina is located, I think we have to protect what is important. Let’s talk in the morning.”
Ilona hung up the call. She got to her feet and left the park without so much as a glance behind.
“Well, well, well.” Daphne said. “What do you make of that?”
“Let’s head home as we talk. Didn’t think to bring a flashlight.”
“I wonder who Ilona was speaking with? She called them ‘sweetie’, so someone she’s close to?” Daphne asked.
“Some people use endearments for everyone but I’ve not noticed Ilona doing it. We know who it wasn’t. Sonia or Desmond. And who are the ‘others’ she referred to? Who would pressure Sonia to release her mother’s secret recipe, I wonder?”
“All good questions.” Daphne took her phone out. “I might turn on the flashlight function because this path is dark.” A sudden shaft of light appeared from her phone. “Much better. Where were we? Oh, the others. What we know is that a few people have either expressed an interest in getting it, or a third party has mentioned them.”
“Tracy.”
“Yes. She jumped straight into my mind. That woman is quite open about wanting to get her hands on it and commercialise the sauce. Why she believes she has any right to it though is a mystery because she comes across as having a real sense of entitlement about it, yet she wasn’t close to Edwina.” Daphne waved the phone around, and a pair of startled eyes stared back from the undergrowth.
“A wallaby.” John observed. “Who else. Fred?”
“Definite maybe. He was married to Edwina although I don’t know when. But he may believe he has a right to whatever she created. What doesn’t make sense is why he’d try to take it from Sonia. Whether he is her father or not, he was married to her mother. She has priority.”
It was a mystery. Not enough facts and far too many snippets of unverified information.
The path curved in the direction of the camping park, the drone of generators filling the air. He would have to pick up some more fuel for theirs tomorrow if they stayed another night. Hopefully, they’d be on their way once Daphne attended the photo session. He’d have suggested giving it a miss but Daphne wasn’t one to let people down.
Be honest, John. You’re curious about Edwina’s property.
To see the place with his own eyes, rather than through a photograph, held a lot of appeal. He might ask Sonia if he might photograph some of the garden.
“Oh. Is that Adam?”
They were in sight of Bluebell. A patrol car was parked behind John and Daphne’s car and the interior light was on.
“Looks like it.” With a touch of frustration at yet another interruption when Daphne needed a chance to relax, John took her hand. “Let’s see why he’s here.”
“I had no intention of bothering you both tonight.” Adam followed Daphne inside Bluebell with John climbing in last and closing the door. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Sit yourself down and I’ll get you a coffee. Or would tea be more to your liking?” Daphne asked, already filling the kettle.
“That’s too generous of you.”
“You look exhausted. Have you had dinner?” Daphne frowned. She’d not got to making cookies yet. It would have to be store bought.
John motioned for Adam to sit and with a thankful smile, the officer did.
“I just finished a burger while I waited. Coffee sounds wonderful.”
Daphne made three coffees while John and Adam chatted about the weather. Warm days were forecast with the possibility of a storm tomorrow night. Best be at the next town by then. She placed the coffees down and a plate of the biscuits, then slid beside John.
“Thank you for this.” Adam wrapped his hands around the cup. “Just sitting here for a few minutes is nice.” He glanced around. “What a pretty caravan you have.”
“We love her. Bluebell.” John said with a grin. “Took me a while to get used to towing, but now it feels weird if she’s not behind the car.”
Daphne blew on her coffee. Why was Adam here? Earlier, when he’d come to talk to her at the bench outside the funeral home, the conversation was brief. He’d asked her a handful of questions about Amanda and Zeke, apologised for keeping her waiting, and left. There’d been no mention of follow up questions or them staying any longer. Of course, he’d had a lot to deal with. A second ambulance arriving. Two bodies removed—from a funeral home of all places. And more patrol cars as out of town police arrived to help set a perimeter around the property.
“This is nice coffee, Daphne.” Adam said. “And I do apologise for just dropping in so late.”
“How long were you waiting?” John asked.
“Only long enough to eat my burger. I figured you’d gone for a walk seeing as your car was still here. Thought I’d eat and if you hadn’t returned, I’d leave a note.”
“So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?” Daphne offered a small smile but her heart was pitter-pattering too fast. She’d almost reached a sense of acceptance of the events of the afternoon, even with overhearing the odd conversations at the park, but something told her the news ahead wasn’t pleasant.
Adam sighed. “I have some news. Preliminary results on Petra West’s toxicology screen show levels of a poison. An unusual one related to cyanide.”
“Cyanide!” Daphne gasped. “But the symptoms weren’t the same. No sudden death after foaming at the mouth…oh, that’s more like something from a movie.”
Adam grinned. “Very much like a movie. This appears to have a natural source. She ingested something containing enough of the compound to be fatal but there is ongoing testing to identify what that something is.”
“Champagne.”
“We don’t know. And there’s not sufficient evidence to point towards this being a deliberate act. Which brings me to Amanda and Zeke.” Adam said.
His face was drawn with sadness. He’d known these people and may have been close to some of them, for all Daphne knew. It tugged at her. Even if she hadn’t decided yet if he was involved.
“You were with Amanda when she fell ill. I understand this is difficult, but would you mind running through those moments again. Earlier, I had a million things going on and want to be certain of your observations. I might write this down.” He took out his notepad.
Daphne did her best to remember every detail as she recounted the awful minutes around Amanda’s collapse. How she said her stomach hurt. And appeared lightheaded. Her flushed skin. Her final words to Daphne.
“She did something wrong?” Adam repeated. “Nothing else?”
“Nothing else. And then Fred arrived and told me to find Zeke. That he had medical training.”
“You mentioned Amanda suggesting Edwina is already buried. There’s just no evidence, not from our preliminary investigation, supporting her being removed from the funeral home.”
“When the casket fell, Zeke had a quick look through the crack where the lid opened. He was dumbfounded. And I do mean that. He looked straight at me with a look of confusion and said the casket was empty.” Daphne said.
“Yes, I spoke to him at length and he was shocked about it. I have no doubt he knew nothing about Edwina’s disappearance.”
She pushed her cup away, undrunk. “What about Fred? Did he suspect Zeke of having anything to do with moving the body?”
“Doubt Zeke, or any of the other staff for that matter, had the chance to move it. Fred insisted on managing every aspect of Edwina’s time at the funeral home. They were married for a long time and he felt it was the one thing he could do for her to maintain her dignity and pay his own respects. Zeke is actually the only one who saw Edwina there.”
“But Zeke did confirm he saw her?”
“Yes. And he helped collect her that nigh.” Adam flashed a sudden smile. “No need to imagine Fred with a shovel in her garden. And you must remember there was a doctor’s certificate signed so her remains definitely went to the funeral home.”
Fragments of conversations played on Daphne’s mind. Now wasn’t the time to consider them. She needed a quiet caravan and her notebook.
“Adam, what is being done to ensure nobody else gets ill?” John asked. “I ask because a lot of people were at the wake.”
“Nobody else has reported any signs of illness, thank goodness. If, and it is a big if, it was the champagne, then it might have been restricted to one bottle. The contaminant appears to only have been ingested by Amanda and Zeke which suggests they unfortunately drank from the same bottle.”
“But…Petra.” Daphne said.
Adam’s shoulders slumped. “I know. And this is the problem. We don’t have a conclusive answer to what we’re looking for. A forensics unit will arrive first thing tomorrow and that will help. I have officers watching the funeral home tonight to make sure nobody goes in. All the champagne bottles were moved to a storeroom and are locked inside, along with glasses and anything else the team thought needed attention.”
“You did remove the jam?” Daphne asked as a thought struck her.
“Jam?”
“The rhubarb and apricot jam from the other day.” She reminded Adam.
“You know, we couldn’t find any at all in the funeral home and Fred had no idea about it. None of the staff did. I wonder if Petra was confused with another variety?”
How would someone who makes jam ever confuse the flavours? Something wasn’t right here. Did Petra take the jar home, perhaps? Perhaps someone should check her house.
“Do you think it was intentional? I mean, is there a reason anyone would target those three people in particular?” Daphne might not see the connection but Adam, with his knowledge of the town, would have to have an opinion on it.
He shook his head. “Been trying to work it out for hours. Petra had some character traits which made her unpopular at times, but I can’t see anyone killing her over them. Amanda hadn’t been part of the ‘in’ group in ages. How Zeke fits in I have no idea.”
But I do.
“Er…did you know they had something, um, going on?”
“Going on?”
Daphne filled him in on how she’d accidentally come across Amanda and Zeke in the kitchen.
“Now I’ve heard everything.” Adam said. “Why anything surprises me in this town—anyway, I’ve taken up enough of your time.” He stood. “You’ve been very helpful. Again.”
“We met your beautiful daughter today.” Daphne said.
The lines of tiredness on Adam’s face disappeared as his eyes lit up.
“Did you go to the shop?”
“We did.” John opened the door. “Came home with a bag of delightful wares and the taste of many samples on our lips.”
“Connie likes looking after her customers. And she loves that shop. Glad you met her.” He stepped down and Daphne and John joined him. “Be a pity if Sonia sells. For both of them, really.”
A moment later he was driving away, waving through the window as the patrol car nosed along the dirt road. Daphne stared after him.
“Coming in, doll?”
“I wonder what he meant.”
“Meant about what?” John held the door for Daphne.
“About it being a pity for both Constance and for Sonia if the shop is sold. Do you think he just meant it would be sad to see Edwina’s shop go?” Daphne made it inside and collected the coffee cups as John locked the door.
“Well, what else would he mean?”
That there might be a fourth death in town if his daughter risked losing her beloved job? That with Sonia out of the way, Constance might have a shot at keeping it?
“Nothing, dear. Nothing at all.”
Clues and Secrets
John was up early and snuck out of Bluebell. He waited near the door for a minute, listening. Hoping he’d not disturbed Daph.
The air was warm. Humid. No wonder there was a forecast of a storm later. With a bit of luck, they’d be in Benalla and the storm wouldn’t follow. He knew Daphne tried to be brave but had never overcome her fear of thunder. There’d been one time she’d pushed all those feelings aside. A stormy night in Rivers End. Christie was lost at sea and a rescue was underway on the beach. Along with many of the townsfolk, Daphne had braved the terrible conditions to set up a station complete with medical supplies, food, water, and lots of blankets. He’d rarely been prouder of her than on that night.
